The Emerald Price Chapter 6

By Ash Darklighter

Disclaimer: - The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list.

Elrood

"A woman that beautiful would fetch a high price in the slave markets."

The holo fell from Luke's suddenly nerveless fingers and clattered onto the floor. "What?"

Altra picked up the holo and handed it to Luke. "A woman like that is a prime target for slavers. I'm only stating the obvious. If a lone woman disappears in this place then that is usually what's happened. She will have been picked up on the outskirts of the spaceport by a slavers gang. Those swoop riders you were interacting with earlier could and would have taken young Tayo away for sale. They often have agreements with the slave guilds. They pay them many jewels for such merchandise."

Luke's voice shook. "That's what has happened to her – she's been taken by slavers. I'm sure of it."

Altra was taken aback at Luke's certainty. "Why are you so sure?"

He swallowed trying to clear the huge lump that had wedged itself deep into his throat. "I can sense things. I am a Jedi, after all, and when you said 'slavers' something rang like a warning bell in my mind. The Force obeys our commands and yet it guides our actions. It can give guidance or a warning."

"I hope for her sake that you're wrong." Altra's face was grave.

"I hope I'm wrong too but…" Luke lifted his hands helplessly. There was a moment's silence, then he jumped to his feet and began pacing. "I'd better go and find Han now. There's no time to lose…"

"Did she vanish on this world specifically?" Altra questioned pointedly.

Luke stopped. "I… I… don't know… Maybe… No." He took a deep breath trying to calm the sense of panic welling up in him. Obi Wan and Yoda had spoken of calm and peace. He would be no help to Mara if he couldn't focus more clearly. "I can't feel her presence here."

"Sit down, please." Altra watched as Luke reluctantly retraced his steps back to his chair. "I thought the Falcon was not quite at her best? How are you going to find her if you cannot leave Elrood?"

"Sithspawn!" Luke swore, his face and jerky movements betraying his agitation as his tenuous grip on his serenity fled once more. "I have to do something. I can't just sit." He propelled himself out of the chair again and strode to the viewport, gazing out of it as if he could will Mara to him. "I can't… knowing she's in trouble."

"Rushing off without a battle plan won't help your lady. There are many worlds out here. How are you going to pinpoint the exact one?"

"The Force," Luke replied simply.

Altra observed Luke's white face for a moment, before moving to a cabinet and pulling out a glass and a bottle containing a cloudy reddish liquid. She poured a tiny amount into the glass and handed it to the Jedi Master. "Sip this… I said sip it," she ordered as Luke tipped his head back and swallowed a mouthful. "I told you to sip it – this is strong stuff." She shook her head as the effect of the spirit hit the back of Luke's throat.

"What…" he coughed, his eyes streaming, "…is this?"

"A local liqueur. They call it 'Devil's Fire.'"

"Aptly named."

Altra poured a minute amount for herself and sipped gently. "You could be wrong," she said, shuddering delicately as the alcohol hit her taste buds. "The same thing could have happened to her as happened to you. Your lady could have been shot down by pirates."

"No." Luke's head drooped. "I'm not wrong. She's still alive." He tried to calm his racing heart and whirling mind.

"You know this?" Altra asked. She'd never been in such close proximity to a Jedi before and he wasn't at all what she had expected. In fact, she didn't know what she expected a Jedi to be. Luke Skywalker confounded all her ideas.

"I can feel it," Luke said. He tapped the side of his head and then his heart. "I know it in my head and sense it in my heart. She's not dead… She can't be - I would know. We're too strongly linked. I'd better call Han," he repeated. "And she's not mine," he whispered to himself. "She never will be."

"Han shouldn't be long. Besides, he's gone with my husband to get the parts for the Falcon. What can you do until the ship is fixed?"

Luke's mouth tipped into something approaching a smile. "Those two looked as if each wanted to do the other a serious injury. Do you think they are still alive - Han and Feenus?"

"Probably. They need to talk, Luke."

