PART 3: PRISONER
CHAPTER 11: Advancement
"People should not be imprisoned without having the ability to change the legality of that imprisonment." —Jeff Bingaman
****
When Mara entered his quarters with Opakwa in tow, Luke got to his feet with a smile. "Opakwa," he greeted.
"Master Luke!" the protocol droid returned, sounding rather overjoyed. "I was wondering whether I would ever see you again."
"Well, we're together again now," Luke said warmly. He noticed Mara Jade was giving him an odd look, and he frowned at her in puzzlement. "What?"
She furrowed her brow. "It's just—you seem to really care about your droid."
"So? We've been through a lot together."
"It's just..." Mara paused looking for the right word. "Unusual," she managed at last.
The young man shrugged. "Well, he helped save my skin several years back, and I like to look out for him in return."
She studied him for a moment. "I haven't quite got you figured out, Skywalker."
"Good." He grinned. "I would hate to make things too easy for you."
"I'm sure," the young woman said dryly. "Anyway, I must say that shave did you a lot of good. Facial hair does not become you."
"It was a bit unfortunate, really—I had hair where I didn't want it, but not where I did want it."
"Oh, don't worry, that cliché Alderaanian hairdo will be back before you know it," she quipped.
"But not quick enough," he commented. "Still, it's not like I have anyone to impress, what with being an Imperial captive and all."
Mara raised an eyebrow. "What—so you're not so dazzled by my beauty that you want to impress me?" Then she gave a slight frown, wondering at herself. Was she flirting with him?
"You strike me as the type of woman who would be more impressed by my resistance to Imperial interrogation than my appearance," Luke returned with a grin. "And speaking of Imperials—how long have you worked for the Empire? Your whole life?"
Mara shrugged. "I don't really remember my life before the Empire. All I remember is that my parents didn't really want me to go but that I knew I was going to leave with the Emperor. I don't even remember what they looked like."
"For what it's worth," Luke said softly, "I thought both of my parents were dead until recently."
The redhead frowned. "They weren't?"
"Well, my father wasn't," he said awkwardly. Apparently, Vader hadn't told her about—well...
"Have you gotten to see him much?"
"Not exactly," Luke answered carefully. "He's been sort of, uh, busy."
Mara had the feeling there was something he wasn't telling her, but, really, it was none of her business. He was just a prisoner. And why should she care, anyway?
"Vader's going to be off-planet for a while," she informed him. "He has to deal with a few pests."
Luke was intrigued but didn't inquire further; he doubted Mara would tell him what exactly his father was doing, even if she knew. Instead, he remarked, "You know, you remind me a little of someone I knew."
Mara cocked an eyebrow. "Is that a pickup line, Skywalker?"
The young man flushed. "No...It's just—she had red hair like yours, and she was a dancer. You move a lot like her."
Mara Jade froze. Did he know that one of her personas in court was that of a dancer? "Really?" she heard herself saying distantly.
"Yes. I don't know what happened to her, though. I fear—" he hesitated. "I fear Jabba may have killed her."
"Jabba the Hutt?" she queried.
"Yeah," Luke said, feeling as if maybe he'd given away a little too much.
"I wouldn't put it past the big slug," she commented, thankful that he couldn't have been referring to her. "He usually doesn't keep the same people for long before finding something wrong with them. Does he still have that rancor of his?"
Luke swallowed, remembering the times he'd had to clean up that big monster's messes. "I don't know. I hope not." He still had the occasional nightmare where the bits of flesh he'd gathered in the rancor pit came together to form mushy monsters with cold, damp hands and sagging eyeballs. Even thinking about it now in the light made him shiver.
"Those are my sentiments, exactly," Opakwa piped up. He'd been quiet up to now, but he couldn't help but second Luke's comment about the rancor. Save for its caretaker Malakili, the only one who had truly loved the rancor in Jabba's Palace was Jabba. After all, even droids had occasionally been thrown down to the beast, which got particularly angry when it found out they weren't real flesh and started mashing them against the wall.
"So the droid knew Jabba, too?" Mara asked, intrigued.
Luke gave her a wry smile. "You might say that I...'lifted' him off Jabba's small, pudgy hands."
The young woman chuckled; it was a pleasant sound Luke liked hearing. "Well, you're braver than a lot of men I've known, that's for sure."
