Chapter 7

Shooting First

"Mos Eisely spaceport," Mara said as they overlooked the city. "You could probably find a worse collection of scum and villainy somewhere in the galaxy but you'd have to look hard to do it."

"I'm ready for anything," Luke said.

"I hope so," Mara laughed. In spite of his naiveté, she had to hand it to the guy, he had confidence. If he survived he might someday learn to back that confidence up.

"So what do we do when we get down there," Luke said as he approached the speeder. "Book passage on a transport?"

"I have a ship," Mara said.

"Oh right," Luke nodded. "Of course you do."

"There is one thing though," Mara said and glanced at R2. "Your little droid, it would be really easy for him to get lost or wander off in that city…"

"Oh don't worry about Artoo," Luke said. "He's not going to run away again. Are you Artoo?"

R2 let out a series of beeps and whistles that caused Luke to raise a brow as somehow they all sounded noncommittal. Almost like the dorid was lying about not wanting to run off. Was that even possible?

"We only met because he ran away," Mara said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I saw the restraining bolt in the glove compartment; it would be a good idea to put it back on. We need to return the stolen data he has and you need your droid."

"I guess you're right," Luke shrugged and grabbed the bolt. "Sorry about this buddy."

R2 whined and warbled the entire time Luke fitted the bolt but in the end it was fitted and Artoo let out a woeful 'dwooooo'. The little droid's feelings notwithstanding, they soon made their way into the city.

For Luke it was an eye opener. He'd never been to Mos Eisely before and he had no idea such a big city even existed on Tatooine. Everywhere he looked there was something new, a new class of droid he'd never seen, an alien race he never knew existed, and everywhere imperial stormtroopers marched and questioned people.

Luke didn't have time to wonder about it though, as a squad of stormtroopers quickly pulled them over and approached Luke, sitting in the drivers seat. His natural instincts took over and he had to fight the urge to gun the engines, stormtroopers were never good news, even if his current companion worked for the same organization.

"You two, how long have you had this droid?"

"A couple of seasons," Luke managed, unsure what Mara would do at this point.

"Is there a problem captain?" Mara said.

"Let me see your identification."

"Of course," Mara said and handed him an id card.

The stormtrooper examined it for a moment before handing it back to Mara and glancing at his men.

"This isn't the droid we're looking for, they can go about their business," he turned back to them. "Move along."

Luke managed, at least he hoped he did, to keep his face straight as he looked from the trooper to the controls then touched the accelerator and maneuvered them away from the stormtroopers. Mara busied herself with putting her id away and smiling smugly to herself.

"What's on your id? Some sort of high ranking imperial clearance?" Luke said. "Sorry, I'm still not used to stormtroopers, I thought we were dead, I guess that was kind of dumb."

"No Luke," she said. "It's never dumb to be wary of stormtroopers, they're doing their job but some in the Empire are a little heavy handed, stormtroopers included. As to what exactly happened back there… let's just say I gave him an id that he could respect."

"What…" Luke glanced back at her. "What exactly do you do in the Empire?"

"I'm a patent clerk," she winked at him but then shrugged. "Internal affairs."

"That makes sense," Luke nodded. "So which way to your ship?"

Mara gave him the necessary directions, though, on their way they did manage to get a little lost. The streets of Mos Eisely weren't exactly familiar to them. But after a few missed streets they found their way to the docking bays and just as quickly to the one that housed Mara's ship.

"What about my speeder?" Luke said as they got out.

"You can sell it," Mara said. "Trust me, in the service of the Empire you'll be able to get one that's a hell of a lot better."

"Service of the Empire," Luke muttered as he eyed his speeder.

Mara latched onto his hand so he would look at her. "Luke, believe me that it will be okay. We're not all the monsters you think we are."

"I don't think you're a monster," Luke said.

"Good," she smiled. "Now lock your speeder down and come see my ship. Then I'll help you find a buyer and we can leave."

