Chapter Four:
Mara managed to thwart the two other men Garris sent her way with nothing but her wit and charm. She hadn't had to use violence… yet. But she knew they weren't all going to be unsure of themselves. Now she sat alone at what she sensed was the end of her first day on the job.
When her door opened again to admit Garris, Mara lifted a brow. He sauntered over to her bed, pointedly looking at the sheet she had over her frame.
"May I help you?" Mara asked tartly.
"Why is it whenever I send a man your way they leave in a huff?" Garris inquired with a dangerous edge to his voice.
Mara snorted. "Maybe because they were unsteady?"
He continued to eye her. "And you, of course, had nothing to do with this?"
Mara offered her best 'who, me?' look, to which he lifted his nose haughtily.
"Because if you are the reason they are denying me business, the ramifications will not be pleasant." He warned.
"You do not frighten me," Mara dismissed, looking away pointedly.
"You only say that because you don't know what I am capable of." Garris informed her patiently, as though he'd seen this 'tough act' before.
And Mara knew he probably had: who knew what the women here had tried in order to get out of performing?
Garris studied her nonchalant demeanor for long moments, and then waved to someone outside the room. The man from before walked inside, bringing her a plate of bread and cheese, along with stale water.
Mara hadn't eaten since her 'orientation', but she refused to give either man the satisfaction of a reaction from her.
"I am watching you… Penelo." He grinned with superiority when her green gaze snapped to his face.
"What did you call me?" Mara gritted.
"It means firecracker where I grew up." Garris stood, leaving with the guard. "And since you are mine, woman, I will call you whatever I wish."
"I am not yours!" Mara raged after him, wishing she could kill him with her gaze alone.
He paused in the doorway, looking pointedly over his shoulder at her ankle, which was becoming sore from the weight of her shackle.
"Yes, Penelo, you are." And with that he closed the door.
Mara fumed for a good hour before she remembered her meal. She snatched it up and ate, but not really tasting it as her thoughts turned inward.
She was no one's woman: not without her say-so anyway. Nobody owned her, especially that filthy granite-slug of a man Garris. He may have implanted a kill-chip in her neck, but he did not control her entirely as he believed. She wasn't his, and she never would be.
And if it meant she didn't ever eat again, she would never 'perform' to give Garris business.
Never.
She would fight until her strength gave out, and if it killed her… so be it.
00000
"Hey, Luke!"
The Jedi looked up from where he stood working on his X-wing. Han and Lando were walking towards him, and Luke could feel the excitement radiating from Han. For the first time since he'd started his search, Luke felt hope rise again.
Luke saw that they were still several yards away, and so he completed his task, sealing the coolant tube and testing the feed. Once they were beside his ship, Luke closed the access hatch and wiped his hands on a rag.
"Hey guys." Luke greeted.
Above him, Artoo tootled that he was likewise finished, and so Luke lowered him to the ground.
Lando arrived first and shook his hand; the Jedi returned the man's pearly-white smile. Next was Han, who clapped him on the back instead while wearing a roguish grin.
"We think we've got something for ya, Kid." Han announced, giving Luke's shoulders an affectionate shake before he released his hold.
"It took a few favors, and some digging, but I found this Garris person you've been looking for." Lando glanced around the sparsely populated hangar, and then produced a datapad.
He keyed it on, typed something in, and then passed it to Luke.
"Garris runs a large, um… pleasure store, oriented towards anyone who needs anything for the bedroom. And I don't mean sheets and furniture." Lando squirmed a bit at the topic, and as Luke perused the information on Garris- and the items his store sold- he felt his own cheeks warm a little.
"Anyway, this particular business is legitimate, but it is also a front for what goes on in the upper levels of the same building." Lando glanced to Han, uncertain if he should proceed, but Han nodded.
"Alright," Lando took a deep breath. "Garris runs a second business that is tied to the first. He captures women via a few select bounty hunters, and then he enslaves them. They are then taken to his side-business to become pleasure-slaves."
Luke ground his teeth. "No woman should be subjected to that life."
Han and Lando heartily agreed, but Han laid a hand on Luke's shoulder.
"Listen, Luke…"
At the hesitation in the smuggler's voice, Luke turned his attention from the 'pad to his brother. Both Han and Lando were looking very cagy all of a sudden.
"What is it?" Luke pressed.
"Luke, Garris lives on Nar Shaddaa," Lando said in a low voice, again glancing about.
Luke's eyes widened a touch at that, and suddenly he understood his companions' nerves. Nar Shaddaa was the neighbor to Hutts' homeworld, and probably the worst planet in the galaxy to be stuck on. Crime was ever present, with murder on the top of that list. If you weren't always on your guard there, you were an easy target.
"Luke, I know you wanted to find this woman." Han bit his lip momentarily. "But maybe you should reconsider."
Luke didn't even hesitate.
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I am not abandoning her to her undeserved fate. I am going."
"Well, how do you plan to get there?" Lando asked, eyeing the fighter behind Luke. "'Cause you can't take an Alliance fighter if you wish to remain anonymous."
"Actually, I already spoke to General Cracken, and he agreed to let me take one of their shuttles used for off-the-book flights," Luke said. "It's not an X-wing, but it will hold two people just fine, with room to spare."
