The Awakening

By Ash Darklighter

Disclaimer - The characters and situations used in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. My thanks to Jackie, Mona and Molly. This story would not have happened without them.

Coruscant's late afternoon sun blinked through a dusty ornate window as Leia walked quietly along the silent hall. The door she wanted was along the far end. How like her brother to arrive on Coruscant without telling her. She'd woken up yesterday morning and his presence had been with her - warm and comforting. Leia smiled happily to herself. She was so used to being apart from Luke that she appreciated him so much more when he was near. She hadn't conceived how much she missed him, and she did miss him very much. She brushed her hand over the smooth surface of a carved curlicue. It came away thick with dust. 'He's been away from us for too long,' she whispered to herself.

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

Leia raised her hand to the door announcer then grinned wickedly. She would really surprise him. He was there, she could feel it, but not expecting her - yet. She'd half expected him to arrived unexpectedly on their doorstep yesterday, but the evening had gone and most of today too and still Luke had not arrived. Well, if the Noghri wouldn't come to Wayland, Wayland must go to the Noghri.

Leia keyed in the code and the door slid silently aside. Artoo sat nestled in an alcove plugged into a computer terminal and Leia blinked in surprise. There was no brother to scold for not giving her notice of his return to Coruscant - no brother to hug her warmly and tell her how much he'd missed her. Only Luke's faithful little droid emitting a two octave electronic beep which sounded suspiciously like a gurgle of laughter.

Leia focused sternly on the little droid. "Where is he?" She could feel his presence. It was so close to her. "He's in here somewhere. I can feel it." She turned and focused carefully on her brother's shining presence in the force. "Luke Skywalker, are you trying out your tricks on me or have you switched off for a while?"

Artoo spun his domed head and gave forth, using the entire gamut of his range.

"I understand." She smiled suddenly eager to see her brother again. "He's downstairs."

She moved towards the wooden stairs Luke had installed in his apartment, but hesitated when Artoo began shrieking frantically and rocking on his legs.

"Hey Artoo, it's okay. I'll find him or he'll find me. We'll sense each other soon. I knew he was here as soon as his ship landed, so why he's not here to greet me now I do not know." She stretched out again with her fledgling Jedi powers and felt the unruffled mind close by and the other more restless one even closer at hand. It felt oddly familiar too. A barrier closed against her subtle probing. The other mind belonged to a Jedi and it wasn't Luke.

Startled from her calm, Leia headed purposefully for her brother's receiving room, her blaster firmly grasped in her small hand only to find a woman she knew, or knew as much as you were allowed to, sitting in Luke's window seat. Luke's rather impersonal apartment had in its favour a rather impressive view over parts of Coruscant heading towards the Manarai Mountains. The huge transparisteel window dominated the room and framed within it sat Mara Jade.

Leia's hand relaxed and the blaster hung limply by her side. Mara was staring out the window, her arm resting on one knee, one leg dangling idly over the edge of the seat. The picture was one of serene beauty. But as Leia had sensed earlier the mind was not at peace; the mind was restless and troubled.

"Mara!" she uttered surprised. Why was Mara Jade in Luke's apartment? Mara and Luke had an uneasy friendship - that much was clear. Luke had trusted the woman years ago even when all the signs had said 'don't'. Was there something going on between them? It wasn't a pairing she had ever considered for her brother. Han would approve - she knew that much. He liked Mara. She said what she thought and if anyone complained - tough. Han considered that Luke had gone into neutral mode and any personality was being swallowed by the Jedi Master. Mara Jade and Luke – nah. But then again, the more Leia thought about it, the more she believed that they could be spectacular together, and she did so want him to be happy… mmmm…. this could be interesting. It could be dangerous, but it could be exciting too.

Mara swivelled her head and regarded the other woman warily from brilliant green eyes. "Hello, Leia."

"You okay? You seem…?"

Mara turned her head away and continued to stare out of the window. "I guess so," she replied softly. There was an awkward silence.

'Distant,' thought Leia. "I've not seen you on Coruscant for a long time, Mara." She moved closer to the younger woman.

"No, I've been avoiding it."

"Or Yavin."

"I've been avoiding it too."

"Luke?"

Mara's lips firmed a little and she stared at her hands, saying nothing.

"Well, you're here, so you're not avoiding him any more."

"I'm not avoiding Skywalker," she gritted tensely.

There was a flash of something in Mara's eyes as she glared at Leia for a brief instant and Leia felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of her. She decided not to pursue the issue. "Speaking of Luke. Where is he?"

Mara indicated out the window with her red-gold head. "He's downstairs. Out on the balcony. I don't think he's aware of our presences yet."

"He does know you're here?"

"No." Mara grinned maliciously. "I'm working on my cloaking technique. I should have a while longer."

Leia peered over Mara's shoulder. Luke Skywalker, clad in grey pants and a vivid blue shirt was dissecting a piece of electronic equipment on his downstairs balcony.

"Why are you working on your shielding?" Leia asked, looking curiously at Mara.

The woman shrugged. "It never hurts to improve on your arsenal."

"You could be right about that," Leia mused, reflecting on her own interrupted training.

"Trust me, I am." Mara turned back to study the Jedi. "What do you think of that?" She changed tack abruptly.

"What?"

"That." Mara indicated the figure of the Jedi Master.

"I don't think I've seen that shirt before," his sister announced thoughtfully.

"You're familiar with the contents of his wardrobe?" Mara questioned derisively. "Forget I even thought to question that. You probably bought most of his wardrobe apart from his desert work clothes."

Leia opened her mouth to dispute that and then realised the trader was indeed correct, but Mara waved her hand dismissively. "I bet he still has the clothes you picked him up in from Tatooine, still with the sand on them. The rest of his collection comes from the Jedi School of black, black and black." She gave the absorbed man another quick glance and then turned back to Leia. "Are you sure it's your brother down there and not some clone? That's not black he's wearing."

"No, I'm not sure - not in that colour, but a simple probe should confirm his identity."

"Or you could use the Force and move his tools. See how long it would be before he lost his patience. He's not long on patience."

"I could! What about you?" Leia exclaimed.

"Forget that, he's your brother."

"So?"

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"You move his equipment and he will. I'm not tampering with his tools. It was your idea to fiddle around with his equipment." Leia immediately went bright red as she thought about what she'd said - how it could be taken - and her jaw just dropped. "I… I…."

Mara's head turned sharply and the credit dropped as some of Leia's thoughts leaked through her barriers and reached Mara. Green eyes narrowed with deadly accuracy in the direction of the former Chief of State. Leia stood absolutely mortified at her gaffe until she realised that Mara Jade had gone chalk white, followed by a gradual flush, which swept over her creamy skin. "I'll forget you said that Senator." However there was deadly menace in her soft tone of voice. There was an awkward silence until Mara turned back to the window and peered down with half-closed eyes at whatever Luke was taking apart. "Whatever he's doing - it looks dead." The sun's dying rays caught her hastily woven plait and turned it into a rope of fire. Leia stared, arrested at the colour and wondered again why Mara was here in Luke's apartment.

"What's wrong, Mara?"

'Bantha bollocks! This is 'his' sister. I should have known.'

"Nothing." But both of them knew she lied.

Leia turned slowly, eager to see her brother, but unwilling to leave Mara in the strange mood she was in and made her way to the top of the stairs. Just as she was about to leave, Mara looked up, a troubled look etched on her face.

"Leia," she said hesitantly. "When did you know that Luke was 'special'?"

Leia's brown eyes widened just for an instant. This wasn't the Mara Jade she was used to seeing, confident and assured. This woman was vulnerable and scared.

"Forget I asked," Mara muttered quickly and plucked edgily at the hem of her tunic

"No - it's okay." Leia soothed in the tone she used when one of the children was ailing. She returned to the room and seated herself in a large, shapeless, overstuffed couch. "He saved my life. Of course he was special."

"No not that…"

"That's when I knew. He opened the door to my cell and told me he was there to rescue me. That's when I knew."

"Oh!"

"Did you ever go on one of the Death Stars?"

Mara grimaced. "Yes, several times. I didn't like them much. It seemed so wrong… but you are more than aware of that fact. I don't have to tell an Alderaanian."

"I was in the detention block, not the Royal Guest Suite. Luke and Han walked into the detention block and waltzed me out of my cell. Han complained a lot and loudly, but he sure had courage. If Luke hadn't dared him, I wouldn't be here today. Told Han I might be worth a small fortune if they rescued me."

Mara's face sported a small smile. "Men."

"Anyone else would not have been so impulsive, so restless, so…"

"Stupid?"

"So… Luke. Straight off the farm, open, bright with this naiveté about him. I swear half of Tatooine was still caked to his boots. I only learned later that he'd been rendered homeless just as I had. He'd seen his family lying burning outside the only home he'd ever known. He was alone in a big galaxy, but yet he kept going."

"You'd seen Alderaan…"

"Yes - it gave us a link. They made me watch."

"I'm sorry."

"You had nothing to do with it. Did you feel the death of Alderaan, Mara?"

The trader looked surprised. It wasn't something she'd been asked before. "I suppose I did. I was fifteen, but my Force skills were weak, unpredictable. I could hear the Emperor from anywhere, but couldn't manipulate the Force to any great extent. I was allowed to do little tricks, that sort of thing. I felt things which didn't happen, saw visions in my head that didn't take place. But yes, I felt the death of Alderaan. I didn't know what it was, not for several weeks. When I knew…." Mara shivered. "It was the first time the Emperor had done something I thought was wrong." She opened her hands in an unconscious gesture of pleading. "It was so quick. I heard the voices, the anguish and then nothing. There was a strange stillness about the force, but my Master was exultant and almost seemed renewed by a youthful vigour which was crazy because of his great age. Imagine my shock when I discovered he was younger than he appeared. He always appeared so aged, but after Alderaan it was strange. He discarded his walking stick; he seemed to walk taller. I didn't realise he was feeding off the death of an entire world. Not for years afterwards."

