Disclaimer: Disney owns it now, but I neither know nor care what they're vomiting up these days. I will continue to use only Legends. One of the scenes in this chapter is inspired by a picture by hitokirisan on deviantart and is used with permission: hitokirisan. deviantart dot com / art /Star - Wars - Test - Page - 260089613

"I know myself to be only as I appear to myself."

Mrlssi philosopher Jhaveek

Chapter 3:

Now...the Millennium Falcon, Hyperspace

"After our dustup with Jabba's swoop gang," said Luke, "we got a message from Koth Melan, one of Leia's Bothan contacts, and left to meet him. He'd acquired—,"

"—from Black Sun it turned out—," Leia interjected.

"—information concerning a freighter called the Suprosa, which was going to be carrying a classified Imperial computer."

Then...Four and a half Months Ago, Koth Melan's safehouse, Tal'cara City, Kothlis

While the Bothan techs worked frantically to decrypt the Imperial computer, Luke stood off to one side and fumed.

'Some commander I am', Luke thought darkly, 'I keep getting people killed.' Biggs at Yavin, nine members of Rogue Group at Hoth, Dix Rivan at Gall, and now half a squadron of Y-wings. 'I should have known that it sounded too easy to be true. I should have been prepared for a trick.' Eight of those twelve deaths were because that loudmouth braggart Rendar had missed the missile that the Suprosa had fired. The rookie Bothan pilots hadn't had a chance.

'I was too confident, too cocky, too certain in my still limited control of the Force.' But the Force hadn't helped him in this battle, hadn't warned him that the freighter was a trap. The dark side, however, would always be there if you needed it...'no, don't go there. Don't even think about going down that road...' But having tasted its power on Cloud City, it was tempting—oh so tempting...'no, no, stop it!'.

"Cut it out, Skywalker," Mara abruptly declared.

Luke blinked, and then looked at her, "What are you talking about?"

"You're leaking anger and guilt all over the place," said Mara, "And it's starting to affect me. Cut it out."

"Just like that?" Luke retorted, "I'm just supposed to flip a switch and suddenly stop feeling upset about the fact that I lost a dozen Bothans securing this damn computer."

"They were all volunteers, like you; they all knew the risks involved. You couldn't have known that the freighter would be so heavily armed that it was willing to pick a fight with a squadron of Y-Wings, an X-Wing and the Outrider. Most freighters, even most armed ones, would have immediately surrendered in the face of that much firepower and the fact that this one didn't is not your fault. So stop blaming yourself for it."

"I was in command," Luke said, "that makes it my responsibility."

"And there was nothing that you could have done better given what you knew," said Mara, "So, cut it out."

Luke clenched his fists, lowered his head, took a deep breath, and started to let it out slowly. He did it again, and again, and finally started to regain control of his emotions.

Koth Melan came walking over, looking grim. "The techs have found something," he said, "It's—,"

The door suddenly exploded inward and several men came in shooting.

Luke and Mara snatched their lightsaber from their belts, lit them, and began whipping them around to deflect the blaster fire. The air began stinking of ozone. Despite their best efforts, two of the techs took hits and went down while the others scrambled for cover. Koth Melan drew his own blaster and returned fire, hittng the lead attacker right between the eyes; the attacker fell backwards.

More came boiling through the shattered doorway. Luke and Mara leaped forward, brought their lightsabers around and took out the next two men through the door. Another blaster bolt from Melan took out a fourth attacker, but now Luke could see at least a dozen more shooters crowding their way forward.

Luke and Mara did their best but energy beams cooked the air, darting past them to scorch consoles and techs alike.

"Too many of them!" Melan yelled. "This way."

Luke and Mara wove a curtain of hard light with their lightsabers, deflecting blaster bolts and driving their attackers back temporarily, then they leaped to the side and Melan fired into the opening, briefly clearing it.

"Come on!"

Luke and Mara turned and ran. This was definitely a time when discretion was the better part of valor. Luke briefly wondered just who their attackers were. They wore black but had no insignia. Imperial commandos after the stolen computer? Mercenaries? He pushed it aside for later. It was clearly time to leave. Luke and Mara hurried after Melan. One of the Bothan techs had grabbed the computer and jerked it free of the cables attached to it.

