"He's where?" General Madine frowned across the conference table at the Jedi Master and his Apprentice.
"Had Abbadon." Dai-Men repeated patiently.
Leia, next to Madine, shook her head in confusion. "Never heard of it."
"I'm not surprised," the Master answered. "an interesting place in its way but not well known. Had Abbadon was once a city planet, much like Coruscant, but about five thousand years ago it was leveled by some unknown enemy and most of its atmosphere blown away. The modern population is transitory; archaeologists, salvers and treasure hunters for the most part with a small Imperial force trying to maintain some kind of order."
"Sounds like you've been there." Luke observed.
"I have." his Master replied, "Years ago during the Wars."
Luke blinked. "You fought in the Clone Wars?"
Dai-Men gave him a dryly amused look. "I'm only a year or two younger than your father." then continued to Madine and Leia: "The Mandalore were preparing Had Abbadon as a redoubt for their final stand but Obi-Wan cornered the last of them on Kettlebrai so they never used it."
"But why would Fett go there instead of Tatooine?" the Princess demanded.
"That's what worries me." the Master admitted. "According to the II data a number of former Mandalore have gathered on Had Abaddon."
"You mean Fett's a Mandalorian Warrior?" Luke wanted to know.
Dai-men nodded. "Or trained by one, it comes to the same thing."
"But the Mandalorians were destroyed on Kettlebrai!" Madine protested.
"And the last of the Jedi died at Condawn." The Master smiled wryly. "There are always survivors, General. My guess is they've spent the last twenty-odd years training up a new generation of warriors. Now they feel strong enough to declare themselves."
"And if Had Abaddon was prepared as a redoubt they'd have weapons and equipment stored there." Luke deduced.
"Exactly." Dai-Men agreed.
"What about Han?" Leia pleaded.
"Presumably still safe in hibernation in Fett's cargo hold." the Master reassured her.
"We've got to do something about the Mandalorians." Luke blurted, "Stop them."
"I agree." Dai-Men glanced at Madine. "The Emperor isn't interested, he's got more immediate worries."
The General looked troubled. "The Alliance can't risk going up against Mandalore, we just can't afford the losses."
"I understand." the Master responded, cutting off Luke's protest. "The Jedi will handle it."
"You and Luke?" the Princess gasped, appalled.
"And a few others." he smiled.
Luke stared at his Master. Others? How many Jedi were there anyway?
"Eight!" Luke echoed Dai-Men's casual answer incredulously after they'd exchanged the debriefing room for Leia's quarters.
"That I know of, including you and me." the Master said tranquilly.
"Against how many Mandalorians?" Leia wanted to know.
"Not many, fifteen or twenty at most I'd say."
"That's two to one odds." Luke pointed out.
"Probably worse." Dai-Men conceded, "I doubt all the others will make it to Had Abaddon."
"Great." his Padawan sighed. "Master, I've heard about the Mandalorians, even Jedi had trouble taking them."
"I remember." the Master smiled, reminding Luke he'd actually fought them. The boy flushed in
embarrassment."I'm not saying it will be easy." Dai-Men continued, "but don't discount the Force, Luke, It is a powerful ally. Trust it, there will be a way."
"Yes Master." his protege sighed dutifully. Trusting the Force that much was going to take some doing.
"What about Han?" Leia demanded, proving there was nothing wrong with her focus, "If he's on Had Abbadon -"
"Good point, your Highness," Dai-Men agreed. "I suggest you send word to Calrissian, he and Chewbacca can meet us there." he smiled faintly, "Our battle with the Mandalore should be all the cover they need to retrieve Captain Solo."
"Right. We'll rescue Han, Lando, Chewy and I." The Princess declared then glared regally at the two Jedi, daring them to argue.
Master and Apprentice exchanged a look and remained prudently silent.
Which left Dai-Men with one other problem; telling Sylkie and Xhosa, but especially Sylkie, he was going off again without them.
"Chuuuuur-click! Why can't we - tliiiiiiick! – go too?" Xhosa wanted to know.
"Yeah," Sylkie agreed, green eyes glinting suspicion, "why not?"
"Because for all your talents neither of you can be called a fighter." the Master replied.
A snort from Sylkie. "Xhosa could always fall on the enemy."
"Trrriiiiiillllck! Sylkie, rrrriiiiitt-rrrrriiiiiit, talk them to death." The athropod retorted and looked pleased with himself.
Dai-Men laughed.
"Fighting who?" Sylkie demanded.
"Bounty hunters, mercenaries." the Master replied easily. His small companion relaxed slightly, she'd seen him roll up such by the dozens. "They're holding one of the Rebel leaders, a Captain Solo, the Princess asked us to help get him back."
"Just you and Luke?" Sylkie pressed.
Dai-Men shook his head. "Her Highness will be coming with us, and other Rebel operatives meet us there."