"The dark side of the Force eats at you from the inside."

Leia gazed down at her brother's fair head. He'd lit outdoor lights and continued to work away in the gathering gloom. She was desperate to see him, but something inside her urged her to keep Mara talking a bit longer. Volubility was never part of the former Emperor's hands’ makeup.

"He's still taking that thing apart," Mara declared in disgust. "It'll never work again."

"It'll work," Leia chuckled softly to herself as she used one of Han's favourite sayings. "It'll work."

"You think?" Mara raised a derisive eyebrow. She hesitated. "I heard all the stories about the Death Star and Yavin. I made it my business to know all about it, but I've never heard it from Luke or you…."

"You want it from my perspective?"

"Only if you're willing?" Mara had stiffened, oddly tense.

"I'll tell you, but I really want to speak to my brother first. Why don't we arrange a time? We could do a lightsaber practice and then lunch. I could clear my schedule if you really want to know?"

"Forget it, Leia, I'm being selfish."

Leia frowned. Something was up with the girl.

"Artoo!" The voice came floating up the stair. "Artoo!"

"No, Artoo," Leia whispered. "Stay here."

"Artoo!!" The little droid's name stretched to about four syllables. "Artoo Detoo. I need you down here."

Clattering feet belted up the spiral staircase and a tousled head emerged. "Leia!" He gave a shout and his face lit up. "Leia!" He dropped whatever he was holding and it landed on the floor with a heavy thud. He grabbed his diminutive sister and whirled her off her feet.

"Put me down, you big… womprat!" Leia exclaimed laughing. "I'm getting dizzy. Luke Skywalker put me down this instant," she demanded.

Luke swung her to a gentle stop, holding her face between his hands, before drawing her into an embrace. "It's so good to see you. How I've missed you." He buried his head into her shoulder, and they stayed that way, drawing the familiar comfort from the other.

Leia felt tears in her eyes. "It's good to have you home, Luke. It's so good to have you home."

Mara witnessed the brother and sister reunion with an unaccustomed lump in her throat. Why had she never thought about the love between Luke and Leia before? Was it because she'd never really believed in such an emotion? Quietly, feeling out of place, she edged off the window seat and began to make her way to the door. She heard Leia say. "Why didn't you let us know you were coming?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he offered hopefully.

"I'll bet."

"Since when have you been a betting woman, Leia Organa Solo?"

"Don't try and change the subject, laser brains. You didn't want a fuss. I bet the Coruscant transport control didn't even guess you were using that fake transponder code Han picked up for you. What would that do to your reputation, flyboy, if it got out?"

"Aw, Leia…!"

Mara had been moving stealthily towards the door, but she'd forgotten about Artoo who stopped her in her tracks with a shrill squeal, and she jumped. Luke whirled around, his hand going automatically to where his saber usually hung. But it was lying at the top of the stairs and he saw Mara hovering just as the last ray of Coruscant's sun streamed through the window and caught her in a pool of shimmering hues. His hands dropped to his sides and he stepped away from Leia. Luke felt his mouth go dry. Had Mara Jade always been this beautiful? His face began to show utter delight, then changed as he tried to appear casual.

"Mara," he said, his voice coming out sounding husky and unused. To the woman standing across from him, it also sounded incredibly seductive.

The green-eyed woman gulped. He stood there and the expression in his eyes fascinated her. There was something different about him. She rubbed clammy hands over her tunic. "Luke," she husked quietly in return.

Leia felt like the poor man in a high stakes sabacc game - suddenly ignored.

"Long time no see, Jade."

"You too, Skywalker."

"I… like your hair like that."

Leia stifled the grin that was threatening to ruin the moment. Mara's hair did not look particularly stunning. It was amazing when you saw it loose about her shoulders or done in a intricate fashionable style. But Mara had scraped it off her face and hastily plaited it.

"You can't." Mara muttered flatly. "It's a mess."

"Is it?"

"Skywalker! You've been stuck on Yavin for too long with the brown robed ones. Hardly makes you an expert on hair."

"I like it. I know what I like."

"Oh for sith's sake!" Mara raised her eyes to the ceiling.

Leia heaved a loud sigh in exasperation. "This is ridiculous. You two sound like actors in the holodrama I tried and failed to watch last week because it was so bad. I didn’t think anyone could possibly be as obtuse as those actors were but I was wrong. When are you going to just be Luke and Mara?"

The two Jedi twitched and turned vague looks in her direction, before returning to gaze on the other's face. "Are you staying for something to eat, Mara?" Luke asked, ignoring his sister.

"No… no, I have things to do for Karrde. I'll see you tomorrow… Luke."

An expression of amazement swept across his face. She'd called him Luke again. It didn't happen very often and when it did, it was as if he'd been given something very special. Mara Jade was special. He grinned and allowed his blue eyes to travel over her face and hair.

Mara blushed slightly. The way Luke's eyes were travelling over her - he'd never done that before. She felt exposed with all her secrets plain to see. The Jedi Master's gaze lingered on her soft cheek before spearing her in place with a direct glance from the famous blue eyes.

"When tomorrow," he persisted.

"I don't know," she snapped suddenly, fed up with her own inability to think straight while Skywalker was turning her into someone with the thinking power of a dull Gamorrean.

"Tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah, fine."

"It's a date," he muttered in satisfaction.

"No, it certainly is not." She pinned both brother and sister with a fierce green look. Leia shook her head at her brother's folly. It was obvious to anyone but them what was going on. Her gentle brother and Mara Jade? She winced a little. Luke could be the calmest, mildest person imaginable, but somewhere there might still be lurking a Tatooine farmer with a hot head and little patience. Mara Jade would need patience. Hell, if Luke were interested in Mara Jade, the whole galaxy would need patience. She shook her head. Patience and very good defences.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Mara, for a saber practise."

Mara nodded and with a final direct stare at the Jedi Master she disappeared through the door. Once it closed and Mara's presence could be felt retreating away from them, Leia turned to Luke and asked dryly, "Want to tell me what that was about?"

Her brother gave her a confused look. "What?"

"Never mind. You're coming home with me. Han's cooking supper and the children are dying to see you. They've been sending me Force messages for the past half hour."

"Sounds good to me."

"By the way. What were you trying to fix out there?"

Luke held out his hand and the item he'd dropped in his rush to greet his sister flew into his grasp and on to his belt. He tapped the cylinder hanging from there. "My lightsaber. It fried itself yesterday. I'd been trying an experiment with cortusis ore, you know the stuff lightsabers can't get through. It kept cutting out so I upped the power. Forgot to turn it back down." He shrugged a little sheepishly. "So when I tried to do my usual lightsaber drill - sabacc, as they say."

"Oh Luke - is it fixed?"

"More or less."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"Trust me."

"You sound like my husband and even though we've been married a long time, I still don't trust him when he says that."

Luke shook his head in mock disapproval. "What a thing to say about my friend."

"I say it because it's true. You sure you're my brother and not a clone?"

"You wound me." He placed his hand across his heart and tried to appear soulfully wronged.

"I take it all back. You would do very well in that holodrama. You're as big a nerf steak as all the other actors were."

"Now you're being nasty. I'm sure if I'd wanted to I could have made a very good holo-actor. I would make a good villain." He posed with an overdone evil smirk on his face as he leered at the unknowing general populace. "What…?"

Leia laughed at him and took his arm as she led him out of the apartment. It was good to have him here. He'd been away from them for far too long. However, she had some work to do on Mara Jade tomorrow. It was becoming obvious to Leia that Mara had somehow, somewhere along the way, developed an attachment towards Luke, and it was equally apparent that he reciprocated the emotion. The problem to be solved was not simple - how to get them to even consider doing anything about it. It was a monumental task just in itself.

"What are you thinking about?" Luke probed casually.

"Nothing." His sister replied as she hid her grin. "Nothing at all."

The Awakening - Chapter 2

The buzz and clash of lightsabers echoed all the way down the corridor in the building, which housed the offices of the Jedi Order. The real heart of the movement was kept alive at the Yavin complex. The centre on Coruscant contained offices and a few training rooms plus a couple of lecture classrooms. Luke had argued - and Leia agreed with him – that since the Jedi had been a source of mistrust for so many years it would be wrong of them to suddenly take over a big building and have Jedi conscripts emerging as fast as a set of Imperial clones. So the base on the heart of the core worlds was kept deliberately small. It was better that way. It also maintained a distance between the Jedi and government. The Jedi had returned to help create order and balance - not act as a policing outfit for the N.R.

Leia slipped as a clever thrust from Mara made her carefully rehearsed footwork seem as clumsy as Artoo on Myrkr. Mara's saber pointed at her throat before snapping shut with a satisfied hiss.

"You've improved, Councillor." Mara smiled as she held out her hand and pulled Leia to her feet.

"Maybe, but not enough to beat you."

Mara's smile turned a little mocking. "The only one who ever beats me on a regular basis is the dear Jedi Master himself. I'll allow him that much."

"Good of you." Leia winced a little as she rotated her neck. "I'm a little stiff. I'm not getting as much exercise as I'd like. Perhaps we could meet later on this week if you're still on Coruscant?"

"I don't know," Mara replied cautiously. She bent and picked up a towel and rubbed it over her face listlessly - all her energy gone. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Leia assessed her concernedly. She had a lot of time for Mara Jade. She wasn't exactly what you would call a friend, for she never got close to anyone apart from… Luke. This all had something to do with Luke and Leia had a good idea what it was, but she would have to make sure.

