I guess three yes's are enough. :) You may want to refresh your
memory by skimming thru Books One and Two before starting Three (in
the files here, at the M&L Archive Site, or at either of the
addresses I mentioned in my first post.) The main thing to remember
is that newlyweds Luke & Mara are on their way to Lorrd, to negotiate
a treaty for the New Republic.

Also, before you start reading, a couple things to note --
Lorrdians have long, convoluted names, per the Lorrdian woman that
Han met in Han Solo's Revenge. They also tend to communicate among
themselves with a series of complicated facial and hand gestures.

Many, many thanks to Gabri_Jade (from the JC Boards) for helping me
to correct all the writing blunders I've been unwittingly making all
along.

As before, silent Force dialogue will be marked by asterisks.
Chewie's dialogue will be translated and put into brackets.

Finally, a huge apology to everyone who's had to wait forever for
this fic. My only excuse is my tired old brain just couldn't get any
inspiration. In fact, I still haven't written the ending, but
hopefully I will by the time we get to that point. I'll try to post
a couple times a week, and the longer chapters I'll probably divide
in two.

Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters belong to George Lucas.
No Imperial or Republic credits are being made from this story.

Hope you enjoy!

Michele

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism
Chapter One

"Your report, Admiral Gorra?"

Elbows resting on the highly polished table, Lorrd's Crown Regent,
Pard-and-Rand Ke'lor-Mise, steepled his long dark fingers and let his
heavy lids drift shut as his top military officer gave a lengthy
report of the war's progress. Ke'lor had been hoping, praying, that
a peaceful solution to the dispute between his planet and neighboring
Argazda could be achieved. But the Argazdans, it seemed, were as
determined to wrench control of this sector away from the Lorrdians
as their ancestors were four thousand years ago. The heavy fighting
was confined for the moment to Lorrd's eastern continent, on the far
side of the planet from the capital. Lorrdian forces were holding
their own against Argazda, but just barely.

"Evaluation, Archa?"

Military strategist Colonel Ces-and-Grond Pimar-Archa sent a cautious
gaze at his colleagues gathered in the opulent conference room, then
directed his attention back to his leader.

"The situation is grave, Excellency," he pronounced, his grim-faced
expression serving to conduct the news as much as his words. "We can
hold on for perhaps another month - no more than that. Our
forces
have been clinging to our promise of a Jedi coming to lead them for
far too long. There are rumors circulating among the air squadrons
that no Jedi exists, that it is only a ploy to give them false hope."

"I see." The Regent turned to his aide, Meend. "Still no word, I
presume?"

"Not yet," Meend admitted. "Today marks the tenth day since we
received the Jedi's message of delay."

"Very well. If they do not arrive by sunset, we shall contact Mon
Mothma to coordinate a search party."

Viceroy Dast-and-Yacit Blin-Ars, deputy of Lorrd's southern
continent, raised his head in confusion. "They, Excellency?"

"He brings with him his padawan."

"You allowed this?" the portly viceroy questioned. "You expect an
adolescent boy to also aid our cause?"

"A Jedi rarely travels anywhere without his apprentice," the Regent
patiently explained, having studied the Jedi all his life. "It is
considered an integral aspect of the student's training. To refuse
to allow the boy to accompany his master would not be conducive to
obtaining the Jedi's cooperation. Besides, if this padawan has been
involved in battle in any manner, he may be an asset."

"If this Jedi cannot even appear as scheduled," General Chukla-Bref
spoke up, his skepticism reflected in half the visages in the
room, "how can we continue to hold faith that he will be able to
lead our forces to victory?"

"The reports we have received of his victories with the New Republic
say otherwise," Admiral Gorra countered.

"Sketchy reports, at best," Blin-Ars scoffed, his head shaking on his
thick-set neck.

Objections and assertions rebounded among Regent Ke'lor's diverse
staff of politicians and military officers, a staff he inherited when
Lorrd's planetary governor died three months earlier. The ruler
heaved a weary sigh as the debate escalated up and down the
conference table ...

"He single-handedly slew both the Emperor and Darth Vader. How can
we question his strength?"

"That does not prove that he can effectively champion our men and
women to rally against the superior forces of Argazda."

"He is a military commander; a hero in the eyes of the galaxy."

"Yet we know nothing of the man himself. We have no information of
his background, his education, or even his age.

"He is a Jedi Knight, that is enough.

"What if he doesn't agree to help us?"

"He must. All Jedi are sworn to aid any galactic citizens that ask
for help. Did not the Jedi assist our ancestors?

"But if this Jedi... what was his name -- Skywalker... if he refuses?"

"He will not refuse. Not if he wishes to obtain a treaty for his
precious New Republic."

"We would blackmail a Jedi Knight?"

"We would give him an added incentive to carry out his duty."

General Chuckla-Bref leaned forward, his hands gesticulating the
possibility which no one wanted to voice aloud. What if the Jedi
never arrives?

"He must arrive, and he must lead our forces," Ke'lor pronounced
solemnly. "He is our only hope."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mara Skywalker watched as the star lines resolved back into pinpricks
of sparkling light. Ahead, the planets of the Kanz Sector continued
their lazy orbits around their solitary sun. Lorrd was the planet
closest to the sun, close enough for the solar radiation to darken
the inhabitants' skin to multi-hued light and dark browns, far enough
away to not burn those same inhabitants to a crisp. Argazda, Mara
remembered from the data file, was the next planet out. The only
noteworthy event in this sector was some sort of dictatorial takeover
of Lorrd by its neighbor planet several millennia ago, an event which
was eventually squelched by the Old Republic.

No sooner had realspace settled around her than the subspace comm
began beeping in a loud tone. Mara reached for the switch at the
same time as her senses reached out for Luke in the seat behind her.
He remained peacefully ensconced in his healing trance.

"This is Lorrdian Spaceport Authority calling New Republic B-wing AA-
615," a mechanized voice stated. "This is Lorrdian Space-"

"This is New Republic B-wing AA-615," she answered, cutting off the
recording. Lorrd must have had the repeating hail going for days,
she thought, waiting for the New Republic's errant negotiators to
arrive.

There was a few seconds delay, and Mara could picture a bored
spaceport controller noticing that someone finally answered the
hail. "This is Controller Hauft, of the LSA, awaiting contact with
Commander Luke Skywalker."

"This is Commander Skywalker's ... co-pilot," Mara replied,
momentarily at a loss as how to identify herself. "We just arrived
in-system, and were about to comm you. We should be in orbit over
Lorrd and ready to land in approximately one standard hour."

"Acknowledged," the controller answered. "Relaying landing
coordinates now." There was another pause, then the military-
sounding voice returned. "We have an incoming transmission on a New
Republic channel for Commander Skywalker. Rerouting now."

"Luke?" a familiar voice crackled onto the line.

"No, this is Mara Jade, Your Highness," Mara said in exasperation.
Blazing stars - keeping tabs on little brother already!

"I want to talk to Luke."

Mara made sure her sigh was loud enough to be heard over the
comm. "Hold on. I'll have to rouse him back to consciousness."

"What?!"

Smirking happily to herself, Mara sent the pre-arranged mental
prodding back to her husband. *Time to wake up, lover.* She had
jokingly reasoned that being referred to as anyone's lover was such a
new concept to Luke that it would jolt him out of even the deepest
trance. "Your sister's on the comm," she added aloud.

Luke jerked awake with a groan. "We're there?" he muttered, his
voice gravelly as he shook off the remnants of his trance.

"Your sister. Comm," Mara repeated, ignoring his question for the
moment.

He reached for the control on his own instrument panel. "Leia?"

"You were unconscious?" Leia asked worriedly.

"No, I was just in a heal- uh, just sleeping."

"A healing trance?" As usual, Luke's clumsy attempt at deception was
utterly wasted on Leia. "Luke, what happened? Are you hurt?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Luke, tell me what's going on."

"Leia, did you want something, or are you just checking up on me?"
Luke asked abruptly.

Mara listened with amusement to Luke's conversation with his
overprotective sister. She knew he didn't mean to be so blunt; she'd
discovered that he was sometimes a bit cranky when he first came out
of a trance. Playing word games with Leia wasn't helping his
disposition.

"Where are you, Luke? You were supposed to be on Lorrd ten days
ago," Leia continued undaunted. "I was worried about you as it was,
and now I find out that you're injured and that Mara Jade is still
with you."

Mara frowned to herself. What was that supposed to mean?

"Did you think I would misplace her along the way?" Luke
retorted. "Leia, I told you I'm fine. We had trouble with the ship
and had to land for repairs. But we're just about to touch down on
Lorrd" -his foggy mind reached out to Mara for confirmation-
"and
I'll be sure to grovel on my knees in apology when we meet the
Regent."

"I'm not worried about the negotiations, Luke," Leia said. "I
just ... Just be careful, brother. Don't trust anyone, do you hear
me? Anyone."

"Sure, Leia," Luke replied slowly. "We'll be careful."

"All right. I'll contact you again tomorrow," Leia said. "I love
you, Luke, and ... and ... just watch your back."

"I will," he said again. "Love you, too, sis."

"Nothing like being neurotic," Mara said as soon as Leia had signed
off.

"Yeah, she was acting kinda strange," Luke murmured. "I wonder if
she's sensing some sort of danger that we aren't?" He paused a
moment. "There's something about Lorrd that doesn't seem quite right
to me, but I don't feel any real danger. I guess I should have asked
her to explain herself better, but maybe she thought the transmission
was being monitored." He sighed audibly. "At least we don't have to
wonder whether Mon Mothma told her that you came along."

"I didn't expect she'd keep it a secret, did you?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Speaking of secrets," Mara said. "Do we tell them?"

"Do we tell who what?"

"The Lorrdians, of course." She tried to twist around in her seat,
but it was no use. It was impossible to talk to Luke face to face in
this blasted cockpit; she would have to settle for feeling his
emotions. "Do we tell them we're married?"

Several seconds passed before Luke answered. If it weren't for that
precious emotional link, Mara would have thought he'd fallen asleep.

"If it's all right with you," he finally began, "I'd rather keep that
to ourselves until we get back to Coruscant. It's not that I'm not
bursting to shout it to the galaxy, but I didn't even get a chance to
tell Leia, and if she finds out through some Holonet headline ..."

"Which she no doubt would," Mara finished. "You're right, you should
tell her in person yourself."

"So that's Lorrd?" Luke said after a few minutes' pause.

Mara turned to gaze out at the mottled green and brown planet they
were hurtling toward. "So the charts say. I already talked to the
spaceport at the capital, which is also called Lorrd, by the way;
they sent landing coordinates." She glanced down at her
instruments. "Want me to send control back to you?"

"No," Luke muttered, and Mara could feel his mind still puzzling over
what had Leia so jumpy. "You can land."

"Me?" Mara bit her lip in hesitation. She hated to admit that she
was unsure of herself in any situation, but ...

"I remember your telling me that you could fly anything." A hint of
amusement colored his offhand comment.

"Fly anything, yes," Mara said grudgingly. "Land the most bizarrely
designed ship in the galaxy, well ..."

Luke sent a sensation of understanding to the front of the
cockpit. "I'll talk you through it," he promised. "How was the trip
here? Did I miss anything?"

"Like the hyperdrive failing again or a band of pirates attacking?"
Mara asked, laughing. "No, it was boredom personified. And I did as
I was told, Master. Rested, meditated, practiced focusing with the
Force. Oh, and I reviewed the negotiation directives."

"Good. Glad one of us will know what we're doing." Luke exhaled
wearily. "This will be my first assignment as a true Jedi - the
first one that doesn't involve warfare."

"Looking forward to playing ambassador?"

"Looking forward to not having pilots dying under my command."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well, that was subtle," Han mumbled under his breath, his fingers
punching in the coordinates for the final jump. The Millenium Falcon
had been hanging quietly in space while Leia made her latest, and
ultimately successful, attempt to reach her brother. An earlier
attempt at the edge of a small asteroid cluster proved to contain too
much static for a clear transmission.

"I could hardly blurt out 'Luke, she's an Imperial spy, take her
prisoner.' Jade would've had her blaster pinned on him faster than he
could blink." Leia settled back into her seat and adjusted her crash
webbing. She hoped against hope that Luke had gotten the message.
His refusal to admit that he'd been in a healing trance had her
worried, too. Her brother never could lie convincingly. Why had he
felt the need to lie now?

Han glanced back to Lando. "How soon before we reach Lorrd?"

"About fourteen standard hours," Lando answered. "It will be early
tomorrow morning, their time."

"And then we still have to find Luke," Han added.

"No," Leia said grimly. "Then we have to find her."

Chapter Two was a hard one to find a good dividing point. I'll post
the rest of it on Wed.

I see that Sienn and SJ have put up new chapters, also. No wonder I
never get any RL work done.

Michele

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Two (part 1 of 2)

When the government of Lorrd had been informed that the Jedi envoy
would be arriving in a military fighter, spirits had been heartened.
This Jedi must truly be a warrior, it was reasoned, to travel such a
distance without concern for physical comfort. Now Prime Aide Urpri-
Meend, first assistant to His Excellency the Crown Regent, stood
watching from the safety of a transparisteel barrier as the
deceptively graceful New Republic craft lowered steadily to the
landing platform. Even Meend, with his untrained eye, was impressed
by the array of armament bristling from the ship's hull.

Meend strode forward as the ship's systems shut down one by one and
the cockpit canopy popped open with a hiss of released air. He
splayed his arms wide in salutation as the first occupant hopped
lightly to the tarmac. The young man, barely out of his teens,
removed his helmet and ran a hand through his tousled blond hair
before bowing slightly in return.

Ah, the apprentice disembarks first, to verify the safety of the
situation for his master. "I am Rel-and-Zeda Urpri-Meend. On behalf
of Crown Regent Pard-and-Rand Ke'lor-Mise, I bring you greetings,"
Meend intoned formally. Age lines at the corners of his dark eyes
crinkled with sincerity. "You must be the Jedi padawan of whom we
have been apprised. We are gratified that your journey has
culminated safely."

"Uh, thank you," the man replied, confusion briefly tingeing his soft
voice. "We're glad to finally arrive, too, and we apologize for our
delay."

"No need to apologize," the royal aide assured him.

The second pilot alighted, drawing the attention of both men.
Meend's heavy gray eyebrows rose in surprise when the removal of the
pilot's helmet revealed not the face of a middle-aged Jedi Knight,
but a decidedly female visage no older than the padawan. He glanced
in bewilderment from the girl, who was shaking out a long mane of
golden red hair, to the cockpit above his line of sight. Surely
there was not enough room on the ship for a third passenger.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Meend finally said to the young
woman, struggling to retain his professional bearing. "We were
expecting the Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker."

"I'm Luke Skywalker," the young man spoke up. "And this is my
apprentice, Mara Jade," he added, nodding to his companion.

Meend turned to confront the speaker, looking him up and down more
carefully this time. "You ... you are the Jedi sent by the New
Republic?"

"Yes," the man confirmed, making a vain attempt to smooth out his
rumpled flightsuit. "I'm afraid it has been a long journey for us.
The cockpit of a fighter doesn't allow any room to freshen up before
touchdown."

Long years of experience helped Meend to recover his composure. "I
apologize deeply, Sir Knight, for my failure to recognize you. I
shall see to it at once that you are shown to your suite ..." An
afterthought suddenly occur to the aide as he glanced again to the
silent woman. "Er, suites," he corrected. "Please follow me." He
gestured to a pair of servants flanking a small hovercart. "Your
luggage will be seen to immediately."

*What a wonderful first impression I must make,* Luke muttered
silently as he and Mara followed their guide to a waiting ground
shuttle.

*At least he finally acknowledged you,* Mara grumbled back. She had
had little trouble at the docking bay sensing how self-conscious Luke
had been of his youthful appearance. *His whole body language
screamed disappointment as soon as he laid eyes on me.*

*I felt it was more distress or dismay than disappointment,* Luke
countered. *We certainly weren't what he expected, that's for sure.*

By the time the entourage reached the ambassadorial quarters, Mara
was beginning to get a headache from all the apologies that Prime
Aide Meend was gushing regarding his misunderstanding at the
spaceport. It was almost as if he feared the visiting Jedi Knight
would be so offended that he might turn around and leave at any
moment.

"It's all right, really," Luke continued to assure the distraught
man. "Happens all the time."

Mara suppressed a snort at Luke's words. It wasn't an exaggeration
-
slight and unassuming as Luke was, strangers frequently overlooked
him when seeking the Rebellion's greatest hero.

Meend led the way to an ornate door halfway down a long
hallway. "Jedi Skywalker," he began, opening the door then stepping
back so Luke could enter first, "this will be your suite. We did not
know that your student was female. Fortunately, there are available
quarters directly across the hall for Padawan Jade."

*Padawan?* Mara questioned silently.

*I assumed it was some sort of Lorrdian term for knight, but now I
think it means apprentice,* Luke answered as he and Mara both
surveyed his accommodations with interest. "Are there not two
bedchambers?" he asked aloud, peering at adjoining doorways off the
main room. "We wouldn't mind sharing this suite."

Prime Aide Urpri-Meend looked aghast at the notion. "Sir Knight, we
would never subject you to such impropriety."

"But-"

"A room across the corridor will be acceptable," Mara said softly,
interrupting Luke.

"Excellent." The relief on the Prime Aide's face was abundantly
evident. "The Regent would be most pleased if you would join him for
evening meal. Would one hour be sufficient for you to refresh
yourselves?" he asked politely.

"Yes, of course," Luke replied with a nod.

"Excellent," the elder man repeated, his wide sleeves skimming the
floor as he bowed in acknowledgement. "I shall return in one hour."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Mara commented once they were alone. "In
Zembuhl, we were given no choice but to share a bedroom, even though
we weren't married. Now that we are, we are sequestered in separate
rooms. I wonder what his reaction would've been if I'd insisted on
staying in your room?" she added with a wink.

"Let's not rock the ship," Luke replied seriously. "We're on shaky
enough ground as it is, arriving this late."

Mara turned to enter her own quarters when a sudden thought gave her
pause. Surely Luke wouldn't be so insistent about not doing anything
to jeopardize our unmarried cover story that he wouldn't ... we
couldn't ...

"You won't be able to keep me away," Luke said, his tone now laced
with laughter. "As Han would say, we'll just have to be real sneaky-
like."

Mara looked back over her shoulder just in time to catch his wide
grin before his door shut with a soft thud.

A half hour later, Luke tapped lightly on Mara's door and, receiving
her silent invitation to enter, stepped into the common room. His
eyes took in the small room - not as elegant as his suite, but
comfortable and tastefully decorated. It hadn't taken him long to
shower and change, so he wasn't surprised that she wasn't ready yet.
He was standing before a gilded mirror near her door, combing his
hair back with his fingers, when Mara cleared her throat from across
the room.

"Getting vain on me?" she quipped.

Luke turned to face her and didn't even attempt to hide his smile as
he saw his wife leaning against the bedchamber's doorway, clad only
in a silky robe.

"Just, uh, checking to see if I looked all right." He straightened
his floor-length cloak so it hung evenly over his shoulders. "So
what do you think?" he asked, giving her a little grin.

"You look as calm and collected as when I saw you at Jabba's."

"That bad, huh?"

Mara's musical laughter acted as a soothing balm to his jittery
nerves. After being mistaken for a mere apprentice by the regent's
aide, Luke was determined to epitomize a true Jedi Knight.

"Surely the Lorrdians won't throw you to the rancor," Mara said,
leaning her head to one side as she began towel drying her hair.

"Or the sarlacc," Luke added with a chuckle.

"You do have a habit of encountering things that want to swallow
you," she pointed out.

"Yeah, from a dianoga to a wampa to a tribe of Ewoks." Luke frowned
to himself. There had been a lot of creatures trying to eat him over
the past few years.

"You must taste good," Mara purred, coming closer and running one
hand down the front of his tunic. "Let me check." They kissed
slowly and tenderly before Mara pulled back with obvious
reluctance. "As much as I'd like to continue this all night, we're
due to dine with the Regent soon, and only one of our robes is
sufficiently Jedi-ish," she said, glancing at her own attire.

"Nothing he serves could be as delicious as you," Luke murmured,
sighing as she slipped from his arms. He busied himself looking over
the datapad of negotiation outlines until Mara's voice from the
adjoining bedchamber interrupted his reading.

"Luke, we've got a problem."

"What kind of problem?" he asked, automatically reaching out with the
Force to scan for any danger, but finding nothing.

"Just get in here and you'll find out," was the impatient reply.

With an effort, Luke managed to stifle any suggestive comments as he
discovered Mara standing in the middle of the room, hands on her hips
and wearing only her undergarments. Instead he followed her gaze
toward what seemed to be every article from her luggage spread across
the top of her bed.

Mara bit her bottom lip worriedly, her eyes darting from one garment
to the next. "I have nothing to wear," she finally declared matter-
of-factly.

Struggling to understand what was apparently obvious to Mara, Luke
opened and closed his mouth several times, then shrugged his
shoulders in defeat. "I give up. Is this some sort of test?"

"Look!" Mara cried, waving a hand across the clothes-strewn bed. "Do
you see anything that even remotely resembles...," she tugged
impatiently on the hem of Luke's tabard, "this?"

"Why-" Luke began, but Mara cut him off.

"I'm supposed to be- I am your Jedi apprentice. I should dress
like
you."

"Mara, sweetheart," Luke soothed, touching her arm lightly. "This
isn't some kind of Jedi uniform that you have to copy."

"That's what I've heard you call it," she countered.

"Well, yes, but..." Luke paused, trapped. He knew she was right in
that regard. He had referred to his black tunic and trousers as
his 'uniform.' "That doesn't mean it is." He glanced down at
himself and frowned. "In fact, it's nothing like what Ben or Master
Yoda wore."

"So why do you wear it constantly?" Mara challenged. "I've seen the
inside of your closet, farmboy. Nearly your entire wardrobe is of a
similar pattern."

"I guess I just like it," Luke admitted with a shy smile. "At first
I thought it made me look ..."

"Dashing?" Mara supplied, her eyes twinkling.

Luke shook his head. "Older," he corrected. "It seemed ...
appropriate."

"You don't worry that others might perceive you as emulating Vader?"

"Maybe dressing like my father is appropriate for me." He shrugged,
smiling wanly. "But that doesn't mean you need to dress like me.
And...," he glanced at his chrono, "it's getting late, so let's pick
out something that feels 'appropriate' for you."

In the end, they chose a hunter-green tunic, with a darker green vest
and matching leggings. While Mara dressed, Luke slipped back to his
room, returning shortly with a dark gray hooded cloak.

"You just happened to have an extra cloak?"

"I knew you were coming, and I had already pronounced you to be my
Jedi apprentice." He grinned as he draped it over her
shoulders. "Call it wishful thinking that you wouldn't kill me
before I could give it to you."

"I always did think you were way too optimistic for your own good,"
she retorted, even as she studied her reflection in the room's full-
length mirror.

Apologies to everyone for forgetting to put 'FIC' in the header on
the previous posts. Told you I was out of practice.

Michele

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Two (part 2 of 2)

Prime Aide Urpri-Meend arrived right on schedule. Evidently Luke and
Mara's new attire satisfied his notion of what a proper Jedi should
look like, as he continually nodded his clear approval. The trio
attracted a good deal of notice as they traversed the magnificent,
tree-lined promenade that connected the ambassadorial wing to the
regent's official residence. Lorrdians appeared out of nowhere along
their route, waving their arms animatedly in obvious excitement.

"They've been awaiting your arrival for some time," Meend explained,
his arms sweeping out to encompass the crowd of agitated well-
wishers.

Mara peered out from under her hood, wondering at the amount of
attention which seemed to be directed solely at Luke. On Coruscant
she'd witnessed firsthand both grateful citizens pumping his hand,
thanking him for their liberation, and females fawning over him as if
he were a god. But this display went well beyond simple ogling of a
hero. Lorrd had had very little trouble with Imperial occupation, yet
these people were acting like he was their personal savior.

"I didn't realize negotiations with the new government of the
Republic would be anticipated so fervently," Luke commented to their
escort, resolutely ignoring the exuberant adulation. *If the Regent
is half this enthusiastic,* he sent silently to Mara, *the trade
talks should be a piece of ryshcate.*

"They are jubilant that the New Republic honored them by sending a
Jedi Knight as a representative," Meend explained. "Ah, here we are."

Luke and Mara looked up to take in as much of the palace of the Crown
Regent as they could from their vantage point outside the side
entrance. Magnificent spires overlaid with glittery red tiles
reflected the waning glow of sunset. Four-meter-tall double doors,
covered in bright gold, stood out boldly against the rich burgundy of
the building's walls. Flowering plants in a kaleidoscope of colors
spilled over from a myriad of jewel-encrusted window boxes. As
accustomed as she had been with the hanging gardens and crystal roofs
of Coruscant's Imperial Palace, Mara quickly decided that this was
the gaudiest edifice she'd ever seen.

The uniformed doormen of the palace were not the solemn type usually
found standing at attention in royal palaces, but rather gaily-
dressed, lively thespians who greeted them with a pantomimed
salutation. The stroll through the stately corridors to the Grand
Dining Hall was less crowded, but the courtiers and servants who did
appear were no less animated. As the large, ornate doors swung open,
the scene inside the vast chamber was even more surreal.

A trio of musicians was tucked into one corner, their rousing tunes
accompanying a troupe of flamboyant dancers who cavorted about the
outer perimeter of the room. Their limbs gesticulated wildly while
their painted faces contorted in amazingly accurate depictions of
species from across the galaxy. Watching them was a diverse group of
people seated around a long, oval dining table. They included men and
women dressed in military uniforms, robes of state, civilian clothes,
and elegant finery. A tall man in brocade robes looked up sharply,
then allowed a guarded smile to appear on his face as the trio of
newcomers approached. Mara estimated he was probably in his fifties;
subtle age lines decorated his dark brown skin, and gray was
sprinkled liberally though his once-jet black hair.

"Excellency, may I present Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, ambassador
from the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and his padawan, Mara
Jade," Meend announced, bowing low. He straightened, then addressed
the cloaked figures accompanying him. "Jedi Skywalker and Padawan
Jade," he held out a hand to indicate the now-rising gentleman, "His
Excellency, Crown Regent Pard-and-Rand Ke'lor-Mise."

Luke drew back his hood, then bowed in acknowledgment. "It is our
honor to meet you, Your Excellency. May I offer my sincerest
apologies for our delayed arrival."

"Your safety is of greater consequence than your punctuality," the
Regent responded, waving off the apology. "It has been many years
since we've been honored by the presence of a Jedi on Lorrd."

"We thank you for the opportunity to conduct negotiations on behalf
of Mon Mothma and the New Republic," Luke answered.

Mara noticed that Regent Ke'lor didn't seem to be taken off-guard by
Luke's appearance. Either the black does make him look older, she
thought, or Meend already informed the ruler on what to expect.

"Oh, yes, yes, the negotiations." The Regent paused, stroking his
neatly trimmed beard in contemplation. "I suppose we shall deal with
that tomorrow."

Mara glanced at Luke as Meend ushered them to their respective seats.
*Isn't that the reason we're here?*

*Of course,* he sent back, not looking at her. *Remember to school
your expressions. Lorrdians are extremely adept at reading the
slightest twitch.*

*I know, I know,* Mara huffed. She nodded graciously as she was
introduced to her table companions - Madame Ke'lor-Ola, the
Regent's
wife, to her left, and to her right was Coena, their older daughter.
As unobtrusively as she could, Mara took in the locations of the
others around her. The Crown Regent sat alone at the head of the
table, with Luke in a place of honor to his left. Next to Luke, and
directly across from Mara, was the Regent's younger daughter Jahnna,
a lively girl who looked like she'd just entered her teens. On the
other side of her sat a heavy-set man who alternated between scowling
at being placed next to a bubbly teenager, and gloating to everyone
else at the table that he'd been selected to sit so near the royal
family. A mixture of military and state officials filled the
remaining seats, and Mara followed Luke's lead in acknowledging each
as they were introduced.

The music playing in the background lowered as servants brought out
the first course of the meal, but the dancers continued their
histrionics, mutely performing a regalement of parodies for the
esteemed guests. Dinner conversation began with polite inquiries into
the well-being of the Jedi after their ship malfunctions, but it
wasn't long before the youngest diner brazenly piped up with
questions that had apparently been burning in her mind ever since she
was informed that the galaxy's only Jedi Knight was coming to Lorrd.

"Is it true that you blew up both Death Stars, and killed the Emperor
and Darth Vader all by yourself?" Jahnna asked Luke, her dark eyes
wide with wonder.

"No, most of the stories you've heard are gross exaggerations," Luke
explained patiently.

"Really?" the young woman said. "Perhaps, if you say so, since Jedi
aren't supposed to lie." She smiled with unabashed
admiration. "Certainly the rumor that you were as old as Father was
an exaggeration. Why, you can't be much older than me."

"Jahnna, allow Jedi Skywalker time to taste his meal without
bombarding him with questions," Madame Ke'lor admonished.

"Yes, mother," the girl dutifully murmured. Her downcast eyes
brightened, however, as the surrounding performers launched into a
new dramatization. She joined the others at the table in watching as
one of the female dancers, clad in a brightly colored feathered
costume, assumed the role of a prisoner of two of her male
counterparts.

"This enactment is one of my favorites," Coena informed Mara. "It is
an ancient Firrerreon legend in which Sung-Gi, a princess, is
kidnapped from her clan."

Mara followed the artfully choreographed movements, her attention now
caught by a young male performer who boldly battled the princess'
captors. "Let me guess," she ventured to her table companion. "The
handsome prince rescues the princess, and they live happily ever
after."

"Yes!" Coena exclaimed. "I think it's very romantic, no matter how
many times I've seen it."

"I'm sure it is," Mara agreed. *Except when the princess turns out to
be the prince's long-lost sister,* she sent silently across the
table, mentally smirking as Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Mara chuckled inwardly when he chided her for making him lose his
calm fa?e.

"I'll bet you could rescue a princess," Jahnna piped up to Luke,
heedless of her mother's earlier warning.

Luke blinked. Apparently the entire galaxy didn't know of his early
heroics on board the first Death Star. "Well ..."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" the young girl prattled on, not giving
him a chance to respond. "Do you think you'll ever get married? Will
your children automatically be Jedi Knights also?"

Regent Ke'lor frowned as he caught the questioning of his younger
offspring. "Child, clearly you weren't paying attention when I was
informing you of the history of the Jedi. It is not their way to fall
in love and marry. In fact, it is forbidden to them."

Luke, unfortunately, had just taken a large bite of saut? deur
steak at the moment of Regent Ke'lor's pronouncement. All eyes turned
his way as he coughed loudly, raising his napkin to his mouth as he
struggled not to choke.

"Jahnna only remembers the parts of her lessons that she wants to,"
her sister put in, laughing. "She has a drawing of a young Jedi
Knight wielding his lightsword tacked above her bed."

The younger princess forged ahead, giving her meddlesome sister a
glare before turning back to the object of her attention. "Is that
true, Jedi Skywalker? You're not allowed to marry, ever?"

"Uhh ..."

"Why, Master," Mara interjected smoothly from across the table, "you
failed to mention that directive during my training." Though her
words were light, the unsettled feelings she was sending to Luke were
anything but.

"Didn't want to scare you off," Luke mumbled, lowering his napkin.

Madame Ke'lor reached across the table to lay a hand on Luke's arm,
her many rings sparkling under the room's lights. "Is there any
chance you'll end the practice of taking infants from their families
to begin Jedi training?" she asked. "It always tore at my heart,
knowing those poor children never knew their families."

"Ola, my dear," the Regent interjected, "the Jedi Order became their
families. Emotional attachments would have been detrimental to a
Jedi's commitment to the galaxy."

Mara could feel Luke tensing inside, though his outward appearance
remained calm and serene. Wondering how he would respond, it was all
she could do not to stare as Luke cleared his throat and collected
his thoughts.

"During the Old Republic, there were tens of thousands of Jedi
Knights," Luke explained, addressing all those within earshot. "Their
teachings may not be practical, or possible, for future generations
of Jedi."

"You intend to forsake the Jedi Order's directives?" asked Regent
Ke'lor, a worried expression lining his face.

"The Jedi Order," Luke said, looking the elder man straight in the
eye, "currently consists of two members. If Force-strong candidates
are to be found and recruited, adjustments to the teachings and
training methods will undoubtedly be necessary."

"But you yourself, were you not trained by a Master of the Old
Order?" asked Admiral Gorra, joining the conversation.

"I was," Luke confirmed. "I began my training under Obi-Wan Kenobi.
After his death ..." Luke paused, and Mara caught the brief surge of
his emotion before he continued. "I eventually continued under the
tutelage of Master Yoda."

"Master Yoda!" the admiral exclaimed. "He lives?"

"No," Luke replied quietly. "He died about four standard months ago."

Jahnna suddenly broke her temporary silence, bringing the
conversation back to her mother's earlier concern. "Did you begin
your training as a baby, Jedi Skywalker?"

Luke shook his head, laughing. "No, I was eighteen before I'd even
heard of the Force."

Gasps of shock sounded from around the long table.

"But that means ..." Viceroy Blin-Ars, a rotund man who'd been
introduced as deputy of Lorrd's southern continent, faltered as he
tried to put his consternation into words. "How old are you, Sir
Knight, if I may ask?"

"Twenty-three standard years," Luke answered truthfully. Mara sensed
that Luke suspected, as she did, where the question was leading.

"So you've only trained for five years?" the viceroy blurted out
incredulously, his heavy-set jowls wobbling. "And yet you claim to be
a full-fledged knight, with a padawan of your own, no less?
Impossible!"

Mara's hand clenched around her fork, her knuckles threatening to
turn white. How dare that pompous so-and-so question Luke's
credentials? She flicked her eyes across the table as Luke sent a
silent command of 'Calm down.'

"I use only the title promised me by Master Yoda," Luke responded to
his denouncer. "Earned after I confronted Darth Vader."

"And well-earned, to be sure," Regent Ke'lor pronounced, making an
undecipherable gesture to the subordinate viceroy. "Your
accomplishments leave no doubt of your abilities. I apologize for
Viceroy Blin's outburst."

"No offense taken," Luke reassured the monarch. He then turned to the
chastised official. "Viceroy, I realize I may not be what some people
expect when thinking of a Jedi Knight, but I assure you that I am
striving to uphold the values of the Jedi Order, and I take very
seriously my responsibility to restore the Order as protectors of the
galaxy."

"Will you soon be ready for your trials, Mara?" Coena asked Mara as
the tone of the dinner conversation settled down.

"Trials?"

"Close to completing your training?" the girl rephrased.

"Well ..." Mara looked across the table at Luke, relieved that he
seemed to be following Coena's questioning. "My master would be the
best one to answer that query."

"She's closer than she thinks," Luke answered with a smile.

"It is unusual, is it not, for a padawan to be of a like age to her
master?"

Luke looked over Jahnna's head to reply to the viceroy's
inquiry. "Indeed, but there isn't much we can do about our ages. I
was the one who was trained as a Jedi. When I discovered that Mara
was also strong in the Force, I offered to share my knowledge with
her. She was willing to make the commitment to the Jedi Order, so she
became my apprentice. As other possible candidates are found, she and
I will recruit new students to join us. It will be a slow process, I
know, but a worthwhile one. As I said before, we don't have the
luxury right now of pairing up teams of teachers and students based
on age and gender."

The viceroy conceded the point to Luke with a not-too-
gracious "Humph!" The rest of the dinner proceeded in much the same
manner, with Luke and Mara doing their best to fend off the
inquisitive probes of their hosts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As soon as the Jedi, the Regent's family, and all other extraneous
guests had departed the dining hall, the war council reconvened.

"Now what are we going to do?" blustered Viceroy Blin-Ars, slapping
the table loudly. "He's little more than a boy! A barely trained
boy!"

"Trained by Yoda himself, don't forget," countered Admiral Gorra-
Vodma.

General Chukla-Bref shook his head in dissent. "We have no proof of
how extensive his training was. We need to test him ourselves."

"Test him how, Bref?" the admiral asked. "You expect him to just
perform for us?"

"Why not?" the general countered. "Asking for a demonstration of his
Jedi skills should not be that out of line."

"It would," insisted the admiral. "Jedi are notoriously reticent to
put on 'shows' of their powers."

"But do they not need to regularly practice those skills?" Colonel
Pimar-Archa put in. "And does he not have a padawan to train? We
should graciously offer him the use of a workout room, then observe
his expertise."

"Gentlemen," the Regent said quietly, "I think you are overlooking
the fact that it is his leadership and command skills that we need.
Above all, his ability to direct our pilots through the use of the
Force."

"But, Excellency," General Chukla said. "Even if he is able to lead
our forces to victory in this current crisis, what happens the next
time the Agzardans rise up against us? Can we rely on the galaxy's
only Jedi to come running every time we call?"

The colonel waved a hand dismissively. "Simple. We don't allow him to
leave."

