Title: Organization

Author: Jedi Amoira

* All the usual disclaimers apply. I don't own these characters, they belong exclusively to Uncle George or the Star Wars Universe at large. My stories are strictly for my own enjoyment and not for profit. Please don't reprint this without my knowledge.

Author's note--This is part of a much longer story I'm writing about Mara's attempts to locate Jorj Car'das for Talon Karrde (an explaination for her relationship with Lando that I found interesting). This is based on several situations mentioned in the Star Wars novels by KJA, Tim Zahn and Michael Stackpole. (It also includes references to some of my other fanfiction stories) There is a conversation included here that is based on a scene from "I, Jedi" by Michael Stackpole; it belongs to him, I'm just borrowing. Let me know what you think.

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"It's good to have the organization back," Karrde said with a contented sigh, leaning back behind his desk and steepling his fingers. "I'm just glad it's your mess, not mine, again," Mara returned, the corner of her mouth lifting wryly. Karrde smiled. "It's nice to be missed. But you might not say that when you hear what your next assignment is, Mara."

"I don't like the sound of that," Mara said, arching one brow.

"Have you ever seen this before?," Karrde asked, producing a cylindrical object from beneath the desk. Mara frowned. "Not that particular one, but they're common enough. It's a slave control for a personal ship." "Very good. This one is a very old model, brought to my attention by our friend, Lando Calrissian."

"Very interesting, I'm sure. Why would we care about his slave control?"

"Oh, it's not his. It was given to him by Luke Skywalker right before the start of the Thrawn campaign. I gather he found it in a swamp somewhere." Mara crossed her arms and leaned expectantly against the doorjamb. Karrde thought that was one of her most endearing positions. "It's of interest to me because it belongs to a man by the name of Jorj Car'das."

"Wasn't he a big smuggling boss back during the Empire?" Karrde winced slightly. "Indeed. Actually, he's the one who built this organization. He disappeared, and I sort of took over for him."

"Afraid he won't take it very well?," Mara asked, but it wasn't really a question.

"He wasn't the forgiving sort," Karrde admitted. "But I'm hoping he'll understand I did it at first to preserve the organization...everything else happened by accident." Mara whistled. "Pretty impressive accident."

He inclined his head. "I do try," he returned. "Anyway, I would like to offer him ammends. So you're going to trace him for me."

Green eyes narrowed thoughtfully, weighing questions. "How old is that beckon?," she asked finally.

"Pre-clone wars vintage," Karrde said.

Her mouth twitched. "You certainly do know how to present a challenge. Why do I get the impression that isn't why I won't like this assignment?" Karrde smiled. "I see your time at that Academy of Skywalker's wasn't wasted." Mara's expression flickered, then stilled with no noticeable change.

"I think you alone might draw too much attention, so I had decided to send you with a partner. Somehow, Calrissian has gotten wind of it, and he insists that since he provided the starting point, he should be allowed to tag along, in case there's any profit in it."

Mara groaned. "You're kidding." "Nope. And your cover is as a couple exploring the galaxy, just to make it more interesting." "My reputation will never recover. Well, it does sound like a challenge, and it'll be nice to be in control of just Calrissian and me for a change." She shrugged. "Anyhow, following orders is what I get paid for. So when do we leave?"

"Calrissian is on Coruscant, testifying about Kyp Durron's escape from Daala and how he turned himself in. He says when he's done he'll meet you at Kessel." Mara made a slight face. "Can't smugglers ever pick a decent meeting place?" Karrde laughed. "In the meantime, why don't we catch up on business?" Which really meant, of course, that he'd missed talking to her. Mara smiled and pulled up a chair.
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"It's about time you got here," Mara said impatiently. "This rock isn't the most interesting place to play tourist, you know?"

Calrissian shrugged. "I do apologize, but I was delayed."

Mara snorted. "Yeah, the Durron kid. I take it they locked him away for life?"

"Well, since he was under the control of Exar Kun, no one really knew what to do, so they kind of left it up to Luke."

"Oh?," Mara said, hiding her sudden interest, "what did Skywalker decide to do?"

