Chapter 29: The Emperor's Hand
Mara led Han and Leia through the side streets and back alleys of Coruscant toward their destination. None of them had said a word the entire trip, each more focused on the task at hand and words not even being necessary. They all knew what needed to be done and right now, everything was in Mara's hands. As they reached a sewer access panel nearly a kilometer from the Imperial Palace, Mara stopped and gave a quick scan of her surroundings. Noting that the coast was clear, Mara ignored the skeptical looks from the couple following her as she lifted the panel and dropped into the large pipe beneath. Han and Leia soon dropped in as well and, with a quick call of the Force, Mara slid the panel back into place to cover their tracks.
"There's a secret entrance to the palace about a kilometer down this pipe." With a simple nod, Han and Leia followed Mara down the dark, wet path. Mara stopped at a nondescript location in the large pipe and hit a small crack in the duracrete with the edge of her hand. The facade lifted a moment later to reveal a doorway. With practiced grace, Mara snapped the matching blasters she was carrying out of their wrist holsters, checked that they were primed for action and slipped the weapons back into place.
Mara turned and nodded to Han and Leia and the pair reflexively clutched their blasters tighter in their hands as they nodded in return. Satisfied that they were ready, Mara entered her access code into the panel beside her and the door hissed open. As she walked into the passage, Mara snapped her blasters back out of their holsters and extended her arms to either side, picking off the stormtroopers she knew would be standing guard without so much as a look to either side. Han and Leia glanced at each other with matching expressions of awe and disbelief as Mara simply continued down the hall as the guards slumped to the floor behind her.
Mara didn't miss a beat as Leia and Han hurried to catch up to her, instead walking with purpose toward the nearest guard station. In a typical show of lax Imperial training, the officer on duty had his back to the door, his attention instead focused on the holonet before him. Mara was able to slip in without being noticed and a quick kick to the side of the man's head sent the officer to the floor. She could only hope that their mission remained this simple.
As Leia and Han finally caught up to her, Mara sat down at the computer terminal in the guard station. She was pleased, though unsurprised, to find that she still had the ability to access the palace central computer with her old passwords. This knowledge could very well come in handy in the future just as it was now. Mara was soon able to gain access to the prison records and found that Luke was in the high security cells near the throne room just as she suspected. The cells were virtually impossible to escape from as she knew from running tests on them herself, but that didn't mean it was impossible to break someone out. Mara quickly memorized the location where Luke was being held and noticed that Isard was due to visit him in under an hour. "Come on. We don't have much time."
Leia and Han didn't need any more convincing after Mara's previous display and quickly followed her out of the guard station. Methodically tracing a route through the secret passages of the palace, Mara was able to lead their group to the corridor just outside of the detention bay without being noticed. Standing before the final door between her and the jail cells, Mara gave a quick nod to the pair behind her and kicked the activation panel at her side with her blasters extended before her, ready for action. Mara was already firing at the locations where she knew the guards would be stationed before the troops could even register her presence.
Han and Leia didn't even need to fire a shot as they stepped in behind Mara to find all of their potential foes downed. Mara was once more walking ahead of them, stopping at the access panel of the door in the center of the guard room. The door hissed open seconds later as Mara entered her personal access code. She stepped into the detention corridor and waved for Han and Leia to hurry up and follow. The couple was quick to comply as Mara disappeared into the dim hallway. They walked through the doorway to find Mara taking a deep breath in front of one of the doors. "Okay Skywalker, let's hope you can still walk under your own power."
As soon as the door opened, pouring light into the previously pitch black prison cell, Luke jerked back and blinked. He was about to brace himself for a fight when he realized that this felt different from his previous visits. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Luke's senses finally screamed at him what the Force had been whispering. "You came."
Luke was so mesmerized by the unexpected sight of Mara at the door to his cell that he barely registered when his sister barreled through the door. "Luke!"
Luke absently returned the embrace his sister had wrapped around him as he saw Mara double over and clutch her head. Even in his weakened condition, Luke could tell in the Force that something was wrong and he had a feeling that it was much more than a physical ailment. His attention was soon turned away from Mara, however, when Leia gently turned his face to look him over. "Oh Luke, what have they done to you?"
"I'll survive." Luke sluggishly tried to rise to his feet, but his legs refused to cooperate. He collapsed to the floor and Leia scrambled for the emergency kit she had hastily grabbed as they walked out of the Falcon. It wouldn't help much, but a stimulant injection would get Luke going long enough to get him out. Hopefully, Luke would be able to supplement its effects with the Force long enough to keep him alive.
"Lie back." Luke obeyed, but kept his eyes on the door. He could vaguely feel more people approaching and knew that they needed to get out of here and fast. Luke could only hope that the reason Mara refused to look at him after regaining her composure was that she had felt the same thing. Luke didn't even notice Leia administer the stimulant shot but its effects could be felt immediately. He was able to rise to his feet, but still needed support to walk properly.
"We have to get out of here." Luke's comment came too slow, however, as the muffled sound of stormtrooper armor could be heard at the end of the corridor.
"Too late for that now." Mara spared a quick glance at Luke, but her face turned into a grimace as the Emperor's last command screamed through her head once more. It had gained strength due to her absence from Luke or the fact she was once more in the palace and had almost knocked her legs out from under her with its intensity when she had first met his eyes. Mara set her gaze forward toward the inevitable onslaught of troops. The Emperor's command would have to wait.