by Jenifer Davis


 


Mara watched as Jabba's skiff left the palace, cursing her ineptitude at getting on board. All she could do now was wait, surely the Rebels would be killed in the pit of Sarlac. She didn't know how they could possibly escape. As soon as the skiff returned she'd be gone, reporting to the Emperor that Skywalker and his friends were dead.

It was dark when the word came. Captain Solo and his friends had escaped, Jabba was dead. The few survivors had returned to the palace to gather what they could before a new Hutt came to take over.

Mara couldn't believe her ears. Jabba- dead? And the Rebels had survived? The Emperor would not like to hear this at all. As she prepared to contact him, voices reached her ears. "Let's get those dancing girls, the two red-heads. No one is going to notice them being gone."

"Are you kidding? Solo's kid sister is Jabba's favorite dancing girl. Whoever replaces him is going to notice her missing."

"Fine, then we'll get the other one. She's new enough that no one will remember her. And we can sell her for a good price."

Mara could hear the scraping as the two picked the lock of the room she and the other's were shut in. She was searching her mind for reference of another red headed dancer. As far as she knew, Solo didn't have any siblings. But she could vaguely remember a girl that Jabba had been very possessive of. She had graced the edge of his throne until just before the droids had shown up. Of course! Once people began talking about Solo and his release, Jabba had sent her out of the throne room.

Mara scanned the room, looking for the girl she almost remembered. In a corner she saw her, curled up in a ball, small form shaking from her sobs. She was the only other person in the room awake; Mara was instantly at her side.

"Can you stand?"

The girl looked up at her in a slight daze. Annie had never tried to consort with the other dancing girls, most disliked her because she was Jabba's prized possession. The one talking to her now was the newest girl, sold to Jabba by a bounty hunter who had caught her breaking into his ship. "Yes. Who are you?"

"Your ticket out of here. Come on, there are some guys outside trying to open the door."

"Friends of yours?"

"Hardly, they want to steal both of us."

Mara drug the girl to the door, each hiding on a different side, their chains extended between them. As the door opened and the men rushed in, the two women pulled the chains up taunt, tripping the first man. As his partner tripped and fell over him, the two were out, closing and locking the door behind them. To Mara's surprise, the girl didn't rush away, but collapsed in tears on the floor outside the cell. "Listen, girl, I don't care if you're Solo's little sister or not, we need to get out of here now!"

"Is it true?"

"What?"

"Is it true that they got away?"

"From what I hear." Mara didn't tell her that she new through what little training she had in the Force that the Rebels had gotten away for sure.

"He looked at me. He looked directly at me and didn't care."

Mara furrowed her brow as the girl broke down into sobs again. "Listen, your brother was blind with hibernation sickness, I doubt he realized that he was looking in you direction."

"No, not him. Luke. He doesn't care. It's probably good that he doesn't know."

"Skywalker? You know Skywalker?"

The girl nodded as Mara looked at her incredulously. Here was a girl who knew and obviously cared for the one man she was supposed to kill. "You got to be kidding me." Mara just threw herself down on the ground beside the girl, laughing. "You mean that he's coming back for you?"

Looking thoughtful, the girl shook her head. "No, he's not coming back. He's cut all his ties with Tatooine now."

Instantly, Mara recognized the look on the girl's face. So she's a Force-sensitive, that makes it even more interesting. She watched the girl get up, pulling from her blouse a small wire that she used to pick the lock on her chains. Tossing the metal piece to Mara, she began to walk down one of the many halls, deeper into the palace. Hurriedly, Mara picked the lock on her chains, not nearly as efficiently as the girl and followed her.

"Hey, where are you going? The exit is the other way. We NEED to get out of here before someone notices that we are gone."

"No one is going to notice anything. There are no Hutts left to take over. Believe me, no on is going to bother us." As if to prove her point, a group of droids rushed past them, not noticing or caring about the escaped dancers.

"Where are we going? This isn't the way out."