"One does not 'simply' keep a Jedi hostage," Admiral Gorra
contended. "We cannot hold the promise of a trade agreement with the
New Republic over his head indefinitely."

"Are we forgetting that Skywalker is not the only Jedi here?"
declared the general. "If he will not become our patron Jedi, perhaps
his apprentice will."

Viceroy Blin-Ars threw up his pudgy hands in disgust. "She has less
experience than he does!"

"All the more reason to allow him the opportunity to finish her
training as soon as possible," reasoned Colonel Pimar. "And I
distinctly overheard her telling Miss Coena that she was well
acquainted with all types of fighter craft."

"True," Meend spoke up from his seat behind the regent. "She was
piloting the ship that they arrived in."

"She will not willingly stay here any more than he would," the
viceroy scoffed.

"She might with the right incentive," General Chukla mused. "She is
an attractive young woman. Surely we can provide a suitor to lure her
into making Lorrd her home."

"Were you not listening at dinner?" Admiral Gorra berated his fellow
conspirator. "Do you know no more about the Jedi than His
Excellency's younger daughter? They are immune to such involvement."

"Are you so sure of that, Vodma?" rebuffed the general. "The noble
knight nearly choked when it was mentioned that Jedi cannot marry,
and the girl was visibly shaken. I tell you, they were as surprised
as Miss Jahnna."

"Are we discounting the possibility that the Jedi and his padawan may
already be involved with each other?" the colonel noted.

"For a master to make any type of romantic overtures to a student
would be cause for expulsion from the Jedi Order," the Regent
declared.

"But as they themselves pointed out," said the colonel, "they are the
Jedi Order. Skywalker made it clear that adjustments to the teachings
of the old order will be necessary."

"I saw no evidence of an amorous liaison between Knight Skywalker and
Padawan Jade," Meend testified. "She especially was most agreeable to
their having separate accommodations."

Regent Ke'lor sighed in resignation. "Very well. Meend, find a
suitable match among your staff to escort the padawan. However," he
raised a hand authoritatively, "make certain he understands he is to
be the model of decorum. The last thing we want to do is alienate
either of the Jedi by being too obtrusive."

"As you say, my lord," the aide replied, smiling. "I have the perfect
person in mind."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later that night, as Mara sat brushing her hair at her mirrored
vanity, she could see Luke stretched out on the bed behind her.
Clothed only in his sleep-pants, he had found one of the elastic
bands she used to fasten her hair and was distractedly shooting it at
the ceiling, then calling it back to his hand and repeating the
motion over and over.

"Luke," she said, not turning around. "I know it's eating at you that
the Lorrdians know more Jedi history than you do, but if you're going
to sulk all night, you can go back to your own quarters."

He stopped suddenly and his eyes flickered toward her profile. "You
want me to leave?"

"What do you think?" she snapped sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not sulking," he muttered, sending the band to the top of her
vanity.

Mara shook her head, then padded over to the bed and lay down beside
him.

"Here I'm supposed to be this great Jedi, hero to the galaxy, and
school girls here are more knowledgeable of the Jedi than I am," he
complained, a whining tone creeping into his voice.

"For what it's worth, I though you did a good job covering up your
ignorance."

Luke turned his head and gave her a 'Thanks a lot' grimace.

"Listen," she continued. "You only trained a few months with Yoda.
There wasn't time to learn everything."

"He wasn't shy about spouting all kinds of other platitudes in my ear
as I carried him around the swamp." He rolled onto his side to face
her. "Maybe I should borrow a Jedi history book while I'm here."

"So you can find out how much you're doing wrong? What are you going
to do then? Dissolve our marriage? Look for a younger apprentice?"

"Of course not." Luke pulled her toward him, kissing her
softly. "Aren't some rules made to be broken?"

"Humph." Mara trailed her fingers down his side. "Do you suppose that
was partially to blame for the Jedi's downfall?"

"What?"

"I know Palpatine was the main reason. I'm not disputing that. But
what if in-house squabbling could have contributed to their inability
to defend themselves from the Empire? Perhaps rebellion against their
own strict customs weakened the Jedi Order."

"Or even caused some to turn to the dark side," Luke
murmured. "Perhaps my father wasn't married to my mother. I had just
assumed ..."

"Or perhaps they married in defiance of the laws," Mara added. The
last thing she wanted was another reason for Luke to feel sorry for
himself. "Did it ever occur to you that there was a reason Yoda and
Obi-Wan omitted all these tidbits of wisdom? Maybe they didn't intend
for you to know them. Maybe 'pass on what you have learned'
translated into 'pass on only what we've taught you.'"

"Why would they deliberately hide teachings from me?"

"I'd say it was because they finally realized that not every rule of
the old Order was a good one. Think about it. If it was so important
for a Jedi to begin training as a baby, why didn't Ben just take you
to Dagobah to grow up, instead of having you live with the Larses? Or
why didn't he at least send you to Yoda right after Yavin, instead of
waiting three more years?"

"I've wondered that myself," Luke admitted.

"Maybe because even a Jedi needs the structure and love of a family,
needs real-life experience out in the galaxy, instead of being
cloistered away in some temple all the while he's growing up."

"It sounded like the Jedi took their padawans out in the galaxy to
gain experience," he countered, frowning.

"But Ben or Yoda couldn't do that with you, could they? Han and Leia
and the rest of the Rebellion were your substitute teachers in that
regard."

"But by the time I did get to Dagobah, Yoda said I was too old to
begin Jedi training."

"Clearly he was just messing with your mind, wanting you to be that
much more determined to work hard. Didn't you tell me that just
before he died, Yoda said you already knew everything you needed to?"

"Yes."

"See? He and Kenobi decided they didn't want you to know all the do's
and don'ts that Jedi had followed blindly for generations. They
trusted your judgment in making up a new set of rules as you went
along."

"That was a lot to dump on me."

"Yes, it was. But I believe you're up to the task, Luke Skywalker.
This is not something to be done overnight. You should spend as much
time as necessary easing into the Jedi Master role. Luckily, you have
a very patient apprentice."

Luke looked up at the word 'patient,' arching an eyebrow
questioningly.

Mara ignored him and continued. "Odds are, a lot of the rules you
decide will be the same, or similar, to what your predecessors had.
In other cases ..." She stroked his cheek softly. "If you'd known
Jedi weren't supposed to marry, would you still have proposed?"

"I ..." Luke faltered, emotions swirling on his face. "Yes, I would
have."

"Good." She kissed him soundly, relishing the feel of his arms around
her. "But I know you. You would have been plagued with guilt
nevertheless."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right."

"And we were right to marry." He slipped a strap of her nightgown
down, brushing his lips against her soft shoulder. "Speaking of being
married, isn't it about our four-day anniversary? Surely that still
qualifies us as being on our honeymoon."

"Skywalker, I intend for us to treat every night as our honeymoon for
the rest of our lives ..."

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism
Chapter Three

The Skywalkers rose early the next morning, as Luke deemed they
needed to allow extra time to review the trade agreement material
once more before the long-awaited negotiations began after
breakfast. Plus, he had rationalized to Mara, it would be much
easier to slip back into his own suite before the housekeeping staff
began their morning routine.

Mara showered quickly and had just finished dressing when her danger
sense flickered. Without thinking she reached out for Luke's
presence and found him calm, albeit preoccupied. Still in his own
shower, most likely. She picked up her lightsaber and moved to the
common room, on alert. Something-no, someone-was
approaching.
Several someones, in fact, and they all felt familiar.

Mara didn't have long to ponder the mystery, as her door slid open a
split second later. She ignited her saber and stood ready, but
relaxed her grip when Han Solo, of all people, stepped into her
suite, followed by Leia Organa. Confusion flowed through Mara at
what they were doing here, followed by annoyance that they had broken
into her room, back to confusion as she took note of the blasters
sported by the pair, aimed right at her.

"Don't move, Jade," Han ordered, stepping further into the open
space, his blaster never wavering. Leia stood next to him, her face
a mask of determination.

Mara started to respond when two more beings crept in, moving to
flank the other side of her - Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca,
both
pointing the business ends of their weapons at her.

"What is going on?" Mara growled, automatically falling into a combat
stance as she waved her lit saber between the foursome that now had
her surrounded.

"We're going to have a little chat," Leia announced. She glanced at
Han, and Mara saw him mouth the question 'Luke?' to Leia. The
brunette shook her head, eyes darting back to fixate on Mara. "I
think he's nearby, but not here. He's all right."

Mara made a move toward Leia when a snarl behind her stopped her
cold. She could hear the clicking sound of a bowcaster being cocked.

"Princess ..., Solo ..." Mara's eyes flicked warily between the two,
and her grip tightened on her lightsaber. "Are you going to let me
in on what's happening, or am I supposed to guess?"

"I think you know, Jade," Han bit out.

Enough was enough, and Mara sent out a mental shout.

Luke was just turning off the water valve when Mara's call came
though.

*Luke!*

*Yes?*

"Get over here!*

*Can't decide what to wear again, or just can't get enough of me?*
He smiled to himself as he recalled the previous night. This Jedi
did 'know passion.' Luke's daydreaming of Mara was cut short as a
mixture of frustration and anger flowed to him through their Force
bond. He grabbed a towel and began to dry off. What had he done?
*Okay, I'll be right-*

*Now, Skywalker!*

The urgency in her tone made Luke pull on his tunic and trousers
right over bare, wet skin, nearly tripping in the process. This was
no ordinary ranting at him. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

Luke reached out with the Force, and abruptly he could feel other
presences surrounding Mara. Leia! Leia was there, and Han, and ...
What in blazes? Luke flew out the door, snatching his lightsaber on
the way, and burst into Mara's room. His eyes widened at the sight
that greeted him. Mara stood defiantly in the center of the room,
her ignited lightsaber held two-handed, waving it back and forth at
Han and Leia, who had their blasters pointed at Mara.

Han jerked slightly at Luke's sudden entry, but Leia seemed unshaken,
her eyes riveted on Mara.

Luke clutched his saber hilt, not ready to ignite it yet. "Mara,
what are you doing?" Even as the words left his mouth, he took note
that Lando and Chewie, standing behind Mara, also had weapons trained
on her.

"Me?!" Mara shrieked. "What makes you assume this is my doing?"

Ignoring Mara's outburst, Luke turned his attention to his sister and
friend. "Han, Leia, what's going on? What are you doing here?"

"She's dangerous." Leia's sober voice had the same businesslike tone
she used when addressing Rebel troops.

"We're rescuing you, kid." Han gestured in Mara's direction with his
head. "From her."

"But I don't need rescu-" he stopped short, pushing wet hair out
of
his eyes as Leia's statement registered with him. "What are you
talking about?" Finally igniting his blade but keeping it pointed
down, he moved to stand directly between Leia and his wife. Without
prompting, Mara swiveled to face her other two aggressors, her back
now pressed against Luke's.

"Luke, please," Leia implored. For the first time, her blaster
wavered. "You don't understand."

"No, I don't. Enlighten me."

"She's been lying to you. She's an Imperial. She was before you met
her, and she still is."

"Luke, be sensible," Lando called out from behind him. "There are
four of us."

"You're the one who needs to come to his senses, Calrissian," Mara
grated out, waving her lightsaber threateningly. "You wouldn't stand
a chance-"

"Mara!" Luke barked. Abruptly, Mara's weapon snapped off.

"Hey!" she cried indignantly, whirling to glare at her husband.

"This has gone too far," he returned. Luke reached out with one hand
and plucked the blaster out of Leia's grasp. "We're going to sit
down and discuss this like civilized beings."

"Not till she puts down that lightsaber," Han vowed, staring at the
redhead warily.

Luke reached back, pulled the unlit hilt out of Mara's hand, and
tossed it on a nearby chair, along with his own. Power cells from
Han and Lando's blasters popped out, and the bowcaster's ammo
cartridge of quarrels fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"Now, we sit."

*What happened before I got here?* Luke sent silently to Mara as the
group reluctantly began settling themselves on and around the room's
couch and chairs. Leia's obscure warning over the comm now became
ominously clear.

*I walked out here after my shower,* Mara returned, not looking his
way as she sank into a conform chair next to his, *the door slid open
and they rushed in, blasters raised. I did not provoke them.*

*I didn't say you did.* Luke glanced briefly at Leia, poised regally
on the couch between Han and Lando, then directed his next question
aloud to Han. "All right, now what's this about?"

"Ask her." Han stared at Mara, meeting her defiant glare.

"I'm asking you," Luke returned, his voice chilling and flat.

"She lied about being a dancer, Luke," Leia answered before Han could
reply. "She's an Imperial agent."

"I believe you already mentioned that." Luke leaned forward, resting
his elbows on his knees. He mentally cursed the annoying creaking of
the furniture's musan-leather covering, which seemed to mock the
gravity of the situation. "And it's absurd. What I'm waiting to
hear is what gave you such an idea."

"They have vivid imaginations," Mara put in, shrugging her shoulders
as she nonchalantly twirled a curl of still-damp hair.

"Luke, we know about her mission on Tatooine," Leia said, her eyes
pleading with Luke for understanding. "It wasn't hard to figure out
why she came to Jabba's."

Luke could feel Mara's emotions spike with sudden apprehension. It
appeared their carefully woven deception had come unraveled. "But
she didn't carry through with it," he countered desperately, sitting
upright and patting his chest. "I'm still alive, aren't I? She was
the most skilled assassin Palpatine had. If she'd truly wanted to
kill me, I'd be dead."

Everyone stared at Mara in sudden shock, reaching once more for their
weapons.

"Assassin!" Leia exclaimed, echoing her companions' surprise. "She
was there to assassinate you?!"

Reflexively, Luke waved a hand and the blasters and bowcaster flew to
land at his feet. "You said you knew why she was there," he mumbled,
a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"They just thought they knew," Mara snapped, giving him an
exasperated grimace.

"We assumed that she was only a spy," Leia murmured. "That she was
there to lead the Empire to us-to watch until we'd all arrived,
then
call in the stormtroopers to capture us."

"Only a spy? I'm crushed." Mara slouched back in her chair once
more, her tone seething with impertinence. "You place more
importance on yourselves than you deserve, Your Highness. Didn't
Bespin teach you anything? Skywalker was the only threat that
Palpatine worried about."

Han edged forward in his seat, and Luke could sense his friend's
fingers itching to curl around the familiar handgrip of his
blaster. "Vader wasn't able to kill Luke on Bespin, so the Emperor
sent you to do the job?"

Leia's eyes narrowed accusingly at her brother. "Luke, how long have
you known this?"

"She told me soon after I met her," the Jedi grumbled, his initial
embarrassment at inadvertently revealing the truth now dissolving
into irritation at his sister and friends. "A few days before I
convinced her to escape with me."

"Convinced her?" Han snorted derisively. "Didn't it occur to you it
was all a trap? Kid, you are way too trusting."

"They already had me! Why would she help me escape?"

"How about for the same reason Tarkin and Vader let us escape from
the first Death Star? So you'd lead her right to the Rebellion's
doorstep." Han shook his head. "You never learn, do ya?"

Luke was grateful to Han for giving him something to smile inwardly
about, even for a moment. It was a full standard month after Yavin
before Han had swallowed his pride and admitted their escape had been
a set-up. Chewie's discovery of the homing beacon on the Falcon's
hull was a technicality he hadn't been able to ignore. The
Wookiee's soft wuffing from his spot behind the couch confirmed that
he'd caught the humor in Han's words, too.

"Was it Vader or Palpatine who engineered that whole mock escape
attempt?" Leia continued the argument, glaring at Mara. Luke winced
at the casual disregard for their father, but Leia didn't seem to be
in any mood to sympathize with him.

If it was possible, Mara's eyes turned even colder. "I never took
orders from Vader."

"She wasn't pretending to help me," Luke insisted, cutting into the
thick tension in the room. "Mara betrayed the Emperor; broke free of
his control over her." He gripped the arms of the chair, the
knuckles of his left hand turning white. "Do you realize how much
willpower that took?"

"Luke, you've already confirmed her to be Imperial. Nobody does that
quick of an about face," Leia seethed.

"How can you say that?! How can you of all people say that?" Luke
nearly catapulted from his chair until he felt Mara overloading his
senses with waves of calmness. "Our own father-"

"That was different," Leia retorted, refusing to back down. "He
turned because he loved you, and only because he loved you. He
couldn't stand by and see Palpatine murder you." She suddenly eyed
both Luke and Mara warily as if the wild rumors about the pair were
puzzle pieces that just fell into place. "Are you saying you two
became lovers while you were a prisoner, and that's why she helped
you?"

"No!" Luke denied the accusation vehemently before the fire drained
out of him and he rubbed his temples wearily. Out of the corner of
his eye, he saw Lando raise an eyebrow in Chewie's direction. Han's
longtime pals knew of the dysfunctional Skywalker family
relationship, but they'd rarely witnessed a full-blown spat between
his sister and himself.

Mara took up the explanation. "Luke believed in me, and befriended
me. Is that so hard to accept, Princess? Surely you realize what
exceptional powers of persuasion your brother possesses."

Luke gave Mara a sideways glance, not sure if she was being sarcastic
or sincere. He'd been so wrapped up in defending her that he hadn't
noticed just when she'd put up nearly impenetrable barriers. Come to
think of it, she was being incredibly composed through this whole
confrontation.

"Half the Alliance consists of Imperial defectors," Luke continued,
much calmer himself now. "General Madine, Tycho Celchu. Even Han
used to be an Imperial officer. Why is Mara any different?"

"Madine and Tycho and Han weren't the Emperor's personal assassins,"
Leia countered. "Have you forgotten Shira Brie so soon?"

"Mara's nothing like Shira!" Luke ignored the chill he felt coming
from his wife, remembering Mara's shock and wrath the day one of the
Rogues casually mentioned the other Emperor's Hand's name. "You're
acting like Mara's a cold-blooded killer who targeted only Jedi." He
threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You don't even know
her."

"No, we don't," Han answered for all of them. "And neither do you."
He stared hard at the cool redhead, lounging in her chair with her
legs crossed in an unconcerned manner, one bare foot swaying up and
down. "Maybe Miss Jade would like to tell us about all her
meritorious assassinations."

Mara shot a questioning glance at Luke. His eyes flickered briefly
at her before he answered with a soft "Go ahead."

"My targets were mainly traitors to the Empire - treasonous
officers,
crooked crimelords, renegade moffs. I rarely was sent after the few
Jedi still alive, or any Rebels entrenched in your ranks. Lord Vader
was given those assignments." Mara looked pointedly at Leia.

"And I suppose Luke was just an exception to the rule?" Leia shot
back.

"Yes, he was," Mara answered smoothly. "After Bespin, the Emperor
didn't trust Vader. He knew of Lord Vader's attempt to entice
Skywalker into collaboration."

"How did he find out about that?" Luke asked, frowning. No one but
his father and him had been present on that gantry on Cloud City, and
Luke had never mentioned the exchange to anyone. He sincerely
doubted that his father would have confessed his mutinous plans to
the Emperor, either.

"He had his sources, Jedi," Mara replied.

Han glanced at Leia questioningly, and she shrugged. "Hold on," he
interrupted, looking at Luke. "What attempt?"

Luke shifted in his chair, the chafing of his clothes against his wet
skin not the only reason he was growing more and more
uncomfortable. "Vader ... He wanted me to join with him in
overthrowing Palpatine, and ruling-"

"Ruling the galaxy?" Han finished. "I hope you realized it was just
another trick to lure you in."

"It wasn't a trick," Luke insisted. "He didn't approve of
Palpatine's methods."

Han shook his head in resignation. "Were all Jedi this naive?" he
asked no one in particular.

"All this aside," Leia began, "she tried to kill you at Jabba's. She
should be taken into custody on that charge alone."

"She never got near me," Luke pointed out heatedly.

"She just admitted that her only purpose there was to assassinate
you."

"You can't charge her without my consent." Luke crossed his arms in
defiance. He was glad Leia was not sitting next to him. She had
this habit of tenderly clasping his hands in hers when attempting-
usually successfully-to 'change his stubborn mind,' as she put
it.
Looking at his sister's frustrated expression, he could well imagine
her to be wishing that he was sitting within grasping range. This,
though, was one subject in which he'd never think differently. "You
can no more prosecute her than you could a TIE pilot for shooting
down an X-wing, or a stormtrooper for killing a Rebel soldier. Mara
was only following the orders given her by a superior, and her
superior was Palpatine."

"The same could be said of Darth Vader," Leia rejoined. "Are you
saying he was not responsible for the atrocities he committed?"

"Vader ... Father ... made the choice to carry out his actions. Mara
was never allowed to have a choice. She was kidnapped as a child;
all memory of her family was stolen from her. She was raised by
Palpatine for the sole purpose of doing his bidding."

"Just remember all those arguments when Mon Mothma asks why you lied
to protect an Imperial assassin," Han put in, to Luke's discomfort.

"Luke ..." Leia closed her eyes a moment, as if trying to come up
with a new tactic. "Can we talk to you privately?"

"I have no secrets from Mara," he returned, wondering what his sister
was up to now. His shameless attempt to convince the others to feel
sorry for Mara seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Leia let a small sigh escape. "Do you
discuss Alliance business with her? Confide in her regarding your
missions?"

Luke narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply. His silence was enough of
an answer.

"Does she try to draw out classified information from you? Does she
have access to eyes-only documents you receive?"

"Just what are you implying here, Princess?" Mara bit out.

"Leia, she's not spying for anyone!" Luke's eyes blazed a deadly
cobalt blue.

"Luke, we know you think Mara's your friend, but try to look at this
objectively," Leia said, almost pleading. "She gains your
confidence, worms her way into a position within the Alliance where
she can study your files. She gets all chummy with you," Leia
hesitated briefly, "maybe even seduces you so you'll let your guard
down around her-"

"Now wait a minute!" Luke objected.

*She's got you there, lover,* Mara sent silently with a hint of
strained humor. *I do enjoy seducing you, though I could use more
practice.*

Luke shot Mara a warning frown, but she was already fixing Leia with
a hard stare, her chin lifted defiantly.

"What Luke and I do or don't do in private is none of your business,
Your Highness."

"When Mon Mothma questions us about whether you're really Luke's Jedi
apprentice or just his lover, it becomes our business," Leia declared.

"Mon Mothma thinks we're ..." Luke groaned, leaning his head against
the back of his chair and curling his bare toes in the fuzzy worl-
weave carpet. What a mess! How could a morning that started out so
pleasant go downhill so fast?

"I can't believe you, Luke," Han drawled. "Tell me, is this a Jedi-
thing or a farmkid-thing, bedding your would-be killer?"

"What?!" Luke croaked.

"C'mon, quit denying it. You've been sleeping with her since you
first met her."

"I have not!"

"Only a depraved mind like yours would believe rumors, Solo," Mara
dismissed with a smirk. "Besides, Skywalker here is practically
virginal."

Luke's jaw dropped down in shock. How could she say such a thing?

"She's just using you, kid," Han continued. "You're too trusting.
You're so delighted to have someone to practice your hocus-pocus
with, that you'll believe anything she tells you."

"And just what am I doing with these secrets that I'm supposedly
prying out of him?" Mara said with a snort, as Luke was still too
shell-shocked to reply. "The Empire's dead."

"No," Leia answered her. "Palpatine and Vader are dead, but the
Empire's still kicking. We just need to figure out who you're
working for."

"Look," Luke said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him. He
stood up, his steely gaze meeting the eyes of each of Mara's accusers
in turn. "Mara is not going to kill me, she hasn't brainwashed me,
and she's not stealing classified information for the Empire or
anyone else. If you all would knock off the high and mighty attitude
and give her a chance, you'd see that for yourselves." He glanced
over his shoulder at Mara, then turned back. "I trust her," he
continued softly. "I trust her with my life." He sat back down on
the edge of his chair. *I trust her with my love,* he added silently
so only the woman he'd pledged his devotion to could hear.

Mara sent a returning swell of love, but the next words she spoke
were a caustic retort to his audience. "Save your breath,
Skywalker. Apparently your assurances mean nothing to them."

It was Chewbacca who first voiced a reply to Luke's plea, coming from
behind the couch to wrap one hairy arm around Luke's shoulders. [I
trust the cub's judgment,] he rumbled. [We should give his friend
the benefit of the doubt, until proof surfaces to show otherwise.]

"The benefit of the doubt?" Han protested. "Aw, Chewie, you're as
gullible as he is." He turned to Mara, raising a finger in
warning. "Listen, Jade. Just cause Chewie's given you his stamp of
approval, doesn't mean the rest of us automatically go along with
it. The big guy's been wrong before."

"Han ..." Leia took a deep breath, her intense scrutiny fixed on her
brother and the stone-faced woman before her. "I can't believe I'm
saying this, but perhaps Chewbacca is right. We have no proof that
she's corroborating with any of the Imperial remnants, or that she's
a danger to Luke. I guess I have a share of that Skywalker over-
protectiveness in me, too. But, just to be safe, we will stay on
Lorrd until the negotiations are completed, then accompany them back
to Coruscant." Leia then focused her attention solely on Mara, "I
expect you to make a full disclosure to Mon Mothma of your past
Imperial ties. Do I make myself clear?"

"As transparisteel, Your Highness," Mara said coolly. "I assume
you'll be revealing to Mothma your own blood ties to the Empire, hmm?"

"I ... I ..." Leia sputtered.

"That's none of your concern!" Han jumped to her defense.

"No, Han, she's right." Leia laid a hand on Han's arm, halting his
outburst. She gazed across at her brother as he anxiously awaited
her reaction. "Luke and I need to discuss that very subject. I
can't expect everyone else to reveal all their secrets to High
Command if I'm unwilling to do so as well."

Privately Luke felt relieved. Leia did need to unburden herself of
the undeserved guilt she was bottling up inside herself.

Mara glanced at the decorative chrono hanging on one
wall. "Skywalker, our escort to breakfast will be here soon," she
reminded him. "And you look even less ready to go than I do." She
glowered at the others. "So if everyone has run out of groundless
accusations to throw at me, perhaps the Jedi and I can attend to the
business we were sent here to conduct."

"All right, we get the hint," Han said gruffly. "But we're staying
on Lorrd, got it?" He glanced at Luke. "Know any place we can bed
down tonight?"

"Skywalker has a spare bedchamber in his suite," Mara spoke up
quickly, eliciting a wave of annoyance from Luke. *If you want to
pretend we're not married, you can go back to rooming with your
sister,* she sent silently.

"You can't stay with me," Luke said, turning his attention to the
others. "I'm supposed to be here alone."

"Yeah," Han said with a snort. "You followed that order real well,
didn't ya?" He waved a hand dismissively. "Nobody'll notice us.
We'll be real quiet."

"But ... but ..."

Chewie growled out a low mumble to Lando.

"So will I," he answered the Wookiee, then stood, looking at the
others. "Chewie and I will stay on the Falcon. Han and Leia can
have Luke's extra room."

"Wait a minute," Luke protested.

"It's settled then. Great." Han slapped his knees. "We'll
just-"

A melodic chime interrupted Han's sentence, freezing everyone in
their places.

"Sithspit! They're early," Mara bit out in a hushed tone. She
drilled the unwanted visitors with a well-practiced glare. "Go hide
in the bedroom."

Scooping up their weapons, the Falcon's crew quickly disappeared into
the adjoining room. Luke slipped out of sight as well, listening
silently as Mara answered the door.

"Good morning, Padawan Jade," a silky voice filtered in from the
corridor. "I am Second Aide Serl-and-Jeem Vazan-Jayce. Prime Aide
Meend has sent me to escort you and Jedi Skywalker to morning meal,
but I did not receive a reply at Jedi Skywalker's quarters."

"Well, he's not over here," Mara was heard answering rather
indignantly before softening her tone. "Perhaps he's meditating, or
still in the shower." There was a pause, then she continued. "I'm
not quite ready, either. If you could come back in, say, a quarter
standard hour, I'm sure my master and I will both be ready."

"Of course, madam," the voice replied. "I apologize for my early
arrival, and shall return as you wish."

The sound of the door sliding shut punctuated the end of the
conversation. Mara didn't even look for Luke as she approached the
bedchamber's doorway. "All right, out, all of you."

"You call Luke your master?" Leia asked, arching an eyebrow
curiously. "Where did he go?" she added as she stepped back into the
common room.

"He is training me in the ways of the Jedi," Mara returned,
impatiently waving them toward the door. "And don't you think he's
proficient enough in their skills that he can slip out unseen?"

Han bent and picked up a pillow from the bedchamber's floor, tossing
it onto the bed. "Restless sleeper, Jade?" he said sarcastically,
casting a suspicious glance at the rumpled bedcovers on both sides of
the bed.

"Out," Mara repeated, forcefully tamping down the urge to throttle
the man.

Lando and Chewbacca checked the outer corridor and signaled to their
companions that the coast was clear. Trailing behind the others,
Leia had just reached the door when Mara suddenly spoke up.

"I'm not going to kill your brother," Mara said quietly, not sure
what possessed her to say the words. Guilt, perhaps, that Luke had
been the one making all the entreaties on her behalf.

"So you say." Leia half-turned, her face a paragon of diplomatically-
trained impassiveness. "But then, I wouldn't expect you to go around
announcing your murder plans in advance. Especially to the victim's
family." Leia gave her one last cool stare, then swept out the door
after the others.

Mara sighed heavily as the door closed behind the troupe, a mixture
of relief and frustration flowing through her. She unconsciously
swept a worried gaze around her bedchamber, hoping that Luke hadn't
left any personal articles lying about, then mentally chastised
herself. Blazing stars, he was her husband.

Her husband who would soon be getting a piece of her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery -- Book III: Prism

Chapter Four (part 1 of 2)

"Coward."

The word stopped Luke cold, but Mara felt no sympathy. He had been
reaching for his cloak from the foyer closet when she had silently
slipped into his suite.

"If you don't tell them we're married, I will." Even as she said the
words, Mara knew it was an empty threat. Revealing their marriage to
his sister and friends was Luke's privilege, and
responsibility. "Are you that afraid they won't approve?" she
continued. "Do you fear they believe I bewitched you into trusting
me?" She glared at the back of his tense frame, his clenched
fists. "Or are you afraid yourself, deep down, that you've been so
head over heels in love with me from day one that you'd believe
anything I told you. That maybe I am still an Imperial, and you've
been too blind to see it."

Luke slowly turned around to face her, his hands now hanging limp,
and Mara knew he was willing himself to remain calm. He didn't
speak, but instead opened his mind completely to her. The two of
them had long ago dissolved the barriers between them, but now even
the thin wall that kept their every thought from surfacing in the
other's mind was gone. This was not like their Force bonding
experiences. Luke forcibly thrust every thought, every belief, every
memory of his into her mind.

Mara staggered slightly, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of his
power and by what he was revealing. She saw that even though he'd
been lied to his whole life, he still believed her, and believed in
her. And she saw that his trust hadn't wavered in the face of Han
and Leia's accusations.

Luke slowly held out one hand to her. Mara noticeably trembled,
feeling unshed tears glistening in her eyes. After several long,
strained moments, she took his hand, and Luke pulled her into a
fierce embrace. She buried her head on his shoulder, shame and
regret preventing her from meeting his gaze.

"I'm so sorry, Luke," her muffled voice whispered. "I should never
have doubted-"

"Shhh," Luke hushed, stroking her hair. "I'm the one that should be
apologizing. I never meant to hurt you or belittle our
relationship. It's just ... I want them to believe in you for your
own merits, not because you're married to me. As soon as they accept
you, then we'll ease into the wedding details."

"And if they never have a favorable opinion of me?"

"They will. I know they will." He lifted her chin, tenderly
stroking her face. "How can they not, when you're the most
intelligent, trustworthy, beautiful woman in the galaxy?"

"Humph," Mara muttered, letting a smile creep onto her
countenance. "Calrissian you'll probably convince, talking like
that, but your sister?"

"She will, too." Luke flashed her one of his most disarming smiles,
almost immediately followed by a pathetic attempt at a glare. "By
the way, I know you were irritated with me this morning, but did you
have to tell them that I was practically ... you know ..."

Mara laughed lightly at his obvious embarrassment and hugged him
tightly. "Sweetheart, you can count on one hand the number of times
in your life that you've had sex. I hardly think that qualifies you
as being promiscuous."

"Same number of times as you," he muttered, trying to look annoyed
and again failing miserably.

"Ah, but no one was challenging my intimate experiences. I'm the
wanton vixen who's taking advantage of the innocent Jedi solely to
pry secrets out of him."

"You don't have to pry." Luke's blue eyes sparkled even in the dim
light of the foyer. "Every trace of me is yours, down to the last
smidgen."

All thoughts of a smart comeback evaporated as Mara melted into
Luke's arms, their lips meeting in a nearly desperate joining, their
hands clutching each other without reserve.

A resonant chime signaled that their escort had returned. Luke drew
back reluctantly, gave Mara one last soft kiss, then pulled her hood
into place. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go haggle for some norumite
crystals for the New Republic, and then we can get down to the
business of playing house together."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Trailing behind in what was Mara's usual spot, Luke followed every
flirtatious overture that their newly assigned escort was making
toward his wife. Granted, the overly zealous Second Aide Serl-and-
Jeem Vazan-Jayce-or simply Jayce, as he insisted Mara should
address
him-didn't know that the beautiful padawan was already spoken
for,
but it still galled Luke to have to be a witness to the philandering
display. Their earlier sojourn to breakfast had been bad enough;
this return trip to the ambassadorial wing was downright painful for
the young Jedi.

"I thank you for accompanying us," Luke said as they entered their
building's glittery vestibule, putting as much graciousness into his
tone as he could muster. He moved forward, deliberately forcing the
aide to relinquish his grasp of Mara's elbow. "I believe we can find
our own way to our rooms."

"As you wish, honored Knight," Jayce responded smoothly, his dark
eyes remaining transfixed on Mara. "I shall return in one standard
hour to show you to the training hall." He reached out and lifted
Mara's hand to his lips. "May I say I am looking forward to serving
you during the remainder of your stay. Not only has Lorrd been
graced with the presence of noble Jedi, but also with one of the most
breathtaking Jedi in the history of the Order."

Luke narrowed his eyes in barely restrained vexation as Jayce once
more brushed a soft kiss against the back of Mara's hand.

Mara pulled back from her admirer when Luke began clearing his
throat. "Thank you for all your assistance," she said.

"My pleasure, m'lady." The aide gave a flamboyant bow, holding it
until his charges disappeared through the arched doorway.

"Sheesh. That guy is worse than Calrissian," Mara commented when she
and Luke were finally alone.

"I'm glad you think so," Luke muttered.

"What? You think I enjoyed that?"

"You weren't exactly discouraging him." He glanced her way as they
walked briskly down the statue-lined corridor, their heels clip-
clopping lightly on the inlaid greel wood floor. "Are you going to
have men chasing after you on every planet we go to? You could've
warned me about this before I proposed."

"And miss seeing you squirm with jealousy?" Mara laughed in
amusement.

"I wasn't jealous of the Prudens on Zembuhl," Luke said, reaching out
to pull her close.

"Ah, so you admit to being resentful of Jayce's attention to me.
Just because he's tall, dark, and handsome ..." She playfully kissed
him on the cheek. "Surely jealousy leads to the dark side."

Luke finally let a little grin escape. "Only if I take my lightsaber
to him." He paused as they reached the door to his suite, reaching
out with the Force and sensing Mara do the same.

"I see they had no trouble breaking into your room, either," Mara
said.

"Did you think they would?" Luke asked. "Han can hotwire just about
anything."

"But how can they keep sneaking in here without anyone seeing them?
Chewbacca especially should stick out like a Talz at a convention of
Chadra-Fans."

"Have you seen anyone else around? Surely you've noticed we seem to
have the entire wing to ourselves."

"I saw all the guards around the perimeter of the palace when we
first arrived," she returned. "Explain how they get past them."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly and smiled. "What can I say? They're
Rebels."

Mara replied with a melodramatic moan, then turned toward her own
door. "Maybe I should-" she began, but Luke grabbed her arm.

"You can't avoid them forever." At her frown, he continued
undaunted. "I asked them to accept you. That goes both ways. You
can be civil, Mara. I want them to be as much your family and
friends as mine." He squeezed her hand, then released it just before
punching in his entry code and stepping through the doorway.

"Hey, kid!" Han greeted his younger friend.

"Making yourself at home, I see," Luke answered, forcing a smile on
his face. His gaze went from Han and Leia sprawled on the couch, to
Lando helping himself at the refreshment bar, to Chewbacca tinkering
with a cleaning droid.

"Chewie's reprogramming it to ignore our presence," Han
explained, "but to leave extra towels." He lazily rose and grabbed
two bottles of red valjueen juice from Luke's cooling unit, then
returned to his seat, handing one bottle to Leia. "Those were some
good burhoney rolls you had in here," he drawled, nodding toward an
empty basket setting on a low table.

"Sorry I missed 'em," Luke said. He unclipped his cloak and draped
it over the back of a chair, then took a seat himself. Mara perched
nearby on a low stool.

