Signs of Promise By

Signs of Promise
By: Ria
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my universe, which is why I'm not
making any money from this.
Spoilers: general EU; set pre-Vector Prime.
Summary: "Watchman, tell us of the night, what its signs of promise
are... doth it aught of hope or joy foretell?"
Note: This story has been sitting on my hard drive for over a year.
I'm still not entirely happy with it, so constructive criticism or
beta will be gladly accepted at ria at healthyinterest.net

***

Mara Jade took on her first apprentice during the same week she
celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary. It was an ironic
situation, to say the least, and she was fully aware of the fact.
Had anyone told her ten years ago that in the next decade she would
not only get married (to Skywalker, no less!) but also become a
Jedi, she would have laughed in their face and send them to the
nearest medcenter for a psych evaluation. Yet here she was, married
and a Jedi, and about to take on an apprentice. Surely some ice
planet out in the Rim was enjoying a warm spell these days.

Mara smiled at her own bad joke, and rose from bed. She had
overslept again this morning, and woken to find Luke already gone.
Part of her was worried--she had been feeling unusually tired lately-
-but she shook it off and walked over to tthe window.

Morning on Yavin 4 was usually quiet, as both students and Masters
began the day with meditation, but the scene outside the window
today was as close to chaos as Jedi were capable of in her
experience. The area between the hangar and the main Temple was full
of people coming and going, carrying bags and boxes filled with
who knew what. Through the Force she could feel frissons of
excitement and nervousness rolling off the students and the
Masters.

Today, for the first time in generations, advanced students would be
paired with Masters for individual training. The Masters had
decided that they would announce the apprentice-Master pairs at a
special ceremony. Added to the thrill and apprehension of that
momentous occasion was the expected arrival of visitors. Leia had
suggested having a party in commemoration Mara and Luke's
anniversary, and they had agreed, on the condition that the
anniversary party be combined with the Jedi ceremony.

Mara had had some trouble figuring out which of the advanced
students she wanted to take on as her student. She had even gone so
far as to suggest to Luke that she not take an apprentice, but he
had insisted. She had spent untold hours meditating about it,
hoping that the Force would show her what to do.

The big day had now arrived, and Mara was no closer to figuring out
which apprentice was to be hers than she had been the day she
started meditating about it. Luke, in his infuriating way, had
refused to tell her which apprentices the other Masters had chosen,
so she couldn't just take whomever hadn't been chosen by someone
else. She shook her head in frustration. She certainly wasn't
going to accomplish anything this way. It was time to get down to
business.

She sat down cross-legged in front of the window and closed her
eyes, clearing her mind and focusing her thoughts on the
responsibilities that went along with being a Master. In her
previous attempts at meditating on the subject, she had ended up
picturing her own relationship with her former Master. Today was no
different, but she resolutely shoved those memories aside.
Palpatine was long dead, and her past was behind her. She drew a
mental picture of it for herself, pale, ghostly, and impotent. It
could no longer affect her. She sank deeper into her meditation,
willing the Force to show her something, anything that would
indicate the direction she should take.

Images began to flash by her. She saw herself in the cockpit of a
strange ship. It was hers, she could feel that, but somehow,
incredibly, she was seated in the copilot's chair. She was shocked
that she would let someone else fly her ship, but before she could
turn to look at the pilot, the image had changed. She saw herself
in a cave of some sort, fighting a rockslide and trying to save
someone very dear to her. The image changed again, and again. Now a
battle, now a group of people talking and laughing, now an image of
herself locked in a practice duel with another woman. It became
clear to her that the other woman, the person piloting the ship, the
person she was trying to save from death by rockslide must be her
apprentice. But who was she?

Suddenly, she realized who it was, and the realization startled her
out of her meditation.

She came back to reality to find herself lying flat on the floor of
her bedroom, a grinning Luke standing over her.

"Hard morning?" he asked, offering her a hand.

"You could say that." She stood up and stretched. She was obviously
going soft, if a little meditation left her feeling this
stiff. "Where have you been?"

