Padmé awoke hours later and met Cliegg's gaze.
"That really didn't go well," Cliegg said, helping her to her feet.
"Where's Ani?" she asked, almost knowing the answer.
"After arguing with nearly all of her companions, she went to Jabba's palace."
"Luke and Leia?" Padmé asked, worried.
"That's what I meant by argument," Cliegg smiled. "Anakin didn't want them to go, or the young trogut girl. They argued, and finally convinced him. It was almost as if they were his children." Cliegg smiled with amusement.
"You can say that again," Padmé said, feeling dizzy. "Mara?" she asked.
"This won't be easy to hear, but she's been yelling for hours that it was a mistake for them to go," Cliegg said, and Padmé rushed to Mara's room.
"Finally," Mara said, annoyed.
"Why is it a mistake for them to go?" Padmé asked, worried. She didn't even know why she was trusting this woman.
"Jabba and my master were already there." "Allies in this time," Mara explained.
"Why should I believe you?" Padmé asked suspiciously.
"Because I don't want them to kill Luke or Vader or that princess before I kill them," she said seriously.
"Not even I believe that," Padmé said with a sly smile.
"Whatever," Mara said worriedly. They had left a few hours ago; she was sure they would fall into some trap.
Padmé, for her part, knew she had to do something. If Palpatine's allies caught them, the Chancellor would know immediately. If he saw Anakin there, it would be the end.
"Are you planning to bribe Jabba to keep quiet?" Mara asked, seeing Padmé activate her communicator. "The Hutts will inform my master immediately. Either way, I win." Mara smiled, but she knew it wasn't true. If Palpatine found out now and saw Luke as an enemy, he would kill him. She couldn't bear to see Luke die, not unless she was the one who killed him, or at least that's what she forced herself to think.
"Do you think they elected me senator because I'm stupid?" Padmé asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'll call a friend who will help me."
"Vader will be pleased," Mara teased.
"I don't think he can be any more annoyed than he already is," Padmé sighed, and Mara watched her with a wicked smile.
Padmé managed to connect the communicator, and the image of the Mandalorian soldier she had hired on Nal Hutta appeared.
"How may I serve you, my lady?" "How close are you and your companions to Tatooine?" the soldier asked respectfully.
"How close are you and your companions to Tatooine?" Padmé asked, hoping he was close.
"Only a parsec away, my lady," the man said, and Padmé was grateful.
"I need you here now," Padmé said, and the soldier nodded.
"That was lucky," Mara said, raising an eyebrow.
"I need to get into that palace without being detected," Padmé said with a sigh.
"Perhaps I have an idea," Mara said, and Padmé looked at her incredulously. "I want to save your idiot son, remember?" Mara asked, and Padmé nodded; she didn't trust Mara.
"What's your idea?" Padmé asked, and Mara smiled.
In less than an hour, they were flying toward Jabba's palace along with a squad of bounty hunters loyal to Padmé. Mara was cooperating, but they wouldn't give her any weapons.
"Anakin is going to kill me," Padmé said, looking at Mara.
"He'll kill me first for giving you this idea," Mara said, changing her clothes. "Please, do you think a ballerina would dress like this?" Mara asked, looking at Padmé, who blushed.
Mara had already secretly entered Jabba's palace in the future, disguised as a ballerina, and had been discovered. This time, she wouldn't be discovered again. Padmé agreed; it was the best idea. The bounty hunters would pose as slavers.
Mara helped Padmé look like a ballerina.
"Yes," Padmé said, looking at herself in the mirror. "He's going to kill me."
"If we manage to get out of Jabba's palace alive," Mara reminded her.
"It's sweet that you'd risk your life for Luke, being his enemy," Padmé teased, seeking revenge for the humiliation she was causing her. Mara just glared at her. She would manage to escape and warn her master.
The Mandalorian trooper and two of his bounty hunters went to investigate, while Padmé and the rest of the group waited nearby on the ship.
"I was right, my lady," the trooper said. "They've captured the Jedi."
"I told you so," Mara said, and Padmé rolled her eyes.
"Alright, shall we execute the plan?" Mara asked impatiently.
"No," Padmé said. "It has to be at nightfall."
"Jabba sacrifices his prisoners at his nightly feasts," Mara said, remembering.
"Exactly. Prepare yourselves for when the time comes," Padmé instructed, and everyone nodded.
Mara approached her as she waited, dressed as a dancer, near the ship.
