Gone
Chapter 6

Kyrash IV Orbital Station

Han Solo wandered through the orbital station. The place was typical of the numerous backwater trading posts where as much illegal transactions were carried out as legitimate business. It was a place where Han Solo once was a king. Han had thrived in places like this before he got caught up with Jabba. It wasn't until he revisited old haunts or places like this that Han appreciated how much things had changed in his life. How much he had changed.

Visiting the cantina featured on Aves' footage, Han had soaked in the murky atmosphere while trying to get a lead on the Zeltrons working in the place. The place was quieter than it had looked on the holo. There were a few sabacc players in the depths of the place, their murmurings rising to a fever pitch when one of them won a hand. Han had briefly watched then passed on after declining the invitation to join in. He could have made a killing here as none of the players had the skill to match him. Luckily they didn't have Lando travelling with them or they would never had got out of here. The former Baron would have wanted to fleece the players for all they were worth. Sitting down in an empty booth, Han ordered a couple of drinks. He had more important things on his mind that playing sabacc right now.

Mara was planning on meeting him shortly and hopefully she would have more news than what he managed to find out so far. Han pushed his feet out to rest on the neighbouring seat while he waited. Absently, scratching at the beard that Mara had suggested he grew to try and hide his more recognisable features.

"Mara on the other hand." Han thought to himself as he caught sight of her entering the cantina. Looked her usual devastating and deadly self. Her dark jumpsuit and well worn blasters, giving subtle warning not to mess with her business. Han took notice of the absence of the two lightsabres which had been on her belt until this morning. He briefly wondered where she had put them. Her eyes scanned the crowd until she found him.

"Hey, honey!" Han looked up and smiled at Mara. Her hair pulled back from her pale visage. Her countenance gave nothing away as she sat down beside him, swinging her longs legs possessively over his before she straddled his lap and kissed him.

It had taken quite a bit of convincing Mara that they should assume this particular cover. Mara had not been totally convinced by Han's decision that they should act as partners, not only in business but romantically too. She knew on some level that he was right that less attention was paid to amorous couples but it still felt uncomfortable doing this. However, she knew that she was a good actress as the events with Lando a long time ago now, had proved. She would cope as she had in the past like this but it just felt plain wrong. She just tried to stop thinking about Luke.

Her hair pulled back in to a fiery plait that ran down her back, Han appreciated Mara's curves as she leant down to kiss him. Keeping his hands on a safe place on her back, Han played along with her moves. His lips copied her movements without thinking. Mara was an extremely good kisser. Han constantly reminded himself mentally what was going on. It wouldn't do to be distracted by this red-headed beauty on his lap. He firmly kept his tongue in check from exploring the sensations. Leia would kill him even if Mara didn't.

To any watchers, it looked like they had kissed with extreme passion but it was all an act. Mara quickly brought Han up to speed about her success in tracking down Luke's trail on the station.

Han broke off the kiss, as a Zeltron passed their booth. Han just acted on impulse as he reached out to her. He hoped Mara would play along with him. Catching the Zeltron's arm, Han murmured. "Hey, lovely." His finger trailed over the Zeltron's arm suggestively. "Fancy a threesome?"

The Zeltron cast an appraising glance over the two of them and with a small smile, nodded as she took little persuading to join them on the bench. Mara slipped off Han's lap to make room. She wondered what exactly Han was doing.

"What's your name, darlin'?" Han drawled as he ran his hands over the Zeltron's bare flesh. He knew that he shouldn't be enjoying it but he was only male after all. Leia would have fits, if she saw what he was doing right now. Wedged in between the two delightful female forms, Han kept his thoughts away from a certain part of his anatomy which had started to react to the stimuli he was receiving. This was going to test his control. The situations that usually ended up in, Han groaned silently. This one was certainly novel.

"Kimi." The girl answered before devouring Han's well made lips in a passionate onslaught. Han couldn't believe their luck when he heard her name.

Mara watched as Han skillfully kissed the girl back. She couldn't even think what Leia would make of this. It was by bizarre coincidence that they had stumbled across the right Zeltron by accident. Quickly thinking, all they needed now was to find somewhere quiet to take this party and then they would have the opportunity to find out what this girl really knew. Mara doubted that the Zeltron would agree to go back to the Jade Sabre with two strangers but there were always rooms available to hire in joints like this. She hoped Han knew what he was getting in to as she had no plans on letting this spiral too far out of control.

Leaning forward, Mara continued to play the enamoured partner as she whispered into the kissing couple's ears. "I'll be back. I'll just find out about a room for us....."

Looking back at them, Mara realised she had better not be long or Han may find that he would have to continue things a bit further than he had planned. The Zeltron already had undone the top of the Correlian's shirt and her hands were moving under the fabric rather urgently. If this had been any other time, it may have been fun to let Han squirm a little.... and get her own back for all the grief he had given her on this trip so far.