"I went out to run in the jungle, and when I came back you were
meditating. That was a good two hours ago."

Two hours? She glanced over at the chrono, and to her amazement saw
that it was already late morning. "My meditation lasted longer than
I thought it did."

"And?" He wrapped an arm around her and drew her over to the bed.
She sat down next to him and kissed him before answering.

"I know who my apprentice is going to be." Touching her hand to his
mouth to forestall any questions, she reached out to him through
their bond and showed him what she had seen.

Luke reacted in his usual unflappable way. "Jaina," he said. "You
saw Jaina. I knew you would, somehow."

"Of course you did, Great Jedi Master," she replied, jabbing him in
the ribs for effect. "The question is, why didn't you just tell
me?"

"And miss out on the fun of you discovering it for yourself?" He
smiled and hugged her. "I'm glad you figured it out, and I'm sure
Jaina will be, too. Now that that's decided, we'd better get cleaned
up and ready for our guests. They'll be here before long."

***

That evening, Mara stood at one edge of the great assembly room in
the Temple, and looked out over the crowd. It wasn't a bad party,
as parties went. The students were on their best behavior, and no
more than two or three stray items had been used as levitated
weapons. She reached out toward the students, gauging their
feelings. Most of them felt both eager and scared, as well as
anxious to know who would be chosen by which Master. Her niece
seemed especially excited, which boded well. Mara and Jaina had
always been close, and Mara was anxiously anticipating Jaina's
reaction to her decision.

Thoughts of Jaina led naturally to thoughts of her mother, who was
standing nearby. Mara glanced over at her and smiled. Leia stood
staring into space, and Mara sensed that she was lost in thought,
remembering days long gone.

"Sometimes it's a little surreal, isn't it?" Mara asked, moving to
stand beside her sister-in-law.

Startled out of her reverie, Leia replied, "Yes, it is. I was just
now remembering the party we had here after the first Death Star was
destroyed. Now look at us. Han and I married, and our kids on the
verge of becoming Jedi apprentices."

Mara smirked. "Not to mention me and your brother."

Leia smiled. "No, we can't forget that, can we?" She gestured
toward the front of the room. "Speaking of my brother, it looks like
he's trying to get our attention."

Mara looked up toward the dais, where Luke was standing and
gesturing for quiet. Deciding he needed a little help, she stuck two
fingers in her mouth and whistled. Conversation came to an abrupt
halt as everyone turned toward her. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she
said, "I think the esteemed Jedi Master is preparing to make one of
his famous pronouncements."

Luke smiled, and she felt his wry voice in her head. <Thanks, Mara.
Good to know you haven't lost your touch.>

He began to speak to the crowd of students, Masters, and guests, all
of them eager to hear what he would say.

"Thank you all for coming tonight to be present at this special
occasion. Tonight I have the honor of bringing together the first
Master-Apprentice pairs to be established in many years. This is a
great and important step for the Jedi, and I hope it is only the
first of many such occasions."

Applause rippled through the room, and several of the more
inebriated guests cheered and yelled. Mara edged her way toward the
dais. She felt a little nervous, suddenly, but she quashed the
sensation.

"Would the new Jedi apprentices and the Jedi Masters please come
forward," Luke continued. A group of students and Masters pushed
their way toward the front. As they did so, Luke explained the
simple ceremony they had devised. Each Master would take off the
cloak he or she was wearing and put it on the student who was to
become his or her apprentice.

Mara's head was filled with an odd buzzing as she searched the crowd
for Jaina. The rest of the Masters and apprentices were blurs around
her, and Luke's voice sounded far away. She spotted Jaina, and
walked toward her, cloak in hand. Jaina turned and saw Mara coming
toward her, and her face lit up with expectation. Mara's heart
warmed and her hands shook as she realized that Jaina was pleased
and proud that Mara had chosen her. Jaina smiled up at her as Mara
wrapped the cloak around her new apprentice.

Mara could feel the heightened emotions of the other students and
Masters around her. She was vaguely aware of Leia and Han looking on
proudly, and the Luke part of her mind sensed him stretching his
cloak to encompass both Jacen and Anakin.

