"Lando," Leia smiled, "Come in. What can I do for you?"

Lando wasn't smiling. "You can explain this," he thrusted the datapad at her.

Leia read it, raised her eyebrows. "How am I supposed to—"

"Don't play games with me, Madame Chief of State," Karrde interrupted. "We—"

Leia rose out of her chair. "Just what are you implying? That this comes from me?"

"Who else? Mara doesn't have that many powerful enemies—"

"I am not her enemy, either," Leia said firmly. "Just what makes you suspect me?"

"Lando told me—"

Snap-hiss.

Karrde found himself staring into a glowing ruby red blade, its tip centimeters away from his throat. Uh-oh, he thought. He hadn't even noticed her drawing it.

What if she just kills me now? He and Lando knew better than to try to come in armed. The Noghri guards searched them very thoroughly. From what Karrde heard, only the Chief of State herself was allowed to have weapons in this office. Not that it would make any difference. Leia wasn't as skilled in lightsaber combat as her brother, but Karrde had no illusions about the two of them being a match for her.

Karrde stared Leia in the eye. She stared back.

"Leia," Lando began, but she turned her lightsaber towards him.

"You will address me as Chief of State Organa Solo," she said icily.

"Very well," Lando stepped back. "Karrde, could you leave us alone for a moment."

"Lando have you gone—"

"Karrde," Lando insisted, "trust me."

"Oh, I trust you," the smuggler assured him. "It's her I worry about."

"Karrde," Lando almost begged.

"Fine. It's not my neck." He turned to Leia. "Your bodyguards call you 'Lady Vader',", he said. "How… appropriate." He strolled out of the office. Leia glared at his back. What she wanted to do the most was to hurl her lightsaber into Karrde. She could kill him for the insult… and in the process, prove him right. She shut off the blade.

"What do you want, Lando? I didn't—"

"I know what's going on. Luke told me."

Leia blinked. "And that's why you decided I was behind this bounty…"

"Means, motive, and opportunity," Lando observed. "It fits."

"Except I didn't—"

"Prove it."

"You can't prove a negative, Lando."

Lando paused. "Okay. Convince us."

"How?"

"Place a counter-bounty. Bigger."

"I can't do that."

"Why not? Don't tell me a former princess can't afford it."

"The keyword there is former."

"But the Organa family fortune—"

"How do you think the Rebellion was funded? And of what's left, I don't control it."

"What?" Lando didn't know whether to believe her. "Who does?"

"I placed it in a trust to help war victims. I do not own the trust; I just sit on the board of directors. Right now, I'm not even the chair of that board."

"But you could use your influence…"

"It will take time. And you must understand the difficulties. I would be asking for a huge sum to go into the pocket of some bounty hunter to rescue a former top Imperial agent. I would be making this request of a board of directors, all of them from Alderaan. Would you like to try doing that, Lando?"

Lando clenched his fists. "In that case, I have nothing more to say. I hope you changed your mind." With that, he walked out.

Karrde was waiting. "Well?" he asked.

"Don't ever play sabacc with that woman."

"Do you still think it's her? Did she use her Jedi mind tricks on you?

"I don't think so. As for whether it was her or not… I don't know. She sounded convincing, but I'm not sure if what she told me were reasons or excuses."

"So what do we do?"

"Is your ship here? Is it ready?"

Karrde smiled. "Yes, to both questions."

"Then I saw we try to find Mara before the bounty hunters do."

"Good idea. Do you need to pack?"

Lando shook his head. "I travel lightly."

XXX

"Your father is Baron Soontir Fel, right?" Mara asked.

"Yes. Do you hate me now?"

"As I said," Luke said, "I don't hate anyone for who their father is. And I have no reason to hate Baron Fel. He was on the other side, but he is an honorable man." Luke gazed into the distance. "I've met him, you know."

"When he flew with Rogue Squadron?" the young Fel asked.

"Then… and later." Luke didn't want to tell the boy about the last meeting, which hadn't been very amiable.

"How did you end up here, Jagged?" Mara asked. "It's quite a distance from your space."

"Most people call me Jag," he replied. "And—"

"Mara, watch out!" Luke shouted. But she was ahead of him. The rain of bolts swept through the place she'd been moments before. Mara and Luke both had their lightsabers out, standing back to back and fighting off thirty or forty hovering combat droids.

"Drop down!" Luke shouted to Jag. The droids fire was too rapid for the two Jedi to do anything but protect themselves.

Then the source of their attack stepped out into the alley. A tall figure, wearing the armor and helmet recognizable throughout the galaxy. Boba Fett.

The bounty hunter added the fire of his own rapid-fire blaster to that of the droids. Then he fired a grasping cable at Luke. The Jedi master winced. Fett should have known better than to try a trick he used fifteen years before. Luke avoided the cable, and continued deflecting the bolts from droids. He and Mara took out most of them by now. Luke stretched out with the Force. Fett hid his emotions too well, but…

"Jag, NO!" Luke yelled. But it was too late. Jag rushed Fett. A switchblade popped out of the bounty hunter's gauntlet and Fett stuck out with it, making a gash across Jag's face. The boy yelled in pain, and Fett grabbed him by the collar and fired his jetpack, lifting off the ground.

Luke already jumped, and in mid-air, he gave Fett a powerful kick in the helmet. Fett either dropped or released—Luke couldn't tell which—Jag. Luke caught the boy, but dropped his lightsaber in the process. He cushioned their fall using the Force.

Meanwhile, Mara, left alone with ten or so remaining droids, wasn't prepared for Fett's next move. The moment the bounty hunter let go of Jag, he fired a volley of darts at Mara. At least one made it through. Mara collapsed, and Fett landed next to her, grabbed her, and took off again.

Luke already recovered his weapon and jumped again, with is emerald blade in front of him. But Fett was already too high. Luke managed one swing, cutting off Fett's right leg. For all reaction Fett showed, he might have been a droid. Luke landed on his feet and shut off the weapon.

He stood up and played his last card. This could easily hurt Mara if he didn't have sufficient control, but he had no other choice. Using the Force, Luke ripped Fett's jetpack off his back.

Fett began to fall, but then spread his arms out, revealing a set of gliding membranes. Still holding on to Mara, Fett vanished out of his view. Less then twenty seconds later, Luke heard the sound of starship engines. He lowered himself, exhausted. There were no two ways about it: he had lost. He failed to protect the woman he loved. And, having no idea where the bounty originated, he couldn't mount a rescue, either.