Chapter 19: Plan C
Leia grabbed her lightsaber out of the air and thumbed it on as she swung it through the chain that held her to Jabba's dais. She continued the blade's arc as she twisted herself around to cut off the arm of the Gamorrean who was moving to subdue her. Allowing the Force to guide her motion, Leia twisted her blade to intercept a blaster bolt that was about to hit her side and made a sprint for the exit of the chamber, throwing back a Weequay that jumped to tackle her with a flick of her wrist and push with the Force. The princess reached the corridor and grabbed Lando, who had remained on the fringes of the fight. "Come on! We're breaking them out." Without another word, the two rescuers ran down the corridors toward the prison area.
Luke brought up his green blade to intercept the bolt aimed for his head, deflecting it into the shoulder of a nearby Rodian thug. He quickly swung the lightsaber to his side in a wide arc cutting through the guts of the two Gran bodyguards hoping to blindside him. He snapped his blade back in front of him just in time to turn a bolt meant for his heart into the thigh of the Gamorrean who shot at him. Hoping to provide himself with a quick respite, Luke leapt into the air and somersaulted over the furious Jabba. However, he was forced to leap back into the thick of the fighting as the Hutt's thick tail swatted at him. Luke brought his lightsaber up into a defensive position and scanned the chamber in front of him, waiting for his next attacker.
Mara used the violet blade in her right hand to block any blaster bolts that threatened to hit their mark as she let loose a rapid volley of blaster bolts with the pistol in her left. She soon drained the power pack on the blaster after taking care of a rather well covered trio of Weequays and tossed it away, bringing her lightsaber into a two handed grip. Mara deflected a shot meant for her temple into the ceiling as she swung her blade in a high arc, dismembering an advancing Rodian at the shoulder.
Swinging her blade back across her body, Mara sliced through the vibroaxe a nearby Twi'lek was bringing to bear on her before slicing him in the thigh. She looked around the stage and found herself lacking in opponents. Feeling trouble in the Force, Mara looked in the direction of Luke. She saw Boba Fett aiming his whipcord launcher at Luke and sprinted to intercept it before Luke could be restrained. "I always have to keep that boy out of trouble."
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Leia cut her lightsaber through the lock of Han and Chewie's cell as Lando shot a blaster bolt through the gut of the last Gamorrean guard in the prison corridor. The door quickly opened as the circuits for the controls short circuited. Leia shut off her blade and darted into the prison cell. Ignoring the howling Wookiee at the door, Leia ran to Han and embraced him.
In spite of his still blurry vision, Han knew immediately who had thrown her arms around him. "Leia! How did you…"
Leia cut off his question with a kiss. "No time to explain now. Let's get out of here."
Lando tossed a blaster rifle he had pulled from the guard's armory toward Chewie. "Catch!" The Wookiee howled his thanks toward Lando as he cocked the weapon.
Hearing the distinctive click of a blaster rifle being primed, Han jerked his head toward the blurry forms at the door. "I'm not going out there unarmed."
Lando looked at him incredulously. The carbonite must have damaged what little common sense Han possessed. "But you're blind!"
Han folded his arms in front of him. He was not about to go out into the chaos he heard out in the palace without some means to protect himself. "My sight's getting better."
Leia cut Lando off before he could protest again. She grabbed the blaster pistol from the holster of one of the fallen guards near the cell door and placed it in Han's hand. "Here is your weapon. Happy now?"
Han's mouth curled up into a smirk as he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the pistol. It wasn't his trusty DL-44, but it would do for now. "Thanks, sweetheart. Now we can go."
Leia rolled her eyes at Han and thumbed her lightsaber back on. He could be impossible sometimes. She charged out of the cell and the rest soon followed, heading for the main chamber to rejoin Luke and Mara.
Luke spun himself around to deflect a series of staccato blasts from a particularly stubborn Weequay. He was finally able to deflect one of the shots back into the thug's chest when the Force screamed out a warning. Twisting himself to the side, Luke saw a whipcord that was just centimeters from wrapping him up suddenly veer of course. Mara appeared in his view and smirked at him as she threw up her violet blade to deflect a blaster shot from one of the few remaining thugs. "Where would you be without me?"
Luke just gave her a small appreciative smile before setting his feet and facing the last of their foes. Mara followed suit and the couple deflected new barrage of blaster bolts, their lightsabers working in unison to create a virtually impenetrable shield. The blurry aura of emerald and violet in front of the Jedi ricocheted blasts back at the attackers that had not already fled, picking them off one by one.
Soon, only a pair of Weequays armed with blaster rifles, a Gamorrean guardsman and Boba Fett remained of Jabba's gang, the rest had fled or been taken out of the fight by the Jedi. Mara and Luke began to open themselves to the Force in order to finish the fight once and for all when the distinctive sound of a lightsaber springing to life caught their attention. They looked to the entrance of the chamber to see the auburn haired dancer staring at them with cold brown eyes, the golden glow of her blade tinting her pale skin. The sound of blaster bolts ceased momentarily as the woman lunged into the room brandishing her lightsaber in front of her. "Skywalker! It's time for you to pay!"