"I know." He stared at the tiny glass in front of him. "That's why I came with you and let Feenus accompany Han. If I really thought there was any danger I would have gone with them."

Altra's mouth dropped open. Okay, maybe he was more like a Jedi after all. "You… you…"

"I did think, however, that you could possibly be some help to us. The Force directed us to you or you to us for a reason."

"I find that hard to believe," Altra muttered quietly.

"It is up to you what you believe, Mistress Altra, but it is the truth." Luke sat up straighter. "Tell me everything you know about the slaving guilds in this sector. Forewarned is forearmed after all. You are right - I do need some sort of plan." He clenched his prosthetic hand into a fist, his eyes lingering on the pale flesh of his hand. "I've rushed into things before and not come out of it the way I wanted to."

*****************************************

Aaris III

From the outside, the building appeared innocuous, perhaps even bland. But the four story grey duracrete structure, once a centre for Imperial bureaucrats had a more sinister identity. It was the nerve centre of Tjoris Tharakan's slave Empire. He was only one member of a thriving slavers guild but he was one of the more successful ones.

Tharakan had made a fortune dealing with the misfortune of others and planned to continue doing so for a long time. He had acquired the building after the Imperial rule on Aaris III had collapsed. The basement and first floor housed the slaves, the second, his employees, the third was given over to storage and offices and the fourth, was his personal home and the place where he saw his most exclusive clients.

Tharakan's head snakes curled as he perused the contents written on a data pad. This transaction would be most profitable. The Admiral spoke of rich contacts with an eye for worthwhile slaves. What the Admiral hadn't mentioned but Tharakan had heard of, through his many spies in the business, were the reports of the growing attempts of an anti-slaving organisation to sabotage his most lucrative deals. By the green blood pumping through his two-and-a-half metre body, he would not let them disrupt his little Empire. He'd worked too hard for this. He had plans.

The upper chamber housing Tharakan's private apartments was set up in a luxurious fashion. Soft, well-upholstered daybeds, priceless works of art and gilt looking-glasses decorated the rooms. 'Yes,' he thought idly. 'My career has been most profitable.'

Tharakan's lip curled in a sneer. He was now worth millions of credits. His family would be amazed at how much he was actually worth. The head tails of his stupid, plant-loving relatives, who had turned him away in disgrace, would writhe with embarrassment. Tharakan considered that he had been born into the wrong species. Somehow his soul should have been born in the body of a Hutt or a Twi'lek. Although he despised both species - especially the Hutts - for their lack of physical beauty, he admired their grasp of commerce. He brushed a speck of fluff from his immaculate blue tunic. His home planet of Moltok was not one he wanted to return to. He didn't think they would let him in, so thoroughly had he gone against the nature of his gentle species. "Stefft!" He raised his voice peremptorily. "Are the slaves prepared for transport?"

The burly human melted in from the shadows and bowed low. "Yes, Lord Tharakan but…"

"There is a problem?" Tharakan's voice was cool.

Stefft raised his head. "No… yes… The sickness has taken down many. Several of the weaker beings have died."

"No matter. They would not have fetched many jewels." The Ho Dinn paused, snake-like tentacles curling around his head. "There is another problem."

"The red-headed female…"

"Ah, yes! You do not like her."

"She is trouble but she will sell well. That is…"

"What is it?" Tharakan's voice sharpened, the hint of the sing-song lilt of his native accent creeping through. He had tried so hard to eradicate his roots. He calmed his racing pulse. He did not like to appear to be soft or overly emotional. He liked to be thought of as cool, calculating and in control. It made the clients he dealt with much more amenable to his prices. A hot head gave others the advantage.

"She has the sickness too. I don't think she reacted well to the stuff we gave her to calm her down."

"She is dressed and ready?"

"She has been prepared but…"

"Bring her to me," Tharakan ordered.

Stefft was beginning to think he was in the wrong employment. He'd worked with Tharakan for several years. He was beginning to think that taking the red-headed woman had cursed them all. Several of his comrades had died and now this sickness had taken away some of their profit. If the slave lord didn't get his jewels, neither did Stefft. The sooner she sold the better. He bowed and took the turbolift down to the preparation chambers.

