Author's Notes
Hey everyone! Thanks for reading, following, and favoriting the story! It means a lot to me and it makes me want to keep writing this story! As always, if you want to share advice and opinions to me, please message me in the reviews or private message me!
Happy New Year and May the Force be with you!
End Notes
Chapter Four:
An Unexpected Rescue
Hutt Palace, Northern Sea Dune, Tatooine
"Greetings, Exalted One. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lu... Jedi Knight and friend to Captain So... I know that you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo must be equally powerful. I seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Sol-"
That voice sounded familiar to Annia, it was like she heard that voice from a distant memory... Annia's vision was blurred, she could tell that there was a crowd huddled over to the hologram that spoke to the Hutt. However, she could see the hologram quite clearly. The hologram was a man, dressed in dark robes and on his side was a lightsaber, his hair was light -probably as light as Annia's- and his face... His face looked also familiar... 'How could that be?', Annia thought to herself.
The hologram continued, "With your wisdom, I'm sure that we can work out an arrangement which will be mutually beneficial and enable us to avoid any unpleasant confrontation. As a token of my goodwill-"
Then another figure approached, but this time it was a woman. She looked like as if she was a dancer to the Hutt overlord. The woman was dressed in mesh and blue silk, she also had sun-kissed skin, and her hair was fiery red. But the woman's eyes looked exactly like her... Then it clicked.
"Mom"
"Wake up blondie! Wake up!" A raspy voice yelled at Annia as she was stirring from her sleep. And as her eyes open, she realized she was laying on the ground of the same courtroom she dreamt in. Annia's eyes open widely when she saw a Hutt lounging in his throne and a crowd huddling around her. The young woman then grasped what was going on, she was in trouble...
"Bad! Tweepi, bu winkee dauag naa!" (Ah! Finally, the sleeping beauty awakes!) The Hutt spoke as he slid a little closer to Annia, "Cay mee dauag, uba lwaa doth mah sonla-" (With your beauty, you shall be my dancer-)
Then Annia spat at the Hutt, "Jee cueiauee chateua ai doth mee sahuaka, sleemo!" (I rather die than be your pet, slimeball!)
The Hutt laughed along with the crowd. Annia knew that she was outnumbered, no one was going to help her out... She hoped her mother or even Poe Dameron would find a way to set her free from this incident...
Poe sat on the passenger's side while Mara drove the landspeeder as fast as possible. He started to wonder when they got to the Hutt's Palace if they had a plan... If not, they were screwed... He looked at the elder woman and noticed at she had two lightsabers at her side, his eyes widen and hoped that she wasn't going to rampage through the Hutt's Palace.
"Mara?" Poe continued, "Please tell me we have a plan?..."
Mara looked at Poe then back on the path, "We do, but you're going to follow my lead" She spoke on, "Luke had a similar incident with one - actually, most of his crew were captured by Jabba the Hutt-"
"Really?" Poe asked as he slid his goggles on, "What happen?"
"Well Han was captured, then Luke's droids, then Chewbacca and then your general. I was there when it happened... Mostly"
"Mostly?"
"I was kicked out of Jabba's service as a dancer." Mara explained as they were arriving at the palace, "That was the first time I laid eyes on Luke Skywalker, the time I was the Emperor's Hand"
Poe's brows rose when he heard Mara's little story. It was kinda funny how sometimes time repeats itself, but it was also a pain in the ass. As Mara, Poe, and BB-8 got off the landspeeder, BB-8's circuits began to click and many ideas came to the little droid, (beep boop) Poe, should I contact General Organa about Annia- (boop beep)
"No buddy, we can't" Poe spoke, "If we alert the Resistance, the First Order might also receive the alert-"
(beep boop) But it's estimated that it's impossible to save Annia! It's us three against 100! (boop beep)
"I said no BB-8" Poe spoke frustratingly, "You stay out here and guard the landspeeder"
After Poe left BB-8 behind, Mara looked at Poe and opened herself to the Force. She felt emotions from the young X-Wing pilot; anger, frustration, worry... Mara's face soften and spoke in comfort, "Don't worry kid, Annia's going to be all right"
"Yeah well, I hope that won't change when we try to get her out of here"
"Ha! 'Do or do not, there is no try'..." After Mara spoke that, Poe gave her a confusing look and wondered where she got that saying from.
"Luke told me that during my training as a Jedi, and before him, his Jedi master told him-"
"No offense, but it almost sounds like a dad joke-"
"Do I look like a dad to you?" Mara asked sarcastically with her brow arched up which made Poe realize her little joke and chuckled at it.
They reached the large door of the palace, to Poe, it looked at least about a hundred years old if not older. However, for the graying redhead Jedi, it looked exactly the same when she first came here for her mission to kill Luke. Mara almost gave a smirk to Poe, "Looks like Rotta didn't redecorate after his father's death"
Rumbles came through the door and it began to open. As the doors open Mara sensed Annia close by and realized that she was chained to Rotta's grip.