The assassin ran for Luke, not even noticing as she slashed off the arm of the final Gamorrean guard, intent on reaching her prey. Luke moved his lightsaber into position to defend himself from the coming onslaught, but the woman's blade never reached him. Mara stepped in between the hunter and its prey and swung her lightsaber at her lover's would be killer. The dancer leapt to avoid her slash and slashed her lightsaber downward at Mara as she returned to the ground. Mara brought up her own blade to meet her attacker's. Their blades sparked as they locked, neither woman willing to give an inch.
Luke's eyes were torn from the duel in front of him by a warning in the Force. Jabba's Weequay thugs had regained their bearings and were firing on him once more. Luke quickly brought his blade up in a tight arc and sent their shots back at them. Each yelped in pain as the bolts lanced through their stomachs, taking them to the ground. Luke spun around to intercept the staccato shots of Fett's blaster rifle and noticed Jabba retreating on his now mobile dais. Luke chose to let the Hutt go for the time being and focused on the bounty hunter across from him.
Leia came to the entrance of the main chamber, intending to retrieve the rest of her party when she saw Jabba slip out a back exit on a hoversled. "The fat slug is not getting off that easy!" She sprinted for the exit in pursuit of the gangster, the pleas of Lando and Chewbacca falling on deaf ears. Chewie growled at Lando and tossed Han toward him, running to follow the irate Jedi. Lando tried to call the Wookiee back but was met by deaf ears once again. The gambler let out a frustrated sigh and Han smirked. "They're both more stubborn than I am."
Lando guided his friend to a seat at the entrance and surveyed the situation, blaster rifle held in front of him. Mara and her opponent were moving too fast for him to get a clear shot, so Lando turned toward Boba Fett and saw that the bounty hunter's attention was solely on Luke. Lando brought his blaster rifle to his shoulder and aimed the weapon at Fett's head, looking to take the bounty hunter down before he knew what hit him. As Lando raised his blaster, Fett spared a quick glance to his side and saw a man in a guard's uniform standing by Solo and raising a blaster to him. With lightning reflexes, Fett drew his sidearm and took Lando down with a shot to each shoulder without missing a beat firing his weapon at the Jedi across from him.
Mara twisted her blade against the assassin's and was able to throw her opponent off balance. She quickly took advantage of this opportunity, coming at her opponent with a flurry of high strikes, pushing the killer away from her intended prey. Mara brought her saber across her body in a tight arc and found her blade once again locked with the dancer's. She stared down the assassin and felt a tingle when their eyes locked. "The Emperor's using you. You don't have to do this."
Mara's opponent laughed at her statement and pulled her golden blade back quickly spinning it at her side and slashing for Mara's arm. Mara batted the woman's blade away with a flick of her wrists and the two began circling each other, the tips of their lightsabers sparking together as they probed each other for weaknesses. "You don't think I know that? Of course he's using me. Skywalker still must pay for his crimes."
Mara stared into her opponents hard eyes, once again noticing a twinge of familiarity. "He is not a criminal. This is war and he is a soldier. It's that simple." The assassin brought her blade up and swung it in a wide arc and swung at Mara's head. The Jedi was able to duck and swung her own lightsaber for the assassin's legs. The dancer leapt and avoided her swing flipping backwards and landing in a crouched position. She leapt forward and swung her blade at Mara. Gold met violet with a spark and they were locked in combat again.
Han reached at the stone floor, looking for his moaning friend. "Lando, where are you?" The smell of burnt armor drifted through the air and Han knew that Lando had taken a hit. Han continued reaching forward at the blurs in front of him and his hands finally came into contact with a shoulder plate. "Lando, is that you?" Han's question was met with an affirmative grunt. "Lando, what happened?"
Lando spoke through gritted teeth, holding a hand against his wounded shoulder. "Boba Fett. Shot me in the shoulder. One hell of a powerful pistol he's got there. Luke's dealing with him."
Han's eyes went wide. "Boba Fett!" The smuggler tightened his grip on his blaster pistol and turned toward the sound of rapid blaster shots.
Mara brought her blade up to counter a downward strike at her shoulder. She locked eyes with her opponent. Mara didn't know what possessed her to pose such a simple question to her foe, but a gut feeling told her she should. And Mara trusted her instincts. "Who are you?"
The auburn haired woman pulled back her blade and slashed for Mara's chest. When Mara twisted her violet blade around to meet her foe's weapon, the assassin responded "Someone who will have revenge on Skywalker."
Mara twisted her lightsaber against her foe's, unlocking their blades again. This was not the Emperor's average assassin. The woman had been turned against Luke on a personal level, not out of loyalty to Palpatine. "What did he ever do to you?"
The assassin's eyes blazed as she responded with a flurry of high upward slashes at Mara's head. Her fury threatened to consume her as she screamed at Mara. "He killed my sister! She was only a young girl and he destroyed her!"
Mara pushed on her opponent's blade, knocking her off balance. She knew that Luke was not responsible for the death of the woman's sister, but convincing the assassin of that would be difficult. "Whoever told you that lied. Who are you really?"
The dancer circled her opponent slowly, looking for an opening. She launched a series of thrusts at Mara's chest, but the Jedi parried her attacks. The assassin glared at her foe. Why did the woman care who she was? The Hand saw no harm in giving out her true name. Only one of them would survive this duel. "My name is Brea Jade."