"He made Kyp take responsibility for his mistakes and renounce the Dark Side by destroying the Sun Crusher."

"How did he do that?"

"They threw it in a black hole."

"Good," Mara said with an imperceptible sigh of relief. "That got rid of that, at least. Then what?"

"Luke took him back to Yavin to complete his training."

"What! That's it? He deserves more than that for petty theft! He stole my ship!"

"Easy, Mara. I'm sure Luke knows what he's doing."

"I'm sure he doesn't," she muttered under her breath. "But that's his problem. We've got a job to do. Let's get on with it."

"You make it sound as if we won't have any fun," Calrissian chided, leading her aboard his ship, the Lady Luck.
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"Tell me again the logic behind being here?" Mara asked as Lando Calrissian sat down beside her on the ornate couch.

"It's a nice neutral world, somewhere to be seen to get the rumor-mill started," he explained. "Adds a dimension of reality to our cover story."

Mara snorted, curling legs up around her, and closed her eyes. "In your dreams."

"Anyway, being here won't be so bad...we can kick back, relax, get to know each other a little better..."

"Don't get too comfortable," she retorted, "we aren't going to be here that long."

"Ah, Mara," he sighed. "How can anyone so beautiful be all business?"

"I get paid for business, I don't get paid for putting up with you," she shot back.

Lando smiled, and sipped his drink. "Touche. Insult me all you want tonight, because you'll have to be nice to me when we're out in public tomorrow."

"Out in public doing what?," she demanded a touch impatiently. "The only thing on this deadbeat planet is a bunch of stores."

"Exactly," he said patiently. "You know very well that Requeen is where all the rich and famous come to shop."

"I hate to shop."

"That's just because you've never been able to shop with me."

Mara's lips twitched at the heavy confidence of the statement. "You're all talk, Calrissian," she said.

Lando smiled. It was one of the nicest things she'd said to him all week. "That I am not. Would you care to wager on it?"

The redhead snorted and left for her bedroom. He smiled and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. Definitely progress.
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"Put on that dress I bought you," Lando said. "I made us reservations for the nicest resturaunt in town."

Mara narrowed her eyes dangerously. After a moment, she nodded in agreement, and disappeared into the bedroom. "I can't believe your taste," she complained again as she emerged a few minutes later. "Anyone who sees me in this thing is going to wonder if I've gone completely crazy." Lando looked the microscopically short skirt that split into two thick scarves that wrapped diagonally across Mara's body to meet in a single strap behind her neck carefully up and down. The green fabric sparked with sequins. "What's wrong with it?," he asked, genuinely hurt.

Mara rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Let's just get this over with."

"That's the spirit," Lando said, smiling. He offered her his arm.

She rolled her eyes again as she took it. "Stop that! Do you have to lay it on so thick!," she snapped as he held out an appetizer for her. She ate it out of his hand anyway, careful not to touch him with her lips.

"This week hasn't really been so bad, has it?," he asked as he poured the fine green wine he'd chosen.

Mara's mouth moved in a sort of humorous grimace. "I suppose not," she allowed, taking a bite of her pasta. "But now that we've established our cover, maybe we could actually get some work done?"

He sighed regretfully, and lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. "If you insist my dear."

"I insist," Mara said firmly. "We leave first thing tomorrow."

"Where are we going, my dear?"

"Where we should have gone in the first place. I want to see Booster Terrik."

"That should be interesting. I've never seen the Errant Venture before." At that, Mara couldn't help but smile.
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"Pretty glitzy operation, Booster," Lando said with a wild gleam in his eye.
"I'm impressed."

"It's a challenge to keep running, but we're pretty proud of it," Booster returned. "Well, that's the tour. I assume you have business to discuss?"

Mara inclined her head slightly. "We're here to make an offer for some information. We're looking for Jorj Car'das." Booster whistled. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"I'd love to know the last time you heard it," Mara returned.

"Don't want much, do you?" Booster eyed her thoughtfully.

An aid came up and said, "Mr. Terrik, there's a shuttle approaching us."

