Chapter 89
The walk to Jabba's Palace went by quickly as Ari ran through possible situations she might encounter. She did not know what to expect there. Due to this she was dressed as most from Tatooine would. It helped her blend in with the sand, which would be helpful when she got to Jabba's place. The clothing was what she had gotten used to wearing while she lived on Tatooine. The only difference was that she wore her lightsaber on her belt. She refused to be without it. She did worry what would happen if it got taken, but she wanted it close in case she had to fight.
With the risen suns' heat on her back, she continued up a sand dune. At that top, she saw a small path. It had to lead to Jabba's Palace. There was no other structure in the vicinity. No one wanted to live or work near a Hutt. They knew better than to cross any Hutt, especially Jabba.
Wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her tunic, she had a sip of her canteen of water. She had eaten a ration as she walked, not wanting to stop to eat. She wanted to have as much time as possible to search the Palace area and see who and what were coming and going. She hoped she could find Lando while there. That was the most important thing. Making sure that he was alright.
After going over another hill, Ari stopped short. There it was. The large building, while called a Palace, was a monastery. She heard that the monks there put their brains in jars and got around in spider like droids. The idea of seeing these made her feel uneasy. The whole idea of beings doing that to each other just seemed wrong.
She stayed on the path for a few minutes then got off of it as she got closer. She might still be noticed, but she knew walking up to the front door, via the path, would alert guards quickly. Instead, she saw cliffs of which the palace was carved out of. Ships came here often and she knew that Jabba had to have some sort of hanger for transports to get to and from different places on the planet.
There was less sand now, mostly hard rock. While she had not climbed rocks often, the incline was rough, but there it was the walls were not smooth, so using her hands as well as her feet, she managed to make it up the side of the cliff. There were two towers and one large round dome, all three connected to the monastery turned palace and as she climbed she got closer to them
The Force was with her, and Ari made it to the top. Her hands were cut, but she just wiped them on her pants. They were not too badly cut, and she had made it up to the top without being spotted.
By this point, one of the suns was directly overhead and the other would soon be following the same path. Wiping her forehead again, she took a sip of water from her canteen. It would be empty soon, not just from her consumption of it, but also from evaporation.
Exploring the slanted plateau she saw another entrance that led into what looked to be a large hanger. That had to be where the ships came in and where the other transports were taken care of and stored.
Ari started for the entrance, which was open just enough to let in a small transport. She did not see any movement so she was fairly certain that no one was coming or going at that moment. Starting down the slightly slanted rock, the Force sent her a warning to stop and she did so, eyes on the entrance.
Moments later, she saw a guard step out into the light of the twin suns. Wanting to pull back, but having no place to go, Ari stayed still. She was too far to see any distinct features, but from what she could tell, the guard appeared human. Most likely male, since Jabba only wanted thin, beautiful females for his pleasure. Even though they were paid well, she could not imagine being desperate enough to be a dancer or play for thing for the disgusting crime lord.
The guard did not seem to notice her and she crept a little closer. Since she was used to walking on Tatooine with pair of boots, similar to what she was wearing at that moment, it was not difficult to move quietly. She knew she could wait until the guard was gone, but it was getting very warm being exposed directly to the sun, and as the day went on, there would probably be more activity in the hanger.
Something caused the guard to turn and glance back into the hanger and Ari used this moment to dash a bit closer to the building, hoping to reach the shaded area of the building, where she would blend in better.
It would have worked, but the guard, instead of turning back to look the way she had been expecting, he turned in a full circle and she knew that he saw her. A moment of hesitation passed between the two of them before Ari started to run, the guard following her. She didn't look back, and while she had a head start, she froze on the edge of the cliff's wall. If she climbed down in a hurry, there was a chance she could fall and be seriously injured, or worse.
She turned around just in time to see that the guard was feet away from her. Her hand went to her side where her lightsaber was. She did not want to fight, but if he was the only guard that knew of her presence, she would do what she had to.
"Ari, stop," the guard spoke and upon hearing her name, her hand froze, no longer making any further movement to her lightsaber. She knew that voice. She looked at the guard for another moment. He was clothed in typical homespun clothing with a type of shielding over his chest and on his shoulders. A leather belt that had clearly been worn often was at his waist, a blaster in its holster. He carried a sharp vibro-az His head was mostly covered by a helmet that went down halfway the back of his head with a small brim that shadowed his forehead. Over his face, bones, teeth and other materials were woven so she could not see his mouth or nose.
