The Emerald Price Chapter 9

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.

The Merry Pirate, Elrood Spaceport

Altra stared around at the dingy interior of the small bar. Shadowy figures lurked at tables in dark, half-lit corners, the patrons preferring to hide in the gloom rather than come forth and be seen. In any case, she didn't think the sun could penetrate the decades of grime encrusted on the windows. The bar didn't quite match its name. She wasn't sure if it ever had. They'd used it many times for their meetings. The Merry Pirate was a good place to find out who was in port – those that perhaps didn't want to advertise their whereabouts too openly. The more respectable beings visited establishments with better lighting. They had less to hide.

The owner, she risked giving Mal'orch a slight nod, was one of their select group. He was the one who had alerted Beridor and Feenus to the news that the slaving syndicates were planning an important gathering. He tended bar and listened. He'd picked up many useful snippets of information that way.

The bar had once been owned by a notorious pirate and slaver until his rather unfortunate demise some ten years previously. When Jital had passed on, Beridor had gained his freedom. Jital had been a pirate, yes, but had been cruel and venal – certainly never merry. Beridor had gained his freedom when Feenus had killed Jital. She slipped her hand into that of her husband, giving it a comforting squeeze. Altra wasn't sure if the comfort was for herself or for him.

"Can you see Beridor?" Feenus whispered.

"Not yet," she answered.

"I think he's probably in the back room. Mal'orch usually lets him use it to get things prepared."

"I know that."

"Yeah, yeah," Feenus said dismissively. "I know you know that. He lets Beridor use it especially if there's a syndicate meeting."

"I know. To work on what we're going to do. We can't use our own com centre too often. We'll be traced but Mal'orch was trying to fix his one yesterday. It had developed a glitch."

"Not again."

"I think Beridor was trying to get it back up to full working mode. That's why he'll be through the back."

"Well, I need him here… now."

Altra gave the taciturn bar owner another swift glance. "What does Luke want us to do?"

"Drop hints that Prince Aesophas of Mittenden IV has come incognito to the planet to investigate the syndicates."

"Has he now?" Altra marvelled.

Feenus couldn't see her face as it was hidden under a voluminous hooded cloak but he could hear the smile in her voice. "He has."

"This Prince – he's a big, important type - with plenty of jewels to spread around?" Her husky voice was mocking.

"What do you think, wife?" Feenus pulled a data pad from his pocket and slid a card into the slot. "Apparently the Prince has recently inherited some rather lucrative Tellen mines from his uncle." He had rapidly scanned the information Luke and Han had given him.

"And he happens to require cheap labour to work those mines," she continued for him wryly.

"You guessed it. According to the data Luke's friend sent to him, the prince is rather reclusive but has been known to disguise himself and walk among us lesser beings."

"He's not actually here, then?"

"Nope. It could make things a little awkward if he was. Imagine two princes of Mittenden IV wandering around Elrooden Spaceport. According to the data he is at present preparing himself to marry an extremely wealthy duchess from his neighbouring planet – Mittenden V. Luke has good sources because this is top-secret…"

"Top secret!" Altra interrupted. "So how did you know?"

"I didn't but I got in touch with a couple of guys on Mittenden V who owe me bigtime – just to confirm for myself. They have sources who are in the know and backed up the story. Plus, I don't think Skywalker would wander into a situation without checking the facts. He's pretty well-connected and must have excellent sources of his own being the Jedi Master."

"You would suppose so," Altra answered thoughtfully.

"The marriage will take place before some of the other worlds have time to protest."

"And they will protest?" Altra asked.

"Apparently. Mittenden III has several noble families with suitable daughters. I am now quite an expert on the matches of the ruling classes in this area."

"Just from reading that pad? Fascinating. Your skills are boundless." Altra gingerly sipped from a glass of cloudy looking lum. "Political dynastic intrigues will never go away. I used to see it happen all the time on Coruscant and that was when Palpatine's grip on power was almost absolute."

"Obviously the grip of the Emperor slipped," Feenus quipped darkly. "Even out here, there are still alliances and mergers to be made."

She never failed to marvel at her husband's ability to read a datapad so quickly and take in the information almost immediately. He'd been a brilliant Imperial officer and had seemed destined for an impressive career. But he had given it all up for his principles and despite all the hardships; Altra didn't regret a single thing. She was glad that he had done so.

"The noble families protect themselves in the time-honoured way."

"Yeah! I wonder how Solo managed to get by all of that. His wife was the last Princess of Alderaan and a leader in the New Republic government. They were allowed to marry so easily!"

"I suppose with her family all being killed on Alderaan, apart from her brother, she was a free agent. Plus, I think she'd been sleeping with Han for a good few years and therefore had made her choice."