"That must be Corran," Mara said calmly. "I noticed he parked that Headhunter he borrowed in your hangar bay. I'd like to speak to him."

"Any transmissions from the shuttle?," Booster asked with a frown.

"Nothing yet, sir, but--" "Sir, this is Menqui from the bridge. The approaching shuttle has just sent us a transmission. It appears to be Captain Horn returning from Corellia."

"Well," Mara said, "now that that's settled, about Car'das..."

"Mara, Mara," chided Lando. "Don't be in such a hurry. I'm sure Booster will sell you the information later. We just need to be patient. Let's just go try some of those games I saw until he's prepared to get down to business."

Mara gave him a sour smile. "I suppose you're right," she said somewhat grudingly. "Booster, I'll talk to you later."
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"That's a bit odd," Booster mused to himself, as an aide ran up beside him.

"Sir, the Tinta Blue has just landed." Booster nodded. "Thank you Hassla'tak. What do you say we go and make them feel welcome?"

"Captain Idanian, sir," Corran said, introducing himself. "Thanks for the rescue. That was a bit closer than I like them." Booster inclined his head slightly, and stared pointedly at the man on deck beside him.

"I'm Keevy. I helped Captain Idanian fly the manuever," The fresh-faced kid said, staring around the deck in awe.

"Booster Terrik," Booster said, not offering his hand.

"You're Corran Horn's father-in-law," Keevy said, wide-eyed.

Booster shot Corran an ironic look. "He's married to my daughter, yes. I have a report from Idanian that says you know
your way around astronavigation equipment. Is that true?"

Keevy blinked, and nodded enthusiastically. "A ship like this uses a Seinar Starpath system,
doesn't it?"

"It does indeed," Booster said, granting his son-in-law a smile. "He's a genius, clearly."

"I thought you might think so. If the Tinta line doesn't offer him a job, I thought he might work here with you," Corran said,
putting a hand on Keevy's shoulder.

"Here on the Errant Venture? Me? On the ship that won the Battle of Thyferra?," Keevy looked excited enough to pop. "It would
be like being in a fantasy or a museum, or both--a fantasy museum."

Booster didn't much like the idea of his ship as a museum. Years of practice kept the smile on his face as he said, "We'll discuss it later. Hassla'tak, conduct Keevy here to our Emerald Suite." Hassla'tak's lekku twitched sharply, and Booster knew he'd hear an earful about this later, but the Twileck was well-paid, and he knew it. He led the young man, spewing questions, toward the turbolift, muttering in his own tongue. Booster winced. "Haven't heard Hassla'tak use that kind of language since the last Sullustan gambling junket came through." Corran
smiled tiredly.

"Keevy can be a bit much. Thanks for not letting him know who I am."

"You owe me," Booster said shortly, determined to make it clear he hadn't actually done it to be nice to him.

"Put it on my tab," Corran replied, not fooled for a minute. Damn Jedi. He jerked a thumb back at the shuttle. "We need to pull the scanner memory and see if we can find where the Invids are hiding."

"My people will get right on it," Booster said. "Mara Jade is here," he added, studying Corran as if curious as to how he would react. "She and Calrissian arrived asking questions about Jorj Car'das. Lando's on Diamond Level, trying to break the bank." He scowled slightly, annoyed at the smuggler's temerity.

"How close is he?," Corran asked inconsequentially.

"Not very. But closer than I'd like. I think I'll introduce him to your friend Keevy."

"Sure. Tell Keevy this is his chance to get Lando's perspective on helping Wedge blow up the Death Star."

"Ooh. Even your father wasn't that cruel, CorSec."

Corran grinned. "You bring out the best in me, Booster. Is Mara angry about her ship?"

"Doesn't seem to be. She does want to speak with you. She seemed to know you were on this
shuttle before you sent word. You don't think she's using Jedi-stuff to help Lando win, do you?"

Corran laughed. "I think she'd like to buy Lando for what she thinks he's worth and sell him for what he thinks he's worth; I don't think
she's helping him." At that, Mara herself emerged from the turbolift, walking a bit stiffly. She looked nothing like herself, wearing black trousers and a masculine-tailored copper shirt under a cape. Corran frowned slightly. Until then he would never have thought Mara would wear a cape. She wasn't wearing her lightsaber, either, that he could see.

