Star Wars_ The Jedi Academy Trilogy 02_ Dark Apprentice - Kevin J. Anderson [50]
“I’m bringing a message. You can pass it on to the appropriate people. Your Imperial friend Admiral Daala has been sending out feelers, trying to hire smugglers as spies and saboteurs. A few have taken the offer, but I don’t expect many of them to trust Daala after what she did to the forces of Kessel. Even though Moruth Doole wasn’t part of our alliance, he was still a smuggler, and smugglers tend to stick together—especially against Imperials.”
“Yes,” Han said, “we got the message that she had attacked one of the supply ships and destroyed it before it could get to Dantooine.”
Mara looked at him, and her gaze became hard again. “Haven’t you heard what happened to your colony on Dantooine? Daala’s already been there, you know.”
“What?” Han said, and Lando echoed his surprise.
“A small group of New Republic engineers is setting up a communications base there,” Han said, “but we haven’t contacted them in the last week or two.”
“Well, there’s no need to,” Mara said. “Dantooine has been leveled. Every person in your colony and all of your New Republic engineers are dead, as of two days ago. Daala attacked with her three Star Destroyers and vanished again to wherever her hiding place is.”
“And so you came here just to give us this information?” Han said, trying to recover from his shock.
Mara took a long, slow drink of the cloying concoction that Lando seemed to be enjoying so much. She shrugged. “I have an agreement with the New Republic, and I keep my agreements.”
As Han felt anger and shock starting to boil inside him at what Daala had done, Lando changed the subject.
“So where are you off to now, Miss Jade?” he said. Leaning forward on the table, he seemed to be trying to melt her with his big brown eyes. Han rolled his.
“You’re welcome to stay here for a while,” Lando said. “I’d be happy to show you some of the sights of the city. There’s some beautiful views on top of the Grand Towers.” Mara looked at him as if considering how much effort it was worth for her to answer his question.
“I’ll be leaving immediately,” she said. “I’m going to spend some time at Skywalker’s Jedi training center. It makes good business sense to learn how to use my Jedi abilities, if only for self-protection.”
Han sat up in surprise. “You’re going to learn from Luke? I thought you still hated Luke! You’ve tried to kill him often enough.”
Mara’s eyes stared back as if ready to blaze through him; then she softened and even smiled. “We’ve … reconciled our differences. You might say we negotiated a truce.” She looked down at her drink but did not touch it. “For now, at least,” she added, and then smiled even more. She stood up to leave. “Thanks for your time, Solo.” She ignored Lando completely and walked out of the lounge.
Lando watched Mara leave, admiring the slick satiny gray fabric of her slacks and tight padded flightshirt. “She sure has gotten beautiful.”
“Yeah, I hear that happens to most assassins once they retire,” Han answered.
Lando didn’t seem to hear him. “How could I have missed her in Jabba the Hutt’s throne room? She was there, and I was there, but I didn’t notice her at all.”
“I was there too,” Han said, “and I didn’t see her. Of course, I was frozen in a block of carbonite at the time.”
“I think she likes me,” Lando said. “Maybe I’ll volunteer to take the next delivery of supplies to Yavin 4, just so I can see her.”
Han shook his head. “Lando, she wanted you to disappear. She didn’t even acknowledge your presence.”
Lando shrugged. “Sometimes it just takes my charm a little longer to work.” He flashed one of his best lady-killer smiles. “But when it does.…”
“Oh, brother,” Han said. He finished his drink and left Lando sitting there, daydreaming as his own drink sat unnoticed beside him.
13
The next night Leia had just sat down to cherish a relaxing meal with her husband and her children when the summons from Mon Mothma arrived.
As