Gone
Chapter Two

Coruscant NRI Private Hangar A Few Weeks Later

Leia Organa Solo waited anxiously for the Jade Sabre to land. She stood apart from the small gathering awaiting Mara Jade's ship to touch down. Leia was unconsciously hugging herself. She still couldn't believe it. It would not be until she caught sight of him with her own eyes that she could believe it. He was alive!

Leia started to move toward the Sabre, not waiting for the ramp to be lowered fully before she darted inside. Seeing the figure at the top of the ramp, Leia slowed down as she took in the sight of him.

With a small cry, Leia launched herself in to his arms. The thin man smiled in response and let his own arms fold round her.

Mara stood at the side watching the reunion with a cynical smile on her face. It was ironic that she had found the man holed up on that deserted base on Lyntrax III was the one that had sparked the whole thing off. He had nearly starved to death but careful medical attention and care over the last few weeks from Karrde's team had brought about the beginning of a startling recovery. Although still weak and tired easily, Bail Organa was starting to become the man he once was. He and Mara had a few interesting discussions along the way. Time in the detention centre had not done anything to affect his wit and powers of persuasion. Mara did not view many politicians favourably yet this man had already gained her grudging respect.

Mara had hoped that she might have found Luke on Lyntrax III. It had been a small hope that soon withered again but still it had been a small lifeline. Now she had nothing once more, it was so hard to go, to pretend that she was fine. She really didn't want to be-grudge Leia her reunion but a small selfish part of her mind cried out. She couldn't watch much more. Ducking her head down, Mara just walked past the pair and was met by Han at the base of the ramp.

"You okay?" He asked searching Mara's face, trying to figure out her strange expression.

Mara just looked right through him before she flicked the question aside with a toss of her head. "Yeah. Hope you are going to enjoy things with the all new happy family, Solo."

Han watched the trader carefully as she continued walking past him. He wished she would talk to him about Luke. Her studied indifference which she affected when Leia was in her presence worried Han. He knew how much Leia had gone through and he had been there for her but Mara didn't have anyone. He knew that he had to try and help Jade but she kept rebuffing his attempts. She was an intensely private person. Luke was the only one he had known to be able to cross that barrier with her.

Han was one of few that knew of Luke and Mara's engagement. He had argued with Leia on Mara's behalf when his wife had asked Luke to go on that fateful last mission. He had a suspicion that there was a stronger bond between Luke and Mara, than that between the twins and that made him all the more concerned for Mara. The Force made him apprehensive, not only for Mara and Leia but he worried when his kids got to the age. He didn't want any of them to go through what the Force had put Luke through but that was another worry for the future He just hoped that Mara was coping but somehow he knew that it was a false hope. Han wished that the two women would talk but events had created a barrier between the two strong personalities that even he couldn't break down. What he would give to have Luke with them now.

Han shook himself out of his reverie, bringing his mind back to the here-and-now and to Mara's offhand comment about family. Han wondered exactly what Mara was getting at but he had a feeling, she had just done it deliberately to throw him. He understood the tactic too well from experience. Mara just wanted to unsettle him so he would back off asking about her.

"A new father-in-law!" Letting out an unconsciously held breath, Han answered lightly. "Of course, what is there not to like about that?"

When Mara commed him with the news about Leia's foster father, Han was pleased to see her face on the console even though she refused to speak to Leia directly. Han hoped that it was a forward step that she had contacted them in person rather than through other channels. When he had passed on Mara's news, Leia had started to fuss and had been fussing every time-part since. He hadn't seen her like that before. He realised she was obviously delighted but at the same time anxious about meeting her foster father again. It was like Leia had regressed slightly in to an unsure teenager for a time. He hoped that this was not a bad sign of things to come.

Mara just snorted at the Corellian. Always the joker on face value but she knew Han better than that. "I just wish it had been Luke that I had been bringing back home."

"Me too, kid." Han nodded in complete agreement. It seemed right to be using the same affectation for her as he had done for Luke.