"Go!" Melan yelled, "We'll cover you." The tech ran towards the back of the room, opening up a concealed and unmarked emergency exit in the wall, and hurried through. Melan's blaster went dry and he tossed it aside. "Run!"

Mara was already running towards the exit. But before Luke could take a step, a blaster bolt hit Melan and the Bothan went down. Unwilling to leave behind an injured comrade, Luke stood between Melan and the attackers; but the injured Bothan quickly expired and Luke suddenly found himself surrounded by fifteen men all pointing blasters at him but not shooting.

One of them, a Barabel, stepped forward and said, "Turn off your saber, you can't win."

Luke briefly weighed the odds and then shut off his lightsaber.

Now...the Millennium Falcon, Hyperspace

"So why were you captured?" Han wondered, "Who were those guys?"

"Bounty hunters," said Luke, "I had two bounties on my head, one for my live capture and the other for my death." He named a figure and Han whistled,

"That's enough to buy half a city and still have enough left over to retire comfortably. How'd you get away?"

Luke replied, "well, I had help from Mara and Lando."

"While Luke was getting captured," said Leia, "the rest of us met with Guri, an HRD droid who served as Xizor's representative; she convinced Chewie and myself to travel in disguise with her to meet Xizor."

"After they left," Lando said, "I took Threepio and the Falcon and returned to Kothlis, only to find the system under Imperial blockade and so I landed at the shadowport on one of its moons."

"Once I realized that Luke had been captured," Mara continued, "I doubled back and tailed the bounty hunters to their safehouse."

Then...Four and a half Months Ago, Tal'cara City, Kothlis

Luke had found it relatively easy to mind-trick his way out of his cell and retrieve his weapons, but he'd quickly been discovered and now he was submerged deeper in the Force than he'd ever been before and moving faster than he'd ever thought possible, too fast even to think. His lightsaber wove a tapestry of green light, deflecting the hail of blaster bolts from the bounty hunters. Luke was moving with the flow of the Fore, cutting, blocking, and parrying his way through the bounty hunters, when ahead and to his left a wall suddenly shattered and imploded.

Smoking debris was sprayed and spattered in all directions, blowing down some of the bounty hunters and causing others to fall back. From the roiling smoke and acrid vapor emerged Mara Jade, weaving her lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts; she chopped through the barrel of the nearest bounty hunter's blaster, who dropped it and fled.

While the bounty hunters fell back in confusion, Luke and Mara turned and ran. After a brief pursuit through the streets, Luke and Mara finally managed to duck into an alleyway.

"So, Farmboy, I trust you've learned your lesson?"

"My lesson?" Luke retorted, "You left me behind!"

"Melan told us to run, so I ran; you're the one who decided to be a noble idiot and stay behind for someone who was already dead."

Luke gritted his teeth but refrained from correcting her because it didn't matter, she was right. A tremor in the Force jerked their heads up toward the sky; Luke felt the coiled predator image of impending danger and something else, something cold, dark and familiar.

"Vader," Luke and Mara said in unison.

"Let's get to the starport," Mara said.

But they were still several blocks away when the feeling of imminent danger suddenly heightened. Then, flying overhead, came Imperial troop shuttles.

Luke and Mara came up short, watching as the shuttles moved in to land throughout the city. Then, from loudspeakers all over the city, came a loud whining alarm, followed by a deep voice saying:

"Attention! Attention! This city is now in a state of high alert. Rebel saboteurs have infiltrated the city and may be working to disable communications and other public utilities. Imperial troops are now conducting a search to locate and neutralize these individuals. Be prepared to present your identification, and report any suspicious activity or individuals immediately."

Distantly, Luke and Mara continued to hear the sounds of sirens and marching feet, though they couldn't see any stormtroopers yet. All around them citizens looked around in confusion and concern, glancing furtively at them and then began hurrying to get off the streets. Within minutes, street traffic had dropped off considerably and those people still on the street kept their heads down as they walked hurriedly, casting sidelong glances in either direction. Through the Force, Luke and Mara could sense fear, anxiety and tension.

"Let's go," Mara said quietly. They resumed walking, mimicking the behavior of those around them in order to blend in. After fifteen minutes of walking they reached the first of five major street intersections on the way to the starport. At the intersection was a group of ten stormtroopers accompanied by an officer. Two of the stormtroopers were standing guard while the officer was checking identifications; the remaining stormtroopers were walking up and down the lines of people, looking for suspicious behavior.

