|
|
 |
|
|
|
register |
bbs |
search |
rss |
faq |
about
|
|
|
meet up |
add to del.icio.us |
digg it
|
|
|
|
Star Wars: A Dark Path 2 - by Alice Hadden(hadden@
Striving for the Light (A continuation of A Dark Path)
by
Ali Hadden ([email protected])
Special thanks to Christine Bertz for her input and George Lucas for
his, well, output! Also to [email protected] for allowing this on his
archive. Note: This is in no way meant to be or follow "SW cannon"
C 1994, layman's copyright. Please do not distribute without this
message.
I.
The usually perfect environmentally controlled biosphere of
Coruscant's Imperial City was a bit chill that evening. The Jedi
Knight watched the city lights from atop the Senate Building, as
blackly dressed as the wrought iron table at which he sat, detached
from the hustle and bustle of the inhabitants below. He was detached
because, for the most part, those beings enjoyed life, drank every bit
of the essence it created, and busied themselves with the chasing of
reckless dreams and adventure. Such was not his destiny. His
destiny, it seemed more and more, was to grieve. Death had surrounded
him ever since he'd chosen the way of the Jedi; his guardians, his
mentors, his father, and recently the demise of Kayla Storm and his
unborn child. These he had come to accept as the simple passing from
one existence to another, from a life of individuality to one of
unity, oneness in the Force. As a Jedi, perhaps touching that Force
was an act of straddling both planes, leaving him not quite himself,
not quite everything else. It was a confounding paradox that spent
much time in his meditative thoughts, and surreal. The goal was to be
one with the Force, even if it meant leaving behind certain elements
of the self. He had never wanted to accept that before, just as he
had not wanted to accept that it would be his burden to pass on this
knowledge to potential Jedi. In a sense, he would be taking from them
identity for the greater union in the Force, the balance, the all.
Yet, in that balance, he had found a deeper sense of self than he
could ever have imagined, but not without cost. He clenched his
gloved hands where beneath the leather of one there was a false skin,
billions of electronic nerve endings to simulate the human touch, and
a metal skeleton; beneath the leather of the other was a scar that, in
some ways, moved him more deeply. Of course, in the end it would be
the students' decision to accept or reject his teachings when the time
came. To become a Jedi, to lose and then find oneself anew, or to
cling to egoism in the belief that this intangible power was one's own
and fall inevitably to the Dark Side. Such was the folly of he and
Kayla Storm not so long ago--pride. He sighed deeply and watched his
breath curl in the form of cold vapor.
The frozen breath whisped through the air before him and began
to take shape. Luke Skywalker blinked twice, then folded his arms
across his chest against an all too familiar cold and watched,
listened. There was a soft laugh as the shape darkened into a
silhouette.
_You thought you were finally rid of me_
"How could I be rid of that which is part of the whole?" Luke
replied quietly. "You are with me always, Kayla."
Another laugh, though strained. _You've cheated me, my lord
Skywalker. Soon will I take my vengeance...._ It was as if she sought
to go on, spewing idle threats that would torment his dreams, but
there was a great milling of some potent tempest. The apparition
shrieked his name and was engulfed by the chaos she had succumbed to,
the path she had chosen in the end. Luke often wondered why her
broken body did not vanish in death as Obi-wan and Yoda had. He had
hoped that it was because she was unprepared for such a demise, but
now saw he was mistaken. The Dark Side, in her last act of
aggression, now possessed her in full. Kayla Storm was perhaps his
greatest failure.
The Jedi listened at the strange silence that rang in his
ears. Such was the way of the Force.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the air.
A new presence came upon him then, like an exact negative of
what he had just witnessed. It shone brightly and he closed his eyes
against the resplendent Light. Immediately he felt a peace that
reached to his very core, and a long-forgotten contentment. The
brilliancy softened and Luke opened his eyes to look upon an ageless
face with eyes of green fire.
"Who are you?" he asked, enamored.
The voice, too, was beyond the definitions of time. _Father_
"Chala." A gentle smile played across his lips. There had
been moments when he longed to hold this lost child, ached to cradle
her in his arms and hum some off-key lullaby. But the child was found
only in the Force and not as she might have been had she experienced
life.
_Father, Kayla Storm has wronged us both. The time of your
destiny has come_
The image faded before he found the words to speak. Two
spirits seemingly detached from the whole? How was that possible?
Luke stifled a second shiver that was not completely from without and
brought his Jedi robe close about him for warmth. A chill evening,
indeed.
Behind him, a lithe figure stepped through the entry, her gown
of exquisite silk whispering against her ankles as she approached,
along with that whisper the scent of mild perfume. Luke turned his
gaze from the city lights as his sister sat before him with grace, her
hair wrapped in jewels, and he smiled.
"Leia, I think you'd better find Han, quickly."
Perhaps in any similar situation she should have blushed, or
retorted something a bit harsh, but Leia Organa Solo merely gave her
chin a regal lift. "Even with Alderaan destroyed, I'm still her
princess. If there is a time and a place for elegance and tact, now
is one of them. This isn't for Han." She permitted a small grin and
shrugged. "Besides, I'm a little tired of chasing around in battle
fatigues."
"It seems that time has passed," Luke replied softly.
"Thank the Force." The princess continued after pausing to
collect her thoughts, self-assured. "The New Republic is doing well
under Bel Iblis' administration and the Senate. I'm not nearly as
inundated with political philandering. Before, I was too busy to
think about anything--Alderaan, Han and the children, you. I've
slighted all of you in one way or another. I beg your pardon."
"Princess..." Luke muttered and shook his head. Perhaps she
had in her refusal to learn of the Force, but under the circumstances
of the New Republic, he could hardly lay any blame. The time was not
right. And he, it was discovered only later, was not prepared for the
burden of a Jedi Master. Now he sensed a change for them both.
Her hands folded on the table but she did not fidget with her
rings, and gazed straight into her brother's eyes. "I've spent a
great deal of time thinking about where our lives may be headed in the
future, with our peace nearly made with the remnant Imperial fleets
and the Imperial governorships. Much of what I ask will depend on the
results of the Senate's inquiry tomorrow. But if they find no reason
to discipline you further...Luke, if the offer to guide me in the ways
of the Force still stands, I wish to move forward."
Her brother's face was implacable. "Do you think you're ready?"
Her bejeweled hands flattened against the tabletop, reflecting
a bit of light from the moons beyond the biosphere. "Are you?"
Luke nodded slowly. "I am. But you have to be careful to
realize what you're getting into. As a Jedi, you must be prepared to
make certain sacrifices--your career, perhaps even your family. You
must learn the ways of the Force with a most serious mind and forget
anything about the self-glorification that comes with a thirst for
adventure. You must be devoted."
Leia stared at him, incredulous. "As if we haven't had our
adventures."
"Becoming a Jedi will change you indelibly. You will never be
as you are right now. Power brings with it an incredible burden. The
weak, as I was weak, succumb to chaos while the strong, as I feel I am
now becoming stronger, strive for the Light."
"You sound like some kind of preacher," his sister muttered
under her breath. "All I wanted was to learn a few things..."
"I will not allow you to simply dabble for awhile and then
shelve it until it suits your purposes. You must not allow your roles
of Minister or wife or mother take priority."
"Luke, how can you talk to me like this?"
Her brother sighed deeply and trifled with the rings on her
fingers. "I don't mean to be cruel, but I have to be certain you
understand what you're getting into. Leia, again I have to ask you.
Are you prepared?"
The princess of Alderaan had lost some of her color as she
listened to him speak. Her lips trembled slightly, but her voice was
sure. "I feel I must. Brother, I _must_."
Luke's nod was imperceptible. She rose and bent to kiss his
cheek lightly, then left her brother in meditation.
* * *
The Scoundrel's Nest, a hijacked Super Star Destroyer that was
now claimed as the prize of the Smuggler's Guild, circled the capitol
planet of Coruscant like a mammoth sea creature casting shadows onto
all it overtook. A small shuttle crested with the sign of a dragon
dropped out of the cavernous docking bay and sped toward the central
biosphere, weaving through the slower traffic as its pilot was anxious
to reach her destination. Mara Jade had little problem finding a
landing slip in the usually crowded spaceport and was greeted by Han
and Leia Organa Solo as she disembarked. There were brief
pleasantries.
"Has Skywalker been released?"
Leia nodded. "Actually, he's been free for the past month.
The Senate is just now getting caught up in its affairs and can afford
to ask Luke a few more questions about what happened."
They started to head for the Senate chamber at a fast pace.
"You would think they'd have been more thorough in the
hearing," Mara grumbled.
"That would've taken months," replied Han Solo. "I think the
majority were so incensed by the whole thing that they wanted to get
him locked away."
"Can't say I blame them. I'm surprised he didn't receive a
stiffer sentence. Hopefully today will remedy that."
"Luke has changed, Mara," said Leia. "In all honesty, I think
he should have been acquitted altogether. He's made amends."
"We'll have to see about that, Minister."
Upon reaching the chamber, they parted ways as the Solos were
expected to sit front and center and Jade was unceremoniously shuffled
into the general seating. The entire amphitheater was filled to
capacity, waiting for the last Jedi in existence to do a little more
explaining of his actions. Anoth was destroyed. Coruscant, very
nearly. And it had all been blamed on some Dark Side influence that
quite suddenly no longer plagued him. The pointed questions were
already being asked as Mara took her seat at the end of a row next to
a smelly Twi'leck. What exactly was the nature of your relationship
with Kayla Storm? How is it the Force could be used to do such a
thing? How is it you allowed it? Why did you fail so utterly in your
attempts to teach the ways of the Jedi? How is it you were suddenly
cured of this presumed insanity? In the face of such questions, his
replies should have sounded ludicrous. Yet they did not. Mara sensed
the Senate committee was skeptical and a little bit afraid of the
possibility of Skywalker using some kind of vocal manipulation. She
didn't think he did; still, the Jedi had done unthinkable evil. She
listened. As the Jedi's explanations droned on, she sat forward in
her seat and really listened. The thoughts of those surrounding her
became like a running commentary of the tribunal. With some, there
was understanding. With most, anger. _How could he do this to us?_
_I wonder if he speaks the truth_ _What a terrible thing to happen to
the boy_ _Luke needs us now more than ever_ Her brow furrowed as the
commentary intensified, becoming louder than the amplified debates on
the Senate floor. _I'm so sick of this. I have repairs to do on the
Falcon. Why do I need to be here?_ _Luke is holding his own. The
Senators can't refute his defense_ _He must be held fully accountable.
The two years, the biosphere, isn't nearly enough for what he's done_
_Skywalker is a traitor_ _Who said that? Skywalker is a traitor.
Who..._ She looked around, almost startled. The voices continued
until they converged in a rambling scream. _Who said what? Luke it's
not your fault. Hang in there. You're doing well. Skywalker is a
traitor. Why do I have to be here? Mama, I'm hungry. Just wait.
Mama, I'm thirsty. I said, just wait. Why am I here? It's not his
fault. But it is. It must be. Skywalker is a traitor. Skywalker
must...Mara. No. Skywalker must...Mara, shut it out. I can't. I
won't. Mara. No, I...YOU MUST KILLnonononononononononono_ She
collapsed her head in her hands and bit back her own scream.
Luke's oath was barely heard. "To the Senate and the people
of the New Republic, I vow this will never...."
_YOU MUSTnonononononono i won't i can't we've already been
through this, damnit i'm done i won't i won't nonononono_
_Mara_
_nonononononogetawayfrommedon'ttouchmeihateyouihateyouihateyou_
Her body slumped forward into unconsciousness. With half
heard shouts and a sudden lurch of motion, Mara Jade felt herself
carried about as if by hypnotic waves. Yet, as she opened her mind's
eye, the ocean was not comprised of water, but of sand. A tall
plateau surveyed the endless Dune Sea while the Master and his
Apprentice embraced near a flickering campfire.
He whispered into her ear, "I am the teacher, you are the
learner. If you wish to succeed..."
She stared, lost in the blueness of his eyes. The words and
feelings were hers and yet, not. "I love you with everything that I
am. I will never forsake you."
"Then it is the dawning of a new age for the Jedi."
"Yes," she breathed as he savored her neck.
He softly murmured, "You and I will rule the stars hand and
hand. You will be my Empress."
A slow, burning rage crawled into her heart then and, as
Skywalker pressed forward in his advancement, she gripped his throat
with both hands and squeezed with all her might.
Mara Jade awoke.
The pain of her throbbing skull forced her into consciousness,
and she was nearly blinded by the bright lights of what she came to
recognize as the infirmary. As her vision cleared, Jade gazed upon
the object of her hate not only in dreams, but often in life.
Skywalker grinned sympathetically and Mara's hands tightened into
fists, restraining a sudden urge to throttle him as she had in her
sleep.
"You," she hissed. "Why are you here?"
"I've been here a lot, actually. How do you feel?"
"How do I look," Mara snapped.
Skywalker flashed that infuriating grin. "Not bad, for
someone who's been out cold for a week. The Em-dees can't seem to
figure out what's wrong with you. I've been worried."
Mara clenched her teeth. "Don't bother."
"I certainly will bother. The Force is with you, and anything
unusual that happens to you is of my concern."
"What are you, my guardian? My Jedi Master? After that
fiasco with Kayla Storm, I should think not."
Luke's gaze did not shift. "Someday I will be, if you choose
to further your talents. You're walking on very dangerous ground to
remain untrained, with your sensitivity. I sensed a lot of anger in
that Senate chamber last week. The Dark Side of the Force was
literally drawn to it. That's what caused you to faint."
"You've been acquitted, haven't you? You no-good lying
hypocrite. How could you sit there and lecture to me about refusing
the Dark Side? Look what you've done! You were a fool to take up
with that woman. I should never have listened to you. I should have
killed you when I had the chance and saved us all a lot of misery.
Not to mention a few thousand lives."
"I know I've done terrible things. Mara, I've paid my dues as
best I can..." But his words fell on deaf ears.
"I should have let your clone cut you to ribbons, at the very
least. Why would Palpatine choose some two-bit Force-witch as his
heiress? I was closer to him than anyone else, I should have been the
chosen, not that I'd even consider it, but he should have come to me.
I certainly would not have allowed you to foil his designs. I was the
Emperor's Hand!"
Luke sat back in his chair and shook his head disparagingly,
jaw set. "As you are, you're untrainable anyway. You have absolutely
no control over your anger. I was mistaken to think things had
changed. There's no way I'm going to make the same mistake twice.
The question now is what to do with you."
"What exactly are you suggesting? How dare you threaten me,
you half-witted womp rat..."
"I'm not threatening anybody. Besides, I'm sure the
Smuggler's Guild wouldn't take too kindly to a liaison so prone to
temper tantrums." He paused then, distracted by something unseeable.
The admonition hit close to the mark and Jade pounced. "You
have a lot of nerve. Get out of here or I'll have you thrown out!"
Skywalker spoke distantly, as if his mind were miles across a
great chasm, barely aware of her presence, or the fury that so
disturbed her. "Mara Jade, you must be very careful. Something of
the Dark Side is close. I don't want you to fall as I did."
She swung about and gained her feet. "I'm not so gullible.
So long, Skywalker."
Mara slapped him hard across the face, a wake up call to
bring him back to reality, and she stalked from the room. Luke
remained where he sat and gingerly touched his jaw. The Dark Side had
gathered close about her, it seemed. But that wasn't it exactly. It
was as if a third presence had been in their midst, keeping watch and
a bit of influence over Jade's behavior. This could not be explained
as a simple Dark Side influence. He was tempted to label the presence
as some spirit. When a soul passed on, it supposedly became one with
the Force, completely integrated, and the images that occasionally
showed themselves to the living were but revelations through the Force
itself, not individual souls per se. Yet, he himself had encountered
the spirit of Kayla Storm, a spirit that seemed to struggle for a
distinctiveness from the Dark Side. That had to be it. But whatever,
or whoever, he had sensed was gone with Mara Jade.
* * *
They thought it might be nice to ditch the kids with Leia's
assistant and go for a stroll in the gardens. Han was anxious to get
back to work on the Falcon's ailing repulsorlifts but he noticed Leia
was troubled and put off the repairs yet again. The giant red sun was
just beginning its dip down to the horizon beyond the central
biosphere when Solo muttered, "So what's on your mind, sweetheart?"
"Do I have to have a reason to take a walk with my husband?"
He mentally shrugged and supposed he could be as romantic as
the next guy. Women liked a little smoothness, and he conceded his
edges were still a bit rough. At least he wasn't an oil slick like
Lando. "Just thought maybe you wanted to talk."
"I guess I do." She paused for a moment and Han was content
to wait, scraping his boots along the stones as they went. Leia took
a deep breath. "Before that mess with Kayla Storm, Luke asked me if I
would learn the ways of the Force."
Han stopped and looked at her warily. "And what did you tell
him?"
"That I wasn't comfortable with breaking the laws of physics,
and far too busy to be taking up witchcraft."
Han nodded his approval and they continued their walk in
awkward silence.
After a while, she added, "He seems to think it's my destiny.
And the children's."
Her husband frowned and pointedly said, "No."
"I had my own reasons for declining, but why are you so set
against it?"
Han's face became clouded. "Before, I thought all that Force
stuff was a lot of hooey. Now, I think it's deadly. Luke may not be
a Dark Lord, but he's still a little crazy. At least, he's not the
way he used to be."
"He's just been through so much," Leia defended.
"Yeah, I know, but..." Han shook his head, frustrated by his
inability to explain. Well, she usually knew what he thought anyhow.
"I just don't want you and the kids getting into something that
dangerous. I mean, Luke can't force you to do anything you don't
wanna do, right?"
"Of course not." Leia hesitated. "I've just been having a
lot of dreams."
"Just remember that's all they are. You're just thinkin' too
much."
Leia nodded absently. "What if...what if I did want to become
a Jedi?"
"Come on, don't talk crazy. I'm not gonna let you weird out
on me like Luke did." He watched her gaze shift away to the
flowerbeds. "Wanna help me and Chewie out with the Falcon?"
"Always a wild romantic," Leia mused.
"It's just gotta get done, honey. I know it's bad timing."
"At least we don't have an Imperial fleet on our tail."
Han smirked. "I dunno, that might make things a little more
interesting around here."
Instead of laughing, or sending back a smart comment, Leia
slipped into his arms and sighed deeply. "I guess I deserve this
after spending so much time away from you and the kids."
"Well, the Inner Council did make it kinda hard. But things
are letting up now, right? We'll have _eons_ to spend together after
I get that bucket up and runnin'."
This produced a small grin, and content with that, Han kissed
her smartly before waltzing away. Leia sighed again; it seemed as if
she had to remind the heaviness of her chest to lift and breathe. So
Han would have none of it. But the dreams that plagued her sleep
nightly were important. The images in the fog reaching for her,
dragging her downward into a void. The voices that whispered of a
nexus of destinies. Of who? That was beyond her. She knew they were
important. She realized she had to find a way to control the dreams
before she lost her senses. Or maybe it was simply time to quit
sleeping. Leia Organa Solo watched the sky deepen from a bloody
crimson to a blanket of purple velvet, lost in thought, before finally
turning homeward.
* * *
"I'll be back this evening," Leia called as she rummaged
through her bureau for the hidden implements. She found the metal and
crystal and shoved them into a pouch. She also reminded herself to
"forget" the project with Luke today; better her unfinished lightsaber
be left undiscovered.
