A Careful Application of Pressure
Chapter Five: Enter, The Monkey Wrench
Someone was waiting when they landed on Taledan, a uniformed woman with a childishly excited smile. "Welcome," she said. "Thank you so much."
Luke shook her hand. Han had almost forgotten that he could be friendly. "It was no trouble."
"Really, you have no idea how important this is. That barqual could very possibly be the species' last hope. Without him-" Her comm buzzed. "Excuse me. Hello?- Oh, no. How did it manage to escape?- I'll get a team on it right away." When she looked up, her face was decidedly troubled. "There's a…situation that I have to go deal with. If you could just drop the specimen off at the building over there- and stay out of the woods." She jogged away.
Han reached for the carrying cage, and froze in panic. "Luke, did you unlock…"
With a squeal of delight, Monster scampered down the ramp and into the trees. Luke and Han looked at each other. The species' last hope…stay out of the woods… In a rare show of absolute agreement, they set out a t a dead run into the forest.
"Oh dear." 3PO watched the disappear. "R2, what are we to do?"
"Bzreep!"
"We can't go after them, you block-bolted bucket of bravado." He twitched indecisively. "I know. We'll go et help. Come, R2."
"Murp…"
"If you'd like to go running into who-knows-what, be my guest. But all you're going to accomplish is giving something indigestion. Really, how do we get into these situations?"
Felda checked her watch again. Leia said to meet at the corner table at 7. So where was she? It wasn't like her to show up late.
But then, it wasn't like Felda to spend her night at a place like The Nova. If her parents could see her now… She shuddered. They'd probably disown her. Again. Felda nervously togged at the hem o her skirt. Maybe this was a mistake.
"Felda!"
She groaned inwardly. It was just her luck to have Jeffersom show up and take the maybe out of that thought.
"You waiting for Leia, too?"
She nodded weakly.
"Weird. She's not one time, but the planet still seems to be spinning." His laugh was so honest, she found herself smiling. Their eyes met, and his voice faltered. She quickly dropped her gaze back to the tablecloth.
"You look nice tonight."
Felda risked a glance upward. "Thank you." An awkward silence swooped in, so she focused on the lively music coming from the dance floor. The merciful sound of her comm rescued her. She answered before the first ring had finished. "Yes?"
"Hello, Felda."
"Senator. Is everything all right?"
"Yes, of course. My speeder broke down, that's all. But I'm afraid my friends and I won't be able to make it."
"I can come pick you up."
"Oh no you don't. I worked too hard for those reservations for them to go to waste. You're not alone, are you?"
"No. Officer Jeffersom is here."
"Even better. Then you should be perfectly able to enjoy yourself."
"But.."
"Come on, Felda. Give yourself a break for once. I'll see you next week."
"Yes, Senator." She hung up. "That was Leia. She can't make it."
"So it's just us?"
"Yeah."
Jeffersom rubbed his hands together, as if he were trying to decide something. Finally, he stood up. "Would you like to dance?"
From behind the bar, Leia watched in exaltation as Jeffersom pulled a reluctant Felda to her feet. There was a rocky moment as they dealt with the minor inconvenience of Felda's second arms, but soon enough they seemed to be enjoying each other as much as every other couple on the floor.
She took a celebratory drink. As she was ordering another (it was quite the success, after all) her pocket vibrated. Slightly annoyed, she answered. "Leia Organa."
"Senator Organa, I have bad news."
She ended the call with practiced detachment. "Thank you, 3PO." Inside, she was wobbling on the edge of panic. Han and Luke- Missing. How could things have gone so terribly, terribly awry?
Without bothering to pay off her tab, she sprinted out the door. She needed to be on Taledan, right now.