"Damn," Mara swore softly, "We can't go through it unless you want to try a mind-trick."

"That many minds at once," Luke shook his head and sighed, "it's too risky. We'll have to find a way around."

Mara took in the area for a moment, then grabbed Luke's arm and led him down an alley. As the neared the far side, Luke pressed his back against the wall and turned his head just enough to see the street through his peripheral vision; he was aware of Mara pressing her body up close to his. They spotted another stormtrooper patrol approaching. Luke turned his head back to Mara—just in time for her to grab his head and kiss him.

At first Luke was stiff in shock and surprise, then he wrapped his hands around her and kissed her back; despite the circumstances, Luke couldn't resist savoring the warmth of her lips, the feel and shape of her body. Despite the circumstances, Luke had never enjoyed a kiss as much as this one. Finally they broke apart but for a moment they just stood there, staring into each other's eyes and breathing heavily, at a sudden loss for words.

"I—uh—that—uh—,"

"Uh—that—that was—,"

"—strictly tactical," Mara finally said a little too quickly, turning away to look back into the street. The patrol was gone.

"Uh—right," Luke said after a long moment. His body still tingled from the memory and he ached to feel her again. Luke shook himself and followed Mara through more alleyways. The indirect route they were forced to take was agonizingly slow but they managed to avoid four more checkpoints and dozens of patrols. But then their luck finally ran out.

The Tal'cara starport was a circular structure arranged in a 'reverse galactic roundel' with the spokes pointing outward, each containing 15 ship berths; the starport was situated on the west side of the city in an area kept neat and tastefully decorated with a wide plethora of galactic artforms. Even under normal circumstances it was well-patrolled, now it was crawling with stormtroopers, who had set up checkpoints in front of each of the entrances, each of which had a long line of people waiting to get in—tourists, businessmen, other travelers, servant droids pushing repulsor carts and starport personnel. The main terminal was a dome-shaped building in the middle of the starport. A commercial unirail connected with the main concourse and ran into the warehouse district. Passenger unirails ran throughout the city and one station was just outside the starport.

"We need a new plan," said Luke

"We need new identities," Mara corrected him, "Which is unfortunate because everything I'd normally use to do that is aboard the Suwantek. We'd have to break into a government building to forge new identies, which—,"

"—which would draw attention," Luke said, following her train of thought, "Which is the last thing we need at this point."

"Right," said Mara, "And even if we get to the Suwantek, it will be difficult getting clearance to—." A passing 3PO protocol droid, jostled by the crowd, stumbled into her.

"I'm terribly sorry," the droid said but then it added, rather loudly, "Oh! Oh, my! You're the saboteurs!"

All throughout the crowd, stormtroopers suddenly turned toward them and began advancing.

Hands clasped together, Luke and Mara turned away from the starport and started running back towards the alleys. The stormtroopers opened fire but missed, sending the crowd into a panic; the civilians began fleeing in every direction, which slowed down Luke and Mara's escape, but also their pursuers. In the confusion, they managed to slip past the stormtroopers before they managed to tighten the cordon. At first Luke wasn't sure if even Mara knew where they were going, but then—after walking a good distance around the perimeter of the starport, Mara finally pulled Luke to a stop near a service entrance that was now left unguarded.

While Luke stood watch, Mara retrieved a security tunneller from her utility belt and got to work; after a few tries, she finally opened the door.

Inside was a short tunnel that led to another door, which opened onto a ledge in a storeroom; below were two Stormtroopers and an Imperial officer guarding a door and several control panels with attached monitor screens.

Luke drew his lightsaber and ignited it; the green blade shimmered to life and, grasping the hilt in two hands, Luke leapt off the ledge toward the stormtroopers. He landed in front of one and slashed upward through the man's chest and arm, killing him and sending his weapon flying.

The other Stormtrooper turned toward Luke only to be knocked to the ground by a kick from Mara Jade as she descended and ignited her own purple lightsaber, which she then used to finish him off with a quick decapitation.

Luke glanced at Mara for a moment and then they turned toward the Imperial officer—just in time to see him pull down a switch on the wall next to the door. The officer grinned slyly as a red alarm lights overhead turned on and claxons began to wail. It was the last thing he ever did.