Booster bowed. "I'll leave you two to talk while I see to Calrissian's comfort."

Mara growled low in her throat. "Don't concern yourself with it that much."

Corran arched a brow that told her he sensed her frustration very well. "Aren't you in some sort of business with
him?" "Some sort," she agreed in a snarl. "We arrive here and he carts off what little wardrobe I have, offering to find me suitable clothes. Naturally, I end up with the sort of thing he wishes I'd wear around him. I retaliated by raiding his closest." She scowled slightly, plucking at the shirt. "The tunics are a bit tight."

Corran laughed appreciatively. "I bet he loves that."

"He didn't," she smiled wryly. "Which is why I'll keep doing it." The smile died. "How's Luke?"

Corran sobered too, shrugged. "Physically, he's recovered."

She wasn't reassured. "Mentally?"

"He's got questions. Some he knows about, some he doesn't. He was pleased you checked on him before he left." Mara felt her face
heat at the reminder, and Corran's close look didn't help. It made her wonder if he caught the faint trace of pink. "But he was confused as to why you didn't stay until he was up and about again. You actually spent more time with me during my recovery than you did with him."

Something in Corran's tone made her head snap up. "He doesn't think there's something between you and me does he?"

Corran smiled as if he knew something she didn't, an expression that made her decidedly uncomfortable. "Not as far as I could tell. He knows the two of us, so he knows it would never work out. You and I, we can be comrades in arms, even friends."

"Right. But inside we're coiled springs wound in opposite directions." Mara smiled through the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach and fell easily into step beside him. After all their runs together, it was almost as if they shared a rhythm. "If we got too close, it would be an awful mess."

He nodded, perfectly in sync with her thoughts. "And we'd get broken."

"And then your wife would kill us," Mara added with a touch of humor.

He shuddered. "Another good point. Back to your question--Luke was really excited about how well the Academy
had done defeating Exar Kun. When I left, I did give him a turbolaser critique of the school and, well, everything."

"Everything?" She repeated it, but she had a good idea what he meant. Corran frowned and leaned back against the Headhunter
with a slight sigh. "He told me I'd fall to the Dark Side if I left without completing my training, and I pointed out I've been there plenty of times and walked away. I think his perspective on the Dark Side is skewed."

The corners of her lips turned down, and she crossed her arms. "How so?"

"Let's assume Jedi are like everyone else, aside from their Force-sensitivity. If they are, there are
folks pretty much born to the Dark Side, and that's where they stay."

Mara watched him as if weighing each word that came out of his mouth. "They like it and never learn there's anywhere else to go." //Like Dark Vyt. Or the Emperor? //

"Say ten percent. Then there's ten percent on the other side of the margin who start on the good side and stay there. The rest are in the middle. We could go over, but the lure has to be more substantial for some than others. Luke went over to save the galaxy. I imagine Darth Vader did the same thing. They both came back. But since Luke paid such a high price, he worries that everyone is as vulnerable as he is." Mara nodded slowly, reaching up and tugging a monster claw from the battered ship's nose. "I understand what you're saying. Remind me never to lend you anything else."

"The beastie that left that was planning on making a snack of Luke," Corran returned. "Do you think he makes too much of the Dark
Side?"

She remembered pleading with him not to read that data flimsy, arguing about going to Byss, her misgivings about joining the sith. If he'd listened to her then... "I'm not sure you can overemphasize the dangers of the Dark Side. I do think Luke looks for evil to be more profound than it is," she said quietly. "You've seen it. Evil can be pretty plain."

"True enough. Some may a have a talent, but you don't have to be talented to wallow in it." He looked away, studying his feet. "Your thinking is pretty much like mine. That's only part of why I left, though. There was Kyp."

Mara deliberately let go of all her own thoughts and concerns, the expression washing off her face as it left her mind. "Is that going to be something you can handle?"

Corran shrugged. "I don't know. But it's in the future."

"So the real reason you left is to go after Mirax," she finished.