"Where are you going?" Her husband asked from another room.
"I have another meeting today," Leia responded. It was not
easy to keep this from him. But it was not necessarily a lie either;
she was, if fact, going to meet someone and to learn from him.
"What kind of meeting?"
"A seminar of sorts."
"About what?"
Leia pretended not to hear and focused her attention on the
three children playing on her bed. Jaina was decorating the two boys
with bobbles of jewelry and make-up, much to their chagrin. "Let's
put these away now and wash up. It's time to go with daddy."
"Huh?" The smuggler appeared in the doorway while the boys
rushed past him to escape. Jaina remained to help her mother replace
the stolen treasure. "Well, _I_ can't watch them. I have repairs to
do. What if they get into somethin'?"
"I'm sure See-Threepio would be more than happy to assist
you." She kissed her daughter and left the room.
"Hey!"
"Hey!" Jaina echoed and followed her father to the main
entry. Jacen and Anakin converged on their mother with hugs.
"I love you, sweethearts, but I have to go." Leia gently
disentangled herself and looked plaintively to Han.
There, she found no help. "I thought things were finally
letting up. How come you're always at some political conference? I
oughta have ol' Garm's head for running you so ragged."
"We've just been very busy. Please don't say anything to him,
all right?" Leia bit her lip. The hole she was digging was beginning
to collapse around her.
"So, what's goin' on? Why's everything so hush hush?" Han
questioned. "More Imperial trouble?"
"No no, nothing like that. It's just very important. Han,
you're making me late," she flustered.
"Can you at least tell me where I can find you? Or who you're
with?"
"No." She flushed, backing a step toward the door. He
wouldn't understand, but there were things that just had to be done.
Somewhat defeated at this, Han folded his arms and smirked.
Impishly, he cracked, "That's it, isn't it? You're _with_ somebody.
Yup, I shoulda known a princess like you was too good for a low-down
scoundrel like me..."
"Don't be silly!" Leia retorted and kissed him smartly.
"I'll be home soon."
"Sure," he muttered, "like in twelve hours."
"Bye, mom," the kids intoned as she left, then rushed back to
her room to scavenge.
* * *
The Jedi Master watched his twin sister-turned-apprentice move
the newly constructed lightsaber over in her hands and tightened a
final clasp. It was hastily built, he thought. The configuration was
all wrong. Still, he had kept his silence although every instinct
wanted to direct her work, even to do it for her. Yet her destiny was
separate from his, he knew. Leia would have to learn much on her own,
even if under gentle guidance. Strangely, he felt as if a benevolent
presence was with him, offering _him_ guidance, and immediately
recognized it as his daughter. Chala watched over them both, and
there was peace for a time as he muddled through the paradox of her
and Kayla Storm, answers coming up empty every time. Perhaps is
wasn't worth the headaches. Some things just _were_.
Leia fingered the power stud on the hilt of the sword and it
emitted a loud crack. She dropped it immediately and jumped back
while, on the ground, the lightsaber sputtered crazily and spun in
showers of sparks. She stared at the conflagration, then at her
brother who only shrugged. Irked by his lack of assistance, Leia bent
to retrieve the botched weapon but it rose up and hissed at her like
something alive.
She caught Luke's slight grin and rolled her eyes. "Oh for
cryin' out loud."
The Minister of State removed a small wrist blaster from her
pouch and blew the project she had spent a number of days on to
smithereens. "There. What do I need a lightsaber for anyway? I
think we can pass over this lesson, Luke."
Luke waved at the smoke. "Master Yoda used to tell me 'Do or
do not. There is no try.' I think we can assume you definitely 'did
not'."
"Well then?" Leia demanded. "Do you want me to scavenge
around for more parts and build another one? Those crystals you use
to power the blade are pretty scarce."
Luke shook his head. "It can wait."
"Right," she huffed. "What now."
"Patience."
"Fine." She sat on the rocky outcropping and surveyed the
biosphere some sixty kilometers to the East. She coughed and motioned
to the speederbikes. "This air is horrible. Can we go back soon?"
"Patience, Leia," the Jedi Master repeated, and sat next to
her. "There's no need for you to be in such a hurry over every little
thing. It's your impatience and your constant short-cuts that causes
your failure."
"Bel Iblis wanted to meet with me this afternoon, my family
needs some attention, I just don't have time..." She received a
disapproving look and sulked. "I'm sorry. I know how much this means
to you."
"To me?" His eyebrows rose. "Then that's it. You're a
diplomat through and through, trying to negotiate terms and please the
masses. That's got to be the first thing to go, sister."
"What are you talking about?"
"How serious are you about becoming a Jedi Knight? Or is all
this an effort to appease a demanding twin brother?" His grin
disarmed the sharp edge of his tone. "You know what I'm talking about
because we've talked about this a number of times. Priorities, Leia."
Leia looked at him hard. "It's easy for you to say when you
have no other entanglements."
"True. Still, you can't give your training any less attention
than you would any other responsibility. I'm worried you won't finish
what you've started."
"Didn't I give you my word?"
Luke nodded and lapsed into silence as he was prone to do.
Leia glared at her rings and spun them about her slim fingers, not
through fidgeting with her hands, but simply by pushing them through
the Force. It was something of a habit that struck a note of
irritation in the mind of her twin. The game of button-pushing had
become a dangerous habit as well. One her brother dealt with as only
a brother can.
"You've always been headstrong," he surmised.
Leia snorted. "You've always had a propensity to whine. What
of it?"
Her brother grinned sheepishly. "I do not."
"Do too."
Luke covered his mouth with a gloved hand, and hid a
broadening, although slightly exasperated smile. "Leia, you just need
to relax. There's no need to rush. I really don't see what the
problem is if..." A realization came upon him and leaned forward a
bit, propping his elbows on his knees. "You haven't told Han."
"After everything that's happened, he's terrified of the
Force. If I told him what I was doing, he just wouldn't allow it. He
just wouldn't understand."
"So certain are you?" Luke questioned, and smiled in
reflection. Did Masterhood consist of an inclination for backwards
grammar?
Leia sighed heavily. "Yes, I am. I can't tell him. Not yet,
anyway."
"But you realize you will have to, someday. Just by the fact
that you've hidden this will make the situation more difficult. It
may not go well."
"I know it won't. I just...I just can't tell him yet."
He clasped her hand in his own. "Meditate on this, Leia. Let
the Force guide you and you will do what needs to be done."
* * *
She sat before the vanity and removed the string of jewels
that decorated her hair. The hair itself spilled over her shoulders
and down her back, nearly touching the carpeted floor. Slowly, she
began to brush through it with long, careful strokes, ignoring the man
that leaned heavily against the door frame.
"I should've known. Garm was talking about going on some
leave of absence. It just didn't jive with your story. Why did you
lie to me?" Han asked. It was nearly a demand, but somehow his voice
lacked the needed intensity. He sounded haggard. "Why couldn't you
talk to me about this?"
Leia continued her brushing. "I didn't think it concerned you."
"How could it not concern me?"
"My decision to become a Jedi has nothing to do with you," she
stated flatly, but the brush strokes quickened.
"Think again."
"Han, you don't understand..."
"No. Look. We haven't had two minutes together since we got
married and you got tangled up in the Inner Council, then Minister of
State. Now you're off to become some sort of...of Jedi or something.
I know..." He ground his teeth on his bottom lip, trying to put
things right. "I know you have to do it _someday_, but why now when
things are just starting to settle down? Leia, I know you and Luke
have this incredible connection but..." He straightened and swallowed
hard. "Princess, you are my wife and I want your time. More than
that, I want to keep you sane and alive."
Leia bit the inside of her cheek and yanked viciously at a
persistent snarl. "You do not understand."
Han exhaled sharply, as if he'd been punched to the ribs and
withheld his own retort. He glared at his boots and shoved his hands
into his pockets. He listened to the rustle of fabric as she slipped
out of the silk gown and into a nightdress. She approached and eased
into his arms.
"I don't mean to hurt you," she whispered, and sought his
fallen gaze. "But I have to do this. It's my destiny."
Han's expression became bitter and he slowly shook his head.
Destiny again. "I think maybe you just don't care anymore."
"Han." She tilted his chin to face her and kissed his frown.
"You know I love you."
Han remained silent, gaze downcast, shoulders slumping. She
heard his thoughts as if they were spoken. _Then why, your worship,
is it that I always come in dead last?_
Leia gently bit the lobe of his ear. "Not tonight."
His frown deepened to a scowl. "No, not tonight. So long,
Leia."
The smuggler grabbed his jacket and holstered blaster as he
left.
* * *
"Hey!"
The Jedi Master's eyes opened wide, suddenly awakened from a
half-dream. There was a hard pounding at the door of his small
apartment. It may have been going on for many moments though, he had
been so deep in sleep. Nearby, Artoo-Detoo whistled questioningly,
and his master sat slowly in his bed, somewhat disoriented.
"Hey!" the voice shouted a second time, and Luke recognized
it.
He moved through the dark apartment and disabled the security
lock at its entrance. The door slid aside to reveal Han Solo and his
Wookiee companion.
Luke rubbed a hand over his face. "Han, it must be two in the
morning..."
Artoo, trailing him, whistled an affirmation.
The smuggler was agitated and slightly drunk. "I've gotta go,
Luke. I mean really. I'm not coming back."
Luke stood aside and gestured for his friends to come in but
they remained motionless. He folded his arms. "Han, I wasn't aware
that Leia hadn't discussed her decision with you. We can talk about
this. We'll postpone the training."
"No." He scratched the rough stubble of his chin. "Kid, the
more I think about it, it's not the time apart that bothers me. It's
this whole...Jedi thing."
"Please come in, Han." Again he gestured. Again they
refused.
"She's not gonna be Leia anymore once you're through with her,
is she? Just like you're not really the Luke I used to know. Already
she seems like some kind of stranger. This Force of yours wrecks
people. Am I wrong?"
"Yes." Luke paused gravely. "But nothing I can say will
change your mind. You have to come to terms with it on your own."
Han stared at the Jedi's flat expression. "You are strange."
Luke changed that flatness to an amiable grin. "You're just
scared of the unknown. Look, like I said, we can postpone..."
"And I said forget it. I'm not putting up with anymore of
this." He turned to leave.
Chewbacca wuffed as Luke gripped Solo's arm, and the Jedi
lifted his other hand for peace.
"Your children need you, Han."
Solo tossed him a bitter look. "Which brings up another
point. When are you planning to drag them into this?"
Luke withdrew his hand as Han shrugged his arm free, answering
slowly, watching him carefully. "Not until they've reached an age of
reason. Perhaps another five years or so, depending."
"So they'll be eight and ten standard years, levitating junk
in the air and whippin' around lightsabers. I don't think so."
"It's not so simplistic."
"I've had it with this hocus-pocus chicanery. Chewie?"
He turned to leave but the Wookiee stood where he was, quietly
rumbling an explanation to the Jedi.
Luke patted his arm. "I know, Chewie."
"Well?" Han asked impatiently.
"Be sure to look after the old pirate. He's gonna need it."
Chewbacca howled, "Arrrrrrrw!" and followed his friend.
Luke stood silently before the doorway as it closed, wondering
what he should have said differently. His ears rang slightly from his
friend's intense anger. No, not anger. That wasn't quite it.
Disdain. And dread. He wasn't positive as to what Han and Chewie had
planned, but thought he had a pretty good idea. The Jedi walked
through the reception chamber, his eyes readjusting to the lack of
light, and stopped before a small shelf of artifacts he'd collected on
his journeys. It was perhaps a vanity, as a Jedi ideally has no
desire for material goods, but still he enjoyed the collection of
rare, fragile books. His gaze and his hand came to rest upon the
lightsaber, a relic in itself, and disturbed the fine coat of dust on
its pommel. Artoo voiced an inquisitive chirp.
"I haven't used this in nearly two years," he muttered in
response, though almost to himself. It struck Luke, as he grew closer
to the Force, how little he actually called upon its service. As he
recalled his Master Yoda, he thought this was best. While the office
of a Jedi Knight was to defend, the office of a Jedi Master was to
contemplate and teach. Leia had not the patience as yet, but at least
showed a willingness that Mara Jade so completely lacked. She might
berate him for interfering, but the private matters of a
Jedi-in-training were not private in regard to her teacher, nor her
twin brother.
"Stay put, Artoo. I'll be back shortly."
He left the lightsaber behind.
* * *
Leia bolted down the corridor in a flat run, her bare feet
pounding against the cold, metal deck plates, her hair a disheveled
mess, the nightdress billowing crazily in her wake. She had been
asleep, dead to the universe, when a crawling sensation came upon her.
She half-heard a groggy, "Where are we going, daddy?" and
tossed onto her side, passing it off as a dream. Then the apartment
had become much too quiet.
She sat upright with a start, then had searched the empty
rooms of Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. Now she bolted, impervious to the
stares and wolf-whistles of a few drunken citizens. She bolted for
the Millennium Falcon.
"Han!" she screamed at the smuggler as he scrutinized a port
side repulsorlift. Within, the children had already bedded down in
the hold and Chewbacca was starting the pre-flight sequence. "Han,
you can't take them!"
"These are my kids and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you and
Luke turn 'em into something inhuman! You seem to have made up your
mind, sweetheart, and so have I," Han snapped.
"Han, you can't do this to me! Please stop!"
The smuggler turned away from her, eyebrows knitted together.
"I have to go. I have to take care of our children because you won't.
You're just...lost."
"Han, you know that's not true!" she hollered, as if volume
would somehow make him understand what words would not. "It's not
true! I need my family!"
"You've got Luke," he muttered softly and, after a brief
hesitation, gained the landing ramp in two long strides.
"Han!" she screamed as the Millennium Falcon rose into the
air.
It seemed her brother appeared at her side from nowhere and
she collapsed in his arms. She groaned as if an immense weight
pressed down onto her chest and was unable to resist tears. He
stroked her long hair and held her close, willing all that he was to
be some aid, some comfort. And he was.
Luke whispered, "Leia, I never could stand feeling your pain.
If you must go, go now. The training can be continued later."
A moment elapsed as she wept silently in the comfort of her
brother's arms. In the times when her own strength failed, he was her
greatest help.
"Leia," Luke prodded, now assuming the position of Jedi
Master, "you have to choose."
The tears stopped almost immediately and she looked at him
bitterly. "The choice has been made for me, Master Luke."
She gathered her nightdress about her and walked back to the
apartment, absent to any other thought but the emptiness that awaited
her.
* * *
Leia sat in the corner of her apartment, clutching a cup of
hot beverage to her chest, trying with all she was to ward off the
coming half-light of morning. The dreams had become horrifying and
echoed even in her waking moments. Her fear was growing steadily of
the confrontation that someday awaited her, and death. In memory, fog
enveloped her with choking thickness, and again those hands, reaching
for help, or striking to hurt, or groping to steal. Her brother was
killed by one of those hands, thin and pale bearing expensive rings
imbedded with crystal. Hands of nobility. Hands of a princess. Leia
closed her eyes against it and shivered violently. Han had finally
left her. Her children were lost. She was alone. In that aloneness,
she found fear and self-pity, and began contriving excuses to avoid
the continuing lessons of Jedi knowledge as its burden grew. She
imagined the Senate required her presence to deliberate some internal
matter. President Garm Bel Iblis required a meeting of some
administrative nature. Short diplomatic missions had been embarked
upon personally when they could have been shifted to the lower-downs.
And now, running empty of the legitimate variety of alibi, she felt an
illness coming on.
Luke entered without announcement, as she knew he would, and
turned the lights up to their full intensity. Leia squeezed her eyes
tight and clutched the blanket about her, curling into a tiny ball.
"Get up." The order was spoken softly, but carried the full
power of a barked command.
"I'm sick, Luke," she lied. "I can't today..."
"You're making yourself sick," her brother quipped. "I want
you to snap out of this." He moved through the apartment as he spoke,
finding garments to clothe her. "There's no use in you wallowing."
"I-I've failed," she broke off and stifled a pitiful sob.
"And now you're disappointed in me!"
"Actually, I'm irritated." Luke returned and tossed the
clothes at her head. "You gave me your word that Jedi training would
take priority over politics. I gave you your choice to chase after
Han and you refused only to continue with your administrating. I'm
irritated."
Leia sat up, bundling the clothing on her lap, and whispered,
"Luke, I've been having terrible dreams. I've never been so afraid."
At this, the Jedi Master softened and sat beside her. He
smoothed her disheveled hair. "Leia, you've always been strong. Help
me understand why that's changing."
"It's easy to be strong when you're ignorant." She spoke to
her hands, unable to meet his gaze.
"Tell me about your dreams."
Leia shook her head. "I can't. I don't want to remember..."
Luke paused thoughtfully. "Fear kills the mind, princess.
You can't turn away from what you've learned. You can't deny who and
what you are. If you continue to sit here paralyzed, the Dark Side
will consume you."
"Oh, Luke!" She threw her arms around her neck and wept.
"Stop it." He quietly chastised, "Stop this and find your
strength."
"I've lost my husband. I've lost my children. The nightmares
keep coming," she whispered tersely. "How can I possibly find
strength when everything around me is so shattered?"
"Please talk to me."
The sister sighed heavily in his embrace. "I dreamed you were
killed. I dreamed I killed you. I don't think I should continue the
training if it's going to cause you harm."
"There are many possible futures and you saw but one. You
must not let such visions dictate your destiny." His gaze bore into
her soul. "Leia, you have to move forward."
Sudden anger came upon her and she shouted into his face.
"Then teach! How do I stop these dreams, Jedi Master? You're just
full of talk! You never help!"
He answered in a whisper that sought to calm. "The help must
be found within yourself."
Leia's hands rose fiercely to strike at him but he gripped
them tightly and locked his eyes to hers. His sister gasped, staring
at him, then at the ringed fingers that had moved to harm by virtue of
their own will, a will that was suddenly not her own. "Luke, what is
happening to me? I've never been cross with you like this. I've
never wanted to hurt you."
"Just hold on." But Leia continued to tremble.
"Luke," she repeated, "what is happening?"
"We are not alone," he replied, solemn. "Just hold on."
They held one another in twinship, and in silence, until the
passing spirit was gone.
"Somehow, Kayla Storm has influence on the living
Force-sensitive. First it was Mara Jade, now you--and both through
dreams. It seems mild enough."
Leia shook her head. "It's not, Luke. It's really not."
"It's not possession, in any case. Keep on with your
meditations; they'll be a great help." He watched Leia's silent nod
and continued, "I wonder if leaving Coruscant might help. Can you get
away from the Senate for some time?"
"The Senate has called a recess. I have no pressing
engagements."
He kissed her forehead. "Tell me, sister. Where do you feel
most at home? What place gives you the most peace?"
She thought about this now, the echoes of her nightmares
fading into a background. Her trembling ceased, and she began to feel
something like hope warm her spirit. Warm sun and cool air, trees
that towered even to the stars..."The moon of Endor. In many ways, it
reminds me of Alderaan. And the Ewoks were so kind to me."
"And hungry for a certain Wookiee, smuggler, and Jedi-to-be."
Luke grinned softly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." She paused. "I'd like to be close to our father."
The Jedi Master's grin faded. When would she learn the Force
was everywhere? He decided to withhold his correction and tightened
his embrace. They would not be able to simply escape the ghost that
harassed her but, at the very least, they could find a sanctuary to
bolster her energy.
