And Never Return Chapter 5, a star wars fanfic

AND NEVER RETURN

CHAPTER FIVE

Mara?

Mara's head snapped up. There it was again. "Yes?" she asked the driver.

"What?"

"You weren't calling my name?"

"No, ma'am," he said, eyeing her oddly.

"Oh. Never mind then." The voice had seemed familiar and she knew she should recognize it, but it was so far away and she had other things to worry about.

She was skimming through the address datacard and finally found "Telikna, Alyro," the author of the botany section. Unfortunately, he didn't live on Kath'alon.

"Here we are, miss. Newcomer's Hotel."

Mara looked out the window at a relatively short building, six stories tall. It was built from some sort of green stone and seemed to be in good repair. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nine yuros."

"Uh…"

The driver smiled. "Just press your thumb here, like that. It'll be taken from your account."

Mara did what he instructed and then pulled a hooded cloak from her small suitcase. It was purple, not exactly her color, but it would have to do. Most of the beings on the street were wearing hoods in the light mist.

She grabbed her suitcase and datacard holder and walked into the hotel. She looked around the bright lobby and found a few public comm booths on the side. Before she checked in, she wanted to try and contact Konner. It only took a moment to figure out how to work the machine and it took much of her control not to look anxiously over her shoulder at the other mix-matched people in the room.

An older human woman's face materialized on the screen in front of Mara.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"Hello," Mara began. "Is this the home of Alyro Telikna?"

The woman's face darkened. "Who are you?"

"A friend. Can I speak to him?"

"He's not here. He's never been here."

"Oh. Well, maybe you can help me. Is there a Calyn Xerom there?" Act natural, Jade. It hasn't been that long.

The woman shook her head. "No one here by that name."

When the woman didn't add anything else, Mara prodded, "Well, ma'am, did she leave a forwarding address?"

"As I said, young miss, no one here by that name. I've lived in this house for fourteen years. Never been anyone here named Talyn whatever."

"Oh, sorry to have bothered you," Mara apologized before cutting off the link. Few of the people in the lobby had removed their hoods, so she pulled hers back up and walked to the front desk to check in. If asked about the call, Mara could simply say that she had read some of Alyro Telikna's work and was impressed and wanted to talk with him.

She spoke quietly with the hotel secretary and got her room assignment and key code. As she entered the turbolift, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. That comm call was probably her best change of finding out whether Konner still lived and was in the Qantul system and it had proved worthless. The turbolift doors opened and Mara walked down the hall towards her room. Halfway there, she was aware of someone walking behind her. She did not turn around.

"I heard you were looking for Calyn Xerom. She was a dear friend of mine." The voice was deep but unrecognizable. The hope she had felt when the stranger spoke the opening phrase died quickly.

"We used to live together on Selonia, but I lost contact with her a few years ago," Mara responded obediently. She turned around and was face-to-face with a black-haired man with navy blue eyes.

"That's too bad. It happens very often, though."

"True, but we were like sisters. If you have any information on her whereabouts, I would be grateful."

He guided her to the side of the hall as he tapped in a key code and turned on the lights inside his room.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said, walking to the small kitchen and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet.

"I didn't give it," Mara answered simply.

"How about you give it now?"

"You mind if I take off my cloak?" she asked.

"No problem." He had turned on the heating system when they entered the apartment and the room was growing increasingly and uncomfortably warm, to force her to remove her cloak without him asking her to. Asshole, she thought. She could play the game as well as him, but it was a useless waste of energy. Had she still been the Emperor's Hand and badass assassin, she would have felt obligated to show this Intel agent how tough she way.

She pulled the hood back and then took the rest of the cloak off to rest it on a chair. She looked up and her eyes met two very wide blue ones.

"You still want my name?" she asked, her voice dropping.

The shock on his face clearly meant that he recognized her and the hint of fear—no, reserve—told her that he knew her as the Emperor's Hand.

"Mara Jade," he breathed. "Dear gods…" He quickly tried to control his emotions, but his shocked expression had taken away from his indifferent face. There was something familiar in the jaw line…

"I see my reputation precedes me. Since you obviously recognize me, I would be appreciative if you would introduce yourself."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, right, just a sec." He headed to the refresher while Mara waiting impatiently. A moment later he returned, toweling off his hair. He had evidently used the sink to rinse the color from his hair and removed the masking materials he'd used to alter his nose and cheekbones. The effect had been enough to delay Mara's recognition.

"Daryn?" she asked, trying her best to hide her surprise. "Where's Konner? It was his name I found."

"You always liked him more than me," Daryn Amet complained. "No matter what I do, not matter how much more handsome I am, it's never good enough for you." He dramatically sighed, placing his hand over his heart. "I could remove this beating organ essential to my life-force to prove my love to you and you—"

"Drop the soap opera, Amet. Where is Konner and what in all the hells of Kessel are you doing here?"

"When you speak so beautifully, how can I resist?" the brown-haired man joked. "Konner's in a bit of local trouble, so he's gone underground. He sent me to pick up the Newcomer. He sure as hell didn't guess it would be you. I can't wait to see how far his jaw drops."

"I'm sure it won't be anywhere near as far as your did," she quipped. "So, what, does Konner send his little mutt after every Newcomer?"

"Well, we haven't had anyone new in about eight years. And he was a Wookiee; we're lucky he at least understands Basic." He smiled. "But even if we did have them regularly, Konner took an immediate liking to the human who killed six starfighter pilots and five boarders. Knowing now that you're, well, who you are, I would not have expected less."

"Thank you, Amet," she said, her tone an echo of the disdain she would have, as the Emperor's Hand, felt forced to include. She did not need the approval of anyone. But she'd grown past all that. She was no longer the Emperor's Hand. She was a Trader.

"Is Konner on Kath'alon?" She accepted the glass Daryn handed her. The drink was sweet enough to be fruit juice and it left a sickly aftertaste.

"No, Eqiirsa. I've got tickets for us to head over there tomorrow morning. Sorry you don't get to do much sightseeing, but you wouldn't want to, anyway. Kath'alon sucks. Eqiirsa has the industry and Javsret the ancient structures and all. The Shirgan polluted Kath'alon before they really actually understood what they were doing. Now the planet's covered with anti-pollution shields and generators and cleaners and stuff."

"What time should I be ready to leave?" She handed the cup back to Daryn, but he refused to take it.

"You've got to finish it. I know it tastes like shit, but it'll change the frequency on the transmitter they put in your arm. Don't bother trying to take it out," he warned when she searched her arms for the telltale mark. "They dug it into your muscles and it would hurt like a rancor to get it out. However, with that wonderful stuff, you'll be a blur on their scanners in an hour and an hour or two after that, you'll have disappeared completely."

She downed the rest of the red liquid and set her glass down on the counter before she dropped it as her stomach started cramping.

"Yeah, you'll feel sick for a while, but the stuff works and we won't risk our people." He stood up so that he no longer leaned against the wall. "As long as you remain in one place, they won't bother watching your frequency and they won't worry until they don't see you anymore. When the cramping stops, we'll know it's safe to leave. You can have that room," he gestured to the right side of the apartment. "Just tell me when we can leave. The sooner we're off Kath'alon, the better."