Mara visibly snapped herself back into a brisk mode. "You said something about food?"

"I did? You're right, I did."

"As long as the words 'ration bar' don't enter into it. Just let me shower first." She peeled away the thin straps of her black exercise bodysuit from her shoulders. "I stink."

"I've smelt sweeter myself," Leia remarked, picking up her own towel with a groan.

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

Leia took Mara to a quiet restaurant in an exclusive area near the Imperial Palace. The tall spires and elaborate columns which characterised Coruscant's architecture pressed in upon the two women as they walked to meet the reservation Leia had made.

"I hadn't realised this place was still open." Mara stared around her in unabashed pleasure. "I used to love this place when I lived on Coruscant. They only took bookings from certain people and it was near enough to the palace to walk to."

"That's why I chose it. Han and I often eat here and even Luke likes it. We can come here with only light security and Luke can wander in any time. He doesn't like much about Coruscant." Leia casually dropped the name into the conversation and watched as Mara's clear green eyes grew opaque. Leia noted the reaction and carried on with her careful probing. "Luke prefers anonymity these days. He doesn't get it, but he hopes that one day he'll be able to walk into a room and they won't just stop and stare."

Mara gave Leia one of those looks that had her squirming a little in her seat. "You seem determined to talk about your brother."

"So do you," Leia returned. "I love him and I miss him. We're apart far too often. I once thought the greatest gift he could give to the New Republic was to assist the Jedi to return. He's done that, but he's not happy."

"You've finally noticed. I could have told you that a long time ago."

"But you didn't - why not?" Leia asked curiously.

"Would you have listened?"

"Maybe not then, but now - yes. I didn't have the time to listen before and maybe I didn't want to." She pushed away her plate. "Mara, Luke listens to you…"

"I have no interest in Luke Skywalker," Mara cut in sharply. "He's a friend, nothing more."

"Of course, but I thought…" Leia let the sentence tail off and tried to look a little embarrassed.

"Thought what?" Mara leant forward in her chair, her green eyes spitting.

"Luke seems fond of you – well, Han says more than fond."

"Your husband is a fool," Mara muttered flatly, but her face had stiffened and there was something approaching pain in her eyes. "Fond!" she bit out sharply. "What kind of an emotion is that?" Mara lifted her head and challenged Leia. "You can be fond of a pitten. But lov…" Mara snapped her mouth shut.

‘Hah! Got you.’ Leia considered her options. Perhaps it was time to tighten the macro-fuser just a little.

"Of course, Luke is fond of you. He talks about you all the time; after all, you have saved each other's lives on a number of occasions. I know for a fact there is no one he would rather have watching his back in tight situations."

Mara grunted. 'Was that all she was to Luke? Why him and why now?'

"Mara!" Leia's voice intruded in her moment of self-pity. "Would you like some more l'lahsh?"

"What? Ah, no…. No, thank you."

"I wonder what's brought him to Coruscant this time?"

"Didn't he tell you last night?"

"No - but he did say something about catching up with people for a change and then I heard the dreaded 'V' word," Leia told her.

Mara shook her head. "What dreaded 'v' word?"

"Vacation."

"Oh no!"

"He'll get into trouble for sure."

"I don't have the time to run after him this time."

Leia blinked. 'You always do, Mara. If Luke's in trouble, you go help. Why didn't I see it before? Han saw this a long time ago and was right about it. Luke and Mara will sit and wait for each other to react. They'll fall in and out of love with other people but never in the soul burning way that I love Han. They're interested in each other, but how much? What would make them take the ultimate step and commit to each other? Perhaps now the timing is right for them. Mara is obviously receptive to Luke emotionally, and I've had a hunch that my brother has had a yen for Mara for a while. This could be the Force at work. He needs a home and a family of his own. He deserves that much in his life.'

"Han used to run after him, back after Yavin." Leia's smile was quizzical, bittersweet. "He saved Luke, but Luke saved all of us."

"In what way?" Mara wondered aloud.

"Luke somehow set Han on the correct path. If Han had flown away in the Falcon he would have paid off his debts but it would have been a temporary respite. Han would have been killed in a bar room brawl and we all would have been dead. But something in Luke persuaded Han to take the chance and rescue Luke. He wouldn't have done it for just anyone."

"I see." Mara nodded her red-gold head. "Luke trusted me when no one else did. Karrde employed me, gave me back some of my self-respect, but Luke accepted me totally. He didn't care who I'd been or what I did. He liked me and wanted to know who I would become." Mara's eyes met Leia's and the knowledge was there.

"You must have heard the stories - the truth is there. Han wanted to leave with his payment, but Luke wanted to join up. I encouraged him in his thinking partly because Han had goaded me into it, but I thought there was no way Luke would be let loose near a fighter. I assumed he hadn't the ability or the experience. He was an innocent caught up in a war. I'd lost that kind of innocence a long time ago - when I started working for the rebellion. My father and others like him showed me what was happening on Imperial controlled worlds. When you see whole families sold into slavery and children starve there is no place for innocence."

Leia leant back in her seat, the far away look in her eyes intensifying. Mara reached out with the Force and, entering Leia's receptive mind, saw the main hangar on Yavin the day they waited for almost certain death. The memories reached back to a time when Mara didn't know Leia or Han or Luke. It was hard to conceive of such a thing. For she'd hated him and respected him and lov…. for so long. Even now she still couldn't say what she felt about him. Perhaps learning more about the past could lead her towards a future. Hesitantly, she joined Leia in the past where the memories hadn't faded. For Leia, the events surrounding the Battle of Yavin had defined her whole existence and she would never forget them.

"I’m a fair pilot," the slender boy had said.

Leia looked at him, dressed as he was in the shabby white desert clothing he’d worn on Tatooine. Blue eyes bright with intelligence gleamed at her in the gathering gloom. Luke Skywalker had no place here. He should be back on his moisture farm with his family.

"I can’t go back," he whispered. "I’ve nothing and no one to go back for." A brief flash of pain added depth to the eyes. "I want to join. I could fly a fighter," he added louder. Behind him someone sniggered and Luke swung around, ready to flatten them, his chin lifted at a pugnacious angle.

Leia’s eyes widened in surprise. It was as if Luke had read her mind for she hadn’t voiced her thoughts out loud. "I’ll speak to Commander Willard. But Luke, I can’t promise anything. We’re desperately short of pilots, I’ll grant you that, but we’re short of everything here."

"I understand," and he gazed around him challenging anyone to laugh at him again.

The Commander had sighed and shaken his head. "He won’t last long out there, none of them will, but I’ll see he gets a trial in a simulator."

Leia sent someone to fetch Luke and he arrived, having just fallen out with Han. He trailed into the Command centre dragging his heels, his sulky demeanour hanging over him. When Commander Willard saw Luke, he glanced at the Princess as if she’d lost her mind. "This is just a boy, Your Highness."

"I know, but he got me out of that thing that destroyed Alderaan and he wants this. I can’t deny him the chance to be killed like every other pilot we have here, right?"

Willard recognised the truth of her words. "I’ll find someone available to take him through the sim test."

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

Mara entered into the memory with a smile in her voice. "I've seen that face. He can still do it."

"I know," murmured Leia. "So can his youngest nephew. It's Luke to the very life. But Han's version is even worse."

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

Commander Willard sighed again. War was inevitable here and so was death, but some of these boys had no experience of living. He studied the slender young man Princess Leia had pointed out to him and wondered if he could even read. The boy lifted his head and stared at him, bright blue eyes blazing at him from beneath a mop of tousled fair hair. This boy wanted it very badly and somewhere a long dormant memory began to stir. It was impossible to ignore this one.

"Lieutenant!" He addressed a tall dark haired man as he went past.

"Sir?"

"Do you have time to put a volunteer through a sim test?"

"Of course, Sir. I'm going nowhere until the Death Star pays us a little visit. Then I might be busy."

"Humour, Lieutenant. I'm impressed. Seriously - we've got this boy who has just arrived from the back of beyond and I mean it. He's from some little rim planet so be kind and let him down gently."

"Where is he?"

"Over there in the white."

The lieutenant gasped and then began to laugh. "Oh boy, I don't believe it. He does come from a rim planet, but it's home. Never harmed my piloting skills either."

The Commander looked at the Lieutenant strangely. "You've lost me there, Darklighter."

"I know him, Sir."

Willard looked momentarily embarrassed. "I'm sorry." Then Darklighter's words became clear. "You know that young man?"

"Oh yes, Sir."

"Seriously?"

"In all honesty, sir. We went to school together."

"All his family were killed by the Empire. A not uncommon tale I'm afraid. He ended up getting Princess Leia out of the Death Star."

"Beru and Owen gone? It was Luke who rescued the Princess?" Biggs whispered. "Oh stars!"

"It's funny, he reminds me of someone." The Commander spoke almost to himself. "Someone I met long ago."

"I would keep an eye on the sim scores, Sir. Luke Skywalker's one of the best pilots I've ever seen."

"Skywalker! That's his name?"

"Yes, Sir. He's my best friend from Tatooine."

"You sure that's his name?"

Biggs eyed the Commander uneasily. "Yes, Sir."

Willard flicked on his com. "Someone get me Garven and inform Princess Leia I would like to talk to her. Get me any data files we have on Outer rim citizens and hurry."

Biggs looked totally confused. "Do you still want me to test him?"

"Oh yes. It should be interesting."