* * *
The stakes were escalating faster than Chewbacca could keep
track. But then, he was no Sabacc player. He watched the holographic
cards shift in an ever more rapid succession. As his ice blue eyes
stared, his keen ears listened to the breathy rumblings of disgruntled
gamblers. Some cursed openly and loudly. Many left the table, and
their money. Soon it was apparent that only two players would remain
to scrutinize the holos and each other from opposite ends of the
glassy black gaming table. One was a dark skinned, bald-headed
cutthroat by the name of Eklon P'har, backed by an ancient assassin
droid, IG-29. The other, of course, was Han Solo, behind whose chair
the Wookiee stood guard, bowcaster cradled almost lovingly. He was
worried though, because his friend was playing with credit that was
not necessarily theirs.
"Half a mill," Solo statedly flatly. The cards shifted and he
scowled at the new, less appealing hand.
Eklon narrowed his eyes into black pinpoints and spoke with
the thick accent of a Nachti. "Raise another half. The pot stands at
one million, four hundred thousand and sixty credits, Solo."
For the first time in the two hours of gaming, Solo cleared
his throat and shifted in his seat. _Not a good sign_ Chewbacca
silently thought. Still, Han remained cocky. "You're just askin' for
trouble, my friend."
The other only smiled with gold teeth and changed the subject
in an effort to distract him from the game. "So what brings a
respectable guy like you to this rathole side of the quadrant? I
thought you were wrapped up in some damned fool idealistic crusade,
instilling a new regime and all."
Solo hesitated, then grumbled, "Left the wife. Raise another
half."
"See it," P'har nodded, then leaned forward. "Solo, are you
insane? Do you realize the goldmine you're forfeiting?"
Han slouched in his chair. "Yeah, well, money isn't everything."
Chewie couldn't believe the words even as they were spoken.
He wuffed a gentle warning which was promptly ignored. Eklon saw his
chance and pounced.
"It is now. I call."
The shifting cards froze and Han glared hard at his abysmal
hand. After an equally abysmal sigh of defeat, he reached into his
left pocket and withdrew a miniature datapad. He punched in a
memorized code, a desired amount, and slid it across the table to his
opponent.
"I have access to her worship's credit line with the New
Republic," Solo bragged. "The pot'll be transferred in a matter of
seconds."
Eklon let a slow, sliding whistle. "Have to admit, I'm
impressed, Solo. You've done well for yourself."
"I've done more than well." Han smirked. It was true. Even
in the service of the Rebel Alliance, he'd lived in a smuggler's
luxury.
"I was a bit worried for you after those botched dealings with
Jabba," P'har rumbled. "You're too talented to be wasted on a
Sarlacc's digestive tract."
"Well, Jabba's history. I am a free man now."
The Nachti scowled at the datapad and retorted, "You're a dead
man." Yet, he didn't move for his weapon.
Solo raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
The cutthroat slid the datapad back to Han. "You've been
denied access, pirate. Seems your princess has taken the necessary
financial precautions in your absence. Very wise."
Han stared at the useless pad. "I can't believe she did this
to me. How are we gonna eat? How are we gonna fuel the Falcon?"
Chewbacca groaned. _Of course you can believe it. Leia's no
fool. I tried to warn you_
Eklon smiled grotesquely. "That's too bad, Solo. Really.
I'll have to take your ship instead."
The pirate frowned and let his hand trail down to the blaster
at his hip. "Over my dead body."
"That's another alternative," P'har acquiesced. IG-29 lifted
a mechanical armful of laser turrets.
That was enough. Chewbacca roared furiously, shaking his
fists, and cuffed his friend across the head.
"Ow!" Han complained, "Hey!"
The Wookiee continued a long rant and, curious, P'har motioned
his droid to retreat.
"What gives, swindler?"
"Uh...Chewbacca's got a point here, P'har. Killin' me ain't
gonna make you any richer."
"I don't know about that. There are still some kingpins
anxious enough to put your head on a platter."
"But they won't be willing to pay the two mill."
"Two million, four hundred thousand, and sixty," P'har corrected.
"Whatever. I _am_ respectable, after all. Maybe we can cut a
deal."
Eklon scoffed. "The only payment I'll accept is straight
credit, your ship, or your head."
Solo folded his arms. "Straight credit then. But it's gonna
take some time. I need to find work and I've got three kids to look
after." As if struck by a sudden stroke of genius, Han dug through
his pockets for a holopad, and activated it for P'har's inspection.
"You wouldn't orphan such a good looking bunch, would ya? The
youngest one there, Anakin, he's got my eyes."
"Oh yeah." Eklon scrutinized the holo. "Cute brats, all
right. Still, I've done a lot of orphaning in my day..."
"Then for the sake of credit. This is the only way you'll see
a scrap."
"For the sake of credit?" P'har echoed, grinning from ear to
ear. And Solo knew he had won.
Still, in this game, it was a matter of giving what was due.
"Come on, Eklon, I've never crossed you. You know I'm not a cheat.
An intelligent guy like you should know by now that I'm a man of my
word." He bit his tongue against a bold 'Trust me' and the
accompanying smirk, looking as painfully subjugated as he could muster
without collapsing in stitches.
After the obligatory pause of tense silence, even though his
mind had only fleetingly rested on an intent to kill, Eklon watched
for the first squirm and finally said, "Then we need to get you
employed, first off. There's a certain someone I'd like you to meet.
And my sweetheart."
* * *
"I thought you might be the one running this circus." Han
smirked, only mildly surprised to be escorted into the company of
Talon Karrde and Mara Jade. "Hello, Karrde."
Eklon stepped enthusiastically to the side of Mara. "Solo,
may I introduce my..."
"Business associate," Jade finished coldly. "We are all well
acquainted, Eklon."
P'har scratched his bald head. "I didn't realize..."
"Please, Captain, have a seat." Karrde offered a much too
comfortable chair and, as Han slipped into it, remained standing. He
began a slow pace and Han winced inwardly--the superiority strut.
"What brings you to my little casino among the stars?"
"Left his wife," P'har blurted and Han shot him a withering look.
Mara raised both eyebrows. "That so?"
"Just takin' a break," he growled an answer. "I owe P'har
quite a lump of money which I don't have." He hastily added, "But I
can get it. I just need work. I was thinkin' maybe..."
Talon cut him off. "Where's Chewbacca?"
"He went back to the Falcon to keep an eye on the protocol
droid and my kids. I told them to blast out of here within the hour
if I don't make it back." The Wookiee, given the lifedebt he'd taken
for Solo, had not liked the proposition one bit. But after haranguing
Chewbacca about the greater importance keeping the children safe, Han
finally extracted a disgruntled woof that basically meant, "Fine, have
it your way". Content with that, Solo took on this meeting alone, for
better or worse.
"I don't think death is at issue here, Captain," said Karrde
as he twirled his goatee, "unless you continue to dig a grave deeper
than you already have. Then P'har and IG-29, in that case, might be
obliged to fill it." Eklon folded his arms too casually and leaned
against his massive assassin droid.
"That's why I intend to pay back every cent as soon as I can,"
vowed Solo. "I was the best smuggler in the business..."
"At one time," replied Mara. "You're over the hill, Solo.
And too clean. We need someone who's not worried about getting their
hands dirty."
"Haven't washed my hands in weeks, sweetheart," cracked Han.
Jade was about to retort when Karrde softly inquired, "How do
you feel about glitterstim?"
"Spice?" Han felt his left eyebrow raise and tried to mute
his reaction. If the law-and-order New Republic ever found out about
the Smuggler's Guild's involvement in the spice trade, Ackbar would be
smashing heads all over the quadrant. "Nasty stuff. I'd never touch
it."
Talon moved to the giant window and watched a myriad of
civilian, New Republic, and even a few brave Imperial craft dart
through and around the spokes of his Starlight Casino. "Do you
realize what a market we have waiting for us? A good thirty percent
of this quadrant uses spice on a regular basis. Just like these poor,
deluded Sabacc players, ready to shell out millions all in the name of
entertainment." He paused and half-turned to Han Solo. "There is a
phenomenal amount of money to be made here. Let me revise the
question, Captain. How do you feel about running glitterstim?"
"Well..." Han leaned forward a bit and smirked. "You are
talking to the man who made the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs."
Eklon snorted. "Bantha Fodder. I made it in ten just last
week. And made delivery safe and sound, not needing to dump cargo at
the first scan of an Imperial Star Destroyer."
"Parsec is a measure of distance, you dimwits," snapped Mara.
"Talon, I really don't think Solo will be able to pass muster..."
"Now wait just a doggone minute!" cut in Solo. "Things were
a lot tougher back in my day. Now you've got all this new-fangled
equipment I only _dreamed_ about! You can always use another good
pilot. Right, Karrde?"
Karrde paused briefly and took stock of his company. All were
renowned in their areas of expertise and Solo's flying abilities were
beyond compare. Having such a legend in his service would be quite
the status booster, so long as certain aspects were not called
attention to. Finally, he sat at the conference table in order to
bring himself down to Solo's level, not just physically. "Right you
are, my friend."
"So, how much am I getting paid?"
Talon raised an eyebrow at Eklon P'har. "To work off a two
and a half million credit debt? I think it'd be safe to say you've
got yourself a lifetime career opportunity, Captain."
Chagrin, Han stretched his hand across the table. "You've got
yourself a deal."
"Under one condition," said Mara, interrupting the handshake.
"This is no place for children, Solo. I want them gone."
He slumped back and folded his arms. "Out of the question.
The kids stay with me."
"And what if you, by some unforseeable stroke of genius, get
blown to spacedust? Are you willing to take them with you?"
Solo grumbled, "It'll never happen."
Mara scoffed. "That's right. I forgot I'm in the presence of
the great Captain Solo, smuggler extraordinaire and galactic
mush-head."
As Han leaned forward to reply, Karrde interjected, "Mara is
right, Han. We have a certain responsibility to our employees but we
simply do not have the resources, nor the desire, to care for your
children here. You would be foolish to bring them along with you."
"Then no deal." Han rose to his feet and met the blastered
arm of IG-29.
"You're not getting away with my winnings, Solo," P'har
stated. "If you go now, I know damn well I'll never get paid."
"What, you wanna go jobhunting with me?"
"Tell your droid to back off," ordered Jade. "Solo, you are
not going to find a better deal than what the Smuggler's Guild is
willing to offer. It's a temporary situation. You can visit the
brats in between jobs and have Eklon paid off before you can blink."
Han blinked. "Yeah?"
Mara placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah."
The ex-pirate sighed heavily and shook the hand of Talon
Karrde. "I'll see what I can do."
Karrde grinned pleasantly. "I'll have a contract ready for
you once the children are off station, then Mara will go over details
with you. Welcome to the Guild, Captain Solo."
* * *
"Jaina please put those back...Jacen come away from
there...Anakin...Oh dear!"
The protocol droid See-Threepio chased after the smuggler's
children for all his servo-drivers were worth, saving them from
disaster after disaster. Captain Solo and Chewbacca were arguing
again, a situation that was growing more and more frequent since their
departure from Coruscant some weeks ago. Threepio only vaguely
listened to the dispute, having his attention completely distracted to
the task of controlling the youngsters. He emitted the equivalent of
a human sigh and wished desperately that Mister Solo would come to his
senses and bring him back to Coruscant and his Mistress Leia. He was
her property, after all, something the man didn't seem to comprehend.
He blithely noticed the entrance of Mara Jade as he clutched the
toddling Anakin out from under the Falcon's hull.
Han nearly shouted, "Listen, Chewie, I don't like it either
but it's not like I have a choice in this!"
The Wookiee growled angrily, gesticulating to no end.
"No. Eklon's gotta be paid or he'll kill us all. Is that
what you want?"
Chewbacca huffed noisily. _What do you think?_
"I think you're blowing this outta perportion. We can't just
blast out of here like the good ol' days, buddy. I need to work with
these people or my hide is toast. They're much better organized than
Jabba ever was. Do you think I wanna get us into a mess like that
again?"
Defeated, Chewie questioned what to do.
"Take the kids to Kashyyyk for a spell, just until I can get
P'har paid off. Then we can get out of here without a price on our
heads."
"Ooooorrwa arrrh ahrrrw," Chewie responded, consenting
grudgingly, and stomped off to collect the brats.
"P'har says he wants to tag along to make sure you don't bow
out on the deal," said Mara as she approached the pirate. "Seems to
me you might need a mediator to make sure you don't kill each other.
Eklon and I have a certain rapport."
Han nodded slowly. "Good point. Besides, with Chewie gone,
I'm gonna need a good co-pilot. That bonehead can't fly for beans.
You game?"
"Absolutely. We'll run you brats off station and come back
for your first assignment. After so many years, Solo, you're bound to
be a bit rusty. I wouldn't wanna see you fall on your face."
"That's good of you, Mara," Han muttered.
A small throb began at the corner of her skull. "We'd better
pick up P'har or we'll catch hell."
"Fine." Solo gestured to the Falcon. "Shall we?"
Jade nodded shortly, brow furrowed, and began to walk with
Solo toward the landing ramp. She raised a hand to her head upon
reaching the ship, moaned, and had to lean heavily against a hydraulic
fitting.
"You all right?" Han asked and steadied her. "Jade?"
Mara squeezed her eyes shut against the urge to swoon. "Yeah.
It's these damned headaches. Just need to rest on the way out and
I'll be fine."
* * *
Unconsciously, her hands lifted to her face to ward off that
which came from within.
A scream, though not her own. "Father!"
The girl ran from the tiny shack on some faraway desert planet
where laserblasts reverberated through the night. Skywalker followed
closely and slashed her down with a quick movement from his
lasersword. A second scream in death was never uttered. There simply
was not a chance. The Jedi smiled as his sister stepped close to his
side, laser rifle in hand. Mara Jade found herself running from the
scene, cursing her own cowardice. The sand beneath her feet shifted
to hard, metal deck plates and echoed much too loudly with every
booted footfall.
"Young fool," hissed Skywalker through the darkness. "Only
now do you see the power of the Dark Side. You will pay the price for
your lack of vision!"
Jade whirled to face the voice, disembodied as it was. She
was unable to discern its location, unable to see clearly in the unlit
chamber, hearing only a deep mechanized respiration.
"Where are you, coward?" she called.
As if in answer, bolts of electrified Force pounded into her
body like fingers seeking to crush her spirit. She immediately
collapsed. The cavernous chamber was illuminated by the attack and
her strained mind recognized Skywalker towering above her with demonic
wrath, and beyond Lord Vader and Emperor Palpatine watched in
implacable silence.
Palpatine. Her hand stretched toward the ancient figure.
"Father," she gasped. "Help me."
Skywalker's visage darkened as he scowled hideously. "Now, my
young friend, you will die."
"Father, please!" she agonized, writhing beneath the
intensifying currents.
In that instant, Lord Vader clutched Skywalker with an iron
grip and hurled him into a gaping chasm, a mere ragdoll in the hands
of the Sith Lord. His lightsaber ignited crimson as he stepped
forward to complete the task of his son.
"No!" To the Emperor's despair, the Force storm resulting
from Skywalker's death engulfed them, destroyed them, annihilated even
the planet itself--Anoth.
Jade awoke with a start to find that she still lived although
her skull sought to rip at its seams. She pressed the heels of her
hands into her eye sockets in an effort to confine the pounding. It
only intensified.
"Why?" she groaned.
_You are but my shadow, Mara Jade_ a soft voice echoed through
her thoughts.
Mara startled so violently that she tumbled from the sleeping
palette, cracking her skull against a stand and lay sprawled in
half-conscious agony. The apparition took on a barely human form in
whispered coils of black smoke and bent before her.
_Palpatine raised you as his own, yet you are so ill-trained
in the ways of Darkness_
Mara pushed herself to a sitting position and collapsed her
head in her hands, swimming in a sudden vertigo.
"I am my own," she croaked. "I always have been."
_Yet you could not resist his commands. In the end you
destroyed the clone of Luke Skywalker. You have failed our Master, my
friend_
"I have no quarrel with Skywalker," she protested. "The
Emperor is dead. There is no need for me to obey him. If I should
chose to kill it will be of my own will, not anyone else's."
The spirit laughed quietly, but without humor. A sharp jab of
pain lanced through her temples, accompanying the disembodied reply .
_Only the most gentle nudge will send you down the correct Path. One
day, you will comply_
Mara groaned dumbly. "Gentle? What?"
She removed her hands from her face to find the Falcon's
sleeping chamber suddenly devoid of visitors. Her right hand brushed
against cool metal and it took some strength to coerce her gaze to
follow it. A weapon rested near her feet. Her breath caught in her
chest as she touched it. The lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker. Mara
Jade sat motionless for what seemed many hours.
II.
Leia was anxious to leave, it seemed, and had spent most of
the day arguing with members of the Senate to authorize her absence.
It shouldn't have mattered since they were not in session anyway, but
there were certain political issues concerning her traipsing off with
the infamous Jedi. She was over an hour late and night was beginning
to fall over Imperial City. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker waited
patiently near the entrance of Docking Bay 14 for his
sister-apprentice, unaffected by any of it. His mind touched briefly
on the issue of the ghostly Kayla Storm, knowing now what she was,
what she was trying to accomplish, but at a loss as to what could be
done. Kayla Storm sought her vengeance through manipulating those
around him. His lips tightened in a grim smile. Manipulation had
always been his old lover's strong suit, and tragic flaw. He thought
perhaps it was a losing battle for Storm, to fight so constantly
against that which was destined, for her soul would be consumed by the
Dark Side in totality. It was, in fact, inevitable. They needed
merely to wait it out until she was diffused into the Force. As it
might be a long wait, he concentrated on bolstering Leia's strength
through meditation. He also wanted to develop in her some control
over the dreaming state, as it became more apparent that was the
medium through which Storm was most likely to appear. Leia's spirit
was greatly wounded by her husband's leaving and he worried a bit over
how that might play out in her training. She was becoming stronger
now that the shock was passing, and more susceptible to anger rather
than despair. He hoped silently that Han would not return until her
training was complete, if at all. Han could bring about a wrath that
might rival even his in the final confrontation with Darth Vader, and
then Kayla Storm. Love and hate were but flip sides of the same coin.
Leia needed patience and control to deal with such matters. Something
she lacked.
"I'm sorry, Luke. They didn't want to let me go but after a
little political arm-twisting, I managed to get an entire standard
month."
Skywalker looked at his sister and the work-droid who hefted
probably a metric ton of luggage. "A month won't be nearly enough
time. What's all this?"
"Personal items. Clothes, data pads, foodstuffs, medical
supplies...you'll never know what we might need. It _is_ a primitive
moon, after all." Leia raised her eyebrows, fully expecting him to
concede.
Luke absolutely did not. "No. One change of clothes, one
medpac, and one blaster. You will need nothing else."
"But..."
Her brother shifted through the items until he found the
required materials, then ordered, "Droid, take these things back to
her highness' chamber and put them away. Thank you."
Leia shifted her gaze from her Jedi Master to the retreating
droid and back again, exasperated. "Luke, I _need_ those things.
What are you doing?"
"A Jedi needs only the Force," Luke told her. "Those things
we require for survival will be provided."
Before she could argue further, he turned abruptly and entered
the docking bay. Leia swore under her breath and followed.
* * *
Endor glowed emerald-like in the stillness of space, finally
at peace after the historic battle that turned the tide of the
Galactic Civil War. The Empire was all but crushed and hid well out
of anybody's reach, not that anybody much cared now. What mattered
was that they were gone, for the most part. And, also for the most
part, peace reigned where terror had so recently flourished. Still,
in synchronous orbit above the forest moon, a dark shadow loomed like
a desperate imprint of the past, demanding its memory be kept alive.