As Annia was being forced to dance to the audience (along with other slave dancers), she felt something familiar... They were reaching out to her, wondering if Annia was all right. Annia's eyes widen and saw two figures heading into the courtroom, she knew who they were and she almost smiled. When the steward of Rotta the Hutt guided Mara Jade and Poe Dameron to the courtroom, the crowd noticed them and everything turned quiet; even the music stopped. As Annia stood there, Rotta yanked his chain that was around Annia's neck and she was forced to sit down next to Rotta. When Poe laid eyes on Annia, he noticed the outfit she was wearing. She was wearing a light blue silk top that was embroidered with gold, she was also wearing a light blue skirt that was cut that each side of her legs along with a set of mesh tights. What disturbed him the most was the chain around her neck that Rotta held in his grip, it pissed him off.
Mara noticed Annia as well and noticed how similar Annia's outfit was compared to Mara's dance outfit she wore when Jabba was alive. She then looked at Rotta and spoke, "Bo shuda Lhonu cakanle Rotta, Dobra Arica Pradeux. Jee doth bonee wagan wa sonla che mee cokha, bu cakanle Jabba bu Yih. Hocan Dobra tee wata bai cah bai doth ree bargon u " (Greetings Great mighty Rotta, I am Arica Pradeux. I was once a dancer for your father, the mighty Jabba the Hutt. However I am not here to request to be at your service)
"Hee peoi dotke uba wata, Arica Pradeux? Haku doth mee gai bai cohou kae nei?" (Then why are you here, Arica Pradeux? What is your purpose to show yourself to me?), Rotta asked impatiently as he gripped the chain closer to him.
Mara the raised an eyebrow and answered, "Dobra wata bai hhaia mah weuen, an cay da, Jee hatkocanh cahcata uba wa cag see jonba bai wamma che mah weuen baa jedahag" (I am here to retrieve my daughter, and with that, I will grant you a piece of land to pay for my daughter's freedom)
"Ho! Ho! Ho!" The Hutt laughed, "Doth da fa? da doth tytung uba banag? Mee weuen?-" (Is that it? That's all you want? Your daughter?-) Then Rotta looked at Annia and back at Mara and realized the familiarity between them. The same type of figure, very similar cheeks, and same hair parting, his slave dancer was the daughter.
"Bad! Ateema Jee neu, mah goodde da sonla doth mee weuen" (Ah! Now I see, my favorable dancer is your daughter), Rotta continued, "Hocan, Jee cha lee chalya mah whirlee hee pacwahh... Um Jee hatkocanh woy bo cheesay..." (However, I don't give my dancers so easily... But I'll make one exception...)
Rotta looked at Annia and then gave a signal to the guards to take Annia to the middle of the courtroom. Mara knew something was up, something wasn't going to go to plan than she hoped for. Poe noticed the look on Mara's face and back at Annia and Rotta, his worry came again and wondered what was going to happen, "Mara, what the hell is going on?" Mara looked at Poe, "Prepare for a duel"
Annia looked back at Rotta and her mother and the fear was in Annia's eyes, she knew that Rotta was going to send her to the pit and die. Rotta eyes became mischief and his laugh was sinister, "Jot ten neu whao mee kiukapath weuen caiot pasa doe bu cakanle bacotohoda! Ho ho ho!" (Let us see if your precious daughter can survive the mighty rancor! Ho ho ho!)
Then slam, the floor beneath Annia's feet disappeared and the young woman fell down into the trap door. Mara took the two lightsabers out and threw one of them down the trap door. Poe then noticed the palace guards shooting at him and Mara, with that, he took out his blaster and began to defend himself, "Was this the plan?!" Mara shook her head as she ignited her purple bladed lightsaber and started to fight the guards in the room.
As Annia tumbled down the tunnel she felt a calling from something... Then it touched her, it was a cylinder object with an open cut near the edge of the end and a button on the side. Annia then registered what it was: a lightsaber. After she stopped tumbling, she and the lightsaber fell to the sandy ground and saw the multiple corpses that surrounded her. The sight startled her, but not as much as the growling and the howling the rancor made when she set eyes on it. The rancor began to charge at her and Annia leaped a good twenty feet off the ground. She couldn't believe how she jumped that high in the air, it was impossible. As she dodged each swing that the rancor made, she heard her mother's voice in her head, 'Annia, listen to me! You have to let the Force guide you!'
Annia's eyes widen, 'The Force?'
'Yes, you have it, your brother has it, I have it, and the rest of your family has it!' Mara continued, 'Concentrate, and let it guide you!'
Everything around Annia was slow, she concentrated and wondered how she would let "the Force" guide her. Suddenly, she felt the lightsaber calling to her and Annia saw the lightsaber glowing before her. She extended her arm out and called back to the saber, she closed her eyes and felt the cylinder case in her grip. She opened her eyes and ignited the lightsaber, a sense of power flowed through her veins and felt that power guiding her. Annia looked up at the rancor and jumped to the same height as the deadly creature and made her charge towards it.