He nodded. "I visited Corellia. I think I may just have some information on that Jorj Car'das guy you asked about. CorSec's old files, if
that will help."

"Certainly wouldn't hurt." Mara smiled slightly. "I haven't heard anything new about Mirax. Things on Nal Hutta appear to have changed."

"I know. But it's a place to start," he said with a smile, and she nodded.

"Good luck, CorSec."

"See you in the next parsec, Mara," he returned, and headed off to talk to Booster.

Mara made her way to Diamond Level to collect her exasperating partner.

Disclaimer--the characters aren't mine. Please don't post this elsewhere without my permission. This is based on the explanation for Mara and Lando's relationship given in "Vision of the Future". It's not a romance, just a buddy story. Some parts do include Mara's feelings for Luke. Several parts include pages from the profic books.
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"Where's our next stop?," Mara asked Lando, absently shuffling the sabacc deck.

"Grovnor--shady deals, powerplays, and scum of the galaxy local specialities."

She raised her eyebrows. "I thought we just left that party?"

Lando laughed. "If you want to find a smuggler-come-crimelord, you have to hang with criminals."

"I thought that's what you were for," Mara retorted. One corner of her mouth lifted.

Lando grinned. "If you keep beating me at sabacc, you aren't going to be able to claim that any more."

Mara smirked. "Play better, Calrissian."
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"Well," Mara commented, looking around. "It's shady, alright." In fact, it reminded her uncomfortably of Abregado-Rae, only much, much dirtier.

"Just follow my lead," Lando whispered, elbowing her slightly. She snorted, but didn't contradict. A block away from the spaceport, Lando stopped and moved his head subtly to the left. "That's the building we want."

She eyed it suspisciously. "Are you sure there's no one here?"

He shrugged. "As sure as I can be," he hissed back. "Siesta is a local custom, so we've got an hour, if you hurry."

"I hope you're right," she warned. "It's not going to be fun if the local crimelord catches us. He has a nasty reputation for making examples of people who defy him personally."

Lando flashed her a hollow grin. "What fun would any outing be without a little danger?"

"Nothing says fun like breaking a few laws," Mara muttered under her breath and slid the highly illegal vibropick Karrde had
somehow managed to talk Iella Wissiri into requisitioning from the NRI out of her pocket. She took a long step forward, fiddled with the lock, and the door swung silently inward. Mara turned toward Lando, allowing herself a smirk. "After you, Calrissian." He ignored her sarcastic attempt at humor and stepped into the too-quiet hallway.

Lando looked around, matching things to the blueprints he'd studied. "That way," he decided, and pointed.

"You're the boss," Mara said a trifle ironcally, and followed him warily. They found the archive room of without incident, and Mara slid into a chair in front of the computer. "Here's hoping they use one of the codes the Empire taught me," she said to herself. Lando put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. She shook it off and shot him an annoyed look before she began typing, almost too fast to believe.

Half an hour later, sweat was beginning to break out across her forehead. Behind her, Lando kept nervously shifting his weight. "Come on, Jade," he said, his voice tight, "hurry up."

"I'm trying," she hissed back, tapped a few more keys, and sighed in relief as the computer warbled. She hastily slid a disk into the
receptacle, hit the download command, and got out of her chair, ready to grab the disk and leave. "Great," Lando said. "I think we're going to pull this off."

Something tugged at the back of Mara's mind. "I wouldn't be so sure just yet," she said. "I think the natives are coming."

Lando snatched the disk out of the computer just as the first footstep sounded in the corridor. Mara drew her blaster from its holster at her hip, throwing a quick glance at Lando, who nodded fractionally and raised his, signalling readiness. She took a deep breath and began to walk to the door, then stopped.

"The window."

He froze, then protested, "We're two stories up."

She was already across the room, looking out, gauging the the effects of the 40 meter jump. "It's going to smart," she agreed grimly. "But it's probably a better bet than the corridor. There are a lot of them."