"So, junior, what's on your agenda for the rest of today?" Han took
a long swig of the sweet-tasting drink, wiping his mouth with the
back of his hand.

"They're letting us do some drills in their battle simulators," Luke
replied enthusiastically. "Then we have an informal lunch with their
military commanders."

"They offered us the use of one of their exercise halls in the
afternoon, to get in some saber practice," Mara added. "We haven't
had a chance for a good workout since we left Coruscant."

Leia sat up straight, a look of concern filling her face. "But what
about the negotiations? How are they going?"

"They're not," Mara replied bluntly. Luke sent a feeling of warmth
her way, aware of the looks of vexation she was receiving for being
brazen enough to join the conversation. Mara responded with a curt
*Worry about yourself, farmboy.*

"Regent Ke'lor keeps pushing them back," Luke went on to explain,
turning his attention back to the others. "It's as if an alliance
with the New Republic isn't important to Lorrd."

"What has he said exactly?" asked Leia. "These negotiations are
important, Luke. Even if Lorrd doesn't want to join the New
Republic, surely we can work out some kind of trade agreement. We
need those crystals."

"I know, I know," Luke replied defensively. "But every time I bring
up anything about beginning the negotiations, the Regent and his
ministers turn the conversation around so that it revolves around the
Jedi."

"Around you specifically," Mara put in. "Your training, your
experience."

"Exactly," Luke agreed. "I feel like I'm being interviewed for a job
position."

"I should call Mon Mothma," Leia stated. "She'll want to know your
progress." She gave Luke a slightly exasperated frown. "Or lack of
progress."

"It's not my fault!" His miffed reaction turned into one of chagrin
when laughter filled the room, and he slumped back into his chair,
crossing his arms. "I told her I wasn't a diplomat."

Leia shook her head, then turned to Han. "Maybe I should use the
comm on the Falcon. It would be more secure."

"And more doable," Mara said, noticeably tempering her usual
sarcastic tone. "Apparently you freeloaders haven't noticed -
farmboy doesn't have a comm terminal in here."

Four heads swiveled to reinspect the lush suite. There were the dark
brown zati-suede conform chairs and couch in the middle of the common
room that they were occupying, there was the wood-and-glass
refreshment bar which Lando had been inspecting quite thoroughly
earlier, there were numerous paintings and statues lining the walls,
all examples of the flashy color combinations that Lorrdians seemed
to love. What there wasn't was any type of computer terminal
whatsoever.

"Did you check both bedchambers?" Lando asked. "I've never heard of
cushy accommodations like this not having a communications array."

"Guys, I did look around when I first got here," Luke said. "Mara's
suite doesn't have anything either, except for the intercom that
buzzes Prime Aide Meend's office if we need anything." He waved a
hand at a small screen next to the front door. "I found it rather
odd, too, but since I didn't plan on spending all my free time
watching old holovids, it didn't really bother me. In fact," he
chuckled to himself, "I thought it might be nice not to be ...
bothered ... by ..." Luke trailed off, wishing he could take back
his last words.

"Not to be bothered by your sister checking up on you?" Leia
supplied. She sent a humorless stare first to Mara, who was hiding a
smirk behind a raised hand, then to Han, who became the unlucky
recipient of an elbow in the side when he dared to laugh aloud. "But
surely the Lorrdians have offered you access to a comm unit
somewhere." At the negative shake of Luke's head, Leia
continued. "How do they expect you to report in to the New Republic?"

"Maybe they don't," Lando spoke up. "I've worked enough business
deals to recognize when one party doesn't have all its chips on the
table. These Lorrdians have some kind of hidden agenda here."

"I think Lando's right," Leia agreed. She looked at Luke
expectantly. "Have you sensed any deception from them?"

"They're hard to read," he said, a touch of defensiveness returning
in his voice. He frowned, reviewing each encounter since he'd
arrived. "But I haven't really been trying to sense their
intentions."

"Maybe you should start, kid," Han said. "Put some of that fancy
Jedi training to use."

"Han, I can't go around invading people's minds."

"I knew Mothma shoulda sent a sneaky politician to do this job, not
some conscientious, never-cross-the-line do-gooder. A politician
knows how to squeeze the truth out of people."

"Han!" Leia objected.

"Sweetheart, you could convince a Jawa to give you a background
record on every piece of junk in his sandcrawler."

"Which is probably why the Lorrdians specifically didn't want an
experienced diplomat," Lando pointed out.

Leia shook her head, unconvinced. "But why not just refuse to
negotiate at all? If they've something to hide, why even allow a New
Republic representative to come?"

"I think they just wanted to meet a real Jedi," Mara said matter-of-
factly. "They have this fascination with the Jedi Order as a whole,
and they've been treating Skywalker here like a revered god. Except
for General Chuckles and Viceroy Bloated Air, of course," she added.

"Who?" Leia asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"General Jur-and-Riss Chukla-Bref and Viceroy Dast-and-Yacit Blin-
Ars," Luke rattled off, shooting Mara a disapproving frown. "Last
night, they both seem to take issue with everything about us."

"These people sure have a mouthful of names," Lando commented.

"The first part represents the two clan names of the person's
grandmothers," Han spoke up. "The beginning of the next hyphenated
group is the person's own clan name, or family name, and the last
part is the person's given name."

Leia gave him an incredulous stare. "How do you know all this?"

Chewbacca barked out a lengthy explanation, but apparently all Leia
caught was a female-sounding name at the end. "Who's Fiolla?" she
asked, eyes narrowing at Han. "An old girlfriend?"

[Yes], woofed Chewie.

"No," Han corrected, scowling at his partner. "Hart-and-Parn Gorra-
Fiolla. She was just some Lorrdian we met once, in the Corporate
Sector."

[A very pretty Lorrdian,] the Wookiee added.

"Parn ... Gorra ...," Luke repeated. "I wonder if there's a
connection between her and Admiral Ress-and-Parn Gorra-Vodma."

"Could be," Han conceded. "She had an uncle, but his name was
Rewello."

"As fascinating as this genealogy lesson is, I need to contact Mon
Mothma." Leia rose, heading for the door. "Come along, Chewie, you
can escort me. I want to hear all about this Fiolla."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4 (part two of two)

"Thank goodness she can't understand half of what Chewie says," Han
said after the door closed behind the pair.

"Threepio's on the ship," Lando reminded him. "He'll translate every
glorious detail."

"In that case, I'm grateful Chewie doesn't know every glorious
detail."

"Threepio's here?" Luke asked. "Did you bring Artoo along, too?" A
pang of guilt shot through him that he'd barely thought about his
mechanical friend since leaving on this mission.

"Nah, Wedge needed him for your replacement pilot," Han
explained. "And we weren't about to let Goldenrod tell Artoo that we
were comin' to rescue you. There wouldn't have been enough
restraining bolts on Coruscant to keep him from stowing away."

*Getting nostalgic for the rolling trash can?* Mara sent silently, an
amused smirk on her face.

*Did I forget to mention when we got married that Artoo and I are a
package deal?* Luke returned. He knew that Mara didn't mind Artoo as
much as she let on. She just liked to tease him about his faithful
droid as much as everyone else did.

*As long as he stays out of the bedroom,* she ended the private
conversation with an upraised brow.

"I guess he wouldn't have been much help here anyway," Luke conceded
aloud. "Since there aren't any computer jacks."

Luke watched as Mara rose gracefully from her seat. He was proud of
the way she had curbed her normally sharp tongue. And as a result,
though the others hadn't really been friendly toward her, they had
gradually softened their own frosty attitudes also. In fact, the
sociable emotions he felt swirling in Mara suggested that she had
rather enjoyed listening to the camaraderie of his group of friends
while brain-storming. "Well, I'm ... ," she began, pausing as Luke
caught and held her gaze. "I'm going to go change into something
more suitable for lightsaber practice."

Luke gave her a barely perceptible smile as he nodded in
acknowledgement, but his brow furrowed in consternation when a low
whistle sounded after Mara sauntered out of the suite.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm." Lando smoothed his mustache, his dark eyes flashing
in unabashed admiration. "That is one intense woman."

"What happened to your bruised ego at being fooled by her at
Jabba's?" Han remarked. "And don't forget, she's an Imperial
assassin."

"Was an assassin," Luke corrected.

Lando's white teeth flashed in a wide grin. "Ah, but that dangerous
edge just adds to her charm."

"Yeah, yeah." Han glanced around at the rapidly emptying room and
pursed his lips, as if a window of opportunity had just
opened. "Say, Lando, instead of drooling over a woman who would just
as soon put a blaster to your head as give you the time of day, why
don't you make yourself useful?"

Lando gave Han a wounded look before answering - an old game
between
the two long-time friends. "Sure, buddy, what's up?"

"Why don't you go poke around the city and see if you can dig up
anything on why these Lorrdians are so hot on having a Jedi here?"
He gave Luke a sideways glance. "No offense, kid, but a contagion of
hero worship by an entire planet seems a little far-fetched."

Luke waved off Han's comments, his own thoughts focusing on his
decision to keep his and Mara's marriage a secret. Now Lando was
back to wanting to pursue her, too, besides the clearly smitten
Jayce. Maybe he should reconsider and not wait to announce to the
galaxy that Mara Jade was his. Maybe-

"Hey, kid, you still with me?"

Luke's head jerked up to find Han waving a hand in front of his
face. "Yeah, Han. I was ... uh ... just thinking." He suddenly
realized that he and Han were alone in the suite.

Han crossed to the bar and procured a pair of bottles of the local
brew. "Want one?" he offered, tipping one in Luke's direction.

"No thanks." Luke blinked, getting a better look at what Han was
holding. "I had that in here?"

"You're fully stocked, kid. Ale, fine wine, even Corellian whiskey."

Luke began having visions of a huge bar tab being handed him when his
stay here ended. "Don't you have somewhere to go?" he asked,
wondering why Han hadn't left with Leia or Lando.

"Tryin' to get rid of me?" Han plopped down on the end of the couch
nearest Luke and took a swig from his bottle. "Hmm, not bad. Better
than that juice stuff." He gave Luke a conspiratorial wink. "I just
drink the healthy stuff in front of your sister."

"I've got to change clothes," Luke replied, edging out of his
chair. "So if you'll excuse me."

"Sit down, junior," Han ordered, halting Luke's movement. "I wanna
talk to you."

Luke eased back into his seat, bracing himself for the inevitable
lecture. "If this is about Mara ..."

"Nah." Han looked him straight in the eye. "But if you're wantin'
to unburden your conscience on what in the nine hells has possessed
you to take up with her, I'm all ears."

"You don't trust my judgment," Luke muttered. It was neither an
accusation nor a question.

Han issued a loud sigh. "I guess I have to. Look, kid ...
Luke ... " He rubbed nervously at the scar on his chin, causing Luke
to frown. "It's about Leia."

"Leia? What about her?" Luke sat up straighter as he shifted gears
with his thoughts. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Everything's great with her; better than great." Han
attempted a lop-sided grin, but it did little to alleviate Luke's
worry. "The thing is ... well, ... I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

Luke's initial reaction was shock, but it quickly made way for
unabashed elation. "That's great, Han!" he cried, springing from his
seat and clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Don't go gettin' all mushy on me, now," Han protested, even as he
returned Luke's embrace. He waited until Luke returned to his own
seat before continuing. "So, it's okay with you, then?"

"Of course it's okay with me. Why would I have any objections?"

"I just wanted to be ... well, ... sure-"

"Are you asking my permission?" Luke interrupted incredulously. He
chuckled lightly at Han's hesitant stammering, so out-of-character
for the normally self-assured pilot. "I'm not her father, Han."

"I know that!" Han snapped. "Can't a guy want to do things up right
without being interrogated?" He relaxed back into his seat as Luke's
enthusiasm washed over him. "So, you think she'll say yes?"

"Are you crazy? Why wouldn't she? She loves you."

"Yeah, I know. But sometimes the female mind is hard to figure out.
She might not think I'm good enough-"

"Han!" Luke chastised. "When has Leia ever been bothered about a
person's background or station?" He gave his friend a knowing
wink. "I've heard a rumor that she likes scoundrels."

"She told you that?" Han shook his head resignedly. "Twins!"

"So when are you going to ask her?" Luke asked. "How soon do you
think you'll get married?"

"As soon as possible, to both questions. In fact," Han gave Luke a
shrewd stare, "if you could make yourself scarce, say, tomorrow
evening, I could set up a nice, quiet dinner in here for the two of
us."

"Han Solo, covert romantic, about to settle down as a married man.
Who'da thought it?" Luke's grin widened even more as he formed a
mental picture of the resulting evening alone that he and Mara could
then look forward to.

"Don't make fun, kid." Han shook his finger in mock irritation, then
set his half-finished drink on the low table in front of him. "Hold
on, let me show you something." He went into the spare bedchamber,
and Luke could hear him rummaging around in what had to be his
traveling case. When Han returned, he tossed Luke a small velvateen
box.

Luke curiously opened the box, his eyes falling on a dainty jeweled
ring. "What's this?" he asked, pulling the ring out and examining it
closely. "It's not very big around." Out of the corner of his eye,
Luke caught Han shaking his head in exasperation.

"It's for your sister, not you," Han said, snatching both the ring
and its container out of Luke's hand. "When you ask a woman to marry
you, you hafta give her a gift." Han held the ring up so its faceted
gem would reflect the overhead light.

"Oh," Luke muttered under his breath, his excitement instantly
dissolving. He hadn't even thought about getting Mara any type of
present, for their engagement or their wedding. He remembered that
Aunt Beru had worn a plain gold band, its shine dulled by years of
manual labor. Maybe when they got back to Coruscant he'd better go
shopping. If he could find something that he could afford, and if
Mara even liked jewelry. He'd already given her a lightsaber, but
that was three months ago. He doubted it would qualify. Maybe ...

Luke looked back up, suddenly aware that Han was still talking.

"... know it's not as ritzy as what she's used to, back when she had
all her princess jewels drippin' off her, but I think it's pretty
nice, if I do say so myself." Smiling to himself, Han snapped the
box closed. "You'd better start learnin' about all these traditions
you hafta follow, kid. Someday, when you're older, you may decide to
get hitched."

"When I'm-?" Before he could stop himself, Luke's tone turned
indignant. "So you think Leia's old enough to get married, but I'm
not?"

"Now, Luke, don't get your feathers ruffled. All I'm saying is you
need to get some more ... experience ... under your belt before
you-"

"Thanks to you, Leia has plenty of 'experience,' doesn't she?"
Luke's previous good mood continued to evaporate. "When I was out
defending the galaxy, should I have been defending my sister's honor
instead?"

Han gave his young friend a hard look, and Luke instantly regretted
his harsh words. He shouldn't let his own feelings of self-reproach
affect his conversation with Han, especially when Leia and Han's
overt relationship didn't bother him in the least.

"Han, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's all right, kid." Han's easy-going smile returned, though it
seemed a bit strained. "You just need to loosen up." He gave Luke a
sly wink. "Take advantage of opportunities for experience when you
can get them." He drained his bottle, then rose to his feet, patting
Luke on the shoulder as he crossed the room. "Until you can find
somebody respectable enough to be wife material, that is."

Han started to pocket the jewelry box, then looked at Luke
hopefully. "You mind hidin' this in your room? I'm afraid Leia
might get pushy and decide she has to pick out what clothes I should
be wearin' or something."

"You wear the same clothes every day," Luke replied automatically,
his mind still reeling from Han's comment on finding a wife.

"Look who's talking," Han scoffed wryly, tossing the small box back
into Luke's outstretched palm. "Well, I'd better get back to the
Falcon before Chewie starts remembering too many old girlfriend
tales. See ya later, kid."

Closing his hand around the small box, Luke nodded a silent
acknowledgment, then grimaced at Han's retreating back. His hopeful
plan of having his comrades accept Mara on an equal footing was
definitely not going the way he'd imagined.

As Han opened the door, he turned back to Luke once more. "I guess
it goes without saying that I want you and Chewie to stand up for me
at the wedding. I know Leia would have a fit if you weren't part of
the ceremony." He grinned widely as he added, "And don't think
you'll get out of having us around when you finally tie the knot.
We'll expect a front-row seat."

Luke didn't answer. He simply buried his face in his hands as the
door slid shut. No, nothing whatsoever was going as smoothly as he'd
optimistically anticipated.

Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism
Chapter 5 (part one of two)

Mara wearily rubbed her eyes as the controls of her flight simulator
flickered dark. While the cockpit of the Lorrdian G-15 starfighter
was fairly roomy for her small frame, three hours of sitting in one
position, tensely concentrating on one virtual dogfight after
another, was enough to make anyone's body ache.

The morning's exercise had begun with practice runs as Luke and Mara
became acquainted with Lorrd's premier fighter craft. The joyous
rush of adrenaline that Mara had felt from Luke was intoxicating,
mirroring her own delight at the freedom of pure flight.

Then the real simulations had begun, putting her and Luke through
every conceivable battle scenario possible, and many Mara would have
thought impossible. Even Luke's normally bubbly enthusiasm had been
squelched by the hours of simulated warfare. General Chukla-Bref had
programmed the drills so that Luke was constantly in command of the
rotating squadrons of replicated wingmates. In the one instance
where his ship was disabled, control automatically switched to Mara's
craft.

As Mara popped the canopy of her module and levered herself out of
the confining space, she looked over to see Luke already sitting on
the rim of his cockpit.

"I feel like I've been trampled by a bantha," he muttered, stretching
his tired muscles. He swung his head around as the general
approached, then slipped down to the duracrete floor.

"Impressive flying, Commander," the general stated in his usual gruff
voice. Mara had already noted that the dour-faced officer was the
only Lorrdian they'd met that consistently called Luke by his
military title instead of his Jedi moniker.

*I think his opinion of you went up a few notches, flyboy,* Mara
commented silently.

"Thank you, General," Luke replied evenly, sending a mute wink back
to Mara. "Your fighters must be highly maneuverable, if the actual
craft are anything like the simulators."

"They are," the general assured him. He glanced indifferently toward
Mara. "I shall arrange a test flight for you both tomorrow."

"That's not really necessary, General," Luke said. "I expect to be
involved in negotiations with the Regent tomorrow."

"I see." The general's unemotional expression, so unlike most
Lorrdians, gave no clue to his inner thoughts. He looked up as the
door to the training room opened. To Mara's dismay, Second Aide
Vazan-Jayce walked briskly across the duracrete floor, a wide smile
plastered on his face.

"Padawan Jade," Jayce greeted Mara, bowing and reaching out to take
her hand. Mara responded by quickly crossing her arms. Undaunted,
Jayce nodded a perfunctory acknowledgment to Luke and the general
before turning back to his target. "You were brilliant, my lady.
You nearly equal your master in flying skill."

Mara narrowed her eyes as she caught Luke hiding a grin behind an
upraised hand.

"Let me escort you to the locker areas, my lady," Jayce continued,
holding out an elbow. "I'm sure you'll want to refresh yourself
after such a grueling drill."

"I think we can find it ourselves," Mara replied, hoping Luke would
take the hint and join her.

He didn't, and Mara suspected it was deliberate.

"You go ahead, Mara," he said, giving her a nod of dismissal.
Apparently satisfied that Jayce's overtures were annoying Mara as
much as him, Luke had toned down his displays of jealousy, so much so
that his indifference was beginning to equally grate on her nerves.
Well, two could play this game.

"Yes, Master," Mara responded, reaching out and taking Jayce's
elbow. She could feel Luke's eyes riveted on her as she accompanied
the suave aide toward the pilots' locker rooms. Smiling to herself,
Mara put an alluring sway in her hips as she walked.

As Mara exited the women's locker area a short time later, she passed
more than a dozen female pilots just entering.

"Busy place," she commented to Jayce, who was waiting patiently by
the door.

"Yes, indeed," Jayce replied, a hint of boasting coloring his
voice. "Enlistment has risen tenfold in the last month." He stood
tall, affecting a proud stance. "We will not be enslaved again."
Mara frowned as she pondered Jayce's declaration. "Excuse me?"

But the normally ebullient man did not elaborate. In fact, Mara got
the distinct impression that Jayce regretted saying as much as he had.

*Nice outfit.*

Mara looked over her shoulder as the words entered her mind. Luke
stood silently outside the men's locker, hands clasped behind his
back. He also wore a fresh, nondescript jumpsuit, courtesy of the
Lorrdian purveyor of supplies.

"Jedi Skywalker." Jayce bowed his head slightly, an accommodating
smile once more gracing his dark features. "Please follow me to the
officer's dining room."

The officer's mess was more crowded with military personnel than Mara
could ever recall seeing the New Republic's equivalent. After
collecting their trays of lunch, Jayce guided them toward a medium-
sized table in a corner where three officers were just sitting down
with their meal. Besides General Chukla-Bref, Mara recognized
Admiral Gorra-Vodma and Colonel Pimar-Archa.

Hurrying to pull Mara's seat out for her, Jayce unintentionally cut
Luke off before he could reach her. Mara winced inside. She was
tempted to react sharply, but the brief flash of annoyance in Luke's
eyes aroused her sense of mischief.

"Why, thank you, Jayce," Mara said, smiling graciously at him as she
sat down.

"You're quite welcome, my lady," Jayce replied smoothly.

Though Mara was careful not to look at his face, she could feel Luke
cringing inwardly. She knew she should be feeling ashamed for toying
with his emotions, but she was finding it hard to stop. Perhaps
because it was such a new sensation to her that someone actually had
a strong emotional attachment to her.

"Ah, Jedi Skywalker, Jedi Jade," Admiral Gorra-Vodma greeted
them. "General Chukla has been relating to us the results of your
run in the simulators. We are most pleased with your prowess."

"Thank you," Luke said simply.

"I was particularly interested in the strategy you used in the last
drill," Colonel Pimar-Archa said. "The way you worked together to
outmaneuver your pursuers was brilliant." He gave Mara a questioning
glance, then looked back at Luke. "Do you always fly as wingmates in
battle?"

"No." Luke hesitated, as if warring with himself about how much to
reveal. His next words told Mara that he'd decided there was no harm
in a partial admission. "My padawan and I have never flown together
in combat. We were not acquainted until the war was nearly over."

"Really?" the admiral said in amazement. "There was no comm
communication between your modules, yet your coordination was
flawless."

"We are able to communicate through the Force," Luke replied slowly,
uncertainty clouding his voice.

"I'm glad to see that the title of Jedi is good for more than just
show," the general said with a humorless smile.

"I beg your pardon?" Mara said indignantly, half-rising out of her
seat. Only Luke's outstretched arm prevented her from lunging across
the table.

"It's all right, Mara," Luke said, his calm blue eyes not leaving the
general. "I'm sure no disrespect was intended."

"Yes, Master," Mara returned through gritted teeth. As she sat back
down, Mara realized that she didn't need to defend Luke's integrity.
He did that himself simply by his tranquil demeanor. It was her own
temper that contradicted how a Jedi should act.

"None at all, I assure you," the admiral said. He had been gesturing
to the general in what Mara assumed to be a disapproving
reprimand. "What my colleague meant is that it is most fortunate
that you have this capability. We were not aware that the telepathic
abilities of Jedi were that precise."

The colonel leaned forward, clearly intrigued by this new
revelation. "Are you able to send thoughts to non-Jedi?" he
asked. "Could you issue commands to your fellow pilots?"

Luke looked back and forth between the officers, than shot a worried
glance to Mara. "No," he finally answered. "That is, I couldn't
send them detailed orders. Certainly not battle commands."

"Could you transmit images or sensations?" the colonel
continued. "Enough to impress upon them what you wanted them to do?"

"Well ... I ..." Luke stammered.

"But you could simply make them do what you needed them to do, is
this not so?" the general asked. "It is rumored that Palpatine
controlled his forces in such a manner at Endor."

Luke's eyes widened, and Mara had no trouble sensing the uneasiness
flowing through him. Or perhaps it was a ricocheting of her own
apprehension.

"I would never do such a thing," he declared, his steady gaze going
from one officer to another.

"But it is possible?" The general drilled Luke with an
uncompromising glare, and this time the admiral did not interrupt.

"Not for me," Luke returned adamantly. Mara noticed he was
unconsciously bending the eating utensil clenched in his right hand.
The three officers broke into a flurry of silent gestures among
themselves.

*I don't like this,* Mara sent silently. *Why are they so interested
in what a Jedi could do in battle? It's not like you go around
controlling the minds of the Rogues." She paused, thinking about how
Rogue Squadron was the premier fighter group, and had been ever since
Luke formed it. Mara gave Luke a narrowed frown.

*No!* he sent back sharply, then immediately softened his tone. *I
might have conveyed a sensation that they should bank right or left,
if I spotted a TIE coming up behind them. But I never took control
of anyone's mind.*

Mara was about to return a wordless apology when Jayce laid a hand on
her shoulder. In her bewilderment of what the military men were up
to, she had nearly forgotten about the aide sitting on the other side
of her.

"I apologize for any dishonor to the noble Jedi you may have
deduced," Jayce whispered in a low voice. He moved his hand to
comfortingly squeeze her hand. "They are merely curious as to how
your Force could be used in battle. Hypothetically speaking, of
course." Jayce flashed an ingratiating smile, and Mara fought the
urge to jerk out of the man's grasp.

"Of course," she said instead. Mara wondered if Jayce knew what the
officers were up to. Was he simply being polite, or was he trying to
cover up something? She thought back to his comments outside the
locker room. Comments that she now was certain he rued making.
They were all hiding something.

"Forgive us," the admiral said aloud, breaking into the tension in
the air. "You are our guests. We should not be bombarding you with
meaningless questions."

Luke nodded an acknowledgment, but did not speak.

"Come," the admiral continued, waving a hand at their trays. "Let us
finish our meal before it gets any colder. Then I understand you and
your padawan wish to avail yourselves of an exercise chamber."

"Yes, Regent Ke'lor offered us the opportunity to get in some
lightsaber practice," Luke answered. "So if it is not an
inconvenience, we would like to do so."

The officers looked between themselves, again making small gestures.

"Would it be possible ...er, permissible ..." the colonel
began. "That is, would you mind an audience?"

Luke raised an eyebrow questioningly. "An audience?"

"We have never been privileged to see a Jedi use a lightsaber," the
admiral said. "We would not interfere, I assure you. We would
consider it a great honor."

"Just the three of you?" Luke asked warily. Mara knew the last thing
he wanted was to put on an exhibition for half of Lorrd.

Jayce fidgeted in his chair, deliberately calling attention to
himself.

"Four," Luke amended.

"Yes, four," the admiral agreed, then looked to the side as the
colonel flicked a hand quickly. "Unless, of course, His Excellency
also wishes to witness your session."

Luke sighed in resignation. "Yes, that will be fine, as long as you
stay far enough back."

Mara and Luke stretched their arms and legs, warming up in
preparation for the long-overdue workout. As it turned out, the self-
invited audience wasn't even in the same room. Regent Ke'lor had
joined Jayce and the trio of military men behind a transparisteel
barrier overlooking the spacious training room.

*What in the galaxy is going on, Luke?* Mara asked. She and Luke had
agreed to stick to silent communication for the time being. While
they had thoroughly checked their quarters for listening devices,
they hadn't had the luxury of being able to inspect this exercise
area.

*I'm not sure,* Luke returned, unclipping his hilt from a loop on the
utility jumpsuit. *But I am having a really bad feeling about this.*

*You don't say,* Mara returned with a smirk. *As I recall, you had a
bad feeling about this whole mission before we left Zembuhl.*

*I know. This morning I thought that ...* he paused, swinging his
lightsaber up to meet Mara's initial strike, *... that Han and Leia's
accusations were the cause of my foreboding.* Luke sprang up as
Mara's saber crossed the space where his knees had been a moment
earlier. *But now, I realize I must've felt whatever the Lorrdians
are plotting.*

Mara's azure blade hummed with energy as she flicked her wrist back
and forth. She had admitted to herself months ago that Luke was the
better swordsman, but this fact only served to make her more
determined to best him. A determination that hadn't lessened in
light of her marriage to him. *We could beat it out of them,* she
quipped. Dancing just out of Luke's longer reach, Mara spun and
slashed with uncompromising force.

*Mara!* Luke caught her crackling beam with his own, then countered
with an overhand blow. *I think I'll meditate on it first,* he said,
instinctively dodging Mara's retaliatory sweep, *and see if anything
comes to me.*

Meditate on it? Surely he's jok- Mara dived and rolled just in
time
as Luke's blade whirled toward her.

*No, I'm not joking.* Luke deftly sidestepped Mara's next
attack. "Stretch out with your senses!" he shouted aloud. "Let the
Force guide you!" With a running leap, he kicked off from the wall
and somersaulted to land behind her. *That's what Jedi do. We
meditate.*

Mara growled in only partially feigned irritation as she turned to
face him. She knew that. He didn't have to keep reminding her. Her
lightsaber vibrated in her hand like a living entity, the glowing rod
whining in protest as she relentlessly thrust and parried against
Luke's emerald blade. The air grew thick with an ozone scent as the
two lightsabers intersected again and again, sparks flying
chaotically.

The five spectators stood spellbound behind the clear barrier, mouths
gaping in unabashed fascination.

"This is unbelievable," Admiral Gorra-Vodma said. "I never dreamed
of viewing such an incredible display of skill."

"Indeed," Regent Ke'lor replied. "I was a young boy when a Jedi last
visited Lorrd, but I was never fortunate enough to witness a
lightsaber duel." He leaned forward, one hand resting on the
transparent wall as Luke feinted a drive to his right, then spun into
an attack from the left. "Amazing."

"Yes, amazing," Jayce echoed. His attention, however, was riveted
only on Mara. "How can she be only a padawan?" he asked of no one in
particular. "She meets his every blow."

"They are both skilled," Colonel Pimar-Archa commented. He drew in a
breath as Mara doggedly blocked thrust after thrust. Luke stayed on
the offensive, not easing up in the least. The colonel could hear
the Jedi continuously issuing instructions to his student -
'Focus!' 'Don't think, react!' 'Your blade is an extension of
yourself!'

"I fail to see how their ability to fight each other will help our
cause," General Chukla-Bref said, scowling. "There are no Argazdans
with lightsabers."

"True," the Regent agreed, turning to the pessimistic
officer. "However, I believe Jedi are able to block blaster fire
with the same skill and precision that we are witnessing at this very
moment."

"Then that is the talent we need a demonstration of, Excellency," the
general said.

"I hardly think we can pull out blasters and start shooting at them,
Bref. But perhaps ..." The Regent looked thoughtfully at his
companions. "Do we have any type of remote firing device?"

Colonel Pimar-Archa dragged his attention away from the duel long
enough to ponder his ruler's question. "We have the automatic
fusillade apparatus that we used to test our latest design of
personal shields. It fires concentrated stun bolts."

"Yes, that should do." The Regent glanced back toward the exercise
chamber just in time to see Luke twist his wrist in an abrupt
movement that sent Mara's lightsaber sailing out of her grasp. "Jedi
Skywalker," he spoke into an intercom. "May I offer my
congratulations, and offer you yet another training opportunity?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prism -- Chapter 5-B

Mara was hot, tired, and ready to strangle Second Aide Serl-and-Jeem
Vazan-Jayce. She had elected to wait and shower in her quarters
after the grueling lightsaber drills, so she took out her frustration
on the bundle of her clothes that she clutched in her arms, squeezing
the garments into wrinkled wads of cloth. Jayce didn't seem to
notice as he escorted her and Luke back to the ambassadorial wing.
Keeping one manicured hand on the small of Mara's back, he leaned
close to her ear as he gushed one compliment after another.

"The fluidity of your movements was truly spectacular, Mistress
Mara," Jayce remarked. "Both in your duel with your master, and in
deflecting the stun bolts. I have not seen such grace and agility in
our finest dancers. Have you danced professionally?"

"No," Mara muttered. She had not given Jayce permission to call her
by her first name, and she cringed every time he took the liberty to
do so.

"You should let your hair flow free, Mistress Mara," he continued,
undaunted. Mara bristled as Jayce lifted her braid, wisps of hair
that had worked loose curling about her neck. "You would put our
dancers to shame with your natural poise and beautiful tresses."

Behind her, Luke's newfound patience of Jayce's attention seemed to
be dissolving into obscurity.

Jayce took hold of the ornate door handle, but when he reached out to
clasp Mara's elbow, he suddenly jumped back as if shocked. "Must
have been static electricity," he said, shaking his hand to ease the
tingling. Jayce once again touched Mara, and once again yelped,
startled by a mysterious jolt.

Mara narrowed her eyes and turned around to look at Luke. He gave
her a smug grin, and Mara shook her head in resignation. Men!

"Luke, that was downright mean," Mara chastised after Jayce had
reluctantly left them to find their own way down the long deserted
corridor to their suites.

"It's called conditioning," Luke countered, not sounding the least
bit repentant. "Your movements were truly spectacular, Mistress
Mara," he mimicked in a nasal voice. "You should let your hair flow
free, Mistress Mara." Luke snorted in disgust. "If he gets a jolt
every time he lays a hand on you, eventually he'll get the message
and quit touching you."

"Oh, I don't know ..." Mara let a little smile escape. "I still
feel a spark whenever I touch you, and it only makes me want to touch
you that much more."

"Reverse conditioning," Luke murmured as Mara clutched the front of
his jumpsuit and pulled him closer. Their lips found each other's
for several minutes before Luke turned his head to glance at his
door. "No one's home," he said huskily, edging Mara that direction.

"Luke, we have to be ready for dinner in less than an hour, and we
both still need to take a shower."

"We could take a shower together," he suggested, still pulling her
toward his suite.

"We'd never be able to leave enough time to get dressed," Mara
pointed out, halting his movements.

Luke didn't bother to hide his resigned sigh. "You don't have to
always be so practical, you know."

"Isn't that a Jedi's way, Master?" Mara purred, leaning back and
letting her fingertips slide down his chest.

"And you don't have to go overboard on calling me Master," he added,
opening his door and entering the opulent room.

Mara gave Luke an alluring smile as she leaned just inside the
doorframe. "I figure every time the word 'Master' rolls off my
tongue, you owe me another favor."

"What kind of favor?" Luke asked, a smile worming its way onto his
face also.

"The kind I plan on collecting in bed."

"Am I ever going to get a full night's sleep?"

"Are you saying you'd rather sleep than ..."

"No, no. I'm not saying that." Luke stepped closer, wrapping his
arms around Mara's waist. "I'll show you tonight just how masterful
I can be."

Mara laughed lightly. "Sweetheart, I think we're both padawans in
that department."

"We just need more practice."

"And practice makes perf-"

Luke cut her off with a kiss-warm, passionate, tender-until
Mara reluctantly pulled back.

"Luke, we really have to get ready for dinner." She raised one hand
to gently stroke his face. "But we'll have lots of opportunities
for practice."

"Lots of opportunities for practicing the patience of a Jedi, you
mean," Luke replied with a wan smile. He held out one hand as Mara
drew out of his grasp, her fingers trailing down his arm.

"That, too." Without turning around, Mara backed across the hallway
to her own door. Raising a hand to her lips, she then did something
that she'd never done before in her life.

She blew a kiss to her husband.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I hate it when you guys do that."

Leia turned back to look at Han as he spoke quietly beside her, and
saw that he, too, was closely watching Luke and Mara. The pair had
returned from dinner just moments ago, and Leia had no trouble
sensing their disappointment that she and Han were already waiting in
Luke's suite. Now Luke sat in a reclining chair near one end of the
couch, while Mara was directly opposite him in a matching chair. But
they may as well have been halfway across the galaxy for all the
attention they were paying to either Leia or Han.

"You can tell what they're doing?" Leia asked.

"Sure." Han gave her a lop-sided grin. "You think Lorrdians are the
only ones who can read body language? Watch the way their eyes meet,
and those subtle little smiles that Luke keeps giving her. Don't
they know it's rude to talk in front of people?"

Leia once more cast a surreptitious glance at her brother and the
mysterious woman. They were definitely wrapped up in a world of
their own. "Luke and I can really only exchange brief words and
feelings," Leia whispered to Han, a twinge of envy creeping into her
being. "I'd swear they're having an entire conversation." She
sighed quietly, shoving aside her personal feelings in favor of the
matter at hand. "I know Chewbacca wanted to stay on the ship, but
shouldn't Lando be here soon?"

"Anytime now," Han replied. "And hopefully he'll have the lowdown on
why these Lorrdians are being so hardheaded about negotiatin' with
the kid."

Both of the private conversations in the room stilled at the sound of
the front door sliding open. Lando strolled in, sweeping off his
silk-lined cape with a flourish.

"Ah, here he is," Han said, settling back into his seat on the couch
and flashing Leia a roguish smile. "Well, Your Worship, looks like
we're ready to discuss this in committee."

"Greetings, one and all," Lando said, smiling widely. "Sorry if I'm
late, but there are some fine women here on Lorrd, and I felt it my
duty to leave no stone unturned in following up on rumors."

"Cut the chitchat, Lando," Han returned. "Did you dig up any dirt or
didn't you?"

