Survivor's Quest

With a supreme effort, Mara found her voice. "Sure," she called back. "No problem. Why?"

He seemed a bit taken aback. "We heard the sound of a lightsaber being activated," he said. "With a Jedi, that usually means there's trouble."

"Trouble for whom?" Mara asked pointedly.

"Just trouble in general." The Imperial seemed better on balance now. "Do you need any help getting down from there?"

"Who said I wanted to come down?" Mara countered.

He snorted under his breath, and Mara caught a hint of a

"About...?"

"About what you're doing up there, for starters," the young man said. "Maybe we could discuss this whole crazy mission, too."

She frowned, stretching out with the Force. It was hard to read a stranger, especially at this distance. But as near as she could tell he seemed sincere.

Though she'd concluded the same thing about Jinzler, and had already decided how much simple sincerity was worth.

Still, if these Imperials were out to kill her, the simplest time to try it had already passed. And if she and they were on the same side, comparing cards might not be a bad idea. "Fine," she said. "I was mostly done anyway."

"You need any help?"

"No, thanks," Mara said, setting her teeth as it occurred to her that there was perhaps one more tactical advantage he was waiting for before ordering his stormtroopers to open fire. Time for a small calculated risk. "On second thought, you can hold my lightsaber for me. Here—catch."

She tossed it toward him. The young man stepped forward and deftly caught it.

There was no shout of triumph as he held her only defensive weapon in his hand. More importantly, none of the stormtroopers raised his BlasTech and started shooting.

She started breathing again. So they really didn't mean any mischief. At least, not yet. "Okay," she called. "Stand clear."

She shifted her gaze to the control panel in the corridor behind them and stretched out with the Force, activating one of the buttons.

Once again, the room began to reconfigure. Mara swung herself over to one of the other columns as hers retracted toward the ceiling, then pushed off and down to grab hold of a swinging wall panel. A brief pause to catch her balance, and she jumped down to the next one in line. Three panels later, she landed on the deck.

"Thanks," she said, stretching out her hand to the Imperial, her senses alert for a last-second betrayal.

But he merely handed over her lightsaber, most of his attention on the room itself. "Impressive," he commented as the room hit neutral and then began shifting into the mode Mara had keyed it for. "Instant redecoration, whenever the mood strikes you."

"It's a little more functional than that," Mara said. Up close, he looked even younger than he had from the ceiling, no older than his midtwenties. Like a kid playing soldier, the irreverent thought struck her. "Didn't Formbi explain it to you? Or didn't you get one of these rooms when you came in?"

"We haven't talked to Formbi much," the young man said. "Or any of the other Chiss. We've been trying to keep a low profile since we came aboard." He smiled tightly. "I don't think General Drask is exactly thrilled by our presence here."

"General Drask doesn't seem very easy to thrill," Mara said. Stepping past the group to the control panel, she keyed the room back to its original neutral mode. "So," she said, turning back to face them. "You going to tell me who you are? Or do I have to guess?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." He stiffened to full attention. "I'm Commander Chak Fel, warrior of the Hand. You may remember meeting my father a couple of years ago."

"Very well," Mara said, smiling tightly at the memory. "I'm sure General Baron Fel remembers me, as well."

"With the greatest respect and admiration," Fel assured her. "He asked me to send you his greetings, and to tell you he still has hopes that you'll bring your talents to the Empire of the Hand someday."

"Thanks, but I've had my fill of Imperial service," Mara told him. "Any Imperial service. So you knew I was going to be here?"

"I hoped you would be," Fel said. "Admiral Parck told me you and Master Skywalker had been invited, though he wasn't sure you'd be willing or able to come."

"He didn't let you know we'd contacted him a few days ago?"

"No," Fel said. "Of course, we were already on our way. Maybe he didn't think it was worth recalling us at that point."

"Which brings us to the rest of your party," Mara said, looking at the silent stormtroopers.

"Oh, yes." Fel waved a hand to encompass his escort. "This is Unit Aurek-Seven of the Imperial Five-Oh-First Stormtrooper Legion."

Mara felt her stomach tightening. The Imperial 501st: Vader's personal stormtrooper unit during the Rebellion. Dubbed "Vader's Fist," its very arrival in a star system had often caused Rebel forces and corrupt Imperial officials alike to run for cover. Nonhumans of every sort, even i

And so, of course, that was the specific unit Parck had revived for his Empire of the Hand. That said a lot right there as to how the admiral was ru

Fel shrugged noncommittally. "So what exactly were you doing up there?"

Mara glanced around. Still no Chiss in sight, but that wouldn't last forever. "Not here," she told Fel. "Follow me."

Turning her back on them, she headed down the corridor. A moment later, without complaint or question, they had formed up behind her.

The Force co

But it wasn't until he opened the door for her that he realized just what kind of company it was.

As usual, he recovered quickly. "Hello," he said calmly, nodding in greeting. "I'm Luke Skywalker."

"Commander Chak Fel," Fel said, nodding in return. "This is my escort guard, Unit Aurek-Seven of the Five Hundred and First."

Mara caught Luke's flicker of recognition at the name and the unit designation. But he merely nodded again. "Honored, Commander," he said. "Won't you come in?"

"Just the commander," Mara said before Fel could reply. "There's no room for everybody, and I'd just as soon not have Drask's people see stormtroopers hanging around outside our quarters."

"Good point," Fel agreed, giving the stormtroopers a hand signal. "Return to the ship."

"Acknowledged," one of them said in that flat, mechanically filtered voice that was one of the marks of a stormtrooper. Turning in perfect unison, they marched away.

"Now," Mara said, waving Fel toward the conversation area as the door slid shut behind him. "Let's start with you, Commander. What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd explained that," Fel said, lowering himself into one of the chairs. "Admiral Parck wasn't sure you'd be coming, so he sent me to act as his representative."

"And Formbi went along with it?" Mara asked, sitting down beside Luke across from the young Imperial.

Fel shrugged. "Actually, Formbi didn't seem to have a problem. As I said, it was mostly General Drask who objected."

"He doesn't seem too happy with our presence, either," Luke told him.