"Trust Solo!"  Feenus' voice was still bitter.

"What's wrong now? I thought you'd talked things over with Han?" Altra questioned carefully. "I was hoping you'd come to some sort of agreement."

"We did - up to a point - but nearly twenty years of ill-feeling doesn't vanish immediately. I don't know if I can ever truly be friends with him again. I trust him and yet I don't."

"You've been angry with him for a very long time. It's difficult to change that feeling overnight. At least the pair of you are attempting to be civil to one another now. It's progress."

"We were that bad, huh?"

"Worse."

"You know what I'm like."

"I know what you're like. You're both as bad as each other."

Feenus scanned around the room. "Come on, Beridor," he muttered. "You're late."

A tall thin man dressed in a cloak like Altra's came from directly behind Feenus and slid into the seat opposite the Adremetis'. "I know I'm late." He pushed his hood back; a thin, almost skeletal face peered at them through large black eyes. Beridor was only part human but didn't know what his other part was as he'd been raised in the orphanage on a poor drifter colony – he had no memory of his parents. The orphanage had done their best and he'd been happy there until the slavers had moved in. Most of his peers were dead or working in horrible conditions. Beridor wouldn't rest until he had rescued as many as he could – until slavery had been halted forever and he knew that would never happen.

"You are very late. We've been here for twenty minutes," Feenus grumbled.

Altra shook her head as she checked her chrono. "Fifteen."

"Long enough."

Beridor's gaze darted around the room, not betraying by the flicker of an eyelash he knew Mal'orch or one or two other of their people stationed at strategic entrances. "Where are Han Solo and the Jedi?"

"Fixing Solo's ship," Feenus grunted. "Pirates shot it up."

"The Jedi has a plan," Altra said, unwilling to name the Jedi Master yet.

"Jedi in this part of the galaxy again. It sounds good to say it." Beridor grinned, showing uneven yellow teeth.

"I'm not so sure…"

"You're just letting your Imperial training cloud your mind. It is a good thing." Beridor's voice was positive.

Feenus handed over the data pad and the humanoid scanned its contents before handing back the pad. He ran his fingers through wispy black tufts of hair and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I can see this working. It would certainly give us more information. We need as much as we can. No point losing more people."

"No," Altra choked out. The last raid had been a disaster. They'd been outmanoeuvred and outmanned. The result was that two of their best personnel had died. They had been more than colleagues – they'd been friends.

Beridor's dark eyes were stricken. "You're right. We owe it to Jiss and Focx not to mess up again."

There was a brief moment of silence as they remembered their fallen comrades. Beridor was the first to break the stillness. "Solo and his Jedi companion are looking for a woman friend?"

Altra nodded and held out a copy of the holo Luke had shown her. "She's one of the Jedi."

Beridor's eyes widened and he whistled softly. "If I'd know they had Jedi that looked like that, I would have joined the order myself. What a stunner!"

"She's called Mara Jade." Altra could still see Luke's face as he'd gripped the frame of the holo with something approaching near desperation. "Han's Jedi friend is sure she's been taken by slavers."

"She is very beautiful," Feenus admitted. He reached out and squeezed Altra's hand. "Almost as beautiful as my wife."

Altra nearly fell off her chair. She knew he loved her but he rarely showed her such affection publicly. She gave him one of her warmest smiles, tears not far from her grey eyes. But now was not the time to get overly sentimental.

Beridor stared at the holo. "When did she go missing?"

"Solo's not sure, but thinks about a month ago."

Beridor's voice was dispassionate. "Then we're probably too late, although there hasn't been much movement during the last lunar cycle."

Feenus nodded. "They must be waiting for this meeting."

"I can only assume that's the case. Or…" Beridor's piercing black eyes narrowed slightly.

"Or what?"

"I have heard reports of the Leptas virus being on the go on Aaris III, Kidron and Derilyn…"

"As if Derilyn hasn't suffered enough…"

"It can be cured if caught in time. If we've heard that it's spreading, then it hasn't been caught. The weak are always the most at risk - the elderly and the young."

"We should all be up to date with our inoculations," Altra pulled out a pad and began scrolling down through the information. "Yes, we're all covered."

"Have we spare tracking devices?"

Feenus patted one of the bulging pockets of his coat. "I picked up some at the warehouse when I was there with Solo."

"Good." Beridor nodded. "And now, I guess we wait for your friend to show himself."

"He's not my…"

Altra levelled her steady grey gaze on that of her husband. "He is your friend. Enough nonsense. I know how you feel but you have to put that aside and trust him."