"Oh, yes." Lando sank onto the end of the couch next to Leia,
smoothing his mustache. "Juicy headlines, folks." He paused for
dramatic effect. "This planet is at war."

"What?!" Leia cried. How could they have overlooked a war?

"At war?" Luke said. He looked as mystified as everyone else.

Han waved his hands. "Wait a minute. We flew right in this morning,
no trouble. I think we would've noticed a war going on."

"We stole in under cover of darkness, in the shadow of a freighter,"
Leia pointed out. "But you're right, we couldn't have missed a
planetary firefight."

"That's because apparently the fighting right now is confined to
the-"

"Eastern hemisphere," Luke finished. He glanced around and shrugged
as the others now focused their attention on him. "I overheard some
pilots in the locker room talking about being deployed to squadrons
in the eastern hemisphere of Lorrd. I just didn't know why they were
being sent there."

"You didn't mention that to me," Mara said in an indignant tone.

"I didn't think at the time that it was important," Luke said.

Leia shook her head at her brother, and turned back to Lando. "So
who are the Lorrdians at war with?"

"Just some kind of local system trouble, from what I gathered," Lando
replied. "A planet called Argazda."

Luke scrunched up his face in concentration. "Argazda ...
Argazda ... Why does that name sound so familiar?" His eyes flashed
toward Mara, as if she had the answer.

She did.

"The Argazdans subjugated the Lorrdians into slavery four thousand
years ago." Mara frowned at Luke's continued blank look. "Next
planet out. Put in their place by the Old Republic."

Leia was impressed in spite of herself. Apparently Mara had done her
homework on this mission, more so than Luke. Not what one would
expect from someone only concerned with doing away with her companion.

"Oh, right. I remember now." Luke smiled weakly. "It was part of
that background information tacked on at the end of the briefing
notes. That's how the Lorrdians got started using kinetic
communication, isn't it?" His gaze stayed focused on Mara, who
nodded back. "Guess that explains today."

Leia leaned forward as she caught Luke's last mumbled
statement. "Why? What happened today?"

Luke expelled a breath before answering. "The officers we had lunch
with were drilling us on how a Jedi's skills could be used in combat."

"You think they want you to join their war effort?" Leia asked.

"It's looking that way." Luke sent what Leia perceived to be a
guilty look toward Mara. "That's why they were so anxious to have us
spend time in the simulators."

"And why they were so accommodating to let us have lightsaber
practice, especially where they could observe," Mara added.

"Blast it!" Luke clenched his fists where they rested on the arms of
his chair. "All that talk about whether a Jedi could control pilots'
minds. I knew something was wrong; I just didn't know they had a
conflict going on right now."

Mara winced. "I'm the one that should have put two and two together,
after Jayce's remark that his people wouldn't let themselves be
enslaved again."

"I don't remember him saying that." Luke narrowed his eyes at
Mara. "Some private conversation that you and he had?"

Leia could sense an argument starting to build, and quickly broke
into the conversation. "Was anything more said at dinner tonight?
Any hints that they want you to fight for them?"

"No." Luke answered. He still seemed tense with self-reproach. "It
was only the Regent and his family. The entire conversation revolved
around their extolling the many wonderful attributes of Lorrd."

"I say come right out and demand they tell you what's going on," Han
put in. "Maybe a little wave under their chins of the business end
of that saber would loosen up their tongues."

"Han!" Leia frowned at him, then turned back to Luke. "Luke,
securing an agreement with Lorrd for the New Republic is your highest
priority. You can't jeopardize that by confronting the Regent with
your suspicions, no matter how accurate they may turn out to be."

"I think Leia's right, farmboy," Mara said. "You'd only antagonize
the Regent by questioning the ulterior motives of him or his staff,
and then we'd never have access to those norumite crystals."

Leia once more looked at Mara in surprise. If it hadn't been for the
revelation of Mara's background, she might be considering the woman
an effective partner. "Luke, you do need to insist on an audience
with the Regent to begin the negotiations."

"He already promised to meet with us in the morning," Luke revealed.

"Good. Be firm." Leia eyed him speculatively. "And flexible."

"Huh?"

"A good negotiator has to be willing to compromise, but only to a
certain extent," Lando explained. "You can't be a pushover, but at
the same time don't come off as intractable."

Luke slumped back, looking dejected. "Can't I just confess to the
Regent that you're here, Leia, and let you handle these negotiations?"

Leia shook her head. "I think you ..." She paused, reconsidering
her words. "I think the two of you are more than capable of managing
on your own."

A stillness descended on the conversation, and Leia was certain that
Luke and Mara were communicating silently once more. Finally Han
rubbed his hands as if an idea had just occurred to him.

"Well, I doubt the Lorrdians will drag Luke into a starfighter this
evening, so how about we play a round of sabacc to pass the time?
Lando, you got a deck with you?"

Lando patted a pocket. "Always."

"Good. Deal 'em out."

"I don't play-" Mara began.

"You wanna fit in with this group, sister, you'd better learn." Han
shot Luke a sly grin. "Luke needs somebody he can beat."

"I win a round once in a while," Luke protested weakly.

"Come on, Mara," Leia encouraged. "These guys need some female
competition."

"Well, if you put it that way," Mara said after a moment. "I do
enjoy a good challenge, especially against men."

Leia noted that Mara gave Luke what could only be considered a
cryptic, mischievous wink. A wink that Luke seemed to understand
completely. To Leia's amazement, she found herself more intrigued by
the mystery of her brother and Mara Jade's involvement than by the
political goings-on of the Lorrdian government.

She only hoped neither turned out to be as deceitful as she feared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Six

Luke scooted over to make room for Mara in his bed, but she swept off
her concealing Jedi robe and instead climbed over him into the narrow
space between him and the wall. Luke thought amusedly that her
choice was probably just to confirm that he wasn't in charge of her
actions. In his limited experience, Mara didn't seem to have a
preference as to which side of the bed she occupied.

"As much as I hate saying it," he whispered, "it's a good thing you
didn't come any earlier. I didn't think Han and Leia would ever
settle down and go to sleep."

"Why do you think I waited?" she returned, wrapping one arm around
his waist. "I had to block them out, too. Though in hindsight, we
probably could've engaged in similar activities at the same time, and
Leia wouldn't even have noticed."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But she's getting stronger in sensing my
emotions, and I'd hate to take a chance that she'd recognize that I
was ... well ..."

Mara sighed in exasperation. "So I guess I'll be keeping my
nightgown on tonight, then."

"Believe me, I regret this as much as you do." Luke hugged her
tightly against him. He knew the logical side of Mara understood his
reluctance in revealing their marriage right now, even as the
newlywed side of her rebelled against his hasty decision as much as
he did. "So much for every night being a honeymoon night," he
muttered dejectedly.

"How were we to know that your own personal Paranoid Protector Squad
was going to show up?" Mara grumbled back. "This reminds me of our
nights together before we were married."

"Hmmm, me too. But I have fond memories of those nights. Not as
fond as recent nights, of course."

"I still don't know why we can't just sleep in my room. Leia's range
can't be that far."

"No, but she'd know that I wasn't in here."

"Blazing stars. She even checks on you at night?"

"Has to make sure the evil Imperial assassin hasn't slit my throat
yet."

"And you don't think she'll sense that I'm in here?"

"I can shield you, remember," he said, recalling their hiding from
Palpatine and Darth Vader on Coruscant.

"And you know perfectly well I can shield myself. So why can't
we-"

"I don't think I'm experienced enough at split concentration to
shield a squeekbug while we make love," he admitted, thinking of the
day in the underground when he and Mara nearly had their first
intimate encounter. "Are you?"

"No," Mara replied, a touch of frustration in her whispered voice.

"But I believe I can handle some serious kissing, though," he
continued, finding her lips with ease in the darkness. "I even-"

The newlyweds jerked apart when a soft knock sounded on the
bedchamber door. Luke rolled onto his other side, facing the room's
entrance.

"Luke?" Leia's voice echoed through the door. "Are you awake?"

"Uh ... yes."

Leia apparently took her brother's answer as permission to open the
door, and she stood silhouetted in the dim light of the common
room. "Can I talk to you awhile?"

As soon as the door slid open, Mara had hunched down behind Luke,
both of them double-checking that her Force shroud was in place.

"Uh, sure, Leia," Luke mumbled, pulling the covers further up his
bare chest. He could feel Mara's warmth as she pressed tightly
against his back. "I'll be right out."

"Couldn't I come in here?" Leia persisted. She stole a quick glance
over her shoulder. "I don't want to wake Han."

Luke tried not to twitch as Mara poked him sharply in the back. "No,
I'll come out to the common room. We won't wake him."

"Do you have to disagree about everything all of a sudden?" Leia
muttered quietly, before sighing and nodding in agreement. Her form
disappeared from the doorway, and Luke let out a breath of relief.

"I thought she was asleep!" Mara whispered as loud as she dared.

"So did I." Luke reluctantly slipped from the bed and pulled on a
sleeveless undertunic.

As Luke padded softly into the sitting area, he noticed Leia was
sitting in the middle of the small couch. Apprehensively, he took a
seat next to her. Leia gave him a wan smile before taking one of his
hands in her own.

Luke's eyes flickered to their joined clasp, then warily gazed at the
resolve in her expression. "I'm not changing my mind about Mara," he
blurted out, not anxious to resume their disagreement.

"You!" she chastised, apparently catching the underlying implication
he was reading into their physical contact, then nudging him with her
shoulder. For good measure, she tightened her hold on his
hand. "Luke, the last thing I want is for us to become estranged
over her." Leia sent him a reassuring smile. "I'm taking a wait-and-
see attitude. And that's not want I wanted to talk to you about."

"It's not?" Luke answered, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

"No." Leia gazed quickly toward her closed bedchamber door.

"Don't worry, I can sense if Han wakes up," said Luke, noting her
anxiety. A perplexed frown creased his brow. "Can't you?"

Leia shook her head minutely. "Well, sometimes, but ... I'm not
always sure. Perhaps if that was all I was concentrating on, I
could. But I don't know if I'd notice if I'm engrossed in a
conversation."

"Leia, if you'd just-" Luke bit back the rest of his rebuke,
wincing a little as he received the annoyed grimace of a student
who's heard the same scolding from her teacher one too many
times. "Okay, no lectures on training tonight. But at least let me
show you how to keep a connection to Han."

"All right, go ahead," Leia said, giving in with a sigh.

"Remember that every presence is unique," Luke began. "Here." He
raised her hand to his temple, allowing her access into the curtained-
off section of his mind where Han's slumbering presence
rested. "Stretch out with your senses to Han, then isolate his
presence in your own mind, just as you feel I've done. Got it?"

Leia nodded, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

"Now tuck his sensation into a corner of your mind where you can be
aware of it, but not monopolized by it." Luke patiently waited while
Leia implemented his directions. "That's it - just leave a
thread of perception to alert you if he stirs. Good!" Luke beamed,
proud of Leia's grasp of his impromptu lesson. "You're a quick
learner, when you give yourself a chance."

"You're a good teacher," she returned, the corners of her mouth
upturning in a slight smile. "When I give you a chance."

"Now then, just what is it that we're going to be engrossed in
conversation about?" he said, relaxing back against the couch and
putting one arm comfortingly around Leia's small frame. "Are you and
Han at odds about something?" He refrained from adding 'again,' even
though the pair's compatibility seemed to rise and fall as regularly
as the tides on Mon Calamari. Han's revelation that afternoon,
however, had left Luke with the feeling that things couldn't be
better between the two.

"No," she answered, biting her lip. "Things have been wonderful
lately between us. Exceptionally wonderful, for the most part." She
paused. "Almost too wonderful."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Han's been kind, and polite, and attentive beyond belief."

Luke waited patiently, trying to imagine what could possibly be the
problem. Han was right - women were difficult to figure out at
times.

"It's just ... well ... Oh, I shouldn't be bothering you with this."

"Of course you should. That's what big brothers are for."

"Uh-huh," Leia muttered.

Luke narrowed his eyes. This must be serious if she was too
distracted to correct him regarding who was older.

"All right." Leia took a deep breath, then plunged ahead. "Han's
been dropping little hints lately, nothing blatantly obvious. It's
more his mannerisms. He takes notice of things that he's gone out of
his way to ignore before."

Luke made a 'hurry up and get to the point' gesture with his free
hand, then thanked his lucky stars that Leia had closed her eyes and
hadn't seen it.

"So ..." he prompted cautiously.

"I think ... Maybe I'm just being absurd. But I think ... Han may be
considering asking me to marry him."

Luke broke out in a wide grin. Han was justified in his confidence
after all. "That's great!" he said, giving her a warm hug. A hug
she didn't return very enthusiastically. He gazed at her sober
expression. "Isn't it?"

"I don't know, Luke," she whimpered in a voice that was as close to
wailing as Leia ever got. "I'm just not sure. I mean, I could be
imagining this whole thing. Maybe I'm misinterpreting his actions.
Maybe I'm worrying for nothing."

Luke's mind was spinning, wondering what he was missing. "But you
love Han," he said with conviction. He couldn't be that wrong about
his own twin sister.

"Yes, I do," she confirmed, tiredly rubbing one hand across her
temple. "But marriage isn't something you just jump into."

He wisely said nothing, waiting for her to continue and unobtrusively
erecting barriers around his own emotions.

"It isn't that I don't think we know each other well enough," she
attempted to explain.

"You don't want to marry Han?" he ventured tentatively.

"Yes, I think I do," was the contradictory answer.

Luke didn't have to feign confusion. He was appreciating Mara's
straightforward bluntness more and more by the minute - a
bluntness that Leia usually had no problem employing when she wanted
to.

"The question isn't if I want to marry Han, if he does ask. It's a
matter of when - a matter of timing. I'm just not sure if I'm
ready right now for a permanent union." Leia nervously twisted her
robe's sash around her fingers, an action that Luke had not seen
often in his normally composed sister. "I mean, I'm so busy with the
New Republic, and everyday Mon Mothma is handing off more and more
duties to me." She shot a quick glance at Luke, an amused smirk
momentarily lighting up her face. "I only got away to come here
because she was afraid you'd botch this mission by letting some girl
get the better of you."

"Very funny." Luke grinned at her in mock annoyance. "But I think
we were discussing you and Han."

"Yes ..." Leia trailed off, staring off into the dark corners of the
room. "It wouldn't be fair to Han. He gets irritated enough now as
it is, with all the late night meetings I have to go to." She curled
one hand into a fist. "Of course it's different when he stays out
late at some sabacc game, or flies off in the Falcon on some supply
run, or spends all night in a maintenance bay tinkering with that
hunk of junk."

Luke squeezed her shoulders warmly and sent waves of compassion to
her. Leia visibly calmed, laying her head against his
shoulder. "Tell me what to do, Luke. I don't want to lose him, but
I don't want to make a terrible mistake, either."

"Leia, you know I can't make that decision for you."

"Yes, but-"

Gently turning her head with his free hand, Luke gazed into her large
brown eyes. "What does your heart tell you?"

"I ... I don't know ..." Leia looked pleadingly at Luke's solemn
expression.

"Leia, you and Han love each other. I knew that long before Bespin,
before either of you would admit it, even to yourselves. It's
evident in every glance, in every touch that passes between you. You
two belong together." Luke hugged her tightly. "But if you're not
ready for marriage right now, I'm sure Han will understand. He'll
wait for you."

A change came over Leia at his words, and she pulled herself into the
strong-willed woman that Luke loved and admired so much. "How did
you get to be so wise, little brother?"

"You expect me to give away all my secrets to my baby sister?" Luke
chuckled, tugging lightly on a strand of her long brown
hair. "Besides, you don't even know if Han is considering marriage.
You may end up having to ask him someday."

"I can just see myself down on one knee, asking for his hand. I
wouldn't be able to see any higher than his knees."

"Then I guess you'd better leave it up to him," Luke returned, his
humorous tone diminishing as he thought of Han's disappointment if
she turned him down.

Leia nodded and her demeanor likewise turned serious, as she was no
doubt having the same thoughts. She cast her gaze downward in
thought as she resumed fingering the belt to her fuzzy robe. Leia
seemed reluctant to leave Luke's company, and he felt the same way.
It had been nearly a month since they'd shared a late night chat, and
he missed her familiar warmth and companionship.

"So the Regent is going to finally begin the negotiations tomorrow?"
Leia eventually said into the silence.

"He said he would," Luke confirmed.

"And you remember what to expect, right? Barring his trying to
conscript you into their navy, that is. You have to present the New
Republic's beginning proposal, then he'll make a counter offer,
then-"

"I know what to do," Luke interrupted.

Leia raised an eyebrow dubiously.

"I do listen when you're describing every detail of all your long,
drawn-out trade agreements. It just looks like I'm sleeping because
I'm usually meditating."

His attempt at humor got the desired effect. Leia laughed out loud,
covering her mouth when she realized she might wake up Han.

"All right, Ambassador Skywalker, I get the point." She settled back
into his embrace. "Now, I want to hear why you were late getting
here."

"I told you, we had-"

"Yes, I know. Mechanical trouble with the ship. But ten days?!
Luke, you've always prided yourself on being able to fix anything."
Leia paused and frowned as an amused smile flashed across his
face. "So I want to know what kind of repairs took so long."

Luke gave a quiet, resigned sigh. "We stopped just outside the
Crestar Nebula, to make a course change," he began.

"Near the asteroid field," Leia said, apparently recognizing the
location. "Han and Chewie thought the asteroids looked as if someone
had been taking potshots at them."

"Really?" he said, keeping his expression blank. "Anyway, the
hyperdrive wouldn't re-engage, and I didn't think I could repair it
without landing, especially since I didn't have Artoo, so we ventured
into the nebula and set down on the first planet we found. Except,
we got caught in a windstorm, and a stabilizer rod for the primary
wing snapped. Then we had to hike several days to the nearest
settlement, which had no technology, and it took us longer than
expected to get a replacement for the rod. Then we had to hike back
to the ship with it. And before you ask, the nebula was wreaking
havoc with our comm system, so we couldn't send any messages."

"All right, I'll accept that." She gave him a shrewd glance. "Now,
tell me why you were in a healing trance when I commed your ship, and
don't try to deny that you were."

"Let's just say, not all the natives were friendly. And you know
what you always say - I don't have to go looking for trouble; it
always finds me."

"How bad were you hurt?"

"It was just a scratch, really." He broke into a wry grin, then made
as if to lower the waistband of his sleep pants over his hip. "You
want to see my latest scar?"

"No!" Leia exclaimed, then glanced again at her bedroom
door. "Nerf!" she whispered loudly, punching his shoulder. "What is
this, some warped Jedi sense of humor you've developed?"

Luke looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"Mara said exactly the same thing a few days ago."

"Oh." Leia's disposition changed instantly.

"Just give her a chance, Leia," Luke pleaded. "I know Mara's a bit
abrasive at first, but if you'd only get to know her, you'd find
she's really a caring person." He gave Leia's shoulders a warm
squeeze. "Mara's had a hard life. Being raised by Palpatine wasn't
exactly conducive to a happy childhood."

"Palpatine ... raised her?" Leia asked skeptically.

"Along with tutors, trainers, and drill instructors. She can't
remember having any family before coming to the palace. Palpatine
probably recognized her Force talent and kidnapped her, possibly even
killed her parents." Luke paused in thought, then looked away. "Or
our father did."

"So I'm supposed to feel sorry for her?"

"All I'm asking is that you look at her life from her point of view.
It could've just as easily have been you or me that the Emperor
discovered at an early age."

"All right," said Leia with a sigh. "If you feel that strongly, I'll
try to accept her."

Luke started to speak, but Leia cut him off. "I know, try not. I
pay attention when you drone on about Yoda's teachings." She shot
him a sly smirk. "I only look like I'm asleep."

The siblings broke into simultaneous laughter, then embraced each
other with a warm hug. It was good to be together.

Some time later, Luke crawled into his inviting bed, pulling Mara
back into his arms.

"'Bout time," she murmured sleepily.

"Sorry," he returned, kissing her softly.

"What did Leia want?"

"She thinks Han may be planning to ask her to marry him."

"Which he is," Mara said matter-of-factly. "So why am I not sensing
elation from you?"

"She's not sure she'll accept."

"Ahh. That could get messy."

"I didn't know being a Jedi translated into being a marriage
advisor," Luke muttered.

"I think that comes more under the category of being a relative, or
prospective relative. Though there was no one else that I wanted to
discuss marriage with."

"You were a prospective relative."

Mara shifted closer to him, tracing circles across his back. Luke
buried his face in his pillow, doing his best to suppress his
yearnings for the enticing woman lying next to him. "This just isn't
fair," came his muffled whine.

"This was all your idea," Mara pointed out.

He turned his head to one side slightly. "I've never been accused of
thinking things all the way through. Just ask Han or Leia."

"Does that include asking me to marry you?"

"You know it doesn't." Luke rolled onto his side to face her. "No
regrets there. Not now, not ever."

Mara tenderly brushed her lips against his cheek. "I believe someone
was bragging about his ability to shield and kiss at the same time."

Luke replied with a fierce kiss, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"Hmmm...." Mara sighed contentedly. "Masterful."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter Seven

"Welcome, Jedi Skywalker, Padawan Jade." Regent Ke'lor nodded in
greeting to both Luke and Mara as they entered his private
office. "I hope you won't mind if Prime Aide Meend is present. I
count on him to keep notes of all my official negotiations."

"No, of course not." Luke bowed his head to acknowledge the aide,
and Meend took Luke and Mara's cloaks as they removed them.

"I apologize for the delay in conducting this meeting," the Regent
began smoothly. "It is our custom on Lorrd to see to it that all
guests are comfortable and relaxed before beginning any business
negotiations. And even though I know that Jedi Knights are trained
to be calm and composed, I took the liberty of assuming that you
would appreciate a day to refresh yourselves, especially after the
difficulty you encountered with your ship." The Regent smiled warmly
at them. "I hope I did not offend you with my procrastination."

Luke cleared his throat and sat up straight, obviously doing his best
to affect the bearing of a trained diplomat. "Not at all, Your
Excellency. However, Mon Mothma will be expecting an update on our
progress, so I would like the use of a comm unit when we conclude
today's session."

"Absolutely." The Regent waved toward his aide. "You may use the
secure comm in Meend's office."

The slight surprise Mara felt emanating from Luke mirrored her own.
If they were free to use Meend's comm, why didn't they have units in
their own suites? Perhaps Meend's wasn't really all that secure.

"Now then," Regent Ke'lor said, handing Luke a datapad. "Here is an
outline of Lorrd's requirements concerning the norumite crystals."

Luke took the pad, nodding at Mara at the same time. She withdrew a
similar datapad from a leather pouch at her waist and passed it to
the Regent.

"The New Republic's proposal," Luke said before glancing at the pad
he had just received. Mara refrained from looking over his shoulder;
she knew Luke would inform her immediately if the outline included
any 'you must fight in our war' clause.

"Excellent," Regent Ke'lor responded. "I suggest we discuss each
item one by one in order to reach a mutually beneficial consensus."
He smiled cordially at his guests. "Don't you agree, Jedi Skywalker?"

Two hours later, the trio of negotiators shut down their respective
datapads. Meend had studiously recorded each point of the
discussion, and was already duplicating the initial draft of the
agreement so that the Jedi would both receive copies.

"Simply inform Meend when you are ready to send a transmission to Mon
Mothma," the Regent said, rising to shake Luke's hand. "I am sure
she will find our compact most satisfactory."

"I believe we would like to review the contract again ourselves
before relaying it to her," Luke replied. Mara knew his unspoken
thought was that he'd like Leia to review the document, and she
didn't blame him. This was Leia's area of expertise, not hers or
Luke's.

"Of course, of course." Regent Ke'lor looked up as his office door
opened. "Ah, I see Jayce is here to escort you back to your
quarters."

Jayce smiled brightly at Mara and suggested they stop for a light
lunch on the way back. To Luke and Mara's surprise, he brought them
to a small caf?ust off the palace's main promenade. This was the
first time they'd eaten anywhere besides one of the royal dining
halls. Any thoughts of freedom to mingle with the other patrons
quickly dissolved, however. Jayce ushered them to a secluded dining
nook which Mara deduced to be solely reserved for members of the
Regent's staff. The gurgling of a small fountain tucked amongst the
foliage served to deter eavesdropping from adjacent alcoves.

The Second Aide began to reach toward Mara's shoulders to remove her
cloak, then seemed to think better of it. With a mildly amused
glance at Luke, Mara removed the garment herself and handed it to the
hesitant young man.

*See, the conditioning is working already,* Luke sent silently, not
looking Mara's direction as he settled into a comfortable straight-
backed chair.

Mara didn't bother to answer her smug-sounding husband. She did
breathe a sigh of relief when Jayce took a seat on the opposite side
of the table from her. Even though he hadn't physically touched her
during the walk to the caf?Jayce had let no opportunity pass in
bestowing a constant stream of compliments on her.

"I trust you are enjoying your stay on Lorrd," Jayce commented, his
gaze fixed appreciatively on Mara.

Mara's eyes flicked up from the holomenu she was studying. "It's a
very ..." Gaudy, she thought to herself. "... colorful place. From
what little we've seen of it, anyway."

"Ah, perhaps I can give you a personal tour of the city soon, now
that the negotiations are nearly concluded."

"My master and I would enjoy that very much." What Mara enjoyed was
the sensation of disappointment that coursed through the aide when
she included Luke in her acceptance. She winced inwardly when Luke
sent a reproof to her through the Force. Like he had any room to
chastise her.

"The negotiations are far from being concluded," Luke spoke up. "I
expect there will be several more sessions before our two governments
come to a mutual agreement."

"I would be glad to take Mistress Jade sightseeing while you are
concluding the discussions with His Excellency," Jayce suggested
hopefully.

Luke's Force-sense screamed 'Over my dead body!' Outwardly, he
remained composed enough to answer, "I'm afraid my padawan must
attend all meetings with me, as part of her training."

"Of course, Jedi Skywalker." Jayce smiled apologetically. "I
understand completely." He glanced down at the holomenu shimmering
in front of him. "May I recommend the braised golnock? It is one of
our specialties."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Leia studied the proposed agreement between Lorrd and the New
Republic, she tried to block out Mara's incessant finger tapping and
Luke's equally annoying stare down. Han wasn't much better,
alternating between squirming in his seat and making trips to Mara's
small refreshment center.

"Sure you don't want something to drink?" Han asked for what seemed
like the tenth time.

"No," Leia snapped, rubbing her forehead. "Oh, all right," she
relented tiredly, letting out a sigh. "Pour me a glass of wine."

"So?" Luke leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Can you
see any flaws?"

Leia looked up at the anxious face of her brother. When she and Han
had returned to the ambassadorial annex shortly after lunch, they'd
found Luke here in Mara's suite, putting on what Leia had been sure
was a charade of being totally engrossed in reviewing the long-
awaited treaty.

"Not until I reached the miscellaneous clauses at the end," Leia
said, letting her frustration show. "Subsection eleven, paragraph
thirty-eight. 'Each party must be willing to cooperate in the defense
of the other party against outside aggression by providing any and
all resources requested for such defense.'"

Frowning, Mara held out one hand, and the second copy of the
agreement lifted off a nearby table into her grasp. Luke moved over
to the arm of her chair, peering over her shoulder as she scanned the
document.

"Blazing stars, Luke," Mara grated out. "How did I miss this?" She
grimaced at him. "You're a resource of the New Republic."

"I am not," he protested, before glancing at Leia. "Am I?"

"The Lorrdians could view you that way," Leia replied, eyeing the
pair. "Both of you."

"I'm not a Jedi," Mara asserted. "Yet," she added when Luke gave her
a strange look. "Surely they just want farmboy here."

"The way Jayce is trying to curry your favor?" Luke said with a
snort. "Maybe they want you more than me."

"Disappointed that no one is drooling over you, Skywalker?"

"Jade is probably the back-up plan, if they can't get you, Luke," Han
said. "Maybe they think a half-trained Jedi would be better than
nothing."

"I'm glad you have such a high opinion of my abilities, Solo," Mara
retorted.

"Enough," Leia ordered, interrupting the bickering as she accepted
her wine from Han and set it on the low table in front of her. She
speared Luke with an authoritative look. "Luke, you have to convince
them to remove that clause. Even if they don't insist on your or
Mara's services, the New Republic doesn't have the ships or manpower
to spare right now to come to Lorrd's defense."

"They'll never sign the treaty, then," Luke countered. "And you said
we needed those crystals." Still perched on the arm of Mara's chair,
he pursed his lips in thought. "Maybe I should help them."

"You can't give into them just for the sake of a treaty," Mara said.

"But Jedi are supposed to help defend others."

"Skywalker," Mara said with a growl. "Number one, you don't even
know for sure that engulfing you in their war is what the Lorrdians
have in mind. Number two, if they do, it would be blackmail. And
I'm sure that Jedi are not supposed to succumb to blackmail."

Leia listened to the exchange with interest. Blast it, she wished
Mara Jade would give her a solid excuse not to like her. The woman
was candid, intelligent, and not afraid of offending Luke or anyone
else. She almost reminded Leia of some of Han's better qualities.

"I'm not going to give in to blackmail," Luke insisted. "But as soon
as we ask for that section to be deleted, they'll know we've figured
out their scheme."

"So what?" Mara said. "We don't have to call them on it; we just let
them confess their devious little plot, and then we can decide
whether or not they deserve our help."

"Sounds like a good plan to me, kid," Han put in. "Return the
smashball to their court, and let them make the next move."

"Hopefully their next move will be to let the treaty slide through,"
Leia said, absently reaching for her glass. But with half her
attention still on the Lorrdian proposal and the other half fixed on
the ongoing conversation, there was none left for something so
mundane. The glass tilted awkwardly in her grasp, spilling the wine
down her front and leaving a large section of her pale blouse tinted
dark red.

"Oh, stars." Leia winced, hastily setting down her glass, and looked
for something to dab her blouse with. "This is going to stain. I
hope I have something clean to put on." She started to rise,
intending to return to Luke's suite for a change of clothes. "I
should have known to bring in more luggage from the Falcon." She was
heading for the door when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed
Luke mysteriously motioning to Mara.

"Leia," Mara said, standing up hurriedly. "Why don't you rinse your
blouse out in my refresher? I can loan you something to wear."

Leia stopped in her tracks, shocked by Mara's unexpected
cordiality. "I ... I don't want to be a bother," she stammered.

"No bother," Mara returned in a flippant tone. She sauntered toward
her bedchamber, looking over her shoulder as if to say 'Well, are you
coming or not?'

Leia glanced at Luke, who had adopted his expressionless fa?e, then
at Han, who shrugged his shoulders and grinned in amusement. Well,
no one ever accused Leia Organa of not having courage ...

The first thing Leia noticed as she entered the bedchamber was that
the room was considerably neater than it had been the day before.
The bed covering was wrinkle-free, and Mara's personal articles were
meticulously arranged on the elegant bureau and writing desk. A
clear, bell-shaped jar of what looked like colored flower petals sat
on a small table next to the bed. Must be a decoration provided by
the Lorrdians, Leia thought. Mara didn't seem the flowery type.

"Go ahead and use the 'fresher while I look for something that I
think will fit you," Mara invited, nodding toward the open doorway.

"Thank you," Leia answered, still in a daze over this change in
Mara's demeanor. While Mara's tone couldn't be called amiable, it
didn't carry her usual sarcastic attitude, either.

Leia quickly rinsed the offending liquid from her top and hung it
over a rod. Smoothing down her satiny camisole, she returned to the
other room to find Mara standing in front of an open wardrobe,
holding out a light beige tunic.

"Will this do?" Mara asked.

"Yes, I'm sure it will." Leia accepted the garment, and as she did
so, her attention was caught by a long white dress and what looked
like a cape hanging in the wardrobe. She couldn't help reaching past
Mara to finger the soft material. "What's this?" she asked. "It
looks so unusual."

"Oh, it's ... it's nothing," Mara stuttered as she began to close the
wardrobe's ornate doors.

Leia hadn't thought until then that it was possible for Mara Jade to
look flustered.

"Wait! May I see it? I like to look at clothing from different
cultures." Leia kept her outstretched hand firmly holding the full
skirt. Even without employing her limited knowledge of the Force,
she could sense the nervousness radiating off Mara as the young woman
stood frozen, her hand gripping the wardrobe door so hard that her
knuckles were beginning to turn white. "It is from a different
culture, isn't it?" Leia continued as she boldly began pulling the
garment out of the enclosure. She knew her reputation of being
persistent wasn't wholly unearned. "I've never seen anything like
this on Coruscant. Is it from Lorrd?"

"Hmm, no," Mara muttered, finally stepping aside in apparent defeat.
She met Leia's expectant stare, then continued in a resigned
voice. "It came from the planet that Skywalker and I were stranded
on, when the B-wing broke down."

"You took time out to go clothes shopping?" Leia narrowed her eyes.
It was bad enough that Luke and Jade were ten days late getting to
Lorrd. The idea that this woman-

"Of course not," Mara replied curtly. "The locals were having some
kind of primitive festival, and orange flightsuits didn't exactly
blend in. They gave me this to wear."

"I see." Leia's short answer belied the multitude of thoughts that
was running through her mind. Mara Jade didn't strike her as the
type to care about 'blending in' with a group of technology-free
villagers, as Luke had described them - not unless she was going
undercover on an assignment. As Leia's gaze swept quickly over
Mara's current simple attire, she also realized that she'd never seen
Mara in a dress at all, much less anything like the one now freed
from the confines of the wardrobe.

Her prize finally in full view, Leia let a small gasp escape. The
dress was beautiful, in a quaint, genteel sort of way. She turned
over the fur-trimmed hem and examined the stitching closely. "This
looks hand-stitched," Leia pronounced in awe. "I haven't seen a hand
sewn garment since I was a little girl, and then only once. One of
my aunts had a skirt tucked away in a trunk that her grandmother had
sewn by hand."

"Yes, well, didn't Skywalker tell you there was no automation in
Zembuhl?" Mara's tone clearly indicated that she wasn't impressed by
Leia's nostalgic small talk.

"Zembuhl?" The name tugged at Leia's memory, but she couldn't place
where she'd heard it.

"The village we hiked to. We don't really know the name of the
planet."

"Yes, he did mention the lack of technology," Leia murmured, now
running a careful hand over the long row of tiny buttons along the
back of the dress. Did she imagine it, or did Mara noticeably
stiffen at her actions? Leia then turned her attention to the
velvety soft fur that trimmed the neckline, sleeves, and hem of the
dress. "Is this real fur? I don't recognize what animal it could be
from."

"It's rishhare," Mara said succinctly, glancing at the door to the
common room where Luke and Han waited.

Holding the garment in front of her, Leia crossed to the room's full-
length cheval mirror. The dress wasn't anything like the exquisite
gowns that she'd worn many times, nor like the fashionable chic
dresses currently being touted across the galaxy. Rather, it was
elegant in its simplicity; its delicate folds the embodiment of
femininity. "This could almost be used as a wedding dress, in a cold
climate," Leia commented offhandedly. The sudden chill emanating
from Mara made Leia feel like they were in one of those cold
climates. "May I try it on?" she asked, as much to see Mara's
reaction as her impulsive desire to see how the dress would look on
her.

"I ... It ... I don't think it would fit you," Mara stammered. "No,
it wouldn't fit."

Leia shrewdly glanced at Mara's trim figure. "It may be a little
longer on me than on you," she said, "but I'm sure it would fit."

Mara's anxiety returned full-force. "Uh ... Don't you think we need
to be getting back to the other room?" She held out the top that
she'd originally offered to Leia. "Here, I thought you wanted to
borrow a tunic." Mara started to reach out to snatch back her dress,
but Leia twirled out of reach.

"I'll just slip the dress on quickly," Leia insisted. "It won't take
but a moment." Without waiting for a response, she stepped out of
her own skirt and into the alluring dress, pulling it up over her
hips. "Can you fasten a few of the buttons, so I can get a better
idea of how it looks?" Leia called over her shoulder. As she saw
Mara's reflection behind her, Leia swore the woman looked positively
stricken.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Han muttered. A worried
frown suddenly creased his forehead, and he looked sharply at
Luke. "Jade wouldn't-"

"No," Luke answered emphatically. "Mara would not harm Leia." He
narrowed his gaze at the bedchamber door, as if trying to sense what
was going on within the room. "But I can't imagine what is taking so
long, either."

"Ah, well, you never know with women." Han took a drink from his
glass. "Probably comparing notes on the latest fashions."

Luke gave a doubtful-sounding laugh, but didn't take his eyes off the
doorway.

"Hey, kid," Han whispered, leaning forward in his seat. "We still on
for tonight?"

Luke turned his attention back to Han. "Tonight? What's tonight?"

"You're gonna order a fancy room service meal, then make yourself
scarce." Han frowned at Luke's blank expression. "So I can ... you
know." He nodded his head toward the bedroom and mouthed the
word 'propose.'