Lando frowned, obviously trying to decide. He seemed inclined to take his chances with the door. Mara, feeling the muscles in her neck knot, dropped her blaster hand to her side, about to snap at him to hurry, and felt her hand brush something attached to her belt. A length of rapelling cord, good for just about anything, She felt a genuine grin lift the right corner of her mouth impossibly high up. She yanked
the cord off her belt and dangled it in front of him as he opened his mouth. "Calrissian," she snapped, as the senses approached the door. He didn't waste time returning the grin. He wrenched on the window, hard. It didn't open.

"It's one of those cheap stationary ones," he said, making it sound like a curse. "Those things are solid transparisteel. A blaster would never burn through one in time."

Mara grabbed his wrist, stopping him as he would have headed for the door. She bent her right hand back to the wrist,wiggled the fingers and gave the hand a shake, and Calrissian stared at her like she was crazy. "A lightsabre will," she said as it fell from her sleeve.

"I could kiss you for carrying that," he said.

"Don't," she returned, not bothering to give him the accompanying look as she made the first slice. The door began to slid open. She
would have cursed if she hadn't been so preoccupied. "What's this?," said a mean, dirty little voice. Just what she would have expected. "People trying to steal from my organization? I'm sure you've heard I don't take very kindly to that." He certainly was long winded. If he kept talking, they be out of here before anyone had to fire a shot. "Stun them," he ordered.

She sighed. It was never that easy. She snapped around before she had even thought, blocking two shots. She could hold them off, but she'd never get the window open that way.

"I've got it," Lando assured her. He didn't have a lightsaber or the Force.

She started to ask how he could possibly 'have it' when he lunged forward, picked up the chair she'd been sitting in and threw it at them. Grinning tightly, Mara whipped back to the window and made a couple more quick slashes. She hastily affixed the clasp of the rapelling cord to the end of the wall. "Ready," she snapped. Lando ran over, wrapped his arm about her waist, grabbing the cord in the process and jumped. "Not the most standard approach," she said to a mouthful of his purple silk shirt.

"It worked, didn't it?," he returned, tightening his arm about her and bouncing down the wall.

"Well, hurry up," she advised. "They'll be downstairs in a minute."

"Anything for you, my lady," he returned cheerfully.

"And you'd better not tell anyone about this," she added darkly. He just laughed and set her on the ground. The crimelord and his troops were already streaming out of the building. Mara gave the cord a quick tug and started running with it trailing behind her.

"They could grab that," Lando objected in between jolting steps. "You should have left it."

Mara shook her head, sloppily coiling as she ran. "We might need it again." Her mind tingled. "In here," she said, practically tackling him into a side alley. She pressed against him into the wall, praying to whatever powers there might be that they
would blend enough into the shadows. The troops ran past. She forced herself to wait a full count of three after they'd disappeared before stepping back. "Come on."

They threaded their way through grimy congragations of tumble-down buildings, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. They made it back to the space port and were heading toward the ship when the spaceport agent said, "Hey! There's an alert out for you!"

He grabbed Mara's shoulder, and she let him whirl her around, shouting, "Go, Lando, now!" Lando shot toward the Lady Luck, and up
the ramp even as Mara brought her elbow up and out, crooked to hit the attendant in the eye, following through quickly with a short, sharp kick to his groin that had him doubling over with a groan. She gave him a punch in the gut for good measure, and ran into the Lady Luck. "Lando, I'm in, close the door," she shouted, the moment she was clear. The engines were already pretty much keyed for prestart.

The hatch snapped ponderously shut, showing Mara a last glimpse of the attentendant as he staggered to his feet. It reminded her that her elbow hurt. She'd knocked bone when she hit him. She rubbed it absently as she walked into the cockpit and dropped tiredly into the co-pilot's seat. "That was fun," Mara said dryly as the Lady Luck blasted out of Govnovr just ahead of the local
task force.

"Hey, we got what we came for," Lando reminded her.

"Yeah, another planet for us to play lovebirds on," Mara sighed. "At least I get to take a break from you for a while."

"You know you'll miss when I'm gone." "In your dreams, Calrissian. I've been counting the days until we had to separate so no one would get suspiscious."

"That's what they all say."

"Maybe they all mean it," she parried. Lando laughed.