The Emperor's Hand
Chapter 3: Failure
For the next few years, Mara watched her former trainer like a hawk in-between missions. But there were never any signs or evidence that he was a traitor. Quite the opposite, actually; he was working harder than ever before.
But Mara knew better than ignore her master's command. If Lee was planning any treachery, Mara was planning on finding out.
The Royal Imperial Guardsman was off duty at an exclusive social affair. It hadn't been too difficult for Mara to acquire a ticket so she could keep an eye on him. The only problem was that he kept slipping out of sight.
She took a sip of her wine and glanced around the large ballroom, trying her best not to be obvious about it. But the fair-haired warrior was nowhere to be seen. For the hundredth time, Mara wished that she were taller and could see over everyone's heads.
On one side of the room was a small group of young women. They were all extravagantly dressed and bejeweled like princesses. Although the primped little spoiled brats irritated Mara, she had learned to put up with their presence. Interestingly, there was a new addition to the group.
Roganda Ismaren.
As a child, most of Mara's classes had been taken by private tutors. But she had attended the Imperial Center Royal Academy for some classes. Roganda had been in Mara's year level and had also been her chief rival for most things, from captain of the sports team to top of the class. They had never gotten along.
Mara gazed at the glittering girl in wonder. Why had a young woman of Roganda's intelligence become a concubine? Mara made a mental note to ask the Emperor about it.
Without warning, a hand rested on her shoulder.
With a curse on her lips, Mara whirled around, fully expecting to see Lee standing behind her.
"Hello Miss Dewlya," said a young man who looked oddly familiar. He was tall and handsome with a cocky grin on his face. Mara let out a relieved breath. "Or may I call you Kira?"
"Call me what you want," she said, smiling at him.
"I saw you from across the room and just had to compliment you on the dancing display you gave yesterday--"
"Wait a minute!" Mara interrupted, his face suddenly becoming clear in her memory. "You're Garik Loran, aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged," he grinned.
"One would wonder what a holo star like yourself would be doing in the Imperial Court," she asked lightly, trying not to let the fact that he was famous overwhelm her.
"I often come here," he told her. "I like it. Most of the people here are so stuck up that they never realise who I am--nor do they care."
Mara snorted softly. "Somehow that doesn't suprise me."
"But I know who you are," he said. "I've watched you dance many times. I'm quite a fan of yours."
"I'm flattered," Mara told him dryly. "And I'm also afraid that I can't say the same for you. While I think that you're a good actor, all your roles are badly scripted and your holodramas are all have pathetic plots--even though they were very glorifying to the Empire." She folded her arms, expecting Garik to be angry. But instead, he laughed.
"You're not like anyone I've ever met, Kira," he chuckled.
"I suppose you're used to everyone showing you with false complements."
He sobered up. "Yes. I am. Your attitude is a refreshing change."
"Glad to hear it." It began to sink in to Mara who she was actually talking to. At school every girl -- herself included -- had the biggest crushes on Garik. If any of them could see her talking to him now, they?d all be so jealous.
In the corner of her eye she a familiar face. She turned her head to the side and saw Lee Ghan. He was standing about ten metres away and was staring directly at her.
As soon as she looked at him, he turned around and made his way towards the exit.
Mara turned back to Garik. "Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute," she lied, placing her wine glass on a nearby table. She followed after Lee.
He glanced over his shoulder a few times as he walked outside into the cool Coruscant night air. Mara tried her best to make it look like she wasn't following him. She might have saved herself the effort. She knew she could never fool him.
When she stepped outside, he was nowhere in sight. Frowning slightly with concentration, she reached out with the Force, searching for his strong presence.
He was not far away and moving in a southerly direction. Mara kept to the shadows and walked towards where she could sense him. Finally she saw him skulking along the side of a building just ahead of her.
He took several turns and changed directions twice. For a moment Mara thought she had lost him when he abruptly broke into a run. A few seconds later she saw him appear out of nowhere and duck down a alleyway.
