Mara and Han made short time of the journey to the docking bay, beating Luke and Ben. She figured her new companions were still held up selling Luke's speeder for the two-thousand credits they owed Han.
"Ah, there's my baby!" Mara exclaimed as her eyes fell on the hunk-of-junk, YT-model freighter that was the Millennium Falcon.
Han rounded on her, looking equal parts offended and incredulous. "Your baby?"
Mara turned towards him, grinning. Oh, how she loved teasing him about this. "Technically, she does belong to me."
"That whole thing was a fluke and you know it," Han said, waving it off.
"Well, I was the one who won her back, so technically-"
Han cut her off once more, but this time by grabbing her shoulder and yanking her out of sight. Pressed against the wall, Mara shot him a bewildered look before she got a look of what surrounded their ship. A ragtag crew of alien smugglers and bounty hunters were pouring in from the entrance opposite of them, weapons raised. At the head of the group was a giant, grotesque slug creature, bellowing for Han to show himself. Mara scowled, recognizing that dreaded language as Huttese.
"Solo! Solo! I know you're in there, Solo!"
If looks could kill, Mara would have melted the Hutt on the spot. "Son of a-"
Han whacked her, and Mara shut up. After a moment of watching, Han calmly stepped out into the open. Mara followed, but her hand didn't stray far from her open blaster holster.
"Right here, Jabba," Han said, gaining the group's attention. "I've been waiting for you."
Jabba the Hutt was one of the galaxy's most notorious gangsters, and the closest thing you could get to a king on Tatooine. The Hutts owned Tatooine--and this whole area of the Outer Rim--through unwritten law. Captain Antilles had told Leia all of this on their way to Tatooine, but Mara knew it all from her time working with Han -- time that, ultimately, was spent working for Jabba.
And Mara, unabashedly, unequivocally, loathed him.
"Have you now," Jabba laughed, and then his reddish snake eyes flitted over to Mara. "And I see you've found your missing partner."
Mara waved her hand, dipping into a sarcastic half-bow. At least this time around, she could glower at him with all the disgust and contempt she had to stifle when she worked for him. "Jabba," she drawled.
"You didn't think I was going to run, did you?" Han said, beginning to walk over to the Hutt.
"Han, my boy, you disappoint me," Jabba stated. "Why haven't you paid me? And, Mara, my girl, why did you fry poor Greedo?"
Mara shrugged, crossing her arms. "Not my fault I'm the quicker draw," she said evenly. With a sharper tone, she added, "And don't call me that." She didn't belong to Jabba, not anymore.
She looked to Han, sharing a nod with him, before making her way to the lowered ramp of the Falcon. She stopped when she found it guarded by two of Jabba's twerps.
Mara crossed her arms. "Excuse me."
The two alien smugglers sized her up, and gave no indication of moving. With a sigh, Mara feigned defeat, and took a step down the ramp. Then she whirled around, hitting the closest guy square in the nose with her fist. In the next instant, she sent the heel of her boot into the other's kneecap. Amidst unexpected pain, neither had a chance to stop her before Mara knocked them both off the loading ramp.
Mara huffed, blew some hair out of her face, then dusted herself off and keyed in the passcode for the Falcon. The door slid aside for her. Han still hadn't changed it. Nerfherder.
Mara glanced over her shoulder. "You coming, Solo?"
Han was already sidling past Jabba, ignoring the Hutt's threats of what would happen to Han if he failed to pay him back.
Annoyed, Han spun around only to snap, "Jabba, you're a wonderful human being," before joining Mara on the loading ramp.
Jabba shot Han a dirty look, but at that, ordered his minions away. Mara was more than happy to see him go. At long last, she stepped into the ship, allowing herself to grin as the Millennium Falcon hit her like a breath of fresh air. It had been too long since she stepped foot on this ship.
Already walking down the hall, Mara called behind her to Han, "Do you still have my stuff?"
Han's slightly-annoyed voice echoed back: "Pretty sure you said something about blasting me if I touched anything, so yeah. I do."
Mara hid a smile, walking the rest of the hallway to her old quarters. It was small, little more than a storage room, but it was almost exactly as she left it. A few added boxes of cargo had been tossed in.
A small cot hung off the right wall, sheets still tucked in, like it was waiting for her. A stout truck was tied down under the bed, the lock that Mara had secured still in place. She slid it out, flipping the lid open. As expected, she found the stash of clothes, spare credits, and weapons that she had hoarded during that year with Han and Chewbacca. She smiled to herself, thinking of how much she had to order Han not to go through her things, back then. He hadn't trusted her much when they first met. Probably because he could tell she was hiding something from him. Ironic, how he finally listened only after she left.