"I told you, I do trust him – sort of." Feenus sighed wearily but his wife was right and he knew it. He lowered his voice. "Okay - Skywalker's plan…"

"Skywalker!" Beridor's face showed his surprise as he interrupted Feenus. "We get the Jedi Master himself? You never told me it was Skywalker."

"Ssh! We do," Feenus growled. "It's one of his Jedi after all, so he comes to find her. He's a Jedi, not a superbeing…"

"I thought the Jedi were superbeings," Beridor interrupted.

"He seems fairly normal… I think," Altra murmured. "He looks normal."

Feenus huffed and leant forward across the table. "Okay, he's as normal as a Jedi can get. Now, about his plan." He leant forward placing his elbows on the table. "Does the name 'Prince Aesophas of Mittenden IV' activate any high frequency beeps?"

"I've heard of him."

"You've heard of him?" Altra exclaimed. "Feenus hadn't heard of him."

"Enough to be very glad that I wasn't employed by his family."

"He may not be like his family," Altra protested, always ready to look for the good in others.

Beridor snorted in disgust. "From what I've heard – he's worse."

"Oh! His family – not nice then?"

"No, not what I would term 'nice'," Beridor mocked.

"I didn't know," she retorted indignantly and pushed back her hood a little staring at some information on her datapad. "Normally the Mittendens don't deal in this sector," Altra commented with surprise, reading the data Karrde had sent to Luke.

Beridor nodded. "I had heard that they liked to deal nearer home."

Feenus shrugged lightly. "Skywalker's information states that Aesophas has inherited some mines from an uncle and needs fresh workers."

"And has he?" Beridor wondered aloud.

"Apparently, yes."

"Good. First rule of pulling off a con operation. Keep as near to the truth as possible."

"We have to wait until Solo enters and then get near to Prebs or Solpar and start muttering on about him being Prince Aesophas's man."

"One of them should pick up on it."

Altra tucked the datapad securely into a pocket in her tunic. "Mal'orch pointed out a couple of Raitt's guys."

"Where?"

"Table nearest the bar," Feenus said.

Beridor picked up his own glass of cloudy lum, giving the room a casual scan. "Looks like Vreet and Carn."

Feenus pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Ah! That's who they are. I wondered. I thought they looked familiar. I don't see Stefft."

"Hasn't been in here for a while," Altra commented.

"No, he hasn't." Feenus peered over Altra's shoulder and a familiar face caught his eye. "Prebs is nursing some impressive bruising to his jaw."

"Prebs?" Beridor echoed.

"You know him, Tharakan's operative. Weedy little guy in that horrible beige tunic - looks as if it hasn't seen cleaning solution in a long time. Stefft is higher up in the ranks but he doesn't talk as much."

"Of course, I know Prebs." He gave a silent whistle as he caught sight of the man's badly swollen face. "I just didn't recognise him under all that bruising. Do you think one of his captives got a little friendly?"

"More likely he just got into a fight."

"I could talk to Prebs," Beridor muttered. "He will tell me what's going on for the price of a few jewels. He thinks I want to get into the business," he gave a derisory laugh. "If he only knew. I've been in the business - as a commodity."

"Han should be arriving shortly," Altra said.

Beridor grinned. "I'm looking forward to meeting him."

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

The Millennium Falcon

Luke picked at the lock on the storage cabinet. Han had locked it and then forgotten the combination. "Oh, to hell with it," he muttered and waved his hand. The cupboard sprang open, the door gaping wide. Mara would have words with him about using the Force in such a trivial fashion. He told his students the exact same thing. But he didn't have time to waste picking the lock. What would the galaxy say if they knew that the oh, so respectable Jedi Master could pick locks? There was a lot the galaxy didn't know about Luke Skywalker. In fact, Luke was beginning to wonder if he knew himself as well as he thought he did.

The smile on his face faded. "We're coming, Mara," he whispered, sending it out through the Force but, if she heard it, she gave no reply. "Just hold on, Mara - please hold on."

"Luke!" Han's voice echoed through the ship.

"Yeah," he answered, raising his own voice enough to be heard.

"Did you get into the locker?"

"Of course, I did. Although, it would have been easier if you hadn't forgotten the combination. Old age, I guess."

"Watch your mouth, kid."

"You needing some help?"

Han appeared in the door to the crew quarters a hydrospanner clutched in his oil-stained hand. "Nah! Nearly finished."

Luke blinked. "That was quick. I thought it might take the rest of the day to refit. You told Karrde the Falcon was down for at least another day."

"Good quality parts – easy to replace and you saved us from being totally wrecked."

"I helped," Luke said firmly. "You did some mean flying out there, Han."