Luke shuddered and was compelled to wake from his dreamless slumber.
His skin felt cold and he stared at the even colder space, the haunts
of his near loss and his father's victory echoing through his mind.
_This is not so much a Dark place_ he reminded himself _but the place
of our father's redemption. We must always remember that_
Beside him, Leia cried out in her sleep, perhaps reliving her
own recollection. He placed her hand in his and woke her.
"Luke, the Emperor..." she gasped.
"It's only a memory," he assured her. "Better ones await us
below."
* * *
"Look there! Look there!" Massagi cried and waved his
black-furred arm toward the heavens.
Two other brash young Ewoks, like himself, dropped everything
and craned their necks to see what was falling.
"A bird!" One called Thuti gasped. "What a tremendous bird!"
"It shines like the sun!" exclaimed Soona. "We must catch it
for Ivaloo's Soul Tree!"
"No no!" shouted Massagi. "It is as the Elders say, the metal
bird brings death! We must kill it and make a feast!"
Yes, indeed. The Elders spoke of a tremendous feast when the
Star of Death was destroyed. The Allians had left quickly, almost
ungratefully, to another war and had missed the days of gorging and
full tummies. For it is always good to eat one's enemy to be sure its
spirit would not harm one, or many.
"Get your spears!" he barked. "Come! Come! Get your spears!"
At once they were full of activity, sharpening the well-used
points and fashioning only the very best feathers for their bone and
leather hunting caps.
"Eee-yi! Yiii!" they shouted and traipsed through the
village. "Get the pot ready! We hunt the metal bird!"
The women busied themselves for the festival.
The band of scouts came quickly to see what had come from the
heavens, armed to the teeth with spears, clubs, and maces. The bird
was indeed tremendous, bigger even than some of the young trees, and
they approached with caution. The Oolo bird burst out with song
overhead, much too loudly. Thuti hushed at it and waved his spear,
fearing the metal bird might be frightened from its resting place.
The metal bird moved not, perhaps exhausted from such a long journey.
That was good. It would be an easy kill and they would eat for many
seasons.
It was not good when the bird opened its beak and regurgitated
perhaps the two ugliest creatures any of them had ever seen. They
were stringy giants with no fur except some sparse stuff upon their
heads, perhaps as tall as three Ewok standing on the others'
shoulders. The hunters screamed out oaths to the wicked Night Spirit
and fell back, holding their weaponry before them to gaurd against the
creatures.
"What are you!" Massagi demanded, immediately regarding
himself as leader.
The taller one with straw hair looked to the other and spoke
under its breath. The other creature shook its head, slowly.
"Quit your whispering! What are you!" he demanded again.
"Perhaps they are deaf?" offered Soona.
"Perhaps they are dumb," replied Thuti.
The short one, perhaps only two and one wokling in height, and
with long hair the color of mud, stepped forward and made noise. It
was liquid like song, but still made no sense. Just noise.
"Can't you speak right!" Massagi hollered. "Speak!"
Meanwhile, brave Soona went to the metal bird and attempted to
run it through. The spear snapped. "This one, we can't eat. The
skin is too tough."
Thuti retorted, "You just have a weak spear."
"No, it is like rock."
"It's no rock, mooka, it's a bird!"
"I'm no mooka. It's a rock with wings. See?" Soona thrust
his broken spear toward a giant wing
"Ahhhh," Thuti realized and bowed low. "My pardon to you,
Soona. You are indeed no mooka. I'll give you my bowl at the
festival tonight."
Soona patted his friend's shoulder. "We share our bowls."
"Thuti! Soona! Enough!" barked Massagi. "We cannot eat the
bird so we will eat what comes from its insides. Chief Warrick will
be pleased."
This seemed to reach the ears of the creatures and the short
one began to make more incomprehensible noise, but the Ewoks
recognized a snatch of it.
"....Wicket?....Chirpa?....Allians....Death Star..."
"They know the stories," gasped Soona.
"Tie them!" Massagi shouted, waving his spear fiercely. "It
is not good. Come!"
The short one shook its head in defeat and made noise to the
other. Massagi coerced his two companions forward with rope and, to
their amazement, the alien creatures surrendered without argument.
The one with yellow hair made noise then and bared its teeth, however
dulled and ugly white. The leader of the group didn't like the look
of the fangs and gave the creature a poke with his spear. The teeth
vanished and they moved on with the captives, unaware that a third
creature, made of the same stuff as the bird, lurked within its maw.
The Ewok village that crested the towering forest was much as
it had been several years before, as nothing changed very rapidly in
backwater worlds like these. The aliens were poked and prodded into
the central courtyard, where a giant black kettle awaited its
ingredients. The hunters were welcomed like heroes and strutted
through the square to show off their catch. The water was ready and
tummies were empty. The short creature began to squirm at first, then
made soft noises like running water. The noises grew louder though
and its face strained and blushed angrily. Thuti poked it and told it
to shut up, but it suddenly stopped short before the kettle and
shouted loudly, clearly incensed, and waved its bound paws in the air.
The taller one only stood and seemed to disapprove. Again, they
recognized the names of Chirpa and Wicket and wondered about it. But
they were also hungry.
A hush came upon the village, stunned by the creature's
outburst. The monotonous pounding of drums soon echoed through the
treetops to announce the entrance of the tribal chief and the captives
turned in the direction of cheering and hollers. A middle-aged Wicket
W. Warrick stepped into the village square, followed closely by his
wife and wokling, and the Council of Elders.
"Wicket!" the short one called. How dare anyone call the
great Chief by his given name?
Upon seeing her, the chief leapt high in the air and jigged to
and fro among his subjects, chittering and chattering his excitement.
"Oh, beautiful! The Allians has come! Oh, beautiful! It is good!
Our lost tribe is home! It is good!"
He rushed upon the aliens and swept his arms about the short
one in a tight hug that nearly sent them both tumbling to the ground,
then barked orders to the scouts that the humans were to be set free
at once, for they were indeed members of the tribe.
One of the Ewoks pinched at the tall one's arm and twittered
disparagingly to Massagi. "What good is this? There is no meat on
him! Do you wish us to starve?"
Thuti agreed heartily, "They are no meal, these two. I'm glad
we did not eat them."
"It is good we have not," muttered Soona quietly.
"Still, our tummies are empty," growled Massagi.
"Then go hunt, mooka!" ordered Warrick. "We must feast! Go hunt!"
The three rushed off and Wicket turned his attention to the
Princess of Alderaan and the Jedi in full. The Jedi, Sky Walk, made
soft noises to his sister and she, Ley'ah, tried to speak correctly,
but could not.
Wicket scratched his ear and muttered to the Council. "She
tries to talk, but what? Where is the Goldenrod?"
"Wicket, do not be so rude." His wife gave him a sharp jab
and stepped forward to be introduced.
He gestured excitedly. "My wife Asiak. My wokling Ivaloo.
We are feasting not only for you but for the planting of my wokling's
Soul Tree, as we have just returned from it. We will share bowls with
one another and you will tell more stories of the Allians long into
the night."
Ley'ah bowed her head and repeated the names honorably.
Wicket spoke again, gesturing to both her and Sky Walk. "What
brings you home, my brethren?"
The two looked at each other hopelessly. They simply did not
know the talk. They made their own noises which the chief could not
remember, so many long seasons had passed. He nodded in polite
mock-understanding and the Elders followed his lead. He asked again,
raising his voice a bit, but received the same non-response. It would
not be good manners to shout, so he licked her paw in friendship and
became quiet.
A tense silence fell upon the entire tribe as they just stood
there smiling, a few of the braver woklings darting in and out and
around the human legs. Ley'ah smiled back. Sky Walk smiled. They
were getting nowhere fast.
After a moment, Wicket clapped his hands together and shouted.
"The hunters will bring us good meat! Let us be happy! It is good!"
The drumming started up again but in a more frenzied rhythm
and the Ewoks ran and tumbled and danced through the village. Ivaloo
leapt into the arms of the Jedi and played with the folds of his black
cloak. Asiak watched him make disgruntled noises to the princess, who
smiled and returned the noise with chiding. The chief's wife was glad
to see her twirl and dance into the throng of fur and spears. It was
good, indeed.
"Go on!" she goaded Sky Walk. "Be happy!"
Sky Walk chuckled as the wokling tickled at him and removed
her from his cloak. He passed Ivaloo off to her mother and quietly
joined the festivities. A banquet was about to be prepared.
It was amazing how little the humans would eat. At first
Asiak thought it rude, but then realized that their tummies must have
grown small from starvation. Poor creatures! She huddled near Sky
Walk and watched him resolutely eat his fill of beautifully tough,
tendony meat, tremendously sweet berries that were the size of her
head, and attempted slow progress through the communication gap. The
meat was called blope, she told and showed him. The berries
blumfruit. He nodded thoughtfully at her repeated shouts and
gesticulating. The milk came from a tree goat and Asiak pointed out
the monkey-like goat creatures that hung further up in the branches.
Another female Ewok pushed him to take on more food, pinching his arms
to indicate he must be almost dead, so thin.
"Gunda! Yes? It is good!" Asiak approved, trying her hand
at their speech.
"Yes, gunda," the Jedi replied and leaned over to whisper to Ley'ah.
Ley'ah had been thoroughly enjoying herself up until that
point. Asiak frowned and folded her arms. It was not good to spoil
another's happiness, even if one was not happy himself. They made
noise about Jedi this and Jedi that until finally Ley'ah brushed him
off and smiled at the curious Ewoks.
"What did they say?" Oomiak, the village shaman, began
questioning over and over about the Jedi. Ley'ah tried to explain,
but her restricted vocabulary fell short and plunged their company
into frustration.
Wicket jumped in immediately to her defense and came up with
his own definition. "The Jedi is he who guards the Tree of Light.
And the Tree of Light keeps the Night Spirit from our woklings when
the sun is gone."
Sky Walk sat forward and gestured to his sister. "My
sister...Jedi...wokling."
The Ewok whispered among themselves.
Asiak giggled to her husband, "Sky Walk talks funny."
"I am the shaman here!" bellowed Oomiak, "Then I am Jedi
also! The Night Spirit doesn't dare fight such a warrior as me!"
Chief Warrick shook his head. "Sit down, Oomiak, before your
old back snaps in half. The Jedi tries to make the talk. Let us hear
him."
They tried to listen to the broken tongue but could not. They
heard only of the importance that Ley'ah learn, and not rest until she
has done so. Finally, Wicket laid a gentle paw on the paw of his
beloved human princess. Oh, beautiful! "You are my brethren, Ley'ah.
My tribe is your tribe, my hut your hut, even my bowl your bowl.
Enough of your noises. Sleep on comfortable mats and go when the sun
comes. The Tree of Light is forever. The Tree of Light can wait."
Ley'ah nodded her thanks and looked at her brother, sighing
relief. Both sides had come to at least a partial understanding.
Morning came far too swiftly after the late night of
carousing, but Luke Skywalker was awake at first light. He peaked in
on his sister and decided against rousing her just yet. A few of the
Ewok were groggily stumbling about the messy courtyard in an effort to
clean up and prepare the communal breakfast. One offered Luke a
sticky-sweet blumfruit which he promptly accepted and offered thanks.
He slipped quietly downward and away from the village through a maze
of bridges, ladders, and ropes. There was a visitation Luke felt
compelled to make.
The funeral pyre was still intact and, amazingly, undisturbed
by the creatures of this place. Luke came upon it almost by instinct,
rather than memory, and stood in silence to feel out the company that
surrounded him. Wildlife were everywhere, some carnivorous, and one
of the young hunters was stalking a blope not far away, somewhat
disturbed by Luke's intrusion. The Force bound them all into one
entity, but of Darth Vader, there was nothing.
"Father," he spoke beneath his breath, "I think of you often.
Know that I love you. Don't let what I am about to say make that seem
any less." The Jedi drew in a deep breath and plunged ahead. "I
could have brought this out at anytime, in any place because you are
one with the Force. Yet my sister was right, the memory of your
presence here is especially strong, for me at least. Father, I feel
you, or rather the Force, led me astray in regard to Kayla Storm.
First, you advised me to take her as my apprentice when I was not
prepared. Then, when I'd nearly killed both her and myself, you
wished me to turn her away from the Dark Side when it was destined to
be a futile attempt. She is dead now, but her spirit is rebellious.
Why did any of it have to happen? Why did you bring me through that
pain?" He paused, listening to nothing. "Father, will you not answer
me?"
Silence answered him. Luke bowed his head lower and felt the
depth of an agony well hidden, an agony of betrayal and death that
followed his portion so intimately.
An arm wrapped about him and his sister whispered, "Luke, I
don't think it was because of our father that those things happened."
He lifted his gaze and waited for his apprentice to speak
further.
"I think..." Leia tried to collect her thoughts, and spoke
delicately in the presence of her brother's pain. "...the Force does
things according to its own design. I wonder...how much of it is good
and evil, and how much of it is just...the Force? We all must change
what we can and simply accept that which is unchangeable. Even with
those who are still alive."
This produced a small, satisfied grin. "You are learning,
sister."
"Wicket says he'll meet us at the shuttle within the hour with
some supplies, and a gift from the shaman Oomiak. He's anxious for us
to be on our way so we can return all the sooner. I spent most of the
night talking with these people. I wish...I wish my children could
have been here."
"I know." He met her gaze and extended his love in silence.
Luke placed her arm across his elbow. "Onward, apprentice."
* * *
A coldness surrounded her. Surely it was just a bad dream,
like all the others she was so prone to in life. Palpatine had used
this as a means to his own end, but she had won. Had she? In killing
Skywalker's clone had she really won? Or did she only put off the
inevitable? Tangling with destiny was a serious thing. Mara traced
the activation stud of the ancient lasersword. If it had all been a
dream, how is it she received this? She watched the bluish beam of
energy materialize and illuminate the sleeping chamber. It
hypnotized. It drew her closer. Beyond, she saw a reflection in
mirrored steel that should have been hers but was strangely
unfamiliar. The hair was black as tar while her own was fiery red,
the face ghastly pale and hollowed, the eyes sunken into tiny emerald
pinpricks. Listless, she moved her stare back to the humming
lightsaber, drawn to it like a moth to a flame. _You are but my
shadow, Mara Jade_ Is that what the voice had said? A shadow of what?
Mara shivered and tried to pull herself out of this bizarre stupor.
Her headache had left but she felt oddly unattached to life, oddly
indifferent to any of it. Transfixed, she moved her free hand closer
to the glowing blade. It emanated no warmth, only light. Her hand
moved closer still until the tip of her index finger touched the light
and crisped. Mara hissed sharply and dropped the lightsaber,
deactivated. The fingernail was blackened char and burning pain shot
up her spine to bring her to what she believed to be her senses.
"Skywalker must have done this," she murmured and sucked hard
on the throbbing wound. _Why?_ she wondered and silently answered
herself, _Because of everything else he's done_ It was not a
satisfying response, but Mara had to turn her thoughts from him lest
she lose her mind.
When Jade finally ventured into the hold, she found the
Millennium Falcon devoid of life. Natural light spilled onto the
flooring from various ports and cast surreal shadows throughout the
ship. A lump stirred somewhere beyond her field of vision; she sensed
it before seeing it, and whirled with deactivated lightsaber clutched
in both hands. Not quite devoid of life. An easy mistake. Eklon
P'har was but a rung lower in the gene pool. What was worse, he had a
certain interest in Mara that was not all business. He was the best
assassin in the Smuggler's Guild since she, of course, had retired
that service. But if it weren't for Talon Karrde, P'har would be
lucky to make it to his next Sabacc game. The man was good at his
job, though unfortunately somewhat lacking in genius. Eklon snored
loudly and shifted in the corner of a padded bench while IG-29 sat
stoically beside him, either deactivated or oblivious to the weapon
Mara possessed. Jade inhaled deeply and slipped the lightsaber into
her jumpsuit, out of sight.
"Please, sir!" shrilled Threepio, "Please don't leave me on a
planetful of flea-bitten mopheads!"
One of the surrounding Wookiees growled dangerously but
Chewbacca held her in check, muttering his own soft explanation of the
talkdroid's temperament. Mara Jade stepped down the landing ramp,
barely noticed.
"The kids are gonna need someone to translate Wookiee." Solo
frowned. "It might be some time before I get back. Chewie's gonna
need your help."
"But, sir, I simply cannot tolerate any more of this
outrageous behavior," the droid complained.
"You wanna see outrageous?" Han threatened half-heartedly.
Goldenrod just wasn't allowed to get in the last word. It was a
given.
"Please take me back to Coruscant, to civilization! I am the
property of Mistress Leia, after all!"
"No." The smuggler glowered until Threepio fell into silence,
then crouched before the three young children. No tears through this
whole ordeal, and not one question. It may be they were trying to be
strong, but in a way, it was frightening. Had Luke twisted them
already? "I love you," he said.
"We know," they responded and enveloped him in tiny hugs. Han
kissed them each and rose to face Chewbacca and his countrymen.
"You'll take good care of them, right?"
Chewie snorted affirmatively and smothered Solo in a crushing
embrace.
"Ow!" Han gasped, "Take it easy..."
His friend retreated and whined plaintively about life debts.
"I know, I know. But like I said before, keeping these kids
safe is more important, and they need someone around that they trust.
You're just gonna have to sit this one out."
Chewie whimpered, softly now.
"I said I'd be back, didn't I?" Solo frowned, his words
sounding false even to his own ears. He scratched Chewbacca's neck.
"Go on and get them settled."
Mara heard the conversation only distantly as she stared at
the Wookiee metropolis. The city was enormous, comprised of wood and
metal intricately woven from the treetops, the trees themselves
serving as the foundation that stretched on as far as the eye could
see. The trees also were enormous and plummeted ever downward into
the fog and nothingness. Yet, somewhere below, there had to be ground
in which the roots of these giants could find nourishment. There just
had to be.
"These trees..." she muttered. "It's like I've seen them
before. But not here...not this planet..."
Solo didn't hear her, staring after his children as they
climbed into a far off transport, to be taken to a far off place.
"Here I am trying to do right by my kids..."
"Endor..." Mara whispered, feeling as if she were dreaming
again. "But...I've never been there."
"...and here I am shuffling them off to a bunch of scraggly
fuzzballs." Han passed a hand across his face and turned his
attention to Mara for the first time. Crys, was she pale! Last thing
he needed was the Falcon to be quarantined indefinitely. "So, you
back from the dead or what?"
Mara shook her head slowly, "I'm not sure. Something..."
"Something," Han echoed. "Great. All I need right now is
another _something_. C'mon, sweetheart, let's get this show in lane."
* * *
The Starlight Casino drifted weightlessly in space, its
immense size not needing a planet's gravity to keep it relatively put.
It was located nowhere. That's just what Karrde, and the bulk of his
clientele liked about it. He strode quietly through the rows of
canvas bags and paused occasionally to check the contents. The
supplier, a green-skinned Rodian with large eyes of unreadable black,
followed him closely.
"The spice is the finest quality I've had yet to find."
"I'll be the judge of that," replied Karrde, quickly silencing
any conversation. He stopped before one of the bags and pulled on his
gloves. Quite carefully, he dipped one hand into the spice while
covering his mouth and nose with the other. He scrutinized the
texture and the crimson properties of the glitterstim. It sparkled
subtly. "Yes, this is finer than the Kessel Spice we've received
thusfar. Where did you get it?"
