Chapter 9

A Jedi Found

"I'm just saying we should consider it," Biggs said.

"Darklighter your suggestion is not without merit," Leia said. "But I don't think now is the time to confront Fett."

We can't trust him," Winter said. "He took us into that viper's den, who knows what might have recognized you."

"And no one says we should confront him," Biggs said. "Just give him the slip and get off this pit of a planet."

"We're not leaving here until we learn of Obi-wan's fate," Leia said.

Biggs and Winter exchanged looks, neither of them needed to say anything to each other. Both of them had come to the same conclusion quite separately. Now it was only a matter of who would break first and confront the Princess.

"My lady," Winter said. Perhaps we need to face the truth that Kenobi is dead."

"He's not," Leia said

"You can't know that," Winter said. "You heard Sing, no Jedi has been heard of here since the Purge."

"But we know that Kenobi was taken by a droid-"

"Do we?" Biggs said. "All we saw was a worn out shanty in the desert that had a Jedi robe and a lightsaber in it. You just seem to have assumed he was taken by a droid and thought that the scrap metal was proof. What's more likely is that the Empire found him and killed him."

"They didn't," Leia said. "What I'm telling you is true, Kenobi was taken by a droid. That Systech scrap surely belonged to it."

"But Mistress Leia," Threepio said. "There is no Systech, it went out of business millennia ago! I only knew of it because its name is included in my databanks as an early pioneer in droid manufacturing!"

"This discussion is over," Leia said. "We're staying on the smuggler's moon until I'm satisfied our lost knight is not here."

Winter sighed and put a hand on Leia's shoulder, "Just... Just please tell me what it is that makes you so certain of the droid and of Kenobi"

Leia stared into her dear friend's eyes, her mouth opened as though she might answer but in the end she blinked and looked away.

"I can't tell you," She said. "I just need you to trust me."

"They may trust you," Fett's voice came and the saw him leaning against the hotel, just by the entrance. "But I don't. You know something, something more than you're letting on. You started acting this way right after you went into Kenobi's hut."

"That's none of your business Fett," Leia said.

"Actually it is," Fett said. "Sing just let me know that people that do what we're doing on Nar Shaddaa, tend to wind up dead. So if I'm going to be risking my life for some mission of yours, there better be one hell of a good explanation. What did you find in that hut?"

"These clothes and my lightsaber," Leia said quickly, somewhat evasively.

"There has to be more than that," Biggs said.

"That's what I found I-"

"Your highness, what was in that hut?"

"I-"

"Tell us."

"You wouldn't-"

"Tell us."

"It's compli-"

"Tell us!"

"A Jedi!" Leia snapped, silencing all three of them. "A Jedi Master appeared to me and he told me Obi-wan had been kidnapped by a droid."

"A Jedi," Fett lowered his head as if peering at her. "You met a Jedi out in the karking desert and we're slogging through the streets of Nar Shaddaa looking for Kenobi?"

"If you remember…" Biggs said. "… we met one too. Which means it was probably the same guy."

"They weren't the same," Leia said.

"How can you know?" Winter said. "We were his captives all night and only saw him once. He could easily have travelled to that hut and met you."

"No, you don't understand," Leia said then rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't even believe me. You met a Jedi named A'Sharad Hett, I met a Jedi named Qui-gon Jinn."

"Qui-gon Jinn?" Fett said. "Jinn died before any of you were born."

"I know," Leia said. "But you asked, I told. Now can we get a move on and get back to our mission?"

"… Your Highness we can't just…" Winter said, glancing to Biggs and even to Fett. "… What mission? To find a man that a dead Jedi told you to find? You have to understand that you're making no sense at all."

"I agree with her," Fett said. "Not that you ever did, but if I'm understanding you correctly you're chasing Kenobi because a ghost told you to."

"Call it whatever you want," Leia said. "I know what I saw and I'm not abandoning my mission."

