Title: Obscure Glimpses of History.
Author: Kelly
Rating: PG (for now)
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to have Luke in my house attending
to my every whim, he and the rest of the Star Wars galaxy belong to
George Lucas. I am gaining nothing from this venture except enjoyment.

Chapter 1
The rooftop of the Imperial Palace
8 years after ANH

"So, the trade run progressed nicely, I presume?" Asked Luke as he gazed
at the redhead standing next to him. He had been delighted when she had
contacted him upon her arrival back at Coruscant a little over an hour
ago. He had been well aware of her return, but her effort to let him
know personally lifted his spirits considerably. Despite the endless
amount of work he had on his plate, her absence had left a void in his
life. He had a hard time denying anymore that he felt something
significant for this woman standing next to him.

He couldn't help but notice how the slight breeze pushed at the loose
strands of hair surrounding her face. He had the impulse to reach over
and brush it behind her ear. It was a move he decided that wouldn't go
over well with the trader no matter how much she seemed to enjoy his
company lately. Letting the impulse go, he did his best to focus on
their conversation and leave all other thoughts in the back of his mind,
for now anyway.

"As well as can be expected. Although, I am sure that you know as well
as I do where the Smuggler's Alliance stands. Your sister holds a
position of some importance I believe." She added the last statement
with a crooked smile, knowing full well that Luke's least favorite thing
to deal with was politics. Still, she couldn't help but rib him now and
then for no other reason than to see the slight blush that colored his
cheeks at his attempt to make conversation.

Mara also noticed the way Luke was watching her. Feeling somewhat
flattered and even a little nervous, she decided to let herself enjoy
the feeling for as long as she could.

In all honesty, she had hardly been able to contain her excitement at
the prospect of seeing him again. She had been away for almost 3 weeks
taking care of business with Karrde, a task she usually would be all too
happy to do. But, the more she explored other aspects of her life, the
more she realized that change did not have to be a bad thing. Her life
was changing, she knew that, and it all seemed to lead down a path Luke
was opening up for her. In all her years of using the force in service
to the Emperor, she had never even considered for a second that she
might be a Jedi Knight someday.

"Penny for your thoughts," Luke's voice invaded her quiet musings.

"What?"

"Penny for your thoughts. It's an expression meaning I would like to
know what you are thinking."

"I know what it means, Skywalker," She stated in mock irritation. "Why
don't you just poke your way in here and see for yourself," She said
while tapping her finger on the side of her head.

A look of astonishment quickly appeared on his features but just as
quickly it was gone. Immediately Mara regretted her comment.

"I was only kidding, Luke." The use of his first name got the slightest
of smiles from him, but she could still sense his hurt feelings. "I mean
it, Luke, I didn't intend to insult. I guess my mouth gets the better
of me sometimes. I know you would never violate my trust like that."
She was astounded at how easily the apology came to her. It wasn't
exactly something she was in the habit of doing, but she had never been
so conscious of someone else's feelings before either.

Luke said nothing for a moment, but then in a gesture of reassurance he
placed his left hand gently over hers. "It's okay, Mara, I've been told
that I get a little over sensitive at times." The smile on his face let
her know that his last comment was made in jest.

"I wonder who would ever say anything like that to the great Jedi, Luke
Skywalker," she deadpanned as she recalled herself saying that very
thing to him one evening after he had gotten his feelings hurt by his
well-meaning friends making dumb Jedi jokes. "Poor Skywalker, a Jedi
and a blond, you've got two strikes against you on the joke front,
haven't you?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Jade. At least I know I can count on you to always
remind me of my shortcomings."

"It's defiantly not a shortcoming, Skywalker." Without realizing it she
had reached up to brush the tousled blond hair out of his eyes as she
spoke. 'Sith', she thought to herself, 'what am I doing?' But even as
she formed that thought she did nothing to remove her hand that still
moved the errant strand of hair away from his eyes. 'Such blue eyes,'
she thought. 'I wonder if he even knows how beautiful he is?'

For his part, Luke remained stock still as she touched him. He felt a
jolt of electricity rush trough him as her cool fingertips traced across
his forehead. His eyes never left hers as she took her time removing
her hand, but instead of pulling her hand away completely, she brushed
the palm of her hand against his cheek before slowly lowering it. He
longed to capture her hand and bring her palm to his lips, but the
thought of doing anything to push her too far was in the forefront of
his mind. She was still struggling to adapt to her new life and he
planned to give her all the time and space she needed. Instead he gave
her a warm smile and thanked her for her reassurances.

