The Emerald Price Chapter 15

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 and of course for Mona – what would I do without you?

Manarai Medical Centre, Coruscant

Mara Jade lay pale and motionless in a darkened room in the Manarai Medical centre. An impressive array of medical equipment surrounded the still woman, lights flickering on and off as they monitored her every breath. The medical droid hovered around her bed, his repulsorlift jets silent as he scrutinised the readings gauging his patent's condition. Her eyelids fluttered slightly but her eyes did not open. Noting this, the droid took one last reading and hummed with satisfaction before whisking himself out of the room.

The private visitor's lounge in the Manarai Medical Centre, reserved for the most privileged of the New Republic's elite, was located on the three hundred and fiftieth level. It was a plushly appointed room. With deep carpets and brightly hued soft furnishings and facilities for making and serving refreshments, it catered to some of the most famous beings in the galaxy. A droid station and a desk sat in one corner with several doors leading to offices and a corridor where several patients' rooms were situated.

Talon Karrde wandered in and sat down. This was the fourth day that he'd visited and as yet there had been little improvement in Mara's condition. The doctor had merely said she was holding her own. That had to be good. What else could it be? Doctors! Talon snorted. They spoke a completely different language.

As if by magic one of the doors opened and an attractive human female, dressed in a crisp lemon uniform, entered and smilingly approached the smuggler chief.

"Your associate is much better today, Captain Karrde. The doctors are very pleased with her. You will be able to see her after the doctor has finished his round."

"Has she…?"

"Regained consciousness?" The woman's smile dimmed a little. "No, not yet. I'm sorry but her vital signs are much improved and she has regained much of the strength she had lost. We are expecting a change in the coming few days."

"'Coming few days,'" he repeated. "Then she's out of danger?"

"Oh, yes." The woman smiled brightly again, all gleaming white teeth, able to dispense good news once more and retreated to the door of her office.

Talon examined the tips of his comfortable, well-worn leather boots. It had been touch and go for quite a few days as Mara had struggled for her life. Not only had she been suffering from the Leptas virus, she had been injected with a lethal dosage of drugs, some of which were illegal in half the galaxy. Her body had been covered with cuts and bruises that only came with a severe beating. Karrde's fingers clenched – he'd felt so helpless. No one messed with his people. He would make sure that these savages paid for the treatment meted out to Mara Jade.

Talon lifted his head as he heard voices approaching. He slouched further into the comfortable chair ready to appear to be sleeping. That woman wasn't coming back was she? His face lit up in a relieved smile as Leia and Han walked in.

"Hey! I didn't know you were visiting Mara today," he remarked jovially.

"We're not. Well, we are… but we're not."

Leia looked at her husband and shook her head. "What nerfherder means…"

"Hey!"

"What my husband is trying to say is…" She paused. "I suppose you haven't noticed the lack of a certain brother of mine refusing to stray from Mara's bedside? We've been coming here every day too but at a slightly earlier time."

"Yeah, we're late because…"

"Han, Talon doesn't need to know what Anakin managed to do to the security droid."

Karrde frowned. "Now that you mention it, I hadn't noticed your brother's absence. I never even stopped to think about it. Where is Luke?" He realised that he'd been so worried about Mara that he hadn't noticed Skywalker's absence and in the light of the Jedi's feelings about his second-in-command, it was rather surprising. Did Solo and Skywalker's sister suspect how strongly the Jedi regarded Mara? He wasn't sure but neither of them were fools.

"He's in here," Han supplied, glumly waving his hand at the pastel shaded walls.

"What!"

"He's a patient here. I think he's in the next room to Jade. Would you believe that he caught the virus from her? He's been overdoing things – so what's new as far as Luke's concerned? When he went into the healing trance to keep Mara alive he caught the virus from her. He didn't have the strength to keep Mara alive and fight off the infection."

Karrde swore. "I did think he was looking tired but he refused to let my doctor examine him on Czerip."

"I don't think it would have made any difference," Leia commented ruefully as she sat down. "My brother has been in most medical centres in the known galaxy. It's given him a healthy dislike of the medical profession."

"All they've done is try to heal him."

"And they've succeeded but he doesn't quite see it that way. He still harbours an aversion to medical treatment. Or perhaps it's not the medical profession that he dislikes. It's the being ill and confined to quarters more than anything else that he hates. He's recovering fast and bitterly complaining but that's because he's on the mend. He wanted out yesterday but the 2-1B said no. I threatened to leave him with Threepio as a guard when he intimated that he would just leave despite the consequences. That shut him up pretty quickly."