Luke nodded and followed her into the docking bay, making sure that the restraining bolt system on R2 was functional. The droid had made nothing but defeated moaning noises ever since the bolt had been reattached. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt sorry for the little droid, it wasn't his fault he carried stolen data.

Upon entering the docking bay, Luke expected to find some sort of modern imperial transport craft. Perhaps a lambda class shuttle even. Instead he was greeted with the sight of an empty hanger. He even spotted little dust cyclones in the center of it. In the end he could only scratch his head and look to his companion.

"You sure you remember where you parked?" he said.

"Very funny Skywalker," she said then frowned. "But… I don't… I did land here."

"We should talk to the docking officer," Luke said.

After nearly an hour they finally found their way to the docking offices, only to be met with a gaggle of busy administration droids, a napping secretary and finally a three-eyed gran that could barely look up from his reports to give them the time of day.

"What docking bay did you say you landed at?" he said in basic so perfect it bordered on unsettling.

"Forty one," Mara said.

"Forty one," the gran said, glancing down at his computer. "Forty one, forty one, forty… oh… oh my."

"What?" Luke said.

"It would appear that… oh well…" he glanced back up at them then down at his screen. "It would appear that I've found the problem. I'm afraid I can't help you find your ship."

"What the hell does that mean?" Mara said.

"You see, you landed in docking bay forty one two days ago then didn't respond to any of our communications. Docking bay forty one was to be cleared for use by Jabba the Hutt."

"You're kidding," Mara leaned her hands onto the table. "What did you do with my ship?"

"We tried to contact you!" the gran said. "But when we couldn't, Jabba had your ship impounded. I'm afraid he has your ship now."

"Oh that's just kriffing perfect!" Mara said. "I have to deal with a Hutt to get my ship back?"

"I'm afraid so," the gran said.

"Stop saying that," Mara hissed then made for the door.

"Come on Luke, we're going."

Slightly dumbfounded, Luke followed dutifully behindas soon as they exited the building. Luke almost thought the situation was comical, he'd known Mara for less than a day but in that time she'd always exuded confidence and competence. It was actually kind of refreshing to see that she was every bit as human as he was.

"So," Luke said, his mind slightly reeling at the thought of their next step. "Are we really going to try and set up a meeting with Jabba?"

Mara remained still, her eyes clenched shut as though fighting back a head ache. Finally she released a breath and shook her head. "No, the information contained in your R2 unit is time sensitive. We can't afford to hang around here, especially with the Rebellion on our tails. We're going to need to find a transport like you suggested."

"Okay," Luke said. "So where do we do that? A local cantina?"

"Not so much," she said. "Trust me Luke, you go looking to talk to those spacer directly and all of them are going to just want to add the use of your body to price of transport."

"I don't think that's something I need to worry about," Luke said.

"Hmmm," her eyes roamed over him. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Luke blushed and she grinned motioning him to follow her to a computer.

"Mos Eisely is dangerous, but it's no Nar Shadda," Boba Fett said. "Which is why it's a good thing we're not going there."

Leia gazed down at the spaceport, watching as various starships took off and landed. Granted, it was nothing compared to the spaceports at Aldera or Coronet, but it wasn't tiny either. And at this point she didn't feel like arguing with Fett, mostly because she hadn't made up her mind about her next move.

Her instincts, her gut, told her to get on a ship and get to Nar Shadda. In the back of her mind she could still hear the ghostly voice of Qui-gon Jinn telling her that rescuing Obi-wan was of the utmost importance. But she couldn't just abandon the Rebellion by ignoring the fact that an Imperial assassin now had the Death Star plans.

"Do you think Luke is down there?" Biggs said.

"I hope that he is," Leia said. "Because he will have Artoo with him."

"And an assassin," Winter said.

"And if we run into her," Fett said. "Let me deal with it. You kids have no idea what you're up against with the likes of her."

"I'm ready for anything," Biggs said.