It all faded to the background, though, as Jaina's arms went around
Mara's waist, and Mara heard her whisper, "Oh, Aunt Mara, I was
hoping you would choose me."

***

The party was over, and the guests had gone sleepily to their beds.
Mara stifled a yawn as she stood before the mirror taking down her
hair. Luke came out of the refresher and up behind her, putting his
arms around her waist.

"Five years, farmboy. Who would have thought it?" She leaned back
into his embrace and smiled at his reflection in the mirror. "Most
of the galaxy thought one of us would surely be dead within the
first five months. And yet here we are."

He whirled her around to face him, and kissed her hard. "Here we
are," he repeated. "And neither of us is dead."

"It's not my fault. I did my best, but you hid my lightsaber!" She
pulled away from him, sending him a mental image of the punishments
she'd threatened him with during one of their more memorable
skirmishes.

"I didn't want you to do something you'd regret later," he replied,
sending a few suggestive images back at her. "Do you even remember
what it was we were fighting about that time?" he asked.

She shook her head at him, laughing, and started changing into her
nightclothes.

"No, not really, but I'm sure you deserved it."

He tried to look hurt, but only managed a ridiculous pout. Moving
closer to her, he raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm sure I did.
Whatever you threatened, and probably a whole lot more."

His words sounded innocuous, but the images he was sending through
their bond told a very different story. She smiled at him and sent
an image or two back. He blushed. She laughed.

One of them--it hardly mattered which--grabbed the other's hand and
moved toward the bed.

***

Mara awoke in the grey light of dawn to find Luke propped up on one
elbow, *looking* at her. She scowled at him, and he grinned
back. "Good morning, Mara," he said, his voice far too cheery for
the hour.

"Skywalker. Haven't I told you before how much I hate being Forced
awake?" She tried to make her voice sound harsh, but it was hard to
sound tough when he was looking at her like that.

He leaned down to kiss her, but she turned away. "You may have
mentioned it once or twice. I don't remember," he said, trying
unsuccessfully to hide a laugh in her hair.

"I swear, Luke, if I couldn't read your mind, I'd think you did it
on purpose."

He moved to pin her down on the bed, and she decided to let him.
Why go to the trouble of evading him when they both knew she wanted
to be caught?

He caught her and grabbed her hands, keeping her from jabbing at his
ribs. "Maybe I did do it on purpose. I like you better awake then
asleep."

Just then, she summoned the energy to levitate them both and flip
them over, reversing their positions.

He gasped as they fell back down to the bed, and paused for a moment
to recover his breath. "Maybe I need to re-think that last
statement."

Mara decided it was time to end the conversation, and silenced him
with a kiss. Then, she got comfortable on top of him and sent him a
mental suggestion that he might be much happier asleep.

She had just drifted off when the doorchime rang. She felt Luke
slide out from under her and out of bed, headed to see who was
there. She groaned and rolled over, mumbling, "Go away. It's too
early."

Despite her protests, a hand began to shake her shoulder, and Luke's
breath tickled at her ear. "Master Mara," he was saying, "it seems
your new apprentice is eager to begin her training."

"Don't you Master Mara me," she said, forcing herself to sit up and
shake her hair out of her eyes. She reached out with the Force to
touch Jaina's mind. Her connection with Jaina was not very strong
as yet, but she managed to convey an image of Jaina sitting near the
Jade Sabre, and hoped that the girl would take the hint and wait for
her there.

That done, she kissed her husband, got out of bed, and began to get
ready for her first day as a Jedi Master. The nerves of yesterday
had disappeared, and the more Mara thought about being a Master, the
more she was felt at peace with her choice. To tell the truth, she
was beginning to feel more than a little excited.

***

A short while later, Mara stood unobserved at the entrance to the
Sabre's docking bay watching her niece-turned-apprentice. Jaina was
sitting near the ship's closed ramp, playing nervously with her
lightsaber. Her hair was mussed, and her robes hung askew. A
traveling bag rested on the floor nearby. Jaina's evident eagerness
to begin her training made Mara smile.