"It's nice to know I have such a good friend watching my back, Jade, it
means a lot to me."

"Anytime, Skywalker." Her composure seemed to have returned to her
after their close moment. Oddly, though, she didn't regret her
actions. Something about him made her want to be close to him. It
wasn't frightening or uncomfortable; it was easy, even peaceful.

As they both lapsed into a comfortable silence, they heard the door to
the rooftop open and the sound of metal feet making their way towards
them.

"Oh Master Luke, I am so glad I finally found you," came the tinny voice
of C3PO.

"What is it, 3PO?" Luke couldn't hide the slight irritation he felt at
the interruption, but as usual, the feeling was completely lost on the
protocol droid.

"Actually, Sir, it is Captain Jade I was looking for."

"Well, nice to see you too, Tin Man," stated Mara with the same
irritation that Luke was feeling. "What can I do for you?"

"Princess Leia would like to see you as soon as possible. I'm afraid
that she didn't specify as to what it was about, but I can assure you
that if sh..."

"All right all right, you can stop yapping now. I'm on my way," Mara
retorted.

"Yapping, well I can assure you that I was in no way yapping, Captain
Jade. I was merely stating my reasons for being here in a clear and
concise manner. I am sorry if you find that troublesome, but my orders
were to......" Suddenly realizing that the door to the rooftop had closed
and he was now standing alone, the droid stopped talking. "Well I
never. How rude!" And with that the droid made his way back inside.

"Mara, how nice to see you," said Leia as she stood and greeted the
trader with a handshake.

"You too, Leia." As Mara returned the other woman's greeting she
couldn't help but notice the reserved reaction that came from her as
Luke walked in behind her. It wasn't shock as much as acceptance that
Luke and Mara had been spending their time together. Mara couldn't
quite figure out if that was good or bad.

Turning to her brother, Leia's face at last lit up and she hugged him
warmly. "Luke, I'm so glad you are here. I don't get to see nearly
enough of you despite the fact that you have been here on the same
planet."

"I've missed you, too, Leia. But, I don't want to take up any more of
your time with Mara, so I will leave the two of you alone." As Luke
made to leave, Leia's voice stopped him.

"Wait, Luke, since you are here I think you should stay for this also."

"What's going on?" Mara's voice interjected.

"I received a report from Wedge a few hours ago," Leia began as she
pulled up a star chart and pointed out a location. "He's on one of our
outer rim bases called Grinin. Apparently Rogue Squadron picked up a
ship near there."

"A ship?" inquired Luke. "What kind of ship?"

"That's what we are trying to find out," Leia replied. "All we know so
far is that the information they have been able to recover is heavily
encrypted."

"I am assuming that is where I come in," Stated Mara matter of factly.
"I take it you need access to an A+ slicer. I can try to get a hold of
Karrde if you like, I'm sure Ghent is up to the task."

"Actually, it's more than that, Mara." When she knew she had Mara's
full attention, Leia finished. "The encryption is familiar. It appears
to be an Imperial code, but we can't be sure. The ship was badly
damaged and the recovery effort is not going to be easy. We need
someone who can decipher bits and pieces of this information and make
sense of it all."

"Ah, I see. You need someone who has intimate knowledge of Imperial
encryption codes and procedures, someone who can maybe see details that
others might pass by unwittingly," replied Mara with genuine interest.

Mara's statement came out in a clam voice, much to Leia's surprise. She
had been afraid that the former Emperor's Hand would be offended at
being reminded of her Imperial past. But instead, she was poised and
levelheaded. Leia had to smile at that; she knew that Mara Jade would
be a good ally if given the chance.

"Exactly," said Leia with a glimmer of hope that Mara would indeed help
them. "We have former Imperials who defected to the Rebellion during
the war, many of them in fact. But none of them have the knowledge that
you have about the Empire's inner workings." Leia paused for a brief
second before continuing on with her request. "Will you help us, Mara?"

Mara for her part was feeling exhilaration run through her at the
prospect of doing something other than her duties as liaison for the
Smuggler's Alliance. The thought of a mission filled with danger,
excitement, and even a little bit of trust on the part of the New
Republic was very intriguing to say the least. She knew that Leia
wouldn't ask her unless she had the backing of some of the other New
Republic officials. She wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but it felt
good to be needed by them. Still, she wasn't about to give in that
easily, she did have a reputation to uphold and as much as she wanted to
take on this mission, she also didn't want to seem too overeager to help
the New Republic.

"I'll have to think about it, Leia," She said in a controlled voice.
"Is it okay if I get back to you after I've had some dinner. I always
think clearer on a full stomach."