The sight that met his eyes did not bode well for getting the woman off their hands in a lucrative sale – not if it was discovered that she was trouble. While he had been with Tharakan she had somehow managed to cause more damage.

Mara stood against a stone pillar, dressed in a skimpy two piece costume with wispy veils shrouding her form, revealing yet keeping her soft flesh from naught but her buyer's sight and touch. Her red gold hair had been braided and threaded with glittering jewels, her too bright eyes outlined in exotic makeup. Stefft felt a hardening in his groin at the sight of her – the woman was stunningly beautiful. Too bad she was off limits until she sold.

"We had to chain her to the pillar," one of the other guards explained. "All the conditioning has failed."

"As soon as they untied her feet she kicked out and caught Prebs right in the jaw. It broke in two places. I don't even think she was aware of what she was doing."

"I told you not to let her free, Ustar," Stefft ordered. The woman was untamed – like a wild thing. No one had failed to take the conditioning before. It was unheard of. "Prebs!" he ordered.

The guard turned around, his hand cradling his jaw.

"Go with the medic, he'll get you sorted. He stared almost helplessly as Prebs was led away by a medical orderly.

Ustar roughly poked at Mara with the butt of his rifle. "We thought she was out for the count. She's been given enough medication to fell a full-grown bantha." He peered cautiously at her white face. "She's docile enough now."

Mara made a funny little sound and slumped shivering against the pillar. Tharakan's doc-droid rolled up towards her and began extended various instruments. "She has the sickness. She cannot be put for sale today."

"The Lord wants her upstairs," Stefft argued. "So she goes."

"Perhaps he can sell her before she drops dead like the others." The droid's dispassionate tone suddenly grated on Stefft. "But if he wants a sale achieving the most jewels he should wait a week. She is sick. All the slaves are sick."

"Perhaps." For an instant he almost felt sorry for the woman who had slid down the pillar and was now lying in a crumpled heap at its base, the curve of her slender neck hinting at a vulnerability they hadn't considered. She looked to be unconscious again. He untied her from her bonds, lifted her into his arms and placed her on a repulsorlift litter. Securing her arms and feet to the sides of the stretcher – he was taking no chances - he arranged her in a becoming pose, his hands lingering on her soft curves. She was certainly shaped in all the right places. What he could do in a soft bed with a female fashioned like this one defied the imagination. He frowned as his large hands again made contact with her skin. She was burning up with fever. This was most inconvenient.

"Have you given her the medication?"

The droid beeped an affirmative. "She has the usual substances to keep her docile."

"No, not that, you stupid heap of metal. Stuff for the fever?"

"No, it would react with the medication she has already been given. Perhaps some of that will help neutralise the infection. It could, quite possibly kill her."

"Call yourself a medical droid?"

"My ethics subroutines were removed when I was employed in this establishment. There is no use searching for them now. I am not utilised to save lives unless it is expedient for my master for me to do so."

Stefft grunted. "Let's get her to sale and then she's someone else's problem."

If the droid could have sniffed he would have. "As you wish."

A tremor ran through Mara's body and the burly guard paused. "You'd better give her something else. We can't have her doing that in front of the clients."

"It's her funeral."

"Quite probable but just do it. As long as you keep her alive long enough to fetch a worthwhile price."

The droid returned to Mara's side and a long needle emerged from the claw like arm.  "Move the repulsor-bed closer," he ordered stiffly in his metallic voice. The needle slid into Mara's soft flesh already bruised from other such doses.

Stefft pulled a communicator from his tunic pocket. "One item, human female, ready to load," he barked out quickly. The repulsorlifts raised the stretcher from its resting place and it floated towards the loading bay. Two Weequay guards slotted in behind it, their rifles ready.

*************************************

Elrood

Feenus Adremetis stared at Han Solo, antagonism and resentment in every fibre of his Imperially trained body.