Mara had always had a special fondness for the girl. As a very
small child, Jaina had regarded Mara with an unquestioning adoration
that had affected Mara more than she had been willing to admit.
When Luke and Mara had announced their engagement, Jaina had nearly
died from excitement, and had insisted on beginning to call
her "Aunt Mara" right then and there. The two of them shared a love
for ships and flying, and had spent many hours together working on
Mara's ship. Once, shortly after Jaina had started at the Academy,
Mara had allowed Jaina to help her land the Sabre. Jacen and Anakin
had hardly been able to endure Jaina's elevated opinion of herself
in the following weeks.

And now Jaina was Mara's apprentice. Mara and Mara alone was
responsible for her training and development as a Jedi and a
person. She was fully aware of the seriousness of her task, but she
was also looking forward to it. There was no reason for training to
be all work and no play.

One of the main reasons for starting the apprentice system was to
take students away from Yavin, to expose them to the real world and
all its complexities. Mara knew that the other new Master-
Apprentice teams would be leaving the moon shortly, fanning out over
the galaxy. Luke had left it up to each Master to choose a
destination, and Mara had decided where she would take her new
apprentice long before she had chosen the apprentice.

Luke did not quite agree with Mara's choice of destination, but he
had listened to her reasoning and supported her decision. The only
thing left to do was talk to Jaina about it and set off.

There's no time like the present, Mara thought, and sent a light
probe toward Jaina. Jaina looked up, and, seeing Mara, bounced to
her feet and ran toward the docking bay door.

"Good morning, Aunt Mara...I mean, Master Skywalker."

"So formal this morning, Jaina." Mara smiled and hugged her
niece. "What do you say to just Mara?"

Mara could feel Jaina's excitement as she returned the hug. "Aunt
Mara.. I mean, Mara," Jaina ducked her head and Mara smiled at her
uncharacteristic shyness. "Where are we headed?"

"Right to the point, as usual. Never listen to anyone who tries to
tell you that you don't take after your father, Jaina."

Mara sat on the floor and pulled Jaina down next to her. Time for
lesson one, Master Mara, she thought, squelching the smirk that
threatened to appear on her face.

"Why should I tell you where we're going, when you could find out
yourself?" she asked Jaina.

Jaina looked confused. Mara took Jaina's hands in her own, and
reached out to her with her mind. "Use the Force to figure it out,
Jaina. You know how to connect with others; you've been doing it
with your brothers since before you could talk."

Jaina's forehead creased with concentration, and Mara's heart
started to beat a little faster. This teaching business was more
nerve-wracking than it had any right to be, she decided. <Come on
Jaina, you can do this,> she thought.

To her surprise, she heard Jaina's voice in her head. <Of course I
can, Au... Mara.>

A few moments later, Mara felt a surge of shock roll off Jaina. Good
girl, she thought; you've got it.

Jaina opened her eyes and looked at Mara incredulously.

"Myrkr?"

"Excellent work. You've passed your first test." Mara purposely
ignored the questions she could feel forming in Jaina's mind.

"But...Master...Mara, the Force doesn't work on Myrkr!" Jaina was
obviously becoming more confused by the second. Mara felt the urge
to laugh, but managed not to. "How can you teach me to use the
Force on a planet where we can't feel it?"

Mara stood and stretched. She still felt unusually stiff, but she
shoved the thought to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to
worry about it.

"That's a very good question, Jaina, but I'm not going to answer it
for you. Consider it test number two." She extended her hand to
Jaina, pulling her up to stand beside her. "Why don't you work on
figuring it out while we stock the Sabre and get ready to leave?"

***

They were in the cargo bay stowing their provisions when Jaina spoke.

"Mara... What you said earlier, when I probed you to figure out our
destination--that I had been connecting to my brothers through the
Force since before I could talk--does that have something to do with
it?"

Mara ignored the question, but felt a little surge of pride all the
same. Jaina was on the right track. She could almost see the
wheels turning in the girl's head. Moving to leave the bay, Mara
said, "Keep thinking about it, Jaina. I'll be on the bridge if you
come to any conclusions."