"Oh, yeah, right." Luke fidgeted in his chair. "This isn't a hotel,
Han. I don't know if there is room service."

"Have they told you you're expected at any bigwig dinner?"

"Well, no. Not tonight."

"I'm sure they're not gonna let the two of you go wandering around
the city on your own." Han grinned smugly. "So they gotta let you
eat in your room if you want."

"I suppose," Luke answered slowly. "But wouldn't it be better for
you to wait until you got back to Coruscant? Then you could take
Leia out to some nice restaurant."

"The minute we get back to Coruscant, Leia'll be busy every night
with meetings again." Han leaned back again, crossing his
legs. "Tonight's the night, kid." He tipped his glass in Luke's
direction, as if in salute, then looked around at the sound of
footsteps exiting the bedchamber.

"Han, look at the beautiful dress-" Leia stopped short as soon as
she caught sight of Luke. She didn't think she had ever seen such a
horrified look on her brother's face as when she walked into the
common room.

"What ... What in blazes are you doing, wearing that?!" Luke rose
quickly to his feet, shifting his shocked gaze from Leia to
Mara. "Why did you let her put that on?"

"You asked me to be nice to her," Mara growled. Her expression was a
mixture of frustration and irritation.

"Not that nice!"

Leia could tell by the way Luke was clenching and unclenching his
fists that he was fighting to control his emotions. Han stood up
also, looking as puzzled as Leia felt.

"Hey, Luke," Han said. "Settle down, kid."

Mara moved close enough to Luke to touch his arm
lightly. "Skywalker, it's only the dress I wore to the festival in
the village. It's not a big deal."

Some sort of wordless communication passed between the two Force-
users, of that Leia was sure. An epiphany of realization seemed to
come over Luke - whether the result of Mara's verbal statement or
silent one, there was no way of telling. But he visibly relaxed, his
hands now hanging limply by his sides.

"I'm sorry, Leia," Luke apologized, regret and embarrassment shining
in his penitent blue eyes. "I just thought that no one else was ever
supposed to wear a woman's ... uh, festival dress."

"That's all right, Luke," Leia murmured. She didn't believe his
explanation for one moment. Why in the galaxy would he care if she
tried on one of Mara's dresses? Something strange was going on, and
Leia was determined to find out what. "I'll go change." She
backed into the bedchamber, still holding the matching cloak that she
hadn't even had a chance to model.

Mara followed Leia in and immediately began undoing the long row of
buttons.

"What was that all about?" Leia asked.

"How should I know?" Mara returned testily. "You ought to know your
brother better than I would. Maybe he has some fixation with women's
clothing."

Leia glanced over her shoulder, not amused by Mara's supposed attempt
at humor, and Mara looked up to meet her gaze. "I'm beginning to
think I don't know him at all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter Eight (Part 1 of 2)

Hands clasped tightly behind his back, Luke stood looking out through
a large oval window at the rooftops surrounding the royal
administrative building. He was alone in the vestibule of Prime Aide
Meend's office, and had been for the better part of the afternoon.
His request for an audience with Regent Ke'lor had brought a flurry
of excuses for the lengthy delay - the Regent was apparently a
very busy man.

Luke was not by nature a patient person. Yoda had tried to teach him
patience, Luke thought with a smile. And perhaps his old master had
succeeded, to a point. After all, Luke had barely twitched a muscle
since Meend's last appearance, nearly a half standard hour ago. No
pacing, no hand clenching, no urges to simply barge into the Regent's
inner sanctum and track down the errant monarch himself. In truth,
Luke didn't mind the wait. It gave him time to reflect on the
conversation he'd had earlier with Mara, shortly after Han and Leia's
departure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What is wrong with you, Luke?

"Look, I admit that I overreacted." Luke raked his fingers through
his slightly too-long hair. "But why did you have the dress hanging
out where she could see it? I thought it was still packed in your
satchel."

Mara groaned in exasperation. "The cleaning droid offered to take my
dirty laundry to be cleaned, and I decided to send the dress, too. I
guess when it brought my clothes back, it hung everything in the
wardrobe. I didn't even realize it was in there until Leia spied
it." She glared at Luke in frustration. "What did you want me to
do? Break her arm for daring to touch my wedding dress?"

"You didn't have to invite her to put on a fashion show with it."

"Luke!" Mara threw up her hands, then let them fall on top of his
shoulders. "How long have you known your sister? I've known her
three months, and already I've got her pegged as the most stubborn
person I've ever met, and that includes you. She was bound and
determined to try that dress on, and nothing I said would dissuade
her. Anyway, there's no rule against one woman putting on another's
wedding gown, and Leia doesn't even know that's what it is."

"All right, all right. I know how Leia can get. She pestered me
every day for a month until I would give her lessons piloting my X-
wing." Luke sighed in resignation. "I just don't like the idea of
anyone but you wearing your wedding dress. I have ... well, certain
memories attached to it, and ..."

Mara's demeanor softened and she kissed him gently. "I know,
sweetheart. It was all I could do to keep from shaking while undoing
the buttons down the back."

Luke gave her a strained smile. "Maybe you should have let Han do
that."

"She was wearing clothes underneath, farmboy." Mara swatted him
lightly. "You'd better be purging all thoughts that don't focus on
me."

Luke grinned and nodded in agreement. "Nightmares like that I don't
need."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luke exhaled quietly. He missed Mara. He'd just left her a few
short hours ago, and already he missed her. Luke dragged his
thoughts away from the night he'd undone the fastenings on that soft
white dress and instead did his best to focus on the reason he was
rooted to this spot - the proposed trade negotiation. He only
hoped Mara hadn't killed Han yet.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What else?" Mara grated out between clenched teeth. She was jotting
down Han's menu requests on a piece of flimsiplast, while
simultaneously plotting her revenge against a handsome, blue-eyed
Jedi for relegating her to the role of waitress. She understood
Luke's concern that if they both left to seek out the Regent, they
might not return in time to order Han's special dinner. And she knew
that it would be inappropriate if a padawan was the one to challenge
passages in the treaty, leaving her master behind. But that didn't
mean she had to like the arrangement. Luke was the one who'd
promised his cooperation in this scheme of Han's, not her.

"Let's see, for dessert, about some serjeez fruit tidbits with sweet
nectar sauce."

"We had that for lunch," Mara stated in exasperation. "We wouldn't
order the same thing for dinner."

"Well, maybe you liked it so well that you want it again," Han
returned testily.

Mara shot the man her best glare and scribbled down the choice.

"Oh, and a bottle of Alderaanian wine," Han concluded. "Gotta have
the finest for this occasion."

"Solo, do you know how expensive that is?" Mara couldn't believe the
nerve of the man. "They're not going to give us Alderaanian wine!"

"Bet if you asked your admirer - what's his name? Jayce? -
he'd get a bottle for you."

Mara had been wrong. It hadn't been her best glare earlier. Though
this time she was sure her expression had 'death threat' written all
over it. Her hand itched for the feel of her hold-out blaster.

"You can drink whatever's here," Mara bit out, waving a hand toward
the refreshment bar.

"There's not much left," Han said with a frown.

"And whose fault is that?" Mara stalked to the intercom, clearly
indicating to Han that there would be no more adding to his wish
list. A low-level aide answered in Meend's office, and promised that
every item that Mara had requested would be delivered within the hour.

"Hey, that was twice as much as I asked for," Han commented, puzzled.

"Farmboy and I have to eat, too," Mara returned. "Don't worry, we
won't intrude on your romantic interlude."

A crooked grin crept onto Han's face. "Since when does an assassin
use pet nicknames for a Jedi?"

"Since when does a spice smuggler get away with calling a
princess 'Her Worshipfulness'?"

"Since she knows I only call her that because I love her." Han's
shrewd hazel eyes narrowed, apparently waiting for a response he
should have known wouldn't be coming.

Mara pressed her lips into a grim line, then spun on her heel. "I'll
be back when the food arrives," she muttered before disappearing out
the door.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Luke turned around in anticipation, even though Meend hadn't made a
sound as he entered the room.

"I apologize, Sir Knight," Meend said, ignoring Luke's earlier
request to simply call him 'Luke.' "His Excellency was called into
an emergency meeting, and it is impossible to say when he will be
available." The aide wrung his hands nervously. "Are you sure that
I cannot help you? I am most familiar with all aspects of your
negotiations."

Luke paused, considering. Perhaps he would get more answers out of
the genial aide than he would from the Regent. "Well, I would like
clarification on subsection eleven, paragraph thirty-eight."

"Of course, of course." Meend hurriedly retrieved his copy of the
document and scanned for that section. "Each party must be
willing ..." he began reading, then looked up in confusion. "But
that is a standard clause in all treaties with allies, Jedi
Skywalker."

Luke shook his head. "It's too vague, too open for
misinterpretation."

Meend rubbed a hand across his chin. "I'm sorry, I do not have the
authority to alter that section."

"I did not expect that you would." Luke smiled in
understanding. "Perhaps I could make use of your comm station to
call Mon Mothma?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely, sir." Meend's face lit up at receiving a
request that he could fulfill. "Please follow me. And then I shall
be happy to escort you back to your quarters, if His Excellency is
still not available."

Luke paused his forward motion and kept his expression carefully
shuttered. "I found my way here by myself, and I'm sure I can find
my way back. If all this is so that we don't escape-" He
stopped, regretting his brusque words as he saw the dismayed slump of
the aide's shoulders. He remembered the panic in the older man's
expression when Luke had appeared in his office unannounced, and
unescorted. "Meend, I know you are only following orders, but you
must realize that we could slip away from the palace grounds anytime
we wanted." At the moment, however, all Luke wanted to do was get
back into the ambassadorial wing. He smiled wanly at
Meend. "However, I would be honored to have you keep me company on
the walk back to my rooms."

"Thank you, Jedi Skywalker." The lines at the corners of Meend's
dark eyes crinkled in relief. "Your kindness is a credit to your
Order."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Carefully making sure she would not be spotted, Leia made her way
down the long corridor to Luke's suite. She had informed Mon Mothma
of Luke's progress on the negotiations, and her fear that the
Lorrdians had ulterior motives on their agenda. Mon Mothma promised
she would have the recently formed New Republic Intelligence gather
any information it could on the war situation on Lorrd. Leia signed
off when Mon Mothma informed her that she had a transmission coming
in from Luke. There was too much chance that Luke's call was being
monitored to risk Leia joining that conversation.

It was when Leia had announced that she was exiting the Falcon that
the trouble had begun. She'd found the ramp doorway blocked by a two-
and-a-quarter-meter-tall walking carpet. Then Lando had appeared
from the cockpit, insisting that he had more information on the
Lorrdians that she needed to hear. After listening to him embellish
all of his escapades at various nightspots the evening before, Leia
had had more than she could take. Even Chewbacca's long string of
grunts and growls, which Lando interpreted as saying it wasn't safe
for her to leave the ship alone, wasn't enough to deter her. Leia
swore they were delaying her on purpose, but she couldn't figure out
why. Only after Lando's comlink beeped twice, then fell mysteriously
silent, did Chewie and Lando agree to accompany her to the back
entrance of Luke's building.

As Leia peered around the last corner of the hallway, she caught
sight of Mara Jade coming out of Luke's room, pushing a hovercart
laden with meal containers. The red-haired woman looked up, squarely
meeting Leia's stare.

"Dinnertime," Mara stated evenly, punching in the code to her own
suite. "Han's in there," she added, nodding back in the direction
from which she'd come before disappearing into her room.

Expecting to also see Luke inside, Leia was instead greeted by Han
alone as she entered the darkened room through the still-open
doorway. A dressed-up, immaculately groomed Han.

"Welcome, Your Highness," Han said, holding out an elbow. "May I
escort you to dinner?"

Leia's eyes widened in surprise. In the middle of the room was a
small table covered with a pure white tablecloth. Covered plates sat
at two places, and a bottle of what looked like wine rested in an
adjacent cooling vessel. A pair of candles, in tall jeweled
candlesticks, cast warm flickering light across the room. Soft music
played in the background, adding to the romantic ambiance.

"Han, what's going on?"

"Just like Red said," Han grinned roguishly as he closed the door
behind them, "it's dinnertime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 8 (part 2 of 2)

As Luke glided silently down the main corridor of the ambassadorial
quarters, he sensed that Leia was already in his suite, with Han, and
that Mara was waiting in her own suite. Waiting for him.

The door slid open just as he reached it, and Mara stood in the
middle of the room, hands on hips, her slim figure dressed in loose
pants and a sleeveless exercise tunic. Luke could tell that she was
fighting to keep a smile from gracing her lovely face. She looked
beautiful and sophisticated no matter what she was wearing, while
Luke still felt like a second-rate farmer from a third-rate planet.
She and I are exactly alike in so many ways, he reflected, yet we're
completely opposite in so many others.

"Hi," he said shyly, stepping inside. I'm ordinary; she's refined.

"About time," Mara scolded, but there was no malice in her voice.
Luke looks so noble in his Jedi uniform, she thought. He is
everything that is good and virtuous, while I'm tarnished and
flawed. Every aspect of our relationship is a contradiction. She
gazed into the warmth of his ice blue eyes. He is pure; I am tainted.

"Colonel Pima-Archa cornered me on the way back, wanting to discuss
battle strategy," Luke answered, his eyes following the contours of
her lips. Firm; soft. "What could I do?"

"You could say 'Sorry, I don't have time right now. Can I discuss it
with you tomorrow?'" Mara moved closer and began undoing the clasp
of his cloak. Dominant; submissive.

"You know I'm terrible at saying no," Luke murmured, letting his
cloak fall to the floor. Willful; considerate.

"Pushover." Accepting; defiant.

Luke shrugged in resignation. "I'm here now." He threaded his
fingers through her silky hair. "And I suspect Han and Leia won't
miss me until morning." Passionate; gentle.

Mara reached up, brushing a stray lock from his forehead. "I'd say
you'd probably be in big trouble if you showed your face over
there." Provocative; appeasing.

Luke's warm smile faded quickly. "If things go well, that is. From
what Leia said last night ..." Confident; doubtful.

"With the romantic mood Han was engineering, I don't see how she
could turn him down." Mara let her hands trail across Luke's
shoulders and down his chest. "And Leia did comment that my dress
would make a good wedding dress." Pessimistic; hopeful.

"Is that so?" A frown appeared on Luke's face. "You don't think she
suspects ...?" Optimistic; discouraged.

"No." Mara shook her head slightly. "I don't think so, unless you
were going to say that she suspects you've turned into some kind of
deviant who gets attached to women's clothing." Teasing; sincere.

Luke's infectious grin returned, lighting up the room. "I've got a
lot of salvage work to do on my reputation, don't I?" Lively; grave.

"I don't envy you that task." A tingle ran through Mara as Luke
caught her fingers, entwining them with his own. "I ordered extra
food," she said, momentarily wondering why she had forgotten to
chastise him for having to cater to Han's dining whims. "So we can
eat in here." Distracted; attentive.

"Good." Luke stroked her fingers softly, not looking at the meal
cart. "I may be hungry, afterwards." Impetuous; rational.

"Afterwards?" Cunning; innocent.

"Um-hmm." Intense; mellow.

Mara's practical side battled for her attention. "Were you able to
get anywhere with the Regent?" Realistic; idealistic.

"Couldn't even get in to see him." Luke leaned down and kissed her
gently on the lips. "Not much we can do about it tonight." Casual;
ordered.

"Luke, we do need to talk about the negotiations." Authoritative;
yielding.

"Sorry, I don't have time right now." Luke moved forward slowly,
forcing Mara to back up. "Can I discuss it with you tomorrow?"
Absolute; incomplete.

"I suppose we can put it off that long." She moaned lightly as Luke
trailed light kisses down her neck. Practicality could wait. Tough;
vulnerable.

"Pushover," he breathed, kneading her back with his fingertips.
Rigid; flexible. She excited him in a way he'd never dreamed
possible.

Mara slid one hand across the fasteners to Luke's sleeveless outer
tunic. "Shall I divest you of your vest?" Transparent; opaque.

Luke's face dimpled once more in a warm smile. "Oh, what a silver
tongue we have tonight." Tart; sweet.

Mara made a very unladylike snort. "Right. I've been waiting here
for hours thinking up witty remarks to dazzle you with." Genial;
cynical.

"Words are not what I'm expecting you to dazzle me with." He pulled
her tighter against him. Blunt; tactful.

"Why do you always wear so many layers of clothes?" Mara teased,
pushing Luke's vest off his shoulders. Harmonious; chafing.

"Hmm... To prolong the pleasure of having you remove them?" He ran
one finger across the waistband of her pants. Bashful; bold.

Habitual; spontaneous. "Maybe we should adjourn to the bedchamber,"
Mara whispered, her throat going dry. Cautious; carefree. At any
given time, any word could describe either of them.

"Too far." Luke pushed her down beneath him on the couch. The roles
that defined them were constantly shifting. "We'll save it for round
two." Awkward; graceful.

"Round-" Anxious ...

The rest of Mara's reply was muffled as Luke cut her off with a
fierce kiss, fanning the flames of passion between lovers newly wed.
Their bodies pressed deeper into the musan-leather cushions - the
creaking of the expensive upholstery went completely unnoticed.
Content.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dodging furniture and ornamental plants, Leia hurried across the
common room, but she was having a hard time catching up with Han's
long strides. Han hadn't been disappointed when Leia turned down his
proposal of marriage.

He'd been furious.

"Han, wait!"

"I'm gonna kill him," the Corellian bellowed, not slowing his pace in
the least. "I'm gonna strangle him, and then I'm gonna kill him."

"Han, he didn't-"

Han paused in the middle of the hallway, pointing his finger into
Leia's face. "You said you asked him for advice, and then you said
you wouldn't marry me." He turned and snapped off the cover to
Mara's door control, effortlessly twisting the wires necessary to
open the door. "What am I supposed to think?" he growled, sweeping
into the suite before Leia could stop him.

The sight that met Leia's gaze inside the room stopped both her and
Han in their tracks, however. From a reclining position on the
couch, Mara was pushing Luke off the top of her, and he landed on the
floor with a resounding thud. Most of him, anyway. His right hand
was hidden beneath her tunic, and Luke was struggling to pull it out.

"Move it or lose it ... again, Skywalker." Mara's face was flushed
red as she glared at her obviously-more-than-a-friend companion.

"My fingers are caught in your ... The material's ... twisted ..."
With a grunt, Luke managed to extricate his hand before Mara made
good on her threat. It was only then that he embarrassedly faced his
audience.

"What in blazes is going on here?!" Han exclaimed.

Leia gave Han a sideways glance before turning back to see Mara
straightening her tunic and Luke, still half-lying on the floor,
haphazardly trying to fasten his own tunic closed. She thought it
was pretty obvious what was going on.

"Uh, I can explain-" Luke began before Mara interrupted.

"We're not the ones who need to be giving explanations," Mara said
tersely. "Don't we have any privacy? What are you doing over here?"

"I'm here to throttle him." Kicking the Jedi cloak out of the way,
Han lunged forward to loom over Luke's sprawled-out body.

"Me? What'd I do?"

Han's immediate reply was to grab Luke by the upper arms and haul him
up against the wall. "Don't you act so blasted innocent. The first
mistake I made was listening to Chewie and Winter. The second was
thinking I could trust you." Han's livid face was mere centimeters
from Luke's calm one. "I confide in you that I'm going to propose,"
he continued, undaunted by Luke's lack of reaction, "I even swallow
my pride and ask your permission, and you ... you go right behind my
back and tell her to turn me down!"

"It wasn't like that!" Mara and Leia shouted simultaneously, then
stared at each other. There was no mistaking the fiercely protective
expression on Mara's face as she tugged Han's arm away from Luke,
ignoring the 'I can defend myself' look in Luke's flashing blue eyes.

"Luke told you about this?" Leia asked incredulously.

"He tells me everything," Mara snapped. "He relayed the whole
conversation to me immediately after he talked to you." She stepped
between Luke and Han, forcing Han to relinquish his hold on Luke
completely. "If Leia turned you down, it wasn't because of anything
Luke said."

"Mara-" Luke tried to get a word in, but Han's retort to Mara cut
him
off.

"And why should I believe you?" he scoffed. "You haven't been
truthful since the day we met you."

"Wait a minute." Leia laid a hand on Han's arm to silence him, but
her attention was focused on Mara. To her surprise, she felt no
indignation that Luke had betrayed her confidence by divulging their
discussion. Instead, it was the wording of Mara's declaration that
had caught her notice. "What do you mean, immediately after he
talked to me? It was the middle of the night. Luke went back to
bed." Her gaze shifted to her brother, who had moved out from Mara's
shadow. "You got back up and came over here for a midnight chat?"

"No," he muttered, so softly that Leia had to strain to hear his
answer.

"But ..." Leia trailed off as comprehension dawned. Her gaze shifted
between Luke and Mara. "You were sleeping with Luke," she said. It
was more of a statement than an accusation. In light of what she'd
just witnessed, Leia knew she shouldn't be surprised.

"Every chance I get." Mara's chin tilted upward, as if daring anyone
to disapprove.

Han momentarily forgot his own anger as this new drama began
unfolding. "So we were right all along?" His eyes narrowed at
Luke. "Why the big charade? You sat right here," he pointed to a
nearby chair, "and denied any involvement with her. Your conscience
burdened that heavily that you couldn't admit to what you've been up
to?"

"I didn't lie. Not exactly." Luke slipped one arm around Mara's
tense shoulders, but Leia couldn't perceive that the woman relaxed
any. "At least, from a certain point of view," he added in a
whispered voice.

Han slapped one hand to his forehead and plopped into the same chair
to which he'd just pointed. "He's your crazy brother," he said to
Leia. "You figure it out."

Leia let a discerning eye fall on her brother and his ... his what?
Girlfriend? Lover? Had Luke fallen in love with her? Did she love
him? Was she capable of love? Leia gently laid a hand on Luke's
arm. "Luke, can you explain to us what's going on?"

"It's complicated," Luke muttered, his posture stiff.

"You've already ruined this whole evening," Han proclaimed in
frustration. "Why not continue your streak by confusing the hell out
of us?"

Leia shot Han a 'Be quiet' look, then turned back to Luke. "You
asked us to trust you, and trust her. Yet you couldn't trust us to
handle the fact that you have an intimate relationship with her.
Luke, we would've understood."

Luke stood his ground. "Would you have? You came busting in here,
ready to drag Mara off to prison before you even heard her side."

"You're right." Leia's voice faltered slightly. "I was just so
worried that she would hurt you. But Luke, why didn't you think you
could tell us back on Coruscant that you and Mara were involved? We
didn't know her background then."

"Because nothing was going on between us on Coruscant."

Leia frowned, feeling puzzled. "Are you saying you started sleeping
together only after arriving on Lorrd?"

"No, I didn't say that."

Leia's mind was racing. Luke was proficient at talking in circles,
but this was getting ridiculous. After Coruscant, but before Lorrd?
That only left ... Leia's eyes widened in disbelief. "You just
elected to stop off on the way to a very important treaty
negotiation, and start having a love affair?" She gave him a hard
look. "Did you really have trouble with the B-wing, or did you lie
about that, too?"

"We don't have to answer that!" Mara bit out.

"Yes, we do," Luke interjected. He rubbed his eyes wearily, still
clasping Mara's hand. "The B-wing did break down, and it did take us
ten days to get it fixed."

"So to kill time waiting on repair parts, you decided to hop into bed
together." Han shook his head and emitted a deep guttural laugh. "I
gotta admit, kid, I didn't think you had it in you."

Luke's somber eyes flicked toward Han. Then taking a deep breath, he
gazed unflinchingly at Leia. She got the distinct impression that he
was imploring her for forgiveness. But forgiveness for
what? "Actually, first we decided to-"

A loud, all-too-recognizable explosion cut off Luke's last words,
violently shaking the room.

They were under attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter Nine

Leia steadied herself against the nearest chair as the blast shook
the room. Han was already thumbing on his comlink.

"Chewie? Lando? Answer, stang it!" Han muttered a couple of choice
Corellian oaths as he changed the frequency. "Lando?" You there?"

A burst of static issued from the handheld device, followed by
Lando's voice. "Han! Good to- Look out, Chewie!" An angry
Wookiee roar could be heard in the background.

"Lando! What's going on? Where are you?"

Mara looked up as she finished strapping a wicked-looking blaster
onto her forearm. She, like Luke, already had her lightsaber
dangling from her belt. Leia could've sworn they were not wearing
the Jedi weapons when they'd been frolicking on the couch.

Han headed for the door as Lando's garbled reply filled the room.

"Chewie and I ... in the central market, about halfw ... tween the
palace ... ship. Small fighters ... strafing runs. We-"

A second loud blast, this one sounding closer, muffled the rest of
Lando's report. Power to the building was suddenly lost, plunging
the suite into total darkness - a situation which was quickly
rectified by the glowing blade of Luke's lightsaber.

"It must be the Argazdans attacking," Luke deduced, leading the way
into the corridor. "The war's finally reached the city."

"We need to get to the Falcon," Han said as he punched at the door
controls to Luke's suite, and belatedly realized that no power meant
no working controls. "Damn!" he swore, pounding his fist on the
door. "I have to get my blaster!"

Debris fell from the ceiling as yet another explosion thundered
overhead. In the dim glow of Luke's blade, Leia could see the worry
in Han's eyes as she crouched along a wall. "I'm all right," she
assured him.

"I want you on the Falcon where it's safe," he insisted. "And the
sooner the better." He glanced at the closed door, clearly torn
between retrieving his blaster and getting Leia out of the building.

"I'll get you inside!" Luke shouted over the escalating din of
wailing sirens. "Leia and Mara can go on ahead."

Leia knew time was of the essence. The government sector, of which
they were in the midst, would continue to be Argazda's main
target. "'Bout time you came up with a plan for getting out," she
said to Luke with a wink. She turned to Mara, but the woman's
attention was fixed solely on Luke. Leia unabashedly watched as a
cryptic exchange quickly passed between the pair, followed by Mara
leaning in close to Luke.

"Take care of yourself, Jedi," Mara said softly, kissing him on the
lips. Holding her lightsaber out to one side, she switched on the
azure blade.

"You, too," he returned, his lambent eyes shining brightly in the
glow of the sparkling swords.

With an impassive glance toward Leia, Mara took off down the
corridor, nimbly jumping over the broken halves of a statue toppled
from its perch. As Leia hurried to catch up, she realized she'd left
Han standing open-mouthed by the door without so much as a goodbye.
Ducking beneath the buckled doorframe leading into the building's
foyer, she focused on the rapidly moving silhouette of her guide.
When had their roles switched so drastically?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Without a word, Luke plunged his blade into the face of the door to
his suite. He could feel Han's eyes studying him.

"So this thing with you and Jade ... It's serious?"

Luke nodded, keeping his concentration on the opening that he was
cutting. "Yes." He finished the oval cut just as another explosion
echoed overhead, then pushed the section inward with his foot. "It's
serious." As Luke stuck his head through the hole, his attention was
immediately caught by a flickering glow in the middle of the dark
room. "Blast it!"

Han followed right behind as Luke bolted toward the makeshift dining
table. One of the candles had fallen over, igniting the tablecloth.
Han blew out the second candle as Luke quickly smothered the flames.
The last thing he needed, Luke thought, was to have to contend with
another building on fire.

"Okay, let's go," Han said as he finished checking the charge on his
blaster and shoved it into its holster.

As Luke headed back toward the door, out of the corner of his eye he
noticed Han pause and pick something up off the floor.

"I may need this, someday," Han said brusquely, pocketing the small
jewel-case. "If I can avoid any more Jedi interference."

"Listen, Han-"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Han bit out. He charged
past Luke into the corridor, despite the fact that Luke held the only
light source. "Ow!"

Luke shook his head and retreated through the mutilated door, only to
find Han ruefully rubbing his forehead.

"Don't suppose you got any glow rods in your room?"

"Sorry," Luke replied. "Left 'em on the ship."

Han scowled as he stared down the pitch black hallway. "All right,
you lead."

Luke had taken only a couple steps in the direction that Mara and
Leia had headed when the biggest attack yet caused the building to
quake violently. He and Han covered their heads as the ceiling in
front of them collapsed, effectively blocking the passageway.

Han swatted at the dust roiling through the air, then looked over as
Luke coughed harshly. "You okay?"

"Yea-" Luke coughed once more, trying to clear his throat.
"Yeah." He held his lightsaber up to the top of the mound of
debris. "I don't think we can get out this way."

Han yanked a piece of ceiling tile down, causing more dust to
stir. "Can't you cut through it?"

"It'd take awhile," Luke replied grimly. "Easier to go out the back
way," he added, turning around to peer down the far end of the
corridor.

"That's if we don't run into an even worse clog." The worried
expression on Han's soot-streaked face intensified. "I only
hope ..."

"They've only been gone a few minutes. I'm sure she's fine, Han,"
Luke said as they headed toward the rear of the building.

"But do you know that?" Han stopped in his tracks and grabbed Luke's
arm. "Can you, you know, feel her? Feel that she's all right? She
doesn't even have a comlink with her."

Luke knew how much Han hated admitting that the Force had its uses.
And with the foul mood that Han was currently experiencing, it had to
be doubly hard for him to ask Luke for help. A good blaster at your
side couldn't ascertain that Leia was safe, though.

Nodding silently, Luke reached out with the Force. Mara's bright
presence blossomed immediately, and he brushed her being in
reassurance. She then withdrew, as if she also felt Han's anxiety
and knew that was the reason for Luke's probe.

*Leia.* Luke directed the thought to his twin sister just as he'd
first done at Bespin.

*Luke,* she replied in the same manner.

*Are you safe?* he sent. He wasn't sure, but he had the feeling that
Leia only caught the last word. It would be enough.

*Yes,* her assurance carried through the Force.

*We'll see you at the ship,* Luke concluded the conversation. Again,
if Leia heard just the final word, it would sufficiently convey his
intent. He marveled to himself how he could carry on whole
conversations with Mara through the Force, but it was a struggle for
Leia to capture more than a word or two at a time. If only she'd
give in and let him train-

"Well?" Han impatiently interrupted Luke's thoughts.

"She's fine," he answered as they reached the outside exit. The
damage sustained by the building was even more noticeable here.
Windows were shattered and the heavy ornate doors hung awry on their
hinges. "They're both fine." Luke put his shoulder against one of
the doors and pushed. "Mara wouldn't let anything happen to Leia.
Besides, Leia's pretty capable of taking care of herself."

"Yeah. Right." Han scowled, despite Luke's allaying
pronouncement. "Good thing, too, since she doesn't want me around."

"Han-"

"Told ya I didn't want to talk about it."

Still holding his lightsaber straight out in front of him, Luke
turned to face Han. "We are going to talk about it," he said, then
realized how threatening his pose looked and lowered the blade.

Now that Luke unequivocally had Han's full attention, he wasn't quite
sure what to say.

Han had no such qualms.

"Fine." The tall Corellian crossed his arms across his chest. "Did
you, or did you not, seek out Leia and tell her not to marry me?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

One eyebrow arched coolly, Mara gazed at Leia without saying a word.

"Oh, that man!" Leia said, knowing fully who was behind Luke's
contact. "Han thinks he has to constantly protect me."

"He's concerned about you," Mara replied. "Skywalker's the same way
about me, even though he knows better," she added, looking away.

Leia stared contemplatively at her companion. This was the most Mara
had ever opened up to her. "I guess men are all alike," she
commented lightly. "Whether they're Jedi or scoundrels."

This last statement finally brought a shadow of a smile from Mara.
It was a start, Leia thought. She'd crack Mara's hardened shell if
it was the last thing she did, and find out just what it was inside
the solemn woman that had so captivated her brother. Because knowing
Luke like she thought she did, there had to be more to Mara Jade than
just a pretty face and a Force-strong, sensuous body. Surely there
had to be more.

There was a break in the nearby bombardment, and Mara immediately
sprang into action, darting from one darkened refuge to another.

Leia wasted no time in following her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I did not seek her out," Luke responded, sidestepping the cardinal
question.

"Junior ..." Han growled, stretching out the word much longer than
its two syllables warranted.

"She came to me," Luke began resignedly, knowing he owed Han a full
explanation. "She asked for my advice, and I gave it to her. I did
not disclose to her your intent."

"Hold on here." Han shook his head in understandable
puzzlement. "How could she ask your advice about marrying me if she
didn't know I was going to ask her?" He narrowed his eyes at
Luke. "And don't tell me it was one of those Jedi things."

Luke's brow furrowed in thought. He had asked himself that very
question after the fateful conversation with his sister. "Maybe it
was," he murmured. "Not exactly a 'Jedi' thing, but more than the
clich?woman's intuition." He hurriedly continued when Han let
out a frustrated groan. "Leia has the Force in her, you can't deny
that, Han. Her perceptions are sharper than most people's. She may
not have actually experienced visions of future events, but she has
premonitions. She-"

"All right, all right." Han held up his hands in surrender. "So she
guessed correctly. All I want to know is, what did she say to you,
and what did you tell her?" he said, poking Luke's chest to punctuate
his last three words.

Luke allowed a wry grin to creep onto his face. "You do realize that
bullying me won't work anymore."

Han theatrically rolled his eyes. "What I realize is that you're
stalling."

"Okay." Luke scanned the adjacent courtyard through the haze of
smoke. "Though I'm sure Leia meant for our conversation to be kept
confidential."

"I swear I'm gonna strangle you."

Luke glanced over his shoulder at Han's frustrated expression, and
capitulated. "All right. In a spryshell, it was more of a 'what-if'
conversation ..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The pungent smell of smoke wafted through the air as Mara and Leia
zigzagged their way across the palace compound. Leia had pointed out
the general direction that they needed to travel to reach the
Millenium Falcon. Unfortunately, the Falcon's hanger was located on
the other side of what seemed to be the hardest hit section of the
government district. All around them shouting and screaming pierced
the night, escalating with each new attack. So far the blitz had
been strictly from the air, with small fighters targeting the heart
of Lorrd's royal and military edifices.

"Through there." Leia pointed over Mara's shoulder toward a narrow
alleyway tucked behind the servants' quarter. "It's a shortcut we
found."

Mara nodded her understanding and cautiously entered the dark
passageway. Two serving girls ran blindly past them, seemingly not
noticing Mara's lightsaber in their terror.

Moments later, Mara felt a chill run down her spine. "Take cover!"
she shouted to Leia. Both women ducked into the shelter of the
nearest doorway as a flash of brilliance lit up the alley and lasers
ripped along the path they had just vacated. While the dust
settled, Mara peered into the night sky as retaliatory strikes by
Lorrdian forces found their targets.

"C'mon," Mara said, gesturing for Leia.

"Wait." Leia stood motionless in the doorway, her head turned toward
the interior of the building. "Do you hear something?"

"No, but ..." Mara came closer and reached out with the
Force. "Someone's in pain." Following the tendril of distress that
she could feel, Mara entered without hesitation. The building had
been hit hard; inner walls were buckled and furnishings were
toppled. Emergency lighting had sparked to life at intermittent
intervals.

As Mara reached the end of a long hallway, she and Leia could clearly
hear feeble cries for help. Rushing inside a small bedchamber, they
found a middle-aged woman pinned beneath an overturned wardrobe. The
woman's face brightened with hope as Mara's lightsaber bathed the
chamber in blue-white light. Leia knelt next to the unfortunate
servant, offering comfort in a soothing voice.

The woman's dark eyes bespoke her gratitude to Leia, then shifted to
Mara. "You're one of those Jedi, aren't you?" she rasped. "I took a
peek at you and the young man when you were walking along the
promenade."

"Yes," Mara replied briskly, studying the heavy wardrobe. She
lowered her blade in readiness. "I can just take out a section-"

A strangled moan from the woman stopped her. Mara was surprised to
see agitation clearly overshadowing the woman's previous look of
pain.

"You're not going to cut it, are you?"

Confusion stilled Mara's hand. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"But ... but ..." The woman looked to Leia, as if hoping she would
understand. "It's been passed down in my family since my great-great-
grandmother."

Mara felt proud that she was able to refrain from rolling her eyes.
Sentimentality was not her forte.

"It will be all right." Leia patted the woman's shoulder, then
glanced up at Mara. "We'll think of ... something."

"Well, then, it's plan B, I guess." Mara looked pointedly at
Leia. "I'll lift, you pull."

Leia's eyes widened. "You can't lift something this heavy!"

"I meant with the Force."

Leia glanced at the offending piece of furniture again, then back at
Mara. "But still ... It's so big."

Mara shook her head. "Surely Skywalker has favored you with
the 'size matters not' lecture."

"More than once."

"He does tend to repeat himself," Mara said, smiling to herself. She
sized up the wardrobe one more time. "All right, let's give it a
try." Mara looked up, catching herself. "I mean, let's do it."

Leia chuckled lightly, obviously sharing Mara's teasing gibe at
Luke's endless reiterations of Yoda's teachings, then braced herself
as she cupped her hands under the woman's arms. "Ready when you are."