"For me it is, there's something I need to get."

Mara harrumphed under her breath. This wasn't the time to get personal mementos from anyone. Whether there was going to be anyone to find them or not, they still needed a way out of there. The longer they waited, the less likely there would be anything that ran left to carry them. They reached a door that appeared to be hidden, but Mara recognized it. It was the back door to the slave quarters, where Jabba kept his other slaves. Producing a key from her blouse, the girl opened the door and scanned the room. Finally she picked out what she was looking for and rushed to the small, sleeping figure. Picking up the sleeping form, she walked back to the door where Mara stood, jaw ajar.

"This is my son Dryl. Mine and Luke's son."

Mara didn't have time to answer, as the woman rushed past her, further down the hall. "Are you coming or not?"

The two women and sleeping boy raced into a junk area of sorts, pieces of broken down speeders, droids and other parts littered the room. The mother handed her son to Mara and rushed to the farthest, darkest corner, where she began to pull piles of rusted metal off a broken down speeder. Before Mara was even able to make a comment, her question was answered.

"Not long before they brought Han here I was making plans to escape. I hid this here then." She looked up and smiled mischievously. "There are a few perks to being Jabba's favorite. Free-reign of the palace is one of them. That and the fact that he agreed to not sell or harm Dryl. But when Boba Fett brought Han in I decided that I needed to revise my plan to get him out of here also. I never had the chance to pull it off."

She started the speeder, its engine humming beautifully. Mara handed Dryl to her; "You're probably better at handling children than I am." She said, climbing into the driver's seat.

As they pulled out of the palace, Mara's mind was racing. Perhaps the Emperor would be upset that Skywalker had gotten away, but she was bringing to him Skywalker's son, that Skywalker probably didn't know about, and girlfriend, who was Force-sensitive also.
 


Upon reaching Mos Eisley, Mara led Annie and, now awake, Dryl to the ship the Emperor had given her to use. Thankfully he had given her a transport, so there would be room for two more passengers. Annie, however, was skeptical, not knowing the whole plan. "Where are we going? I thought that you didn't have ship."

Mara pushed off the question, hustling them both up the ramp into the ship. Not sure how Solo's sister would take the fact that she worked for the Empire, not to mention that she was going to kill Skywalker, she wanted to avoid all that until they were in hyperspace. Settling her two passengers into a cabin, she headed to the cockpit and prepared for take off. Once off the ground and ready for hyperspace she took the time for one short message to the Emperor, about the girl and Skywalker's son. Once in hyperspace, Mara went to her cabin and found one to the no-nonsense jumpsuits she wore most of the time. Getting dressed, she grabbed the spare, which she took to Annie Solus.

Entering the cabin, she found both occupants asleep, mother holding son on her lap. Laying the jumpsuit on the chair, Mara dimmed the lights and left the room. Back in her cabin she prepared to contact her master telepathically.

Sending her mind out to him, she was instantly slapped back. Mind reeling, she reached out more tentatively, not to him, but to where he was. Through his mind, she could feel the Emperor's annoyance that she was intruding on his finest hour. But he still allowed her to watch in, his mind telling her to learn from what she saw. She watched as he confronted Skywalker, pleased that the Rebel would be turning to the Emperor. He would become another mind for the Emperor to mold in his nature. However, she wasn't prepared for Vader to turn on the Emperor when Skywalker refused to give in. Shocked, Mara watched helplessly as her Master died, his voice repeating in her mind. You will kill Luke Skywalker!

Mara gasped as a warm hand brushed her shoulder. Looking up, she had to wait for her eyes to focus to see Annie looking very concerned. "Mara, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She was still gasping for breath, but she didn't want the other woman to know what had happened. Not until she knew what to do. But there was nothing that she could do, no where she could go. With the Emperor gone and Vader dead, no one knew who she was. She was a secret agent of sorts, with no background that could be traced by anyone.
 