"Your Highness," Winter said. "Forgive me but you've been under a lot of stress. You'd been hiking through the desert with no water for the better part of a day. Don't you think it's possible that you imagined seeing this Jedi Master?"

"Even I passed out from exhaustion," Fett said. "I can't believe I let you bring me out here. If this is really all you have to go on then I'm ready to drag you back to the ship and haul you to Alderaan whether you like it or not."

"You're not taking her anywhere," Biggs said. "So I say we get back to trying to figure out this riddle about Systech."

"You believe her?" Winter said.

"I don't know," Biggs shrugged. "But I've seen dead Jedi in the desert too if you remember. She has no reason to make that kind of a story up, so why not assume that she saw what she says she saw?"

Leia looked to Biggs and gave him a polite nod, "Thank you Darklighter. At least someone here believes me."

"Maybe someone else believes you too," Fett said then whirled about and fired a shot into the alley way behind them. The others snatched their weapons out too but Fett ignored them altogether and kept his blaster rifle aimed into the alley.

"Come out now or the next shot will kill you," he said, his finger pushing on the trigger ever so slightly.

Leia peered into the alleyway but saw no one, just darkness. Fett stood like some menacing statue, ready to kill blast the shadows into oblivion. And for a moment it looked like he would have to do it. But finally a flicker of movement came from the shadows and a scrawny Rodian skulked out with his hands over his head.

"No shoot Gluupor!" he said.

"Yes shoot Gluupor," Fett seized the Rodian by his tattered collar. "Unless Gluupor tells Fett what he heard."

"Nothing! Gluupor hear nothing! Please! Gluupor hungry! Gluupor hear nothing!"

"Leave him alone," Leia said but Fett ignored her and began searching the poor Rodian's pockets. Finally he retrieved a small device.

"Gluupor hear nothing eh?" he shoved the blaster under the Rodian's neck. "What's this then? A com-device of some kind."

"No! No! Gluupor find it! Belong to Gluupor!"

"What did you hear!? And who were you transmitting it to?"

"Fett," Biggs grabbed the bounty hunter's shoulder. "Open your eyes, that's just a piece of junk. It's older than the one that the Princess found in the hut. I can tell from here that there's no way it's functional."

"He heard us!" Fett said. "He knows everything about Systech, about the Princess's crazy vision, about the Jedi."

"Jedi yes," Gluupor said, his antennae perking up a bit.

"You know of Jedi?" Leia stepped forward.

"Don't encourage him," Fett growled.

"Jedi yes, Gluupor know Jedi. Jedi on Nar Shaddaa, Jedi help Underdwellers."

At this, Leia exchanged glances with Winter and Biggs, even Fett seemed to pause at the Rodian's statement. Of course they'd already gathered he was an Underdweller. But that he would be able to say anything about actual Jedi…

"Are you saying you've seen a Jedi here on Nar Shaddaa?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes!" Gluupor said.

"Can you take us to him?" Leia said.

"… Gluupor hungry."

"Oh I've had enough of this," Fett shoved the Rodian at the wall. The poor alien shrieked and stumbled to the ground, curling up in a little ball as he looked up at the bounty hunter. "Tell us where the Jedi is and Gluupor can go on being hungry!"

"That's enough!" Leia said as she stepped up behind Fett and jammed the hilt of her lightsaber up against his back. He immediately stiffened but kept his head staring straight ahead.

"Princess Leia!" C3P0 cried out. "Do be-"

"Quiet," Leia said then looked back up at Fett. "I'm not going to stand by while you threaten and abuse this poor creature. Darklighter has protein wafers and rations he brought from the ship, any of us have more credits in our pockets than this sentient will see in a year. We can afford to give him something in exchange for his information."

"Gluupoor," the Rodian cried. "Gluuuporrr"

"Get that lightsaber away from my back," Fett said.

"You'll behave yourself?"