So far, she'd had no indication from his sense that he knew she was still following him.
Drawing her tiny blaster from where it was hidden in the folds of her loose-fitting formal gown, she crouched down beside the mouth of the alley. A low voice murmured something from down the narrow passage.
* * *
"The General is ready to see you," the short, dark-haired boy whispered in Lee Ghan's ear. He nodded and started towards the exit. Before he left, he took one last look around the room to make sure that no one was watching him.
His eyes narrowed as he saw someone he hadn't noticed before.
Mara was standing not far away, chatting to a young man. She turned her head slightly and her eyes met with his. It was the first time that they'd looked into each other's face's for a whole year.
He turned away quickly and left the building. As he went, he glanced over his shoulder to see if she would follow him. He couldn't see her, but that didn't mean she wasn't there.
Lee swallowed hard. He'd seen Mara following him a few times over the past year. Each time he'd pretended not to see her.
Perhaps she knew about the meeting he was about to have.
The thought chilled him to the bone. If anyone ever found out that he was meeting with a leader of the Rebellion he'd be as good as dead.
On that night so long ago, he'd began to have second thoughts about the Empire. Now he understood that Kirt had been right. The Emperor and the Empire was evil.
It had taken him over ten years of loyal service to realize it. Hopefully, this rebel, General Dodonna, would accept him and his services. He'd be able to escape from Coruscant and leave his Imperial life behind forever.
As he made his way to the meeting place Lee took the most complicated route, just in case Mara was following him. When he was sure that he was alone, he ran all the way to the alley that he'd been told about.
Taking a deep breath, he walked down it, half expecting to run into a dozen blaster barrels. But there was only a middle aged man who appeared to be unarmed.
"Lee Ghan?" he asked in a low voice.
"General Jan Dodonna?" Lee replied.
He nodded. Lee couldn't make out his features in the dim light. "I hear that you want a position in the Rebellion."
"I'm not saying anything until you can prove that you're not an Imperial Agent," Lee told him firmly.
A faint smile crossed Dodonna's face. "And do I know that you're not an Imperial Agent?" he countered.
"You don't know."
"We're not going to get anywhere if we don't take a chance and trust each other. My associates will be here any minute now. I'm sure they'll be able to--" His voice cut off by the unmistakable sound of blaster fire. It was coming from just outside the mouth of the alley
"Wait a minute," Dodonna hissed. "This may have nothing to do with us."
"Yeah right," Lee muttered, his hand dropping to his holstered blaster.
Someone cried out and the shooting stopped. A few seconds later the dark-haired youth who had spoken to Lee earlier walked down the alley, holding a blaster tightly. He looked grimly at Dodonna. Behind him, a middle-aged man with flaming red hair streaked with white helped a familiar figure down the alley.
Mara Jade.
She clutched a nasty-looking blaster burn with both hands.
"We saw her crouched down at the entrance of the alley," the young man informed Dodonna. "She attacked us first and shot down both Kilc and Wesley before Airen managed to get her." There was no mistaking the pain in his voice.
Dodonna's face hardened. "It's all right, Wedge. I'm sure you did your best." He looked at Airen, who was still holding Mara by the arm. "Good shot."
Lee stepped forward. "You?re an idiot. You should have stayed in your safe Imperial Palace. Honestly, Mara, you?re hopeless."
"You'll pay for this, Ghan," she snarled through the burning pain.
"You know her?" Dodonna asked in suprise. Wedge's blaster was suddenly trained on Lee.
"I knew her," Lee corrected him calmly. "I was her trainer in the art of combat."
"You trained her?" Airen asked, looking down at Mara contemptuously. She scowled at him. "You did a pretty good job. She killed two of my good friends."
"I'm sorry about that," Lee said sincerely. "I really am."
"Traitor," Mara accused, her brilliant green eyes stabbing into him like vibroblades. "You kreffing traitor. I've read files on all these rebels. Airen Cracken, Wedge Antilles and of course the great Jan Dodonna," she sneered, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Quite the little lady, isn't she?" Dodonna said dryly.