"Not brave, just desperate," he said cryptically.
"What's the difference, really?"
"Not much, perhaps." He studied her for a minute before asking, "Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like if you hadn't been brought into Palpatine's service?"
Mara shrugged dismissively. "There's no point in wondering, Skywalker. I am what I am. There is no Mara Jade without the Empire."
"But there could be," he pointed out. "You could just leave the Empire and never come back."
"And do what?" she scoffed. "Be a waitress? Join the Rebels? Throw tea-parties? Leaving the Empire isn't realistic, Skywalker. And if you're smart, you'll realize that resisting the Empire isn't realistic either."
But Luke was starting to get worked up. "How can you support a cause that can so easily create weapons like the Death Star? The ability to destroy a planet—that's more power than one person should ever be given."
"There's no such thing as too much power."
"Yes, there is, Mara," he said. She flinched as he spoke her first name—she wasn't sure why. "Everyone needs to be held accountable for their actions. That's why an Empire is such a bad idea—"
"Squabbling politicians are a bad idea, Skywalker. Giving the reins of leadership to someone who's qualified isn't."
"But who is to say who is qualified? What's to keep a person who has a planet-destroyer from obliterating the entire galaxy?"
Mara shook her head, annoyed. "They would never—"
"How do you know?" he interrupted, searching her eyes with his own. "How do you know they wouldn't? How do you know the side you support is right when you don't even know about the side you don't support? I told my—I told Vader—and I'll tell you: the Empire has been the major cause of a lot of tragedies. You're a woman—you should know how little power women are given in the Empire. The same goes for aliens. And what about the rampant slavery and all of the genocides? Mara—"
"You may call me Jade, Skywalker," the redhead said stiffly, "and you can spew all your treasonous talk to your droid. I'm sure he won't mind listening."
She turned her back on him, and he exhaled in frustration.
But the seeds of doubt had been sown, and as Mara Jade left, she cursed Luke Skywalker's name and wondered if maybe he was just the smallest bit right.
****
Bail Organa had sent Han Solo and Chewbacca on a mission to rescue Luke Skywalker, which was all he could do on that front. He'd pointed the pair in the direction of the ysalamiri Arelis had hidden (which the smuggler was under explicit directions to pick up before leaving planet) and had given him a message to impart on his first stop. He only hoped all of that was enough.
Later that day, Bail went to stay with some friends in Crevasse City. It was a front, though he had enjoyed talking with them, and that night he snuck out and went down to the cave where Vader had been held hostage. That was where he found Arelis's body. Or what was left of it, anyway, after the cave's denizens had found it.
He took off his cloak, thankful he had worn it, and wrapped Arelis's remains up in it, trying not to gag as he did so. Several cages in the cave chamber held the charred bodies of some kind of dead animal—ysalamiri, he suspected. He began to put the pieces together—Arelis must have led Palpatine here. With the aid of the ysalamiri, she had been able to kill the Sith Lord, though she had of course died herself in the process. She really had been a tough old bird.
He put all the cave's contents in his transport. There was no need to leave things behind and sully the cave's brilliance. Save for some blaster scorch marks, the cave would be left as if it had never been found. Nature could have its beautiful room back. It would probably never be used again by human hands.
****
As Han Solo set his ship down on the swampy planet of Dagobah, he made a face. "I sure hope she doesn't get sucked down into the muck, Chewie," he said. "That would end our rescue mission real quick."
The Wookiee roared back something, and Han grinned. "All right, all right. You don't have to come out in the swamp with me. I'll take care of it. Wouldn't think of getting your fur all wet, after all." He chuckled and then looked down at his scopes. "We're getting a lot of life-form readings, but it doesn't look like there's any real civilization on this slimy mudhole. I just hope Bail Organa knew what he was doing when he sent us here." The smuggler touched a few controls, studying the information on the screen. "I also hope these coordinates are right, or we're gonna be searching for a while—the place isn't exactly dripping with unique landmarks. I'll have my comlink on me, and I'll check in every half-hour. If I miss a check-in, feel free to send a search party out after me."
Chewie growled in amusement, reaching out to tousle his friend's hair.
"Hey! Chewie!" Han protested, perturbed. "Lay off, will ya?" He brushed away the Wookiee's hand. "Now, it's time for me to go find a pair of hopefully-living Jedi Masters. Easy, right?"