"Let's go," Winter said as she rolled her eyes.

The four of them piled back into the speeder, which had proved all too cramped, especially with C3P0's unyielding metal frame occupying a seat. Yet each of them was privately thankful that the speeder had gotten them this far. They'd still be in the desert if they were on bantha.

Biggs navigated the speeder into the city, muttering a curse every time the engine stalled or sputtered, only to just as quickly talk to it in a reassuring voice like one might a frightened pet.

"It's okay girl," Biggs patted the dash. "You're doing so good. Just a little bit further."

"Will you stop that," Fett said. "You sound ridiculous."

"Hey," Biggs said. "I don't tell you how to bounty hunt, you don't tell me how to pilot."

"Can I tell you how to pilot?" Winter said. "You need to slow down, you don't want to attract any patrols."

"Patrols…" Leia muttered as she looked on the cityscape around her. Deep down in her stomach, a feeling of unease rose up until she felt a chill. For half a moment she thought she imagined stormtroopers carting them off and taking C3P0 with them. Quickly she started shuffling her cloak off.

"What are you doing?" Fett said.

Leia finished doffing her robe and threw it into the back seat where Fett, Winter, and C3P0 were. "Put this on the droid and pull up the hood, make sure his photoreceptors don't show."

"I beg your pardon Mistress Leia," the droid said. "But what is the matter-"

"Listen to me Threepio, if we get stopped you're to act as though you are my uncle."

"But Mistress Leia I find this highly irregular! I'm an interpreter not a Dramabot!"

"Threepio that's a direct order," Leia said and looked to Fett and Winter who began dressing the droid.

"Better do it fast," Biggs said. "They've set up a checkpoint. We're going to have to talk to them one way or another."

The two in the back barely had time to pull the robe around the droid as Biggs began slowing the vehicle down. Leia's heart stammered in her chest as she kept looking back at the droid and then at the patrol, all the while thankful that this speeder came with a fully covered canopy and tinted windows. By the time Biggs finally stopped the speeder they'd just barely managed to get the hood over Threepio's head.

"Good afternoon captain," Biggs said after lowering his window. "Is there a problem?"

The stormtrooper lowered his head so he could peer into the speeder. Leia's stomach turned in knots but she used a practiced smile as the stormtrooper looked at her then back at the other occupants; Leia did so as well, suddenly thankful that in all of the commotion, Fett had chosen to remove his own helmet.

"Routine inspection," the stormtrooper said. "What's your business here in Mos Eisely?"

"We're looking to buy some droids to help with the upcoming harvest," Biggs said. "Heard there were some good deals here."

"Droids huh?" the stormtrooper said as he looked into the cabin again. "What kind of droids are you looking for?"

"Anything that can speak a trade language," Fett said. "Like Bocce."

"Maybe a utility droid," Leia said. "We're going to have to see what we can find."

The stormtrooper regard them for a second then told them to wait right where they were. He then went to the small group of stormtroopers that backed him up and began a conversation they couldn't hear. Leia watched as Bigg's foot hovered over the accelerator, ready to jam it down if need; all the while she fought her instincts to reach for her blaster.

Finally the stormtrooper came back, dipping his head so he could get a good look into the cabin. "When you're out droid shopping, you keep a look out for any droids that may look stolen. If you find anything, report it immediately. Understand?"

"Yes sir," They all said.

"Also this speeder you have looks pretty beat up, you may want to have it inspected," he said then nodded toward C3P0. "You got that back there?"

Leia felt her hand going for her blaster as Threepio didn't respond right away. They were so close now! She just had to pray that—

"Of course sir," C3P0 said. "It's been in the family for years, but it's up for sale if you want it."

"No," the stormtrooper said. "I don't think we need a beat up, outdated landspeeder."

"Are you sure sir?" the droid said. "We're willing to bargain, I'm positive that we can find a price that we would all find equitable. This model is a little dilapidated but with the proper maintenance it is quite serviceable and could even draw a high price by the right coll-"

"Alright shut up, go about your business and remember what I said about those droids."

