"How many times do I have to tell you, Calrissian? There's nothing going on between me and Shada… our relationship is strictly professional."
"If you say so. That's what I used to say about me and Tendra. A business partnership," he grinned.
"That was you."
"Of course it was. But can't you see the way she looks at you? Trust me, it'll happen."
"You want to bet on it?"
"Well, I can't make that bet with you, can I? You'll swindle me—act the moment any deadline we set expires."
"No matter who you bet against, you will lose. Nothing will ever happen."
"Keep saying that. No one on this ship was willing to take up that bet. Why are we going to Ord Mantell, anyway?"
"An interesting rumor came in. Supposedly a single unarmed human beat up four patrons in a bar, each larger than he was, and armed with blasters."
"You think it was Luke?"
"I don't know if anyone but a Jedi could do that. And according to rumors, a woman accompanied him."
"Didn't say anything about her being a redhead?"
Karrde frowned. "They said she was a brunette."
"That—"
"That means nothing. They probably found out about the bounty and took precautions."
"Captain?" a crew member came up. Karrde looked at him. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we've just come out of hyperspace at Ord Mantell. And as soon as we did, we've been hailed by another ship. The pilot is a Wookiee, and none of us…"
"Right. Patch it through to my comlink. "This is the Wild Karrde," he said.
A growl of Shyriiwook erupted.
"Chewie?" Lando shouted.
Several barks, sounding rather happy, were the reply.
"It's Chewie, all right."
"We better talk in person," Karrde said. "We'll dock the ships together, and you can come aboard."
The Wookiee acknowledged, then broke the connection.
"He says he's looking for Han Solo."
"I've heard it," Lando replied. "What do you think happened?"
Karrde looked at him. "Why guess, when we're about to find out?"
XX
Chewbacca came out of his ship and stormed Lando, embracing him.
"Chewie, are you trying to kill me? Let me go!"
The Wookiee barked something. "Yeah, a very lucky coincidence."
In the few minutes it took them to secure a landing clearance, Chewbacca told them what he had been doing.
"I suspect we're looking for the same thing, essentially. Han was looking for Luke, we're looking for Mara, we know Luke and Mara were together," mused Karrde.
Chewbacca growled a protest. "Yeah, Han disappeared. En route between Yavin Four and Kashyyyk? Not much to go on."
The Wookiee lowered his head.
"Let's split up," Lando suggested. "Chewie and I will go to the spaceport and try to find out which ships were here at the same time as the Lady Luck. You and Shada try to tack down the people who got in a fight with Luke—if it was Luke."
"Good idea," Karrde agreed. "Well, let's go," he said as the ship jolted on landing.
XX
Karrde and Shada entered the spaceport cantina. Karrde went to the bartender while Shada mulled around, looking for possible danger.
"Yeah, I've seen it," the bartender told him. "Scared a bunch of my customers, too."
"I want to meet them."
"No, you don't. They had quite a reputation before that man came along. They're trying to recover it." He stepped away from the stand.
"Indeed we are—and we will." Karrde turned to see a two-meter tall human lunge at him.
Click.
The business end of a blaster nudged the man's head.
"Are you going to drop that knife, or do I need to put a hole through your skull?" Shada asked.
The man hesitated, but didn't let go.
"Not good enough," Shada whispered, and before the man realized what was happening, he was disarmed, had his arms twisted behind him, and Karrde was holding a blaster on him.
"If you don't want to lose any more of your reputation, you better talk quick," he said.
"All right, all right," the man gave in. "Well, it was like this…"
The man obviously put the best spin he could on the story, but Karrde got the essential facts. The man followed Luke and Mara—he was almost certain it was Mara—and the boy out of the bar after he regained his consciousness. Whatever plans he may have had, they were interrupted by someone else's.
"There was a battle here, all right," Shada said. Karrde nodded. Blaster scorch marks an all the buildings, pieces of metal all over the place… Karrde picked one up. It was a piece of some droid.
"Definitely cut by a lightsaber," he said, tracing the edge with signs of rapid melting. "We're on the right track."
"I thought we were supposed to meet at the ship," Lando Calrissian's voice said from behind.
"We were led here. What did you find out?"
"The Lady Luck was here—and left. Which means at least one of them is still alive. But according to the port authorities, Luke—the description they gave me fits—left the ship with a brunette woman and came back with some kid, about twelve years old."
"If that's true, Mara was captured here," Karrde said. "Some bounty hunter got the best of them."
"There was another ship here at the time. It didn't register there, but it did refuel. And I found someone who recognized it. It's called Slave III.
"Boba Fett," Karrde said. "Or an imitator."