Mara turned on her heel before she let her emotions give her away to the older man. "Watch out for yourself, Han. Organa is a good man but he is Alderaanian royalty through and through, if you know what I am meaning."

"Hmm." Han heard the softer words and recognised the sentiment underneath them as he watched Mara. Maybe Leia's concern about the galaxy's reaction to the Skywalker Jade union would be nothing compared to what could happen now. Han had wondered about what Leia's royal foster father would make of his daughter marrying him. Feeling uncomfortable about the upcoming meeting, Han was decidedly unsettled as he trusted Mara's judgement. He reassured himself that at least, the grandchildren would win him over even if his famous Solo charm didn't.

Leia had wanted him to be smart for the meeting but Han didn't see the point. Han refused to do 'a Lando' as he called it and if Leia's father didn't like it, then the man would just have to lump it. Han had learnt long ago to judge a person by their character and not their appearance. He was sure that Bail Organa would be the same. He had heard a lot of good things about the man in the past and Han was sure that he wasn't a bigot. Han was unsure what the next few days would bring but he knew that Leia was insisting that her father stayed with them in the guest suite once the medics had checked him out.

The Corellian was uncertain how he exactly felt about that arrangement but he kept telling himself it would only be for a short time. It was hard not to feel bad about his own reaction to this news when Leia had been so excited but Han just couldn't shake the odd feeling.

'At least, Bail Organa doesn't wear a black mask and cape,' Han thought as he tried to remain positive. He just wished Luke was here. Despite his own feelings about the Force, he can come to rely on Luke's insights. Buoying himself up, Han kept thinking of another meeting with another father-in-law. 'Surely, it can't be as bad as that meeting with Daddy Vader.'

"Han?" Leia' s voice called out to him, breaking the line of his thoughts.

Han walked up the ramp and let Leia introduce him to his father-in-law.

* * * *

Orbital Space Station Kyrash IV – Outer Rim

The old freighter sat on the docking bay looking rather worse for wear amid the boxes of supplies being loaded on board for the next run. Rick Ells, a rather tall Corellian was talking to the docking bay supervisor as another smaller man checked out the loading operation.

The shorter man finished the loading and made sure everything was secure before returning to his boss. A brown carry-all was flung over this left shoulder so not to impede access to the blaster strapped to his right thigh.

"Okay, boss. You are ready to go." He handed over the datapad inventory over to the freighter owner.

The Corellian trader took and scanned the contents before looking back up at the other man and nodded, "I can't change your mind about staying on for this next run, Kerr?"

Kerr shook his shaved head. "Maybe another time, boss."

"You've been a good help." Rick clapped the man on his back. "If you change your mind, look me up."

"Will do, boss. Thanks for everything." Kerr nodded before turning to leave the hangar. As things went, working for the Corellian had been a hard graft but at least the man had been fair. It seemed an age ago but in reality only been a few months since the last time he had been looking for work on this station.

Kerr had worked well for the trader and slowly skills that he had forgotten had come back to him with more frequent use. He had actually enjoyed working on the ship getting some hands-on repairing on the older machinery and parts once he had figured out the peculiarities of the small freighter. Together with Ells, they had managed to cajole a little more from her systems. It took ingenuity to maintain a ship like that with few spare parts that Ells kept on board so Ruaridh had to hand it to Ells for keeping her running as long as he had. However, he knew it was time to move on so reluctantly he had told his boss this would be the last run. Ells had spent the intervening time trying to persuade him otherwise, but his mind was made up. He had stayed on board too long and it was starting to get too comfortable. He needed to move on if he was going to help himself further.