Mara smiled wistfully at the pictures of the teenaged Luke. He’d been impossible to ignore right enough, even then. The idea that the Emperor or Vader knowing about him and tapping into all that raw power was unthinkable. Luke was brought up in obscurity and poverty, denied his birthright. Denied the love of a sister and possibly a father, so the galaxy might have a chance. Luke would probably still say it had been worth it – or would he? Or would he feel manipulated by others just as she had? They had both lost so much. When would it be their turn to gain something instead?

"I’ve been told to report here for the simulator test, Sir."

"He calls me ‘Sir’," Biggs erupted into good-natured laughter.

"Biggs!" Luke’s voice rose in disbelief. "Biggs!"

While the test was in progress a small group of orange clad pilots clustered around the monitor. Word had got around that the boy in white from the rim planet was being tested for a fighter. Biggs deflected the raucous humour with an easy smile.

"How’s Baron Fel shaping up?"

"Wait and see."

"This can’t be the farmkid. Whoever’s in this sim is exceptional," muttered a young teenaged fighter pilot by the name of Wedge Antilles.

"Watch who you’re calling kid, Antilles."

As the scores began to rise, more pilots clustered around. Whoever was in there was phenomenal. Garven Dreis, who’d been alerted by Willard, strolled over casually. "Well?"

"That’s incredible!" A comment echoed in his ears.

Biggs grinned smugly.

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

Leia stared through the transparisteel window of the operations room. The pilots were certainly finding something interesting out there. She turned away, sorry there was no sign of the impetuous young man who'd risked his neck to save her, or the cynical smuggler, who she'd hoped might stay and help them. He had other places to be and was preparing to leave.

"Your Highness?"

"Yes, Commander Willard."

"How much do you know about young Skywalker?"

"About Luke?" Leia frowned. "Very little but I’m sure he's not a spy."

"No, no. We're pretty sure about that one. What has he said about himself?"

"Practically nothing, but I'll tell you what I know." Leia glanced at the pad the Commander held in his hand. It had the name Skywalker at the top of it and a stream of data Leia was unable to read.

"He's from Tatooine, brought up by an Aunt and an Uncle who were killed…"

"By the Empire. Yes, I know that. Has he spoken about, say, his parents at all?"

"He spoke about his father. Says he was killed by Vader."

"Doesn't that strike you as a little strange, Princess? That someone whose father was killed by the great Dark Lord of the Sith is living in obscurity on Tatooine?"

Leia frowned again. It did seem odd. Normally such a family would be enslaved in an Imperial prison colony, the children being brainwashed in military school or dead. But Vader had killed many.

"It wasn’t odd – it was the Force," Mara inserted into the memories.

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

"How did he get to you?"

"I hid the plans of the Death Star in an R2 droid which beamed to the surface of the planet Tatooine with instructions to locate and bring the Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi to my father on Alderaan." Her lip trembled a little but resolutely she refused to give into her weakness. "Luke's family bought the droids, paid for it with their lives, and Luke ended up on the run with the old Jedi and the smuggler Solo." She tucked a stray hair into her slightly dishevelled hairstyle. "Surely he'll never be good enough to fly a fighter?"

"If the information I have here is correct, your Highness, I have the feeling that his ability will be the like of which we haven’t seen for a long time, and it is better than good."

Leia didn't understand. She was too tired and had been through too much. The Commander, seeing this, smiled at her. "Your Highness. I think you should get some rest."

Leia nodded and watched as the sim hatch opened and a flushed Luke Skywalker jumped out. The other pilots suddenly went quiet. The guy putting up the near impossible scores was the farmkid from the tenth rate planet.

Willard caught Garven's eye and nodded and spoke into his comlink. "The name is Skywalker, Garven, and the data checks out. Nothing on the kid, but he's the right age and the info tallies."

"He's the spitting image of his father at the same age. Not as tall, but looks like the ability is there. I've never seen anything like it in a simulator and before you ask, I checked the calibrations. Darklighter assures me he flung the entire Imperial force at the boy and he only got killed twice."

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

"Ah, the famous Skywalker genes." Mara muttered mockingly. "His father, yet to become Vader."

"My father too. It's just sometimes difficult to admit to it. It's easier to think of him as Luke's father, because Luke's heart was big enough to accept both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader."

"He looks for the best in everyone, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

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

Garven took the data pad from Biggs and perused the information with a raised eyebrow. "I knew your father, Luke. He was a great pilot."

"You knew….?" Luke stammered in awe of the veteran pilot in front of him.

"Welcome aboard. I think you'll do just fine."

"You mean? I have a…."

"Congratulations, hotshot. Looks like you're with me." Biggs thumped his friend on the back, almost causing him to overbalance.

Luke grinned, but his face turned solemn as he made eye contact with a small tired figure in white in the command centre and tipped her a salute.

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

Leia shook herself from her reverie of the past and turned to face Mara. "It was strange. I faced death so many times in just over twenty-four hours. When Luke came along it was as if he was some sort of catalyst which kick-started the Force."

"Don't you mean catastrophe?"

"That too, especially with Han in tow."

"I'd taken this rim farmboy into the heart of the rebellion and he fit in better than I did sometimes. It seemed that this kid from nowhere had a background not even he was aware of."

"Luke wouldn't like fancy airs on people. It's not his way," Mara commented dryly.

"He'd been exposed to Han quite a bit by then. My husband has an effect on everyone he meets. Whether he means to or not."

"Luke has thanked him for it many times over the years."

"I spotted Luke's friend Biggs looking totally confused at the way all the top brass were muttering and pointing at Luke. As far as he was concerned, Luke's father had been a navigator on a spice freighter and Luke was a no-one from a backwater world. For most of his life Luke had thought that too until he'd met Obi Wan."

"In the end Biggs Darklighter gave his life to protect Luke."

"Yes, he knew Luke was special too." Leia sipped at a glass of water, her throat dry. "Luke saved the future of the rebellion with one shot, but we didn't realise he was the hope of the Jedi too. I remember speaking to him a few days after the destruction of the Death Star. Everything that had happened had just hit him. Me too, but I was more prepared for that kind of life than Luke was. I joined him at the table for lunch in the mess hall and he didn’t know whether to bow or salute. In the end, he did both."

Mara chuckled; she could see it so clearly. Luke would be embarrassed and gauche wanting to impress the Princess, yet not seem overawed by the whole thing.

"After the Death Star blew, we'd had a ceremony to reward Han, Luke and Chewie. Then they began moving personnel. The Empire knew where we were. It was time to start getting out. Luke was assigned to one of Commander Narra's x-wing squadrons, but he was doing a little training while he waited to go. Some of the new guys who didn't know who he was were giving him a bit of a hard time."

"Luke being Luke didn't say anything, right? He was being bullied and he put up with it?"

"You know what he's like. If he fell for some girl, he'd watch from afar without saying anything. She would have to make the first move."

Mara squirmed a little. ‘Was Leia suggesting something?’

"Luke had no formal military training and ‘moisture farm on outer rim’ just screamed out of him." Leia sighed.

"Still does sometimes, even after all these years. Well, you know what they say…"

"What do they say?" Leia asked perplexed.

"You can the boy out of the moisture farm, but…."

"I get the picture."

"What changed their minds?" Mara asked.

"Luke went to supposedly do some weapons training and a couple of idiots followed him. Imagine their surprise when they caught him working with a lightsaber and a remote. Just to give him a fright they started taking pot shots at him. He blocked the shots. Someone reported him. I suppose they thought it might have caused a bit of trouble. Luke was working with a weapon most of them had never even seen or heard of before."

"Didn't work, huh?"

"You guessed it. Jedi skills, now that was different. When you first see someone wielding a lightsaber properly it is impressive. Luke, although a relative beginner, had grasped the basics pretty well and was improving at a rapid rate. Then Commander Willard gave me information I hadn't known and Luke hadn't told me. His father had been a Jedi Knight and now his son was exhibiting signs that he too might be a potential Jedi candidate. Imagine what that would do for the rebellion's cause. Wherever we were encamped, Luke could be found reading data disks and making copious notes on anything he could find out about the Jedi. He was educating himself on other things too. The naïve young man grew up in front of my eyes. The men began to respect him because he worked harder than any of them to earn their trust. Yes, Luke is special in so many ways, Mara. He really cares."

Mara's eyes grew misty. "I know," she whispered.

"He's one of the best pilots I've ever seen. His comrades came around when they saw him fly."

"I agree. The Force is truly with him. When he flies, he's free. But don't tell him I said so," she bit out like a Kubindi fire wasp.

"Wedge regards Luke as the greatest pilot he ever saw fly an x-wing and Han agrees."

"Your husband being no slouch in the cockpit either."

"Han has the Falcon and no one will ever fly that ship like Han and Chewie do. I think it's a symbiotic relationship."

Mara nodded, but then mused, "Luke can appear so ordinary half the time. When he wants to. The first time I saw him in person was in Jabba's palace and I frankly couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. My plan would go ahead and that would be it. When I thought about my failure afterwards I realised that I'd been given the wrong picture of the man. The person the Emperor painted for me would not have returned to free his friends, wouldn't have given Jabba the chance to bargain. I underestimated him that day. I refused to do so again, yet I often did, and every time he saved my life I resented it bitterly until the day Luke saved my soul."

"Wayland?"

"Yes."

"Mara, does he know how you feel about him?"

"What do you mean?" Mara leant forward, her tone rather belligerent.

Leia placed her head to one side, and Mara had the uncanny effect of being looked through. "I only meant, did you ever tell Luke how much you valued his friendship?"

"Once," Mara answered abruptly. "I'm not given to romantic warblings. It was a weak moment."