Mara stripped out of her sand-ridden military fatigues, feeling endlessly more comfortable once in a stiff pair of brown pants, white tunic, and a sturdy pair of boots. She kept her belt, double-checking that her mother's lightsaber remained secure. If there was one thing she did not want to lose, it was that.
"Hey, Mar'!" Han's voice came in from the hallway outside. "Grab a rag and help clean up, will ya! I want her all spiffed up for when our guests arrive!"
Mara rolled her eyes. Wasn't she a guest? Nevertheless, she called back, "I'll get right on it!"
She snagged a rag on her way out from where they hung by the loading dock. She found Han already outside, and chose a spot to start wiping down the underside of the ship a few paces from him.
It didn't take Han long to start, "Listen, Mar'-"
Mara groaned.
"Just hear me out," Han asked, and after she nodded at him, continued, "What I said, about you leaving the Rebellion-"
"I'm not going to leave, Han," Mara said. "Not until the Empire's defeated."
"Well, excuse me if I don't see how getting yourself killed is going to help anyone."
"I'm making a difference," Mara insisted. She tried to pour all her attention into the menial task of wiping sand from the ship, but it was no use. "I'm helping people. Saving lives. It's what I've always wanted to do." She paused, then shook her head. "The only thing I can do."
"And why's that?" Han asked.
"Because," Mara snapped.
"Because, why?"
"Because I have to be like my parents!"
She barely comprehended the words before they left her mouth. Han was staring at her, clearly taken by surprise.
Mara stepped back, catching a breath. She looked down, speaking in a whisper: "They were heroes. Actual heroes, Han. You wouldn't understand: that's my legacy. This is who I have to be. If I don't fight back like they did..." Mara shook her head. "Then I don't deserve to call myself their daughter."
There was a stiff, expansive pause.
"Mar'-" Han tried to say.
"Forget it," Mara interrupted, moving to work somewhere further away. "Stupid conversation, anyways."
Han followed her, saying, "Mar.' Hey, look at me."
Mara only obliged when he pushed her on the shoulder, turning her around. She didn't look at him, but Han tried to meet her gaze, anyways
"You don't gotta be like your parents. You gotta know that."
"I don't think I do, Han." Mara shook his hand away from her shoulder. "I don't know how to do anything else. I always end up running back to the fight. It can't be helped. I tried to run away from it once, with you and Chewie, and..." she shook her head. "We both saw how that ended."
Finally, she pulled herself away, putting a greater distance between herself and Han. This time, he didn't follow her. She returned to cleaning the ship, the chore becoming senseless as she focused on her breathing. In and out, in and out. Just as she started to feel calm, her body froze, her senses whispering of something. A tingle in the back of her mind. A presence.
Without thinking, she said, "Luke's here."
The docking bay was silent. Han looked over at her. "And how would you know that--?"
"What a piece of junk!" Luke exclaimed from behind them the instant his eyes fell on the Millennium Falcon. Ben and the droids stood next to him.
Han, having heard the exclamation, stopped to look at Luke and say, "She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid." He continued, "I've made a lot of special modifications myself. But, we're a little rushed, so if you just get on board, we'll get outta here."
Mara waved the others past her, shooting Luke a small smile as he boarded. Mara waiting at the bottom of the ramp, where Han met her. She wasn't going to let the conversation end at that.
"Look, Han," she said. "I get that you're worried about me. I do. But if we're going to be pulling overprotective cards, why don't we talk about you?"
Han gawked at her. "Me?"
"Yeah, you," Mara mocked. "Don't act like you didn't hear Jabba back there. You've got to be careful."
Han scoffed at her. "Oh, yeah. Great advice coming from you."
"I mean it," Mara continued, rounding on him to keep him from walking up the rest of the ramp. "Jabba doesn't play. He'll have every bounty hunter in this parsec on your tail, looking to bring you in. Dead or alive. One of these days you're gonna slip up and-"
"Listen, Mar'," Han said, "you may have been partner once, but we both know you're no expert, especially when it comes to Jabba. Or did you forget that I was the one who had to bust you out of his grimy palace when you-"
"Stop that ship!"
Mara and Han both jumped in surprise, turning to see a crowd of stormtroopers rush into the bay, guns at the ready.
"Blast 'em!"
Mara whipped out her blaster with one hand, seizing Han's arm with the other. She tugged them in the direction of the ship, laying down haphazard cover fire as they scurried into safety. The stormtroopers took cover, giving them a few seconds to duck into the Falcon.
"Mar', close the door behind us, Chewie, get us out of here!" Han ordered as he ran into the cockpit where Chewbacca was waiting.
"What happened?" Luke demanded once they get inside. His hand brushed Mara's arm as Han darted by, looking at her in worry. "Hey, are you okay?"