Back up in the courtroom, dozens of bodies were on the floor yet more guards flooded in and fought against the two intruders. As Poe fought back-to-back with Mara, he glanced at her, "There's too many Mara!" He exclaimed, "There's no way for us to stop them!" Mara wouldn't give up yet, she wouldn't give on her daughter, no matter what the cost was. As they both fought and fought, Mara felt something in the Force, she felt some fire of hope heading their way. She then glanced at Poe, "Don't lose your hope yet Dameron"
After the elder Jedi spoke, A flood of Resistance fighters made their way into the courtroom and began to fight them off until the guards stopped and surrendered. Poe was in shock and wondered how in the world did the Resistance know that they were in trouble. Then it clicked, he realized who sent the message, "BB-8"
After he spoke, the little ball droid rolled up to him and chirped, 'Sorry Poe, I had to contact General Organa-'
"It's okay, buddy" Poe spoke as he panted from the aftermath of the fighting, "It's okay"
Suddenly, Poe heard familiar steps heading towards their direction and recognized the silhouette, "General!"
Leia Organa stood tall as she held her blaster's handle in her pocket and nodded at Poe before making her way to Rotta the Hutt, "Rotta the Hutt, son of Jabba, under the power of the New Republic and the Resistance, I arrest you for the illegal trade of slaves and illegal trade of drugs" She continued as the Resistance soldiers began to handcuff Rotta, "Your days are over"
Mara raised an eyebrow and smirked as she crossed her arms, "I would have never figured out that Leia Organa would become a military General" She continued, I thought she could continue in the way of the Senate"
Leia turned around and looked at Mara with a smile, "Mara, it's been far too long my old friend" She then made her way to Mara and embraced her, "Too long"
After Mara embraced Leia she noticed that she couldn't sense Annia and Leia noticed this. Leia used the Force to read Mara's thoughts and realized Mara's fear, Leia nodded and looked at a group of soldiers, "You five come with me" And then she made eye contact with Poe, "You too Poe"
As Leia, Poe, Mara, and five other soldiers made their way to the underground floor where the Rancor pit was, Mara noticed there was no sound in the pit... No rancor growling, nothing... Mara feared the worse and Leia noticed it in her eyes. Leia went to the door where the pit was, but then it opened. A yellow hue came from the darkness that was inside and a slender figured walked out of the pit limping. Mara gasped and came to Annia's aid, "Sunstone! Are you all right? Did you-"
"I killed the rancor mom" Annia cut Mara off, "The Force guided me, I felt it..." She then switches the saber off and weakly gave it to Mara, but Mara didn't take it. The graying redhead Jedi wrapped Annia's hands around the saber and pushed it towards Annia, "It's your's Annia, it was made for your brother but he never wanted it... It called to you, you should keep it..." As Mara and Annia interacted, Leia studied Mara's daughter and was stunned. Under the bruises and cuts, she felt a connection with the young blonde woman. Her face... Her eyes... They were haunting to Leia, she knew who Annia was now and realized Mara's intentions of why she was overly protective of her. When Leia kept looking at Annia in shock, Annia then felt a connection with Leia and felt as if she knew her from somewhere... It felt the same when she had that dream of that man in the hologram... Annia knew it was General Leia and she tilted her head, "Do I know you? I mean... Do you know me?..."
It was silent between them and Mara looked back and forth at Annia to Leia, she knew what was going on and she knew that Leia figured out about Annia...
Leia nodded, "Yeah, I know you" She continued as she helped Annia out at her side, "But right now, you're going the medical ship, get cleaned up and dressed" Leia raised an eyebrow at Annia's outfit and remembered the time she was captured by Jabba, "At least Rotta dressed you in more silk than he did for your mother and I"
Annia chuckled and was handed to the soldiers who guided her to the medical ship. Leia glanced at Poe and commanded, "Commander, could you follow Annia to the medical ship and see if her needs are met?" Poe nodded and followed Annia behind which left Mara and Leia alone. Leia looked at Mara as Mara watched her daughter being guided by the soldiers, "She looks a lot like him"
"But more feminine-"
Leia then cut Mara off, "She also looks very similar to her grandmother as well"
Mara looked at Leia confusingly, "But she died when-"
"I had images of her when I was young" Leia answered, "It was the only few times the Force came to me" Mara nodded, "She's more like him though... My son took more of my liking, both looks and attitude"
"You have a son too?" Leia asked in a bit of shock, "Where is he?"
Mara sighed, "Last time I heard he was with Talon Karrde, but that was a long, long time ago..."
Leia nodded, "I know what it's like to lose a connection with a child, my son is out there serving his master"
"So I heard" Mara noted, "I met your son once, I felt the Dark Side calling to him... But Luke didn't listen to me..."
Leia sadly nodded and put an arm on Mara's shoulders, "Let's not look at the past-"
"I haven't even told Annia who her father is... Was..."
Leia's eyes widen and then relaxed, "Maybe right now, It's best for her not to know" As Leia continued, she then linked arms with Mara and started to walk out of the palace, "But for now, let's figure out what Annia's future is in store for her"
Author's notes
Hey again! Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! I liked to parallel some scenes from the movies and give it a twist in my story! I hope to write at least one or two more chapters before the winter break ends and I have to start up my second semester of university. Please give this a review and tell me what your opinons are on this chapter and/or overall of the story!
Thanks and May the Force be with you!
End Notes