"'Jedi Skywalker has caused himself much ill-usage,'" Han recited in an accurate portrayal of the sing-song voice of the chief medical droid at the centre. "'He will have to remain with us until we are certain that he is no longer damaging himself.'"

"I thought my brother was about to turn to the dark side there and then," Leia said with a grimace. "But tell me, how is Mara?"

"Holding her own. That's what the doctor and the nurse both told me. To be honest, there's been little visible change but she has gained strength. We had an anxious time when we first got her here. For the first few days I don't think anyone, including the doctors, expected her to make it. The woman I spoke to a moment ago seemed far more optimistic. They are expecting her to return to consciousness in a couple of days. At least that's what she had been told. I suppose I should believe her." He tugged at his goatee and turned to look at Han. "I want to thank you and Luke for what you did for Mara. I owe you…"

Leia shook her head. "Don't mention it. I know my brother and Han are just glad she's alive and recovering. As long as Mara will be…"

Han interrupted his wife. "I spoke to Luke last night and he was wondering… well, we were wondering. How much will Mara remember of her ordeal?"

"I was wondering about that too," said Karrde.

"Luke doesn't think that she'll be able to recall much at all but as I said, 'This is Mara Jade we're talking about.'"

"That's what I'm worried about," Karrde agreed, his fingers tugging at his beard.

Leia sat forward in her seat. "You told me she was unconscious when you picked her up. She's been in stasis or under sedation ever since."

Han looked at his wife. "Mara will remember her capture and probably the first few weeks of her incarceration but after that her memories will increasingly become more muddled, more confused."

"That's true," Karrde agreed. "You didn't think she was aware of you when you found her on Elrood?"

"No, she wasn't. Just reacting acting on adrenalin and instinct."

"Mara's a fighter. If they were feeding her the kind of things I was fed when the Empire captured me all those years ago, she may never remember it all. Parts of my memories are still so clear and the rest…" Leia's face grew troubled. "…a complete blur. I hope she never remembers her time in the slave pens. When I was one of Jabba's slaves it wasn't so bad. I knew that Luke was coming for me," she said simply. "I still had hope and that is a very powerful thing to have."

Han glanced again at his wife. "There's no need to ask her about her experiences. I don't want you to say anything to Mara and neither does Luke. We discussed it."

"But…"

Han lifted a hand to silence the smuggler. "We're serious. The less Mara is reminded of this ordeal, the better. If she remembers anything at all, we'll be there to help. Or rather, Luke will deal with it. He's the Jedi Master."

"We have to tell her something," Karrde protested.

"Let her ask the questions. There's no need to prompt her memories unnecessarily. She will have enough to face when she wakes up and so will you."

"Me?" Karrde wondered. "Why me? I wasn't the one kidnapped, drugged and beaten."

Leia nodded, her mouth forming a straight line. "You will have to deal with her anger, her vulnerability, the realisation that's she's human, can be exposed to danger, that she can make mistakes and be caught in situations that are not of her choosing. She's dealt with conflict like this before but every experience is different. There are always repercussions. I agree with Han and Luke on this."

Han sighed. "I get the feeling that Mara will be happier if fewer people know what happened to her. The Wild Karrde crew…"

"I didn't tell them very much. Aves, Dankin and one or two others know the truth. As far as most of them are concerned, she got mixed up in something out on the rim, caught an infection and we went to pick her up." He sighed heavily, suddenly weary. "I suppose you're right."

"She's been a little strange around Luke since she started her relationship with Lando," Leia said thoughtfully. "I thought I was imagining things at first and they'd had just another quarrel but I'm not. There's something going on between them that they're trying to avoid. Luke… he's…"

The door slid open and a repulsorchair floated in. "I told them I could walk but they made me take the chair," Luke complained but his face lit up as his sister stopped what she was saying and bent down to kiss his cheek.

"Hey, kid. You look better," Han greeted him with a huge grin. "What was the saying? Ready to pull the ears off as gundark?"

"I feel better but not ready for gundark ear-baiting," he muttered as he tugged at the black robe he was wearing, feeling a little self-conscious when he noted Karrde's presence. "Hello Talon."

"Luke. I didn't know that you'd contracted the Leptas virus." Talon winced inwardly. What a lame sentence. His usual flair for a well-turned phrase had apparently deserted him. "You should have let my doctor examine you…"

"What good would it have done?"