Han lifted his head from the datapad he was consulting. "What!"

"You always were a bastard."

Han laughed contemptuously. "Don't take your feelings of guilt and inadequacy out on me, Adremetis. I've done nothing to harm you except hopefully give you the conscience you were lacking." He turned away and began searching through a pile of second-hand capacitors.

"So what happened to the Wookiee? Did you desert him too?"

"His name is Chewbacca. You feel uncomfortable even saying it. He has a name and is probably brighter than you and I put together. Just because he's not human…" He jerked away, his shoulders rigid with the anger he was trying to contain. "Chewie is on Coruscant looking after my wife and children. I would never leave Leia without protection."

"Leia?" Feenus feigned ignorance.

"My wife. You know who she is and don't even think of denying it. Chewie decided that because er… Corran was with me on this trip, he would stay on Coruscant with my family. He includes them in his life debt too."

"How touching. Like a family pet."

Han slammed down the item he held in his hands and snarled almost in the other man's face. "Listen, bud! You're trying to get me to lose my temper and you're coming damn close to succeeding." He took a deep cleansing breath. "But my Jedi pal wouldn't like it. They are pacifists."

"He didn't look very peaceful to me half an hour ago."

"He has his moments," Han muttered. "I wouldn't ever let Chewie hear you refer to him as a family pet. Your arms would be disengaged from the rest of your body and probably your legs too. I would watch and enjoy it but I don't want to upset Altra too much. I remember her fondly. She is one classy lady despite having the misfortune to hook up with you. I'm pretty sure that you're aware of Leia's identity and occupation. My wife is a Senate politician and a high profile one at that. I have three children…" Han reigned in his spiralling anger. "Do you know how many times my family has been threatened? Of course you don't." Han focused his attention on finding the parts he needed for his ship then he and the kid could fly away. The sooner they found Mara Jade and got back to civilisation, the better.

"I would imagine quite frequently." Feenus spoke quietly. "Unless you're lying."

Han screwed his face up. This wasn't the guy he'd been friends with during his Imperial military career. Could he have been cloned? "Why would I lie about my family? My wife has been Chief of State of the New Republic. Not exactly the most secretive job in the world. As you yourself said. 'News even gets all the way out here.'"

"We heard snippets."

"Oh, don't give me that. The former Princess of Alderaan marries a smuggler?"

"It was mentioned."

"Thought so. Chewie and several Noghri warriors remain with my family to protect them."

"So where did you pick up 'mister impassive'?"

"You didn't call him that a couple of moments ago."

"He is difficult to read I'll admit."

"He's a Jedi… According to legend they are supposed to be aloof and inscrutable. Corran Horn is one of my brother-in-law's recruits. One of his Jedi friends has gone missing. He's looking for her."

"Your brother-in-law? That would be the Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker?"

Han frowned. He knew Feenus was well-informed but had he guessed Luke's real identity already? He hadn't gone for deep cover or a Force disguise. He'd just impulsively appropriated Corran Horn's name. "That's him."

"The stories about Luke Skywalker are quite astounding – if they are true."

"Stories?" Han chuckled. "There's always exaggeration. Things grow and change the more they are repeated. I know Luke better than anyone apart from Leia. I can believe that the stories are quite outlandish but most of them are true." Han's face sobered. "He was just an ordinary kid when I first met him. Not even out of his teens. The war hit him hard."

"So what is so special about Luke Skywalker?"

Han smirked as if he was trying to stifle his amusement at some private joke. "If you met him you would know how special he is. There are reasons but most of them are nearly impossible to explain. He just is. He can do things that just don't seem human or possible and then get himself into such a farkle. Not even a first year cadet would do the kinda stupid things Luke can do at times and believe me I mean stupid." His face turned serious. "But when he's around everything is brighter and more vivid. He kept me alive, Feenus. I don't expect you to understand why or how, but he did."

"So he's nothing like this Corran guy?" Feenus muttered disparagingly, nonetheless he was amazed at the truth he could hear ringing through Han's voice.

