War and Serenity

By Michael Weyer

Red Lights

I know, a while since I updated but hopefully make up for it a bit here.

Ben Kenobi had once described Mos Eisley as the biggest "hive of scum and villainy" Luke would ever see.

Evidentially, Kenobi had never visited Nar Shaddaa.

The city had a thick smell to it and not a pleasant one at that. The huge towers created shadows so even in daytime, it was dark on the streets. At night, the neon glow of a multitude of bars, shops and ships gave it a unique energy, albeit a dark one.

"You take me to the most charming places, Solo," Leia remarked as she gazed out the window of the bar at the large refuse pit below the tower. She, Han, Luke and Chewbacca were at the rear booth of the establishment, Luke fiddling with a small communicator pad.

"You want to find a fast ride, this is the place," Solo said. "I've already got a few feelers out so we should be able to hitch something back to the fleet."

"It'd better not be one of your former 'friends'," Leia said sardonically.

"Relax, we'll get a ride that doesn't ask questions," Han said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Something wrong?" Leia asked.

The other man shook it off. "Ah, just worried a bit about Lando. The guy helped us out, hated to leave him in the lurch like that."

Luke smiled. "If he's half as good as he thinks he is, he's got the Imperials eating out of his hand by now."

"Good point," Han smiled as Luke pressed a few buttons on his pad. "Okay, I think I've got the secure link set." He placed it down so they could all look down at it. The image blurred before focusing on a white room and Mon Mothma sitting behind a desk. The almost regal elder woman had red hair that was going grey but her face still held the strength that had carried her from a senator to leader of the Alliance. "Ah, Commander Skywalker, Captain Solo, Princess Leia. Good to see you all right."

"Anything the matter?" Luke asked with respect.

"I was going over your initial reports of the meeting with these smugglers," MOthma replied.

"It wasn't a close meeting," Han intoned.

"Perhaps," Mothma said as she pushed some keys on the pad in her office. "However, the description of one of them caught my attention." A smaller image appeared in a window within the pad. It showed an image of a proud black-skinned man in what seemed to be an official pose.

Luke peered at it before his eyes widened in surprise. "That's Shepherd Book!"

"Actually," Mothma said. "That is Derail Bookau, a former Jedi Master."

Han sat up with surprise at that. "That guy was a JedI?"

Mothma nodded as she closed the window. "Yes. I actually met him once at a dinner function. I had thought him killed in the Purges but evidentially he has survived."

"A former JedI in their crew?" Leia frowned. "That can be dangerous for them."

Mothma nodded. "Yes. We have been hearing the Empire attacking many havens for smugglers and putting out a warrant for that crew."

"They must think we escaped with them," Leia sighed.

Mothma shook her head. "No, we have intercepted reports of the Imperials still searching for you. Yet the hunt for this ship Serenity has been given a high priority."

Han frowned. "Huh. I knew Reynolds had a talent for getting himself in trouble but not on a scale like this."

"Regardless of the reasons, it appears the Empire is concentrating many of their resources on locating this ship," MOthma continued. "Which means we should be able to get a vessel to you sooner than we expected."

"ETA?" Luke asked.

"By this afternoon," Mothma said. "General Madine is handling it. He says he knows an old comrade, another Imperial defector who can aid us."

"Here's hoping it works out better than our last ride," Leia couldn't help remarking.

"He has your contact information," Mothma said.

She leaned in to touch the screen. "We'll be in touch as soon as we can."

"Good luck," Mothma said as their communication was disconnected. Luke checked the chronometer on his wrist. "It looks like we have a few hours to kill until they contact us."

"We better stick together," Leia said as she rose to her feet. "We've been here a bit too long, we should relocate to another bar before people notice."

"I doubt they will," Han said as he rose to join her. "People around here know how to keep to their own business." The group headed out into the streets, Chewbacca growling at the poor smell pervading the air. Luke was pacing at the side when he felt something odd. It seemed to tug at the back of his consciousness as he looked around. Leia saw him and frowned. "What is it, Luke?"

"Not sure," he replied. "Just a funny feeling…Kind of like when we met Book."

Han looked around as well, a hand on his blaster. His eyes fell on a figure nearby and widened. "Oh, no."

Chewbacca followed his gaze and let out a groan as he saw the same figure. Leia frowned as she gazed in the same direction. She saw a strikingly beautiful woman nearby with green eyes that seemed to sparkle even from the distance. Her red hair was combed back nicely, fiery red which enhanced her beautiful face. She was clad in dark leather that appeared cheap but the blaster at her hip was newer than it should have been. Her face flickered with recognition at the sight of Han.

She walked over, her boots echoing on the metal ground, her face calm as she sized them up. Luke was struck by her amazing beauty, a mix of innocence and experience. Her green eyes fell on Han and she smiled. "Hello, Solo. Been a while."

Han did not return the smile. "Saffron. Is that still the name you're using?"

She shrugged. "It'll do for now." She looked over at Chewbacca who glowered at her. "You two aren't still holding a grudge, are you?"