Han and Lando shared a glance: knew they weren't going to talk Luke out of this. With a sigh, Han turned to Luke.
"I'll go with you." He offered.
"Absolutely not." Luke frowned. "Leia would kill me if I took you there."
The smuggler lifted an eyebrow. "And she won't kill you for going alone?"
"Or at all." Lando muttered.
Luke looked away guiltily. "Actually, Leia doesn't know anything about this."
Han's jaw nearly dropped, but Lando nodded.
"It's probably best not to seek her permission." Lando agreed.
"Right." Luke smirked wryly. "Best to ask forgiveness, right?"
"You expect me to be able to keep this from her?" Han demanded. "You know how she is."
"Don't lie if she asks, but do not let her follow me, Han." Luke said. "I am leaving today anyway. I'm already packed and ready to go; all I was waiting for was a destination."
Han drew a hand over his face. "I can't let you go alone, Luke."
The Jedi turned to his friend. "Han, I am a Jedi, I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, that's something else you need to be careful of." Lando supplied. "Keep that fact hidden unless you have no other choice: Jedi are not welcome there."
Han nodded. "And you will need to wear a disguise. Dye your hair at the very least, and do not wear Jedi robes. Keep your lightsaber hidden."
Luke placed a hand on both his friends' shoulders. "I promise to be careful, guys."
"At least take Chewie." Han tried once more.
"No. He'd stand out, when I need to blend in." Luke began to walk away, with the smugglers and droid following. "I will take Artoo with me, and I do have a disguise planned out."
Han had a thought. "What are you going to do to get to her?"
Luke's step faltered, and Han had an idea of what Luke had in mind.
"I will go as a customer." Luke didn't sound happy about that, but he knew he had no other way to the woman.
"And how will you get her out?" Lando inquired.
"I, ah, am still working on that one," Luke admitted with a sheepish shrug. "But I have a change of clothes for her that I borrowed from Leia."
Han stopped short, causing Lando to slam into him.
"You took Leia's clothes?" he was incredulous. "Does she know that?"
Lando managed not to fall to the floor, but as he straightened his tunic he felt his own eyes widen a touch.
"Oh, boy." Lando muttered.
Luke finally stopped and turned around. "No, Leia does not know I took some of her gear to… give to another woman." He slapped a hand to his forehead. "Ah, Force. I didn't think of it that way when I took the clothes." He peeked between his fingers. "Don't tell her that either, please?"
Lando held up his hands. "I am steering clear of that mess, Luke."
Han had to agree, except he would bear the brunt of Leia's anger at Luke's antics. Luke sensed his unease, and stepped up to him.
"Han, if she asks, tell her I went to help a… friend." Luke placed a hand on his bicep. "And that I promise to explain and apologize when I return."
Han thinned his lips, but nodded. "You're damn right she'll want an explanation."
Luke smiled softly. "Yeah. I really need to get going though."
They resumed their walk, and when they spotted the ship, Han seemed dubious.
"What kind of weapons does your ship have?" he asked, walking about the exterior of the small shuttle. "Does it have good shielding?"
"Han, this vessel is used in Intelligence ops, so yes; it has good shields and decent weaponry." Luke didn't sound as worried as Han thought he should have.
"Luke…"
"Han, I will be fine." Luke assured him, looking him straight-on. "And I will not be helpless."
"No, you won't be." Lando produced a bag Luke hadn't known he'd been wearing due to the dark-skinned man's cape. "Because you will be taking— and using— these. When I heard what you were planning to do, I insisted you should at least go prepared. Han agreed, so we put this survival pack together for you."
Luke's brow shot up in surprise, but he took the bag and peered inside. A slow smile spread across his face, feeling touched at their gesture. Inside the sack was an assortment of gear: from vibro-blades and hold-out blasters the size of a child's toy, to false I.D tags he could add a holo to with the device they were secured against. Also provided were several ration bars and a canteen of water.
"Thank you, both of you." Luke said warmly.
"You can thank us by coming home alive." Han was deadly serious.
"I plan to," Luke said evenly.
"It's going to take you four days in hyperspace to get there, Luke," Lando said. "Use the time to practice your act, and to plan your way in and out."
"And keep your eyes peeled at all times; your senses sharp." Han added. "Do not trust anyone on that planet."
Luke refrained from telling his companions off, knowing their advice stemmed from their concern for his well-being.
"I will," he replied simply, waving at them as he followed Artoo up the ramp.
He settled into the pilot's chair with a sigh, grateful to finally be under way… and yet nervous all the same. As he lifted the shuttle free of the containment field and out into open space, his mind wandered a touch.
When Luke stretched out with the Force he felt that time was getting crunched, and that he was cutting it close. But he was confident in his ability to pull off this rescue.
He simply prayed that the woman would not give him too much trouble. He sensed that she was strong and very much self-sufficient… but she was also a recently-broken woman who was floundering in the dark.
She was someone very much in need of a friend: a person who would be unbiased and unassuming. She would need someone who would not be afraid of her, but instead accept her for she was.
The alert came that they'd arrived at the jump-off point, and Luke turned to the droid alcove.
"Are the coordinates set, Artoo?"
After an affirmative whistle, Luke placed his hand on the levers. With a deep breath, Luke pushed them forward, and the ship leapt to lightspeed.