"He's an expert on the Leptas virus. He could have caught it earlier, slowed its progression and saved you the trip to the medicentre."

"I don't know if he would have. He might have slowed it down but I think it would just have delayed my visit here. The virus has a fairly long incubation period. I could feel it within me but it wasn't debilitating yet. It was a mild case after all. You know me - I just don't like a fuss and I ended up in here and caused one anyway." He gave a wry smile.

"You were lucky," Talon remarked lightly.

"I know. Mara's getting better, Talon," Luke told the older man earnestly. "That's the most important thing."

"So the nurse said but she's still not regained consciousness."

Luke lifted a shoulder dismissively. "I can feel her strength returning. It won't be long before she does." His gaze drifted around the lounge. "Has Lando arrived yet?"

Karrde shook his head. "I got a message saying he had concluded his business and would be on his way very soon."

"But… he's supposed to be…I don't understand," Luke exclaimed, his mouth tightening. "Why think of business when her life is at stake?"

Han sighed. He understood his old friend even if Luke didn't. "Kid… Business is life to Lando."

Karrde looked uncomfortable. "Luke… Lando and Mara…"

The door hissed open cutting off what Karrde was going to say and the 2-1B droid rolled in. "Captain Karrde. I will take you to see your associate now but you may only stay for a few minutes. She has made great improvement over the past two days. If the virus had progressed any further, we would not have been able to save her. It's a good thing you arrived when you did or she would have died."

"Thank you," Karrde murmured as he stood up.

"Follow the corridor until you get to room 6058C. Mistress Jade has been moved out of intensive care." The droid watched Karrde disappear and then turned its optical receptor on Luke. "Jedi Skywalker. I assessed your last set of results and the slides show that you are clear of the virus. You were lucky that it was only a mild dose."

Luke mouthed, 'Told you – mild dose,' to his sister and grinned.

"First thing tomorrow, your family can take you home."

"I can get out of here tomorrow?" Luke's thin face brightened and the old smile, the one which had imbued all with energy and happiness in the dark years of the fight against the Empire, suddenly appeared.

"Yes."

"What about today. Can't I go now?"

The medical droid paused. "First thing tomorrow after I calculate and corroborate the results of your final tests and sign your release. Good day, Jedi Skywalker, General Solo, Councillor Solo."

"Thank you, doctor," Leia said sincerely as the 2-1B disappeared in the same direction as Karrde.

Luke let out a cheer and Leia beamed. "Luckily I brought you in a set of clothes. I can't take you home wearing just your robe, after all, can I?"

"You brought me in escape gear?"

"I did." She handed over a small carryall and Luke propelled himself out of the door at top speed. "I'll just put these in my room."

"You do that." Leia smiled happily at Han. "I brought the clothes in for him but I never expected he'd get out so soon."

Han gave a little whistle as he watched the Jedi exit. "I didn't think hover chairs were supposed to double as pod racers."

"He has to do everything at top speed. Thankfully this time it included his recovery."

Han's brow furrowed a little. "Luckily he's too thick headed to get more than a mild case of the virus. Mara, on the other hand, nearly died."

Leia gave a little gasp. "It was really that serious? I thought you and the doctor were over-exaggerating."

Han shook his head. "You should know by now, sweetheart, that I never, ever exaggerate."

Leia wrinkled her straight little nose at him. "Of course not. Just the plain unvarnished truth from you."

"She was obviously sick when we picked her up. Looking at her, I wouldn't have offered good odds on the chances of her survival. Altra said there had been reports of the virus on several worlds out there. Did you think Luke and I were joking about what these people are doing? The governments are ignoring what's going on. Leia… the New Republic needs to start thinking beyond the Core Regions."

"That's unfair."

Han sighed. "I don't think so."

"But Karrde thinks Mara's turned the corner now. She will get better?"

He nodded. "Luke got her out in time and used his strength to make sure she made it all the way back to Coruscant. We can go in and see her if you like?"

"I think I'll wait until she's aware that we're there for her."

"I hope she knows that already."

"Han, she has saved our family many times and my brother…"

"Yes?"

"Luke is very fond of her."

"Fond? Is that all?"

Her shoulders slumped. "I can't say this is what I want for him but he's more than fond of her, isn't he? And she's in love with Lando…?"