"You don't know who you've got here," Lee said. "She's the Emperor's best assassin, known as the Emp--"
"Shut up!" growled Mara. "You've told these rebels enough as it is."
"But she's only a girl," Wedge said skeptically. "How can she be an assassin? She couldn't possibly be older than eighteen."
"That's what you're supposed to think," Lee said grimly. He took a few steps towards Mara and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to get caught up in all this."
"No. You're not sorry," she hissed, suddenly realizing that she was probably facing her death. Lee wouldn't want her alive to tell the Emperor of his treachery. "That's not the way you talked the last time we spoke. I remember how full of fire you were about serving the Empire."
"I've changed since then," Lee told her. "I did a lot of research and I discovered that the Empire was evil. The Emperor lied to me. He lied to you."
The scowl on Mara's face intensified into a glare of pure hatred. "My Master would never lie to me!"
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he? Do you know what happened to your parents? Do you know that you're not the only Hand?"
"You lie!" she shrieked, her whole body trembling with rage. She tried to twist free from Airen's grip, her wound temporarily forgotten. "I am the only Hand!"
"I'm telling you this for your own good," Lee said sadly. "You're still young. It's not to late for you to turn from the Empire. It wasn't too late for me."
"I'll kill you for this," she promised darkly, a quiet deadliness taking over. "I'll kill you."
"What are we going to do?" Wedge asked softly, staring incredulously at the furious teenager.
With an effort, Lee shifted his gaze from her. "We don't need to kill her. We can just stun her and leave the planet. Someone will find her."
"What about her wound?" Airen reminded him. "She may bleed to death."
"She killed two of our men," Dodonna spoke up. "Don't you think she should pay for that?"
"If we kill her now in cold blood we're no better than her. We'll be no better than the Imperials," Lee said. "If we can just get her out of the way for a while--"
"I thought you were an Imperial," Mara cried, cutting him off mid sentence. "What happened to the Lee Ghan I used to know? The Lee Ghan who would give his life to serve his Emperor."
The look on her face tore the ex-Imperial apart. He knew that the pain in her eyes was not because of her wound. It was because of his betrayal of the Empire.
"That Lee is gone forever," he said quietly. He pulled out his blaster and aimed it at her, flicking the setting to stun with his thumb. "Maybe next time I see you you'll have discovered the truth. I'm sorry to have to do this to you."
The blue blast hit Mara square in the chest. She let loose one last cry of rage and pain before everything went black.
* * *
A low moan rose from Mara's lips as she slowly drifted back into consciousness. Everything hurt.
But she was alive.
When Lee had shot her with the stun bolt she'd been sure that she'd never wake up again. For some reason he'd decided to spare her life. He'd left her lying alone in the alley.
Mara opened her mouth to shout for help. The only sound that came out was a hoarse rasping. Her throat felt dry and she felt like she hadn't drank for weeks.
Slowly and carefully she tried to lift her head from off the ground. She couldn't summon the energy to move more than a few centimetres.
There was only one thing left to do.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the Force, concentrating on her Master's sense. *My Master,* she called.
To her relief, his face appeared before her, half hidden in the shadows of his cowl. Her relief turned to dread when she saw the anger on his face. *Where have you been, my Hand? I've been trying to make contact with you.*
*Lee Ghan stunned me and left me in an alleyway. He has betrayed you and joined the Rebel Alliance.* For a moment the Emperor was silent. Mara feared that he would decide to end the contact and leave her to survive on her own as punishment.
*It was your job to kill him before he betrayed me,* the Emperor reminded her coldly.
*I know. I apologize for my failure. Can you please send someone out to help me so I can hunt him down and kill him?*
A thin smile appeared on the Emperor's face. *I'll decide later if you will be the one to kill Ghan, but I'm not going to send anyone out to get you. You were the one who was foolish enough to get stunned. You can get out of your mess yourself.*
Mara let out a sigh. It was bad enough, but it could have been worse. It could have been much worse. *Yes, my Master.* His face faded from her mind.