"But Mara, romance is never weak. It keeps a lot of things together, including Han and I." Leia took a sip of her water and leant in for the kill. "It kept the ideal of the Old Republic alive in the hearts and minds of people like my adoptive father and Mon Mothma. Don't discount romance, Mara Jade. You've a rather romantic image yourself." Her dark eyes narrowed and Mara got the feeling she wasn't going to like the next question. "When did you think Luke was special, Mara?"

Mara's face stilled and her heart hammered loudly in her chest. It was a wonder Leia couldn't hear it, couldn't feel the panic course through her veins. "I never said I thought that."

"By your question to me you implied it." Leia gave the former Emperor's Hand a whimsical look. "You do think that way, don't you, Mara? You have feelings for Luke you can't explain because you've never had them for anyone else. They're scaring the life out of you because for the first time in your life you don't know what to do."

Mara's face went white, and she gripped her glass so tightly it shattered, the water spilling in tiny droplets over the crisp Chandrilan linen. The waiter immediately rushed over to clear the mess and Leia asked for the bill. Mara sat motionless, apart from the slight tremble noticeable in her fingers. "Stang, Leia," she managed to say shakily. "I'm not in love with your brother." But even as her lips uttered the words, her heart wondered if it was a lie.

Leia's features softened. "If it's any consolation, Luke won't notice."

"It's not," the response ejected from between closed perfect teeth.

"Now I believe I asked you a question. When did you first think my brother was special? You're not fooling me at all."

Mara closed her eyes and wished herself elsewhere. Leia Organa Solo was a force to be reckoned with and then she was supposed to face Luke tonight!"

The Awakening - Chapter 3

Luke Skywalker sat on his balcony and watched the constant stream of air traffic as it flowed by in the continuously moving lanes which made up Coruscant's unique transportation system. The patterns shifted and changed against the darkening sky, their seemingly random array of lines and shapes just part of the spectacle. The sun dipped lower and the sky began to turn to numerous shades of depth and beauty. The spires of the Imperial Palace rose blackly into the air in front of him - a huge monolith creating a dark stain against the crimson sky.

She was coming.

It was a Force hunch that had made him leave the comparative anonymity and peace of the fourth moon of the planet Yavin and make the long trek to the galactic Capital. But he had felt the call across space and time. He needed to be here. For what he didn't know, but he had come to see where the Force led him. Perhaps it had plans for him; maybe he was to help someone else. Luke used the Force less these days, but it still gave him as much guidance as it ever did - probably more. The power was there to be used when he needed it - or it needed him. He suspected the latter was what really happened.

He'd broken his old x-wing out of storage and made the long flight - most of it spent in a Jedi hibernation trance. Han had given him a fake transponder code for his birthday one year, much to Leia's disapproval, which meant he could slip into Coruscant without being noticed by the holo-reporters or the government. He grinned suddenly, his teeth white and even in his tanned face. Luke couldn't decide which was worse. He suspected the government. If he never saw Borsk Fey'lya again, it would be too soon.

Leia had sensed his presence as soon as he'd arrived, but Luke had gone to his apartment first. Artoo had settled himself down to chat with the computer while Luke showered and changed. A quick trip to one of the shopping complexes had resulted in food and some clothing. He'd taken one look at his non-Jedi type clothes and had realised he wouldn't be able to wear them in polite company. The sales assistant hadn't recognised him as he'd donned a Force disguise, but she'd definitely steered him away from the neutral colours he preferred. Luke hadn't wanted to disappoint the woman who'd been such a help to him and had bought several of the items she'd suggested.

"I'm such a soft touch," he'd muttered. "Leia can get me things next time. She's used to buying things for Han and the kids."

He picked up the blue shirt the saleslady had been so insistent that he buy. Luke made a face at himself in the reflector. The shirt seemed a little bright, but it didn't look completely over the top.

"What do you think, Artoo? The new me?" Artoo sounded an admiring whistle. "What was wrong with the old one?"

If Artoo could have rolled his eyes he would have done so, but he couldn't so he settled for a pithy burst of static and a bit of head whirling. Luke took off the shirt and pulled on his favourite black tunic, the one with the hole at the hem. This was more like it.

When he'd returned to the apartment it had been too late to contact his sister. 'She knows I'm here. I'll see her tomorrow.' He'd unpacked his lightsaber and started working through the drill Obi Wan had taught him on the Falcon all those years ago until the weapon erupted in a shower of sparks.

Luke swore loudly as he dropped the crackling lightsaber and Artoo swivelled his head in disapproval. "Reign in your wheels Artoo. You've used much worse language than that."

The droid replied with a disdainful hoot.

"I could have lost another hand!" he yelled, blowing on a slightly singed finger. "Well, it's too late to look at it tonight, I'm too tired." He gingerly picked up the smoking saber and placed it carefully to one side. "By the Force, I'm tired," he yawned.

Pulling off his clothes, he grabbed his sleeping pants and readied himself for bed. With a last look at the impressive city lights, he climbed into his bed and closed his eyes. Sleep was a while in coming, but before he finally drifted off, he sent out a lazy Force tendril to check on his family. They didn't feel the stirring in the Force, but someone else had.

Mara Jade had returned to Coruscant, the place where she'd spent the first half of her life. She felt the tempered power just seep through the layers of the Force. Luke was back. He'd felt the same call of the Force that she had; perhaps he knew what it was about.

Luke had spent most of the following day fixing the lightsaber. One of the jewels had knocked itself out of alignment. It was time it had an overhaul anyway. Sinking deep into the Force he'd detached the spent power cell, replaced it and angled the multifaceted jewels so that he could adjust the length of the blade and it's intensity. Time had passed quicker than he'd realised and he was hungry.

"Artoo," he shouted. "Artoo Detoo!" Luke heard the whistling stop abruptly. "Sithspit!" He climbed the stairs taking them two at a time. "Artoo!"

"Leia!"

He'd then discovered his sister and Mara Jade seated in his reception room. Mara had stood there in front of him, her hair catching the dying light of the suns rays and he'd felt something tighten in his gut. He'd looked at her - really looked at her, and for probably the hundredth time in his life admitted to himself how much he liked her. But today there was just something extra that teased his senses and made him think things he'd no business thinking about – especially with Mara Jade. Pale creamy skin, sharp green eyes and hair with life and colour that he'd seen on no other in the galaxy. The woman was beautiful and deadly and she stirred his senses in ways they had never been stirred before.

"Mara."

Luke cleared his throat awkwardly and the word came out husky and indistinct. They'd exchanged inanities, and all the time their eyes fixed steadily on the other, their senses telling them something quite different. Then she'd called him Luke. He couldn't believe it - he felt like a teenager again in the middle of his first crush. Willing his body to behave, for it had suddenly come to life in areas he wasn't expecting, he arranged a meeting with Mara for the following evening. He could feel Leia's annoying smirk as she perhaps, sensed some of his discomfort.

His sister had mainly left well enough alone as he'd spent a pleasant evening in the company of her, Han and the children. It was good to be in the heart of his family, but a certain redhead kept interfering with his thinking processes. Leia had left well enough alone until Han had gotten involved. Trust a nosy Corellian not to keep his opinions to himself.

"Luke?"

"Yes, Leia?"

"Try and not fight with Mara tomorrow."

"I don't fight with Mara. She fights with me." This was said a little indignantly, his blue eyes wide and innocent.

Han grinned and winked at his wife. "She seeing anyone at the moment, Luke?"

"No!"

"You sure?"

The Jedi looked a little taken aback and the strong affirmative died on his lips. "No," he said quietly. "I'm not…. But she can't be…"

"Uh-huh." Han sat back and laid his hands flat on the dining room table as if he'd proved his point.

"Mara and I…."

"It's okay I get it," Han drawled. "You don't have that kind of relationship."

"Yeah, that's correct." Luke eyed his brother-in-law suspiciously. "We don't."

"Pity."

Luke left soon afterwards, his mind in a whirl. Han had managed to solidly plant ideas in his head that he'd not considered. 'Ah, to hell with it!' Who was he trying to fool - himself? He was a Jedi Knight, not a monk. To not think about Mara Jade in certain ways; he would have to be dead. Mara Jade was beautiful, strong in the Force and affected him in more ways that he cared to count.

'Just try not to think of her in that way, Luke my friend, especially when she could pick up on your thoughts. You wouldn't have to be a Jedi to pick up on my thoughts,' he grumbled. 'Jedi don't read thoughts, they can sense emotions.' In which case, he'd better not let Mara Jade pick up on his emotions either, for dead might very well come into it.

Solo Residence

"Han Solo! I don't believe you at times. What were you thinking about winding Luke up like that?"

"Worked didn't it?"

Leia slid into his lap and curled into his embrace. "I knew I married you for a reason, nerfherder."

"Hey!" Han sounded a little aggrieved, but relented when Leia kissed him warmly.

"You just did what I wanted to do, sweetheart, in your own clumsy, ham-fisted Corellian way. Luke is interested in Mara. He just needs it drawn to his attention and you did that perfectly. Otherwise, we'll be waiting for another ten years before those two get their act together"

"What are you going to do, oh wife of mine? And I'm not clumsy - I thought I was pretty subtle."

"Subtle for you, maybe. I'm meeting Mara tomorrow, for saber practice and then lunch. I can stir things up a little then. You should have seen them this afternoon. They couldn't take their eyes off one another. I just need to wake them up a bit more. Put certain ideas into their heads, so to speak."

Han brought her close and captured her willing lips with his own. "I knew I married you for a reason, Highnessness." Han drew Leia even closer, for she was warm and soft and willing. "I'll leave Mara Jade in your capable hands. Luke could do with the sex, if you ask me."