Mara nodded and let her eyelids drift half-closed. Slightly raising
one hand, she pictured the wardrobe lifting ... lifting ...

"Got her!"

Leia's shout broke Mara's concentration, and the wardrobe dropped
back to the floor with a resounding thud. It was all in one piece,
though, thank you very much, Mara thought with no small amount of
satisfaction. Leia was already helping the woman shakily to her feet.

"Can you walk?" Leia asked.

"Yes ... yes, I think so." Still holding onto Leia's arm, the woman
took a few tentative steps.

The building shook violently at that moment, reminding all of them
that the danger was far from over. From down the long corridor,
Mara could hear the hails of workers looking for survivors.

"Down here!" Leia called, stepping out into the hallway and waving
for attention.

Two brightly garbed rescue workers soon appeared, and Mara recognized
one of them as a low-level military cadet who had been present when
she and Luke where practicing in the simulators.

"Jedi Jade?" the young cadet asked. "What are you doing here? And
who ..." He looked at Leia curiously.

"I'm doing what I can to help," Mara said. "And this is ... a friend
of mine." She purposely didn't look Leia's direction.

The rescued woman reached out to clasp first Leia's hands, then
Mara's free hand. "I'm forever in your debt."

"You're welcome," Leia answered.

"You'd better all get out of here while you still can," Mara advised,
shrugging off the servant's display of gratitude.

The woman apparently agreed and shuffled toward the doorway, flanked
by the rescue workers. As she exited, Mara could hear her mumbling
to herself "Wait till the girls hear about this ..."

Mara let out a relieved sigh. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look
around and see if anyone else is trapped." Leia's startled look
didn't escape Mara's sharp eye. Does she think I'm heartless?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"... and so that's it," Luke concluded. "It's not that she doesn't
want to marry you. It's more about the timing."

"Yeah, that's more or less what she told me." Han rubbed a hand
across his tired eyes. "But you could've been more encouraging, ya
know. You got something against people being married?"

"No, of course not." Luke hoped Han wouldn't notice the nervous
hitch in his voice that kept threatening to surface.

"'Cause one of these days you're gonna feel like settling down, and
you wouldn't appreciate me talking your bride out of it."

Instead of answering, Luke occupied himself with aiming his
lightsaber toward a darkened alcove they were passing, as if looking
for any injured beings.

"Luke ..."

"I want to make sure there's no one hurt or trapped in any of
these-"

"You'd sense it if there were," Han interrupted with a growl. "Why
do I get the feeling you're hiding something?" He reached forward
and spun Luke around.

Luke put on the best impassive face he could manage. "I don't know
what you're talking about." Han was one of the few people that he
could rarely fool.

"Yes, you do. Every time I say anything about you getting married
someday, you go all Jedi on me. You either clam up, or change the
subject." Han stared at Luke, his shrewd hazel eyes
narrowing. "You're thinking about getting married, aren't you?"

"It's crossed my mind," Luke answered. He couldn't really justify
why he was being so evasive. Hadn't he started to blurt out the
truth in Mara's suite when the attack began? Did it really matter
that much to him if Han knew before Leia?

"You're actually considering asking your own assassin to marry you?"
Han's head tilted back as he roared in laughter. "I always knew you
were crazy. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I thought you
were a cocky, crazy kid hanging out with a crazy old man."

Luke gave Han a hard look that stopped Han's rant.

"Don't tell me you already asked her?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Luke looked Han squarely in
the eye.

"I've already married her."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So you consider yourself a Jedi?" Leia asked as she and Mara walked
back down the hallway, checking each room they passed.

"Jedi-in-training." Mara stuck her head into a small bedchamber,
then stepped back quickly as a furry pitten scampered out.

"You actually intend to become a full Jedi?"

Mara stopped in her tracks and turned to face her companion. "You
don't believe me?"

Leia tilted her chin up in challenge. "You have to admit it's a lot
to swallow. From Imperial assassin to a guardian of peace and
justice."

Mara narrowed her eyes at the former princess. She could sense no
fear of her in Leia, even though Mara carried two weapons and Leia
had none. "Luke trusts me."

"Luke trusts everyone; that's hardly an incentive to believe you."

"You think that little of his judgment?"

Leia let a small sigh escape. "No," she admitted in a subdued
voice. "He's usually a very good judge of character. I just ... I
don't want to see him get hurt."

"He won't. Not by me, ever. Leia, I did not seduce him in order to
deceive him." Mara smiled wryly. "And he did not seduce me just to
lure me into agreeing to become a Jedi."

"I should hope not." Leia finally relaxed, and Mara could tell she
was fighting to keep a grin off her face. "That would hardly be the
recruiting method I'd expect him to use."

"Me, either," Mara murmured, laughing inside. She doubted Leia knew
how shy her brother really was.

"I want to believe you, Mara." Brown eyes focused intently through
the blue-white glow of Mara's lightsaber. "For Luke's sake."

"Then you needn't worry, Your Highness." Mara turned and once more
began her inspection of each adjoining room. "There is nothing more
important to me than Luke's happiness." She didn't look behind her,
but it was several seconds before light footsteps began following her
once more.

The conversation at that point dwindled to a few brief exchanges,
mainly reporting the absence of any injured or trapped residents.
Leia had found a glow rod in a storage closet, enabling her to put
some space between her and Mara. And Mara knew they both needed that
space right now. Leia's turbulent emotions were broadcasting loud
and clear. It was no secret that the Alderaanian woman was fiercely
protective of her brother. Mara knew she needed to earn Leia's
trust; she owed it to Luke to not be the cause of a rift between him
and his sister. Mara's 'people skills,' however, were sorely
lacking. Well, no one had ever accused Mara Jade of backing down
from a challenge. The fact that she was now Mara Skywalker shouldn't
deter her from facing the music, and befriending her new sister-in-
law.

As she followed Leia into a large dining hall, Mara could feel a
niggling at the back of her mind. Something wrong had happened here,
or something wrong was going to happen. Mara stared at Leia, who was
approaching the center of the room, and the sensation of danger
intensified tenfold. She scanned the room - support beams in the
center were cracked and the wooden floor swayed slightly under Leia's
footsteps.

"Leia, hold up!" she called as she rushed forward.

The sound of what must have been a proton torpedo reverberated
throughout the building, drowning out Leia's answer. Just as Mara
neared Leia's side, the ceiling above them groaned. Mara barely had
time to cover her head when suddenly the floor beneath her feet gave
way, and both women tumbled into an inky blackness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter 10

Han made a showy pretense of cleaning out one ear. "I think all this
laser fire has affected my hearing. I could've sworn you said you
were married to Mara Jade."

Luke gritted his teeth and braced himself for the backlash. "I did.
I am."

"Aw, kid." Han ran a hand through his hair. "Just cause you've been
in bed with her doesn't mean you had to go and marry her."

"I love her, Han, and she loves me. We wanted to get married, the
opportunity came up, and we took it."

"Just like that." Han leaned back against the outside wall of the
building they were passing. "So you just happened to cross flight
paths with an officiator somewhere between Coruscant and here, and
thought 'What the heck, let's get hitched.'"

"It was on the planet where we landed for ship repairs," Luke
muttered. He wasn't about to mention that the wedding came about
because the villagers wanted a couple to marry so their harvest would
be blessed. He was already feeling the same way that he had when
Uncle Owen chewed him out for busting up his skyhopper.

"Oh, well, that's different," Han said sarcastically. "It was the B-
wing's fault."

"I thought you'd be happy for me," Luke said quietly, holding Han's
gaze until the older man looked away. Luke didn't look back up until
he felt Han's hand on his shoulder.

"It's just gonna take me awhile to get used to the idea, kid." Han
gave Luke's shoulder a friendly shake, then folded his arms
officiously. "But don't you know you're supposed to consult with me
before doin' something like that?"

"Consult with you? I-" Luke's annoyance was suddenly replaced
by anxiety as a jolt of panic, then pain, speared into his Force-
sense. "Mara!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thoughts came randomly to Leia as she struggled to clear her mind
- her body hurt; the floor had given way; it was dark; Mara had
shouted to warn her; dark - where was Mara's lightsaber?; where
... Mara!

"Mara!" Leia tried to call out, but her voice emerged as a whisper,
echoing in the darkness. "Mara, where are you?"

A moan came in answer, somewhere to Leia's right.

"Mara? Are you all right?" Leia attempted to drag herself toward
Mara's voice, and immediately discovered that her left wrist felt
broken. She pushed aside the throbbing pain and held her wrist as
still as she could.

There was a shuffling sound from across the room as Mara stirred.

"Leia?"

"I'm here," Leia answered shakily, checking for any further injuries
and sighing in relief when she found none. "I think my glow rod
must've broken on the way down." She shook the instrument one more
time, then laid it aside. "Do you still have your lightsaber?"

"I ... Hold on."

Leia could hear Mara begin to rummage around in the darkness, then
suddenly fall silent.

"Mara? What's wrong?"

After a few moments, Mara replied "It's Skywalker, checking up on
me. On us," she amended. "I told him not to worry, that we just ran
into a slight delay."

"You can communicate with him telepathically from this far away?"
Leia asked, now more certain of all the instances where she had
suspected Luke and Mara of having silent conversations. "I thought
perhaps it was only when you were close together."

"We seem to have a bond that allows us to ... well, we're not sure
how far it extends," Mara replied. "Anyway, I convinced him that we
were fine, and that they didn't need to come charging in for the
rescue."

"And they agreed? You're more skilled than I thought." Leia looked
upward, trying to gauge how far they'd fallen, but all she could see
was a dark cloud of dust. "So, is this only a slight delay?"

"I can answer that better when I find my saber." Mara resumed her
search, but Leia didn't think it sounded like Mara had stood
up. "Blast, where did it go?"

"Luke claims he can call his to his hand even when he can't see it."

"I don't doubt it." Mara sighed loudly, almost as if groaning. "He
hasn't taught me that trick yet."

"Something about he focuses on it in his mind, visualizes it in his
hand, and poof, it flies right into his grasp."

"Luke said 'poof'?"

"He might not have used that exact word," Leia admitted, chuckling to
herself.

Leia's attempt at humor had the desired effect, and Mara snickered in
laughter, though Leia wasn't quite sure why she was trying to humor
the former assassin.

"All right, I'm visualizing."

Leia held her breath and reached out with her fledgling Force sense,
hoping to feel a residual of Mara's efforts. But she couldn't
contain her gasp of surprise when a rattle sounded nearby and soon
Mara's face appeared, illuminated by the bluish glow of her
lightsaber. Leia remembered the astonishment she'd felt when Luke
revealed several months ago that he had given his first saber to the
young woman who'd faced the Emperor with him, a woman he'd just met.
It was one of several actions that had suggested to Leia at the time
that there was more between the couple than Luke had let on. Well,
it wasn't as though Leia wanted anything to do with the weapon, even
if Anakin Skywalker hadn't yet been Vader when he'd wielded it.

"What do you know?" Mara sounded almost surprised. "It worked."

"You didn't think it would?" One of Luke's frequent lectures
centered on not doubting oneself when practicing the Force.

"Luke has a closer connection with this lightsaber than I do." Mara
shrugged lightly and busied herself with examining their surroundings.

Maybe you have a close enough connection with him, Leia thought to
herself. But she said nothing, and followed Mara's lead in studying
their predicament.

It didn't look promising.

From the limited range of the lightsaber, the two women determined
they'd crashed through two floors, landing in what appeared to be
some type of storage cellar. Crates and boxes were scattered around
them, many of which had obviously fallen from shelves along the
duracrete walls. Some were broken open, with a variety of foodstuffs
mixing with the dust and debris. Splintered pieces of flooring
covered everything, their jagged edges jutting ominously from the
rubble.

Leia let out a disappointed groan when she finally spied what she'd
been searching for. The remains of a wooden staircase lay crumpled
in one corner, and as Mara aimed her blade to the edge of what was
left of the ceiling, they could just make out the stairway opening.
No doors were visible along any of the walls. There was nowhere to
go but up.

"Can you sense anyone close by?" Leia asked, reaching out with the
Force as much as she was able. She couldn't detect any life forms,
but she did notice that the laserfire sounded more distant.

"No," Mara replied after a slight pause. "The building seems to be
empty." She pressed her lips into a straight line, grimacing as she
lightly rubbed one ankle. "Any ideas?"

"I'm working on it." Leia narrowed her gaze at Mara. "Is your ankle
broken?"

"Just twisted, I think," Mara said dismissively. She flicked a
glance back, noticing how Leia cradled her wrist. "What about you?"

"It might be broken." She glanced at the scratches on Mara's bare
arms, then looked down at the rips in her own jumpsuit. "I guess
we're lucky that we weren't injured any worse."

"I cushioned our fall as much as I could with the Force," Mara said.

Leia was impressed in spite of herself. The two-story fall could
have killed them. "Ah, that's right. No such thing as luck."

Mara shook her head with a smirk. "Do you want me to contact
Skywalker again? You know he'd come running in an instant."

Leia regarded the other woman, knowing how independently she always
carried herself. "Do you want Luke to come?"

A myriad of emotions played across Mara's shadowy face - longing,
affection, pride. "I'd like to think we can get out of this mess by
ourselves," she finally said. "He already had to come rescue me
once." At Leia's confused look, she continued. "On the planet we
landed on. I was hiking to the village, to look for a part for the B-
wing, while Luke did other repair work on it." She paused and
shifted her position, carefully stretching out her injured leg. "I
foolishly fell down a ravine and was knocked unconscious. Luke ran
all day to reach me."

Leia noted that Mara had been increasingly calling Luke by his first
name, a seemingly rare occurrence for her. And Leia didn't voice her
wonder at how Luke knew that Mara was injured - no doubt it was
due to that cryptic bond they shared. A bond apparently more potent
than the one she herself shared with her twin.

"It was winter there, and I was suffering from hypothermia. Not to
mention spraining this same ankle." Mara reached down to rub her
ankle once more. "He saved my life," she finished quietly.

"I think he considers rescuing damsels in distress his specialty,"
Leia joked lightly. "His term, not mine," she added at Mara's scowl.

Mara nodded, then looked overhead at the gaping hole that had been
the ceiling. "Too far to jump, with this blasted ankle."

"I know I can't jump that high," Leia said, struggling to her
feet. "Could you levitate me up there?"

"Maybe." Mara pulled herself up to sit atop a nearby crate. "But
then levitating myself that far, I'm not too sure about. And
since ..." She gave Leia a pointed frown.

"And since I do well to levitate a datapad," Leia finished matter-of-
factly. She glanced around at the assorted crates and canisters,
then up at the ceiling. "Time for Plan B?"

"Time for Plan B," Mara repeated dispassionately. A disapproving
glare crossed her soot-streaked face. "If you'd let Luke train you,
we wouldn't be in this hole. You would've sensed the danger in time
to avoid it."

"I did feel that something was wrong, but I didn't ..." Leia paused,
knowing deep down that Mara was correct. "You're right, I should
take the time to learn more about the Force. I'm just so busy all
the time."

"You took the time to come chasing after Luke when you thought he was
in danger," Mara returned.

"I owed it to him to make sure-"

"You owe it to him to accept your Force heritage," Mara
chastised. "You say you don't want to see him hurt? It hurts him
every time you deny your father, deny that the Force is strong in
you."

Leia stared at the red-haired woman. Who is Mara Jade to be
lecturing me?

"Who am I?" Mara blurted out. She ignored Leia's indignant look at
sensing her thoughts, and rushed on. "If anyone has cause to regret
being endowed with the Force, it's me. It was the reason Palpatine
took me, and trained me to be his Hand. It was the reason I was his
best assassin, and his brainwashed servant." Mara's voice shook
slightly. "It took your brother to show me that the Force wasn't to
blame, wasn't something to be ashamed of - that it could be used
for good just as easily as for evil." She drew a breath, and
continued. "I know people will criticize him for training me to be a
Jedi, especially when my background is revealed. But I vow ..."
Mara's green eyes blazed defiantly. "I vow never to shatter his
faith in me."

For one of the few times in her life, Leia was stunned speechless.
This wasn't just Luke's rhetoric; this was Mara talking from her
heart. Any doubts Leia may have still had about Mara's loyalties
were quickly ebbing into oblivion. And the realization began to
creep in that embracing the Force would not turn her into another
Darth Vader.

All business once more, Mara stood up and limped over to some of the
larger boxes. "We'll begin with these bigger ones on the bottom."
Mara glanced Leia's direction. Wedging the lightsaber hilt between
two sacks of grain, she pulled a dishtowel from a stack of
linens. "Come here."

Leia picked her way across the room, a vague sense of Mara's
intentions making itself clear. Her suspicion was proved right as
Mara folded the cloth into a triangle, making a sling for Leia's
wrist. "Thanks."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Mara began shoving a crate into
position, and Leia hurried to help. In her own unique way, Mara was
making an effort at forming a rapport between the two of them. Leia
was determined not to be outdone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What do you mean, a slight delay?"

"Just what I said." Luke began walking again. "They had a mishap,
and they'll get to the Falcon as soon as they can."

Han began muttering under his breath, and Luke made little attempt to
decipher Han's ranting.

"Stang, I wish Leia had a comlink with her."

"You already said that, Han," Luke said dryly.

"I don't like relying on third-hand information," Han
retorted. "Especially from someone with no more common sense than a
bantha has."

"Don't you trust me to tell you the truth?" As soon as the words
were out of Luke's mouth, he regretted them.

"The truth?" Han snorted loudly. "Like the dozen different tales
you spouted about you and Jade? Not involved with her back on
Coruscant, my foot. Next you'll be telling me you've never even
slept with a woman until your wedding night."

Luke sighed, but didn't answer. What he did or didn't do wasn't any
of Han's business, no matter how good a friend he was.

"Kid ..." Han stopped, an incredulous look on his face. He grabbed
Luke by the upper arms, towering over him.

Luke winced in vexation. On second thought, maybe he should've made
up a little white fib, just one more time.

"You ... never ..." Han snickered loudly, shaking his head. "Kid, I
coulda fixed you up with a woman a dozen times over."

"No," Luke said defiantly, his chin tilted upward. "Han, it was the
most wonderful night of our lives. That is not something I would
want to experience with some stranger I'll never see again, or worse
yet, some casual acquaintance that I pass in the hallway everyday."

"Okay, okay. Don't get so defensive."

Luke sighed quietly. "Look, I'm not judging, or criticizing, you or
Leia or anyone else I know. Each person has their own path in life,
and this was the right path for Mara and me."

"Mara, too? The Imperial assassin?" Han narrowed his eyes
skeptically. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation. "The bond we
share means it's impossible for us to lie to one another."

"If you say so, kid."

"And I'm not a kid anymore."

Han eyed him carefully, then broke into a grin. "No, I guess you're
not."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The two women coordinated their efforts in building a makeshift
stairway out of their dungeon. Leia would locate appropriate-sized,
sturdy containers and shove them with her foot to the corner of the
room where the steps had been, Mara would levitate them onto the
stack, then Leia would one-handedly straighten the boxes into
position.

Luke had contacted Mara once again, just to make sure that she and
Leia were still all right. Mara had sarcastically complained about
Luke's overprotectiveness, but the expression on her face
while 'talking' to him told Leia otherwise.

"Luke's a warm and caring person," Leia countered. "He deserves ..."

"Deserves better than me?" Mara kept her attention focused on the
additional bag of mill-flour she was levitating underneath her ankle,
to keep it elevated just a bit higher.

"I never see you smile, even when you're with him."

Mara finally gazed directly at Leia. "He makes my heart smile."

But does he know that? Leia wondered. "Can I ask you something?"

A guarded look returned to Mara's face. "I suppose."

"Do you love my brother?" she asked bluntly. Leia had the feeling
that any attempt at diplomacy would be wasted on this woman, even
though their conversation so far had been considerably more amicable
than usual. But she had to know the truth.

Mara's expression barely wavered, and her hesitation in answering was
infinitesimal. "Yes. I do."

Leia has suspected- No, she had hoped for that answer, for
Luke's sake. What she hadn't really expected was Mara being so
forthcoming with her admission. "Good," Leia replied succinctly, not
knowing what else to say. "Good," she repeated softly to herself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Han and Luke continued threading their way between the besieged
buildings of the palace compound, stopping occasionally to give aid
where they could. To Luke's relief, Han gradually let up on his
taunting of Luke's new status as a married man. But that didn't mean
he'd forgiven Luke for sabotaging his hoped-for engagement to Leia.

"The least you could do is have another little chat with your
sister," Han said, stepping over a fallen piece of ornamental
fencing. "You know, convince her what a great catch I am." He gave
Luke a sly wink. "Tell her how wonderful married life is."

"I will, as soon as I've been married enough days to be able to
appreciate it myself." Luke smiled wanly. "Han, would you really
want to marry Leia knowing that someone had to talk her into it?"

"No," Han said resignedly. He gazed ahead at the distant columns of
flame dotting the horizon. "I still think we need to track down the
girls. If your, uh, wife is anything like Leia, and I think she is,
they're too stubborn to ask for our help even if they need it. I'll
feel a lot better when we're all aboard the Falcon."

Luke barely heard him. A sense of dread filled Luke as they neared
the location of Regent Ke'lor's offices - offices he had left
little more than an hour ago. "You go ahead," he quietly said to Han.

"What about you?"

"My place is not on the Millennium Falcon."

"What? You gonna fly that B-wing into battle?"

Luke shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the battered edifice in
front of them. "No."

"Listen here, kid-"

"Leia and Mara were in the servants' quarters," Luke said
distantly. "Mara said it was a long, barracks-type of building, near
a short-cut that you and Leia took."

"Yeah, I think I know the place." Han stared at Luke, a worried
expression on his face. "I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

"I'll be fine, Han. I just feel I need to check out this building."

"All right," Han finally conceded. "As long as I don't have to come
back looking for you next."

"You won't." Luke gestured for Han to get going, then turned to
enter the crumbling doorway.

He had a really bad feeling about what he would find inside.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The ziggurat of crates stretched two-thirds of the way to the hole in
the ceiling when Leia noticed Mara wiping beads of perspiration from
her brow. Leia's own clothes were soaked. Whoever said that
princesses don't sweat hadn't seen one push and tug more than a dozen
heavy boxes into place. And Leia had witnessed enough of Luke's
mental exercises to know that continuous, strenuous use of the Force
sapped a person's strength, too.

"Ready for a rest break?" Leia asked, breathing heavily as she found
a seat on a plasteel barrel.

"I'm fine," Mara said.

Leia could read the proud contradiction in Mara's tired eyes.

"Let me rephrase - We're taking a rest break."

Mara nodded, pushing a damp strand of red-gold hair back from her
face. She reached behind her head and began rebraiding her long
thick tresses. Leia recalled that Mara's braid had already been half
undone when she'd clambered off the couch in her suite. The slightly
disconcerting thought suddenly flickered through Leia's mind that
most likely Luke had been the one responsible for undoing the twisted
coils. It was hard to imagine - no, she didn't want to imagine
- her shy brother being intimate with a woooman. He always turned
three shades of red whenever anyone introduced him to a new female
recruit.

Not that Leia hadn't tried to fix him up on a date, especially after
the death of the Emperor had brought the war to a precarious
standstill. But Luke balked at the idea of going out with anyone she
suggested. He always had a kilometer-long list of excuses, usually
topped by an urgent need to practice his Force training. He did,
however, always seem to find time to spend with Mara.

"By the way, Mara," Leia began tentatively, "I apologize for the way
Han and I interrupted your ... uh ... evening with Luke."

Mara's hands stopped in the middle of looping one hank of hair over
the other. She then nonchalantly continued her plaiting, as if
Leia's comment hadn't thrown her for a loop. "No apology necessary,"
she murmured, keeping her head bent down.

"Yes, but, I imagine you haven't had a lot of chances to spend time
alone. I mean, if you really haven't been, hmm... together ...
before leaving Coruscant."

Mara gave her a sharp look, as if she were about to berate Leia for
not believing Luke's claim of when their relationship began. But
then she seemed to reconsider. "No, not nearly enough chances," she
said quietly.

Leia pursed her lips, wondering how far she could push Mara.

"Has Luke asked you to marry him yet?"

This time Mara's hands did fall away from her hair
arranging. "What? Why? What makes you think he would?" she
stammered.

"You two have already admitted that you're sleeping together." Leia
shrugged lightly, though she was dying to hear Mara's
answer. "Knowing Luke, he would feel honor bound to make it legal."

"I didn't think most men felt that way," Mara said evenly.

"Most men don't," Leia returned. "But this is Luke we're talking
about. He's got honor oozing out of every pore."

"Do you think that's why Han asked you?" Mara asked, sidestepping the
question.

"No. Well ... I don't think so." Leia's thoughts turned to her own
topsy-turvy romance. "It's not that Han isn't honorable. He's just
more surreptitious about it."

"He loves you."

"I know." More memories flitted through Leia - wonderful
memories of recent days, ... and recent nights.

"And yet you turned down his marriage proposal," Mara said, jolting
Leia back to reality. "That has to be hard on a man's ego."

"I didn't really turn him down, not completely." Leia clasped her
hands, fingering the empty spot on her left hand where Han wanted to
place a ring. "He was so sweet, so nervous. We were only halfway
through our meal, and I could tell something was on his mind. He was
fidgeting, and Han never fidgets. Suddenly, in middle of discussing
the trade proposal with Lorrd, he got out of his chair and knelt down
on one knee. And he just blurted out 'Marry me, Leia.' Just like
that." Leia glanced over at Mara, who seemed to be listening with
rapt attention. "You said earlier that Luke told you about the
discussion I had with him last night." Leia winced inwardly,
remembering that last night was yet another occasion when she'd
unknowingly intruded on Luke and Mara.

"Yes, he told me," Mara said.

"Well, I tried to explain to Han that right now wasn't a good time to
get married. Maybe in a few months, or next year, when the New
Republic is better established."

Mara didn't seem impressed by Leia's justification for dashing Han's
hopes and dreams. "So you put government above happiness."

"Did you not put the Emperor's commands above any consideration for
your own happiness and well-being?"

"Yes, until I met Luke," Mara said. "But I wasn't allowed a choice.
You are."

"I have responsibilities to the people of the New Republic."

"You have a responsibility to yourself, and to Han."

Leia pressed her lips into a straight line. She couldn't believe
Mara Jade was practically trying to convince her to marry Han. Up
until today, she wouldn't have thought there was a romantic bone in
the woman's body. Leia narrowed her eyes at Mara, who sat staring
back at her.

"You never answered my question," Leia said.

"Question?"

"Has Luke asked you to marry him?"

"Yes." The word was so soft that Leia had to strain to hear it. "He
asked."

"And ...?" This was worse than trying to drag information out of
Luke.

"Luke was supposed to tell you," Mara said in a rush of obvious
exasperation. "He was starting to tell you, tonight, but he should
have told you right away. He ... Oh ..." Mara halted her
uncharacteristic babbling.

"Hold on, hold on." Leia leaned forward and laid a hand on Mara's
arm. "Are you saying that you two are engaged?"

"No," Mara breathed. "Not exactly."

Not exactly? What was that supposed to mean? On second thought, she
and Han weren't exactly engaged either. Did Mara turn down Luke's
proposal, just as she had Han's?

"Mara ..." Leia trailed off as she gazed at the gritty determination
in Mara's eyes. The woman was warring with herself about whether to
say any more or not, that much Leia could tell. Leia waited with as
much patience as she could muster at the moment.

"We're already married," Mara finally said - simply, calmly,
quietly. "We got married in Zembuhl, six days ago."

Leia hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath, and now she
gasped loudly. The room spun in slow motion as she digested Mara's
words. Married ... Luke and Mara ... already married. Leia's mouth
formed the word 'What?' but no sound came forth. It was several more
minutes of Mara's expectant stare boring into her before Leia was
finally able to choke out "Oh, my stars!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism
Chapter Eleven

Luke quickly but carefully entered the foyer of the royal offices.
Military rescue personnel, alongside liveried guards, had already
been sweeping the area for anyone injured or trapped. Their powerful
search lights had enabled Luke to switch off his lightsaber some time
earlier, and he and Han had blended in with the chaos.

But now, as Luke's eyes adjusted to the shadowy darkness of the outer
waiting room, he once more ignited his weapon.

"Sir?"

Luke turned to face a brightly garbed palace guard. He remembered
passing this particular worker in the street just a few moments ago.

"We've already searched in here, sir," the guard said. "The private
offices of the Regent are blocked by debris, but we were told no one
was here at the time of the initial strike, and there was no answer
to our hails."

Luke nodded in acknowledgement, but reached out with the Force
nevertheless. He thought he felt a weak presence nearby, but with so
many injured and dying in the immediate vicinity, it was hard to
pinpoint an exact location.

"Thank you," Luke said. "But I think I'll take one more look around."

"Of course, Jedi Skywalker," the man returned, bowing slightly.

At the mention of his name, Luke took a closer look at the man's
weary face, and recognized him as also being one of Regent Ke'lor's
personal guards. "Ah, yes. Sentinel ..." Luke scoured his
memory. "Vidin-and- ..."

"Sentinel Vidin-and-Cip Abera-Roget." The young man, barely older
than Luke, snapped his heels together in a salute, but the light in
his dark eyes reflected his pride at being remembered by the noble
Jedi Knight. "I am at your service, sir."

Luke glanced at the damaged entrance to the interior of the building,
considering. Perhaps having someone familiar with this wing wouldn't
be such a bad idea. "Very well, come with me."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For the next several moments, Leia Organa forgot that she was trapped
in a hole with an aerial bombardment going on outside, forgot that
her wrist was aching, forgot that she was hot, sweaty, and
exhausted. She simply stared, dumbfounded, at the woman sitting a
couple meters away.

"Hmm ... Well, I guess our rest break is over." Mara started
looking around the room. "That crate over there-"

"Hold it just one second, sister," Leia barked. She paused as her
inadvertent choice of words hit her. Sister ... Sister-in-
law ... "I think an explanation is in order."

Mara gazed at Leia, their tightly controlled expressions mirroring
each other's. "What's there to explain? We wanted to get married,
so we did."

"That's ... that's like saying you wanted to go eat at a restaurant,
so you did." Leia was utterly flabbergasted. Luke wouldn't do
something this drastic without telling her. Would he? On the other
hand, she didn't think Mara would lie about being married to him,
either. "Luke wouldn't do that to me," Leia said quietly, though
deep inside she somehow knew that it was the truth.

"Luke never meant to hurt you," Mara said, her tone also softening.

"I didn't think he would go behind my back, not for something as
momentous as his wedding." Leia accorded Mara her best regal
glare. "You couldn't wait until you got back to Coruscant? Or
didn't Luke want me there?" Leia knew she should be saving these
accusations for her brother. But her brother wasn't there - his
wife
was.

Mara sighed resignedly. "Of course Luke wanted you to be present,
and we were planning on waiting. But while we were in Zembuhl, a ...
situation ... came up, and we decided we should go ahead-"

A situation? "You're expecting, aren't you?" Leia broke in. It was
the only logical reason Leia could think of for the hasty marriage.
Though in order for Luke and Mara to already know about a baby on the
way, they must have been involved before leaving on the mission ...

"Expecting what?" Mara's expression quickly turned from confused to
indignant. "Blazing stars, no! You think we got married because
Luke got me pregnant?" For some reason Leia couldn't fathom, Mara
started laughing.

"What's so funny? It's not an impossibility."

"For us it would have been," Mara said, smirking.

"Mara, no prevention med is one-hundred-percent foolproof."

"Abstinence is." Mara rose to her feet and limped over toward a
stack of usable crates. "Not that it's any of your business,
Princess."

Would this day of surprises ever end? All right, Leia could accept
the idea of Luke wanting to be married first, and for some strange
reason, she could even believe it of Mara. "But you couldn't wait a
few more weeks? What was this 'situation' that was so dire that you
had to get married right away?"

Mara pressed her lips into a straight line, and Leia could swear the
woman looked embarrassed. "It's a long story."

"Everything with you two these days seems to be a long story."

"Don't you want to wait and hear that part from Luke? I'm sure he'd
be eager to tell you." Mara smiled to herself with a sort of self-
satisfied look of smugness.

"Yes, I believe I would enjoy squeezing some of these answers out of
Luke." Leia began helping Mara push the next box closer to their
makeshift stairs. She was still concerned about Mara's past ties to
the Emperor, but she really didn't think Mara was a threat to the New
Republic. As much as Leia hated to admit it, even to herself, she
was almost beginning to like the former Imperial. Perhaps Mara had
been a victim of circumstances. What had Luke said yesterday? 'It
could just as easily have been you or me.'

Leia glanced sideways as Mara finished levitating the heavy crate to
the top of the stack. "By the way, Mara, welcome to the family."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You think there is still someone trapped inside?" Roget asked Luke
as they cleared the wreckage from the receiving office's doorway.

"Yes, I do," Luke answered. In fact, the sensation was getting
stronger by the minute. He could feel the coldness of death hovering
at the edge of his perception.

Roget stepped back as Luke cut through the collapsed doorjamb, then,
careful of the glowing blade, pushed the timber out of the
way. "Should I go get a medkit, sir?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Luke turned to his eager helper. "But
please, call me Luke." And don't call me 'Sir Luke,' he added to
himself, sighing inwardly.

"As you wish," Roget replied formally before stepping back toward the
building's entrance. "I shall return as soon as possible."

Wasting no time, Luke continued moving debris aside as he searched
further into the inner offices. The life signature he'd been sensing
was growing weaker, and Luke had the sinking feeling that it wasn't
because the person was moving farther away. With one final Force
shove, Luke created a passageway just large enough to squeeze
through. He found himself in the Regent's private office, and Luke
silently hoped it wouldn't be the Regent that he would find inside.

What he found made him instantly ashamed of his thoughts.

Prime Aide Meend lay near a rear exit of the office, impaled through
the abdomen by a ruptured ceiling beam. Meend's breath was shallow;
his eyes hollow and filled with pain. The beam had sealed the wound,
not allowing any blood to escape. But Luke knew that the moment the
timber was removed, Meend would die instantly.

"Sir ... Sky ..." Meend rasped, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Shhh," Luke hushed, kneeling beside the dying man. "Don't speak.
We'll get help for you."

Meend tried to shake his head, but even that much effort was too
draining. "Please ... I must ..."

"Meend ..." Luke soothed, laying his hand on the older man's forehead
and doing his best to send comforting waves of the Force into him.

"The ... Regent ..." Meend coughed up spittle mixed with
blood. "With ... his ... family ... You ... must ... help ... "

"I will, Meend." Luke could feel the relief pass through the aide's
tortured expression. "He's with his family, in their suite?"

Meend's mouthed the word 'Yes,' his strength nearly gone.

"I'll help them, I promise," Luke said solemnly. He searched his
mind frantically for anything he could do to help the genial aide,
but logically he knew there was nothing anyone could do. "Just hold
on, Meend," he said, trying to put as much hope into his voice as he
could. "Help is coming."

Meend turned unfocused eyes in the direction of Luke's voice and
summoned one last ounce of willpower. "It was ... an honor ...
to ... meet you, ... Sir ... Knight," he choked out, and then his
life force flickered out completely.

"Just Luke," Luke whispered to himself, tears trailing down his dirt-
streaked cheeks.

Luke was closing Meend's eyes when Roget burst into the room.

"I'm too late," Roget lamented, taking in the scene before him.

Luke looked up, noting four more rescue workers standing silently
behind the royal sentinel.

"You said there was someone trapped in here," Roget explained
softly. "The word of a Jedi Knight is not to be taken lightly."

Luke nodded. "Before ... before he died, Meend was concerned for the
safety of the Regent and his family." He looked at Roget
questioningly.

"The royal residence was hit hard," Roget informed him. "There is a
large contingent of workers there, clearing the rubble as fast as
they can. I haven't heard if they've found the Regent yet. I had
been on my way there when I saw you enter here."

"Then that is where I need to head," Luke said firmly, standing aside
as two of the rescuers began tending to Meend's body. He began
moving toward the front of the building when Roget put out a hand to
stop him.

"Begging your pardon, sir. I mean, Luke." Roget bowed
apologetically, then gestured toward the door behind where Meend
lay. "But that door leads to a private corridor to the royal
residence. It would be quicker to go that way, if it is still
structurally sound."

Luke nodded his acquiescence. Roget reverently stepped behind the
prime aide's body and keyed in the door code, then gestured for two
of the soldiers to precede them into the dark corridor. Luke took
one last look at Meend before following Roget.

"Do you feel that the Regent is in danger, Jedi Skywalker?" Roget
asked as the quartet made their way along the secluded passageway.

"I'm not sure," Luke replied honestly. He had sought to get a
reading on the Regent through the Force, but the ruler's particular
signature eluded him. Was it because Luke didn't have a familiar
enough connection with the Regent? Or was it due to his continuing
need for more training? But who could train him? And who was he to
be training another?

Roget seemed to accept Luke's uncertainty without judging him. He
raised a comlink to his lips. "This is First Sentinel Abera-Roget.
Has any word been received yet on His Excellency?"

