Chapter 22: Life Goes On
As Mara guided the Emerald Dawn into the hangar she had secured on Brentaal, she couldn't help but once again feel a pang of guilt. She knew that she had essentially stolen Luke's ship even if the Jedi probably wouldn't even miss it, but she wouldn't have been able to leave the fleet any other way. Somehow, Mara swore she would make it up to Luke even if she would never see him again. But first, she would need to take care of herself.
Mara soon shut down the transport and locked up both the ship and the hangar in spite of the relative security of the spaceport. Ship thieves weren't prevalent on Brentaal given its position near the Core. The planet was urban and prosperous due to the fact that it laid at the intersection of the Hydian Way and Perlemian Trade Route. The thriving shipping lanes it provided to the galactic capital allowed the system to collect the funds it needed to maintain tight security. Mara knew there wasn't harm in being too careful, however.
With the few credits she had, Mara acquired a pair of small blasters with matching wrist holsters. Even if she knew more ways than she could count to kill a man with her bare hands, Mara saw no reason to go unarmed. After strapping the weapons on, Mara started to make her way through the streets near the spaceport. If she wanted to avoid spending her nights in the Emerald Dawn and her days scrounging for food, Mara knew she would need to find work.
Luck proved to be on Mara's side when she quickly found a tapcafe with a sign looking for help hanging outside. It wasn't the best job, but Mara knew firsthand how well inebriated patrons tipped and it would get her going until something better came along. Making her way into the smoke filled establishment, Mara made a quick check of her surrounding and pulled up the hood of her cloak as she spotted an obvious Imperial intelligence agent sitting in the corner of the room. She didn't know if Ysarde was still after her following her departure from Naboo, but Mara saw no need to find out.
Mara finally let the hood of her cloak drop and made her way to the bar when the spy slipped out of the tapcafe with what she could only assume was his contact. She took a seat at the bar and the bartender soon found his way to her place. "What can I get you, young lady?"
Mara wanted to roll her eyes at the old man's comment, but instead forced her mouth into a tight smile. "I saw a sign out front that said you were looking for help. Is that still valid?"
The old man gave her a broad smile as he reached below the bar. Mara soon found an empty tray in front of her. Apparently, help was not easy to come by around here. "Give me a name and I'll give you a job."
Mara gave the old man a genuine smile this time as she extended one hand to accept the man's offer as she took the tray in her other. She wasn't about to let her real name get out, however, but the old man, didn't know any better. It was safer for him this way anyway. If he didn't know anything, no one could force the information out of him. "Chiara Lorn. And thank you."
"You're welcome, Chiara." Seconds later, Mara found her tray full as she went to serve a mixed species group in the back corner of the bar. Mara's day quickly passed as she filled orders while keeping a low profile from the various spies from both the Empire and the Republic that moved through the place like a revolving door. Mara began to question whether this was the best place to be working, but she found herself rather adept at picking up bits and pieces of information from both sides. She liked being in the know and as long as no one recognized her, she planned to keep it that way.
In the late evening hours, Mara sat down as the old man finally kicked out a rather rowdy pair of Duros to empty the tapcafe. Mara stretched out her back as the old man started to count the day's take. He soon counted out a pile of credits and pushed it in Mara's direction. "Here's your first day's pay. Something tells me you need it now. So, do you still want the job?"
Mara pocketed the stack of credits. It wasn't much but it would get her what she needed. Of course, it looked like she would still be stuck sleeping on the Emerald Dawn considering the late hour. Finding a more permanent place to stay would just have to wait until the next day. "Thank you. I'll be back tomorrow."
Mara turned to leave, but was stopped as the old man spoke up once more. "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"
"I can use the cabin on the ship I came in on."
The old man stepped out from behind the bar after locking up the day's earnings. "That won't do at all. Come. I own a few small apartments in the building next door and one happens to be free. Don't worry about the rent. I prefer to know my help will be in on time."
Mara took a few quick steps to catch up to the old man as he made his way out of the back door of the tapcafe. "You really don't have to do this. I can pay my own way."
The old man simply turned and smiled as he walked across the small alleyway between the tapcafe and the small apartment building. "I don't doubt that you can, but just humor an old man."
Mara shook her head, knowing that this was an argument that wasn't worth the effort. She followed the old man up a set of stairs and into the small apartment. It wasn't much, but she didn't need much. She had a bed, a fresher, a small food prep area and a holonet receiver. It would be plenty to get her on her feet until a better opportunity came along. Mara dropped her bag on the floor and gave the old man a smile. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet. I'll be seeing you at opening tomorrow."
Mara cocked an eyebrow at the man's statement. Opening time at a typical tapcafe wasn't very early. "And just when is that?"
The old man gave Mara a small wink as he opened the door to exit the apartment. "1200 hours. Sleep well, Chiara. Good night."
"Good night." When the door closed behind the old man, Mara snapped her wrists and placed her blasters on the small table by the bed. She knew that she should be tired since she hadn't slept in nearly three days, but sleep hadn't come easy to her recently. Thoughts of Luke and her late master had prevented her from falling asleep and dreams of both had prevented that sleep from giving her the rest she needed. Taking a deep breath in hopes of keeping her stressful emotions from coming out once more, Mara ran a hand through her hair. Feeling all the knots, Mara decided that a shower was just what she needed to relax.
A real water shower was a joy to Mara after the sonic showers she had endured during her past few weeks in space. Mara exited the fresher feeling more relaxed than she thought was possible. She turned on the holonet receiver, but managed to tune out the news report that was coming through as she drifted off to sleep. She was soon tossing in her bed under the glow of holographic images as a war raged on in her mind once more.