"Han!" Leia's eyebrows shot straight up in horror and then her lip quivered and she laughed into her husband's chest. "You're right," She chuckled, her eyes brimming with mischievous mirth. "He could do with loosening up a little. If sex with Mara does it, then fine by me. I just hope the sticklers Luke employs at the Jedi Academy don't ever catch me saying such things."

"They won't, they'll just think it was me. Now Madam wife, all this talking about extra curricular activities has got me all 'warmed up' so to speak."

Leia reached down to her husband's crotch and felt his readiness. "I think you're correct. I suppose we'd better go to bed before the problem gets out of hand."

"And here was me hoping the problem might be in your hands."

"I love you."

"I know."

Luke's Apartment

Luke examined himself in the reflector. He hadn't gone too formal had he? The suit was not black, but it was dark. The violet shirt he'd donned gave a hint of colour at his neck. It was just an evening between friends, nothing special. Mara often came round of an evening to talk if they were both on planet. But somehow he didn't think this evening would be as comfortable. Leia and Han had certainly got him thinking and his blue eyes held concern. He'd never thought about Mara being here to see someone else. There had been rumours about her and Lando at one point, but he hadn't believed them. They didn't suit. Mara would have throttled Lando or tossed him out of an airlock long before they got to anything physical. Besides the thought of Mara and Lando engaging in anything physical made his stomach turn. Mara was his… and Luke met his own eyes in the reflector. For the first time he admitted to himself one incontrovertible fact. Mara should be with him, not anyone else. He had a crush on Mara Jade - in fact it was more than a crush. He yearned for her. But it couldn't be love - could it? They'd known each other too long for that. Besides, she'd wanted to kill him. That surely would have a bearing on a future relationship.

Luke's hands stilled as he smoothed the midnight blue tunic he'd put on. A relationship…. with Mara Jade. Dare he take such a step? Was he ready to love again? He ignored the little voice which asked him if it wasn't already too late?

He surveyed his appearance critically. A man of medium build and height, with blue eyes and fairish hair. He noted the scars left by the wampa attack and thought about the prosthetic hand he no longer regarded as fake. Mara Jade knew him too well. Outer trappings such as a decent haircut and new clothes would not impress her, so why had he bothered?

He was being silly. Mara didn't think of him in that way, never had. She was his friend and one he trusted. Luke brushed an imaginary spec of something from his trousers and moved from the bedroom to his balcony to await the arrival of a woman, who for some reason now left him unaccountably nervous.

Mara's Apartment

Mara eyed her chrono with grave misgivings. Only two hours until sundown if it was to be believed. She sighed heavily and headed for the shower. She'd not backed down from anything in her life and she wasn't about to start now. Leia's parting words echoed in her ears. "If you're not interested in my brother, Mara, I'm going to find someone who is."

"That shouldn't be too difficult, Leia," Mara had choked out with difficulty.

"True. He's handsome, kind and a genuine hero of the New Republic."

"Not to mention stubborn, nerf-headed, over-protective, idealistic…."

"Keep going, Mara, and I'll definitely know you're interested."

Mara switched on the shower and relaxed as the water streamed over her. Rubbing cleaning solution over her slender body, Mara imagined what it would be like to have Luke's hands smoothing, caressing and touching her all over. The lump in her throat intensified and her eyes slammed shut as she tried to clear her mind of such traitorous thoughts. Luke was her friend, the slightly annoying one that she'd go through hell for because she knew he would do the same for her. But the picture of Luke, naked and wet, persisted in ruining her poise. She could see his muscular thighs and taut buttocks and almost touch his strongly muscled chest. Sinking against the shower wall, Mara's breath became shallow and panting. An ache between her legs and rock hard nipples were evidence of her arousal. Emperor's bones she wanted him - she wanted Luke Skywalker. Wanted his hands on her body, his lips crushing hers, his tongue tangling with her own. Mara wanted Luke to bury himself in her body, and take what she could offer him.

By the Force, how could she face him now?

Standing in front of her wardrobe, she pulled out a favourite jump suit, but her hand hovered over a long flowing dress in a deep sea green. It wasn't formal exactly, but it was beautiful. With her brain refusing to think about it she stuffed the jump suit back on its hanger and pulled out the dress.

Smoothing the folds down she gazed at herself in the reflector, her eyes dark and stormy. Braiding her hair, she coiled it like a coronet on her head. Mara didn't notice that it left her neck smooth, bare and vulnerable. The gentle arch of her neck topped by a crown of fiery hair. She was ready, her armour in place around her heart.

Luke's Apartment

Luke sat and waited. Something had awoken in him, finally - after years of knowing Mara Jade - this feeling of something old, yet incredibly new, fragile, but strong, trembling and springing inexorably to hesitant life. Was it this that the Force had called him home for? Rising stiffly to his feet, he patted Artoo on the top of his little domed head and climbed the spiral staircase. Selecting a bottle of wine he opened it to allow it to breathe and checked the meal he'd prepared. He was a competent cook. Years of being on his own and a healthy dislike of New Republic ration bars had seen to that. He didn't have the presentation of a master chef, but his meals were edible and Mara had never complained about them. Besides, he was always hungry, so being able to feed himself seemed like a good idea. She was coming; he could feel her presence ever closer. Had they always had so strong a connection in the Force?

Mara walked along the corridor that led to Luke's apartment door and wasn't surprised when it slid aside and he stood there silently watching her. Waiting for her.

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

They stood in complete silence, their eyes shuttered and all barriers up tight. Luke had felt a blow to his solar plexus as soon as the door had opened. She was so beautiful. Mara stood in silence waiting for him to say something, but he could not.

Mara surveyed Luke's appearance and frowned a little. He was not dressed in his Jedi tunic, but in a suit of midnight blue. He'd obviously gone to some effort for a casual chat between two old friends. 'As have I,' she realised. Still they said nothing, continuing to gaze at each other, striving to find some clue on how the other felt. Finally, Luke gestured with his hand, a move that clearly said. 'Please come in,' and with her heart in her mouth Mara moved past him and into the apartment.

Luke cleared his throat. "May I take your cloak?"

Silently Mara pulled at the strings at her neck and surrendered her cloak into Luke's hands. The Jedi Master smelled her perfume as soon as he moved towards her, the fragrance sharp, but fresh, not cloying or sickly sweet. Very much like Mara Jade herself. He busied himself putting away her outer apparel before finally turning to look at her.

If he'd been carrying anything he would have dropped it. Mara stood there in the sea green flowing dress, her creamy shoulders and slender neck rising from it, topped by her sunburnished hair. Luke's jaw dropped and his mouth hung open. "Mara…" He coughed and tried again. "Mara you look… good." Inwardly he cringed as soon as the words had left his mouth. She looked better than good, she was the most exquisite thing he'd ever seen and all he could say was 'You look good.' 'Sith Skywalker, he told himself. 'Go back to the farm.'

Mara hardly heard him as she watched him stow away her cloak in a cupboard. He was a good-looking man, she realised. Not tall, but perfectly formed nonetheless, his lean figure sinewy and strong. Surely Leia could see that he wasn't ready to become interested in a serious relationship with anyone. Besides, he was the Jedi Master. Luke turned and his eyes locked with hers. She thought he coughed a little and said something, but she couldn't have told anyone what he'd said. Had his eyes always been that colour? That clear blue which made you think of hot skies and burning sands. The tension rose between them as they continued to stare at each other.

"Luke?" Mara questioned quietly and rubbed her tongue over glossy full lips.

Luke's already fragile libido went into overdrive and he turned away, ashamed. Mara was his 'friend'. He had no right thinking about her in this way. All he wanted to do was to take her in his arms and kiss her long and hard, branding her as his own. But he did none of those things. She wouldn't be interested in a poor Jedi Master with a history of failed relationships. Besides, he wasn't smooth and charming like Lando, or funny like Han. He was just himself - awkward, flawed, impatient…. He sighed quietly and pulled himself together. His emotions were threatening to ruin the evening before it even started.

"Come on Jade, I think we both need a drink." The carefully cheerful quip went a little way in dispelling the strained atmosphere, but there was just something there, shimmering out of sight. Something potent and raw and animalistic and it held an element of fear for them both.

"You been cooking again, Skywalker?"

"I'm usually hungry…" He looked at her. "I hope you are too?"

The words should have come out in a flippant sophisticated tone, but the mood went darker and took on such meanings that both Jedi knew at their core what was going to happen. They were not ready to admit it yet.

"Yes, I'm hungry," Mara answered and saw something flare in his blue eyes.

"Come on then, Jade. Grab a glass and a plate."

"This is one of the more exclusive eateries then?"

"Of course. I only serve beautiful Jedi with green eyes and hair the colour of sunset." Luke blushed suddenly as if he'd not meant to say such things.

"Skywalker!" Mara warned her face warming at his words, but her heart did a dive.

Luke put down the bottle of red wine he'd been about to pour into a glass and walked towards Mara. The former Emperor's hand backed away as he came closer. "Now Jade," he whispered. "You know the Jedi don't lie."

"Perhaps not, but they do have their own way of looking at things."

"They do…." Luke took a deep breath. What was with him tonight? He'd known Mara for years and they'd never had this problem before. He'd never had this problem. Her lips just called for him to cover them with his own.

Mara quivered as she felt his breath on her cheek. Luke had moved so close to her that she could touch him and she wanted to - oh she wanted to. She calmed her racing pulse and tried to appear unaffected by the handsome man she'd always dismissed before.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was stifling with sexual overtones. Luke retreated to a worktop at the far end of the kitchen and attended to their food. Thrusting a plate of something and a glass of wine into her hands, he retreated to the far end of the kitchen. "Come on Jade," he picked up his own plate and glass.