The Erewhon nodded, satisfied. A Rebel operation was quite different from Dai-Men running off on his own. Besides it couldn't be too dangerous if they were taking the Princess.
The Master hid a smile and a twinge of guilt. Not a word of lie, but not the whole truth either. Sylkie was going to kill him when she found out, and she would, but not until it was too late.
Lando sat in the crowded, rundown cantina reflecting that Had Abbadon actually made Tatooine look good. Take an un-breathable, paper thin atmosphere, blazing hot days and bitterly cold nights. Throw in a landscape of crumbling gray ruins crawling with trigger happy treasure hunters and a domed spaceport under strict Imperial control and you got yourself a real winner of a planet. He shrugged and picked up his glass, but at least a man could get a decent drink.
The message from Skywalker had been brief and to the point; Boba Fett, and presumably Han, were on Had Abbadon. No explanation of why Fett would take a detour to this rock with a fat bounty waiting for him on Tatooine. Presumably Luke would fill in those little details after he arrived.
"Calrissian."
Lando jerked around, one hand going instinctively to his blaster then broke into a grin of startled recognition. "Jayce? Jayce Darklighter! don't tell me they got pod-racing on this rock?"
His friend slipped into the seat opposite. "Not that I know of. Anyway I don't race anymore."
"Shame." Lando regretted, "I made a fortune off of you."
Jayce smiled. "Word got around, my odds were shortening."
True, but they'd really cleaned up those first few races. Nobody had believed a human could even finish the course much less win. In fact Jayce was the only human pod-racer Lando had ever heard of, though Darklighter himself claimed there'd been one other - some kid on the Outer Rim.
"So what brings you to beautiful Had Abbadon?" Lando wondered, "Or shouldn't I ask?"
Darklighter smiled that thin secretive smile of his. "Same thing as you actually."
Lando blinked. "You know Skywalker?"
Jayce shook his head fractionally. "Never met him."
Lando suddenly remembered a few other things about his old friend. "Please tell me you're not after Fett." he begged. Darklighter had a bad habit of going after ugly types for no apparent reason. It was going to get him killed someday. Actually it was kind of surprising it hadn't already.
That enigmatic smile was scarcely reassuring. "Not exactly." his eyes slid to the Cantina entrance. "Here they are."
Lando turned. Chewy was in the lead with the Skywalker kid right behind him - and Princess Leia Organa. Lando shook his head resignedly, he should have expected that. And bringing up the rear was a very tall human in a long brown robe much like the one Jayce was wearing.
"Friend of yours?" the gambler asked, nodding towards the last.
"Sort of."
Lando sighed. It'd always been tough getting a straight answer out of Darklighter. Oh well, he usually knew what he was doing. Lando just hoped this wasn't one of the rare exceptions and that whatever Jayce had in mind wouldn't conflict with Luke's plans, whatever they were. Not that Skywalker would stand a chance in a head to head. Jayce Darklighter was one of the hardest customers Lando had ever met in a lifetime of rough company.
Lando wasn't alone Luke noted. His companion was a tall, supple redhead with the keen, angular face of a bird of prey - and wearing a long dark brown robe! Another Jedi? Luke shot a quick glance back Dai-Men and saw his Master was smiling, mostly with his eyes. Yup, had to be.
They reached the table and names were exchanged. "Jayce Darklighter? the pod racer?" Luke demanded, reverting briefly to thrilled racing fan.
The other man grimaced. "Six races and I'm labeled for life!"
"I warned you." the Master said, amused.
'Only a Jedi or potential Jedi' Dai-Men had said, so Darklighter was one of them! But he looked to be about Han's age, too young to have been trained before the purge.
"Jayce was my first Apprentice." the Master added casually, following Luke's thought processes with his usual uncanny accuracy.
"Apprentice what?" Lando wanted to know.
"Long story." Leia answered briefly before getting to the really important question. "What about Han?"
Lando had to shake his head. "I'm sorry, Princess, I haven't been able to find a trace of Slave 1. Are you sure Fett's here?"
"He's here." that was Jayce. "According to traffic control records he put down at a private field on the other side of the planet."
The Master nodded as if he'd expected that.
Lando frowned. "How'd you get at those? Imp bureaucrats are tighter than a -" he remembered the Princess's presence just in time - "miser's fist."
Jayce smiled that damned smile again. "There are ways." he said, then seeing Lando's irritation added soothingly: "I've been here a day or so longer than you. I've had time to make a few contacts."
"Look, would somebody just tell me what the hell's going on?" the gambler demanded.
"Not here." Luke responded with a quick glance around the crowded cantina.
"On the Falcon then." Lando persisted.
Luke looked up at his Master. "You were expecting others?"
"They'll find us." Dai-Men replied confidently.
"The Force will guide them." Jayce murmured with a sardonic sidelong glance at the Master, who merely smiled in reply.
Luke was surprised to feel a definite twinge on jealousy.