"It is not in my interest to divulge such information."
Karrde scowled and brushed his gloves off compulsively.
"You're trying to carry a monopoly on this? Do you really think the
Guild has an ounce of patience for such tactics?"
The Rodian folded his arms casually. "Your only alternative
is to traffic substandard spice."
"There is another alternative," replied Talon, eyes narrowing.
"I could bring the New Republic into this and force your house to its
knees."
"Then all spice traffic will fail. You cannot afford that.
Nor can you afford an investigation into your organization."
Karrde considered. "All right, Merk. I'll play along for the
time being. House Cedes will receive shipment within the standard
week and you'll receive payment shortly after. Let me warn you. If
this domination over the market continues, I may have to become less
lenient in my dealings with the Rodians."
"That will only be your loss. Who is smuggling the spice into
the Cedes' quadrant? I wish to give specific instructions in regard
to its handling."
"No one you know. All of my employees are well versed in the
proper management of spice transport." Karrde fiddled with his
goatee. Han Solo's name brought with it a certain liability. Ever
since the death of the bounty hunter Greedo, the Rodians had been
pretty anxious to hunt him down. But Solo was unhuntable, only the
late Boba Fett with the assistance of an overzealous Dark Lord was
able...
"Well?" Merk tapped his feet impatiently. "Who is it?"
"Eklon P'har." It wasn't a complete lie, was it? Talon slid
into that mode easily. "P'har has shown interest in broadening his
horizons a bit. Mara Jade is accompanying him. Your shipment will
reach House Cedes undisturbed."
Satisfied, Merk voiceprinted the contract held out to him and
took his leave. And not a moment too soon. Within moments of the
Rodian's departure, the Millennium Falcon arched toward the space
station.
"Hurry up," Solo barked at IG-29. "We've got a deadline to
make, scrap."
Eklon P'har lifted both eyebrows. "Scrap? Need I remind you
IG-29 is the finest killdroid in the galaxy?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Han waved him off. "I've heard it all
before, Eklon."
P'har grumbled as he hefted a bag of glitterstim over his left
shoulder, "Seems to me _you_ should be the one breaking your back over
this stuff. You are the loser, if I remember."
"Well, ya know, memory's kind of a funny thing. Maybe you're
the one that owes money, huh?"
"I don't see you putting much sweat into this deal, Solo.
That ain't right."
Han straightened proudly and placed a hand on his chest. "Me?
I'm doing plenty. I'm orchestrating. The port cargo hold will do
just fine, pal."
The cutthroat noted Talon Karrde's watchful gaze and leaned
toward Solo to speak low. "One day, Solo..."
"Don't give me that. I know deep down, you really like me."
Chagrin, P'har left the threat unfinished and followed his
droid into the Millennium Falcon. Karrde immediately approached.
"You'd better watch yourself with him, Captain," he warned.
Han smirked and sat on the landing ramp. "I'm not worried
about Eklon. He's got about the intelligence of a Gundark in heat."
Karrde continued, grave. "P'har may not be bright, but he is
dangerous. I'm not quite sure how much control I have over him."
"Not my fault, not my problem. Got a contract for me?"
"Yes." Talon handed over a datapad and watched Han scan the
contents. "Once you've paid off your debt, renewal of your position
is voluntary. The Smuggler's Guild could really use someone with your
renowned talent."
"Aren't you worried about word getting out? There are a lot
of people who might not take kindly to me being a part of your
organization. Could be bad for business."
"Depends on how estranged you are from the New Republic,"
Karrde shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with being a nominal citizen.
Fighting for a bunch of politicians, on the other hand..."
"I'm not fighting for any politicians," Han quickly put in.
"Just so long as the Empire stays put in its place."
"Well then?" Karrde gestured to the datapad.
"Everything seems in order," Han muttered, then pressed a button.
"Voiceprint requested," intoned the computer.
"Han Solo."
"Contract certified."
Karrde accepted the pad with a wry grin. "The contract is now
binding, Captain."
"One thing." Solo kicked his heels across the ramp. "I don't
want Mara Jade coming along. Something's wrong with her and the last
thing I need is to be quarantined."
"You won't be quarantined if you do your job right."
"Even the finest can be caught," he replied soberly. Ten
years ago, Han would never have stated such a blasphemy. But maturity
and experience brought with them some painful truths. "If I am, the
spice can always be dumped. But I don't wanna risk quarantine because
of some nauseated dame."
"Why, Solo, keep this up and I might get the idea you actually
give a damn." Both men raised their eyes to watch Mara Jade as she
closed the gap between her and the Millennium Falcon. She looked
refreshed, full of life even, and grinned broadly. "Now do I look
like some 'nauseated dame' to you?"
"But just a few minutes ago..."
"I'm fine. Shall we?"
Han's brow furrowed. "Something's screwy here. Just a few
minutes ago this dame was pale as a ghost, flat on her back, and
mumbling like some kind of psychopath. Karrde, I do not want her
coming along."
"If I don't come along, you and P'har are liable to rip each
other to shreds, and that's not going to get the spice delivered, is
it?"
"Agreed," stated Talon. Karrde pointed a finger in his face
as Solo rose to his feet. "Now you listen. Under no circumstances
are you to dump the spice. Not _this_ spice. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear," Solo grumbled. "Must be worth quite a lot..."
"Due to the quality and the amount that is being shipped to
House Cedes, let's just say you will have your debt paid in full if
you succeed. If you don't, you'll be with me for the rest of your
life."
Han whistled softly. Spice trade was disgusting, but
lucrative. Very lucrative. The sooner he could pay off P'har, the
sooner he could be with his kids, the sooner he could let himself
think about Leia. Until then, there was work to be done.
"All loaded up, Solo!" P'har called from the hold.
"Start preflight!" he called back and shook hands with Karrde.
"I'll be back with the credit transfer within the week."
"Good luck, Captain," nodded Karrde. He watched the veteran
gain the landing ramp and turned to Jade. "Mara, you take care.
You're a valuable ally and I'd hate to lose you."
"I'm touched by your concern, Talon." She kissed him lightly.
"Good-bye."
"Uh...good-bye." He stared, shocked, as she left in a
slightly teasing gait, and had to remind himself to step a safe
distance away as the Falcon ignited its hot repulsorlifts. Jade was
tough as nails, not some flirt. Something was wrong. Maybe she
really was ill. She was definitely not herself, in any case.
The cargo ship lifted majestically into the air for but a
moment, then bolted for space.
"Why did you leave her?" Jade asked out of the blue.
Han blinked hard. Not much took him by surprise these days
but Mara was quite the exception. With all these constant mood
swings, it was difficult to anticipate much of anything from her.
"Wha...? That's none of your business."
"It's all my business, Han," she answered smoothly.
"Something's troubling you and that may interfere with your job
performance."
"I don't mix business with personal matters," grumbled Solo.
"Since when did you start on this first name basis anyhow?"
"Does it bother you?"
"No, it doesn't bother me. Just a little surprised at you
being so...nice."
Mara smiled softly at this. "You're more than my business
associate, Han." She rested a hand on his knee. "You are my friend."
Solo glanced at her hand, then at her eyes. They were the
deepest green he had ever gazed upon. He didn't remember them being
so green, although he also didn't remember taking much notice. Now he
did and hated himself for it.
"Was it because of Skywalker?" she ventured and hit way too
close to the mark.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply, glancing back to make sure
Eklon and his tin man weren't eavesdropping near the cockpit entry.
"Yeah. He wanted to make her and the kids Jedi. She decided that
took precedence over her family and I decided keeping my children sane
took precedence over her."
"You've done the right thing."
"I'm not so sure," Han replied and wondered why the hell he
was being so open with her, and why the hell it felt so comfortable.
But it was. The hand resting on his knee was warm. He watched the
mottled vista of hyperspace. "It's just...I can't...Luke's just
changed so much. You should have known him ten years ago."
"I did," she whispered, but Han didn't hear.
"I just can't stand the thought of her _changing_ like
that..." A knot tightened in his throat and he was forced to stop,
angry at it.
"These spicers," Mara said with disdain. "They think it's so
grand to indulge in this addiction. To see as they think a Jedi must
see. But for them the spice wears off. For me, the Force has brought
me nothing but pain. It's not something I can simply leave behind. I
wish I'd never discovered it. I wish he'd never taught me."
"I know what ya mean," Han murmured. Then he stopped short.
"He...taught you? When?"
She spoke distantly. "We had an affair. For a time, I
carried his child. Then the child died because he refused it." Her
face paled, as if she struggled with some dark emotion that plagued
her. "It happened while we were on Myrkyr."
"What?!" He raised a hand to his forehead and shook his head
in disbelief. "Oh for Crys-sake, Luke. No wonder you'd given him
some death mark."
"It seems like forever since it happened. It seems like it's
still happening."
"Mara, I'm sorry I misjudged you. I always thought you were a
little bit nuts for hating him like you do, but you have good reason."
She moved from her seat to kneel beside the pilot's chair.
"And you? Have you come to hate Luke Skywalker as well?"
Han rubbed his head to confine a headache that was starting to
split from the temples. "Luke and I just don't see eye to eye on some
things. I don't think you can call that hate."
"He stole your wife," Mara whispered. "In the end, it was he
that won the girl."
"I can't talk about this, Mara," he grumbled, throat tight.
"If I can't get her off my mind, I'm not gonna be able to fulfill my
contract. If I turn into some basket-case, that's not gonna get this
spice delivered. P'har'll kill me, or some damned Imperial remnant,
or some law-and-order Ackbar crony..."
Mara touched his rough cheek. "I'll get her off your mind."
"No, don't..."
She kissed him lingeringly and the smuggler was, for once,
silenced. "Think about that for a change, pirate." Jade touched his
lips with a finger and left the cockpit.
Han squeezed his eyes shut and smashed his head back against
the seat. "Leia," he breathed. "Leia, I'm sorry..."
Beyond the cockpit entry, Jade turned pallid and cupped her
mouth as if she might vomit.
"Mara?" Eklon rushed to her side. "What did he do?"
She pushed him away and ran.
In the lavatory on board the Millennium Falcon, Mara Jade
hunkered over the washbasin and splashed frigid, recycled water over
her face. She propped her elbows on the basin's edge and stared at
the reflection in a mirror.
"The hell was all that?" she whispered. "What's wrong with
me? What...?"
_Skywalker_ She listened to the nearly audible thought and was
stunned by the sense that it made. Skywalker was an enemy. Skywalker
carried her death mark even when they were at peace. It was because
of him that Emperor Palpatine, the man who had raised her like his own
daughter, was dead. It was because of him that Talon Karrde's
organization on Myrkyr was discovered and destroyed. It was because
of him that Coruscant, the Smuggler's Guild's only link to
respectability, was nearly destroyed. It was because of him, then,
that all of this was happening to her. What of this spirit? What of
its lies? Somehow it had relation to Luke Skywalker and therefore he
was responsible for this, her nightmares, her headaches, her loss of
self-mastery. He, at the very least, knew what was transpiring and
raised not a hand in help. It was so typical of Skywalker, to
withhold knowledge. The reflection shifted, ghost-like, to one she
had seen before--gray, dark, skeletal...vampiric. It laughed at her
goadingly.
_You cannot fight this, Mara. We are too alike_
Mara caught her breath and plunged her head into the basin
entirely. Instantly she sprung out of the near freezing liquid,
drenched and gasping for air that burned her lungs. She glared hard
at the mirror and found her own image glaring back.
"Bitch!" she hissed. It was time to act while she still had
her wits about her. It was time to find the hypocritical Jedi Master.
"What did you do to her?!" P'har demanded.
"I didn't do anything to her!" bellowed Han.
"Don't you _ever_ touch her! Mara is mine!"
"Oh, is that why she hasn't said more than two words to you?"
"Solo, you leave her alone or I'll take your worthless head
off!"
"You'll take my _worthless_ head off? Moron!" Han stalked
from the cockpit, closely followed by the dark-skinned assassin.
"You're not gonna get paid _that_ way, buddy."
"Having your head is worth the price!"
"Oh, yeah?" Solo bumped into IG-29 and glared at it. "Outta
my way, scrap."
As he turned to further the argument, Eklon P'har curled a
fist and hooked it across Solo's jaw. Han tumbled to the ground and
found his assailant was all over him, his large hands finding his
throat with deft skill, and strength.
"P'har," he choked, "we can cut a deal..."
But Eklon had reached his limit. The hands tightened and Solo
felt bones crack before his breath could even be stopped. There was a
faint hum before the assassin collapsed in a stinking, burning heap on
top of him, dispatched by the blue-glowing lightsaber of Mara Jade.
IG-29 took aim and almost finished what P'har had begun. Han shoved
the body into the first bolt and rolled aside. Mara parried and
deflected the laserblasts with an agility that rivaled that of Luke
Skywalker. She moved in and severed IG-29 through its middle with a
quick slice. It belched black smoke and crashed downward, scrap.
"Where did you get that?" Han gasped and stared as she
approached him, only managing to prop himself on one elbow.
"From a friend." She pointed the blade at his throat.
"Mara..."
"Solo, I want you to dump the spice and set course for the
Endor moon."
"I can't dump the spice, I signed a contract." Han gestured
hopelessly. "Why do you gotta do this to me? Every spicer in the
galaxy is gonna be after me not to mention the entire Smuggler's
Guild..."
"Solo." She moved the blade closer so Han dared not to move.
"The debt is finished. Dump the spice and set course if you ever want
to see you wife again."
The pirate swallowed audibly and nodded only once.
* * *
Native creatures stirred restlessly as they settled in for the
evening slumber. The planet Endor was just beginning to rise as its
yellow sun dipped to the opposite horizon. Leia Organa Solo scanned
the treetops with a pair of electrobinoculars and saw nothing but
deceptive tranquility. These woods were dangerous, as they'd already
found out in confrontations with certain predators. She dropped down
to her brother's side as he bandaged a gash on his right forearm. The
bearlike creature smoldered nearby, run through with his lasersword, a
heap of claws and teeth and hair. It would be food enough to last
them a week, in any case. Leia kicked a rock into the campfire and
crouched next to her brother.
"I couldn't see any others in the trees. I can't believe they
just drop out of the branches like that."
"Very resourceful," Luke muttered, and pulled on his torn shirt.
"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.
Luke waved it off. "Fine. You really didn't need to scramble
up there. I can sense the creatures for miles around."
"Then why...?"
"I wanted to see if you could as well. And if a future Jedi
Knight would come to the defense of her teacher."
Leia lowered her gaze. "These tests of yours may get us
killed, ya know."
Her brother smiled wanly. "It may be the only way I can get
you to learn, ya know." Leia looked at him, almost hurt, but caught
the smile. "I'm kidding. You're doing better than I ever could have
hoped. Endor's moon really seems to agree with you. Perhaps this is
where I should set up an Acedemy, if the Ewoks wouldn't mind."
"Really?"
Luke shrugged. "Maybe in a few years. We'll have to see." A
cinder jumped out of the fire and he kicked it back in with a black
boot, becoming subdued. "Leia, have you sensed anything out of the
ordinary in your meditations? Have you been troubled by the spirit of
Kayla Storm?"
"No. The dreams have stopped completely ever since we left
Coruscant." Leia frowned. "I'm not very good at sensing anything
beyond you presence, Luke. Why? What have you seen?"
"Something that is not my destiny, but yours."
"If it's mine, why haven't I been able to see it?"
"I think that perhaps being a good brother and a good Jedi
Master don't necessarily coincide. I've tried to shield you from it
until I thought you were prepared," he admitted. "And now that you
are, I still don't want you to discover it. You of all people know
how far I am from perfect. I'm sorry I interfered."
"What is it, Luke?" Her eyebrows knotted together.
The Jedi Master sat back, his very sense pulling away from her
as well. Something undefinable was suddenly not right. Leia reached
out to him impulsively but he rose to his feet. "I want you to think
of Han. I want you to feel the anger, for you have every right to it.
Then I want you to move past it and discern what is truly at work.
This may be one of your greatest tasks, and one you must perform
alone."
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be back by dawn," he assured her, gathering some food, a
few belongings, but left his lightsaber. "In the meantime, I fully
expect you to meditate."
Leia stood, brushing dead leaves from her clothing. "Luke,
there are all sorts of predators out there. If you think you can
waltz around without getting another scratch, fine. But I don't
exactly feel safe."
"Trust in the Force and don't worry." He gazed into her eyes.
_It's better for you to learn on your own now. I wish I could keep
you safe but you need to find safety for yourself_ She nodded her
understanding and he kissed her cheek, then left her with her own
thoughts.
Leia settled in close to the fire and stoked its embers with a
long stick.
"Han," she muttered. "Why would I want to torture myself
thinking of you?" After a moment, she stopped fidgeting and whispered
tightly, "Because I love you." She bowed her forehead to her knees
and wept. He was so far away, it seemed, and her children even
farther. She extended her presence to them through the Force as Luke
had taught her and touched upon each child in turn. They were on
Kashyyyk, the homeworld of Chewbacca, safe and sound, happy even.
They felt her presence enter their dreams and clung to it with all
their tiny might. Their might was strong enough to hold the most
powerful mystic. Leia smiled through her tears. "I love you."
_We know_ was the obvious reply. They let her go gently and
returned to childish fantasy.
She sighed deeply and shifted her sense to a less tranquil
scene. "You're in debt again," she whispered. "You're...you're
smuggling...." Leia lifted her head and glared at the fire. "You're
smuggling spice?!" Her teeth clenched and she angrily threw a stick
into the flames. "And with Mara. Mara...." Her jaw dropped open as
she envisioned an affair. "How dare you? How _dare_ you?! Stang!"
She jumped to her feet and began to pace furiously, shouting at the
trees, shaking her fists, pulling her hair. "How can you do this to
me? Han! I should have known! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"
The Jedi Master made his way through a tangle of fallen trees
and paused to listen to his sister's anger. He could not have kept it
at bay any longer. The anger was hers and she would have to find a
way to deal with it. He hoped she would succeed in that. He hoped
she would do it quickly before Kayla Storm made an appearance. Maybe
he had better return and offer some calm, he thought. Luke shook his
head slowly. That destiny was not his own. He clutched a small
leather pouch that hung around his neck and slowly, evenly, made his
way to his destination. The Tree of Light.
The shaman Oomiak had entrusted him with that pouch as they
embarked on their journey. He said that since Sky Walk and Ley'ah
were both lost members of the tribe, they ought to be guarded by a
Soul Tree just as every other Ewok was. In fact, it was imperative
for their very salvation. Without a Soul Tree, the Tree of Light
would be unable to protect one from the ravages of the Night Spirit,
and the shaman presumed the two Jedi had been ravaged relentlessly
from the start. If only Oomiak knew how right he had been. There was
no use arguing over ideology. The shaman was insistent and extracted
Luke's promise to plant the seeds as soon as he had a chance. In his
travels across the galaxy, Luke had come across many strange,
wonderful, even frightening creatures who all worshipped the Force in
one way or another, both Light and Dark. Perhaps it didn't really
matter in what form the worship took place, whether through sacrifice,
or meditation, or simple acknowledgment, just so long as these people
were aware. Neither did it matter what form the Force took, whether
as god, or demon, or Tree of Light. It was everywhere, feeding life,
and consuming all. Since Leia had her own puzzles to contemplate, the
Jedi Master thought this might be an interesting, if not enlightening,
pilgrimage.