"Yes sir," Biggs nodded, waiting just long enough for the stormtrooper to step back before easing them away, slowly picking up speed until they could put some proper distance between them and the checkpoint. Only when there were no imperial troops in sight did any of them breath sighs of relief.

"This is the craziest, stupidest job I ever did," Fett muttered as he put his helmet back on.

"Threepio," Biggs said. "Next time I go looking for a new starfighter I'm taking you with me. You're a natural salesman."

"That is the strangest compliment I've ever received," the droid said.

It didn't take them long to come to the docking bay where Winter had her ship stowed. Leia found herself still considering her options even as they unloaded from the speeder and entered the docking ring. Biggs was already talking about finding the dock officer and getting everything ready for them to leave like it was all decided. Meanwhile Fett mentioned something about finding them a false registry just in case they got stopped.

She just knew that she'd never forgive herself if she didn't try to find R2-D2.

Initially, she followed after everyone into docking bay 93, where Winter's sleek, J-type Nubian Star Skiff lay berthed. Biggs gawked and went on about it being a classic and practically worshiping the thing while Fett complained about it being rubbish in a fight. Slowly, they boarded with the princess taking up the rear. Leia waited until Fett decided to avail himself of the comm-unit, something about getting in touch with his contacts and getting some proper gear, before slipping out of the ship altogether.

She wasn't at all sure where she was going to go. She didn't have the smallest clue as how to find the assassin. But she needed to start somewhere. If she could just make the slightest bit of headway she might have enough momentum to make Fett fall in line.

Careful to stick to the back alleys and take as many detours as she could, Leia began working her way through the city. She needed to make it as hard as she could for Fett to follow her and she knew it wouldn't take him long to realize she was gone. She just had to hope that what Qui-gon had said was true, that the Force would guide her.

Her comm-link buzzed and she knew that it was the others looking for her. She promised herself that she would answer soon but otherwise ignored it. Something in her gut was telling her to go on, keep following the path that she was on. There was something here for her, she just had to find it.

Eventually she came out into an open street and immediately cursed her luck. So much for the Force guiding her. Off to one side, an imperial patrol marched by. To the other, Fett and her companions stood, looking around in every direction. Leia took a couple of steps back and then her eyes fell onto an open doorway. Her nose wrinkled at the idea of stepping into a trashy cantina, but she didn't have much choice at this point.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light in the cantina but once she did, she was greeted with the sight of a veritable menagerie of assorted alien races. Off to the side, a Bith band played a peppy jatz tune. If not for the smell, this place would actually be quite refreshing.

Leia made her way to the bar, dodging several small aliens, and took a stool. Perhaps this was the way to start. She could ask around, surely these sentient beings had their ears to the ground; some of them had ears that touched the ground! Maybe one of them would be able to recognize the assassin or even Luke. It was worth a try.

An effort, that unfortunately, Leia wasn't able to make right away. She hadn't seated herself for more than a minute before a particularly inebriated aqualish latched onto her shoulder and grumbled something in his language. Leia pulled her arm away from him and turned away. Not two seconds later a finger tapped her shoulder.

"He likes you," a particularly ugly man said, breathing his foul breath all over her.

"I'm sorry," Leia said.

"I like you too," he grinned. "You should come with us, you would like it. I know your type, you like danger. I have the death sentence on twelve systems."

"I'd rather be careful," Leia said and made to get up. The man latched onto her and spun her around, digging his hands into her shoulders.

"You'll be dead!"

"This one's not worth the effort," a smooth voice suddenly came and Leia turned to see a tall, sandy haired man approaching. He wore an outfit that identified him as a spacer with a white shirt, tall boots, and black vest, all in all giving him a fairly scruffy look. Not exactly a knight in shining armor but she'd take what she could get at this point.