For a heavy second, Fett turned his head, just enough that he could likely see the Princess out of the corner of his eye. Both Winter and Biggs had already drawn their blasters but they steadied their aim at the bounty hunter. Finally, Fett seemed to almost shrug as he removed his finger from the trigger of his blaster and held it up.

"Good," Leia said and took a step back, stowing her lightsaber but keeping her other hand next to her blaster. "Now we can get along. Gluupor? Would you like something to eat?"

"Gluupor hungry!"

"Darklighter," Leia said.

Biggs rummaged in his pack then tossed a ration bar to the Rodian. Gluupor seized it in mid-air and barely had the wrapper off before he shoved it up his snout. Fett just shook his head and turned around, pausing to lean in closer to Leia.

"He's going to lead us into a trap, mark my words."

"We'll see," Leia said then looked to the Rodian. "Gluupor, would you like more food?"

The Rodian didn't speak, but instead reached out and took Leia's hand. Before she could react he placed his snout over her knuckles in something of a 'kiss' then knelt in front of her with his head bowed.

"You have lightstick! You Jedi like Jedi Gluupor know! Gluupor take you there!"

Leia merely glanced over to Fett and fired him a triumphant smile. The bounty hunter shook his head and reluctantly followed as Gluupor led them down the streets, further into the depths of Nar Shaddaa's lower levels.

"…our positions correct except… no Alderaan," Solo muttered, his eyes locked on the navicomputer. Astroids continued to pelt the Falcon as Luke and Mara gazed into empty space where a blue white marble of a planet should have been.

"What do you mean?" Luke said. "Where is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you kid," Solo said. "It ain't there. It's totally blown away."

"How is that even possible?" Luke said. "Could it have been… could the Empire have done it?"

"Not likely," Mara said before Solo could speak up. "The entire fleet couldn't destroy an entire planet. It would take far too much firepower and-"

The sensors began beeping rapidly, signaling an incoming ship. Mara frowned as the TIE fighter passed over them, letting loose a quick volley of turbo-laser fire as it went. Solo and Luke postulated over how it could have gotten out there but Mara kept her eyes on a nearby dot in space getting bigger.

Sure, she'd denied that the Empire had the power to destroy an entire planet. And as far as she knew, it didn't. But she'd heard rumors and inklings of a new weapon being built, in fact, she suspected that the information Luke's psychotic little droid carried was about just that. Could this have been the result?

"You shouldn't be jamming his transmissions!" Luke said to Solo, pulling Mara from her musings. "We should just let him know who we are."

"I'm not taking any chances," Solo said.

In the seat behind him, Mara couldn't help but smile. Were she not there, she carried no doubt that Captain Solo would have blasted that fighter into space dust. In fact, she could see him itching to do it. But Solo, in spite of how he came off, was smart and knew he'd never get away with it with her sitting there.

"I think he's heading for that small moon," Luke said, finally picking up on the point of light Mara noticed earlier.

Her eyes fixed on it again and an empty feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She usually kept her mind on the job but she called back all the rumors of the weapon and now seeing it, she couldn't deny what it was straight ahead of them. The Emperor's command to avoid Imperial command centers replayed in her head.

"That's no moon," she uttered. "That's a space station."

"It's too big to be a space station," Solo said.

The 'moon' loomed closer and quickly began taking form, Mara's instincts cried out for her to complete her mission and not endanger her prize. Luke muttered something about a bad feeling about this and Mara leaned over so Solo could hear her.

"Turn the ship around," Mara said.

"Yeah…" Solo said. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Solo flicked some switches but the ship kept chugging along toward the space station. Solo tried throwing in the auxiliary power but the ship just began rocking a bit, still heading to its destination.

"Why are we still moving toward it!?" Luke said.

"It's a tractor beam," Mara said. "It's pulling us in."

"There has to be something we can do."

Mara sighed, she had just one gamble left at this point, at least without coming up with a completely new strategy. A project like this super weapon would be absolutely top secret which meant the usual authorization codes wouldn't work. She was going to have to use her trump card.