The Tree towered above all the others and seemed infested with
glowing bugs that swirled about its branches. The bugs hummed softly
and as Luke craned his neck to catch a better glimpse, he found them
to be not insects at all, but tiny humanoids with fluttering
translucent wings. He remembered a few stories about these creatures
when they came here for the first time, but hadn't cared since so much
else had been in his thoughts. Now he was at peace, as were these
Firefolk. They buzzed around him in their own native, gleeful
chatter, perhaps sensing that the Force was with him, and that it was
the part of the Force which was good.
"Hello," he greeted. Luke removed the pouch from his neck and
poured two large seeds into his palm. "I was told to plant these for
my sister and I."
The buzzing heightened in excitement and the Firefolk grew
bolder in their flight, tugging at his sleeves and his tunic to show
the way. Luke allowed the fairy creatures to take him along, hundreds
of them now clinging to him and batting their wings for all they were
worth. His feet left the ground, but only briefly. _What I wouldn't
give for a flyswatter_ he thought mundanely and smiled. But these
creatures were highly sentient, and drawn to anything that was close
to the Light. He noticed, as he was swept along, that rows of trees
circled the Tree of Light. The oldest were close to that center while
far back were the youngest saplings. The Firefolk took turns pushing
him along as passed among the Soul Trees, sprinkling one after another
with glittering pixie dust that seemed to nourish, even bolster the
presence that was inexorably linked to that particular tree. They
brought him to the tiniest sapling and gestured wildly at the rich
soil beside it.
"I know, I know," Luke told them and scooped two small holes
of equal distance apart. "There once was I time when I had a plant,
you know."
They seemed to question this as he dropped the seeds into
place and his smiled broadened. "No, I forgot to take in from the
suns one day. That was the end of that."
The Firefolk twittered joyously and Luke was reminded of
Artoo-Detoo. "Well, I trust you'll take good care of them for me,
even when I'm long gone." He packed them in soil and rose to his feet
and the Firefolk converged on his work. "Oh, come on. You stick a
seed in dirt and it grows. Isn't that how it works?"
But they weren't digging it up, they were coating the place
with their nourishing, sparkling dust. Luke felt a tingle on his
right forearm and felt through the tear in his tunic for the recent
wound. The bandage had been torn away. There was no blood, not even
a scab, and the skin was new. He look at his left palm which had been
gashed wide open and scarred, healed by Kayla Storm just before her
death. The scar had vanished. His hand touched his face where he
carried scars from the Wampa ice creature's attack so many years ago
on Hoth. Now it was unmarred. He felt stronger than he ever had
been, not only in body but in spirit. Only his prosthetic hand
remained as it was, as if a cool reminder of what he might have
become. The Firefolk buzzed crazily around it, infuriated and
perplexed. Luke turned his gaze to where he had placed the seeds.
They had grown already by several inches, the one closer to him
slightly taller than the other. He crouched before it and touched the
leaves of his Soul Tree.
"Thank you," he whispered, and looked about to see the
Firefolk had fled back to the Tree of Light for protection. It had
become quite dark, although morning had to be drawing near. Somber
clouds rolled overhead.
"Father," someone whispered audibly into his ear, "my mother
comes."
Luke glanced quickly over his shoulder and caught the ethereal
afterimage of Chala as she disappeared. He felt a chill, but did not
recoil from it.
"So she does," he replied simply, and with deliberate quiet
made his way back into the dense wood.
III.
A gentle rain had begun to fall and Leia grumbled expletives,
rummaging through a storage compartment for parts of a makeshift
shelter. This wasn't a very _royal_ thing to be doing, finding cover
while swearing at the rain. It splashed mud on her clothing and made
her long hair flap wetly against her face every time she stooped. Two
more of the long-clawed tree-creatures had flung themselves from the
branches in attack. Leia evaded them swiftly and dispatched each with
her hand blaster. Now they smoldered near the corpse of their
counterpart felled earlier. As she left the speederbikes with her
loot, Artoo twittered, mentioning that perhaps this was not the
peaceful place they'd once thought.
"The Ewoks warned us, Artoo," agreed Leia. "We should have
stayed at the village, but Luke wouldn't hear of it. Where is he
anyway? It's almost dawn."
The astromech offered to begin a search.
"Not until first light," she answered. "I sense he's fine. I
just don't like being left here."
Neither did Artoo.
The slow work of putting together the shelter was finally
finished and Leia crawled inside, drenched and cold, angry. Han. The
very mention of his name made her clench her teeth every time.
Smuggling. And with Mara Jade. Beyond that, Luke had kept it all
from her, albeit with good intentions. She'd quit her ranting once
she realized the noise only attracted predators, and now simply fumed,
trying to cap the boiling of her blood. How? Why? It was useless.
Leia curled on the floor of the shelter and felt the squishy mud
beneath the plastic. They would have to move to higher ground if the
storm didn't let up.
"Another test, brother?" She grumbled and rolled onto her
back, uncomfortable and too cold to sleep. I want you to feel the
anger, he had said. Then I want you to move past it and discern what
is truly at work. This may be one of your greatest tasks, and one you
must perform alone. "Yes," Leia whispered and closed her eyes,
shutting out the cold, the rain, the disgruntled sighs of the R2 unit
outside, shutting out all but the Force, and thoughts of her estranged
husband.
All in all, Han Solo was not a complex man, even narrow-minded
at times. A sharp jab of anger nearly shook her concentration as she
probed his sense, even from many light years away. That damned
Smuggler's Guild, she swore in silence. Peddling weaponry to
underground forces with Imperial ties; peddling spice to wealthy
addicts who might otherwise throw their gauntlet in the favor of the
New Republic. Leia inhaled deeply and pressed further, stretching out
through the Force with gentle tendrils of power. There was a deep
concern for that woman Jade. It wasn't unlike Han to show compassion
to beautiful women in distress, so long as they weren't of sovereign
breeding. Aristocracy had always been a thorn in her husband's side
and Jade was certainly no princess. Leia steeled her defense and
locked her seething rage up tight, refusing to let it control her yet
not sure how to be rid of it. Jade. She had told him so many...lies.
Surely they were lies. Luke would never have done such a thing. Luke
had no children, illegitimate or otherwise; he would have surely told
her. And certainly they were not spawned from Mara Jade. Leia caught
herself. Not Mara but...what exactly had occurred between him and
Kayla Storm? Even after all of the questioning, the exact nature of
their relationship was ambiguous. Her own nightmares had left with
their flight from Coruscant. Had Mara Jade experienced a similar
horror? Had Kayla Storm found some way to touch her as she had
touched Leia? Leia bolted upright, eyes wide as saucers. Something
was wrong. Something terrible.
She scrambled out of the tent and scanned the sky. The
downpour nearly blinded her. It was impossible to see even the tops
of the trees.
"Artoo, give me some radar."
The astromech warbled compliance and a revolving dish emerged
from his blue dome, scanning. After half a moment, he blatted loudly.
"What is it?" Leia asked as she knelt beside him. The droid
whistled a series of bleeps. "The Falcon?" The Jedi apprentice rose
to her feet and scanned the heavens, unable to see any sign, but quite
able to feel. "Han!"
* * *
The dappled expanse of hyperspace flooded past the converted
cargo ship, but Han Solo no longer dwelled on such ethereal beauty.
He barely noticed it in passing, then ducked down into the port
payload compartment, declining to notice also the snag that had torn a
small hole in his workgloves. Smuggling spice had always been a nasty
business and he was glad to be done with it sooner than later. Yet
the business was sure to get nastier when Karrde caught wind of Eklon
P'har's murder. Neither house, the delivering Rodians nor the
consuming Cedes, were bound to be pleased when this very expensive
commodity was scattered along the hyperspace lane. Han scowled.
Great. Another death mark. If he had any sense he'd get rid of Mara
Jade and go through with the delivery, take the credit and run. If
only Chewbacca were around.
Grumbling a few choice words under his breath, he continued
with the work of packing full canvas bags into an ejection capsule
when the smell of potent spice stung at his nostrils.
"Oh no..." he muttered and peered through the dimness at the
bag clutched in his hands. How he'd torn it, he didn't know, but
nearly half the glitterstim had poured down onto his boots, coating
them crimson. Then he finally took heed of the throbbing in the
fleshy part of his palm beneath his right thumb. His hand was red, a
mingling of blood and spice. How the hell...? Han suddenly felt
faint. "Oh blast it."
The smuggler wobbled over to a wall and slumped into a sitting
position, watching the cargo hold spin to and fro. Nasty business,
smuggling spice. You really gotta be careful. Wasn't he always
careful? It's just a really nasty...
_Han, you can't do this to me! Please stop!_
Solo startled physically until he realized it was only memory.
Leia chasing him to the Millennium Falcon in a nightdress; what a
sight.
_I need my family! I love you!_
And that was the reason he didn't kill Mara Jade straight out,
wasn't it? She was taking him to Leia, and Leia needed him...he
hoped. And it wasn't exactly Mara's fault. She was sick. Something
was wrong with the dame.
_You are but my shadow, Mara Jade_
The smuggler bolted upright. Why was it so dark? What were
these voices?
"Damnit, Mara," Solo growled. He groped along the walls for
the hatch, and hopefully not the one that lead outside into a vacuum.
The gentle pinging of a reentry alert shifted to a longer, higher
frequency of alarm. Han scrambled into the cockpit to find Jade
sleeping at the controls, the immense shadow of Endor's moon looming
directly in their path. "Damnit, Mara!", he shouted, and pushed her
out of the pilot's chair. He felt her dagger-eyes stab into his back,
but her sense twisted immediately to dumb fear when she realized their
position. Sense? The hell does that mean? He grappled the controls.
_Travelling through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy!_
Amazing how good his memory was because of this stuff. But he
had to think in the now, not in ancient history. Han blinked hard as
the stars snapped into focus and the Falcon dove toward the emerald
satellite.
"We're coming in too fast!" Mara nearly screamed, but she was
too tough a dame to scream. Damn it. Solo gritted his teeth against
the intense g-force.
"Strap in!" he barked. "Helluva time to take a nap, Jade!
All power to the shields! We're goin' down!"
The Falcon plummeted through the atmosphere like a flaming
meteor.
"Damnit!" shouted Han. "We've got a fire! We've got...!"
* * *
Leia bent down over the steering rods of the speederbike,
dodging trees as before, squinting against the wind and rain that hit
her. It caused her slow down to nearly a kilometer a minute, but she
would still reach her destination in time. The rain hurt, but she
concentrated on that which she decided must have been her destiny. To
save her husband, to confront Mara Jade.
She approached a burned out clearing and eased the throttle
down to a snail's pace. A giant crater had been made from the crash
and perhaps 200 feet below, a metallic wreckage smoldered in the
downpour. Speederbikes weren't made for such a decline, but Leia
adjusted the repulsors and dove into the steaming cavity. She
dismounted the bike upon reaching its base, and felt the heat of the
ground seep through the soles of her boots.
"Han?" Of course there was no answer. How could anyone have
survived? She stepped closer the wreck and touched the landing ramp.
Her fingers crisped and she pulled away with a sharp outcry. Nearly
molten. She wouldn't attempt going aboard with the metal nearly
glowing hot. No, there couldn't have possibly been any survivors.
But she had seen it coming. Something caught in her throat and she
fought back an urge to scream. Was any of this worth it, Luke? If
she'd only been content with politicking, or simply joyriding with her
husband the pirate, would any of this have happened?
The Millennium Falcon belched and groaned as if she
experienced her own death pangs. Despite the intense heat, Leia
shuddered and unsteadily backed away, clutching Luke's deactivated
lightsaber that was still hooked to her belt. He'd left it behind for
her. Surely he'd known something Dark awaited her. Surely he could
have better prepared her for this.
The landing ramp blew open wide and a lithe figure jumped to
the ground.
"Mara Jade," breathed Leia. "What happened here?"
The figure straightened. "I happened here. Jade no longer
exists."
Leia, with brows knitted together, stepped forward to take a
closer look. It was Mara only in body. The same figure, the same
fire red hair; but the mannerisms, the inflection of speech, were
foreign. Then she recalled her recent past and the plaguing
nightmares, and gasped. "You...you're the one..."
Kayla Storm laughed softly and stepped with Jade's body into
clear sight. "You excellence, if it had not been for your intrusion,
Luke Skywalker would be mine, as would be the Emperor's throne. If I
cannot have him, then I will have you, just as I have Mara Jade."
"Not alive, you won't." Leia swallowed her fear and ignited
her brother's lightsaber.
"Of course not alive." Again she laughed, tossing back Jade's
head in twisted glee. "It's the soul that matters most. Kill her,
Mara, then I will take what's left." The second lightsaber ignited
even as she spoke.
Leia circled the other warily.
* * *
The astromech droid squawked, agitated, as Luke Skywalker
finally returned to the little camp. The Jedi Master was drenched but
not entirely aware of it.
"Where's Leia?" he asked.
Somewhat exasperated, the droid whistled a brief explanation.
"Ah."
Luke moved slowly through the camp, taking note of what was
taken, what was left behind. His lightsaber was noticeably absent,
just as he thought it would be. Artoo made a demand.
"Well what?"
Unable to contain his electronic fury, Artoo shrieked and
wobbled side to side, nearly jumping off the soggy ground.
"Leia doesn't need to be rescued. Leia's nearly a Jedi Knight..."
The droid complained loudly.
"It's not my place to interfere with her destiny, for better
or worse." Luke took cover within the shelter but left the flap open
for his droid to peer inside. "No, Artoo. What?"
The astromech repeated himself, leaning into the tent.
"No. I'm tired. Give me an hour's rest and then we'll go
looking for her. Would that make you happy?"
Artoo blatted negatively.
"It will have to do. Leia's quite capable of taking care of
herself now."
The droid continued to argue, and as Luke reached out to shut
the flap, Artoo extended an appendage and pinched his wrist.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "You are a droid, remember? If
you're losing some basic programming, maybe I'd better do a wipe."
Artoo cooed apologetically and released his master.
"It's all right. I'm sorry." Luke sighed heavily, not
exactly sure why he had to explain himself to a mechanical. But Artoo
was a friend, perhaps more loyal than any organic could ever hope to
be. "It's just...If I'm to be a Jedi Master, I have to give my
students room to learn on their own. Leia and I are too close at
times. She could become very dependent on my knowledge, on my power.
That's not how it should work."
The droid warbled a tentative question.
Luke's expression clouded and he gazed down at his gloved
hands. "If Leia dies, then it's over. There will be no Jedi Master,
there will be no more of this 'passing on what I have learned', and
the Jedi will eventually be extinguished. If I cannot teach, I will
cease before any more apprentices fall to the Dark Side."
And finally his mechanical companion lapsed into silence,
processing unit whirring softly in "thought", leaving Skywalker with
his own haunts.
"But maybe I was wrong," he muttered after a moment, bringing
a hand up to his chin. "Maybe I haven't seen things as clearly as I
should have." He looked hard at Artoo. "When she left here, was she
furious?"
The R2 unit bleeped a definite affirmative.
Luke chewed his lip. She had to face her demons but what if
she could not conquer them? Was he willing to pay that price all for
the sake of destiny? He shook his head slowly. His twin sister would
need him at her side. It was premature for her to go alone, but
perhaps Leia never would be ready. Rules of fate might dictate that
only the most adaptable would survive, and Kayla Storm was adapting
like mad. He had to help. To do otherwise would throw everything
he'd ever believed to the wind.
"I can't deliver her up like this. Let's go, Artoo."
* * *
It did not take Leia Organa Solo long to discover she would
soon be overcome. She was a negotiator not a cutthroat, a talker
rather than a fighter, and it seemed apparent that this swordplay
could only end in disaster. Perhaps it was too late for talk,
especially when fear or anger or both had moved her to attack. Now
she regretted that action as she backpedaled from Mara Jade's
onslaught, driven by the specter of Kayla Storm, and found herself
pressed against the still hot hull of the Millennium Falcon. Jade's
movements became less fluid then, while the other waited for an
inevitable death blow. Finally she hesitated long enough for Leia to
escape, if only temporarily.
"You couldn't do it, could you?" she accused. "Mara is trying
to regain control."
"If only you knew how wrong you...No!!!" Mara screamed and
collapsed on the charred ground. She crumpled into a ball, covering
her head with her arms like a beaten child.
Organa Solo stepped closer, unable to catch the tremor in her
voice. "Jade...It's over."
Jade laughed far too softly as she sat upright, her face
turned away. "Solo, it is nowhere close to over."
Leia saw nothing but a blur, a sharp pain, and a quite sudden
blackness. Her own body collapsed while she felt her spirit float
freely in an impenetrable void. It was surprising. She had always
thought death would bring some kind of unity with the Force, some
warmth. Here was nothing. No order. No chaos. Just the dark.
Faintly, she heard her brother weep but could not console him. She
heard Kayla Storm laugh that deceptively gentle laugh and reached to
reclaim her physical form. There was none, she discovered in horror.
She was gone from it. She was hidden. Trapped in silence.
* * *
Skywalker rushed through the broken foliage atop the
speederbike, Artoo-Detoo strapped feebly to its back. The pursuit did
not take long at the break-neck speed he was racing. Over a rise in
the landscape, under a fallen tree that bridged a narrow stream,
straight through a cluster of bushes that ripped their branches across
his face. Luke blinked away the sting of pain and bent closer to the
steering rods, listening to the resentful whine of the bike. Why such
haste? As he approached the crash site, he stretched out for a sense
of what life remained there. There were four, all in agony, and one
that overshadowed the other three like a malignancy. He angled the
bike into the deep crater and came to a halt, accosted by the pains of
his sister. She lay prone near the base of the Millennium Falcon, and
above her stood Mara Jade.
_What have you done?_ he thought and stared, dismounting the bike.
_What I had promised to do
Luke shifted his gaze to Jade, and put his entire being into a
calm. "Kayla, enough."
She backstepped, terrified, and responded with Mara's voice.
"No. Never enough."
He watched a struggle take place as Mara's true self fought
for control. Luke extended his right hand. "Mara, let me help you."
"No!" She shouted, "Stay back, Skywalker!"^K But the Jedi
Knight took in a deep breath and stepped forward. "Kayla Storm cannot
remain detached from the Force forever. The Dark Side will eventually
consume her. You can resist."
"No!"
There was a blur of motion and she was gone, as was one of the
speederbikes. Luke huffed a loud breath, and glanced back as Artoo
thumped heavily to the ground, having disentangled himself from the
restraints. The Jedi paused to calm his racing pulse, and to feel out
what was left of this terrible confrontation. Han was hurt, but not
too badly, and trapped within the Falcon. Leia was slipping away. Of
course this had been premature. What a fool he'd been to give her
free rein. Would he never get it right? If only he had arrived
sooner...Egotistical thoughts, he realized, and pushed them aside to
go to his sister.
Artoo bleeped his concern. Luke hushed him and knelt before
the prone form, checking for vital signs. It was worse than he's
first thought. Her very presence felt faint, and that should not be,
even in death. But the agony was gone. All he felt in his twinship
was a chilling numb that dulled his mind and made his fingers fumble
as he loosed her clothing.
"Leia," he whispered. "No."
It was so unnatural, this demise. Mara had done something.
No, Kayla Storm had. He embraced her, finding they both shivered at
death's closeness. How could she be so far from him?