For the first time, Mara noticed how light it was. She guessed that it was in the middle of the day. Which meant that she'd been unconscious all night and all through the morning.
The crunch of footsteps interrupted her train of thought. A flicker of hope lit up inside her. Gathering up all her strength, she cried out, "Help!"
It wasn't nearly as loud as she'd hoped, but it did the trick. A human male poked his head down the alley curiously.
As soon as he saw her, his eyes widened and he rushed down the alley. Kneeling by her side, he lifted her up into a sitting position. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"Water," she rasped.
He took a small pouch from his side and titled it into Mara's mouth. She drank thirstily, emptying it in a few mouthfuls. "You've been shot," the man said, looking down at her wound. "I'd better call a medic."
He pulled out a small, cylindrical object and keyed in the number of the nearest medical centre. After telling them his location, he shut down the comlink and replaced it on his belt.
By the time he was finished, Mara felt much better. "My name is Hal," he said.
"Pleased to meet you," Mara grunted. "Shame we couldn't have met under better circumstances. My name is Kira."
Hal looked her over with a frown on his face. "Kira, huh? What happened to you?"
"I was robbed last night on the way home," she lied.
Shaking his head in disgust, Hal snorted softly. "Some cowards will do anything for money."
"Tell me about it," Mara growled.
"Don't worry about it," Hal said kindly. "The medics will be here any moment now. They'll take good care of you." He bushed some loose strands of hair off her face.
Mara looked up at him, taking in his features. He wasn't bad looking, with dark hair and soft brown eyes, but not quite her type. She had always preferred blonde hair and blue eyes like--
Her face flushed red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Lee Ghan was a traitor. There was no way that she was attracted to him.
"What's wrong?" Hal asked.
"Nothing," Mara said quickly. "I appreciate you taking care of me. There's no telling of what could've happened if you hadn't come by when you did."
Hal waved his hand casually, dismissing her words. "Don't worry about it," he said gently. "I'm sure someone else would have come by."
"Yeah," Mara said, the word catching in her throat as she remembered her last conversation with the Emperor. She had failed him. Probably for the last time.
No. She tried not to think about that.
She'd have to find Lee and kill him. That would be the only way to prove to the Emperor that she was still worthy to be his servant.
* * *
A week later, Mrs Jakki Kinn stood outside Mara's room, patiently waiting for her student to open the door. Even after many years of teaching her, she still managed to be late every lesson.
No one came to answer the door.
"Mara!" she called. "Open the door now."
Finally, Jakki pressed the door release button. She knew that Mara would not be happy that she was being interrupted. But that wasn't important. Mara's education was important.
The door slid open. Jakki stepped though into the girl's room. I'm getting sick and tired of..." her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Mara.
She was lying back on her bed, face upwards. Her green eyes were bloodshot and staring upwards, not focused on anything. Surrounding her eyes were red, puffy circles.
Her red-gold hair was spread around her head in tangles. It looked like it hadn't been washed or brushed in days. Loose strands hung over her face, contrasting with the pale, sickly skin.
One of her hands was clenched in a white-knuckled fist by her side. The other one rested on her stomach, holding her lightsaber tightly. The only signs of life were the slow rise and fall of her chest and the occasional blink.
"Mara," Jakki gasped, hurrying over to her student's side. "Are you all right."
She opened up her cracked lips, but no sound came out except for a choked sob.
"Mara," she repeated. "Are you all right? Have you been crying?"
"Go away," she whispered, rolling onto her stomach and burying her head into her pillow.
"I won't go away," Jakki said firmly. "I'm going to stay here until you tell me what's wrong."
Mara didn't respond, hoping that her teacher would give up and leave the room. No such luck. Jakki pulled a chair over to Mara's bedside and sat down.
"Come now Mara," she said gently. "It can't possibly be all that bad." Even though Mara was not on Jakki's list of favourite people, she pitied her. It was the first time she'd seen her look so miserable.