Looking closer, she saw his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Lando?" she asked.
"Lando would not make it through those doors alive. I am Tamtel Skreej" he answered, but Ari knew it was him. "What are you doing here?" he was whispering even though there did not appear to be anyone else around.
"We were worried about you. They wanted me to make sure that you had gotten in alright and to see if you had gotten any information."
"I agree we should get Han back, the sooner the better, but this idea of yours was crazy. Did you think you could just walk into Jabba's palace? If anyone else had found you…." Lando trailed off when he saw Ari's eyes grow a bit wider. Striding to them quickly, blaster raised, was Boba Fett.
Both Lando and Ari knew that they could not take on the bounty hunter without one of them getting shot in the process, and with the bounty hunter's aim, it was bound to be fatal.
"What is the problem?" Fett asked as he came closer. Two of the Gamorrean guards could be seen coming toward them. With a quick movement of her hand, Ari had unclipped her lightsaber and held it behind her back with on hand. When Lando turned to face the bounty hunter, he saw what she had done and put one hand on her back, as if he had caught her. In actuality, he had her lightsaber now. They would not use it, but he knew she would not want it to fall into the hands of Boba Fett or any of Jabba's hired men.
"She was trying to sneak in," Lando replied. Ari's hands came forward and she folded them, trying to look scared and shy. When the bounty hunter's attention was on Ari, Lando slipped her lightsaber onto his belt. He took a step back to allow Fett closer to her, though he didn't want to.
"I am just a poor farm girl," Ari spoke, making her voice tremble. She couldn't say she was lost, and she couldn't say it was a mistake, because it was clear she had climbed the wall. She only had one idea left, on that did not sit well with her.
"You see, my family is on hard times, and I can't find work," she wiped at her eyes, hoping it would look like she was trying not to cry. She had never been good with fake tears.
Boba Fett still did not lower his blaster as he came closer and Ari truly felt worried. She could call her lightsaber to her hand, but with the two other guards coming and knowing how fast Fett was, she knew it would be a lost cause.
"So I wanted to see Jabba, to be a dancing girl. I know I don't look it, but I can dance." She was cringing on the inside. It was revolting, but there was no other choice.
"There is a front door you could have used," Lando spoke up, seeing what she was doing. As a con man he had learned how to think on his feet and it would be best if he played along.
"I know," she bowed her head as if ashamed. "I just wanted to see the other girls, to see if I was good enough."
"Then why did you run?" Boba Fett asked, weapon lowering ever so slightly.
"The guard came toward me and I got scared. I didn't want to be in trouble," she answered. If being a Jedi didn't work out, Ari wondered if she had a career in acting. It seemed to be convincing enough for the bounty hunter and the guards that had just joined the trio.
Boba Fett told her. "Come." He was motioning her to step away from the ledge and she did so. She kept control of herself, though all of her muscles felt taunt as if she had to be ready.
She saw Lando shake his head ever so slightly, as if to say not to try anything. Ari allowed the bounty hunter, flanked by the two stout pig like guards and Lando. She had thought dancing for a Hutt was demeaning but that had been the only idea that had come to her. Everyone was silent and when the entered the enclosed hanger, she shivered, and not from the cold.
Lando walked beside her and they both stole glances at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Boba Fett was behind them with the other two guards in front of Ari. When she and Lando finally managed to catch each other's eyes, he gave her a small reassuring wink, then turned down a passageway, back to wherever his post was.
Ari was now alone with one of the most ruthless bounty hunters in the galaxy. She remembered the battle at Cloud City, and was glad he had not see that she was the pilot, or she probably would not have survived long enough to make up the story she did.
She did not know where she was being led, going down passageways that turned in various directions. Just when she was wondering where their destination was, Boba Fett stepped in front of a door and knocked. "Enter," came the reply and the door slid open to reveal a dimly lit room and Ari could see a figure sitting there.
"If you want to dance…" Fett did not finish his words as he shoved Ari into the room, the door shutting behind her.