"Where we going, Skywalker?"

"Outside. It's too hot in here."

"You can say that again."

Luke grinned at her and the temperature returned to a more normal state. That was until Luke made for the set of stairs. Mara's insides quivered. She'd never been in this part of Luke's apartment before. They'd always stuck to the upstairs, the reception room and the kitchen. 'Curious,' she thought. The stairs wound round and ended up in what might be called an informal family type place with soft chairs and a large sofa. Sliding windows led out into the lower balcony. It was informal, cluttered and very Luke, decorated in browns and warm russet tones. Through a half open door she could see a dimly lit bedroom with a large bed. One of Luke's Jedi tunics was thrown over a chair and again, full-length sliding windows covered with filmy drapes led onto the balcony.

"Come on," Luke placed a careful arm around Mara and led her onto the balcony. Another bottle of wine sat on a low table with a bottle opener. He’d lit several lamps so she could see properly. The balcony was large with several tubs of various plants and flowering shrubs. More evidence of the farmboy and not the Jedi Master.

"This is nice, Luke."

She'd called him Luke again. He was beginning to lose count. "It is," he leant on the railing and peered into the night. "I'm not that keen on Coruscant, but I do like this place when I'm here. I've added a few things to make it feel more like home."

She scanned the solar, as Luke called it and smiled. "This is more Luke than the Jedi Master. I like it, but I've never been down here before."

"What, never?"

"No, it's bigger than I imagined."

"I suppose it is, for one man. I was given a choice of a few and this was the one that felt right. Being a New Republic hero can have its advantages." Luke's tone was self-deprecating and his expression wry. "Some of the other places were bigger, but I liked this one and it's not too far from Leia or from you. I have two extra rooms so I can have the kids to stay or guests. Still, I can't believe you've never been in this part."

She shrugged. "We usually started and finished in the kitchen, farmboy. Something to do with your appetite."

"What can I say, I'm a growing boy."

Mara sipped at her wine, it's warmth easing her anxiety for a moment. "What made you return to Coruscant, Luke?"

"The Force called me."

Mara frowned, did it call him the same way as it had her?

"Why?" She asked. "Why did it call you?"

"I don't know, but it gives me a chance to see my family."

Mara joined him as they leant on the balcony, her glass clasped between graceful hands. Luke removed her glass from her hand and laid it on the small table he'd set up.

"Tell me what's wrong, Luke. This is not just about the Force calling you."

"I feel so stifled on Yavin," he burst out as he swung round and faced away from her. "Don't get me wrong. I love it there too. Teaching the next generation of Jedi is so important, but it's in danger of trapping me in beaurocracy. That isn't what I do - what I am." He pounded the marble edge of the balcony. Mara moved closer and placed a gentle hand on his arm. He turned to face her and covered her hand with his own, unconsciously stroking the soft flesh he felt beneath his fingers. "I'm hoping to have enough Jedi to let go a little. I need to let go. But because at one time I was the only person able to teach, it had to be done in one place with many students. I set up the Academy on Yavin and just went ahead, ignorant of what I was undertaking and with people waiting for me to fail."

"You didn't fail; you had failures, but that happens everywhere."

Luke smiled briefly and continued stroking her hand, his thumb rubbing slowly across her palm. "It's taking my life from me, Mara. They have me on a timetable - every minute of every day. The Force is a living, breathing spontaneous thing, why can't I live? I've had to teach and pass on what Obi Wan and Yoda taught me. But I've done that and more and they still expect me to…"

"Responsibility has its curses, Skywalker. Do you think if you had all that freedom, you would want it? Do you long for the life of a moisture farmer, with no responsibility apart from seeing the vaporators work and the harvest comes in?"

"No… but"

"Deal with it, farmboy."

"I'm trying to," he looked up and into her eyes. "Yoda's little saying haunts me. 'Do or do not, there is no try.' Sometimes all I can do is try."

Mara moved a little closer in silent comfort. "So you lit out, Skywalker?"

"Faster than a bantha on spice."

"An interesting comparison," she muttered with a hint of amusement. "And not one I would ever want to see."

Luke grinned, momentarily lighting up his face. "I guess not. I told them I had to go to Coruscant on unexpected business. I had to come - something called me here. I gave Tionne my blasted timetable and told her to assign the best people for the job."

Mara chuckled, as she pictured Tionnes' strange silvery eyes growing as round as Tholatin moonstones. "How did she take that?"

"Tionne is a walking miracle of organisation. I swear that woman knows more about the Jedi than I do."

"Pity she lacks the ability, then," Mara put in snidely.

Luke grimaced. "I shouldn't say this, but in a way I'm glad she does. Perfection would be very hard to deal with and we all know I'm not quite perfect."

Mara groaned. "Skywalker!"

"Anyway, she made a few ineffectual protests…"

"Oh! We were being masterful then, were we, Master Skywalker?"

Luke flushed. "Stop interrupting, Jade."

"Yes, Master Skywalker." She bowed her head in a mocking show of deference. "I suppose having more than one perfect being on Yavin would be hard."

"Mara!" He humphed, and drained his glass of wine.

"Just in case I arrived there." She lifted a wicked eyebrow. "Sorry Luke, please carry on with your tale of heroic escape from the big bad Jedi Academy."

"Sarcasm, Jade, does not become you."

"Sorry." She grinned at him unrepentantly, not sorry in the least.

Luke glared at her. "As I was saying, Jade, before I was so rudely interrupted. Tionne made a few quiet protests, then set her mind to it. If I'm honest - it's now a better course. They don't need me there."

"You could function as a sort of artistic director." Mara whirled away and struck an elegant pose.

"It's not a frelling dance school," he returned shortly.

"Pity, I can just see you in the tights." Mara moved from her pose into a fluid pirouette and for a moment Luke watched, completely entranced as her graceful form spun, her dress flowing as she moved. "Just give overall guidance now and then, teach a series of lessons on meditation. Be the figurehead." Mara twirled to a stop in front of him, not even breathing hard.

"I could."

Mara gave him an exasperated look, all the earlier tension forgotten as they continued with their older, more familiar relationship. Although perhaps 'forgotten' wasn't correct. It had been merely put aside to be brought out later. "Wake up, Skywalker. Haven't you forgotten something? You can't do it all." Her tone mocked him.

Luke tore his gaze from her face and began to pace. "I know that, but up until now I've had to do it all."

Mara moved in front of him and brought his agitated movements to a halt. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she stared resolutely into his eyes. "Perhaps, that is why you were called away from Yavin. Maybe the Force recognises that you need to grow, as do some of your trainees. You do have a tendency to fuss, my boy. Perhaps all this is more about them than you." Luke tried, he really did. He heard her words and it was something he had considered, but as soon as she touched him, the quicksilver in his veins turned his feelings to molten desire.

Mara sent out a careful probe. Luke depended on Mara for the truth, he would get from no one else. When she'd touched him, it had been an instinctive need to offer comfort. As soon as her hands encountered warm male skin, comfort became the last thing on her mind.

The Awakening - Chapter 4

Luke's apartment - Coruscant

'Desire.'

It sped through Mara faster than liquid metal.

Wanting, yearning, longing - desire. A kaleidoscope of images tumbled through her brain - all because she'd touched him. The Force swirled around her, taunting her with its silent whispers of encouragement. Time stood still as she continued to hold the face of the man she'd once sworn she would kill.

'Desire.'

Luke held himself immobile with the shock of the sensations her touch had invoked in him. He was aching, craving, hungering for the pleasure and the pain her touch brought him. The Force eddied around him, urging him to complete the circle of their meeting. His own body was beseeching him to go ahead and just take what he knew now to be his. But he couldn't do that. Mara had to be as aware of what she was doing as he was, although he was unaware of anything happening outside the circle of his arms. Within them - he held the universe. The galaxy could do without them for a while.

He closed his eyes. His hands had moved to her shoulders, feeling the smooth skin - so soft. Mara moved her hands and entangled her fingers in his hair. Luke sighed as he felt her fingers comb through and finally rest on the nape of his neck. He deliberately breathed in her scent as he reached for her presence in the Force. Carefully keeping his feelings in check, he leant forward and brushed his lips over hers.

'Desire.'

The simple matter of two mouths meeting was not simple at all for the Jedi. Passion flashed bright and strong as Luke gathered Mara Jade into his arms and crushed her against him. The hunger, the craving and the need acted like a bolt from a bowcaster. Mara wound her arms around him and opened her mouth to his kiss. Passion bright, passion strong, greed, need and many years of secretly watching every move the other made added to the conflagration of their desire.

Luke's tongue was determined to taste her thoroughly and hungrily, and all Mara could do was moan her consent.

'Desire,' liquid and hot.

Lost in each other Mara and Luke clung, lip to lip. Only the nearby misfiring of a perilously out of control air taxi disturbed them. As if shot, they jerked apart. "What are we doing?" Mara rubbed her tongue carefully over kiss-swollen lips. To Luke the sight was unbelievably erotic and his feet, without his consent, moved back towards her.

"Mara," he whispered. "Mara, that was like nothing I've…"

She met his stunned blue gaze and wondered if she too looked as if she'd been trampled by a rancor. Her gaze shifted past Luke to where she could see into the bedroom, where the big bed dominated her vision and the Force help her, she could see herself tangled with Luke, skin to skin, woman to man, in it.

"Oh Sith, Skywalker. What do we do now?"

"I don't know - this changes everything."

"Or nothing."

"Or nothing," he agreed the knowledge of something deeper in his eyes. "Perhaps this is why I was called home."