"I'm going to hail them," she turned to the communication's console. "Perhaps I have high enough clearance that they'll let us go."

"Well why didn't you do that from the start?" Solo said.

Mara entered in her authorization code, the one that she used as the Emperor's Hand that overrode nearly all other Imperial orders. This one opened doors for her and kept people from asking questions they shouldn't. Along with the code she sent a short message ordering them to release their ship. After sending the transmission she could only sit back and wait for the no doubt surprised communications officer to relay her message.

Meanwhile the space station had nearly overtaken the entire viewport. Solo fiddled with the controls for all the good it would do him. The tractor beams on this sort of space station were powerful enough to pull in a capital ship if it needed to. The tiny freighter was nothing more than a gnat to it.

The creeping dread in Mara's gut had somehow traveled to her hand and caused it to grip onto Luke's tightly. She had to deliver her prize to the Emperor, the controllers on the space station were obligated to acknowledge her authorization code. Virtually no one had higher clearance in the entire galaxy.

"Unidentified freighter," the comsystem suddenly blared, causing Mara to release Luke's hand and move over to it, unfortunately Solo answered first.

"Yes, we sent you an authorization code," he said. "We'd appreciate if you disengaged your tractor beam and allowed us to go on our merry way."

"Negative Unidentified freighter," the voice said. "Your code has been overridden."

"Overridden!" Mara pushed Solo out of the way. "Overridden by whom?"

"Lord Vader has ordered or ship towed in to hanger bay 34, please shut down engine power and prepare for escort upon landing."

"Shavit," Mara muttered under her breath. Of course Vader would be on that space station. Her eyes turned to Luke. Plan A had been jettisoned out the airlock, Plan B too, which meant that Plan C would have to do. She just needed to figure out what the hell that was.

"What do we do now?" Luke said.

"You," Mara took his hand. "Are coming with me, I need to talk to you privately. Captain Solo, we'll meet you at the loading ramp as soon as we land. I promise you'll be treated well and fairly, just cooperate with the commander, understand?"

"This wasn't what I signed up for," Solo growled.

"But it's the hand you've been dealt," Mara said. "Come on Luke."

Leia absolutely hated to admit it. She couldn't stand it. But deep down, with every level they descended, she found herself wondering if she should have agreed with Boba Fett. With each back alley they took and each wrong turn they made, it seemed more and more that Gluupor either didn't know where they were going, or he was leading them to a place they wouldn't be able to leave easily.

"How much further Gluupor?" Biggs said.

"Not far!" Gluupor said. "Jedi yes!"

Leia frowned, that had been his standard answer for the last hour. "Gluupor, how long have you known this Jedi?"

"Jedi on Nar Shaddaa as much as Gluupor."

"How about before Gluupor?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes!"

"What about after Gluupor?" Fett hissed.

"Gluupor…"

"Gluupor," Leia said. "Tell us of the Jedi."

"Jedi yes," Gluupor said, and Leia readied an exasperated sigh, but to her surprise the Rodian actually continued talking. "Jedi come to Underdwellers long time. Jedi save Underdwellers. Give them food, fight bad men, save children, protect from the Collector. Underdwellers not forget Jedi. Now Jedi safe. Underdwellers protect Jedi."

"But I thought the Jedi saved the Underdwellers," Biggs said.

"Jedi yes!"

"Did the Jedi give you that trinket?" Fett said.

"Gluupor…"

"The device, did the Jedi give it to you?"

"Jedi…"

Fett shook his head and turned back to Leia. "I think I know what it is that he has."

"Darklighter said it was a comdevice."

"No," Fett said. "If I'm right-"

"Jedi here!" Gluupor said, having stopped in front of a collapsed structure that may have been a warehouse once. Or even a factory.

"The Jedi is in there?" Leia said.

"Jedi yes."