Not wasting any more time, Luke and Mara went through the door, which opened into one of the passenger terminals in the starport, which contained ticket counters staffed by droids and several waiting room. Above the terminal was the concourse, a transparisteel walkway that circled the starport; built ten meters above the ground, it provided a fantastic view of arriving and departing ships and was dotted with benches.

Imperial Stormtroopers came rushing through all the entrances. Luke and Mara reactivated their lightsabers and, deflecting the hail of blasterfire, advanced into their enemies. Knowing that they could not stand and fight, they began cutting a path toward the berth where Mara's Suwantek was docked. Once through the initial cordon of troops, Luke and Mara broke into a jog, continuing to deflect blaster fire from pursuing stormtrooopers. The running fight took them all the way to the berth.

Once onboard, Mara took the astrogation/comm. seat while Luke took the pilot seat and began the pre-flight warm-up sequence. Mara sent a quick message to Artoo, who was in Luke's X-Wing in the next berth over. Artoo quickly powered up the X-Wing and took off; flying over to the Suwantek's berth, Artoo fired the X-Wing's lasers at a group of Stormtroopers that had just arrived; weapons intended to fight other starfighters vaporized ground troops and the explosions left behind craters with blackened rims.

"Where'd your droid learn how to shoot like that?" Mara asked.

"Artoo's never had a memory wipe," Luke replied, "And he's got a counterpart bond with my X-Wing."

"Nice," said Mara. "How are we coming on the pre-flight."

"Almost—," the last light flicked green, "we're good to go." Before Mara could reply, Luke lifted off the ship on its repulsors but then put in hover. Mara used the Suwantek's tractor to reel in the X-Wing, locking it in the jury-rigged hull clamps. As Artoo transferred over, Mara moved to the sensor/shield station and said,

"Luke, sensors show that there's an entire fleet in orbit, including the Executor; this'll be difficult but its not like we have much of a choice at this point." Artoo rolled into the cockpit and plugged into a scomplink, taking over the piloting and astrogation. "To the gunwells," Mara continued, "this is going to be tight."

The Suwantek emerged from Kothlis' atmosphere and into a hail of turbolaser fire from the orbiting Star Destroyers. Swarms of Imperial TIE Fighters and Interceptors raced in closer.

Seated in the starboard gunwell, Luke fired again and again, destroying TIE after TIE after TIE, but there was no end to them in sight. Every system on the Suwantek was state of the art courtesy of the Imperial Security Bureau, including the shields, but all things had their limits.

Alarms blared warning of imminent shield failure and Luke instincts began screaming to get out, get out, get out now!

Luke jumped up from the seat and ran out of the gunwell, "Artoo set the autopilot and get to an escape pod." Artoo beeped a response and then Luke hurried over to the port gunwell, where Mara was still frantically firing the guns. He grabbed her and jerked her out of the seat.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Mara exclaimed

"It is time to leave."

"No," Mara said, trying to break free of his grip, "We're past the Star Destroyers, we can still make it."

Luke grabbed her face and stared into her eyes. "Now who's being the noble idiot?" Mara glared back at him for a moment, then looked down, let out a sigh and nodded. They ran over to one of the Suwantek's escape pods where Artoo was already waiting for them.

The hatch closed and the escape pod launched. Out of the window in the rear of the pod they watched as the Suwantek finally exploded.

Using the pod's thrusters, Luke steered them toward the shadowport on one of Kothlis' moons.

Now...the Millennium Falcon, Hyperspace

"After landing," Luke continued, "we met up with Lando and escaped in the Falcon, though not," Luke glanced at Lando, "without having to hide in the asteroid belt for a while thanks to some engine trouble."

"And while they were off having all that fun," Leia said dryly, "I was meeting with Xizor and trying to resist his attempts at seduction."

"Yeah, those Falleen pheromones can be nasty," Han said, "almost derailed that scam on Wukkar that Winter told you about."

"Fortunately," said Leia, "I have a lot of experience coping with chemical influences from my time in the Imperial court and I was given special training to resist interrogations; so, I was able to resist his advances, and gave him a pretty good kick in the groin while I was at it."

Everyone chuckled.