Mara nodded. "Fine, but not for long if we stay here. We've got a hoard of stormtroopers on us." She grabbed his arm, pulling him down the hall. "Come on, we wanna be strapped in when this thing takes off."
Mara could hear Han ordering Chewbacca to get them out of there as she and her companions passed the hallway leading to the cockpit. She brought Luke and Ben into the lounge area, sitting down at the table.
"I'd grab hold of something," Mara said, hands wrapping around the seat belts to brace herself.
"Oh my, I'd forgotten how much I hate space travel," C3PO remarked.
Mara rolled her eyes, noting to herself that he had just been on the Blockade Runner only a few days ago. "Suck it up, 3PO," she advised, a small smile of excitement forming. "We're in for a ride."
The ship shuddered beneath them, signaling it's rise from the docking bay. Mara could feel the change in altitude as Han piloted the Millennium Falcon towards the atmosphere.
"Alright, we're good... for now," she informed, giving her companions the permission to unbuckle as the Falcon leveled out.
She quickly headed for the cockpit, as Luke and Ben reoriented themselves before following. She stopped inside, sitting down in a chair behind the pilot's seat, where Han sat.
"How are you coming on the calculations for lightspeed?" Mara questioned.
"I'm working on it - ain't that easy when we've got Imperial starships on our tails. You guys are hotter than I thought - though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It is you, after all."
Luke had made his way into the cockpit now, and asked, "Why don't you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast!"
Whipping around in his seat, Han snapped at Luke, "Watch your mouth kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. We'll be safe once we make the jump to hyperspace." Confidently, he added, "Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose 'em."
Mara could feel the Imperial ships' attacks on the Falcon, each successful blast causing the ship to quake and shudder. The TIE-fighters were gaining on them; she could hear it and see it on the scanners.
"Here's where the fun begins," Han remarked with a smirk.
Mara shook her head, but smirked as well. "Isn't it always?"
"How long until you can make the jump to lightspeed?" Ben asked from next to Mara and Luke.
Han took a look at the panel of buttons and flashing lights on his right. "It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer-"
The ship violently shook again. Mara stumbled, managing to catch herself on the chair before she fell completely onto Luke.
"Are you kidding? At the rate they're gaining?" Luke exclaimed, while clumsily helping Mara back to her feet.
"We'll be fine," Mara promised, just as Han barked that traveling through hyperspace wasn't as simple as dusting crops - and he did have a point, admittedly.
"Without precise calculations, we'd fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova - and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"
"Han, we're losing the deflector shield," Mara informed him.
"I see it - go strap yourselves in, I'm gonna make the jump to lightspeed."
The three of them did as they're told, rushing back into the main hold, buckling up in the booth. Mara was violently jerked in her seat as the Falcon jumped to lightspeed, the sudden change in speed noticeable. Quickly, though, the Millennium Falcon balanced out. Mara let out a sigh of relief, dropping her head against her seat.
"I'm sure glad that's over," Luke stated, getting unbuckled.
Mara let out a laugh, knowing that she was probably far more accustomed to a little action like that than Luke. "It's definitely not how I was expecting this day to go," she granted.
"Yeah, no kidding," Luke agreed. "Where did you find this guy?"
Mara smiled down at the table. "Han's an old friend. Helped me out when I needed it most. We were partners."
Luke stared at her. "You were a smuggler?"
"For a while, yeah," Mara admitted with a shrug. "After Han took me in, there really wasn't much else to do. We worked for Jabba the Hutt. That's how I knew Han would be at the cantina. He's always been neck-deep with that lot."
"Why'd you leave?" Luke questioned.
Mara avoided his gaze, feeling a knot of guilt and regret growing in the pit of her stomach. "I... was missing home, I guess. Missing the cause. My home's always been with the Rebellion - something Han's not all that fond with."
Ben let out a small chuckle. "Mara Nevaeh - a smuggler. I would have liked to see your parents' faces upon hearing that news."
That caused Mara to laugh as well. "Yeah, I'm sure that'd be a sight."
To herself, she added that it was a thought she thought about far too often for her liking. She tried not to dwell on her parents too much, with them both being dead and all, to avoid dragging up unpleasant memories. But sometimes she couldn't help but wonder.
Absently drawing circles on the hilt of her new lightsaber, she silently questioned just how much she was getting herself into with the smugglers, the farm boy, and the Jedi Knight who knew more about her parents than Mara herself did.
A/N
Hello, lovelies! Hope you enjoyed the update. I'm curious on how you're enjoying the book so far, and if you have any questions you'd like to ask - I'll gladly answer them!
also hey guess what a backstory/spinoff with Mara and Han is in the works BUT i cannot think about that until this book is at least semi-done.
AND HIGH HEAVENS IS ALMOST TO 1K I AM SCREECHING
Anyways, imaginary hugs,
Lily_Jasmine