"I don't think she is. I can't imagine Lando being in love with anyone but himself. That may sound harsh but I've known him a long time. He's a good friend but he thinks of number one first and Mara... Lando is too self-centred for her and she's way too intense for him."

"Luke thinks he has to serve the galaxy, be the prefect Jedi Knight and that love isn't for him. He feels strongly for Mara but I wouldn't go as far as to say that he's in love with her… But it's close."

"Wouldn't you?" Han's voice was serious. "You didn't see his face when he saw what those monsters had done to her." He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "He won't do anything about it, so it doesn't matter who she's involved with."

"I wish I could argue with you on that last point but I can't. You're right. He won't."

Han sighed deeply. "He would give his life for her or any of his friends but won't let himself fall enough in love with her or with anyone else to have a committed relationship."

"Unless he can't help himself. Sometimes your heart is stronger than your will. There's always a possibility it will happen and he can't do anything about it."

"Maybe, but he's committed himself to the Jedi Order," Han murmured.

"It's his life's task but he shouldn't have to do it alone. Mara would be good for him."

"She would." Han paused and tapped at the little scar on his chin. "One strange thing, Leia. I still don't know how he got her out."

"But you were there."

"I know. Luke said 'see that she's ready for immediate transport,' and she was handed to me – dumped into my arms. Luke announced that he'd take care of the transaction personally. I knew I had to get her out of that place as quickly as I could, so I loaded her onto the first transport car and got out as quickly as possible. I was just worried that he'd try to use another of those shiny fake jewels from Jaina's dressing-up set. I just had to hope he knew what he was doing. The nearer I was to the Falcon, the better chance we all had of escaping intact. I knew that Luke could always use his lightsaber and those fancy Jedi Master moves to get himself out of trouble if he had to. As the prince, he couldn't be seen to do anything menial like carrying Mara. That had to be my job. She was unconscious – there would be no help from her. So I left him to it. He was only a couple of minutes behind me."

"He'll have used the Force. That would have convinced the slavers that the jewels were real."

"I don't think so. Imperial Generals do not have weak minds nor do slave lords. Luke couldn't hoodwink Jabba, remember."

"Yes, but Luke is incredibly powerful. More powerful than he was back then."

"Yes, he is and 'incredibly' reluctant to use that power. Their minds are immoral and depraved but not weak. If there had been any doubt, we would not have left Elrood alive. Of that I'm certain."

"Ask him." Leia smiled happily at her husband. Luke was well again and would be staying with her until he got the final all-clear to return to Yavin. For Leia, her family was together and that meant her life was good. She headed out the door after her brother leaving Han in the lounge.

Han pulled Luke's lightsaber from the depths of a capacious coat pocket, the expression on his face thoughtful. "I intend to," he murmured softly.

Luke had been ill, not unconscious and not once had he asked for his lightsaber. Han had found it lying forgotten under a pile of blankets in the crew quarters.

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Coruscant was a world that never shut down, never slept. Billions of beings went on with their lives no matter what the chrono stated the time was. Luke Skywalker lay in his hospital room, his eyes glittering in the dark and wondered why he couldn't sleep. He was getting out in... He stared at the illuminated chrono as if he was willing the time to pass– eight hours.

A faint smile crossed his face. Leia was overjoyed to have him coming home. He reached out and lightly brushed her sense with warmth. She was sleeping. She'd been worried about him and Han all the time they'd been away. At least now she had some peace of mind. His own mind went over the strange conversation he'd had with his friend earlier. Han had been lolling in one of the comfortable sofas in the visitor's lounge, a mug of caf clutched in his hand, while Leia had gone to secure Luke's release.

"What's eating you, Han?" Luke knew that something was gnawing at the Corellian's clever brain. He'd seen Han like this so many times - apparently relaxed but underneath his mind was working double time.

"You missing something, kid?"

Luke had shaken his head. "Don't think so." He'd stared at both of his hands and tried a light hearted quip. "Unless I lost another one of these and didn't realise it?"

"Nope." Han chewed on his lip. "That's not what you've lost."

Luke had settled deeper into his repulsorlift chair. "Can't think of anything then."

Han lazily waved his hands in the air outlining a familiar shape. "Oh, it's about so long, cylindrical in shape, has a buzzing green blade that shoots out of the end of it"

"My lightsaber!"

"A Jedi's weapon," Han agreed sardonically as he handed it to him. Luke suddenly appeared to Han to be somewhat discomfited.