"What if I think she is?" the man said, still gripping her shoulders.

"She's not," the spacer said as a wookiee stood up behind him and roared something so loud that the bith musicians stopped playing.

Both the aqualish and his companion were so frightened they practically stumbled over themselves to get away, both falling over each other to exit the cantina. Leia couldn't help but grin as they ran away, even drunk ne're-do-wells knew better than to upset a wookiee.

"You said it Chewie," her rescuer said. "Some people don't know how to treat a lady."

"And I suppose you do," Leia raised a brow.

The spacer gave her a disarming lopsided grin. "Why don't you come to my booth over there and you can decide for yourself?"

"Thank you sir," Leia said, trying to decide if she found him charming or disgusting. "But I think I'm quite comfortable right here."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged but then nodded toward the door. "But it looks like someone's taking an interest in the ruckus we just caused."

Leia glanced toward the door to see a group of stormtroopers entering. Quickly she hopped out of her seat and followed the spacer to his booth. He told his wookiee companion to go and prep their ship while Leia took her seat; then, just as quickly, she leaned across the table and took his hands in hers. To anyone watching they would appear a couple of humans that just so happened to be something of an item.

"The name's Han Solo," he grinned when he realized what she was doing. "Let me guess, you're in some kind of local trouble?"

"You could say that," Leia said with the sweetest grin she could muster, her eyes occasionally darting over to the stormtroopers. "But I don't need you to come charging to my rescue."

"Of course not," Solo said. "Just like you don't need me to help you avoid this stormtrooper patrol."

"How sweet," Leia said in almost a sing-song tone. "But I'm quite capable of handling myself. Besides, I get the sense your help comes with a hefty fee."

"It's what you pay for the best sweetheart," Solo grinned leaving his hands entangled with hers, even though the stormtroopers had left.

"Best at what? Having a burly wookiee friend to intimidate drunkards? Hardly a marketable talent," Leia leaned back in her seat, taking her hands away from him.

"You'd be surprised," Solo said. "But I happen to be the best starpilot this side of the mid-rim. I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon."

"And?"

"You haven't heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

"Should I have?"

"She's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

Leia cocked a brow. Did this guy think she was stupid? She couldn't decide if he was looking at her like she was an easy mark or fresh meat. Either way she didn't see any point in engaging him in an argument about his rather lofty claims about his ship.

"I'm sure it has," she said. "But I'm not looking for a ship. I have one of those. What I really need is information."

"Information," Solo raised a brow. "Well that's what everyone wants these days. What do you need?"

"I'm looking for a woman…"

"Now you're just breaking my heart."

"… And a young man, about my age. They've stolen an astromech droid that belongs to me."

"Interesting, and what exactly are you willing to pay for this information?"

"You know who I'm talking about?" Leia leaned over the table.

Solo just fired her that damn smirk of his. "I didn't say that, but let's assume that I may know something. What's it worth to you?"

"More than a few credits," Leia said. "Especially if you can help me-"

Her voice trailed off when she realized someone was standing right in front of their table. For a moment she worried it was the stormtroopers or even Fett. Instead she looked up to see a particularly weasley looking rodian hovering about, staring at both herself and Captain Solo.

"You should leave," the rodian said in huttese. "You should leave now little one."

"Buzz off Greedo," Solo said. "The lady and I are talking."

"And now you and I are talking," Greedo said. "Tell her to get lost."

"I'm quite comfortable where I am thank you very much," Leia said. "You can speak with the good captain later."

"I'll talk to him now," the rodian drew his blaster.

For the first couple of seconds, Leia considered getting up, but this guy knew something. So instead of leaving she scooted over, finding herself sitting alongside the spacer. Even in this tense situation she noticed his grin as he draped his arm around her shoulder.

"There's no need for this Greedo," Solo said. "I was just on my way to see your boss. Tell Jabba I have the money."

"It's too late," the Rodian said. "You should have paid him when you had the chance. Jabba put a price on your head so large, every bounty hunter in the Galaxy will be looking for you."