"How did a woman like you end up with a guy like Vader?" Mara asked.
"Anakin, his name is Anakin, that monster of the future, it won't happen," Padmé smiled.
"I'm here to make the Empire happen, remember?" Mara asked.
"They'll never let you," Padmé replied. "To be honest, Mara, your future is uncertain. They'll hand you over to the Citadel, and sooner or later they'll find you. Luke will be destroyed, which will be a huge problem for me. Do you have to do this?" she asked.
"My master is the closest thing I have to a father," Mara said, and Padmé thought.
"Who were your parents?" Padmé asked, and Mara lowered her gaze.
"I never knew them."
"Then Palpatine took you from your parents," Padmé said, and Mara didn't answer, but Padmé knew she had planted a seed of doubt in Mara's heart.
"I never knew them." In two hours, the celebration had begun at Jabba's palace. Padmé and Mara walked at the head of the bounty hunters, some of whom were even disguised as slaves to make it all more believable.
"You know that to prevent them from informing my master, you'll have to kill them all, right?"
"I know," said Padmé. It was a risk she was willing to take. To what extent was the war consuming them all?
The bounty hunters were welcomed. Those disguised as slaves were taken to another location, while Padmé and Mara were led away, just as they had anticipated.
"This won't be pleasant," said Mara with disgust, noticing how some of those present were staring at them.
"You can say that again," said Padmé. She was lucky her pregnancy wasn't showing yet.
"Have you ever done this before?" asked Mara. The truth was, she had only done it once.
"What do you think?" Padmé asked, annoyed.
"Just imagine you want to seduce Vader," she said, and Padmé blushed to the roots of her hair.
"Honestly, with a giant slug in front of me, it'll be hard to imagine Ani," Padmé joked, and for the first time, Mara smiled genuinely.
Padmé was a senator of the Republic; someone could recognize her, which would be quite bad, but she and Mara wore veils over their faces. Padmé wore a beautiful blue dress that left nothing to the imagination, while Mara wore a black dress similar to Padmé's.
The bounty hunter Padmé had hired presented them as his offering to Jabba for the purchase of the slaves he had brought, and Jabba accepted the offering with great pleasure. Although Jabba never refused offerings when they were women. With horror, Padmé watched as her daughter and Ahsoka, dressed in the hideous garb of Jabba's slaves, were bound to Jabba's feet. They looked worried and disgusted, but luckily, they weren't recognized, though Padmé was sure they would be in a few minutes.
Battling her shame, Padmé began to mimic Mara and soon felt daring, almost audacious. "Just imagine you're seducing Anakin," Mara had said, and she tried to keep that in mind.
As they danced, Padmé heard that the executions were about to begin. Her heart sank. She had to save her children: Anakin, Ahsoka, Han, and Obi-Wan. Padmé glanced at the bounty hunters who had accompanied her, and they winked at her almost imperceptibly. Then the prisoners were brought in. Mara was the first to see Luke and smiled at his face. He looked exhausted, barely believing he'd been captured again upon entering Jabba's palace. Anakin was coming up behind him, fighting as hard as he could against the men holding him. Padmé's heart sank when they hit him. Obi-Wan seemed calm but worried. Han looked at Leia, almost apologetic with his eyes, and she looked at him with concern. Clearly, they hadn't expected a rescue plan to be underway, and that was because it never occurred to them to ask for help.
"Focus," Mara whispered. "Vader is going to be angry. You have to calm him down as soon as he recognizes you," Mara said, and Padmé knew she was right.
"Try doing the same with Luke," Padmé said, knowing the Skywalkers weren't very good with their emotions.
Just as Padmé and Mara had predicted, Anakin was the first to sense their presence. He lowered his gaze, not wanting to look at the dancers, until he looked again, only to confirm that what he had sensed was true, and his gaze froze. Padmé felt his piercing gaze upon her and blushed. Luke was just as frozen as his father when he recognized Mara and his mother. Anakin's gaze fell upon all the hungry stares fixed on Padmé. He cared little for Mara, but he couldn't say the same for Luke, who seemed to want to kill everyone just as he did. For a moment, he had seen Leia and Ahsoka in those costumes and felt relieved that the attention was on the dancers, that is, until the moment they discovered who the dancers were. What was Padmé doing like this? She was his wife. Why wasn't Mara tied up in the Lars house? He was barely able to control his emotions, and Obi-Wan was trying in vain to calm him down.