Annie could tell that something was bothering Mara. The other woman puzzled her, hardly ever speaking to either her or Dryl. She seemed lost, not sure what to do, surprising Annie. From what she had seen in the palace, Mara knew exactly what to do in a tough situation.

Walking into the cockpit, Mara noticed Annie sitting in one of the seats, in a reverie or sorts. Her past aroused Mara's curiosity, she knew most everything there was about the Rebels, and she was certain that Solo didn't have a sister. So, what was this woman's relationship with the General of the fledgling New Republic. Well, there was no time like the present to ask. "How are you related to Solo?"

Annie looked up, she knew that Mara could tell she was Force-sensitive. No story that she was Han's long lost sister would work with her, no it was time to tell the truth. "Han adopted me when I was eight. He needed a way to get more money out of customers and I needed a home off the streets. We concocted a story about how our parents had died so he had to take custody. It worked really well for a long time. Until Jabba decided that he wanted me for his own."

"Never has he or anyone else mentioned a sister."

"We had a fight when I was 15 and went our separate ways. I had a good share of money from our jobs and I had been trying to keep in good practice my skills as a pickpocket. Add that to some lucky winnings on the track, I settled in a small apartment in Anchorhead and fell in love."

"With Skywalker?"

"Yeah, we dated for two years. Hell, we were engaged. But, we had what I thought was a small fight about him going to the Academy, apparently it wasn't small. He wanted to go and wanted me to go with him. When he left Tatooine I figured he would come back for me. Instead he when he finally did he just ignored me."

"How'd you end up in Jabba's service?"

"After Luke left, I was arrested by stormtroopers. They thought I knew where the Rebellion was hiding after the Battle of Yavin. Instead I knew nothing. They found out that Jabba wanted me, so I was sold to him after my interrogation. It was a month later that I realized I was pregnant. I tried to get away, but Jabba's guards caught me. I severely injured one, impressing Jabba, I guess. He made a deal with me. I wouldn't try to get away and would serve him as a dancer. He would make it official that I was his favorite, not letting anyone else 'have me', promised to not force me to terminate my pregnancy and he agreed to not sell my child. So I chose to stay with him for a time, until my son was old enough to escape with me."

"When was that going to be?"

"Well, the plan was for just before Boba Fett brought in Han. But that changed everything. Enough about me, what about you? How did you end up in Jabba"s service?"

"For a reason. I used to work for the Emperor. I was under orders to kill Skywalker."

Whatever reaction Mara was expecting, it wasn't the one Annie had. She just raised an eyebrow and nodded her head. "I guess that would have been the plan if you work for the Emperor. I supposed that means we are on our way to Coruscant for you to hand over to him Skywalker's son and former girlfriend."

"Used to are the operational words. Annie, the Emperor is dead. The Rebellion won, right now they are fighting off invaders at Bakura, but they have still won. I have no where to go. No one other than the Emperor and Vader, who is also dead, knew of me. So, no one is going to believe that I was the Emperor's Hand. Basically, I'm nobody."

"Then we'll be nobodies together. What are your skills."

Mara looked at Annie incrediously. "My skills? Um, assassination, telepathic communication, piloting, um..."

"There, you're a pilot. Working for the Emperor, that means you can fly anything, right?"

"Of course, but what does that have to do with this?"

"Hon, you forget something. I'm a smuggler. Just get some new IDs on this ship and we have a prime stake at getting back into the game. Of course, you're going to have to do all the pr work."

"PR work?"

"Talk to all the customers. Too many people could recognize me, and associate me with either Han or Jabba. You were new to Jabba so no one will recognize you from there."

"And no one will recognize me as being from the Empire. Where do we start?"
 


Mara hung up her jumpsuit as she climbed into her bunk on the Red Star, the name they had given the Imperial shuttle. Man, that was a long time ago, she thought to herself. It had been three years since they had escaped Jabba's palace together. Dryl was six years old now, and Annie had been talking about getting out of the game.