"Yeah but this time I have the money," Solo said, bringing one hand down the side of his body while the other one stroked Leia's hair.

"If you give it to me I might forget that I saw you," Greedo said.

"As if he would have it with him," Leia said.

"Exactly," Solo said. "Tell Jabba-"

"Jabba's through with you! He has no time for smugglers that drop their shipments at the first sign of an imperial cruiser."

"Look, even I get boarded sometimes, you think I had a choice."

"Tell that to Jabba! He may only take your ship."

"Over my dead body," Solo practically growled.

"That's the idea," Greedo said, his finger itching toward the trigger. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

Leia didn't wait, she didn't hesitate. The moment she saw the rodian squeezing his trigger she went for her own. Greedo, having caught her movement out of the corner of his eye trained his pistol at her but he was too late. She pumped a bolt point blank in his chest. The entire bar went silent as the rodian fell in a smoking heap.

The first sound to interrupt the silence was a chuckle from Solo himself. She looked at him as he holstered his own blaster. "That's quite some trigger finger you have sister."

"It seems I need to go," she said, knowing imperial troops wouldn't be far off. "And it looks like we're even."

"Yeah, I'd say that we are," Solo got up with her. "You saved me the trouble of blasting him myself, nice work."

Solo tossed the barman a cred chit and followed Leia out into the sunlight. For a moment they just stood there looking at each other. Leia knew she couldn't afford to just stand there but she needed to continue negotiating with him.

"So about that information," she said.

"Sorry sweetheart," He looked down at her. "I was just wanting to know how much you were offering so I could keep my ear to the ground. I've got no idea who you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to charter and it's more important than ever that I do it. See you around sister."

Solo gave her a slight nod and started off. Leia remained where she was for a moment before running after him. She'd seen a flash of recognition in his eyes when she brought up the people she was after. He knew something!

"Wait! You can't just-"

"There you are!" a voice barked and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. Leia tried punching the man but her fist just hit his armor. Boba Fett shoved her at a wall only to have Winter and Biggs jump between him and the Princess.

"Don't ever try running away like that again Princess," Fett hissed. "You're no good to me dead."

"She's not dead, she's fine," Winter said. "So you can keep your hands off."

"Idiot!" Leia said as she got up and ran back into the street. But to her dismay, Captain Solo was nowhere to be seen. "I can't believe it! I had a lead on the assassin!"

"You did?" Biggs said. "What about Luke?"

"Him to!" Leia clenched her fists together as she glared at Fett. "Help me find him! He can lead us to the assassin."

"No," Fett said. "I'm not chasing after a karking assassin for you. We're going back to Retrac's ship and getting the hell away from here."

"Absolutely not!" Leia said. "I'm not leaving until I find Artoo! Come on! He can't have gotten far!"

"Leia wait! Wait!" Winter said but Leia was already barreling down the streets looking for Han Solo.

Luke shook his head as the bodies hit the ground. The first thing he saw when Mara had woken him up in the desert, apart from her face, was dead sand people. Now two men lay dead on the streets of Mos Eisely. An aqualish and a particularly ugly human. Both dead at her hand. He didn't like this pattern.

"I'm alright," Luke said as Mara helped him up.

"You certainly have a way with people buddy," Mara said. "I thought you were trying to sell them your speeder?"

"That's what I thought too," Luke shook his head. "Next thing I knew they were throwing me to the ground and ranting about having the death sentence on seven systems or something."

"Looks like justice had its day then," Mara shrugged. "I just got a signal from our ride. It's time to go."

"But I haven't sold my speeder yet," Luke said.

Mara's lips tightened and for a second Luke thought she was staring him down. But in the end she just sighed and took him by the hand. "Luke, I'll call the Imperial governor after we're gone and he'll put your speeder on the market, but right now we need to get Artoo to safety. Besides, once we get to Coruscant you'll forget all about that old thing."