"Of course," relied Leia with a hint of disappointment. "I'm expecting
an update from Wedge in a couple of hours. Do you think you could let
me know by then so I can make other arrangements if need be?"

"Will do," said the other woman. Mara was beginning to regret not just
saying yes right away. Why did she always have to be so difficult? She
knew she wanted the assignment and she could tell by the way Luke was
looking at her with a mixture of amusement and frustration that he knew
she was going to accept as well. But, she thought to herself, some
habits die hard and her ability to make the simplest of tasks difficult
for others was one trait she would probably never get over.

"Did you enjoy that, Jade?" asked Luke as they made their way down the
hall from his sister's office. If it weren't for the small smile that
played on his lips as he asked the question she would have become angry
at the comment. It was becoming clear that the farm boy knew her much
too well.

"Can't expect a girl to change over night, can you Skywalker?" She
replied with a grin to match his. "Now, are you going to buy me dinner
or what? I'm famished and I have only a short time before I tell your
sister that I will take a break from being an errand girl for the
Smuggler's Alliance and find out what their mystery ship is all about."

Extending his arm so she could link her own through it; they made their
way towards a small restaurant in one of the palace's many courtyards.
The silence that they lapsed into on their walk lasted midway through
dinner. Each was engaged in their own thoughts about this proposed
mission and their place, or lack of, in it.

"So," began Luke after realizing they had gone for almost an hour
without uttering a single word to each other. "Any preliminary thoughts
about this ship or its location running through your head?"

"Not from what I know so far. I would have to get more information
about it first before making any speculations." She paused for a moment
before formulating her next question. "What about you? You seem pretty
deep in thought yourself."

"It's nothing, really," He lied none too convincingly.

"I don't believe you, Skywalker. You are down because you are stuck
here on this planet playing the little Politician when what you really
want is to go off and do something more exciting as much as I do." She
was rewarded with the knowledge that she had hit the nail on the head
when he made no effort to defend himself. Instead he sighed and leaned
back in his chair.

"It's not that I don't realize that my presence isn't needed here right
now, at least as far as the New Republic is concerned. But I can't seem
to find the importance in sitting in meetings for hours on end trying to
figure out the future of the Jedi order. Hell, I don't even know what
the future is for myself let alone for any other potential Jedi out
there, Jacen and Jaina are just infants who aren't even close to
training at this point. Leia is too busy with the children and her
position in the New Republic to think about training as a Jedi and other
than you, I don't know of anyone out there with an ability to touch the
force." He sat in silence for some time before speaking again while
Mara waited patiently for him to continue. "I just feel that it is
useless to sit around here and wait for force users to come to me,
instead I should be out there looking for them or just doing anything
but sitting around here."

Mara leaned in to face him before voicing her thoughts on his recent
speech. Staring him in the eye she told him exactly what was on her
mind. "You know as well as I do, Skywalker, that right now the NR is at
a complete loss as to what to do with you. They feel that it is best to
keep you under their thumb where they can keep an eye on you rather than
let you wander off. I know you don't like it, Luke, but no matter how
big of a hero you are to the New Republic, they will always harbor a
little bit of fear where the Jedi are concerned."

She was right, he knew that, but there was a part of him that was hurt
by her words. Still, he couldn't really fault anyone's fear of the
Jedi. The fear that the dark side was a real threat to a Jedi's path
was forever present in the minds of many and always would be. That
along with the fact that his heritage was not exactly a pleasant one did
not make for a good combination. With that thought he decided to put to
rest this conversation, it was not doing his frame of mind any good.

"Hmm, never really being in the New Republic's good graces no matter
what I do to earn it? I guess in more ways than one, Mara Jade, you and
I are like two peas in a pod." He laughed slightly as he spoke and
covered her hand with his. Much to his delight, she accepted the
gesture and made no attempt to pull away.

"You just keep telling yourself that, Skywalker, but in no way am I
anything like you with your innocent farm boy idealism. I may harbor
the notion of becoming a Jedi someday, but in no way will I ever
consider taking on any more of your personality traits," she said with a
smile and a tightening of her hand around his.

"You wound me, Jade," he said mockingly. "Now, if you are done making
fun of me, we should get back so you can inform Leia that after an hour
or so of hard consideration, you will accept the mission after all."

"Al right, but if you let on that I intended to take this mission from
the beginning, I will throw your butt over the railing the next time we
are on the roof. I have a reputation to uphold after all."

"You secret's safe with me. Let's go."

With that they made their way towards Leia's office absently holding
hands as they walked.

To be continued......