They were about to follow Lando, Chewy and Leia into the Falcon when the two Jedi suddenly pivoted in unison about eighty degrees looking towards the hanger entrance. Luke turned too, searching his feelings. He didn't sense anything - or did he?
The door opened admitting two forms swathed in long hooded brown robes. One very tall, nearly Dai-Men's height, the other shorter than Luke. They moved briskly across the bay floor to join the group at the foot of the boarding ramp. The taller of the pair reached up to put back his hood and Luke felt his jaw sag.
His first impression was of a broad toothy grin framed by masses of brown curls tumbling almost into a pair of wide lucent blue eyes flanking a formidable beaky nose. A clown's face at once sad and merry, and not at all what he'd ever expected a Jedi to look like.
"Luke Skywalker, Raj Naberrie." The Master introduced.
Two large warm hands enfolded Luke's. "So you're Queen Amidala's son? Delighted to meet you!" his voice was beautiful, rich and mellow with a Core World's accent.
"You knew my mother?" Luke stammered.
Another dazzling smile. "I was one of her subjects. A very great lady."
"Thank you." her son replied, still off balance.
The Master placed a steadying hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "And this is Mei-Qan Kenobi, Obi-Wan's granddaughter."
The second Jedi put back her hood revealing blond, blue beaded braids looped and coiled around an almost familiar face, delicate and dimpled but with Ben's fierce, fearless blue eyes.
"Chani?" Luke gaped in disbelief.
"Hello, Luke." she smiled, then said to Dai-Men: "We're old friends, Master, we grew up together."
"Yes, of course you did, I'd forgotten."
Lando wasn't sure what he'd expected but not this! "Jedi Knights, Mandalorian Warriors, sounds like the Clone Wars all over again!" No wonder Luke had waited till they were safe in the Falcon's main hold before spilling this can of worms.
"It could be if we don't stop them here." The so-called Jedi Master said seriously.
"We do have time for a plan don't we?" Jayce asked dryly.
For some reason Luke and the other three Jedi all grinned as if at some in joke.
"You expect me to go up against Mandalorians you better have a damn good plan!" Lando informed them emphatically.
"It'll be your job to rescue Han." Dai-Men returned, "I'm sure you and Chewbacca and her Highness will be more than equal to the challenge."
The Wookiee roared enthusiastic agreement flinging a shaggy arm around the Princess and hugging.
Leia grinned and hugged him back. "You bet we will, Chewy!"
Lando was more skeptical. "Sounds like you guys are gonna provide one hell of a diversion." he conceded. He glanced at Jayce. "I've seen Darklighter in action and I've heard about Jedi, but just five of you? Against who knows how many Mandalorians?" And one of the five a slip of a girl too. Jinn looked capable enough but Lando had his doubts about Naberrie and Luke too come to that.
Dai-Men spread his hands. "We must work with what we have. The Force is with us."
That was real reassuring. "Yeah, well no offense but I'd feel a lot better if we had something a little more tangible in the way of back up."
A strong blow in the solar plexus knocked him against the back of the seat, wind wooshing out of him.
Jayce smiled sardonically. "The Force can be pretty tangible."
"So I feel." Lando wheezed, trying to get his breath back. Suddenly a couple of odd incidents in their common past made a lot more sense. "Good trick." he admitted.
"We can't plan until we have some idea of what we're up against." Jinn said briskly. "Jayce?"
"I saw ten names I recognized on the arrivals list but that's probably not all there are."
"And my memories of the redoubt are a quarter of a century old." Dai-Men agreed. "A recce is definitely in order. Luke and Mei-Qan."
The former blinked. "Huh?"
"A man and a woman are inherently less suspicious than two men." Jinn explained. "You and Mei-Qan have the further advantages of youth and an innocent appearance."
The girl's dimples deepened in a smile that was anything but innocent.
"Or at least you do." the Jedi Master corrected himself dryly.
"What about me?" the Princess demanded. "I'm a woman and Luke and I are used to working together."
"But you're not a Jedi." Dai-Men raised a hand to stop her protest. "I know you've been trained as a Swan Sensana, Princess, and can take care of yourself," he grinned disarmingly, "but if you go, Chewbacca will want to go too and Wookiees just aren't built for stealth."
Chewy growled agreement, preening himself.
Leia conceded the argument with less than perfect grace.
"Don't worry." Mei-Qan assured her, "I'll look after Luke."
A snort from young Skywalker. "The way I remember it was usually the other way around." he added to Dai-Men, "she was nuts as a kid."
"She hasn't changed much," Jinn replied, "takes after her grandfather." and tilted a challenging eyebrow at the girl.
She smirked. "Your father was much worse."
"According to Obi-Wan, not exactly a disinterested witness." Dai-Men retorted.
"From what I've seen all Jedi are crazy!" Leia grumbled.
The four representatives of the Order laughed.
"You could say that." Jinn agreed.
Sure could Lando thought.