"Oh, no, it was only three months in that detention facility, not to mention losing our ship," Han sardonically stated. "That's nothing to carry a grudge over, right?"

"It was just business, Han, you should understand that."

"Hey, I get it, the game and all." Han nodded toward Chewbacca. "But Wookies don't quite take well to getting into captivity." Chewbacca's growl seemed to actually throw Saffron a bit but she recovered quickly.

"Well, it's pretty interesting I meet you right about now," she said. "The thing is, I could use a hand."

Han openly gawked at her. "A hand? After what you did to us, you're actually asking us to help you out of another jam? You're a con artist, Saffron, the kind that give honest crooks like us a bad name." He shook his head as he turned away. "Come on, let's get out of here…"

"Wait," Luke said, putting a hand on Han's arm. "What's the harm in hearing her out?"

"Plenty," Han retorted.

Saffron sighed. "Han, I know you don't have any reason to trust me but I really need some help here. I got in way over my head on a deal and now I've got the Imperials after me."

"Bad for you," Han shrugged. "But no problem of ours."

Saffron leaned in, her face pleading. "Han…come on. If I don't get out of here, I'm dead."

"I repeat my earlier statement of it being bad for you."

Saffron licked her lips. "Han…please, this really isn't what I came for and it's gotten totally out of hand. I can't get out of this myself."

"She's lying," Leia announced, taking in the woman. "I can see it in her eyes."

Han snorted. "Doesn't mean a thing. She's lied so much in her life, her eyes always look like that."

Luke was studying Saffron as the woman seemed to gaze right back at him. Those brilliant green eyes were beautiful, he had to admit. But he also sensed something else in this woman, an inner strength that belied her appearance. Something about her seemed to almost call to him and he found himself asking "Just why are they after you?"

Saffron pursed her lips. "Let's just say I stumbled onto something they'd want bad." She reached into the satchel at her hip to remove a small disk. "Information on a new model of TIE fighter they're getting ready to roll out. Faster, better design and armament to take it to the Rebellion."

Leia frowned. "There have been rumors…" She glanced at Han. "Information like that could be very useful to…certain parties."

Han caught her eye and rolled his own. "Oh, no. No, we are not doing this." Chewbacca growled in agreement, his eyes still hard at Saffron, Han turning to face Leia. "This gal can't be honest if she tried! How do we know that disk has anything other than the latest holo-drama on it?"

"You can check it out yourself," Saffron pressed, her face getting more frantic. "Han, you know me. You think I'd be begging for help if I didn't need it?"

"Only if you were looking to manipulate someone to get their heads on the chopping block instead of yours," Han retorted.

"Han," Leia pressed, moving closer to him. "If there's a chance she's telling the truth…"

"There's a chance of rain on Tatooine, I'm not holding my breath on that."

"Regardless," Leia continued. "If she is telling the truth, we need to know." She arched an eyebrow. "You didn't exactly have the best reputation when you joined the Rebellion either, Han. Why shouldn't we give her the same chance?"

Han could feel Luke's smile behind his back as he took a breath. "Fine, fine. But when she leaves us high and dry, don't come crying to me about it."

Leia moved toward Saffron. "I believe we'd be most interested in whatever information you can share. Maybe you can come with us to discuss it?"

"Lead the way," Saffron said, shuffling her bag on her shoulder. "All I've got is what's in here."

Han smirked. "Guess your latest con left you high and dry?"

She just glared at him as Luke offered a hand. "Hi, I'm Luke."

She took his hand in a firm grasp, smiling softly. 'Saffron, pleased to meet you."

"He won't be before long," Han muttered as the group began to walk along. Chewbacca fell in step behind Saffron, making it clear he'd be ready to grab her if she tried to run. The woman appeared confident as the group walked on, Luke still finding himself staring at this striking woman whose soul seemed to ring out to him.

This hadn't been the plan but if there was one thing she was used to, it was thinking on her feet. She had intended all along to leak the information of the Interceptors to the Rebellion. That was the plan, after all, to let them think they had a major advantage and reaffirm their faith in their spy network. That would make it so much more easy to manipulate them in the future.

Having Solo around was a problem but she was sure she could handle him. Skywalker…now that was a different case. She could feel his strength in the Force and while she was sure she could hide her own connection, there was always the chance he'd sense it. She'd have to be on her guard, which would make getting close to him more problematic. But she'd do her best as was her job.

She brushed at her hair as she followed them, keeping that cool smile on her face. As much as she'd disliked some of the people she had to do business with, she admitted she rather enjoyed being "Saffron." It was close to her own true personality, able to manipulate people around for her own benefit. She'd need all her skills to keep it going here but was confident she'd pull this off like any other mission she'd been assigned.

She had to. After all, there was no such thing as failure for the Emperor's Hand.

So, I was going through some fan forums and thinking of the idea of how Christina Hendricks would make a great Mara Jade. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the idea of Saffron being one of Mara's covers hit me and was just too good to resist. Hopefully not as long a wait until the next update, all comments welcomed.