"Fett himself, if I had to guess," Lando said.
Chewie gave an angry growl.
"No, I never really believed he was dead. Most of the rumors were wishful thinking."
"Either way," Karrde said, "we've done all we can here. And if Fett's got Mara, we have no idea where to go next. I still don't know where the bounty originated."
Chewie growled a question.
"I somehow have the feeling that the same person got them. That if we find one, we'll find the other. And Luke will not just give Mara up, either. He'll look for her, too."
Karrde nodded. "Let's get back to the ship."
As soon as they did so, one of Karrde's crew came up. "Captain, we've received a transmission, but it requires your codes."
Karrde nodded, then proceeded to a terminal. He input the code, read the scrolling text…
"Interesting," he muttered.
"What's interesting?" Shada asked.
"Do we know anything?" Lando demanded. Chewie seconded him.
"About Mara or Han specifically? No. But remember, information is my business. At least now," he said, looking determined, "I know exactly where we should go."
"Oh?" Lando asked. "And where would that be?"
Karrde grinned. "Anyone ever been to Adumar?"
XXX
"The words 'Luke' and 'wife' don't belong in the same sentence," Han said. Mara stared at him.
"Well?" he asked. "Which woman—" Then the door opened and stormtroopers walked in, pointing their rifles at them. The officer with them gestured, and two men grabbed Mara and pulled her out. When Han jumped up, another trooper smashed his head with the butt of his rifle. Han fell, head spinning, and watched Mara cuffed and dragged out before the cell door slammed again. Blast it.
XX
An imperial shuttle landed at an old, abandoned Imperial installation on a barely habitable planet. Out of the shuttle stepped out a tall man in a black uniform. He walked briskly towards the large concrete building and went past the walls.
There were no guards at the base, and the black-uniformed man was the only one who'd left the shuttle.
Once inside the wall, he approached a shorter figure in a black hooded cloak. The figure didn't turn towards him. He stepped up and kneeled. "Master," he said.
"Rise," the figure commanded.
The man stood up. The hooded figure headed off to the side, the man walking along. "I have Solo and Jade," he said.
"Jade!" the master snarled.
"She has her uses. She was more trusted than other Hands."
"We're here. I would not bring her into this. The slicers would have done the job."
"In weeks, maybe months. Time is valuable."
"The Empire didn't arise by being impatient."
"Yes, Master."
"I do not want her to see me. Deal with her yourself. If it doesn't work—kill her."
The man paused. "Kill? She might—"
"Kill her."
"Yes, Master." The hooded figure headed away. The man pulled out a comlink. "Bring me Jade," he said.
A few minutes later, a squad of stormtroopers was there, guarding handcuffed Mara. Three of the troopers had ysalamiri strapped to their backs. "What do you want?" she demanded.
"Jade," he said. "As I said, I want your eyes. More precisely, your iris patterns are going to open this installation."
"Never."
"I would say you don't have a choice—but you actually do. You can open the door for me voluntarily."
"And?"
"And if you do, your service will not be forgotten. You were an Emperor's Hand once. You can be again."
"And if I don't?"
"You die."
"And your door remains unopened. You're bluffing."
"Don't test my patience, Jade. Are you opening that door for me?"
"No."
The man walked up to the door. "Get her over here," he ordered. The stormtroopers dragged Mara towards him.
The man activated the control panel on the door, and a laser scanner popped out. Defiantly, Mara shut her eyes.
The man grabbed Mara's head and pulled her towards it. Mara defiantly closed her eyes.
"That won't do you any good, Jade," the man whispered in her ear. Then he pried Mara's eyelids open with his fingers, and pressed her eye to the scanner. The mechanism activated, paused, then chirped.
The man released Mara, and smiled. The door was opening.
He grabbed Mara's chin and looked into her face. "You will regret this, Jade. Take her back to the shuttle."
"Yes, sir."
"You," he pointed at the officer and two men next to him, "Follow me." They headed inside.
Twenty minutes later, the four men came out. "Have the cargo shuttles being transporting the stuff," he said. "Take Jade back up to her cell. As soon as everything is ready, notify me."
"Sir?"
"I have business of a personal nature to attend to." He headed away from the installation.
"Sir? Are you sure you don't want an escort."
"Do your duty, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir."
After getting out of sight of the men, he stopped. The hooded figure came out.
"It worked," the figure said.
"You are surprised," the man commented.
"Surprised? Not really. But this is good. Did Jade see inside?"
"No. I ordered her back as soon as it opened."
"Good work."
"You are sure about this plan, Master?"
"You handle the New Republic. I will handle Skywalker."
"Yes, my Master."