Mara turned her head to the side, looking warily at Jakki. "I asked you to go away."
"Haven't you learnt by now that I don't take orders from you?"
With an effort, Mara sat up on the bed. She pulled her knees up against her chest and glared at Jakki. "What do you want?"
"I want to work on your Huttese. It looks like the only way I'm going to be able to do that is if you tell me what's bothering you. Then we can go on to more important things," Jakki explained coolly.
"All you care about is my stupid language skills," Mara grumbled. "You couldn't really care less about my problems."
"I'm being paid to care about your language skills," she replied curtly. "I'm asking about you because I do care."
Mara rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "Have you ever had someone do something that made you completely change your perspective on life?" she asked.
Jakki's expression darkened. "This is about how Lee Ghan defected last week, isn't it?" she asked.
Mara didn't respond. She just stared straight ahead as if she hadn't said anything. Jakki was just about to repeat her comment when Mara spoke up.
"I thought that he was the most loyal Imperial ever," she said, her voice strangely hollow.
"He was a traitor," Jakki reminded her. "I can't believe that he's the reason why you're so depressed. It's not like you to let something like this get you down. In fact, it's not like you to let anything get you down."
"I can't believe that I didn't see the warning signs until it was too late," Mara continued, acting as if Jakki hadn't spoken. "It was my job to keep an eye on him and kill him if he showed any signs of betrayal."
Jakki nodded. "I'd heard about that. I also heard that you were there when he met with a rebel leader and some rebel soldiers. I was wondering?" she hesitated, wondering if she was doing the right thing by asking. Mara probably didn't want to bring up any more memories of that night. "I was wondering how you escaped from them. I thought that would be very difficult, even for you."
Mara's eyes flickered shut again. Jakki thought she saw the hint of a tear begin to form before it was hurriedly brushed away.
"I didn't escape," Mara admitted sullenly.
Jakki raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to tell me that a group of members of the Rebel Alliance let you go?"
Mara let out a dejected sigh and nodded. "The rebels weren't so happy about it, especially after I killed two of their men. But Ghan convinced them otherwise. They were satisfied with stunning me."
"But why? Why would Ghan do that?"
"I don't know," Mara muttered, turning her head away. Her face was once again in that rigid, death-like state. "All I know is that I failed my Master."
Jakki gazed at her depressed student, a thousand questions in her mind. But none of them seemed appropriate at the time. There was nothing that could be said.
Never before had Mara ever failed at a mission. Jakki knew that it would happen someday, she just never knew that it would hit Mara so hard. Perhaps it was because of her master's reaction to it. She had heard rumors that the Emperor had abandoned Mara, even though she was badly wounded after the ruined mission.
She shook that thought away. The Emperor would never abandon any of his servants. Not even if they had failed him. He was strict and hard to please, but Jakki knew that he wasn't cruel.
Jakki rose to her feet and headed towards the door. The lesson could wait. Mara was obviously not in the right state for learning.
Before she left she took one last look at Mara. It didn't take a medic to see that she was very sick. The elderly woman made a mental note to send someone up to take care of her.
* * *
"Well, well," sneered Tsan Ranger, "look what the vornskr dragged in. You look terrible"
Mara glowered at him from the door of the training room, her green eyes penetrating him like vibroblades. But she knew that he was right. She looked better than she had the day before, but not by much. There were still tired circles around her eyes. Her hair hung limply from her head, it's usual shine gone.
"Don't give me that look," Ranger said coolly, matching her intense glare. "You're not intimidating anyone."
"What in the Empire is a vornskr anyway?" Mara mumbled as she entered the room. Her face was still twisted up into a scowl, but the fire was gone from her eyes. Ranger showed no evidence that he had heard her question.
"Why haven't you shown up to training for a week?" the tall, muscular dark-skinned man asked. He was in his mid forties, but his hard, lined face made him look years older. So many years of being a Royal Imperial Guardsman had taken a lot out of him.