Fortunately, he didn't have to worry as much as he'd thought. When he let down the ramp, he noticed two beings standing in front of it and looking up at him, and he had to stifle his blaster-grabbing reflex. One was an older, white-haired human, and the other was a green runt of an alien. Both had on the robes Bail Organa had told him to be looking for. They weren't a threat. At least, he hoped they weren't. They might not be too glad to have their hideaway found out by a pair of smugglers.
Han leaned against the entryway. "I guess you're my welcoming committee, eh?" He nodded down at them. "I'm Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. Bail Organa sent me with a message and a request. You must be Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"You seem incredibly well-informed for a smuggler," Obi-Wan said with a smile and a small nod.
"And possess Force-blockers, you do," the alien noted. He had a very keen gaze, and it made Han nervous.
The smuggler nodded. "Yeah. Furred lizards called ysalamiri. Maybe you've heard of them?"
"Why did Bail Organa send you here?" the human asked him with genuine curiosity.
"He said you've been a bit out of touch with the galaxy and I should inform you of what's been going on. So, here's what I know of it. The Emperor was killed by this Alderaanian bigwig named Arelis Antilles. Naturally, she died as well."
"We felt the Emperor's death through the Force," Obi-Wan commented.
Though he was a bit annoyed that they already knew some of his news, Han continued. "Yeah, well, Arelis Antilles' adopted son, Luke Antilles, was running for senator on Alderaan, stirring up people against Force-users and making my g—making Bail Organa's daughter Leia—rather ticked off. To make a long story short, this Luke Antilles disappeared, and Bail thinks he was captured by Vader. I think the kid's probably been executed for conspiring against the state, but Bail doesn't seem to think so. Says his death woulda been announced. So, he sent me with some ysalamiri to pick up you two and attempt a rescue mission. Suicide mission's more like it...But he's paying well, and this won't be the first time Chewie and I have participated in a jailbreak, so I'm on board."
"In the habit of releasing prisoners, we are not," Yoda told him firmly.
The smuggler inclined his head. "He told me you might say that. He also told me to tell you that Antilles isn't this guy's real last name—it's Skywalker."
The two Jedi Masters exchanged a surprised glance, both of them looking as if they'd just heard some of the most surprising news of the millennium.
So, they've heard of that name, Han thought to himself. Wonder what's so special about it?
"Certain of this, are you?" the alien queried, pointing his cane at the smuggler.
Han shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I was told. If you don't want to come, I'll go on regardless. It'll be a bit rougher, but I'm sure Chewie and I can handle it."
"If you'll give us a minute to discuss this," Obi-Wan requested smoothly.
"Sure." Han pointed his thumb behind him. "I'll just be in my ship. Come on in when your decision's made."
They nodded, and he went back inside the Falcon to ask Chewie if he was up for a quick game of dejarik.
****
"Could this be true?" Obi-Wan asked Yoda. He felt as if his head were spinning. Skywalker's son—alive?!
"Indicate deceit, the Force does not. And from Bail Organa, this man did come," the small Jedi Master pointed out.
Obi-Wan was frowning thoughtfully. "When we felt something was wrong on Tatooine and I left Dagobah and followed the trail to Jabba's Palace, I did not sense Luke. I assumed he was dead...Could it have been some of these—these furred lizards that this Han Solo has in his possession?"
Yoda tilted his head and nodded. "Seems likely, it does. If alive, Luke Skywalker is, then know now Vader must of his son's existence."
"Which means we need to get to Luke as soon as possible," Obi-Wan reflected. "I assume Bail has still not talked to Leia about her parentage—it appears our focus must shift from the girl to the boy. There is no need to endanger Leia if we do not have to. Perhaps there's still a chance to save Luke."
"Your point, I do take." Yoda was quiet for a few seconds in contemplation. "Stay here, I will. If to you and the boy something does happen, then still need to be trained, the girl will."
"Then it's settled." Obi-Wan gave a slight determined nod and then walked away to retrieve a few items from the hut he and Yoda lived in. After returning with a bag in hand, he nodded once more at Yoda and then began to move toward the ship.
"Take care, old friend," Yoda called after him. "And may the Force be with you, always."
"Thank you." The human Jedi turned and smiled. "And may the Force be with you."