"Mara?" Annie poked her head into the cabin.

"Huh?"

"I need to talk to you. It's an offer we've gotten for the business." Annie wasn't sure how to broach the subject with her partner. But with this offer she would have enough money to get a home, a real home, to live in. One for Dryl to grow up in. And she had one in mind, that would leave enough money left over for her and her son to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, if the small farm paid for itself.

Mara knew that Annie had been looking into a real home, she even knew that she was looking at buying the old Lars farmstead on Tatooine. As Annie explained the buy out deal, it was a good one. The best they had been offered. It would be good to have a change, the most recent jobs hadn't been challenging enough for her, Mara decided. And with the offer she had been given by Talon Karrde she could do really well. "I think we should do it."

"Mara, are you sure. What are you going to do?" Annie was ecstatic, but cautious. She didn't want Mara to give up her livelihood for her and Dryl.

"You've heard of Talon Karrde, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"He offered me a job. I turned him down, but he said the offer was still open. I think I want to take it."

"It'll be a good job. He takes care of his employees and pays them well."

"I know. One more thing, though. He asked me how I get all my information, I told him that my partner is a pretty decent slicer."

"Mara, I'm planning to settle down..."

"I know, just hear me out. If you agree to it, he wants to hire you on for approximately four to six months. He's got a teenager working for him who's proving to be good with computers. He wants you to teach him everything you know. Or at least enough for the kid to figure out the rest for himself.

"I told him that I would talk to you about, but it would only happen if we decided to go out of business and I went to work for him. Ann, it'd be six months wages to help pay for the farmstead. At the price he named, that would be enough to buy the Lars place, no dipping into your other money."

"Does he know who I am?"

"Not a clue."

"What about Dryl?"

"You'll be at his home base. Kids are ok, in fact, I believe that at least one of his employees has a kid."

"I guess this means we selling out."

"I guess so."
 


Mara watched as her friend loaded up the transport, getting ready to head back to Tatooine. Dryl was jumping up and down about finally getting to have a real home, but Annie was sad. After the last box went on board and Dryl was settled in, Annie came back down the ramp. Giving Ghent a big hug, she admonished him to remember her what she taught him and write her whenever he had the chance. Shaking hands with all the other employees, she said her farewells, until she reached Mara.

The two women hugged, tears finally welling up in Annie's eyes. "You promise that you'll come visit?"

"Of course, how else I am going to spoil my nephew rotten? You take care of yourself, and don't buy any suspicious looking droids."

"And don't kill anyone I used to date." The two laughed, as Annie turned to Karrde himself, who had insisted on being there when she left. Giving him a hug as well, with a small kiss on the cheek, she thanked him for the job.

"No, thank you, my dear. You have done a wonderful job. If you ever need anything, just get in touch with Mara or Ghent."

Annie said her last goodbyes and headed up the ramp of the small transport ship Karrde had given her. He claimed that he was planning to get rid of it anyway, and that it wouldn't have brought anything. As it lifted off with one of his best employees, the one who was probably the most influential among his others, he thanked the Maker that he had kept it as long as he had. He doubted anyone else would have know what it was, least of all Annie. But there was a reason that he had made her promise not to sell it when she got to Tatooine.

He and Mara watched as the transport left the atmosphere, everyone else had gone on back to work. "It really was her after all, wasn't it?"

Looking at his quizzically, Mara asked, "Who?"

"That was Annie Solo, Han Solo's kid sister. Everyone thought she was dead."

"How'd you know?"

"I did a job with him once. Besides, Solo--Solus, that's not much of a difference in last names. Does General Solo know she's still alive?"

"I don't think so."

"Too bad, I think he'd like to see his old ship again."

"What?"

"That's the ship he used before winning the Falcon from Calrissian, I bought it. It was my starter ship in the business."

Mara just looked at her new boss, wondering what else this man knew and hid. Was it possible that he knew about her? Or about Dryl's parentage? Nah, probably not.
 


 
 

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