Ells watched the man leave and was startled to notice that Kerr's limp had almost gone. The captain had asked what had happened to him but he never got a real answer. Rick wasn't sure that he had done the right thing at first but over the course of the last few months, Ruaridh Kerr had proved himself time and again. The man had been a good worker and had proved skilled at repairs. He was real sorry to see the man go. Running a freighter as old as the 'Stellar Byrd', it was good to have someone who could handle repairs that often came up on their runs. He liked Kerr and his curiosity about the man's past had been piqued. There were times when Rick was not sure if Kerr was in some sort of trouble. The man certainly had a lot of scars but Kerr seemed reluctant to talk about them. There were a lot of people in the trade that needed to forget their past and become lost for awhile and Ells surmised that Kerr was just another one of them. Kerr had said very little about his history but experience had shown in his actions even if he was light on the verbal. Kerr handled himself well in a fight and the way he flew the Byrd, Rick knew that the man had certainly done this plenty before and that was all he had needed to know.

Ells knew that they probably would cross tracks again in the future and even may team up again, if it suited both of them, that was the way things worked out here. Shrugging his shoulders, he stopped watching Kerr leave the hangar. He had plenty to do with a deadline to meet with his next information drop-off, never mind the tight time schedule for the consumables before they went off. Turning his back on the rest of the hangar, he set about finishing running through the pre-flight checks. He would get some rest and recreation if the trip went well once he reached his next destination on Rykesh.

* * * *

Coruscant Organa-Solo's Apartment

Han watched his foster father-in-law with amusement. The older man with dark haired peppered with grey head was laughing on the floor along side the blond head of Anakin. The three kids were playing the game with the new found grandfather. Bail was obviously letting them win from the hoots of delight coming from the children. Han appreciated the sight as it was nice for the kids as there had been little fun in this house for them since Luke's demise. Han's heart ached to think of how his youngest son had broken his heart over his uncle. The twins had taken it better but then again there had always been a special bond between Luke and Anakin If he closed his eyes for a moment and let the children's noise flood over him, Han could picture the dark blond mop of his brother-in-law amongst the other three heads with Leia on the sidelines rolling her eyes at the four of them.

Han got on with Bail Organa reasonably well despite his initial concerns. Bail seemed to love the idea of having grandchildren and enjoyed spending a lot of time with them. The kids also had taken to Leia's foster father very well. Han had noticed that Bail had raised his eyebrows when he was introduced to Anakin but had quickly covered his surprise. This had served to remind Han that Bail Organa had been a prominent political figure in his time and probably knew, or knew of Anakin Skywalker. He wondered how much the man knew. Han hoped that the man may hold the key to a lot of information about Luke and Leia's past. He had also noted Bail's reaction to Anakin's mention of Uncle Luke and the Jedi Academy on Yavin.

The family started to get to know one another with Bail occupying the guest suite attached to their apartment. It looked like that this arrangement was likely to continue for some time although Leia was encouraging her father to spend as much time with them as possible in their apartment. It was convenient that Bail had somewhere private to go as he was still getting frequent visitors from medical staff as well as NRI agents. The Alderanian also said he didn't want to intrude too much on their private space which Han appreciated his thoughtfulness.

After pressure from Leia, it had been decided to let Bail Organa have some time to re-adjust to the lost years before making a press announcement about his return. Bail had a lot to assimulate in a short time. Leia was planning to do the press release and public announcement herself when she felt things were right but just now she was holding off and enjoying spending some time with the man she viewed as her real father.

Threepio was trying to be heard over the family racket and ineffectively was trying to interrupt the family throng without being rude. His prissy voice initially ignored by Han until he realised that the increasingly flustered droid was trying to inform them that food was being served.

"Hey up! Dinner! " Han got to his feet and nudged the nearest twin's feet, accidentally putting him off his next move. Whereas Anakin needed little encouragement, jumping up and racing to get first seat at the table.

"Oi!" Jacen complained at his father.

"Dinner!" Han told him as he bent down and grabbed a double handful of children pulling them to their feet.