"No," he breathed again. "Not my sister."
_Father_
He trembled fiercely as Leia's presence dwindled
incomprehensibly. Clutching her hair, he pressed her forehead against
his own. "NOT my sister."
_Father, fear kills the mind_
Luke did not release his hold to face his ethereal offspring,
but rasped, "This is Storm's doing."
_It is not your fight_
"Child, this is my sister!" He hesitated, suddenly struck, and
hissed, "She dies."
_You must give of yourself, Father. As my mother gave to you_
Luke wanted to ignore the voice and simply clutch Leia's body
to his chest, will everything away but their closeness that was so
completely severed. But Chala's voice was compelling, echoing over
again in his mind. What had Kayla Storm given him but death and
grief, insanity? He recalled their final meeting, how she had removed
a blood-stained rag from his left hand; how her deceptively gentle
fingers had traced the deep gash, leaving but a thickened scar in its
place. Now that scar was gone completely thanks to the Firefolk. But
they had to be hundreds of miles away. Leia would never survive the
journey. It was no help.
"How?" he demanded.
The little astromech unit twittered his confusion.
_You must give of yourself_
Leia skin was becoming cold, its color holding a sickly gray
tinge. The Jedi Master fought back against his grief, his horror, and
closed his eyes. He was calm almost at once, the tumult of his
emotions washing back into an infinite sea. The world around him
became more vivid with sound, smell, touch; had he opened his eyes,
hue. The Force flowed with ease. With a sure and quiet method, the
Jedi narrowed his perception until all he saw in his mind's eye was
the fallen sister embraced so closely in his arms.
He whispered, "I give myself to you, sister. I give _of_ my
self."
It was as if essence flowed from his body in a river, a
transfusion of life's energy. Perhaps Yoda would not have approved,
an unnatural solution to an unnatural problem. Yet this was right.
The Dark Side had taken her away. The Light Side would simply restore
what had been interrupted, through him. The veil was torn away. Luke
smiled softly as the presence returned. Then a heartbeat, then a
breath. The breath gasped as it realized pain. Pain was good. Pain
meant you were alive. The pain reached a peak and Leia uttered a
stifled scream, but it ebbed as tissue regenerated in old wounds,
restoring her strength, restoring who and what she was. Luke weakened
and fought to stay conscious, smiling as his sister propped herself on
one elbow over him, completely disoriented, completely stunned.
"Luke..."
"I feel weak," he whispered, and lay his head on the charred
surface.
"Don't, Luke. You're killing yourself." She paused, struck
by the memory of her nightmares. So this was how it came to pass.
This was how she'd bring about her brother's death.
"You must be strong," he insisted. This would be her only
second chance, and his third.
"I'm fine," Leia insisted in kind. "Let me see if Han's ok
and we'll set up camp, start repairs on this hunk of junk."
"No." The life energy continued to ebb. He muttered softly,
"You must face Mara Jade."
Leia's pallor whitened. "But I've already failed."
"Because anger was your guide." Luke paused, nearly slipping
into a comfortable slumber, but forced himself to speak. "Remember it
is the Dark Side, the Force-spirit, that drives her. That spirit must
be put to rest."
"How? Luke, tell me how you did this. Let me return your
strength and we can face her together. I need you with me."
"You were not prepared before, but now you must find the way.
Leia, this destiny is yours alone. At times we are a help to one
another, at times we must walk the path in solitude."
"Luke..."
His hands raised to touch her lips, then brought her close so
that she might hear his barely audible words. "Go, Leia. If you
fail, it's better that I die. If you succeed, you'll become a Jedi
Knight, and return what I have given."
And he had given so freely. Leia kissed him gently. "I love
you, brother."
He smiled wanly. "How could it be otherwise?" He breathed,
"Let me sleep."
Leia watched him lapse into unconsciousness and kissed his
forehead. Her gaze shifted as Artoo-Detoo sighed electronically.
"Artoo."
She gained her feet and went to the droid. Her hands moved
over his blue dome and a spring release opened a compartment. Leia
removed a small blaster from her wrist and fastened it to an appendage
inside.
"Will you be able to finger the trigger?"
Artoo bleeped affirmatively.
"Your master needs you, little one." Leia gazed intently into
his blinking red lense. "Guard him well."
The droid whistled a good-bye and, suddenly lonesome as the
Princess-Jedi sped away on the remaining speederbike, sidled closer to
his sleeping master.
* * *
"Ahhhh-oooooow," Han groaned loudly and rolled onto his side.
As he approached consciousness, he began to notice several things.
First off, it was blistering hot, and he had, in fact, suffered some
severe burns that screamed at him when he moved. Secondly, his
nose-hairs, or what he imagined were left of them, curled from a
notably _spicy_ reek. Finally, he discovered, blinking hard, wherever
he was it was a dark place. He listened carefully to the moans of his
ship. She wasn't doing too well, he guessed and moaned himself. "Ah,
hell. Good thing the shields held out."
_Yeah, that was a good thing_
The smuggler writhed frantically until he scooched to an
upright sitting position and stared wildly into the dark. "Who's
there!"
_Me_
Han recognized the voice immediately. But it wasn't a voice,
was it? It didn't echo through the wrecked ship as his did.
"Luke...where are you?"
_Flat on my back about ten feet away from the hatch_
"Flat on your...Wait."
_The glitterstim mimics sensitivity to the Force in some ways_
"You mean...I'm going nuts?"
_No, Han. It's the spice_
Solo shook his head, grinning crookedly. "Hearing voices,
telepathizing...I am going nuts. Shoulda known it'd happen one of
these days. Just didn't think..."
_Han, shut up and listen to me_
"Nuts." He peered through the darkness and found a stream of
faint light slipping under the cargo bay door. Everything seemed so
unnaturally vivid. The feel of his burns, the poignant smell of
spice, the touch of the hot metal, the choking thickness of the air.
Han stared at his fingers, reddened by spice and blood, entranced by
how unreal they suddenly felt. "This is completely nuts."
_Han, you have got to listen to me. That stuff is toxic_
Han blinked. His ears were buzzing. His entire mind was
buzzing. His pulse raced and his stomach churned. He was no fool.
Of course he knew this kind of exposure to glitterstim meant certain
death. Solo had done his homework on the dangers of running spice
years ago. If exposed long enough to large enough amounts, he'd
either suffer a nervous breakdown or die of heart failure. In the
dim, he saw canvas bags scattered through the hold, emptied
completely.
"Luke." He swallowed hard. "I think I'm in trouble here."
_You have to get out_
"Tell me something I don't know, farmboy."
_I just...can't....help_ The voice trailed away.
* * *
Leia peered through the drizzle at the possessed woman she'd
been tracking for the past hours. The rain had lessened some, but
never stopped. It was a damp cold that sunk through her skin to the
center of her being, but there could be no trembling, from fear or
otherwise. With her brother's strength, and the gradual return of her
own, she moved with confidence and finally had some clarity to her
thoughts. It was as if some of Luke's own memory merged with her own
through that transfusion of energy, and she discovered some things
that had been impenetrable before. For one, Luke indeed had a child,
though unborn, by this Kayla Storm. The child was like Storm in one
aspect, an individual spirit, not diffused into the Force as his
mentors were, or even their father. Remembering her own pregnancy, it
was altogether possible that the two were somehow linked. So, what
good would that do her? It was something to think on. Before her was
Mara Jade, back turned, standing before a gigantic tree swarming with
tiny glowing creatures.
"This must be the Tree of Light," Leia whispered, remembering
snippets of Chief Warrick's tales. The creatures seemed terrified,
clinging to the higher branches to get as far away from Storm's spirit
as they were able.
"No need to be afraid, simple Firefolk," she soothed, amused.
"A spirit needs food to exist is all. You will suffice."
Mara shook violently at this, throwing herself to her knees.
Rivulets of rain streaked her face, or perhaps tears. It was hard to
discern.
"You know better than to fight me on this, Mar..." the spirit
warned but was cut short as Jade bit down on her tongue until it bled.
"You need a body, don't you?" Mara rasped, "You're nothing
otherwise."
"When I am weak, yes. I do need you. But when I take this
Tree, and the Firefolk, I will give you a respite."
"A respite?" Mara's eye glinted insanely. "Storm, I have a
better idea."
The lightsaber snapped to life and turned inward, singeing the
wielder's flesh.
"No!" Leia cried and lunged forward. Immediately, the
lasersword of Anakin Skywalker lashed outward, Kayla fully regaining
control.
"I was wondering when you'd come out of hiding." Mara smiled
grotesquely. "I see Luke has found his way clear to once again
interfere with destiny."
"Mara..."
"I told you, Mara doesn't exist!" Kayla shouted, and her host
lunged with the lightsaber. Leia backstepped out of its path,
parrying with her brother's. "You're not very wise, being a
politician. Not very wise at all."
That struck a cord. Politician. Negotiator. That was where
her talents lay, not in this senseless fight. Still she kept her
defense and looked hard through the crossed beams at her adversary.
"What is it you want, Kayla? What can you possibly stand to gain from
this?"
"Existence!"
The lightsaber whirled close to Leia's head, but she ducked
quickly. It felt good, right, natural--as if Luke's strength and
agility flowed through her veins. "You will always exist in the
Force. Why this struggle?"
"I will not be consumed," she hissed, drawing closer.
"And so you consume others." Leia shuddered. Horrible. Had
she always been so twisted? "Luke was in love with you. Have you
forgotten that? Have you forgotten gentleness? He would not have
loved you otherwise."
Mara seemed to collapse in on herself with strained laughter.
"Gentleness! You wish to see Kayla Storm's gentleness? Mara! Your
respite!"
* * *
In the hours that followed Leia's awakening, Luke Skywalker
concentrated on himself, his breath, his heart rate, all those things
that a human body took for granted, each one a chore. Does a martyr
ever regret his martyrdom as it happens? He bleakly remembered the
passing of his mentor Obi-wan aboard the first Death Star. Perhaps
that was restitution for his failure with Anakin Skywalker, Darth
Vader. Perhaps this now was Luke's restitution, for his failure with
Kayla Storm, for his own crimes, for the possible fall of his own
sister. What kind of Jedi Master lets his twin sister run off to
confront an evil alone? Ah. He smiled inwardly. That was the crux
of it. Leia should have been thought of as his apprentice, not his
sister. Just as Kayla Storm should not have been thought of as a lost
love.
He lapsed into sleep again, for a time, then chastised
himself. It was something Luke had decided to try and avoid since
sleep could so easily bring death. How much time had passed? You are
weak in more ways than one, Master, he thought. But then, humanity is
weak. Maybe the best Jedi come from races that are not so human.
Maybe it is as Han would have liked to believe, that Jedi are monsters
in human form. He held the capacity for monstrous acts, when the Dark
Side moved through him. Certainly Mara Jade had that capability as
well, being so coddled by Palpatine. Had Leia? Had Yoda been a
monster in his early years? Or have we all been mere fools. Luke
breathed purposefully, told his heart to pump, and wondered what this
power really meant, until a bone chill reached down and touched his
soul. His eyes opened.
"Kayla."
The spirit was more than apparition this time, almost tangible
as it moved over his prone body and leaned close to breathe in his
left ear. "I've come to gather you in my arms."
The cold of her touch was almost unbearable. Luke shivered
and closed his eyes. Lungs; breathe. Heart; beat. But he realized,
in a split second, that if Kayla Storm was here, she could not be with
Mara Jade. To coddle with Darkness..."How is it you've
become...this."
"Everything that I am, I am because of you," she replied in a
whisper, as if that was the extent of her--barely palpable, but there.
Close to the truth, Luke decided. He forced his eyes open and
looked upon the gray, vampiric specter, no longer a beauty of any
kind. "I loved you blindly. I just could not see."
Storm lifted her gaze, a greenish-silver, to lock on his own.
Another wracking shiver he couldn't control. "And now that blinded
love will consume you, my lord Skywalker."
Luke groaned softly as her lips brushed his neck, his whole
dwindling essence drawn to her, to the strange immortality she'd found
apart from the Force. No. That was a wrong assumption. A spirit
needs energy. Therefore a spirit fed. In a sense, she was more
chained to the Force then he ever would be.
"No," he hissed sharply, but only managed enough strength to
turn his head. "Love will bring a Light which drives away the
shadows."
The Light blinded him. Kayla screamed and whisped away. Luke
cried out and shielded his eyes with a limp forearm.
He gritted his teeth and yelled, "Stop!"
_Father_
_Son_
The two voices echoed united in his tumultuous mind, one
high-pitched as a child's, the other resonant.
"Stop," he whispered, losing his final strength, slipping.
A small human figure stepped out of the vision as a tiny
vessel fleeing a too-near star. The Light seemed to coalesce about
her, dressing her slim body in shimmer. Luke half-opened his eyes and
watched her kneel close to his side.
"Father." She whispered just as Kayla did, seemed to have the
same almost-tangible quality, but with benignity.
"Chala," he murmured, touching the white porcelain of her
face. "Rain goddess. The fire is almost out."
His ethereal daughter smiled gently and lifted his head onto
her lap, stroking drenched hair from his face. "You've done well,
father. You have."
Luke kissed her fingers and closed his eyes, relishing the
closeness, fully accepting whatever the Force had intended for him.
* * *
Han was about to write himself off as Bantha fodder when,
quite suddenly, and quite literally, the bottom fell out. In a flood
of glitterstim, the smuggler crashed through the flooring of the cargo
hold, through severed pipes and circuitry, through the breached outer
hull of his ship, and finally onto the muddy ground below amid noisy
electronic squeals. As the spice settled crimson over everything,
Solo blinked hard and winced at his soreness. Artoo-Detoo whirred his
roto-cutter a final time and retracted it into his now red dome.
"That must've taken you a good two weeks," he grumbled. Artoo
whistled what he thought might be a correction, to the second.
"Well...thanks. But how am I ever gonna get her spaceworthy?"
The astromech twittered and started to roll away.
"What," Han demanded and scrambled after, pain firing
lightning bolts through his back. Hadn't Luke experienced something
like lightning? An image flashed through his mind. But the Emperor
was dead, Vader was...Ah, this damned spice. "Luke!"
As he emerged from under the Falcon's hull, rain pelted his
face with a brisk wind. He felt cleaner then, more in control of
himself, until he beheld the stunning girl that cradled the Jedi in
her arms. She lifted her gaze placidly. Her hair stark white, her
eyes fiery green.
Han groped for his blaster. "Who are you!" he shouted.
The girl raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh, Father sleeps."
Solo huffed and leaned hard against a landing strut. "Father..."
"Shhh." The spectral figure leaned close to kiss Luke's forehead.
His eyes blinked open. "Chala?"
"Mother is calling; I have to go," she whispered and stroked
his brow. "Father, I will never see you again. At least, not as I
am."
"I understand."
"But I., the Force, will always be with you."
Luke touched her cheek and, at the moment he did so, his
daughter vanished. He closed his eyes as Solo approached.
"The hell was that?"
Skywalker deigned not to answer, and instead concentrated
again on the business of staying alive. Callused hands took hold of
his tunic and shook hard.
"Luke, what happened here? Where's Leia?"
The Jedi only moaned softly.
"Damnit, Luke, Mara Jade is a killer! Where's my wife!"
Stone silence.
Disgusted, Solo dropped Skywalker back into the mud and stood
up. "I'm gonna find her with or without you, Jedi."
Something dropped out of the trees at the nearest edge of the
crater and tumbled downward, snarling. The pirate was barely able to
squeeze off a shot before the snapping jaws reached him. He fired
again, stumbling under the creature's mass, and collapsed under its
deadweight. Artoo screamed and dragged the hairy thing away. Han sat
up and blinked at it. The only other creature he'd seen move so fast
was a Wookiee with worms. All teeth and claws and hair, the thing
stunk. Another, possibly its mate, howled at t he top of the crater.
"I cant leave you here," Han muttered. Artoo twittered a
suggestion he didn't understand. "What?"
"He said get me in the ship," Luke whispered. "Those
things...they'll tear us and the Falcon apart if you don't stand
guard."
"Oh, so now you're awake," Han grumbled and hefted Skywalker
over his shoulder. "What about Leia?"
"Leia will be fine." Luke grunted as Solo flopped him through
what had once been the hatchway of his cargo ship.
"Fine." The smuggler climbed up beside him, disgruntled.
"I'm glad you're so confident."
"You're angry," the Jedi breathed.
Han chuckled softly and shook his head. "You don't have a
clue. Listen, Skywalker, should anything happen to her, I'm holding
you responsible."
Perhaps his estranged friend was saying more, but Luke could
no longer listen. He collapsed in on himself once again. Heart;
beat. Lungs; breathe.
* * *
Mara Jade stooped close to the ground and trembled from an
intense inner cold. Leia crouched next to her and touched her
shoulder. The Firefolk ventured out and fluttered around them,
whistling their concern and confusion.
"Are you all right?" asked Leia and winced at the poor choice
of words.
"No," retorted Mara, voice trembling. "I'm not all right.
She's coming back. She's..."
"Resist it, Mara. I have an idea."
"I can't. Maybe before I could, but not anymore. Leia..."
Jade shuddered violently but managed to cast Organa Solo a glare.
"Palpatine raised me to have a certain sense of pride. This isn't it.
I'd rather die than have that demon in my head again. Leia....kill
me."
"I'd rather help you."
"I took your husband. I hunted your brother. Kill me."
Leia shook her head.
Mara collapsed to sit down and muttered, "Then you really must
hate me, to condemn your enemy."
"I don't hate you, Mara. And you are no enemy of mine.
What's done is done."
Mara froze suddenly. "She's coming..."
"Resist," Leia warned her and straightened. "I have an idea."
As she spoke, the Tree of Light rustled from what one might
attribute a strong gust, save the fact there was no wind; the rain
fell straight from the sky with unending drear. Some of the Firefolk
winked out and dropped to the ground like hail pellets. Mara
scrambled and clung to one of the surrounding trees, bracing herself
for some kind of collision.
"Storm!" Leia called out, listening to the name's irony.
"Mara Jade is nearly spent! I would that you come to me instead.
Feed on fresh life!" Mara's terror and now incredulity were almost
tangible. She tried to ignore it, and Leia's surroundings dimmed.
Had she fainted? That would be the end of it then.
"Why, thank you."
She blinked hard. Everything around her was fog, chokingly
thick. A figure walked towards her, following the disembodied voice.
As the specter of Kayla Storm drew palpably near, Leia made out the
features of an emaciated creature, a mere skeleton covered in flesh.
The emerald eyes were deeply sunken into pale gray skin. The Jedi
apprentice swallowed her revulsion.
"In my dreams, you were powerful. Now you only feed on that
which brought your own existence. To feed on the Force, doesn't that
also make you one with it?"
"It makes me the Master of it." Kayla smiled sickly. "Just
as I am the Master of you, the woman, and your brother."
"You are a slave. Look what it's done to you. This is not
mastery."
"You taunt me, Solo." Storm hissed and turned her back. "I
leave you to return to that one who doesn't argue."
"No!" Leia grabbed for her shoulders, then immediately
recoiled as the skin very nearly flaked from its bone. She stiffened
and took in a deep breath. "What of your daughter? I know she
exists. I know she has guided Luke. Is she as you are?"
"She is resplendent," Kayla whispered. "I have this hunger
that drives me to feed, and that starvation never seems to cease. Yet
the more I feed, the more powerful she becomes. It's a bond I cannot
sever. This pregnancy..."