"Oh, they have similarities."

"He just seems a bit dull for you. As I remember you liked living on the edge."

Han laughed. "Dull… Corran? Nope, not at all. You've only been in his company for what? All of five minutes and remember appearances can be deceptive."

"Very philosophical, Solo. You've been living with the Jedi for too long. It's a wonder they can't see through you because I can."

Han held onto his still precarious temper. He could tell by the look in the other man's eyes that he was dying for Han to just take a swing at him. But he wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Luke and Leia would be proud of his restraint. "It's not going to change either. My wife is Jedi and my children will be Jedi. The Force runs strong in their family and now in mine. I'm getting used to it. They're only human… no, some of them aren't. Some of the Jedi are Mon Calamari, some are Twilek…"

"So you've been getting soft, living the high life," Feenus's voice turned scathing. "General."

Han stood and watched the still angry man. 'Mara Jade used the same tactics,' he realised with a burst of surprise. 'An angry opponent isn't one that's thinking too clearly and could let some vital piece of information slip – very clever. He knows my New Republic rank. So why does he want information from me – what information and who is he working for?'

"…gave up on order and rationality."

"Hardly," Han returned briskly. "Drop the act, Adremetis. I'm not buying it."

"Why are you here, Solo?"

"I told you, to search for the missing Jedi, although it's none of your damn business."

"I'm making it my business. Are you sure that's all there is to it?"

"You can't and yes, 'that's all there is to it'." Han narrowed hazel eyes and assessed the man he'd once called 'friend'. "Unless you're still with the Empire or with the Elroodian Security Force, you cannot make me do anything." He moved a little closer. "You're not still with the Empire, Adremetis?"

They stood, gazes locked on one another until Feenus lowered his head and broke eye contact. "No, I'm not. Not any more."

"Then you cannot make me do anything." Han turned away and started rifling through a sack of burnt out fuses, hoping that something might appear to work and fit the Falcon's systems. "I trained with you and I'm very familiar with standard Imperial methods, but remember," his voice softened menacingly as he turned his head and caught Feenus in the compelling grip of his gaze. "I fought for the Rebellion. Like you, I led men into battle. I've been to places where you wouldn't send the most combat hardened veteran. I've looked Darth Vader in the eye… er, in the helmet and lived to tell the tale. I rescued my ideals and believed in them once more. You didn't."

"Solo!"

"I was going downhill faster than a taun-taun on an ice cube. Leia and Luke saved me from crashing at the bottom. Don't give me 'high-life', Adremetis."

"Listen, Solo…"

"No, you listen!" he hissed. "When you and your pals boarded the Falcon all those years ago, I had to dump a cargo-hold of spice. You knew it, and I knew that you knew it. Jabba had a bounty slapped on my head quicker than Ewoks up a tree. I joined the Rebels just in time to see the first Death Star go up bigger than the Coruscant laser lights show. Jabba's bounty was increased by an Imperial one. You do the maths, Adremetis. I've been fighting just as long as you have and just as hard."

"You always were a good man to have at your back in a fight," the other man said grudgingly.

"Don't stint on the praise."

"Oh, I won't if it's deserved."

Han added a final heap of wiring to his pile of parts and walked to the dealer to pay. The dealer looked at Feenus standing behind him and added a generous discount. Han stiffened and then counted out the required amount of jewels. "Thanks," he muttered grudgingly.

They headed out of the warehouse and into the twisting side alleys that led off the main square. "Altra and I live not far from here."

"You do?"

"Yes."

For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence but Han had to ask. "Why are you here? Why did you leave the Empire? Your lofty ideals weren't shattered as brutally as mine were. Why drag Altra to the other end of the galaxy – she's pure Core? What about her family?"

"I am her family." The perpetually angry expression that Feenus had worn since he'd seen Han again, softened to something resembling a sort of hurt bewilderment. "I saw that you were right."

"What!" Han's eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. This was a difficult admission for a proud man like Feenus to make.