* * * *

Orbital Space Station Kyrash IV

Ruaridh Kerr walked in to the cantina lounge assessing the mood and locals quickly before talking a place at the bar. Nodding at the barperson, he paid for a drink and quickly sipped the drink while waiting for the right opportunity to come along. He hoped to pick up work that would get him heading off the 'Rim and had already approached a couple of people about getting work on one of the bigger trading ships.

He had liked working on the inappropriately named 'Stellar Byrd' but his headaches had been getting worse again with the pain overwhelming him at times. He had been hard pressed to keep it from Ells who was already curious enough about him. Kerr didn't want more questions, he had enough of hiw own to answer. He had already made a few enquiries about crewing in larger ship. Hopefully, it would mean that he could remain a bit more anonymous.

A Zeltron slipped under his arm and cuddled in to him as she swept herself on to his lap. Kerr enjoyed the sensations of her warm, lithe body leaning in to his as her one of hands ran playfully over his chest and the other cupping his buttocks. Feeling her warm breath tickling his ear as she asked him for business. Smiling at the curvaceous woman, Kerr considered it briefly then shook his head at her regretfully. He didn't have a lot of spare credits. The attractive female pouted in mock disappointment at him, her violet eyes meeting his own before sliding off his lap and moving on trying her luck with other newcomers to the cantina.

Kerr finished his drink occasionally chatting to the barperson and one of the neighbouring drinkers, when he just knew something was about to happen just before chaos erupted around him.

He caught a fist intended for his jaw, automatically twisting the man's arm around his back and pushing him down on the bar. His other hand brought his blaster up to the guy's temple. His attacker stopped struggling as soon as he felt the barrell of the blaster.

"What was that for?" Kerr asked gruffly. His blaster aimed steadily at the man as he stepped back to allow the man to stand upright again. He was ready to counter any further antagonism but Kerr knew that was unlikely as much as this was all just a test of his abilities. Obviously, his earlier enquiries had raised some interest.

"My mistake!" The guy's hands were in the air as he quickly withdrew from the serious looking man with the drawn blaster. "Thought you were someone else!"

Kerr holstered his blaster but didn't let his guard down until the man had vanished in to the disinterested crowd. Looking around, he picked up his fallen bar stool and ordered another drink and bar snack.

He hoped it wouldn't take too long now before he would be approached as he assumed that whoever had organised that stunt would be watching and assessing him to see if he passed their test well enough to hire.

It wasn't until later that night when Ruaridh undressed in his bunk on-board his new ship, that he realised that the Zeltron had slipped a couple of data chips in to his shirt pocket. Probably just some cheap pornography looking at the first chip at a glance but curious, Kerr dug out his data reader and played it.

Kerr tried to watch the introduction with flashing lights but when the music started, his head immediately started to hurt as he tried to watch the visuals. Tossing the reader to one side, Ruaridh lay down on his bunk and closed his eyes trying to ease the pain away that had suddenly built up pressing behind his eyes. He hoped that the strobe lights had not just set off another migraine.

* * * *

Kimi headed across the spaceport ensuring everything was working with the tracer. Her vivid features covered over by a long cloak with the hood pulled down over her face. Watching the incoming data on the small receiver, she tracked the man. The signal was good and clear. He should be easy to trace from now on. She doubted that he wouldn't have been even aware that she was following him even with the paranoia most spacers had developed as an early survival skill. Closing the distance as she got neared the docking bays until she got visual contact of her target, Kimi relaxed a little. All she needed to do now, was confirm that he was actually travelling on The Kracken.

The Zeltron appreciated the man's rear view and from what she had felt through his clothing in the cantina, Kimi had been disappointed that he hadn't taken her up on her initial offer. There was something about him and his eyes that had drawn her to him in that brief moment. She had hesitated planting the second tracer on his shirt collar but she had her instructions from her other boss. She would have used her talents a little more as she had liked what she had seen and felt for the man.

Following the man with her eyes from across the hangar floor, she watched him board 'The Kracken'. Satisfied that she had fulfilled her employer's brief, Kimi slipped back anonymously to her quarters after making her report.

END POST CH2