"Alright," Luke frowned and glanced back at his speeder. It was really the last thing he had on this planet. He fully intended to never come back to this place but there was a twinge of regret just leaving it here.

"Come on," Mara smiled and squeezed his hand. "We have a ship to catch."

With each step they took, Luke found his conflicting emotions lifting just a bit. Maybe he was excited at the prospect of going to the Galactic City. Maybe he was excited at the prospect of learning how to wield a lightsaber. Or maybe it was because Mara kept a warm grip on his hand the entire time. Either way, he felt better and better about his decision to come with her the closer they got to their docking bay.

Of course he couldn't entirely forget his doubts, especially with R2 following behind them tooting in a mournful tone. He'd never seen a droid act this way before. His uncle had told him to have its memory wiped and Luke hadn't been a fan of this idea. But if the droid kept going on like this, he'd have to consider it.

Finally they came to the docking bay and Luke saw for the first time, the ship that would carry him and Mara to Coruscant where he was going to begin his new life. In his mind it had been a sleek, fine craft. The reality of it however…

"What a piece of junk!" Luke couldn't help himself.

"She'll make point five past lightspeed," the captain said. Luke hadn't met him yet. Mara had found him over the holonet and conducted the entire negotiation through a holo-unit. "She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself. But, we're a little rushed so if you'll just get on board we'll get out of here."

"Sounds good to me, Artoo get on board," Mara said as she eyed the ship then looked to the captain. "Pleasure to meet you in person."

"Han Solo," he extended his hand to her.

"Mara Jade."

"I'm Luke Skywalker," Luke said.

"That's great kid," he said as he shook Mara's hand, never breaking eye contact with her. "Your credits cleared nicely but let's be straight. No Imperial entanglements and I get the other half when we reach Coruscant?"

"That's what I sai-"

Mara halted mid-sentence as if she'd heard something. She released Solo's hand and turned to the main hanger entrance with a look of alarm and suspicion. Luke followed her gaze and seconds later a small group of men and women appeared, each of them armed to the teeth or at least they looked that way to a farmboy that had never seen anybody armed to the teeth.

He of course recognized the bounty hunter right away, as well as the cloaked Jedi that shuffled in behind the rest of them. There were two women he didn't recognize, though one, at least from a distance, looked like the princess from the recordings.

But in the end there was only one that he really paid attention to. His heart sank into his stomach the moment he saw him. Seeing him with the people that had attacked Mara and himself in the desert confirmed everything he'd feared and Mara said.

"Luke!" Biggs said. "Luke you have to listen to-"

A blaster bolt from Mara nearly hit him and sent the intruders ducking for cover, except for the Jedi who stumbled to the ground, golden limbs dangling about. Luke didn't have time to question why the Jedi looked like C3P0 under the robes, he too was ducking for cover as the ship bounty hunter and the women returned fire.

Mara and Solo each fired back, each of them missing their mark but creating enough chaos that Luke could make for the loading ramp. He grabbed Mara's hand and pulled her up with him. She resisted at first, at least until Captain Solo charged up the ramp and hit the close mechanism.

Luke and Mara tumbled on the floor together as the loading ramp shut and Solo ran to the cockpit. A few blaster shots could be heard hitting the ship's hull even as the engines began to rumble.

"Get off me!" Mara pushed Luke away and climbed to her feet, running to the cockpit. Luke quickly rolled onto his feet and raced after her, passing R2 as he went. He reached the cockpit just as the ship took off.

"I know Chewie I know!" Solo said to wookiee that sat in the co-pilot's chair. "Just get us out of here!"

"But aren't we out of danger?" Luke said. "There's no way they can hit us now."

"Don't be so sure kid," Solo nodded to the bottom right window. "Looks like their ship is adjacent to ours."

Luke looked out of the cockpit to see the docking bay alongside theirs contained a sleek spacecraft of its own. Even from this distance, he could see their attackers making their way to it. If they had things running smoothly they could airborne in time for pursuit.

