Authoress's notes: This story takes place within a few months of the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War. It is the fifth Star Wars story I have written. Unlike the last three, this one is not a sequel to any of the others. I hope you read them anyway, and enjoy all of my stories. Please leave me feedback, public or via email.
The maglev arrived at the station, and Jaina and Lando exited. Jaina was still trying to make herself as close to invisible as she could as she moved through the crowd. They had only made it twenty meters or so before three maglev security officers intercepted them.
The security officers, two Humans and a Rodian, informed Jaina that she had been randomly chosen for an additional security check. When Lando explained that she was with him, they simply invited him along, making it clear that it was an
invitation
, and that he wasn't being detained in anyway.
Conscious of the minutes ticking by, Jaina took a deep breath, then said, "You don't need to do an additional security check on me," as she waved her hand in front of them.
The Rodian and one of the Humans seemed to be on the verge of letting them go. The sergeant, however, looked at her funny for a moment, then snorted derisively. "Of course not, Jedi sweet-cheeks," he replied as he grabbed her by the arm. "Let's go," he added, as the Rodian took her other arm.
In spite of Jaina's attempted mind trick, she was hustled off to a nearby security office, with Lando tagging along. Another Human officer, this one with a Major's insignia, was already there. It quickly became obvious that Lando's warnings had been right.
Jaina sensed that the Major's mind was strong, just like the Sergeant that had brought her here. She felt like she could still get them to let her go, but she didn't know how long it would take. Her main fear was that, if she tried, they might realize that she was a Jedi. Then it wouldn't take them long to figure out which Jedi, and she was dressed very
un
-Jedi at the moment. Not to mention
un
-Galactic Alliance Lieutenant Colonel, wearing her mother's Hutt slavegirl costume.
She knew that there were lots of holocams in the station, and absolutely didn't want those images getting out. On the other hand, she absolutely had to get the slavegirl outfit back in her mom's closet before her parents found out it was missing.
"Mister Calrissian," the Major greeted Lando. Then he openly checked out Jaina, from head to toe, before turning his attention back to Lando. "Chief Gosska sends his warmest regards, and says that he hopes to see you at your club tonight."
Chief Gosska? Who the skrag is chief Gosska,
Jaina wondered.
"He would also like to apologize for detaining your new dancer," the Major added.
Dancer
, Jaina thought, puzzled and insulted at the same time.
Jaina sensed Lando's puzzlement through the Force for a moment, but he hid it well. "Well Thank you Major," he replied. "And my dancer and I—" he glanced at Jaina—"are in a bit of a hurry. Is there anyway we can expedite this security check?" Lando said as he smoothly passed him a few hundred-credit chits.
"Please, Mister Calrissian, the Maglev Security Force doesn't accept bribes," the Major said stiffly. Then, after a brief pause in which Jaina sensed amusement from the other officers, he reluctantly added, "At least from you, anyway, Mister Calrissian."
"Of course," Lando replied with a frown, as he pocketed his would-be bribe.
"You, of course, Mister Calrissian, are not being detained in any way, and may leave at any time," the Major told him. "However, our computer chose your companion here for an additional search, and we are required by regulation to complete it." Before Lando or Jaina could respond, he added, "It should only take half-an-hour or so."
Now Jaina understood why the Force had told her to tell Lando where she had found the slavegirl outfit. She took a deep breath, and suggested to Lando that he should go ahead and leave her, but take her dancing costume with him for
safekeeping
.
That pleased the security officers—
thugs
, as Jaina thought of them—immensely. It only took a mention of the time to convince Lando to go along with her plan.
Jaina quickly began to remove the various pieces of the slavegirl outfit. The armbands, bracelets, collar and boots were easy enough. She was even able to take off the belt without too much trouble. But when Jaina asked for some privacy to take off the bra, Major Graahm flatly refused, saying regs required them to keep her in sight at all times until she the security search was complete.
With a sigh of regret, Jaina unzipped the dress, and removed the bra while doing her best to keep her essentials covered. The security thugs watched her closely, while she tried to ignore them. Once she got the durasteel bra off, Jaina quickly handed it to Lando and told him to hurry.
"Are you sure about this?" Lando asked her once again.
Jaina looked at the four men leering at her with anticipation. "Of course not," she replied to Lando. "Now hurry up and get going," she added as she thought about the humiliating quarantine processing that she had gone through on Duro.
Lando glanced at his chrono. "Sure thing," he replied. Then he turned and walked out, a look of determination on his face.
As soon as the door closed, the foursome became noticeably more aggressive in their attitudes.
"Why don't you go ahead and hand me that dress, my dear," the sergeant told her with a smile. "So I can search it for spice and such."
Now that Lando, and the slavegirl outfit, were safely gone, Jaina considered her options. What she wanted to do the most was kick the kriffing sithspit out of these four nerfherders.
The only problem with that was, these were actually authorized law enforcement officers, even if they were more interested in seeing her naked than performing a security check,
just like on Duro.
So if she did leave them lying on the floor, there would be an investigation, and her holos would be plastered all over the place, probably with the slave collar easily visible. Also, they knew Lando by name, so he would get dragged back into it, and she didn't want to do that to him.
Another option was to attempt another mind trick, to convince them to let her go. She had already tried that though, and failed. The Major's mind was at least as strong as the Sergeant's, so she wasn't confident of success with both of them present. If she tried and failed, they would know that she was a Jedi.
There was no way she wanted them getting even a hint of who she was. With less than a hundred Jedi in the galaxy, it would be easy to identify her, and there were still the holos of her with the slave collar and all.
Which left cooperation, as limited as she could get away with.
"Come on, shag, we don't have all day," the sergeant said impatiently.
"Yes, se-sir. Sorry sir" Jaina replied quickly and meekly, as she stripped off her only article of clothing. She had been about to call him by his rank, sergeant, but decided that a frightened dancer wouldn't be able to recognize military-style rank insignia. Jaina handed him her dress, leaving her completely naked.