The four companions and C3P0 stared at the building for a moment, all of them wondering if it would even remain standing long enough for them to walk in and look around, let alone search for a missing Jedi. Leia's eyes scanned the building for any markers, hoping to perhaps see something that mentioned Systech.

"I think this was a meat processing plant," Winter said.

"Why would a Jedi hide out here?" Biggs said.

"Jedi here!" Gluupor said. "Gluupor hungry!"

Leia sighed and watched as Biggs handed the Rodian more rations. She certainly hoped that this lost Jedi wasn't hungry because their little guide had practically devoured their entire stock.

"What are we waiting for then?" Winter stepped toward the building.

"No!" Gluupor stepped in front of her. "Weapons no! Weapons bad!"

"Wrong," Fett shook his head. "Weapons stay with us."

As much as Leia had been trying to reign in Fett's boorish threats, this one, she felt entirely inclined to agree with. Down in the lower depths of Nar Shaddaa, surrounded by sentients that might as well have been shadows any one of them possibly intending her harm, hardly made her feel comfortable giving up her weapons.

"Sorry Gluupor," Leia said. "We're not leaving our weapons outside."

"Jedi not happy."

"He'll just have to live with it," Fett said.

"Gluupor…"

"We promise to be good," Biggs said.

"Alright Gluupor," Leia said. "We're heading in."

Slowly, Gluupor nodded and his eyes didn't even stray to Leia's lightsaber. She couldn't help but wonder what he made of it. He seemed so keen on Jedi yet didn't respond at all to the fact that she dressed as one and carried their weapon. Still, the Rodian stood out of the way and Leia took her first step into the darkness.

"I'm not sure about this Mara," Luke said as they neared the loading ramp. "You've been trying to get me to trust the Empire this entire time. Now you want me to lie?"

"Listen," Mara said. "From the beginning I've acknowledged that some in the Empire are a little heavy handed. Well none have a heavier hand than Darth Vader. He made his career by hunting down and killing traitorous Jedi. How do you think he's going to react to the son of one of the most famous?"

"Are you sure there isn't any other way?"

"Believe me," she said. "If there were, I would have taken it. Just let me do the talking and only speak when spoken to. Vader will be far more interested in me than he will anybody else."

"Alright," Luke sighed. "Han's probably waiting, we should get going."

"We will," Mara said. "There's just one more thing…"

"What that-"

Before Luke could finish his sentence Mara took either side of his head and pressed her lips against his in a fierce kiss. He barely had time to close his own eyes and kiss back before she pulled away and then glanced at a nearby bulkhead; almost as though she was embarrassed.

"What… what was that for?"

"For saving my life earlier," she smiled at him. "Now we can get going."

Luke nearly tripped over his own feet when he followed her but somehow he managed. His doubts about this ruse of hers, this space station, even the Empire, momentarily faded away as he attempted to process the kiss. He barely even noticed when she pulled the caller from her pocket and summoned R2 to follow them.

It was only when they met Han, looking as dour as possible, at the loading ramp, that he cobwebs began to clear. Mara nodded to Han then proceeded down, R2 followed behind then Luke. After a few steps Luke took note of the white boots of the stormtroopers as well as the smart leather of their commanding officer. Then his eyes fell on a different set of boots altogether. Black and hard, they were connected to a giant figure, clad in the exact same color. A chill ran up his spine as he heard the steady mechanical breathing.

This was Darth Vader.

For an instant, Luke froze, wanting to flee back up the ramp, but Han smacked into him and the former farmboy bumbled down the ramp, nearly stepping on R2. He looked up, certain that he'd have dozens of blasters trained on him but all eyes seemed to be on Mara and Vader.

"Mara Jade," a deep booming voice that seemed ripped from a nightmare said. "I was not expecting to find you here of all places. How did you know of our location?"

"Lord Vader," Mara gave a courteous bow. "With all due respect, you can't destroy an entire planet and expect no one to notice. When I heard the news I put two and two together and came here."

