Chapter 91

For the rest of the day, Ari was dancing, or at least attempting to. She was not nearly as good as the others, but she was thankful to see that they were helping by not making her do anything solo. Even so, she could feel the eyes of many of the different beings on her, as if burning through the thin cloth that covered her. She was able to shrug it off enough to not show that it was unnerving.

Her training was helping her, since she needed to be flexible, and after an hour of dancing, she realized that breaks would be few and far between. She was lucky that she had not started until midday since she knew it would mean she would only have to dance for half a day. Once everyone was asleep, she would try to get more information about the Palace and see if there was any way to contact Luke. She knew that it was possible to communicate telepathically, but she had not tried it over such a distance, only with Taylor and Siri when they were in the same room.

While she moved to music, thinking these thoughts, she froze mid step, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her, shivers running up her spine. She had never felt a feeling this strong before, though it reminded her of her run in with Vader aboard the Death Star. She was stronger though, and did not miss more than a few beats before going back into the dance. While she did, she used the Force to scan the room to pinpoint where it was coming from.

She sensed this cold feeling from a figure that was standing back in the shadows. Ari couldn't make out the other person's features, but talking to that person was Melina, still clad in her dark red jumpsuit.

Luckily, the band took a break a few minutes later so that Jabba could receive a few of the visitors that had been waiting to speak with him. While Ari was told not to be long, some of the dancers went to what they called 'The Pit' where dancers stayed. There were places for their clothing and small cots to sleep on. It was also where they went to get food and water, even though the latter was carefully rationed.

Instead of going with the other dancers, Ari started toward Melina. This new person interested her, but not in a pleasant way. As she moved past some of the other beings, side stepping a few advances some of the males made, she kept her Force connection open. Now she could see that this woman looked to be like another dancing girl. She was human and looked to be around the same age as Ari. Her red hair looked brown under the dim lighting conditions, true color only being seen from the flashes of light off of it when she moved her head. She wore slightly less than Ari with only a small piece of fabric covering her above the waist and a short skirt, both blue in color with black webbing over her stomach and shoulders to keep it all in place. She had silver bracelets on her arms that connected a piece of fabric that she could move around to add to the dance movements. She wore knee high boots and a silver metal headpiece on her forehead. None of this helped Ari figure out who this woman was or why she got such a feeling from her.

"Ahh, it seems you are no longer the only new girl," Melina smiled when she saw Ari, who forced a smile in response. "Taga," Melina used the name that Ari had given her. When the woman had asked for a name, Ari had not wanted to give her real name, or a name that could tie her back to her life on Tatooine. That could be dangerous for all involved. She had given one of the first names she could think of, which happened to be the nickname for her alien friend, but it had worked. "This is Arica," Melina introduced the new girl. "Arica, this is Taga."

Ari knew she was supposed to hold out her hand and did so, but when she looked over at the woman. Her doubts increased. This new woman's green eyes looked sharp enough to cut stone. These same eyes were now fixed on Ari, as if studying her for future reference. However, she took Ari's hand for a handshake. The jolt of cold from this ran up Ari's arm. As if sensing this, the woman frowned and looked at Ari a bit closer. Ari allowed herself to stay open to any Force connections and knew that is where the feeling was from. It was the Force. Almost as soon as she realized that, the feelings ended immediately as if a wall had just appeared in the Force. This time, Ari was the one who frowned. She knew what it was because Siri and Taylor had trained her how to block others from probing her mind with the Force. However, the only way this woman could know what Ari was doing would be if she was Force sensitive with some training, since Ari had barely brushed her with the Force. There was apparently more to this woman than met the eye.

"Nice to meet you," Ari was glad to let her hand drop. She not longer got a cold feeling from her, but she knew it had been there.

"You too," Arica answered. Her face was serious until a half smile appeared. "Some of my friends call me Ari."

Ari's blood now was cold. Somehow this woman knew who she was, or at least knew she was connected.

"I like your name Arica. It flows better," Ari answered, feeling that she was doing well to keep herself from sounding like anything else but a farm girl. "Well, I should go back, we will probably start dancing again and I would like a glass of water." She quickly left the pair and went to 'The Pit', heart racing. She didn't know who the woman was working for, but one thing was for sure. She was not there to help them. She hoped that Luke's plan would come into effect soon.

Arica joined the dancers for a few hours that night. She was very talented, moving with amazing grace and fluidity. The Hutt seemed to enjoy the new human's movements, but still kept Oola attached to his dais.

Finally, the dancers were told they could go to back to 'The Pit' since most of the beings there had passed out due to their alcohol and drug consumption or where quickly nearing that point. The only one who still seemed alert was Boba Fett, though it was hard to tell since he never took the helmet off. His weapon was still raised, ready to be used if necessary, and he seemed to be looking at each being in the room, but Ari knew he was paying special attention to newcomers, such as herself and Arica.

All of a sudden, Jabba let out his deep booming laugh and said something in Huttese. Ari glanced over and saw he was looking at her. This could not be good.

That thought was proven to be correct as two Gamorrean guards approached her. Before they could grab her though, Lando was there. He put a hand on her arm as if so she would not run away.

"What is going on?" Ari whispered.

"Jabba wants to give you to Boba Fett for the night," he answered, all features but his eyes still covered completely. His voice clearly carried concern for her.

"What!" Ari couldn't stop herself from such an exclamation.

Jabba spoke again and Lando explained what was being said. "It is because he helped find you, and Jabba feels that the bounty hunter deserves such a reward. Ari, I am so sorry."

Ari's heart was racing as she looked over at Fett. He still wore his helmet and the only indication to show he had heard what Jabba said, was from the slight nod he gave the crime lord.

"Lando…" she whispered, voice quivering ever so slightly. She could tell by his eyes that he was trying to think of a way out of this. However, they didn't have time to think of anything.

Jabba was not a patient being and after giving an order in Huttese, Ari found herself being grabbed by the Gamorrean guards again. They started to pull her down the hallway and she had no choice but to follow. She knew she could take out the guards, but when she saw that Boba Fett was joining their small processional, she knew that her chances of surviving a fight were drastically reduced.

She cast one last look over her shoulder, seeing Lando standing there, who did not appear to be worried, though his features were impossible to read from where she was. Then her eyes fell on Arica, and while the girl was not smiling, she could only imagine her smirking at Ari's misfortune. While she doubted the other girl's involvement in this, Ari still felt herself bristle slightly. Even though after she was pulled down the hallway, she wondered about Arica, which helped her keep her mind from thinking of the destination they were going to. However, all the thoughts and worries about the other girl were not enough to stop them from reaching the quarters of Boba Fett.

Her heart was racing, but Ari managed to look calm as the Boba Fett opened the door and stepped in. Ari paused, hesitant. She didn't want to follow, and she wondered if she would be able to disable the guards and get enough of a head start to escape. While these thoughts ran through her mind, the guards were not patient. She was pushed into the room roughly, stumbling as she did. Before she could regain her footing, the door slid shut behind her. She was trapped, unarmed and alone with one of the most notorious bounty hunters ever.