***

Mara was just finishing the systems checks when she felt a sudden
surge of excitement coming from Jaina. Moments later, Jaina's head
poked into the bridge.

"I think I've got it! I've been using the Force my whole life, but
on Myrkr I will have to get along with out it. You want me to learn
to function without the Force, so that I'll learn what it's like not
to have it." Jaina finished with a flourish and sat down in the
copilot's seat.

Mara looked at Jaina out of the corner of her eye. The girl had
done pretty well. There was more to it than that, but greater
insight would come with time and experience. Jaina had managed to
figure out at least part of Mara's reasoning, and had done so faster
than Mara had expected. Somehow Mara doubted that all the lessons
she had for her new apprentice would be as easy as this one had been.

She finished the last system check, and then turned to Jaina. "Did
you get all the equipment stowed away properly?"

Jaina nodded.

"In that case, we're ready. Go say your goodbyes, and be back here
ready to go in half an hour." Jaina bounced to her feet and left
the ship. Mara leaned back in her seat for a moment, closing her
eyes. She felt oddly tired, but it was probably just the effects of
all the excitement of the past few days. She reached out to Luke
through their bond, letting him know she was almost ready to go.
They had agreed to meet one last time in their quarters, to say a
private goodbye.

***

She arrived at the door to their rooms to find him leaning against
the wall, waiting. He keyed open the door, and gestured for her to
enter. "After you, Master Skywalker."

"Master Skywalker?" she replied, moving into what passed for a
living room. She turned to face, him, arms akimbo, her best "watch-
yourself-Skywalker" glare in position. "Oh no you don't. No fancy
titles for me. I may have agreed to take on an apprentice, but that
doesn't mean I'm going to become a stodgy, boring old Master."

"Of course you won't," he retorted, crossing his arms across his
chest, "You'll become a dreary, tiresome old Master."

She raised her eyebrows, and pretended to look hurt. "You know,
Skywalker, the last man who dared to insult me like that..."

"...is space dust. Yes, I know." He moved toward her, snaking his
arms around her waist and pulling her close.

She put her arms around his waist in return, and leaned her forehead
against his. They had said goodbye to each other many times in the
past five years, but it never got easier. Neither of them ever put
the pain of separation into words; it was too private and precious
for that. Instead, they had developed their own ritual of leave-
taking, a way to ease the tension of being apart. The pattern had
become familiar, comfortable, and infinitely reassuring. He teased
her, she pretended to be affronted, and all the while they could
feel each others' hearts crying out in protest.

They spent a quiet moment leaning into each other, basking in each
others' mental and physical presences.

"Mara," Luke began.

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. "I know, Luke."

A few moments later, she pulled away from him and turned to grab the
bag waiting for her by the door.

Forcing a smile, she turned to Luke. "I'd better get going before
Jaina gets impatient and takes off without me."

After one last kiss, she opened the door and headed toward the
docking bay.

***

As she navigated the Sabre out of Yavin's atmosphere and moved into
position for the hyperspace jump, Mara remembered her thoughts of
the previous morning. She was still aware of the irony of her
situation, but she couldn't deny that she was happy with the way
things were.

"Ready for hyperspace?" she asked Jaina.

"Ready for hyperspace," Jaina affirmed. Jaina was taking her new
position as copilot very seriously. Mara was sure the novelty would
wear off before long, but she understood how important this was for
her niece. Remembering the excitement she had felt on her first solo
hyperspace trip, she made a snap decision.

"Engage the hyperdrive," she ordered.

Jaina glanced at her for confirmation, obviously surprised that Mara
would allow her the privilege. Mara nodded, recalling her vision
from the day before of a dark-haired young woman in the pilot's seat
of this very ship.

Jaina reached out for the lever that engaged the hyperdrive, and as
the stars around her dissolved into the white lines of hyperspace
Mara felt a surge of peace and contentment. Life was good and she
had every reason to think it would keep getting better.

***

End