"You said this thing was fast," Mara said. "I hope you weren't just selling us a bill of goods."

"We can outrun that thing honey," Solo said though as soon as he did an indicator light came on.

"What's that?" Luke said.

"They're airborne already," Han said. "Looks like they really want to catch you guys."

Moments later the ship rocked with turbo laser fire, they'd only barely cleared the atmosphere. But the rebel ship stayed right on them, blasting as it went. Luke was almost jostled out of his seat.

"I thought you said we'd lose them," Luke said.

"Watch your mouth kid or you're going to be floating home!" Solo said.

Chewie barked a few things and Solo locked onto a couple of new blips on the screen. "Looks like the Empire didn't like us blasting out of the spaceport unauthorized. Two of them coming in fast."

"This is a fine mess you've gotten us into," Mara said.

"Don't worry I'll get us right back out of it," Solo grinned the ship buckled again. "This is where the fun begins. You two go get buckled in, we're going to calculate the jump to lightspeed."

"But they're gaining on us!" Luke said.

Solo went on a tirade about how hyperspace worked all the while the deflector screens went out. The navicomputer finally beeped that the coordinates were set and Solo ordered them back. Luke and Mara ran to the passenger deck and strapped themselves in, just in time to feel the ship lurch into lightspeed.

Mara breathed a sigh of relief but Luke found he felt no such respite. Sure, they'd gotten away, but his mind kept going back to seeing Biggs standing there in that hanger. Standing with the people that had been trying to kill him. They may have escaped but Luke had lost a friend forever.

"Fett, get off the damn guns!" Biggs yelled into the comm-channel. "They're gone… and we have bigger problems to deal with!"

Ship buffeted under the turbo laser cannons of the star destroyers and Biggs swore at their bad luck. The assassin had gotten away with Luke and the droid, and top of it, they were about to get blasted into cosmic dust. Winter worked the co-pilot's position trying to boost power to the rear deflectors.

"They're going to be in tractor range any minute," Winter said.

"I know a few maneuvers, we'll lose them," Biggs said. "That is if we have a destination."

"Is there any way you can track them?" Leia said.

"If we had an hour to analyze their trajectory?" Biggs said. "Probably not, but we have to pick a destination ourselves and get the hell out of here!"

"I'll lay in the coordinates to Alderaan," Winter said.

"I hear it's wonderful on Alderaan," Biggs said. "Especially this time of year."

Leia merely stared forward at the empty space in front of them. Thousands of potential destinations to chose from and all she wanted was to figure out where that damn Captain Solo's ship had gone. Coruscant was a good bet, but it could be to any number of Imperial installations. There was simply no way of knowing.

The ship rocked again and she thought she heard an echo of a calming voice. Like a reminder from a long dead Jedi master. The ship buckled and she gripped her straps. It was too late to retrieve the droid. But she still had another mission to fulfill. One that deep down she knew she should have been concentrating on from the beginning.

"Nar Shadda," she said, drawing the attention of the others. "Set coordinates to Nar Shadda."

"Your highness," Winter said. "We need to get to a safe port. Your father will be needing word of your rescue. We need a back up plan now that the Empire has recovered Artoo."

"That doesn't matter," Leia said. "All that matters it finding General Kenobi. Set the coordinates to Nar Shadda."

Slowly Winter nodded and entered the necessary computations into the navicomputer. Fett appeared soon after, reporting that if they didn't leave the system immediately they would be captured by the star destroyers. Leia fixed her gaze on a point of light, for the first time in days, in spite of the peril and the failure, she felt right about something.

"Coordinates are set!" Biggs said. "Punching it!"

The stars streaked and the ship fired into hyperspace. Leia let out a sigh, like it or not she was committed now. She would not rest until she found Obi-wan Kenobi.

Next time: Tales of a Jedi on the Smuggler's Moon.