"I haven't been well," Mara said in a low voice, knowing that Ranger wouldn't believe her.
She was right. "Sure," he said sarcastically. "I know for a fact that you've been moping around in your room feeling sorry for yourself. I heard all about your failure."
His last word echoed in Mara's head, adding to the pain that was already present. "You've been talking to Mrs Kinn," Mara growled.
Ranger nodded. "And everyone else who has seen you for the last few days."
Mara let out a frustrated sigh. "Can we just get on with the training?"
"Actually," Ranger said, "I had something different in mind. I need to brief you for your next mission."
A hard knot formed itself in Mara's stomach. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "My next mission," she repeated slowly.
"That's what I said."
"But Emperor Palpitine always briefs me," she protested. "Why should things be different now?" The question was unnecessary. Mara knew exactly why.
Ranger gave her a hard and cold stare. "You allowed Ghan to escape," he reminded her. "The Emperor has not forgotten that. He is most displeased."
"I tried," Mara whispered, a tear forming in her eye. She turned her head away, dreading her trainer's disgust.
"What's done has been done," Ranger said briskly. "It's time to move on, Jade. It doesn't do any good to dwell on past mistakes. You need to correct them."
"Does that mean my next mission is to kill Ghan?" Mara asked hopefully. The Emperor had hinted towards that when she had been in contact with him, but he may have changed his mind.
"No," Ranger replied. Mara's heart sunk. "Your Master has assigned a commando team to take care of that."
"But it's my job to take out the kreffing traitor!" snarled Mara, her eyes flashing with rage. "It's what I should have done a kreffing week ago."
Ranger's gaze turned icy cold. "Don't use that kind of language, Jade. The Emperor wishes for you to meet with a possible ally and start negotiations."
Mara's brow furrowed in confusion., her anger abruptly forgotten. She?d never been given a mission like that before. "Why doesn't he send one of his diplomats?"
"The man you will meet with is not the sort of person the Emperor wants to publicly associate with," Ranger said, his voice considerably lower. "He wants total secrecy about this. You are the best choice."
Mara's mood lightened slightly. At least the Emperor still placed much trust in her. But he was still angry enough to not brief her himself. "What will I need to do?" she asked.
"These potential allies are a group of smugglers who center their operations around a certain cantina in the underworld of Imperial Center. The Emperor wants you to get a job there and learn about these people. After you get to know them you will tell them that you are the Emperor's Ambassador. You will strike a deal with them. I'll have the details sent up to your room."
"What job would I get?" Mara asked, playing idly with a loose strand of hair. The mission would be a piece of ryscate.
Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Are you taking this seriously, Jade? This is very important. I want you to pay attention."
"It shouldn't be a problem," Mara said breezily.
"It could be," Ranger argued. "The place where you'll be going has many enemies of the Empire. That's why the Emperor wants to get some allies there; so he can check up on things and make sure another Rebellion doesn't rise up."
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "Whatever. So what job will I get?"
"A dancer...singer...barmaid?" he shrugged.
Mara made a face. "I can't sing. I can dance, but I'd prefer to be around the customers than on stage. I think I'll take the barmaid."
"Good," Ranger favoured her with a tight smile. "Now we can get on with the lesson."
Mara rolled her eyes.
"Your choice of weapon," Ranger offered. In response, she extended her arm out towards the weapon rack. A small cylinder shot though the air and landed in her hand.
Ranger smiled and nodded. "Good choice." He walked over to the rack and picked a lightsaber as well. If it had been Lee, he would have made some comment about her lazy use of the Force. But Ranger had a fascination for it and preferred her to use her gift.
In the previous few months her Force skills had been getting stronger and stronger. Emperor Palpitine himself had started giving her private Jedi instruction. The difference showed in her improved combat skills and more controlled emotions.
Ranger switched on the Jedi weapon, it's brilliant glow casting shadows on his already dark face.
Pushing away all lingering thoughts of Lee and his treachery, Mara ignited her blade and slammed it against Ranger's.
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