"Not yet," came the reply. "We have teams searching room by room,
but we have yet to locate His Excellency or his family."

"Very well. Jedi Skywalker and I are en route there now."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Han hurried through the wreckage-strewn streets as quickly as he
could. He was making much better time, he reflected with only a hint
of compunction, without Luke tagging along, wanting to stop every few
meters to check on any and all beings they passed. There were plenty
of rescue workers milling about now; let them handle the first aid
duties. Han wasn't even supposed to be on this planet. He had
someone very special to concentrate his efforts on - someone who
wasn't supposed to be onplanet either.

Making his way down the alley that he and Leia had discovered was a
shortcut to the Falcon, Han stopped at the long duracrete dormitory
looming ahead of him. The building had been pounded heavily by the
enemy assault, and Han's gut twisted in fear that Leia could have
been caught in the fallout.

"Leia!" Han called loudly as he entered, cautiously stepping around
the scattered rubble and broken glass. "Leia, are you in here?" His
voice echoed eerily in the gloomy emptiness, but he dismissed the
notion that Luke was wrong about where the women were. As unhinged
as Luke could act at times, he was rarely wrong when it came to
sensing things through the Force. And apparently he could
communicate telepathically well enough with Jade to learn their exact
location. Now, if the gals just had the decency to stay put inside,
so Han could heroically rescue them, he'd be all set.

The gals ... His Leia ... and Mara Jade. Mara Jade Skywalker, he
guessed it was now. He wasn't fool enough to assume that adding a
new tag at the end of her name was going to change her cold-as-
durasteel personality. What in the galaxy did Luke see in her,
anyway? Sure, she was a looker, up until she blackened your eye for
daring to look. Though Luke seemed to be all in one piece and
relatively unblemished. Perhaps, Han thought, he should be wondering
what Mara Jade saw in Luke. An ex-Imperial, ex-assassin had to go
bonkers listening to all that Jedi drivel he constantly rambled on
about.

Those two deserved each other.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Leia took two giant steps up the assemblage of boxes, crates, and
cartons, then turned to offer Mara a hand up.

"I can manage on my own," Mara said, determinedly crawling up the
first crate, dragging her swollen foot behind her.

Shaking her head at Mara's sheer obstinacy, Leia pulled herself up to
the next level. The cartons they'd used on the upper levels were
increasingly taller, making the climb more difficult. With one hand
still immobilized, Leia was actually beginning to have a harder time
than Mara.

"Wait." With a barely suppressed grunt, Mara drew up alongside Leia,
no easy feat on the narrow step. "I think I should be the one to
pull you up."

Leia started to protest, just on principle, then realized this wasn't
a competition on who could be the more stubborn. "Perhaps you're
right," she conceded, scooting over as close to the edge of the crate
as she could and allowing Mara to continue upward.

Once she braced herself on the next higher box, Mara reached down and
grasped Leia's hand securely. Leia suppressed a wince at Mara's
strong grip. Despite her slim figure, Mara had as much strength as
many men Leia had known. She certainly wasn't an epitome of
femininity. And yet ...

"The dress!" Leia said, a glowlamp going off in her head. "The white
dress - it was your wedding dress, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Mara stated flatly, displaying little interest in the matter.

"I apologize for insisting that I try it on," Leia said. "It never
occurred to me that, well ..."

"It's all right. You had no way of knowing." A wry smile tugged at
the corner of Mara's mouth. "Though Luke may need a few sessions of
psychotherapy."

"I did manage to rattle that Jedi calm of his, didn't I?" Leia
frowned slightly. "But it still seemed to me that Luke's reaction
was a bit excessive."

"You're forgetting that you were once his dream girl," Mara said
dryly. "Some of those dreams no doubt involved you in just such a
gown."

Leia blanched. She'd nearly forgotten the starry-eyed crush Luke had
once had on her. "Did he say that?"

Mara shook her head. "No, and I spared him the embarrassment of
bringing it up."

"Thanks," Leia said. This was yet another piece of the puzzle to
fall into place to explain Luke and Mara's strange behavior. Could
there possibly be more secrets for her to discover?

Mara was just pulling Leia onto the edge of the floor of the room
above them when Leia heard her name being called.

"It's Han," Leia said, a feeling of warmth and security flooding into
her. "Han!" she called out, directing her voice to the open hole
overhead. "Han! Luke! We're down here!"

"Luke's not with him," Mara noted quietly. Looking back down at the
storage cellar, she carefully levitated her still-lit lightsaber into
her outstretched hand.

Leia extended a tendril of the Force, and as far as she could tell,
Mara was right. Only Han's familiar presence was close enough to
detect. Even though Mara's tone of voice was very matter-of-fact,
Leia thought she caught a pang of disappointment and concern wafting
from her. Leia was considering whether or not she should return a
comment when Han's face appeared, peering down at them.

"Leia!" Han's eyes widened as he took in her immobilized arm. "Are
you all right?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Leia assured him, blinking in the harsh light of
Han's glow rod.

"I'll go get a rope or ladder," he called, starting to back away.

"No, wait," Mara spoke up. She pointed toward one of the side
walls. "It looks like there's a door over there. Let us check if it
leads to a stairway."

Han met the women as they were halfway up a nearby stairwell, which
Mara had pronounced as being stable enough to hold their weight.

"What happened?" he asked, putting one arm protectively around Leia's
slim shoulders as they retreated to the dining hall. He glanced at
the ragged hole in the center of the floor. "Tell me you didn't fall
all the way to the bottom." He glared warily at Mara with a look
that suggested whatever had occurred, she had to have been the cause.

"We weren't injured badly at all, thanks to Mara," Leia said,
deliberately countering Han's distrust. "It just took us awhile to
construct a way out."

"Humph." Han navigated Leia through a fallen archway. "What in
blazes were you doing in here, anyway? I expected you to be at the
Falcon by now."

"We were checking for injured residents," Leia said. She didn't
allow any hint that her answer was in any way an apology.

"Yeah," Han drawled with a scowl. "Luke had us detouring all over
the place lookin' for casualties, too."

Leia knew that Han would have done the same if he'd been alone.
Blaming his heroics on Luke was just a convenient excuse. "Speaking
of Luke ..." Leia raised an eyebrow questioningly. She fleetingly
wondered why Mara had not inquired about her ... husband. Did Mara
already know, through the Force, why he had not accompanied Han? Had
she been 'talking' to him just now? Or did her pride prevent her
from coming out and asking Han where Luke was?

"Aw, he went off to explore some building 'cause he felt he needed
to," Han said gruffly, before glaring once more at Mara. "Hopefully
he has enough sense not to fall through the floor."

Leia reached up and turned Han's face toward her. "That was my
fault, not Mara's." She flicked a quick glance over her shoulder
toward the other woman, then speared Han with an authoritative
stare. "I think you owe Mara an apology."

"I didn't accuse her of anything," Han was quick to reply.

"You were thinking it," Leia returned. "You should be nicer to
her. She's ... she's ..." Leia wondered if Luke had informed Han
of his and Mara's new status. Han's next words removed any doubt.

"Yeah, I know." Though he was still directing his words at Leia, Han
leveled a steady gaze at Mara. "She's part of the family now."

"More a part of the family than you are, Solo," Mara retorted
evenly. She looked instantly contrite as she shot an apologetic
glance toward Leia. Leia did her best to convey the sensation that
she wasn't angry over Mara's less-than-polite slip.

"Ah, blast it. Let's just get out of here," Han said with a growl.
As they began making their way to the outside doorway, he seemed to
finally notice that Mara was noticeably limping. "What's wrong with
your leg?"

"Don't worry, I can keep up," Mara returned, ignoring the actual
question.

"Believe me, I wasn't worried," Han said, tightening his arm around
Leia and guiding her forward.

"Han!" Leia scolded, pulling up short.

Han mumbled a few choice words which Leia was glad she couldn't
understand, then pulled out his comlink. "Lando? You there?"

After just a moment, Lando's deep voice came online. "The question,
ol' buddy, is where are you?"

"Listen, I need you to bring the Falcon to ..."

Leia tuned out Han's voice as he gave Lando directions. Han and Mara
were acting like spoiled children, she thought to herself.

She and Luke sure knew how to pick 'em.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The secluded passageway opened into the Regent's private study -
a stately room now marred by overturned furniture and broken
treasures. As Luke and the other men filed into the sanctuary, he
noticed that the door sliding shut behind them blended invisibly into
the elegant Fijsi wood paneling.

The two rescue workers hesitated by the study's main doorway, looking
between Luke and Roget for direction.

"Are the family's living quarters nearby?" Luke asked. Even as he
spoke, he let his eyes flutter half-shut, reaching out with the Force
and straining for signs of life.

"Yes, Jedi Skywalker," Roget replied, watching Luke carefully. "This
entire wing is used only by the royal family."

Luke walked slowly to the doorway, seeing the next room, and yet not
seeing it. Fear was the first sensation to reach him, fear radiating
from the Regent's daughters - Jahnna and Coena. Luke
congratulated himself on being able to recognize their youthful life
signatures after meeting them but once. He just as quickly chastised
himself - pride was a trait to be eschewed by a Jedi.

"This way," Luke murmured, taking off at a hurried pace and not
looking behind him to make sure the others were following. As he
nimbly stepped over debris and ducked under swaying ornamentation,
Luke easily detected the Regent and his wife. Both radiated
determination and concern - whether for their daughters or for
their planet, Luke could not determine. Most likely for both.

"Jedi Sky-" Roget began.

Luke held up a hand for silence. He could discern that they were
coming close to the family, but he could also make out the presence
of a half dozen or so other beings, all projecting a nervous
hostility. Luke took note that Roget carried a sidearm; the other
two men, essentially recruited from the palace staff for the purpose
of search and rescue, did not.

"Werl and Chice," Luke said, remembering their names, "I'd like you
to stay here. Don't let anyone follow us, if more workers find their
way in here." Luke turned to his other companion. "Roget, contact
the palace guard corps and tell them that the Regent and his family
are possibly being held against their will." He felt Roget stiffen
at his words and unholster his blaster. "Have them surround the
building as quietly as they can, and be sure they are alert for more
intruders. Above all, instruct them not to start blasting at any
movement they see. Have them use their stun settings, even for
Argazdans."

If Roget was surprised at Luke's authoritative tone, he didn't show
it. "Yes, sir," he answered smoothly, already clicking on his
comlink.

As Roget quickly and quietly relayed instructions to his fellow
guardsmen, Luke continued to assess their adversaries. Definitely
six, he determined. He glanced at Roget's shining glow lamp and made
a swift decision. "Do you know your way around these rooms well
enough to navigate in the dark?"

"Yes, sir," Roget affirmed, killing his light without question. He
signaled for one of the rescue workers to switch off his light,
also. The other aimed his beam down and away from the direction that
Roget and Luke would be taking.

Even though Luke had never been inside the family quarters before, he
took point as he and Roget moved stealthily through the shadowy
rooms. Search beams outside in the palace compound sent occasional
flashes of illumination through the windows of many of the rooms they
entered. Most of the time, though, Luke found his way by using the
Force. He was impressed by Roget's ability to follow, only needing
to whisper a warning whenever an unforeseen obstacle blocked their
path.

Briefly Luke wished that it were Mara at his side, but shook off the
thought. Wishful thinking served no purpose other than distraction,
and Luke didn't need to be distracted right now. He had been
checking on Mara frequently enough that he knew she was safe.

Gripping his lightsaber hilt tightly, Luke felt the impending
confrontation filling his senses. Soon voices could be heard -
angry, harsh voices - along with frightened whimpering. Luke
paused, the silent sentinel stopping right behind him. Rushing in
without a plan might do more harm than good. Leaning in close to
Roget, Luke whispered an outline of his intention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter Twelve

Han tried to hurry Leia along the alleyway, but Leia purposely slowed
her pace so Mara could keep up. As it was, Mara was doing pretty
well, her stony expression doing nothing to betray any pain from her
swelling ankle.

As the trio ducked through an archway in the rock wall surrounding
the palace compound, they immediately saw the familiar shape of the
Millenium Falcon, just setting down with its repulsers. Leia could
spot Chewie's shaggy arm pointing at them through the cockpit's
viewport, and moments later, Lando was hurrying down the lowering
ramp.

"Han, Leia!" Lando called. "It's a good thing the fighting's moved
north of us. I don't know if anyone would have heeded our 'friendly'
broadcast." His eyes widened as he caught sight of Leia's
sling. "What in blazes happened to all of you?"

"A slight delay," Han said, a sarcastic tone coloring his
voice. "They couldn't stay out of trouble," he added, glancing back
at Mara, who was limping forward to join the others.

"Mara!" Lando practically tripped over his own feet in his rush to
reach the redhead's side. "Let me help you."

"Oh, this should be good," Han whispered to Leia, and privately, Leia
agreed. Mara had always shunned all of Lando's overtures, and now ...

"If you so much as lay a hand on me, Calrissian, I swear ..." Mara
said with a growl, her emerald eyes blazing in warning as she stood
favoring her injured ankle.

"But, my dear," Lando soothed, undaunted, "I merely want to help you
into the ship. It would be ungentlemanly of me not to assist a lady
in need."

For one horrifying moment, Leia thought Lando was actually going to
attempt to pick up Mara.

"I am not in need of your assistance," Mara grated out, taking a
deliberate step back.

"Let's all get into the ship," Leia interjected. Everyone except
Mara started heading toward the ship's ramp.

"I should go help Luke," Mara said, hesitating. "He may need me."

"Mara, you need to have your ankle looked at first," Leia said. "You
won't be much help to him hobbling along like you have been."

Mara bit her lower lip and let her eyes flutter shut briefly. Leia
decided Mara must be contacting Luke, and she tamped down the pang of
jealousy that she wasn't able to converse with her own twin that
easily. Whatever Luke answered, he must have assuaged Mara's
anxiety, and indirectly Leia's, as Mara relaxed and started for the
ship without saying a word.

Leia was barely through the hatch when a metallic clanking echoed
down the corridor.

"Mistress Leia! Mistress Leia!" See-Threepio waved his arms in
agitation. "How good to see you fully func-" The mechanized
voice stopped as the droid finally focused on Leia's injury. "Oh,
my! You're not fully functional."

"Not quite, Threepio," Leia answered, grateful when Han took hold of
her elbow and pushed them past the prissy droid. She paused,
however, and glanced back when Threepio then turned his attention on
the next person entering the ship.

"Mistress Mara!" Threepio hesitated, as if considering his
words. "Or am I to now address you as Mistress Arica? I have not
been informed which is your true name."

Mara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So, you're the squealer," she
said in a deadly voice. Her hand hovered just above the lightsaber
hanging from her belt.

If it were possible, Leia thought Threepio's optical sensors widened
marginally as he stepped back as quickly as his servomotors allowed.

"Oh, dear!" Threepio wailed. "Please don't dismantle me."

Leia hurried back to intercede before she found herself without a
protocol droid. "Lando and I finally remembered you at Jabba's
ourselves," she said, lightly touching Mara's arm. "Threepio merely
confirmed it."

Mara dropped her arm away from Leia's contact. Giving one last hard
look at the nervous droid, she stalked on into the ship.

"Threepio, why don't you stay in the cockpit with Chewie?" Leia
suggested soothingly. "Help him monitor the battle." And don't do
anything to antagonize Chewie next, she thought to herself.

"Of course, Mistress Leia," Threepio said in obvious relief. As he
shuffled off, Leia wondered - not for the first time - how a
mechanical voice box that logically should always be the same tone
could convey such a variety of emotions.

Once everyone was inside the Falcon's lounge, Han dug out the
appropriate medical supplies. Handing half to Lando, he immediately
began waving a portable scanner over Leia's wrist. Leia breathed a
sigh of relief when the diagnostic screen showed only a hairline
fracture. The injury was minor enough that Han could easily splint
it, thus avoiding the inevitable argument that she needed to rush to
the nearest medical facility. Leia knew there were too many others
who would be overwhelming the local medics. She didn't need to add
to their workload.

Mara had started to reach for the medpac in Lando's grasp, but he
pulled his arm back with a devilish grin.

"Tsk, tsk, m'dear." Lando swept his free hand out to indicate a
cushioned seat just behind Mara. "It's been said I have a magic
touch when it comes to rendering first aid."

With a noticeable grunt, Mara sank heavily onto the chair and
extended her injured foot. Lando delicately removed Mara's boot,
then made the mistake of running one hand up her calf as he examined
her ankle. He glanced up to find a wicked-looking blaster pointing
at his face, and beyond that were a pair of eyes narrowed to hard
green slits.

"You think she even lets Luke touch her?" Han asked Leia quietly as
they watched the scene unfolding from the acceleration couch across
the room.

"They were certainly touching when we barged into her room this
evening," Leia pointed out. Somehow, that incident seemed like it
was days ago instead of mere hours.

"Yeah, but wasn't she threatening him about it, too?" Han replied,
tenderly holding Leia's wrist. "I knew Luke couldn't keep that
reckless streak suppressed forever."

Leia relaxed when Lando mumbled an apology and got down to the
business of wrapping a compression splint around Mara's ankle.

"I can't believe those two are compatible enough to make a life-long
commitment," Han continued in a whisper.

"They say opposites attract," Leia said with a knowing wink.

"Is that so?" Han favored Leia with the roguish grin that she loved
so much. "Have any personal experience with that adage?"

Leia ran a finger down Han's arm. "I have proof positive." She
leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. Han pulled her close,
being careful of her now-splinted wrist. Their kiss deepened, and
the galaxy spun lazily and unconcerned around them until the deep
sound of a throat clearing sounded nearby.

"Mara left," Lando said, his dark features looking both miserable and
confused. "I tried to talk her out of it-"

"She let you talk?" Han interrupted with feigned amazement.

Lando scowled at Han's jibe, then continued. "She kept insisting she
had to be with Luke." He shook his head. "I don't get it. I
thought there was nothing between Mara and Luke. I know Jedi have
this insatiable need to help people - I even offered to
accompany her - but it was almost as if she were having withdrawal
pains,being separated from him."

"What can I say, ol' buddy?" Han glanced slyly at Leia, then turned
back to Lando with a shrug. "Women - you can always count on
them to be consistently unpredictable."

Leia gave Han a predictable poke in the ribs, then looked up when
Chewbacca appeared in the doorway, waving his shaggy arms.

[Are we just going to sit here?] the Wookiee asked. [There's a war
going on all around us, if you haven't noticed.]

"Yeah, fire her up, pal," Han said. "Let's see what we can shoot
down."

"No, wait, Han," Leia spoke up. "I'm not sure we should get
involved, at least in the battle."

Leia's words were met with disbelief from the three males in the room.

"Listen," she continued. "We're here in a diplomatic capacity. We
shouldn't just jump in and start blasting ships. We don't even know
all the details behind this conflict."

"I thought we were here to save Luke from Jade," Han countered.

"Well, it turned out that he didn't need saving, for once." Leia
stood and one-handedly began stuffing bacta bandages into a
pouch. "We will gather as many first-aid supplies as we can carry,
and do some assisting of our own." She raised an eyebrow at her
companions, clearing indicating that the matter was not open to
debate. Han and Lando glanced at each other in defeat, and quickly
moved to help.

"You, too," Leia said in reply to Chewie's soft wuffing. "We won't
have Luke or Mara along to lift heavy objects with their minds."

"Sweetheart," Han said, "something tells me it won't be long before
you'll be the one lifting really big rocks."

"Nah," Lando countered with a wink. "She'll just order the rocks to
rise up, and they won't even think about disobeying."

Lando ducked.

Han cringed.

And Leia - even one-handed - demonstrated that she didn't
need the Force to make objects fly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Luke edged closer to the family lounge, located in the very heart of
the royal manor house. He could make out snatches of conversation
now, confirming his suspicion that the Regent and his family were
being held hostage by Argazdan commandos. Luke had left Roget
stationed in a hallway on the other side of the Regent's location.
After receiving a summary of the layout of the rooms from the
sentinel, Luke had circled around into position.

It wasn't easy to communicate through the Force with a non-Force-
sensitive being, but it could be done. After all, Luke only needed
to send a single sensation to alert Roget when it was time to move.

And the time was ...

*Now!* Luke pushed the thought into Roget's mind, and was gratified
to feel the guard's knee-jerk reaction. Luke sensed Roget swiftly
move forward, calm and deliberate. And just as quickly, Luke ignited
his lightsaber and bolted into the lounge, ready for anything.

Three intruders that were standing in the shadowy back of the room
swung around, blasters blazing. Luke easily deflected their fire
toward the ceiling while warily watching the other three antagonists,
who were keeping their weapons trained on the royal family. As
everyone's attention was riveted on Luke's actions, Roget stepped
through the opposite doorway and swept his blaster across Luke's
opponents, stunning all three. He quickly ducked back behind the
door as the other assailants sent a spray of blaster fire his way.

One of the Argazdans began shouting orders to his two remaining
companions. His words were being drowned out, however, by the
squeals of joy from the Regent's daughters.

"Quiet!" the leader yelled at the girls, his dark angry expression
mocked by the shining light of the room's two glow rods. He
frantically tried to regain control of the deteriorating situation.
His two subordinates were clearly torn between keeping watch over
their prisoners and facing the fair-skinned young man who stood
silently holding a blazing sword of light.

"Put down your weapons," Luke said evenly. "No one need be hurt."
Especially with those young girls in the room.

The leader, a tall broad-shouldered man dressed in battle fatigues,
flicked a glance at the three commandos lying unconscious at the rear
of the room. "You're still outnumbered three to one," he said with a
growl, waving his blast rifle threateningly.

"Three to two." Roget stepped back into the room, his brown eyes
flashing defiantly. "Of course, a Jedi Knight more than evens the
odds."

Luke stood his ground. "What purpose does it serve you to hold this
family hostage?" he asked quietly, though he already suspected the
answer.

"He wants me to surrender Lorrd," the Regent said, "and is using my
family as leverage." The ruler glared at his family's
oppressor. "Whatever the outcome in this room, know that Lorrd shall
be victorious, for we have a Jedi to lead us."

Luke cringed inwardly, knowing he was going to have to deal with the
Lorrdians' underhanded plans for him.

Regent Ke'lor moved forward, gently shrugging off his wife's clinging
hold. "I demand you surrender immediately," he ordered.

"Or what?" The Argazdan leader sneered at the Regent, then narrowed
his eyes in Luke's direction. "You think this boy's gonna save you?"
he spat. "He might be fast with that light sword, but he can't move
faster than I can squeeze this trigger." The leader reached out and
yanked Jahnna by her ebony hair, holding the barrel of his blaster
rifle to her head.

"No!" Madam Ke'lor screamed, horror marring her elegant
features. "Please don't hurt her!" She reached out with both hands,
clawing at air, pleading for mercy from a man who knew none.

"You coward," the Regent intoned. "Let my wife and daughters go.
It's me you want."

The leader only laughed - a deep, mocking, guttural laugh.

Luke looked into the frightened eyes of Jahnna and sent a tide of
calm her way. She blinked, then seemed to steel herself with
resolve. Feeling momentarily relieved that the girl wouldn't jerk
away and cause her assailant to fire, Luke subtly took in every
aspect of the situation. He carefully watched the leader's trigger
finger for the slightest hint of movement and monitored his emotions
for any foresight of his intent. The two subordinates continued to
point their weapons at Luke and Roget. It was a stand-off, with
Jahnna's life caught in the middle. Think, Luke! He had to trust
in the Force to guide him. If he could somehow draw the fire of the
two Argazdans closest to him, then maybe-

Suddenly a loud noise echoed through the room, and voices could be
heard from somewhere inside the building. It wasn't the distraction
Luke had been planning, but it would do. He waved his lightsaber
though the air, and immediately both his adversaries began firing at
him. In the blink of an eye, Luke deflected one of the bolts into
the arm of the leader, causing him to loose his hold on Jahnna and
drop his weapon.

Luke then sliced off the barrel of the rifle being held by the
Argazdan closet to him. At the same instant, Roget stunned the other
man. Taking a deep breath, Luke looked over to see the Regent scoop
up the leader's rifle while Madame Ke'lor pulled her daughter into
her arms. Luke extinguished his humming blade and let a sigh of
relief escape. It was over.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mara hurried across the palace compound as fast as her still-tender
ankle would allow. Han had told her that Luke was heading into the
royal office complex when the two men parted. But as Mara neared the
office annex, she could feel that he was no longer inside. Ignoring
the rescue efforts going on all around her, Mara stood perfectly
still and reached out with the Force. Luke was near enough that she
had no trouble picking out his warm and gentle presence, yet far
enough away that, as was the case every day since she'd met him, she
felt incomplete without him by her side.

She was getting soft - all because she fell in love with a brave,
na?, idealistic farmboy-turned-Jedi. And it was worth it. The
Emperor had been her whole world until a few short months ago, and
then she was thrown into a tiny cell on what she considered a routine
assignment, and that world turned upside down. Mara didn't regret
for one moment her decision to defy everything she'd been taught,
everything that had been implanted in her mind as the truth. For now
she knew the real truth about the Empire. There was no longer any
conflict in her beliefs.

But the vanquishers of the Empire had yet to discover the truth about
her. Only Luke and his little band of friends knew of her past
deeds. Mara knew that Luke would defend her to the death, but he
also was a stickler for revealing the truth. She had been mildly
surprised when he supported her cover-up of being a mere court
dancer. Perhaps love did make people do strange things, Mara thought
as she zeroed in on Luke's presence in the imposing building ahead.

"Mistress Mara!"

Mara turned at the sound of her name, groaning as Second Aide Vazan-
Jayce waved his hand to catch her attention. Breathless, he ran up
beside her.

"Mistress Mara, I am so glad you are safe." Jayce raked his gaze up
and down her, and Mara shuddered in exasperation. "But you are
injured!" he cried, seeing the splint wrapped around her ankle.

"It's nothing," Mara said brusquely, resuming her trek toward Luke.
Stang, of all the people to run into. First it was Calrissian
fawning over her, and now this fop.

Jayce surveyed the surrounding area as he quickened his steps to keep
up with her. "Is Jedi Skywalker already with the air patrol?" he
asked.

"Why would he be?" Mara asked, eyes narrowed. She and Luke had
figured out the Lorrdians' scheme, but she wanted to hear Jayce's
explanation.

"Uh ... well ..." Jayce stammered. "I just assumed he would be
called upon to lead the battle."

"I see." Mara stopped in front of a large ornate building. Palace
guards and rescue personnel swarmed around the heavily-bombarded
structure. Mara could feel Luke inside. His normally calm presence
felt tense, almost as if he were unsure of himself. He needed her!
She knew it even without communicating with him. Kicking aside a
chunk of duracrete, Mara started to mount the wide steps when a line
of uniformed guards barred her way. "What the-"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," one of the guards intoned. "No one is allowed
inside."

Jayce tugged on Mara's arm. "Perhaps I can escort you to your ship,"
he ventured in a hesitating voice.

Mara ignored the aide's attempt to steer her toward participating in
the battle. "What is this building?" she asked, glaring back at him
from halfway up the steps.

"This is the home of His Excellency," Jayce replied, taking a step
back as Mara loomed over him.

"I must get inside," Mara said emphatically. "Do you know another
way in?"

Jayce's eyes widened with anxiety. "I ... I don't think ..."

The rest of Jayce's stuttered reply faded as Mara felt a rush of
adrenaline coming from Luke. Something was happening ... A
confrontation ... Mara's attention was suddenly caught by a flurry
of movement among the ever-vigilant guards. One of them was
listening to a comlink, then half the contingent rushed through the
wide front doors. Mara followed without hesitation, even though
Luke's relief was palpable through the Force link. Two of the rear
guards started to protest, then quickly gave her a wide berth as she
ignited her lightsaber. No one was going to stop her from reclaiming
her spot at her husband's side.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It hadn't taken long for the back-up which Roget had called to sweep
into the room, herding - and dragging - the would-be
kidnappers to their place of confinement. Madame Ke'lor and her
daughters, after assuring the Regent that they would be fine,
delivered themselves into the care of several royal servants. Regent
Ke'lor stared at Luke a moment, then gave a nod of dismissal to Roget
and the remaining sentinels.

"Jedi Skywalker, I am in your debt," the ruler said sincerely once
they were alone.

Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, Luke bowed briefly in
acknowledgement and appreciation. "I am glad to be of service,
Excellency." His head turned toward the open doorway as Mara
noiselessly slipped into the room. Luke had felt her approach, of
course, and sent her a comforting reassurance that everything was
under control. Mara returned a mischievous sensation of feigned
incredulity that he was able to handle anything on his own, but she
graciously played the part of subservient apprentice and glided into
a watchful stance by the wall.

"I was afraid Meend would stumble into this mess," Regent Ke'lor
continued. "He was supposed to follow me here."

"I'm sorry, Excellency," Luke said quietly. "Meend didn't survive."

"I ... see," Ke'lor replied slowly, grief showing in his downcast
expression.

There was a momentary silence as the room's occupants regarded each
other, broken when Luke steeled himself and dared to speak his mind
to the sovereign. "You lured me to Lorrd to lead your battle against
the Argazdans."

The Regent smoothed his neatly-trimmed beard with one hand. "I
suspected you were bright enough to figure that out on your own," he
said with a seemingly forced smile. "Your insight is to be
commended. It is true, we need your skills in this war. Just as
your New Republic needs our norumite crystals."

The underlying meaning of the Regent's last statement was not lost on
Luke. "You would blackmail a Jedi?"

"I would do what I must for the good of my people," Regent Ke'lor
replied. "You are a Jedi Knight - it is your duty to protect the
oppressed."

"I am sworn to defend the oppressed," Luke said evenly, "but I cannot
fight your war for you. The Jedi are not mercenaries."

"Lorrd was liberated from the Argazdans in the past only through the
intervention of the Jedi. Would you stand by and let the Lorrdian
people be enslaved once more?" the Regent pressed on. "Would your
conscience allow it, Jedi Skywalker?"

"There are alternatives to fighting," Luke said, remembering those
very words spoken by his first mentor.

"Yet your New Republic only recently ended a decades-old war against
the Empire," the Regent pointed out. "A war in which you were an
active participant."

"Under the tyranny of the Emperor, all attempts for a peaceful
resolution were crushed." Luke squared his shoulders and
unwaveringly met the Regent's gaze. "That doesn't have to be the
case here. Call for a truce, Excellency. Propose to the Argazdans
that you reconcile your differences over the negotiating table
instead of the battlefield."

"And if these negotiations fail? Would your New Republic then rush a
fleet here to defend us from our enemies? Will they pour funds into
our coffers to cover our military expenditures?"

"You know I can't promise that," Luke said, careful to keep his
expression shuttered, even though it was taking more willpower than
it should to maintain a semblance of patience. He had learned from
Lando that the Lorrdians had inflicted a similar strafing run on a
large Argazdan settlement a month earlier. Intermittent skirmishes
had been going on for centuries - aftershocks of a feud that had
started thousands of years ago, when the Argazdans had subjugated the
Lorrdians into slavery. Both sides had contributed equally to the
latest round of engagements, finally culminating in the current all-
out war. "Do you really want to continue all this bloodshed?" Luke
continued. "Do you believe Argazda wants to? If there is any chance
for peace, isn't it worth the effort to pursue that chance?"

The Regent pursed his lips and let his eyelids fall shut briefly in
thought. "Who would mediate these negotiations?" he finally
said. "You?"

"I would be willing to assist in any way possible. But ..." Luke
hesitated, considering, then plunged ahead. "There is a
representative of the New Republic on-planet at this very moment who
is much more skilled and experienced in the art of arbitration."

The Regent's gaze flickered briefly to Mara, his expression clearly
one of confusion.

Luke shot Mara a silent apology at the Regent's obvious disbelief.
Mara no doubt would be more skilled in the negotiating arena than he
would. Heck, Han and Lando would probably be better at it.

"I am speaking of Leia Organa," Luke said.

"Princess Leia is here on Lorrd?" Regent Ke'lor questioned. "I am
certain the trade arrangement stipulated that no one but you and your
padawan were to come."

"Leia is here due to a personal matter," Luke returned. "I was not
aware of her arrival myself until yesterday."

"I see. And you believe she would agree to oversee peace
negotiations between my planet and Argazda?"

"I cannot speak for her in certainty, of course," Luke said. "But I
think she would be willing." He raised an eyebrow in
challenge. "For a promise of certain mineral options."

Regent Ke'lor smiled slowly, stepping forward and holding out his
hand for Luke to shake. "Very good, Sir Knight. Are you sure the
Princess is the only capable negotiator on-planet?" he quipped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Journey of Discovery - Book Three: Prism

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as Regent Ke'lor left with a contingent of his sentinels and
aides, Luke wanted to pull Mara into his arms and shower her with
kisses. But the apprehensive look on her face as workers swarmed
all around them put a crimp in his actions.

*Later,* Mara sent, along with a mental promise of things to come.

Luke let out a frustrated sigh, and he and Mara began making their
way out of the besieged building. He frowned as he quickly saw that
Mara was limping slightly.

"Can't let you out of my sight, can I?" he said, shaking his head.

"Why would you want to?" Mara responded with a smile. "Though
obviously you didn't need my help here. I was all ready to knock
some heads, but you went and saved the day without me."

"Sorry." Luke grinned sheepishly. "I'm sure there will be plenty of
opportunities in the future for you to knock lots of heads." He
focused once more on Mara's ankle and slowed his pace. "Do you want
me to see if I can reduce the swelling?"

"You want to kiss it and make it better?" Mara laughed teasingly, a
sparkle in her emerald eyes. "Let's wait until we get back to the
ship. A healing trance takes awhile, and I don't feel like plunking
down right here for several hours." She glanced around at the rescue
efforts winding down in the open courtyard.

"You mean, back to the Falcon?"

"Of course. You don't think I'm anxious to get to that B-wing, do
you?"

"I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that you were anxious to get to
the Falcon." Luke grinned, fondly picturing the beat-up
freighter. "Han still drills me with a reproachful stare when anyone
refers to her as a piece of junk. It's like he's accusing me of
planting that description in other people's minds."

"Believe me, people don't need your help in accurately characterizing
that rust bucket."

Still mindful of Mara's injury, Luke looked out over the plaza,
trying to judge how far they would have to walk. "But isn't it
berthed several kilometers from here? Have you already been to it?"

"It's not, and I have," Mara replied succinctly, shivering slightly
as a slight evening breeze wafted over her bare arms. "Follow me,
flyboy."

"You're cold!" Luke quickly removed his outer tunic and helped Mara
put it on, gallantly even rolling up the sleeves for her.

"Thanks. I guess I was too busy worrying about you to notice
earlier."

"You were worried about me?" Luke said, his heart gladdening at the
sentiment. "I was worried about you, too," he added tentatively,
wondering if Mara would be offended by his concern.

"Thanks," she said quietly, putting his mind at ease at once.

Luke squeezed her hand. He was back with Mara, it looked like they
wouldn't have to participate in this war, and he was happy. Any
further attempts at conversation were cut short as the two Jedi were
called upon to give aid to the few remaining injured beings along
their route. It was nearly an hour later when they wearily reached
the deserted Millennium Falcon.

"Hmm ... Nobody's home," Luke muttered, reaching out with the
Force. "Wonder where everyone is?"

"I half expected the ship to be gone."

Luke felt Mara scan the surrounding area, as he had, but neither of
them found any familiar sense. "Think they might've joined the
fray?" he asked.

"You know how Solo is," Mara said with a smirk. "Shoot first, ask
questions later."

"Now, Mara. That's not fair. Han's not nearly as trigger happy as
when I first met him."

"If you say so." Mara shrugged, glancing at the closed hatch and
then at Luke. "Well, we may as well make ourselves at home."

"Right." Luke punched in the code to lower the ramp. They were no
sooner inside the hatchway when Luke acted on his earlier desire,
bending his head to lay a much-anticipated claim on his wife's lips.
Now this is more like it! Mara fervently returned Luke's overtures
with a matched enthusiasm, winding her fingers through his tousled
locks and holding him tightly against her. They shared a feeling of
delight and gratitude that the ship was void of its usual occupants.
In fact, they could probably even-

"Mistress Le- Oh ... Oh, my!" Threepio's shuffling came to an
abrupt halt as soon as he saw who had boarded. "Excuse me." His
head swiveled to Luke. "Master Luke, thank the Maker you're safe."

"Uh, yeah," Luke mumbled, his eyes riveted on Mara as she silently
pulled out of his arms and brushed past the golden droid without a
backward glance.

His photoreceptors also following Mara's retreat, Threepio began
moving warily in the opposite direction. "I shall return to the
cockpit," he announced formally before disappearing from sight.

Bracing his hands on the cool inner wall, Luke slowly rapped his head
against the curved bulkhead. This had to be one of the most
frustrating honeymoons on record.

Shaking off his disappointment, Luke followed Mara down the ring
corridor to the forward hold. He scrunched up his face in confusion
as vague mechanical mutterings drifted in from the cockpit. "What's
up with Threepio? He usually talks my ear off. I didn't even get a
chance to ask him where the others are."