"Of course," Leia murmured. That was it. Chala had never
been born. Kayla was feeding not only for her own existence, or
through her own atrociousness, but for the nourishment for her only
child. Still..."You know I have had children. It's joyful for me,
but it can be exhausting."
"Chala drains me of everything."
"Then why not let it go?"
"I will not be consumed. I will not let her..."
Leia felt her pulse race. "You will not let Chala...?"
"She would have me destroyed. She would push me back into the
chaos."
"But there is more to the Force than chaos," the Jedi began.
"That is a side I will never see. I died with anger and fear,
and am destined to pay a price for it."
There was a sadness about this spirit Leia had spent so many
nights fearing. But Storm was no longer terrifying, just pitiful as a
hunted beast. "You're weary, you're starving. Just let it go."
"My daughter..."
"You are afraid."
The sunken eyes widened and Storm stumbled raggedly,
screaming, "My daughter! Rain goddess!"
Leia also stumbled, for a moment taken to fear as she shielded
her eyes from a radiance. Another figure stepped through the fog,
this one a beautiful, perfect, young child. What was there to fear in
this?
Chala stepped forward and thrust an accusing finger at her
mother. "You have not done well by me, mother! Leave her!"
"No!" Leia insisted and stepped between them. "I won't let
her leave. Your mother is frightened. She is afraid of you, and what
the Force might do to her if she desists."
"And well she should be," Chala retorted sharply. "It is not
wise to toy with destiny, mother."
Storm dropped to her knees, covering her head. "Chala,
enough! The price of this is too high. Don't make me do anymore!"
Leia stared from one phantom to the other. So much was
happening that she didn't understand. But one thing was painfully
clear. "You are not a kind spirit," she whispered to the girl. Could
she tell him? Would she be able to tell Luke this spectral child was
not all the goodness he'd believed? Suddenly she recalled a story she
used to tell the children, the moral being that there are many people
from many many places, but we must always remember that "nice" is
different from "good". It turned a blade in her heart.
Chala grinned impishly, seeing her thoughts. "I am my
father's daughter. No more and no less. I wish only to have my
father's justice served. My mother speaks of a price. Yes. To rebel
against the natural order, the price is indeed a great one."
"This isn't just. Look at her!" She gestured to the gaunt
spirit. "Luke has given up his anger long ago. He seeks no revenge.
She is your mother."
"She is my monster," Chala corrected. "I am her goddess.
Alter egos, we will never be apart and we will never be one." Kayla
Storm curled into a fetal position, wisps of moisture curling about
her. "Good, for you to die as I died."
"I am hungry," Kayla sobbed quietly as her daughter
approached, stepping through Leia's body. Leia whirled to follow her
movements.
"If you let go, now, there will be no more hunger," urged
Leia. She glanced at Chala, feeling the spirit's vengeance. "If you
let go, you can escape your daughter's wrath, and she will be diffused
as well. She will have lost to her own revenge."
"Justice," Chala corrected and knelt before her mother. She
softly touched her torn cheek. "It will be dealt with, either way."
The deadened eyes found tears. Her hand lifted to touch the
hand of her daughter. In a quiet whisper, Storm replied, "It is dealt
with now."
They vanished. The forest returned. The rain ceased.
Leia staggered into the Tree of Light and gripped it for
support, breath ripped from her lungs. Around her, the Firefolk
fluttered and hummed happily while above, sunbeams filtered through
the branches of their Tree.
"It's all right," she gasped, listening to the soft buzz. She
looked around. Mara sat at the base of the nearest Soul Tree, her
knees clutched tightly to her chest, still trembling. "It's all
right," Leia repeated, louder, and approached.
Jade didn't respond.
"The spirits are gone, Mara. It's all right." She just
couldn't help saying it again. It _was_ all right. There was a
warmth from Endor's sun, and through the Force. There was certainty.
"Leave me alone."
Leia offered her hand. "Come with me."
"I said, leave me alone." Jade scowled.
The Jedi hesitated before withdrawing her hand. Kayla, Chala,
or both, had done wrong to Mara Jade. There were scars, inward scars,
that would need time for healing. Perhaps those scars would be best
healed in silence, alone, and she carefully nodded.
"Someone will come get you when we're ready to move on. I
trust you'll still be here."
"Go!" Jade shouted.
Organa Solo lifted her chin and quietly retorted, "You're
welcome." She made her way to the camouflaged speederbike.
Mara looked after her and, after Leia was well beyond earshot,
whispered, "Thank you."
* * *
As the speederbike dove into the still-smoldering crater, Leia
slowed her approach. Beside the dilapidated Millennium Falcon rested
a sleek civilian ship (though undoubtedly with some illegal upgrades)
that she recognized immediately as the Wild Karrde. As she rounded
its hulk, the smugglers, who held her husband at blaster-point,
whirled in surprise.
"Leia!"
The Jedi ignored him and eased the speederbike around to point
it at Karrde's ship. "I really don't mind this Endor moon so much.
Blast my husband and I'll blast your ship."
"Point well taken," replied Talon Karrde and motioned for his
thugs to step away from Solo. "Your Highness, I'm sure a woman of
your stature can appreciate my predicament."
"And what predicament is that?"
"Your husband is a thief."
Leia cast Han a cool look. "Is that something we didn't know
before?"
"He has stolen my property and murdered one of my employees."
"Then it sounds like you have a valid case, but I beg you a
few moments to tend to my brother. He's badly hurt."
Talon nodded politely, "A few moments then."
"Han?"
Solo went to her and took her hand as she gracefully
dismounted. He muttered lowly, "I love you. Leia, I'm sorry."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're sorry because you got caught.
That's all."
"No, I..."
"My brother needs me," she interjected.
"I need you."
Impulsively, she kissed him and patted the seat of the bike.
"Keep 'em in your sights, pirate."
"Aye, princess." He smirked and jumped onto the speederbike
as she climbed into the wreck. He aimed carefully at Talon's chest,
dead center. "Ok, boys. Let's make a deal."
Surely and slowly, Luke regained those senses he was so used
to, and felt strength course through his veins while petal lips
touched his cheek.
"Leia!" He flung his arms around her, perhaps a bit
impulsively, and she straightened to help him sit. Luke wouldn't
release her. "Tell me what happened."
The great negotiator stammered, remembering the second face of
his daughter Chala. "I-I'm not exactly sure. Mara resisted Kayla
Storm's possession while I invited her in. I convinced Kayla to find
her rest in the Force and when she let go, both she and Chala vanished
together."
"Chala," Luke murmured. "What part did she play in this?"
Leia averted her gaze. "I think there's a lot we don't know
about them, about the Force in general. But I am a Jedi now. I can
feel it."
The Jedi Master smiled softly. "So you are." Something
struck him as vitally important and he pulled back only inches. "When
Kayla took you, when you were gone from me...it felt as if a part of
me had died."
"It hurt, Luke," she replied and combed his hair with ringed
fingers. "And it hurt to accept your energies. But I couldn't have
done it without your strength, and the knowledge you gave me."
"I love you," he whispered in her hair. Was that an
explanation? He studied the deck plates. "Sometimes that feeling's
so strong, I wonder if it's right."
Leia quickly masked her reaction with smugness, but not before
Luke sensed a flinch. She shrugged and stepped back to clasp his
hands. "I guess we've never had a twin before."
"But you're alive," they spoke in unison and snickered at it.
"Getting as bad as Jaina and Jacen, I think," Leia pronounced
and paused, feeling a pang she hadn't felt in awhile.
"You'll be with them soon," Luke assured her. He looked
through a viewport. "Very soon."
She gave him a confused look, then moved through the room to
gather some clothing. "You'd better get dressed."
Her brother grinned mildly and accepted the robes, brown and
tan, like those of Obi-wan. He was reminded. "Leia, I had the most
incredible dream..."
"Tell me some other time. We, or should I say Han, has a
little problem with Talon Karrde."
Luke raised both eyebrows. "Here?" His sister nodded.
"Where's Mara Jade?"
"Sulking in the woods," Leia responded.
Luke pulled on a shirt. "I'll go find her. Use some diplomacy, Leia."
"I know."
* * *
Mara Jade listened to the drone of an approaching engine and
lifted her throbbing head from trembling hands. Skywalker. Of
course. How could this life get any worse? She stared hard at the
Tree of Light as his footsteps slopped through the mud and stopped a
few yards away. Blessed space. He stared at the Tree as well,
thoughts implacable, as usual. A number of seconds ticked away and
she could no longer stand it.
"What did you come here for, Skywalker," she demanded, "to gloat?"
"Actually, I thought I'd ask you a favor."
Mara scoffed. "A favor!"
"I think you owe us a little help..." Luke avoided her
stinging glare.
"I don't owe you anything," she retorted and rose to her feet.
"Do you really expect me to apologize?"
Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and faced her
squarely, voice even, "I don't _expect_ anything."
"It wasn't my fault!" she cried and turned her back to hide
her emotion.
Luke kept his distance. "I know."
Mara shook fiercely. "I-I can't stand it anymore. These
headaches, these dreams, the possession...I can't control anything."
"Yes, you can," replied Skywalker. "If you learn the ways of
the Force, then you can control it as well as be guided."
Jade gritted her teeth. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
Luke shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his robe and
wandered a bit closer. "Well, the alternatives may not be as
pleasant. You're leaving yourself open to all kinds of dangers."
It made sense. And Palpatine would roll in his grave, if he
had one. Look, "Father"... "All I know is I can't go on like this,"
she muttered and turned to face him. "What do you want me to do?"
"For starters, it seems Talon Karrde has tracked down your
smuggling partner. Leia's trying to coax him out of doing anything
foolish, but maybe you could lend us a hand?"
At this, Mara seemed to regain her composure, since the ball
was now in her court. She took his prosthetic hand and examined it.
"Don't you have a spare?"
Luke winced at the remark, but laughed, having walked right
into it. "Mara Jade has a sense of humor. That's a start." He led
her toward the speederbike. "You know, I had a dream about you as
this was going on."
With this she felt a sense of control. Mara smirked. "That's
not uncommon in the men I meet."
"I dreamt you became my greatest student and..." He watched
her climb up into the driver's position and hesitated. Would he be
able to say it?
"And what? Spit it out, farmboy."
_And my wife_ But instead he shrugged. "...and...you had a
great deal of talent, that's all."
"Don't have much of an imagination, huh, Skywalker?" She
gripped the controls as he jumped into the rear passenger's seat.
Skywalker shrugged again, mildly, and they sped into the wood.
* * *
There was an uneasy truce between the two as they stood on the
crater floor to negotiate. Talon Karrde had called off his goons, and
now only one stood in the hatchway of the Wild Karrde with rifle in
arms. Han imagined her cannons were fired up and ready to go. He
leaned against the remaining speederbike, toying with the intensity
controls for its forward guns. It was a ludicrous story he'd just
told; all about demon possession and Force-sensitivity via
glitterstim, but he'd told it with a certain flair that only Han Solo
could. Given enough time, he figured he could talk just about anyone
into just about anything. After all, Leia had married him, hadn't
she? He passed a glance to her and wondered how much she regretted
that day.
Karrde stroked his goatee, grinning softly. "Quite a thread,
Captain. Now how much of that is truth?"
"I can vouch for the condition of Mara Jade," said Leia. "As
for the rest..."
"But the...cargo...is lost." Talon glared at Solo. "You owe
me double what you owed Eklon P'har, Solo. And as for his murder, I
refuse to believe Mara Jade would take the life of an ally. I would
wager you were responsible, just as you are responsible for this lost
commodity."
"For cryin' out loud, Karrde, just call it spice." Han
muttered to Leia, "I was running glitterstim to pay off a Sabacc
debt."
"I know," she replied. "Keep your mouth shut, all right?"
With mock surprise, she stepped toward Han's adversary. "Talon, I
wasn't aware the Smuggler's Guild was involved in illegal activities.
I'm sure Admiral Ackbar will find that enlightening."
"Not if you don't make it back."
"You can't afford to kill us," said Leia. "People know where
we are. When word gets back that we've been murdered, Ackbar will
personally hunt down your organization and have it wiped from the face
of the universe."
Karrde's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "I only wish to be
compensated for my loss."
"Which is no doubt understandable." Leia folded her arms,
allowing a moment's pause until he shifted uncomfortably. "I have
certain influence with the New Republic. If you agree to forgive
Solo's debt, I will do everything I can to loosen restriction on the
spice trade."
Talon laughed out loud. "You want me to accept a political
promise? Your highness, please spare yourself the humiliation."
The whine of an engine overtook the dialogue and Luke
Skywalker joined the group with Mara Jade on his arm.
"Mara, please explain this to me..."
"It's as the pirate told you, Karrde." She flipped her long
crimson hair out of her face. "I killed Eklon P'har. I coerced Solo
into dumping the spice. But we didn't have a chance before crashing
on this forsaken rock heap. I would imagine the entire load's been
tainted."
"You...?" Karrde shook his head. "I can't believe you'd
betray me. We've been partners for so many years, Mara. How could
you...?"
Han swore under his breath. "Look, Karrde, we have Mara Jade.
Not only can she back up my story, but if you don't get off my
case..."
"You'll what, Captain?" the other man questioned. "You'll
kill her?"
Solo's tone lowered dangerously. "Anything's possible. I
know she means more to you than credit."
Mara's hand drifted towards her lightsaber but Skywalker
clamped her wrist. Was this what it was all about? She was nothing
but a dispensable pawn? She shot the Jedi Master a furious and
frightened look. Luke shook his head imperceptibly, but didn't
release his grip.
The leader of the Smuggler's Guild extended his palm to her.
"Mara? I believe we have a few things to discuss privately."
"She's not going anywhere," Luke snapped. His companions
looked at him, surprised. He stepped front and center, half-dragging
Jade along. "Not until you forgive Solo's debt."
Karrde scowled. "You pay what you owe me, pirate. We are far
more organized than Jabba the Hutt. I have bounty hunters that move
like shadows. I can reach you anywhere. Do you hear me?"
"I hear you," Han rumbled. "Now let us alone."
Something struck Talon as hilarious and he nearly doubled over
laughing. "What am I thinking? I must be out of my mind! You have
no comlink. You have no ship." He gestured roughly at the ruined
Falcon. "You won't be leaving Endor anytime soon! I have all the
time in the universe to toy with a few ideas. Maybe I'll pass on your
whereabouts to Houses Rodian and Cedes, I'm sure they'd be intrigued
enough to pay a visit. You're as good as dead here anyway! So long,
my friends, Mara."
"Karrde!" she shouted after him. "Karrde, don't leave me, you
bastard! You'll pay for this! Karrde!"
Talon waved without so much as a backward glance, and soon the
Wild Karrde was gone from sight. Luke released her and she shook a
fist towards the sky, then the thought occurred to her and she whirled
to pummel Skywalker across the jaw. He staggered back into Solo and
his wife.
"Don't you touch me, kidnapper! 'Learn the ways of the
Force', you say. When are you going to quit lying to me?"
"Talon Karrde was going to kill you once you got onboard his
ship," Luke murmured, voice barely above a whisper, and rubbed his
aching cheek. It was getting to be a nasty habit. "I wasn't about to
let you walk into that."
Mara raised an eyebrow at Leia.
"It's true," she agreed. "I felt it."
Solo touched his wife's shoulder. "Sweetheart, look."
"There's our ticket out of here," said Luke. "Right on time."
Mara turned to see what Skywalker was pointing at. The Ewoks,
the Wookiee, the children, and one glistening protocol droid whooped
and hollered and screamed as they slid down the sloping wall of the
crater. Artoo shrieked hysterically and trundled as fast as his
wheels would allow. Han and Leia overtook him and greeted their
children with desperate embraces. The Ewoks chattered happily around
them. Chewbacca waved frantically at the Millennium Falcon and howled
his lamentations.
Han straightened. "Ah, come on, Chewie. We can fix it.
Can't we?"
Chewie whined petulantly and shrugged.
"How did you ever find us?" asked Leia.
See-Threepio straightened, brimming with electronic relief.
"Oh, thank goodness we have, Mistress Leia! Chewbacca was growing
unbearably restless keeping us all on Kashyyyk with his relatives, so
it was decided we would follow Captain Solo on his journeys."
"You what?" Han exclaimed.
"We witnessed the crash, but landed some 300 kilometers away
near the Ewok village where we came across your and Master Luke's
shuttlecraft unfortunately picked apart by scavengers. I thought it
imperative that we start a search but this carpetbag _insisted_ on
gorging himself on blope and blumfruit for nearly three days
straight!" He shook his golden head disdainfully. "Typical Wookiee
behavior."
Jaina pulled back a little from her mother's embrace and
demanded, "Are you still mad at daddy?"
Leia sighed heavily and glanced up at the pirate. Of all the
messes he'd dragged her through, this had to be ranked near the top.
"Yeah. But we can fix it. Can't we?"
Han grinned sheepishly and crouched to gather the boys in his
arms.
Luke and Mara watched the reunion seated just outside the
Falcon.
"How did you know?" she asked. Before he could respond, she
shook her head. "Never mind. Dumb question. I'm sorry I
misunderstood you with Karrde."
"S'okay," Luke grumbled, studying his folded hands.
She smirked, but the cracked mask leaked with real images of
pain. "Palpatine raised me to be ruthless, even from my earliest
memories. It's hard to shake it."
"I meant what I said..."
Mara interrupted. "I don't understand you, Skywalker. You're
the only person in this galaxy who refused to back down from 'The
Emperor's Hand'. You've always had faith in the enemy; as if there
was something redeemable, as if...maybe I'm not some mindless assassin
droid. You had hope where there shouldn't be any. Why?"
"Part of it's the lesson I learned with Vader, and Storm,"
Luke replied, then faced her directly. "Maybe some of it's because of
my dream. I'm willing to teach you, if you'll let me."
There was more to it than that, Jade thought as a fortified
barrier within her eased. Instinct shifted her gaze away from his
cool azure eyes, and in a second she rebolstered. Someday I'll be rid
of these masks, but not yet. "You mean you'll lend me a hand?" Mara
jibed and took his right.
Luke withheld the laugh. "Let that one die, ok?"
She shook her head. Mara paused, sensing a tremor she
couldn't quite place. "What's the matter?"
"I'm not sure," he muttered. Here she was, a new apprentice,
much as Kayla Storm had been in life. Could he trust himself now?
Could he guide her without being led astray himself? There was
success with Leia. It was possible Mara's training would work out
fine, but how would his vision weave into their destiny? He grinned
softly and shook his head. Fanciful dreams.
"Luke."
His gaze lifted, somewhat taken back by her use of his first
name, for the first time.
"I'm not Kayla Storm," she told him in earnest.
Skywalker lightly kissed the back of her hand. She yanked it away.
"You are a lady," he told her, "and soon a Jedi. I think that
will make you stronger than you were before."
He rose to his feet and wandered into the reunion, hefting
Anakin Solo onto his shoulders. Mara Jade stared after him from a
distance, wondering what to make of it.
|
|
|
To the best of our knowledge, the text on this page may be freely reproduced and distributed.
If you have any questions about this, please check out our Copyright Policy.
totse.com certificate signatures
|
|
|
About | Advertise | Bad Ideas | Community | Contact Us | Copyright Policy | Drugs | Ego | Erotica
FAQ | Fringe | Link to totse.com | Search | Society | Submissions | Technology
|
|
|
|
|
|