"Did what I had to do." Han watched carefully as Luke began applying a white creamy looking lotion to his face. "What's that for?"

"It should make my skin paler – almost white. I have to try and resemble the prince."

Han pulled a face. "Glad you're only pretending to be him and that I don't have to meet him. Never trusted those pasty types. You've not got a lot of colour at the moment, kid, and you're making yourself even paler. Not enough time in the sun in my opinion but the colour you're puttin' on..." He shuddered.

"I'm never going to be as tanned as I was on Tatooine."

"Maybe not. We're not exactly anonymous are we?"

"Here." Luke handed Han another bottle but this one was darker in colour. "This will darken your skin and, no, we're not anonymous but we will be, or rather, you will be."

"Great." Han eyed the sludge like fluid in the bottle with disgust. "I hate puttin on this stuff. I don't know how Leia can stand it every time she goes to a fancy do."

"She's female," her brother retorted.

Han grinned. "She's that all right. Fake beard?"

"In that box." Luke slid the box along the floor. He grabbed fixative and a rather impressive blond moustache and beard.

"What does this Aesophas guy look like?" Han asked attaching a wispy black goatee to his chin. "Wouldn't a Force disguise have been easier?"

"Maybe, but I can't do two of us for any length of time and I get the feeling that I'll need all my concentration… I would try another beard, Han. You still look too much like yourself."

Han glanced into the reflector. "Yeah, so I do." He pulled off the wispy piece of facial hair and rummaged in the bag for something more concealing.

Luke scrabbled on his bunk for a data pad and thumbed it on, passing to Han. "Aesophas looks like this."

"By the misshapen moon of Kessel, that's some resemblance… or it will be. Not bad at all, kid. I'm impressed."

"I hope its enough."

Han nodded and set to work altering his own appearance. He pulled on a dark wig, the hair longer than he had ever worn his, and with the new beard totally hiding the shape of his face, he looked quite unlike himself. He pulled on the dark grey coat Luke had laid out for him and turned to see if the Jedi Master had finished with his own disguise. Han's mouth dropped open. "Well, I'll be…"

It wasn't Luke who stood before him. It was Prince Aesophas of Mittenden IV or as near as damn it, wrapped in swathes of scarlet and gold Hapan silk. Somehow he'd wound it around his body and fashioned some of the cloth into a coiled turban, a glittering green jewel fixing it in place just above the centre of his pale forehead.

"Your Royalness!" Han bowed, his hand sketching circles in the air.

"Good job you had a lot of this material, Han," Luke's voice sounded incongruous emerging from the appearance of a stranger.

"It's kinda obvious, kid."

"I need to be obvious. You need to be discreet as my former tutor and adviser who I usually ignore."

"I like that. I thought you hung on my every syllable."

"You really need to see someone about these delusions you keep having, Han, or should I say Bohb Barattas."

Han did a double take. "I beg your soon-to-be-royal pardon?"

"Bohb Barattas." Luke waited, stifling his grin.

"Couldn't you have found a better name than that, Kid?" He scowled and muttered the name under his breath.

"That's what his tutor-stroke-adviser is called."

"So he's real?"

"Oh, yes." Luke handed over a datapad and watched as Han read the few lines about his alias.

Han returned the pad to his brother-in-law and then affixed his gaze to the shining jewel on Luke's turban. "Is that rock real?"

"This?" Luke touched the glittering bauble and chuckled. "No, It's as fake as we're going to be. I found this in the cargo bay. It came from a dressing up toy crown belonging to your daughter."

"That's from Jaina's princess set?"

"Yup."

"You'd better not lose that. It's worth far more than a real one. She won't be very pleased with you if it's not back in her crown by the time we get home.

"Okay, it will be, I promise. Jaina can be quite fierce when angry. She's especially like her mother at those times." Luke picked up his lightsaber and stared at it.

"What's wrong, Luke?"

"It's my saber. I'd better carry it concealed." He lifted up the material covering his chest and attached his saber inside the silk. "You head to the Merry Pirate. Feenus and Altra's friends are going to become my security force when I emerge in about half an hour.

"Right." Han began loading his pockets with ammunition, spare blaster packs and the thermal detonators and smoke bombs he'd purchased at the warehouse. Into his thigh holster went his favourite blaster. "Yup, I'm ready."

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

The Merry Pirate

The door slid open with a pained groan and the figure of a man lurched inside. Feenus sat up. The click on his com told him it was Solo but he would have known that lurching walk from their days back at the Imperial Academy. They'd spent many an evening breaking curfew and sampling the delights of the nearest hostelries.

"That's him," he hissed.