Mara chewed on her lower lip a bit before answering. "I think maybe
someone frightened him earlier this evening."

"Frightened him? Mara!"

"It was a misunderstanding," Mara muttered. Pulling off her boots,
she sat down heavily on the acceleration couch, stretching out her
injured leg and closing her eyes. "This would be a good time for
that healing trance."

Luke shook his head, settling himself at the other end of the padded
bench, ignoring the cracks in the worn covering from which stuffing
occasionally escaped in scrappy clumps. Propping Mara's foot in his
lap and removing her splint, he began sending healing vibes to her
ankle, but refrained from actually putting her in a trance.

"I told Han," Luke said without preamble.

"About us?"

Luke raised one eyebrow and gave her his best 'What do you think?'
look.

"Hmmm. What was his reaction?"

Luke was silent a moment. Han's reaction hadn't quite been what he'd
hoped. "Mixed," he finally said.

Mara reached over and clasped Luke's hand, sending comfort to him in
her own unique way.

"And I thought Leia would be the hard sell." He let out a resigned
sigh, giving Mara's hand a quick squeeze. "Well, guess I better get
it over with as soon as she gets here." He felt Mara's emotional
sense shift. "What?"

"You don't have to worry about telling Leia," Mara confessed.

"You told her?" Luke found it hard to hide his surprise.

"I wouldn't have had to if you'd told her outright," Mara pointed
out, poking him with her toe. "The subject came up, and I wasn't
going to lie to her."

Luke privately wondered how the subject had just happened to come up,
but he didn't ask. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Leia and I had quite an interesting conversation about
you."

This time Luke knew he didn't want any details. "So you're ...
getting along with Leia all right? How did she take the news?"

"Better than Han apparently did." Mara shifted her weight on the
creaking couch. "She was bewildered and a bit upset that you would
get married without her being invited." She gave Luke an admonishing
look. "I warned you this could happen."

"Yes, you did." Luke sighed, slumping back in his seat as he
continued to hold Mara's foot in his hands. "I'll have to smooth
things over with her somehow." He looked at Mara hopefully. "Since
you're on such good terms with my sister, I don't suppose you'd want
to tell Leia that I volunteered her to mediate the peace
negotiations?" Luke gave her the most innocent smile he could muster.

Mara's laughter fell gently on his senses. "And I thought I married
a brave man!" She wiggled her foot experimentally, and gave Luke a
pleased smile. "Why didn't you do this when I twisted my ankle on
Zembuhl?"

"I did. You were unconscious."

Mara frowned in obvious skepticism. "It still hurt after I woke up."

"Maybe I was hoping you'd lean on me," Luke teased, backing off when
he received a mock glare in reply. "My healing abilities are
sporadic, at best. It would've helped if you could have stayed off
your feet at the time."

"But we needed to reach the village," Mara concluded for him. "And
now ..."

"Now you can take the time for some rest."

Mara rubbed her heel lightly over Luke's upper thigh. "You did
pretty well healing your own wound."

"It seems easier to work on myself than someone else. Though you're
practically an extension of myself, now." Luke leaned forward for a
kiss, ignoring the sound of the ship's hatch opening.

"Hey, you two," Han said as he and Leia entered the hold. "Get a
room."

Luke and Mara pulled apart, and Luke gave his friend and sister a wry
grin. "We've been trying. People keep barging in."

Leaning back once more, Mara shot Luke a subtle wink as Lando entered
next. Sighing contentedly, she trailed one toe up the front of
Luke's tunic as he stroked her leg with a tender familiarity.

"Hey!" Lando cried, his eyes widening in disbelief. "How come you're
not pointing a blaster at his nose?"

"Because shooting one's husband is generally considered bad form in
polite society," Mara replied with a smirk.

"Hus ... husband?" Lando gaped at the pair, then narrowed his eyes
at Han and Leia. "Did you two know about this?"

"We found out earlier this evening," Leia said.

"Why didn't you warn me?"

"Because watching you make a fool of yourself is too much fun, ol'
buddy." Han grinned, slapping Lando on the back.

"Don't worry, Lando," Leia put in. "She had the blaster on stun."

"An assassin keeps her blaster on 'stun?' You must really think I'm
a fool."

The last to trail on board, Chewbacca set the satchel of medical
supplies he was carrying in a corner of the hold.

"Did you know about this?" Lando questioned the Wookiee. "Am I the
last to know anything?"

[Know what?] Chewie grunted.

Lando waved a hand toward Luke and Mara, now sitting upright and
doing their best to maintain straight faces. "They're married!"

Chewie studied the pair with his discerning blue gaze, then roared
his approval. Pushing through the crowd, he leaned over and grabbed
Mara in a durasteel hug.

"Let go of me, you overgrown mop!" Mara screeched, struggling to
escape and glaring at Luke when he began to laugh.

"You're now part of his honor family," Luke informed her. He looked
up at his furry friend. "Better watch it, Chewie. It's not wise to
upset an Imperial assassin."

"You actually sleep with her, kid?" Han said, shaking his head at
Luke. "And you claim that Jedi don't crave danger."

"Pay no attention to him," Leia advised, moving forward to favor her
brother with a much gentler, but no less enthusiastic, hug. "I am
happy for you, Luke. However ..." She gave Luke a reproachful frown.

"I know, Leia." Luke smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wanted
you to be there. And I should have told you as soon as you arrived
on Lorrd."

Leia pursed her lips in reflection. "We didn't exactly give you a
good opening for an announcement like that."

"But still ..." Luke looked down at Leia's splinted wrist. "Mara
told me you'd hurt yourself, but I didn't realize ... I could
practice my healing skills on you, if you'd like."

"I doubt it would be as much fun for you as you seemed to be having
with Mara's ankle," Leia answered with a laugh. "I'll be fine,
Luke. Doctor Solo took good care of me."

"You're not the only one who can dole out tender loving care,
junior," Han put in. "Now I want to hear what kind of trouble you
managed to get yourself into when you went off by yourself."

With a strained grimace, Luke related to the others how the Force had
drawn him into the Regent's office. Mara rubbed his shoulders in
sympathy as he described the death of Prime Aide Meend. Luke gave an
abbreviated account of rescuing the royal family with the help of the
sentinel Roget. He then insisted that Mara and Leia reveal to him
their adventure in the bombarded dormitory.

"I think we need some fortification while listening to that tale,"
Han said, digging into his stash of Whyren's Reserve and setting
glasses out on the nicked-up game table. As he poured the amber
liquid into Luke's glass, Mara shot Luke a hard, questioning look.

"Don't you dare!" Luke whispered to her, knowing she was thinking of
his alcoholic imbibing in Zembuhl, and fearing she would bring it up.

"Is there another story worth hearing?" Han asked, perceptive as
always.

"No," Luke said quickly, a split second before Mara's "Yes."

Though Luke was expecting the worst, Mara was mercifully lenient as
she described his unfortunate experience with the village's local
brew.

"Sounds like he was sicker than the time we took him to a little
cantina on Kaal," Han said. "Remember that, Chewie?"

[How could I forget?] Chewbacca chortled. [He spent the night in the
refresher.]

Luke buried his face in his hands, doing his best to ignore the good-
natured ribbing. "I thought we were going to hear about Mara and
Leia," he said between his fingers.

"Ah, yes," Han said dramatically. "The tale of the two fallen
women." He refilled his and Lando's glasses, the only ones emptied
so far. He gave Leia a lop-sided grin. "Wouldn't mind hearing that
one again."

Leia shook her head in exasperation, then launched into her version
of the detour she and Mara had taken through the servants' quarters.
Luke squeezed Mara's hand upon hearing about her raising the wardrobe
with the Force.

"Very good, my padawan," he said. "I knew you could lift something
that big if you needed to."

"I have an excellent teacher," Mara returned softly, love shining in
her eyes.

Luke lowered his head until his forehead was brushing Mara's. "And I
have an excellent, and beautiful, student," he murmured.

"Oh, sheesh," Han drawled. "Is the mush level starting to rise in
here? Get on with the story, Leia, before these two melt into a
saccharin puddle of romantic sap." He took a long swig of his
whiskey, muttering under his breath "Newlyweds."

Luke didn't miss the slight frown that Leia sent Han's way. He still
felt bad that his sister and friend hadn't been able to come to an
agreement about marriage yet. Never in his wildest dreams had Luke
thought he would be married before the two of them. Mara apparently
heard his thoughts, as she snuggled closer under his outstretched arm
and laid one hand lightly on his leg.

"... and then the floor gave way, and we fell through to the sub-
basement," Leia was continuing. She raised her splinted arm. "Which
is how we received these badges of courage." Leia smirked sideways
at Mara. "Or should I say, badge of foolhardiness, at least on my
part."

"Nonsense," Mara returned. "It was an accident, and you contributed
quite well in our extrication."

"You're being generous," Leia said. "Anyway, we stacked up crates to
use to climb out, and then Han came along, and we made our way back
to the ship." She glanced around at the others. "I think you all
know the rest from there."

"We were surprised to find the Falcon still here when Mara and I
returned," Luke said, sipping his drink slowly. "We thought you
might have joined the battle."

"And we thought you might be leading the battle," Lando said.

"Nope," Mara spoke up, raising her glass in salute to Luke. "In a
dazzling display of grown-up Jedi finesse, Skywalker here convinced
the Regent to call for a cease-fire."

"I'm impressed, little brother," Leia complimented.

"That's good, because I volunteered you to mediate the peace
negotiations."

"What? Luke, the Lorrdians don't even know I'm here."

"They do now." Luke gave his sister a strained smile. "You're so
much better at that sort of thing than I am. And I'm sure Mon Mothma
would approve, since I wrangled a promise of norumite crystals out of
the Regent if the negotiations are successful."

"In other words, you're dumping your assignment onto my shoulders."
Leia crossed her arms and exhaled in resignation. "And I though Han
was the devious one."

"I learned from the best." Luke's grin evolved into a long
yawn. "Didn't realize I was so tired." He squeezed Mara's shoulders
warmly. "You about ready to head back?"

"To our quarters?" Mara frowned. "You think either of our suites
survived?"

"That's right, Luke," Leia said. "The whole ambassadorial wing could
be structurally unsound."

"Stay here tonight," Han offered. "Your cabin is still empty." He
glanced at Leia, as if wanting her confirmation that she wasn't
planning on moving into the spare bunk. Leia nodded back with a
concurring smile. "Then it's settled. You kiddies go enjoy some
unsupervised playtime." He gave Luke a sly wink. "Unless you plan
on sleeping out here in the lounge again."

"No!" Luke said quickly, blushing slightly as the others began
chuckling at his expense. He stood up, pulling Mara up beside
him. "Just remember, all of you, we'll be able to tell if anyone
tries listening outside our door."

Mara brushed a soft kiss across Luke's lips, then got a teasing glint
in her emerald gaze. "Last one there ..."

Luke caught her memory of the time they raced through his suite in
the Emperor's palace. "...is a rotten Hbuuga egg," he finished,
taking off first.

"No fair!" Mara called. "My ankle isn't that healed."

Luke's grin vanished as he suddenly stumbled over an invisible
obstacle. "Hey! Illegal use of the Force," he complained when Mara
raced past him.

"Then get down here and show me some legal uses," Mara's voice echoed
from the end of the corridor.

Luke didn't need a second invitation.

The remaining occupants of the forward hold stared at each other,
dumbstruck.

"Was that really Luke Skywalker?" Han asked, shaking his head in
astonishment. He reached down to pick up Luke's tunic, which had
fallen from Mara's shoulders in her mad dash, and placed it by her
discarded boots.

"Never mind him," Lando said. "Was that Mara Jade?"

"No, it was Mara Skywalker," Leia said, smiling to herself. "Luke
and Mara Skywalker. The galaxy may never be the same again."

A Journey of Discovery ? Book Three: Prism

Chapter Fourteen

Leia woke early the next morning. She thought she was the first one
up, until the strong odor of meat cooking directed her light steps
into the none-too-sterile galley, where she found her brother making
breakfast. Raising up slightly on her toes, she exchanged a warm hug
and kiss on the cheek with him.

"Luke! I didn't think anyone would be awake yet."

"Lando's up and left. Something about checking out a potential
business opportunity. And Chewie's outside. I think he's guarding
the Falcon. We aren't exactly berthed in a legal docking bay."

"And you?"

"I was hungry," Luke said, pausing to check the nausages that were
cooking in the micro-heater. "Haven't had anything to eat since
lunch yesterday."

"But Han told me that Mara ordered dinner last night for the both of
you, too."

"Didn't have time to eat it," he said sheepishly, with a slight hitch
in his voice. His blue eyes quickly darted to meet Leia's before
turning back to inspect the brewing caf.

Luke always had been reluctant to discuss his personal life, Leia
thought to herself. Apparently this hadn't changed now that his
personal life included a wife. "Is Mara still sleeping?"

"Taking a shower."

"Did you both sleep well?"

"Yes." Luke hesitated, an apprehensive look suddenly filling his
features. "You didn't ... sense us, did you? We were shielding as
best we could, but we weren't sure?"

Leia lay a hand on Luke's arm in reassurance. "Luke, it was a simple
question ? nothing devious or prying. I didn't sense anything."
She gave him a wry smile. "I was rather preoccupied myself."

Luke nodded in reply, then busied himself with his food preparation.
Leia's thoughts turned to the many nights she'd been 'preoccupied'
with Han in her apartment on Coruscant, and she suddenly wondered if
Luke had sensed her emotions on those occasions. She gazed at her
brother's back as he removed the nausages and popped a couple of
breakfast crispcuits into the heater. Of course he could sense her
emotions ? that's why he would disappear from the apartment
whenever Han stayed over. One of the unexpected disadvantages of
Force-sensitives living close together.

Leia cast a critical eye over her brother as he placed the plate of
nausages on the table. He was wearing his black trousers and dark
undertunic ? virtually the same outfit he had on last night.
Luke looked up suddenly, frowning at her.

"Something wrong?"

Leia shook her head. "Just trying to reconcile myself to the fact
that my brother is now a married man." She smiled warmly. "It suits
you."

"Thanks ... I think." Luke grinned shyly. "It feels good, knowing I
have Mara now to share my life. I hope you realize that I wasn't
trying to talk you out of marrying Han."

"I know, Luke." Leia filled two mugs of caf and handed one to
Luke. "Believe me, I've been giving it a lot of thought, especially
after finding out you took the plunge."

"Han wasn't upset with you after you turned him down?" Luke said,
keeping his head lowered as he blew on his hot drink.

Leia shook her head. "No. I don't think he wants to pressure me.
In fact, he didn't even mention the subject of marriage last night."
She took a sip of the bitter brew, then added two sweetening cubes.
Han always had the caf machine set too strong for her tastes, and
Luke apparently hadn't changed the settings. Over the rim of her
mug, she caught Luke staring at her.

"Park yourself, brother," Leia ordered, "and spill whatever's on your
mind."

Luke slid onto a stool opposite where Leia sat at the tiny galley
counter. "I really am sorry for not telling you sooner about Mara
and me."

"You apologized last night," Leia said, reaching across to clasp his
hand.

"But you're still ... upset with me."

Sometimes it really was more a curse than a blessing when your
closest relative could read your every emotion. "I'm not upset,"
Leia said. "More ... disappointed. Disappointed that I missed my
only sibling's wedding. Disappointed that you knew all about Mara's
background but kept it a secret. Disappointed that you pleaded with
us to trust her, yet you couldn't trust us enough to tell us the
truth from the beginning." She squeezed his hand. "Luke, you lied
to us. You lied to Mon Mothma."

Luke bit his lip before stammering out a reply. "I ... I couldn't
chance the New Republic arresting her, or worse. Mara was totally
controlled by Palpatine; she couldn't help?"

Letting go his hand and leaning back, Leia raised her own hand to
stop him. "I'm not the one you have to convince."

"Now that you've gotten to know her better, do you trust her?"
Luke's hopeful expression proved how important it was to him that
Leia accept his wife.

"Trust her? Yes, I suppose I do. But I wouldn't say that I've
gotten to know her very well. Mara keeps herself rather closed off."

"I know," Luke said. "We're working on that. She is opening up, at
least to me. Each day we're finding new aspects of each other's
personalities." His gaze drifted in the general direction of his
cabin. "Each day for the rest of our lives will be a journey of
discovery for us, in one way or another."

"Don't forget all the eye-opening secrets the rest of us have
recently learned," Leia added.

"I guess this trip has been one of discovery for everyone." Luke
chuckled lightly to himself. "Mara and I even found out new things
about the Jedi Order after arriving on Lorrd ? things we really
didn't want to know."

"What kind of things?" Leia asked, her curiosity piqued. Something
Jedi-related that Luke didn't want to know?

"Well ... For one thing, we discovered that the Jedi of the Old
Order didn't allow marriage in their ranks. Apparently they felt it
was necessary to keep their attention focused only on their duties."

"And you were already married before learning that," Leia pronounced,
wondering what Luke's reaction to that revelation had been.

"Doesn't matter." He smiled with an air of complete contentment. "I
wouldn't have acted any differently."

Leia let his joy fill her being. "How long have you been in love
with her, Luke? Since the day you met her?"

"Maybe a few days after I met her." Luke's eyes lit up, brighter
than Leia had ever seen them. "She's so amazing, Leia. I can't
believe how lucky I am."

Speaking of lucky ... Leia recognized the approaching footsteps even
before her favorite Corellian swaggered into the galley.

"Look who I found wandering the corridors." Han stepped aside to let
Mara enter.

"I wasn't wandering. I was following the dubious aroma of Farmboy's
cooking."

With a mild curse, Luke jumped up to rescue his steaming crispcuits.
He waved a pair of tongs in Mara's direction. "You're the one who
had cooking lessons from Merta."

"Merta?" Leia questioned, wondering at the strange name.

"Cooking lessons?" Han sat next to Leia, grinning at both
newlyweds. "Do we have a gourmet chef in our midst?"

Pulling her makeshift robe closed tighter, Mara poured herself a cup
of caf before sitting down. "Not unless it's one of you," she said
with a deprecating snort. "Luke and I may starve if we have to rely
on our own cooking."

"Hey, I resent that." Luke popped another quartet of crispcuits into
the micro-heater, careful to set the counter this time. "She only
married me for my culinary skills," he whispered to Han and Leia with
a playful wink.

Han let loose a hearty laugh, having been at the receiving end of
Luke's cooking more than once.

"Speaking of marriage..." Leia glanced at Mara, who was sending her
own enigmatic glances Luke's way. Leia gave her brother a piercing
look. "I want to hear what this life-or-death situation was that
prevented you from waiting until you returned to Coruscant to get
married."

"I never said it was 'life-or-death,'" Mara interjected, who avoided
Luke's frown by studying her caf mug with a peculiar fascination.

"Start talking, little brother," Leia said. She could tell that Luke
and Mara were conversing silently before Luke relented with a
resigned sigh.

"Well, you see, these villagers we were staying with were very
superstitious," he began. "And they were having this Winter Festival
thing." He paused, as if unwilling to continue.

"And the highlight of the festival was to grab two strangers and make
them marry each other?" Han ventured, obviously enjoying Luke's
discomfort.

"No," Luke said. "But, well, they had this notion that a couple had
to get married each year during the festival in order ..." He paused
again, then finished in a rush. "... in order for them to have a
good harvest during the following spring."

Han guffawed loudly, and Luke gave him a hard frown.

"They believed it," Luke declared. "You shouldn't make fun of other
people's customs."

"But wouldn't they want a man and a woman of their own village to
have this honor?" Leia probed, fighting her own urge to snicker.

"There weren't any engaged couples available at the time," Mara put
in.

"And we felt we owed the villagers for all the hospitality they'd
shown us," Luke added.

"So you two heroes came to their rescue!" Han slapped one hand on
the tabletop as he roared with laughter once more.

"Luke, tell me you didn't get married only because of this festival
ritual." Leia felt her stomach tighten with worry. She remembered
believing him and Mara when they swore nothing had been going on
between them on Coruscant. Surely they wouldn't sacrifice their
futures just because of the superstitious beliefs of strangers.

"No, Leia, no," Luke hurriedly assured her. He looked at Mara and
smiled. "I had already asked Mara to be my wife."

"Really, Leia," Mara continued. "It was only the timing of the
wedding that we pushed up. We truly wanted to be married." She
clasped Luke's hand, squeezing it warmly before turning to smile at
Leia. "I wish you had been there. It was a beautiful ceremony."

"So do I," Luke said quickly. "I'm so sorry it didn't work out."

Closing her eyes a moment, Leia tried to imagine how the two of them
looked as they made their vows to each other. She then narrowed her
gaze directly at her brother. "Just don't expect me to forgive you
for making me miss the most important day of your life."

"Perhaps..." Mara hesitated, briefly glancing at Luke before
continuing. "Perhaps Luke and I could get married over again when we
reach Coruscant. Recreate the wedding."

Leia looked at Mara with surprise, then shook her head with a wan
smile. "No, it wouldn't be the same."

Mara looked at Luke, and once more Leia knew they were talking
through the Force.

"How about we recall the ceremony in our minds, and let you witness
it that way?" Luke offered. He looked at Han apologetically. "I
don't think we can project it to you, but we can say our vows aloud
so you follow along."

Han nodded in understanding, then slipped one arm around Leia's
shoulders. Leia watched Luke and Mara as they turned to face each
other, clasping hands tightly.

Not knowing what to expect, Leia gasp lightly as the image of a small
country chapel filled her mind. A crowd of people was seated inside,
each of them with visages of friendship and happiness. Through
Luke's memories, Leia could see a vision of Mara wearing the same
white dress that she'd discovered in Mara's bedchamber. And through
the magic of the Force, through Mara's mind that image merged with
one of Luke, handsome in a black suit edged with a beading of fur. A
corner of Leia's thoughts wondered if Luke had his outfit hidden in
his own suite.

An elderly man stood before Luke and Mara, reciting, in heavily
accented Basic, a tender reflection about the meaning and importance
of the couple's hands. But it was when Luke began quietly saying his
pledge to Mara that a tingling of warmth spread through Leia's being,
and she felt Han tighten his grip in shared emotion.

"Mara, the love I feel for you is boundless and everlasting. I will
cherish you and care for you all the days of my life. Will you
receive me as your helpmate, your confidante, and your lover?"

"I will," Mara replied softly. "Luke, you are my love and my life. I
will cherish you and care for you all the days of my life. Will you
receive me as your helpmate, your confidante, and your lover, as I
have accepted you?"

"I will," Luke returned, his voice nearly a whisper. He and Mara
continued projecting the ceremony to Leia, ending with a glimpse of
them climbing into a primitive-looking sleigh.

Opening her eyes, Leia marveled at how the normally dingy galley was
aglow with the love and devotion given off by the newly married
couple. Even Han seemed transfixed by the joy in the air as Luke
leaned forward, giving his wife a gentle kiss. Leia didn't realize
she had been crying until she felt Han reach over and gently wipe the
tears from her cheeks.

"We should have a celebration when we return to Coruscant," Leia
said, smiling as Luke and Mara turned to her.

"To announce their marriage?" Han asked.

"No." Leia reached over and softly stroked Han's face. "To announce
our own engagement."

Han's expression changed from surprise, to elation, to an
overwhelming sense of love and relief. He engulfed Leia in a
passionate embrace, kissing her more enthusiastically than Leia could
ever remember. Leia herself could barely remember any of the excuses
she'd talked herself into using when she'd first turned Han down.
This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The
man she wanted to have children with. The man she wanted to marry
more than anything else in the galaxy.

When Leia finally pulled back reluctantly to gulp a much-needed
breath, she barely noticed that Luke and Mara were gone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Han trailed Luke, Leia, and Mara through the crowded back streets
of the royal compound, he couldn't help but notice how upbeat and
energetic the workers were. Military and civil crews worked side by
side with throngs of servants and volunteers to clean up and repair
the damage wrought by the Argazdan attack. The hum of the
conversations everywhere was accentuated by rapidly swinging arms and
constantly shifting facial expressions, fondly reminding Han of
Fiolla, the Lorrdian woman he had met during his early travels in the
Corporate Sector.

Leia slowed her pace slightly and flashed Han a gentle smile as he
reached out and clasped her hand, his fingers brushing lightly over
the sparkling ring now adorning that tiny hand. Fiolla was a distant
memory, a pleasant diversion; Leia was his life, his future, his
love. Leia had glowed with joy when she'd shown the ring to Luke and
Mara after breakfast. Mara's reaction had been much more responsive
than her past behavior ? she'd given Leia a rather gracious
embrace while murmuring "I'm happy for you." Luke had paled
noticeably as Mara examined the token of Han's pledge, but he
recovered enough to give his sister his usual genuinely warm hug.

Chuckling to himself, Han recalled how anxious Luke had seemed the
previous day to be rid of the piece of jewelry. Luke's joke at the
time that he didn't want Mara to find it and get any ideas had seemed
a bit strained to Han. As Han now glanced at Mara's bare hand, he
realized in hindsight that Luke hadn't gotten a ring for his new
wife, so she might indeed have thought the expensive bauble was for
her. That's what the kid got for rushing into marriage without
consulting with him first, Han thought. It was just too bad that
Mara apparently didn't have any relatives for Luke to go groveling to
for permission.

Han's eyes widened with interest when a brightly garbed young man
hurried toward their group, singling out Mara with a gush of effusive
bowing and smiling.

"Mistress Mara!" the man cried. "I was so worried last night when I
could not locate you again." His dark eyes flashed toward
Luke. "And Jedi Skywalker, the savior of our honorable ruler and his
family. My people owe you both a debt of gratitude which can never
be repaid."

"Hello, Jayce," Mara said evenly, stepping just far enough to the
side to be out of arm's reach of the man, who was now eyeing Han and
Leia apprehensively.

Han didn't need the Force to see how Luke's demeanor had changed the
instant this Jayce person appeared. If anything, Luke's tone was
even more tightly controlled than Mara's as he made formal
introductions.

"The Princess of Alderaan!" The aide swept to the ground in a formal
bow. "And the esteemed General Solo! I was informed late last
evening of your arrival, but I did not expect to see you in the
middle of the scene of our attack. On behalf of Lorrd, I welcome you
to our humble planet."

"Thank you, Second Aide Jayce," Leia returned, politely allowing her
hand to be kissed in greeting. Han could now understand Luke's
attitude. Did Lando have a brother here?

"The Regent has moved his family and staff to his southern villa.
New quarters are being prepared there for you and Padawan Jade,"
Jayce continued to Luke and Mara. "His Highness asked me to locate
you and invite you to join him for an informal luncheon. You and
the general are also most welcome to attend, Your Highness," he added
to Leia. "Arrangements can be made for suites at the villa for you
as well, if you wish."

"We would be honored to join the Regent for lunch," Leia said. She
momentarily glanced at Han. "We'll let you know if we'll be
requiring overnight accommodations."

"If you'll excuse us then, Jayce," Luke put in, "we'll gather our
belongings from our suites."

"Of course, of course," Jayce said, nodding. "I shall send a crew to
accompany you."

"That won't be necessary," Luke assured him. "Oh, and Jayce," Luke's
voice softened, "I am sorry about Prime Aide Meend."

Jayce's expression turned sorrowful. "He was truly a wonderful man.
No one will be able to take his place."

Luke had already related his finding of the unfortunate Prime Aide,
who sounded like he had been nothing like his foppish subordinate.
Han briefly wondered if Jayce would inherit the prime position now.

"I shall arrange transportation for you to the villa," Jayce
continued. His dark eyes focused on Mara. "I pray this cowardly
attack by our enemies will not diminish your opinion of our
magnificent planet. I look forward to many days of showing you the
wonders of our extraordinary culture."

"The attack hasn't affected my opinion whatsoever," Mara said
smoothly, keeping her arms crossed. Han noted how Mara's veiled
comment went right over Jayce's head, though Luke seemed to be having
trouble keeping a straight face. In Han's opinion, Mara was lucky to
have the freedom to express her noticeably sarcastic opinions, unlike
Leia, who usually had to maintain a diplomatic fa?e even when
her
thoughts were decidedly undiplomatic.

"I am relieved to hear that," Jayce said, flashing Mara a sickeningly
sweet smile. "I will leave you now to attend to details for the
luncheon, and I will send a transport to the ambassadorial annex in
approximately one hour."

"That will be fine," Luke answered, nodding in agreement as Jayce
bowed repeatedly before finally leaving.

"I thought that guy would've given up by now," Han commented to Mara,
remembering the exchanges that had gone on previously between her and
Luke about Mara's overly enthusiastic admirer. "Does he really think
there's a chance you will magically decide to make Lorrd your home?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mara surprised him by saying. "Much more cold
and calculating minds than Ke'lor's have used similar schemes to lure
someone to their side." She gave Luke a pointed look.

"And sometimes they nearly work," Luke murmured back, a slow smile
spreading across his face as he reached up and squeezed Mara's
shoulder lightly.

Han shot Leia a confused look, and she shrugged in return.

Repair crews were busy in the main corridor of the building, allowing
just enough clear space for the foursome to squeeze their way through
to Luke and Mara's suites. In the lead, Mara paused when she reached
Luke's mutilated door and questioningly raised one eyebrow.

"Don't blame him," Han spoke up. "I needed in, really bad."

Mara snorted in undisguised amusement, then ducked through the
opening. The others quickly followed, pausing as they glanced around
at the damaged room.

"Skywalker, what is it with us and suites wrecked by aerial
bombardments?" Mara said, casually picking up an overturned vase.

"Like I said last time, maybe you and I just aren't cut out for?"

"All right, you two." Han swung his arms out to halt the
conversation. "Suites? Plural? Luke, you've never been in a suite
before this one." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Have you?
And what was all that babbling outside about schemes to lure people?"

"Luke, are you keeping more secrets from us?" Leia asked.

"It's nothing really, Leia," Luke answered. "Nothing important."

"So then why not tell us?" Han said.

"It has something to do with how you met Mara, doesn't it?" Leia
guessed. "You never did give us a satisfactory explanation of
that."

Mara and Luke exchanged glances, and Han knew they were conversing
through the Force again. Luke soon gave a resigned sigh and motioned
for everyone to take a seat.

"Just remember, you asked for it," Mara said as she nonchalantly
cleared debris from one end of the long couch, making room for Luke
to sit next to her.

"Don't tell me ol' yellow eyes put you up in a fancy apartment like
this?" Han's forced laugh quieted when he saw that no one else
cracked a smile. Mara especially didn't seem to appreciate his
attempt at lightening the mood. The thought occurred to him that it
would be beneficial to his health not to use nicknames for her former
employer.

"Actually, it was a bit bigger, except it only had one bedchamber,"
Luke answered evenly.

"But the bed was bigger," Mara put in, "and so was the whirlpool
tub." She winked slyly in Luke's direction. "Big enough for two."

Luke rubbed one hand across his face. "I don't think we need to go
into that much detail," he murmured to his wife.

Leia's mouth dropped open slightly, and Han remembered her telling
him of Mara's bragging about sharing baths with Luke during his
captivity. "So you actually ...?" Leia trailed off, as if she didn't
really want an answer to her supposition.

"How about we start at the beginning of this holodrama?" Han said,
leaning back and crossing his arms.

"The beginning ... well ..." Luke's expression seemed to turn
inward, as if he were backtracking along the path of his Imperial
captivity. "I told you already what happened on the Death Star ?
what I remember of it. When I regained consciousness, I was alone
inside a tiny dark cell. I figured out that I was probably on
Coruscant, from the billions of life-forms that I could sense. It
wasn't too long after I awoke that I got a ... roommate." His gaze
flickered toward Mara, their eyes meeting in obvious affection.

"Palpatine ordered me to assume the role of a Rebel prisoner," Mara
continued the story. "A role that I privately thought was beneath
me. But he was my master, and I had to obey without question." She
glanced again at Luke, then looked back toward Leia and Han. "I had
always been taught that Jedi were the epitome of treachery and
deceit. I felt ... insulted ... that I had to pretend to be friends
with one of them."

"But why ...?" Leia began, her mind apparently trying to decipher
Palpatine's plan.

"I was to become friends with Luke, so that when I was subsequently
tortured, he would become enraged enough to embrace the dark side. I
had assumed, wrongly, that the torture sessions would be shams."
Mara reached over and clasped Luke's hand. "My assumptions about
Jedi soon crumbled, too."

Leia studied Luke's downcast expression. "You said that on the Death
Star, Vader and the Emperor tried to take advantage of your faith and
love for us."

Luke only nodded in reply as Leia reached out to pat Luke's leg in
sympathy.

"They considered Luke's compassion for others to be a weakness to be
exploited," Mara said. She squeezed Luke's hand tightly. "I now
consider it to be one of his greatest strengths."

"So what happened next?" Han asked. Two women fussing over Luke was
apt to go to the kid's head. Time to get this tale back on
track. "It doesn't sound like you were in any luxury suite, and
apparently you didn't cross over to the dark side just for some
female companionship."

"No, Han." Luke shook his head. "I figured out Mara wasn't with the
Rebellion fairly quickly." He glanced at the woman by his
side. "Even though she was a pretty good actress."

"How did you figure it out?" Leia asked.

"I probed her," Luke replied simply, then backtracked when he saw his
sister's shocked expression. "I mean, with the Force. I tried to
read her mind, but she had me blocked. Which told me she was a
trained Force-user, and that she was hiding something."

"He wasn't quite as na? as I was counting on," Mara admitted.
"I really thought that my master was going to execute him when Luke
was dragged from the cell the second time."

"I thought so, too," Luke said quietly.

"The second time?" Han looked at Luke expectantly. "What happened
the first time?"

Luke shrugged. "Just a little chat regarding my future."

Han could tell Luke didn't want to talk about his chat with His Royal
Ugliness, so this time he didn't press for details. "So then they
put you up in one of the palace suites?"

"Yes."

"It was plan B," Mara supplied.

"I didn't know what the Emperor had in mind," Luke said. "Then Mara
showed up at the door, and I really didn't know what was going on."
He finally cracked a smile. "She literally threw herself at me, and
she was dressed like ... well, different than she looks now."

"It was strictly business, Skywalker." Mara let a small grin escape
also. "I wasn't the least bit attracted to you."

"Uh-huh." Luke's eyes glittered in amusement. "I hope you didn't go
that far with your previous assignments."

"And how far was that?" Han teased, feeling pleased when Luke
predictably blushed.

"Not far," Luke said quickly. "We told you, nothing happened."

"I wouldn't say nothing," Mara said with a smirk. "We slept
together."

"Hold on." Leia looked back and forth at the Jedi couple. "I don't
know what to believe anymore. Just what was this plan?"

"I was supposed to seduce him over to joining the Empire." Mara
smiled at her husband. "Instead, he seduced me into joining him in
escaping."

"It wasn't easy," Luke said.

"No, it wasn't," Mara agreed. "The Emperor was my life. In a warped
kind of way, he was like a father to me. Even after I decided to
help Luke escape, I wasn't going to go with him. Not until ..."

Han and Leia waited as Mara trailed off. It was Luke who took up the
tale.

"Palpatine was going to execute Mara if she didn't induce me to
turn," Luke said.

"Or if we didn't at least?"

"We don't have to discuss that aspect of Palpatine's scheming," Luke
cut her off quickly.

"Why not?" Mara grinned wickedly. "Leia, you'll be pleased to know
that he refused to cooperate."

"Cooperate in what?" Leia asked, confusion plainly showing on her
face.

"It wasn't funny," Luke interjected.

"No, it wasn't," Mara agreed, her tone turning solemn again. "It
would've been disastrous."

"What would've been disastrous?" Leia asked again.

"Palpatine wanted us to conceive a child," Mara said. "A Force-
strong child that he could manipulate."

Horror filled Leia's countenance, and Han shared her feeling. The
chances of Luke and Mara producing an heir that would be incredibly
strong in the Force were not odds that Han would bet against. If the
Emperor then did away with the parents and raised the grandchild of
Vader to be another Sith, who knows what hope of salvation there
would have been for the galaxy.

"It took some doing for me to convince Palpatine that we were making
the effort," Mara said. She frowned to herself. "In fact, I'm not
really sure that I did convince him."

"Thank goodness your suite wasn't monitored," Leia said. "Or he
would have had proof that you weren't doing anything."

"Actually, there were holocams in the suite," Luke said. "Except in
the refresher."

"We simply went in there every day and claimed to ... you know," Mara
said, grinning. "Everything we did in the other rooms had to look
like the real thing. Luke did cooperate in that part quite
willingly."

"So let me get this straight." Shaking his head, Han scooted forward
in his chair and directed his attention to Luke. "In between bed-
hopping, and tub-hopping, and who knows what else, you convinced a
fanatically loyal Imperial assassin to turn on her admittedly insane
master, and then to fall madly in love with you."

Luke gazed back with the best sabacc face Han had seen in
ages. "What can I say? Some of us have it, some of us don't."