"I must have left it in the Falcon. I hadn't lost it. If I'd wanted it I would have eventually figured out where it was," Luke muttered defensively. He drew in his bottom lip, nibbling on it thoughtfully. "I threw it on a pile of old blankets in the crew quarters."

"That's where I found it. You don't normally just leave it lying around. That's a little careless of you, Junior. Suppose one of the kids had picked it up?"

"They know what a lightsaber does, Han. They would know that it's mine." He ran his fingers lightly over the silver casing and laid it on his knees. "It's good to have it back."

Han grinned but his mind was still ticking over. "So what did you pay to spring Jade?"

"What?"

"I wondered what you paid to get Mara away from the slavers. I assume she wasn't a free gift. You know - buy one hundred slaves and get one beautiful girl free."

"You gave me some jewels. I used them." Luke stared hard at his saber.

"I didn't give you enough."

"I used them and the Force."

"Oh." It seemed plausible but Han had the feeling Luke wasn't telling him everything. The answer had been a little too glib. Force or no Force, his brother-in-law still couldn't get past him all the time.

"I couldn't very well use Jaina's jewel, could I? According to you, she wouldn't have spoken to me for weeks." Luke shuffled around on his seat to get the most comfortable position.

Han chuckled. "And it was very fake."

"That too." Luke grinned. "Thanks for returning my saber to me. I would have been looking for it now that I'm escaping."

"Good to know. Leia has instructed the doc-droid to give you every shot you've missed for everything right down to Rygellian flu and Artoo has been instructed to see that you keep up-to-date with your shots. I think Leia was even planning to have Artoo be able to give them to you in case of any more memory lapses."

"Great," Luke muttered sarcastically. "Artoo thinking he's a medical droid. That's all I need. I'll turn round and wham… needle inserted without warning."

Han grinned. "Interesting image."

"He'd enjoy it. He has an evil streak for an astromech droid. A reminder will suffice."

"Luke… I told Karrde not to say anything to Mara about where we found her."

Luke sighed. "Yeah, as far as she will be aware – Karrde found her and brought her back. She didn't recognise me at all on Elrood. I don't know if she would be happy at us seeing her like that – so vulnerable. As long as she's recovering that's all that matters. I never thanked you properly, Han, for coming with me. It would have been much harder to get her out on my own."

"But you would have done it, wouldn't you, kid."

"I would have got her out." Luke was definite. "Still - it was much easier with you knowing half the guerrilla fighting population of Elrood."

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Mara had been in the room next to his for four days. He hadn't been allowed to see her because he'd been so ill and she still hadn't regained consciousness, her condition being far worse than his. Lando Calrissian, the man who was, according to everyone in the galaxy, in love with Mara Jade and she with him, hadn't bothered to even be there for her. At least she was unconscious so she would never know that Lando hadn't cared enough to put her needs first. Luke wondered if he'd ever be able to face the man again without resorting to violence.

Tomorrow he'd be free from the medical centre but would he really be free from the spell cast by Mara Jade? In his head he could hear Altra Adremetis's voice saying, 'She's your lover,' and his own confusion as he'd answered her, 'No, she's not. She's just a friend. She has a lover.'

The realisation was just as painful lying here in the medical centre as it would have been if he'd woken up earlier - years earlier. Luke was in love with Mara Jade and now he knew it. Altra Adremetis had seen it in five minutes. Force knew who else had recognised Luke's regard for the beautiful, fiery woman for what it really was.

Love.

Luke pulled back his covers and stepped from his bed, his feet landing silently on the cold tile floor. He had to see her. She was recovering but he had to see her, to touch her, hear her breath as it escaped her body. He pulled on his robe and with a quiet command to the Force his door slid aside without a sound.

She seemed so small and vulnerable lying there, her lashes resting against her soft cheeks. Luke sank into the chair by her bed and fumbled for her hand resting against the coverlet. He sat for an hour just gazing at her, holding her hand and wishing that she'd open her beautiful green eyes without glaring at him.

She hadn't done that for a long time, he thought, but she didn't love him – how could she? There was no place for love in his life. What did he have to offer her? The life of a Jedi wasn't luxurious or easy. Still, Mara was the one woman he wouldn't mind asking to share his life and all that it entailed. Mara knew what his life was – she'd been brought up without warmth or love and yet managed to emerge strong. She would be able to share with him equally.