"Did you?" Vader said incredulously. "And for what purpose would you come to the Death Star? Did the Emperor authorize you to come?"

"Not in so many words," Mara said. "I was on my way to Coruscant to deliver-"

"Then you came here without authorization!" Vader said. "Were you not the Emperor's pet I would kill you right now."

"As I said," Mara shrugged, but Luke noticed her hands shaking just a bit. "I was on my way to Coruscant. I was returning from Tatooine."

"Tatooine?" Vader said as sudden interest sparked in his voice. "What were you doing there?"

"Recovering this," Mara hit a button on the caller and R2 rolled forward. "This little droid it seems has a recording of Princess Leia of Alderaan, I suspect it has stolen imperial data on this space station. Naturally you understand why I came here."

Vader seemed transfixed on the little droid for a moment before finally turning to Mara. Luke fought back the desire to pull her away from him. The way he loomed over her like a drexl ready to strike made him uneasy. But when the dark lord finally spoke the constant menace had eased somewhat.

"So the princess did put the plans in the droid," Vader said.

"I take it then that this is my ticket to continue with my mission? Now that I've delivered your droid, the Emperor will want me on Coruscant as soon as possible."

Vader's head slowly moved from Mara to the droid then back again. Finally he stood up straight. "I will speak with the Emperor myself, in the meantime you can leave the droid with us, we have better use for it than you do."

"Wait," Luke blurted out. "I thought you were just going to retrieve the data from his memory core…"

He felt Vader's gaze turn on him instantly, he didn't even have to see the man's eyes to feel them boring down on them. Instantly a shiver ran down Luke's spine and he had to fight his urge to look away. R2 may have had some issues but he still belonged to Luke.

"Lord Vader," Mara jumped in. "I apologize, for my associate speaking out of turn. The droid technically belongs to him, but he'll gladly give him up to the Empire."

"Associate," Vader said. "And who is your associate here?"

"His name is-"

"No, I wish to hear him account for himself. What's your name boy?"

"Luke sir, Luke Sunrider."

"Sunrider?" Vader's head cocked to the side slightly. "Famous last name. It carries a legacy that one such as yourself scarcely understands."

"Yes sir," Luke nodded, hoping to get it as over with as soon as possible.

"And what exactly, do you do for Jade?"

"She… she recruited me on Tatooine. She thought I had potential as a servant of the Empire."

"He's one of the finest pilot's I've seen," Mara added. "Even if he's from a backwater world I thought it a shame for his talent's to go to waste. After Jabba the Hutt impounded my ship and likely killed my last pilot, I figured I'd go about training a new one."

"Very well," Vader said. "You will report to Governor Tarkin and myself in two hours time and be fully debriefed on the droid. And as for young Sunrider, he will report to Captain for a piloting aptitude exam."

"Lord Vader I assure you that is not necessary," Mara said.

"Necessary? It does not matter, I wish to see the boy's skills myself."

With that the dark lord about faced and headed off into the depths of the space station, leaving Luke, Han, and Mara standing in the hanger, surrounded by stormtroopers and commanders. Once he was out of sight Mara released a tight breath and looked at the others.

"That could have gone better," she said then nodded to a pair of imperial technicians. "Take the droid and remove the stolen data from his memory core. If at all possible leave everything else in tact."

"So what now?" Luke said.

"You have to report for your tests," Mara said. "I'll have someone guide you there."

"And me?" Han said. "There's still the fact that my ship is sitting here on an Imperial battle station."

"You'll be free to go," Mara said. "I'll clear it with the deck officer."

"Now hang on a minute," Han said. "What about my money? What about what your droid did to my ship?"

"Upon arrival on Courscant you were to be given the other half of your fee, as we are not and will not be using your services to travel there, you will have to be content with what you've already earned. As for your ship, you have a valid point. I'll get technicians on it as soon as possible."

"Great, in the mean time I'm stuck here," Han said.