"It took a while. Part of me is still angry at you…"

"I would say more than a part," Han interrupted trying to come to grips with this disclosure.

"Part of me is still angry at you for giving me a social conscience. I would never have viewed the glorious Empire in that light otherwise. What you made me see I didn't like. I didn't want to know, dammit! I didn't need to know how flawed everything I believed in was or how cruel and I was part of that."

"And you can't forgive me for seeing it first, can you?"

"No." The word emerged starkly uncompromising. "I can't."

"Happens all the time," Han muttered.

"I told Altra it was all off. I even said I didn't love her any more but she didn't believe me. I had to tell her the truth in the end. I had to tell her that I was going on the run like the Rebels. She loved me enough to marry me and then come all the way out here to join me."

"She's strong," Han commented quietly. "If she hadn't loved you she wouldn't have given up everything like that."

"I saw the second Death Star destroy the planet Despayre. It was appropriately named. They used prisoners from a penal colony there to do most of the labouring. Most of them were slaves and hadn't done anything wrong. There was even a Wookiee colony there. I thought about you and Chewbacca." The last sentence emerged unwillingly. He'd often thought about his harsh treatment of Solo because of his decision to save the Wookiee. Now Feenus realised how much he regretted everything.

"And then?" Han prompted.

"And then, they blew the place to gravel. The whole planet."

"That's what they did to Alderaan just to demonstrate the firepower."

"Yeah! That was the first time I actually believed what had really happened."

"Dead men tell no tales," Han commented obliquely.

"These poor wretches never even had a chance."

"Typical Imperial procedure. Leave no witnesses to the atrocity. I've seen it many times but there are enough eyewitnesses around for Alderaan – my wife for one." Han pulled the collar up on his coat. "So you deserted."

"You guessed it. Right before everything blew up at Endor I got into a shuttle and selected a random point on the navacomp. Oh, I tried to tell myself it was the best thing. These were criminals, aliens, sub-sentient species but I couldn't fool myself any longer. So, yes, I deserted. Unfortunately it took me several weeks to find out that everything had changed. That the Emperor was dead, the fleet in total disarray and my life with it."

"You still had Altra."

"Thankfully. We met as planned on an out of the way planetary spaceport – I can't even remember where it was now - and she was able to tell me what had happened. Of course I then realised that there wouldn't be anyone left to come chasing after me. No one had any idea who was dead and who was alive. I was free and yet I wasn't."

"If you'd been at Endor you would probably have been killed. Very few Imperial ships present at the battle survived intact. I was there."

"Thought you might have been." The bitterness in his voice returned.

"There would have been a hell of a lot more deaths if that second planet killer had been unleashed."

"I know."

A chirruping sound rang close by. Han jerked around, his hand going automatically for his blaster.

Feenus delved into his pocket and brought out a small com device. Moving away from Han, he flipped it open. "Yes!"

"We have word that the comptroller is brokering a shipment."

"What," Feenus hissed. "Now?"

"Within the next few hours."

"This is not convenient."

"Who said this job was convenient?"

"I'm sorry but…"

"You still have 'guests?'"

"In a word, yes. And I don't like the way he's looking at me." Feenus could see Han glaring at him suspiciously.

"Who are your visitors?"

"One is an old friend from way back. The other…" Feenus took a deep breath. "The other is a Jedi."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, you could say that. He goes by the name of Han Solo."

There was a moment's silence on the other end of the comlink. "The Han Solo?"

"What other Han Solo is there?" Feenus whispered.

"Oh, he's with you."

"Yeah."

"Well, get rid of him and his Jedi friend or take him with you. He could be useful. We don't have much time."

"You're not kidding are you?"

"No, we'll probably need Altra too."

"Okay. We'll be there." Feenus sneaked a glance at Han over his shoulder and found his eyes narrowed and watchful. "Goodbye." He pocketed the comlink and tried to act casual but he could tell he wasn't fooling Solo. "You got everything?"

"I have." Han grinned maliciously and lazily tossed a thermal detonator in the air.