But she was with another man and Luke Skywalker had to let that continue. That was Mara's choice. Lando could offer her the luxury she'd had at her fingertips as part of the Imperial court. Lando could offer her stability even if he didn't care enough to see that she didn't die. He pushed that thought away, not wanting to allow his slowly simmering anger to overcome him.

Luke would make sure that she never knew how he really felt about her. It wouldn't be fair even though part of him knew that Mara craved the action and the adventures just as he did. Yoda would have had words to say to Mara too if he'd known her.

She wasn't an easy girl to love – she let very few people close enough - but Luke couldn't help himself any more. He had told himself not to fall in love. He had tried to convince himself that he wasn't in love and he'd nearly succeeded. Nearly – that was the rub. The hard part would be attempting to go on without her. Tomorrow when he got out of here he would make sure that Lando Calrissian was by her side if he had to tie him up and drag him here. Then he would slip quietly away lest he revealed his feelings.

His fingers traced his lips; he'd felt her respond to him in the cell on Elrooden. Her mouth had softened and parted under his. Unable to resist any longer, Luke leant over and fitted his mouth over Mara's kissing her softly. She felt like his, her lips softening under his. Yes, she felt as if she belonged with him but she couldn't. That could not be their destiny. He straightened up, sighed and left the room.

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Mara felt as if she was reaching for something through a very thick cloud formation. Something brushed her senses lightly and she stretched towards it but it moved further away. She had the impression of a breath of sweet, life giving air across her lips as if someone had kissed her. The soft click of a door closing had her opening her eyes. With some difficulty she focussed her blurry gaze on her surroundings. She was alone in a room enclosed by a bank of medical equipment.

But she hadn't felt as if she was alone.

The door slid open and a droid moved in beside her.

"Mistress Jade, so good to see you awake at last."

"A… awake?" Mara managed, her voice emerging so soft as to be almost indistinct.

"You've been very unwell."

"I have…?" her voice tailed off. She felt so tired.

"Good." The droid almost sounded as if he was smiling. "Natural sleep – the best medicine of all."

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Lando Calrissian bustled into the Manarai Medical Centre without a care in the world, his new crimson cape billowing behind him, and why not? He was the new owner of the highly lucrative Klaz Kasino chain. He wasn't quite sure why Karrde had requested that he meet him here but assumed it was something to do with Mara.

He suspected that Mara had got herself into a little scrape on her trip to search out Jorges Car'das, Luke had got her out and Karrde was having her checked over just in case. If that was all, he would offer to take Mara for a night out on Coruscant. He was welcomed at all the best places in the entertainment district. If she'd been stuck on a ship with nothing but Luke for two weeks, she'd be desperate for some fun.

Luke was a great guy but when it came to Mara, he had only her Jedi training on his mind. She'd often complained about it. Still, it was good of Luke to go and help her out.

Yes, he would take Mara out to one of the most exclusive restaurants and perhaps after nearly two months apart she would have warmed to him.

He moved to reception and smiled at the pretty human receptionist, turning on his charm. "Hi, I'm Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian. I'm here to see Mara Jade."

The receptionist smiled politely and tapped some commands into her computer. Did you say that you were Baron Calrissian?"

Lando gave the woman his most winning smile. "I did." He'd found that throwing in his title impressed women generally.

"Have you identification?"

"I do," He handed over his ID and smiled again, his teeth glinting pearly white against his dark skin. He knew he had good teeth.

"Your name is not on the list of approved visitors."

Lando's smile slipped a little. "What! Surely it must be. I am a very close friend of Mistress Jade's. Surely you must have seen the latest holo articles? We have been very close for some time now."

"You are not on the list." The receptionist was uncompromising. She was the first line of security and for once Lando's charm was not working.

"But Captain Karrde asked me to meet him here. I demand…"

"No, he did not. Thank you Meli, I'll take it from here." A lone figure detached itself from the shadows behind the reception desk and strolled towards Lando, veering off at the last moment and seating himself in a dark red leather chair.

"Of course, Master Skywalker."

"I asked you to meet Karrde here. You are in no position to demand anything."

Lando turned and met the ice-cold gaze of the Jedi Master. "Luke, buddy. How ya doing?" The smile flashed again as he raised his arms to greet the blond man in black until he realised that Luke wasn't smiling and had made no move to greet him. In fact, if Luke had been armed, Lando had the feeling that the saber would have been pointing straight at him. His smile faded away.