It was a pity that Jedi didn't do revenge. It could be such fun.....

* * * *

Talon Karrde had spoken with his contact on Rykesh and through Kilallan, he had managed to get to speak to the freighter captain Rick Ells. Ells had given Talon some interesting background about Luke's time on board the 'Stellar Byrd'. Talon had initially been unsure what Luke was doing assuming the identity of Ruaridh Kerr. Mara's knowledge had once again paid off as she had recognised the name as one of Luke's aliases. Talon wanted to find out if Luke was still playing the undercover part while he had been with Ells. One thing that the freighter owner had mentioned to him, was the fact that the man had various injuries when he first started working with Rick. Ells also seemed to think that the Kerr was having some problems as he had caught sight of him looking as if he was in pain which Kerr had always tried to cover up and say nothing was wrong when asked. Talon was beginning to think that the head injury that had been visible on Aves' recording might have caused more problems than they had first appreciated. Luke had given no reason for his departure to Ells or intention of what he was going to do next.

Talon was concerned that if the head injury had affected Luke's memory that he may not really know who he was or what he was doing. This would certainly make him more vulnerable. Karrde wondered if the Jedi could still have his mastery of the Force without conscious knowledge of it. Talon was also worried that the bounty hunters may decide to get involved so he decided to have a contingency plan. Talon hoped Mara and Han would catch up quickly with the Jedi. Talon had tried to contact Mara but she was obviously not taking comms right. He had word from them before they left Kyrash IV and catching a glance at the chrono, he quickly calculated that they should still be en route to Circadia.

Talon had asked Ells if he would be willing for Karrde to charter his freighter for a few trading runs. He asked the captain to do a first run from Rykesh to Circadia. He had asked Rick if he would help them with locating Ruaridh Kerr. Karrde hoped that Mara and Han would catch up with the Jedi quickly but Karrde wanted to cover all bases and he thought it could be useful to have the freighter owner locally. Rick seemed willing to help him as he seemed to be genuinely concerned for Luke. Talon hoped that having him present on Circadia may be useful. Hopefully, Luke would trust the man that he recently worked with and given the opportunity may initiate a contact with him. Giving Ells a legimate cargo for Circadia, Talon made the arrangements. Ells was going to do rather well out of this run and Karrde was sure that Rick realised that this was a good deal for him.

Talon had also spoken with Leia about things. He was well aware that she had not told him everything. She had asked Talon to check that when he spoke with Mara to make sure that either Han or Mara had spoken to her on Coruscant as soon as they could.

Leia was able to confirm that according to NRI that Circadia was the last planet Luke was known to be on. It fitted in with his information that he had received from the agent who had confirmed that once the freighter had left that Kerr was no longer on board The Kracken after they had left Circadia. He hoped that Luke would still be on Circadia by the time the Jade Sabre and the Stellar Byrd landed.

* * * *

Ruaridh had spend some time browsing the market places of Circadia. His purchases making him blend in more with the locals and in turn this helped him with his bartering. His credits would not lost forever and they certainly would not buy him a trip to the Core which meant he would have to work his way there but just now, his attention had been held by a miscellaneous box of bric-a-brac. He had felt drawn to the contents of the box, giving things a shuffle round, he moved a long cylindrical casing which caused a small carefully hidden pouch nestled in the interior to partly dislodge. Unaware that he was being closely observed by the stall trader, Kerr pulled the soft material free of the metallic handle.

Curious he opened the small pouch, it contained several crystals. Tipping them out carefully on to his right hand, Ruaridh appreciated their shading of blue. The largest having a deep blue colour under the sunlight as he moved the crystal on his palm. He was not sure of their exact value but they were certainly very beautiful. Instinctively, he knew immediately that they were out of his price range. There was no way that he could afford even one of the blue crystals sitting on his hand.

Despite that and drawn to their depth of colour, he touched one of the facets of the largest crystal. Kerr felt a tingle travel the length of his body from the index finger of his left hand. Withdrawing his finger quickly, Kerr frowned curiously at the tickling feeling. Prodding the piece again, the same thing happened again. It was weird but it almost felt alive. For a moment, he could feel it calling out to him.

Shaking his head against the strange sensation, Kerr carefully repackaged the crystal and reluctantly placed the pouch back in the box inside the casing. He was about to turn away when he felt a hand on his forearm stopping his retreat.

"These are for you, yes?" The market stall holder asked him. Her dark eyes looking up knowingly at him through her dark fringe.

Ruaridh shook his head, trying to gentle pull away from the gypsy trader. There was no point to this. Surely, the woman could see that he didn't have the currency to buy such goods. "No. Not enough credit to buy them."

"They sing for you." The woman insisted as she gripped the casing containing the pouch pushing it back in to his hands.

"I can't." Kerr shook his head as he felt a whisper run across his senses as her hands touched his.

