Shattered Remembrance

Chapter Two

Leia Organa-Solo exhaled wearily. Recent events had drained her energy, and Luke's sporadic lessons on using the Force to refresh herself were proving elusive. But as she relaxed back into the co-pilot's chair of the Millennium Falcon, she reflected that it was a good kind of weariness, the kind she would welcome on a regular basis. Peace with the Empire. She'd been working nearly her entire life toward this goal, and now, finally, it had been achieved. Even her ever-optimistic brother was going to be surprised to learn of Pellaeon's proposal of a peace treaty.

"Hey, you okay?"

Leia smiled at her husband's soft query. "I'm fine. I-" Leia sat up suddenly, peering down at the sparkling city-planet beneath them as a soft brush tickled her senses. "Luke's on Coruscant already!"

"His message did say he'd be getting back today or tomorrow," Han pointed out, effortlessly guiding the Falcon to bypass the heaviest traffic.

"I know. I guess I just wasn't expecting him to beat us back." Leia shook her head. "Wait till I give him a piece of my mind for running off like that."

"Aw, don't be too hard on him. You of all people should know how he likes rescuing damsels in distress."

"I'd hardly call Mara Jade a damsel in distress," Leia humphed.

"Maybe he's turning into a skirt chaser," Han said with a laugh.

"He's known her for ten years, nerfherder." Leia leaned back and crossed her arms. "If he wanted to chase that skirt, he would've done it before now."

Han snorted in apparent agreement. "So, whadda you think his big surprise is?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea. Knowing him it has something to do with the Jedi."

"You're probably right," Han said, with what sounded like a disappointed sigh. He started to reach for the comm, ready to signal for their final approach to the landing platform adjacent to Orowood Tower. His hand stayed, however, at a sharp intake of breath from Leia.

"What's the matter?"

Leia's fingernails dug into the armrests of Chewbacca's oversized co-pilot's seat. "I felt a stab of … of panic. From Luke." Before Han could reply, Leia gave a strangled cry, collapsing forward against her restraint harness.

"Leia!" Han was near panic himself. The landing platform was looming ever closer; the local control tower was already requesting his clearance code. "Leia, what's wrong!" He shook her shoulder, ignoring the persistent voice on the comm.

Taking a deep breath to control her trembling, Leia motioned for him to answer the comm. "Land!" she choked out.

Hands flying over the buttons and switches, Han barked the Falcon's code to the startled controller. Keeping one eye on his trembling wife, he set the ship down with a louder-than-usual thud. Leia tore out of her restraints before he barely began the shut-down sequence. Han found her at the bottom of the landing ramp, arms wrapped around herself and tears flowing freely.

"Leia, sweetheart…" Han enveloped her in his strong embrace. "Tell me what you feel. Is it Luke?" he guessed.

"I don't know where he's at!" Leia keened, wind whipping her hair out of its braid. "He's gone, I can't feel him."

"We'll find him," Han soothed. "It'll be all right. We'll find him."

Drawing herself up, Leia attempted to clear her mind. She just had to approach this logically. Luke had reached out to her through the Force only a few minutes ago. He'd been fine. Drawing strength from Han's comforting hold, Leia closed her eyes and concentrated, shifting through the myriad of lifeforms on Coruscant, searching for a thread of familiarity that would represent her beloved brother.

"Leia?"

"He's not dead," Leia murmured. "I'd know if he were dead."

"Course he's not dead," Han agreed automatically. "He's probably got himself in one of his usual predicaments. Maybe one of those fuzzy snakes is around, blockin' him from you."

Leia shook her head, gazing out at the tall buildings on the horizon. "I felt his pain, Han." She pulled loose, heading toward their apartment with swift, determined strides. "We have to find him."

****

"Let me out!" Mara Jade vaulted from the airtaxi before it even settled all the way down. "Wait!" She stuck her head back around, meeting the blank stare of the pilot droid's glowing receptors. "Can you find out if there have been any … any incidents involving the taxi that took off right after this one?"

"I am not allowed to access information on other units without proper authoriza-"

"Here's your authorization, you robo-hack!" With one swift motion, Mara had her lightsaber ignited and pointed at the mechanical throat.

"Mara!"

Shirlee Faughn strode out from the entrance of Talon Karrde's headquarters. "I was so relieved when we got your communiqué." She stopped cold as her eyes fell on the glowing lightsaber in Mara's grip. "Uh-"

"Is Ghent here?" Mara snapped, turning to face her co-worker. "Is he on-planet?"

"No, he's not," Faughn said, taking a step back from Mara's still-ignited weapon. "I'm not sure where the NRI sent him."

Suddenly realizing what she held in her hand, Mara quickly turned off the saber. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I need a speeder." She took off toward the building's air-speeder pad. "And a slicer. Who's our best slicer that's here?"

"Hmm, Koo-bwor," Faughn supplied, hurrying to catch up. At Mara's frown, she continued, "He's new. Not as good as Ghent, of course, but more than adequate."

Mara gave a cursory glance at the row of speeders parked in Karrde's private slots, then hopped in the first one in line. "All right, have this Koo-whatever slice into the airtaxi frequency. Check the Coruscant Security transmissions, too. I want to know if any taxi …" she paused, "taxi crashes have been reported between the NRI building and Orowood Tower in the last fifteen minutes. Any crashes, any explosions, anything at all." She gunned the speeder's engine. "Comm me immediately, whatever you find."

"Sure, Jade," Faughn acknowledged, too much of a professional to waste time with questions. She was already bringing her comm to her lips to relay the instructions to Koo-bwor when Mara zoomed out into the grey urban skies.

****

Mara had been crisscrossing what she assumed would have been Luke's route when her comm chirped. "Jade."

"Faughn here," the crisp voice returned. "There have been seven airtaxi crashes in the timeframe you specified. Only one, however, was on a route between NRI and Orowood Tower."

Mara sucked in a deep breath. "Go on."

"It was a collision between the taxi and a private speeder. Two casualties, one of those fatal. No identification of either released yet."

Mara didn't need any identification. It was him; she knew it. And she also knew that he was not the fatality. "Where-"

"The injured being has been taken to the Manarai Medical Clinic."

"Got it." Ignoring the squawking horns as she swung into a tight U-turn, Mara headed toward the clinic.

"Oh, and Jade," Faughn continued. "Han Solo is on the comm. He's looking for Skywalker."

Han and Leia! Mara had forgotten all about their imminent arrival. "Tell him … tell him Luke's been in an accident."