"We're all stuck here," Mara shrugged. "Be grateful that you're being let go so easily. We both know I could find violations and excuses to detain you if I wished. Now if you'll excuse me I have to make all of these arrangements."

With that, Mara left them standing together and approached a nearby commander. Han stepped up behind Luke and slipped him a comlink, but kept his eyes staring forward and posture relaxed so no one would see it.

"I know you can see this is all bad news kid," Han whispered. "When the Falcon's repairs are done I'm going to send you a signal. If you want a way off this station I suggest you find an excuse to leave and meet me here. I won't wait long."

Luke nodded, though he kept his eyes on Mara. A war raged between his head and his heart, but he gripped the comlink as tightly as possible.

After meeting Fett's contact in what looked like a burnt out hotel but was actually an exclusive club, Leia half expected to find some Jedi Shrine on the inside of the condemned building Gluupor lead them into. Instead she found that was exactly what it looked to be. A condemned building.

Ill lit, strewn with trash, smelling foul, it practically encapsulated everything wrong with Nar Shaddaa in the first place. Leia eyed Gluupor with each step, questioning the wisdom of following him in the first place. This little Rodian was completely mad.

"Where's the Jedi, Gluupor?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes, Jedi ahead."

"Looks like Retrac was right," Fett said. "This was a meat processing plant… at some point. Could be centuries since it was operational. Amazing it's still standing."

"I wonder if our definitions of still standing are the same," Winter muttered. "I worry that this place will come down around us if we so much as sneeze."

"Quiet," Leia said. "I see something up ahead."

The four of them hushed up as they approached a… figure in the darkness. It stood tall, seeming to grow with each advancing step. Leia peered into the darkness and clearly saw the outline of a human being. She squinted and thought she saw the glint of a lightsaber hilt in the hand. Her heart thumped in her chest as she looked to Winter and then Biggs. Had they finally found him? Could their luck finally have turned?

A small light suddenly came on just ahead of them, shining on the figure they approached. Instantly, they halted in their tracks. Biggs scratched his head and Leia wrinkled her brows, trying to process exactly what they were looking at. It wasn't a Jedi. It wasn't even a human or any sentient. It was a… statue.

A statue cobbled together with scrap metal and ferrocrete, but a statue none the less, one designed to take on the appearance of a Jedi. Leia turned to Gluupor for an explanation but the Rodian had slipped away in the darkness

"What the hell is this?" Biggs said.

"It's… it's a grave," Winter said, pointing to the inscription below the statue. "I can't read it but there's no doubt about it."

"Threepio," Leia said, suddenly remembering the droid with them. "Can you read it."

"Of course I can Mistress," C3P0 lowered his hood. "Oh… oh my…"

"What?" Fett said, his blaster already drawn.

"It's written in ancient Sith as well."

"What does it say?" Leia said, her gut spinning rapidly.

"It says… it says it is in commemoration of a fallen Jedi," Threepio translated. "Slain by a droid and remembered by all in the Lower Levels as their champion."

"No…" Leia stepped toward the statue. "There must be more… does it have a name, does it have a date?"

"I'm sorry Mistress but it only says what I told you."

"Then it's not Kenobi," Leia said.

"Your Highness," Winter said. "It may very well be."

"What about a body?" Leia said. "We don't even know if there's a body here!"

"One way to find out," Fett leveled his blaster at the statue and opened fire. The others ducked as debris scattered around them.

Slowly they inched forward, surveying the damage, as well as the large hole blasted into the base of the statue. Leia's fingers bunched together around the sleeves of her tunic as she looked into it and her heart sank into her stomach.

Winter's assessment looked to be correct. Beneath the statue, lay the bones of a long dead human, bones still covered by the tattered rags of Jedi Robes that had once not been dissimilar to the ones Leia currently wore.

"It… it can't be him." Leia said but her head pounded with the possibility that it was. With the possibility that she had failed in this mission as well. "It can't be him…"