"These are not for sale. They have chosen you."

Surprised at the trader's generosity, Kerr looked disbelieving at her.

"Troubled are you." Her hand touched the side of his face. She looked in to the depth of his eyes. "Help you these can."

Ruaridh still couldn't figure out the enigma of this woman as she abruptly turned in a florish of colourful skirts.

* * * *

Mara Jade took a deep breath as they exited hyperspace and started their approach to Circadia. They had made good time from Kyrash IV and she had finally admitted that she had needed some rest so had relented and allowed Han to watch over the controls of the Jade Sabre.

She had woken up and come back through to the cockpit just in time for their reversion. Sitting down in the co-pilot's seat, Mara half listened to the Correlian as he talked to the planetary control.

Closing her eyes, Mara automatically stretched out her feelings to the planet below. Nothing. Disappointed, Mara opened her eyes again. She had hoped that she may sense Luke if he was still on the planet. Normally, his presence would have sung out to her. She had to admit that she was missing him badly. The void left by his absence had been making her feel unfinished. She desperately needed to feel whole again.

However, there were currents in the Force here. Things were whispering at her but nothing was definite. She felt hopeful that Luke was still somewhere on the bright planet.

Their questioning of the Zeltron Kimi had not been that fruitful. The Zeltron had not known anything of real importance except about the knowledge of the tracers placed on Luke. Initially, they had thought that was good news but that information had since proved useless after they had talked to Leia and Talon. The fact that Luke had managed to give the NRI operatives the slip, made Mara smile wryly but it had not helped them. When Kimi had been hired by both the NRI and the Imperial Reminant to do the same thing, she said that she had accepted both offers. Initially Mara had wanted to take her with them but Han had persuaded her that the Zeltron would be more of a liability than an asset as they tried to find Luke.

Mara was also worried about what else Leia had told them. They, like Leia, were shocked and surprised to hear about Luke's acceptance of NRI's neural conditioning prior to the mission. Mara couldn't understand why Luke had allowed that. She wanted to know more but NRI were being tight lipped about the whole operation. The whole idea of Luke having amnesia and actually not knowing who he really was, sounded plausible to her but if that was the case how was he still using the Kerr alias? Mara was worried about the lack of Force awareness from Luke. Her gut feeling was telling her that there was more to Luke's original mission than what was apparent. She didn't like to think what difficulties that Luke not knowing who they were, could throw up. The other suggestion that his captivity had interfered with his neural condition was not one Mara wanted to ponder over. until she had more evidence.

Anyway, they were soon about to land on Circadia. Calling up the local data on the screen, Mara had a look at the information whilst Han was dealing with the landing procedures.

* * * * *

Ruaridh sat cross legged on his hostel bunk inspecting the pieces scattered around him. On further investigation, the cylindrical casing seemed to be undamaged. There were various components that seemed to go together or at least they seemed to want to fit together. His hands seemed to be following their own course as he just let his fingers work whilst his mind wandered. However, he would have to replace the damaged housing where obviously one of the crystals sat.

Every so often, he would stop and try to concentrate and figure out what he was doing, but to be honest, he hadn't a clue. It was extremely odd feeling. It felt as if someone else was in control of his movements. Slowly but surely, his fingers worked on the object, time passing unmeasured as he concentrated on his task. Closing his eyes in concentration, he visualised the insides lining up as he fitted the last piece before closing the casing on the cylindrical object.

Inspecting the hand grip, Kerr turned the object over in the hands. Somehow, the shape of it was not quite right but shrugging his shoulders, Ruaridh dismissed that feeling as an oddity.

Pressing the activation stud, Kerr almost jumped when the long blue blade appeared. On some level he must have known that he was making a lightsabre but somehow, it still surprised him. Standing up carefully, Ruaridh gentle moved the blade through the air, admiring the device. It seemed as natural extension of his arm. The effort to wield it was as unconscious as the effort of breathing. Mystified, Ruaridh stood mesmerised watching the humming blade for a short time admiring his work before shutting the blade off.

Had he been a Jedi? If not, how had he known to do what he had just done?

Putting the lightsabre inside his carry-all with regret, it would attract too much attention if he wore it openly. Blasters were the norm and anything else stood out and got their owners far too much unwanted attention. Quickly glancing at his chrono, Kerr realised that he had missed the last two meal times while he had been building the lightsabre. Suddenly, he was hungry and as if in recognition of that fact, his stomach grumbled at him.

Grabbing his bag, Kerr headed out of the hostel to a local café. A hot drink and the local delicacy of pnumba bread would go down well just now while he decided what to do next. He was halfway to the café when he felt this amazing sense flood him. Stopping in his tracks, Kerr enjoyed the wonderful sensation of everything flooding through him. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out what was happening when suddenly the pain came crashing down and overwhelmed him yet again. The contact was broken by the pain as he nearly collapsed in the street.

* * * * *