Just as Padmé and Mara had predicted, Anakin was the first to sense their presence. He lowered his gaze, not wanting to look at the dancers, until he looked again, only to confirm that what he had sensed was true, and his gaze froze. Padmé felt his piercing gaze upon her and blushed. Luke was just as frozen as his father when he recognized Mara and his mother. Anakin's gaze fell upon all the hungry stares fixed on Padmé. He cared little for Mara, but he couldn't say the same for Luke, who seemed to want to kill everyone just as he did. For a moment, he had seen Leia and Ahsoka in those costumes and felt relieved that the attention was on the dancers, that is, until the moment they discovered who the dancers were. What was Padmé doing like this? She was his wife. Why wasn't Mara tied up in the Lars house? He was barely able to control his emotions, and Obi-Wan was trying in vain to calm him down.
Obi-Wan glanced shyly at Padmé and Mara, knowing Luke and Anakin looked as though they wanted to kill him for even looking at them. Han was about to burst out laughing when he saw Leia and Ahsoka's faces when they realized who the dancers were.
"Forget this, they're not going to calm down," Padmé said, cursing. "You start on the right," she told Mara, winking at the bounty hunters who were getting ready.
Padmé and Mara began to stroll around the place under the angry gaze of the Skywalkers. Padmé knew she'd end up single after this and last night's conversation with Cliegg; she knew it. But at least she'd saved the love of her life. Mara, for her part, didn't understand why Luke was upset. She should be grateful she was saving him; she was his enemy.
Anakin could hardly believe how Padmé was flirting with the partygoers, how she was dancing, swaying her hips and drawing all eyes to her and her breasts. Mara, meanwhile, was doing the same on the right, under Luke's incredulous gaze. Obi-Wan and Han realized a plan was underway when they saw the bounty hunters, who had previously been in one position, vanish.
They continued like this for a few minutes, until the bounty hunters reappeared. Padmé ignored the blood of different colors covering parts of their uniforms, focusing only on the weapons that had been recovered.
Mara looked at her, and Padmé nodded. They drew the blasters they both carried concealed in their clothing.
"Now!" Padmé shouted, and the bounty hunters, both those dressed as slaves and those among the crowd, drew their weapons, aiming at the vast majority of the enemies.
"My lady, we await your orders," said the Mandalorian soldier leading the bounty hunters, and Padmé knew what that meant: kill them all and kidnap Jabba, or risk having their presence reported to Palpatine.
"Padme!" Mara shouted, warning her not to fail now; everyone would die if she did. Mara, for her part, could never join her master if she was found helping the enemy.
"Do it," Padmé said, firing at the same time as Mara. She closed her eyes as the battle began, only to recover and continue firing.
The Mandalorian soldier retrieved the Jedi's weapons and threw them down. Anakin and Obi-Wan quickly broke free and began fighting their attackers. Han grabbed a blaster and ran to free Leia and Ahsoka, while Luke focused on preventing Jabba's escape. Obi-Wan was the first to understand how difficult this was for Padmé, and he knew there was no other solution; they shouldn't have failed.
"Mara," Padmé said, killing a man from Jabba's palace who was carrying the purple lightsaber. "Don't try anything stupid," Padmé warned, and Mara nodded as Padmé handed her her lightsaber.
"Mara," he said. The woman was admirable; she could cause destruction anywhere. Padmé found Leia's lightsaber, but her daughter seemed quite capable of wielding it alongside Han. Padmé then held the lightsaber and thought, "If in less than a day I've become a murderous liar and probably a single woman, why not?" She ignited the lightsaber, and Mara smiled.
"Together?" the woman asked with a smile that only a good battle could bring.
"Together," Padmé said, feeling strange, adrenaline coursing through her body.
If Mara alone had killed several reinforcements arriving at the palace, alongside Padmé she was wiping them all out before everyone's astonished eyes.
"What are you doing?" Anakin asked, grabbing Padmé's arm when he had the chance.
"Saving your skin, Jedi Master," Padmé replied, pulling away. They would talk later, and then he would have time to leave her; she was busy now.
Anakin watched, almost frustrated, as Mara and Padmé advanced toward Jabba. Leia and Han joined them, Luke moved toward his mother along with Ahsoka, and Anakin and Obi-Wan followed, keeping a watchful eye on the enemies behind them, while Padmé's bounty hunters surrounded the enemy from the rear.
"You're coming with us," Padmé said, and the translator droid relayed the message to Jabba.