Mara walked to the edge of the balcony and stared into the darkness of the night. Dark, yet Coruscant was ablaze with lights of every colour. Coruscant, the heart of the galaxy; the planet where no one ever slept. The place where billions of people carried on with their own selfish lives and spared little thought for other less fortunate beings. "I don't know if I can do this, Luke."

Luke's head snapped round to where Mara stood. "What do you mean?" his voice was low and dangerous.

"I don't know if I can keep walking away from you and survive."

"I don't understand."

"You’re the Jedi Master and I'm the former Emperor's Hand."

"I know that - so?"

"The kiss we shared…" Mara flushed miserably. "It wasn't exactly platonic."

Luke swallowed as he relived the feeling of her in his arms, his mouth on hers -- so soft, so seductive. "Why do you have to walk away - that was heaven to me."

"We can't… it wouldn't be right. I don't…."

"Trust me, need me, want me?" He implored her, his hands clenching into fists with desperation. He wanted to touch her so badly. "Mara, I…" He started towards her again and grabbed her by the wrists.

"You're my friend," she persisted in delaying their destiny. "Friends don't sleep together." She shook him off, but he clung on.

"Only enemies do - is that what you're saying - enemies or mere acquaintances? Yes, we're friends, Mara. Can't friends be lovers too?" Luke turned away, his shoulders hunching, letting her hands drop to her sides.

"No… yes… I… can't always have what I want."

"Why not?" He swung on his heel to face her. "Why can't we?" His face tight with desire and frustration. "Why can't we have what we want? We deserve it." His fists clenched. "Or do we have to suffer some more - alone?" He was trying to understand this complex woman and failing miserably. Yoda could have prattled on about trying and doing until Luke reached nine hundred years old too. It wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference. His hand brushed the weapon which hung proudly at his waist.

"Palpatine's Fortress!" he yelled suddenly, as his level of frustration with himself and Mara reached its limit and he pulled out his saber. "Okay, so we don't make love, what do we do instead?"

Advancing on Mara, he held it in the first classical position and waited. Mara looked confused as she eyed the shimmering green blade and its simmering owner. Luke lifted the saber and attacked. Immobile for only a second, Mara came to life and her own saber flew to her hand, igniting immediately. Just in time as Luke's saber crashed down narrowly missing her head.

"Luke! What the hell's going on?"

She parried his attack successfully and began to move around the balcony. "Sith!" She swore as she lopped off the top of one of the flowering shrubs, in a vain attempt to counteract one of Luke's moves. "Luke, you sith-spawned, underhanded excuse for a man. If you wanted your plant life to follow the art of topiary, you could have said. What's got into you?" Tripping over her feet, she dodged another attack. Fighting in a long flowing gown was not easy.

'Adapt,' she heard in her head.

Mara narrowed her green eyes and began to attack back. Luke was not suffering from an attack of the dark side; he was out to prove a point. What point it was, she didn't know. But she had an excess of hormones to get rid of herself. Kissing Luke, becoming lost in his arms… She slowed a little, her breathing laboured. The Jedi Master's blue gaze sharpened for a moment, she was becoming a little distracted - good. This was a fight he aimed to win. He knew this was what the Force had in store for him. Luke, perhaps a little unfairly, sent her an image of them melded together and Mara slowed down even further. He had to act fast because she would be on to him. With an angry hiss, Mara moved to intercept his thrust and found her dress neatly slashed to above her knees.

Luke stopped this time, as the sight of her long slim legs appearing through filmy layers of material was doing things to his already shaky equilibrium. They shut down their sabers and stood breathing heavily at opposite ends of the balcony.

"What the hell was that all about, because I sure don't know?"

Luke gave her an intense assessing stare and began to remove his tunic and shirt. Then he moved towards her again. "Okay, that should solve the problem. Your dress was too constricting around your legs and it hampered your movement," he said calmly.

'Too calmly', Mara thought suspiciously. Luke was up to something. But taking off his shirt - 'come on!' Did he think that stripping off would reduce her to a quivering mess? She wasn't the kind of girl impressed by the latest galactic nerfcake photos. It took more than a handsome face and a superb body to knock Mara Jade off balance. 'It's just Luke,' she told herself. 'Skywalker, Farmboy, Jedi...'

Mara didn't guess, but Luke was desperately fighting for his composure. He lifted his saber and squeezed the comfort of his handgrip. 'Control, control - you must learn control.' He heard Yoda's wheezy voice in his mind and found new purpose. This was part of him, the lightsaber, who and what he was. He took a deep breath. "If we're going to indulge in a little sparring, I don't want to ruin my new suit. Begin. "

Mara stared at his naked chest and her temperature began to rise again. The well formed pecs lightly sprinkled with hair, the flat stomach - no one could deny that the Jedi Master was very much a man and Mara didn't want to do that. No - she wasn't a girl to be swayed by the superfluous details of a mere man. But again the perfidious voice inside her urged and tempted. 'This isn't just any man. This is Luke, and he's special.' Her saber flickered into life and she waited for Luke to make another attack. But he didn't; he stood waiting for her to do something.

'Special,' the little voice taunted her. 'Special… Special.'

Half-heartedly, she edged a little closer. "I don't want to fight with you, Luke," she whispered as the overload of emotions began to take effect. She dropped the saber and it cut out, rolling away under one of the flower tubs. Luke moved closer still and attached his own to his belt.

"Mara, you can use a saber better than that." His voice emotionless. "Suppose I had been a real threat?"

"I know, but…"

"You knew I wasn't - why?"

He carefully moved into her personal space and placed careful hands on her smooth, bare arms. Gently, in case she would flee, he tipped her chin up and gazed into her eyes. In them was a storm of doubts and seething emotions, but she would not cry. Not in front of him.

"I'm not your enemy. Why continue to treat me as such? You said you'd forgiven me for times past long ago, yet you still keep part of yourself locked away. We are alike you and I, but I trust you. I would trust you with everything I have."

Mara tried to keep her gaze away from his strongly muscled chest and found herself looking into his blue eyes instead. The look in them made her knees buckle. His eyes were the window to his soul, wise and true, but she could see hurt at her apparent mistrust of him - the one person she'd said had saved her soul. Luke sensed her weakening and tightened his grasp in support but it brought him close and she could feel the imprint of his body on her own. The Jedi Master felt his own control waning and decided to give in. Luke had had enough and placed his lips over hers.

"Mara," his well-shaped mouth sipped at hers. "You don't want to walk away from me, surely. Do you?" He placed his arms around her and drew her closer. Bending his fair head, he nibbled at her neck and Mara closed her eyes. The sensation of his lips on her skin sent her pulse skyrocketing upwards.

Mara struggled a little, but she didn't want to get away. Because if she had wanted to, she would have. "Luke, is this fair?"

"It's what we both want."

"We can't always have what we want, Skywalker." Mara exerted enough will power on her crumbling defences to move Luke to arms' length.

"This is our destiny - we both know it. I should have done something about it a long time ago, but I was foolish and misguided. I thought my destiny, my future, was to be alone, and I hugged my self-pity to myself with a twisted kind of pride."

Mara stretched out her hand and her saber returned to her. "We can create our own destiny, Skywalker. Who said I would have let you create mine?"

"If the Force wills it. It called us both, Mara. We can create our own destiny, and I'm creating mine right now with you," and once more his head descended and his lips covered hers.

'Desire.'

This time Luke was in total control and Mara's defences crumpled. Her mouth opened, allowing his tongue to mimic the act they both wanted so much to happen. Luke kissed her eyelids closed, lifted her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. The bedroom was again decorated in the dark russet tones Luke favoured, with the bed dominating both their thoughts. They knew that was their intended place, tangled together, their bodies rising and falling with passion. Woman to man, skin to skin - heartbeat to soul.

Shutting the doors with the Force, he slid Mara down his body and began removing clothes, never letting go of her. His lips continued to kiss and caress her, his hands finding the concealed fasteners on her clothing and sliding it off her, piece by piece. His hands stroking her woman's shape learning her hollows and curves - pulling the pins from her tightly coiled hair until it surrounded him with its fiery splendour.

Mara roused herself from her passive lethargy as streaks of fire began to course through her body. Trembling she groped blindly for the catch on Luke's belt, and belt and saber dropped to the floor forgotten. As her fingers brushed his groin, Luke stiffened and gasped. He'd been on a tight rein all evening and Jedi Master or not, he could hold out no longer. The sound of his gasp and Mara's increasingly laboured breathing, interspersed with soft kisses and gentle murmurs acted like fuel on a slow burning fire. It exploded hot and bright. Words were forgotten, kisses no longer soft, but hard and bruising, encouraging the furnace. Desperately, Luke and Mara divested each other of their final pieces of clothing and, naked, joined each other on the bed - finally skin met skin. As his lips covered hers once more, opening so that their tongues could taste and stroke, Luke's hands found her breasts and brought them to aching life. Mara searched with the Force for Luke's presence and they joined as one in their minds creating a bond like no other. Luke knew he couldn't last much longer; he was ready to explode. Parting Mara's thighs, he plunged into her. "By the Force,' he murmured, appalled at himself, but she was ready for him and he sank thankfully into her waiting warmth.

"Oh yes, Luke," Mara sighed into his hot mouth, as her fingers raked his smooth back and tight buttocks. "Luke…" The sound came low in her throat - low and achingly wanton. The Force shimmered, adding nuances of indescribable feeling to their loving as they danced as one. They moved urgently as Luke thrust into Mara with a shout of satisfaction. As they reached fulfilment together, the wave crested and finally doused the flame. Luke pulled Mara to him and kissed her damp brow. She was his as he was hers, and they both knew it now.

Knowing was one thing, accepting it another.

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Mara's eyes blinked open on an unfamiliar ceiling. The heavy crimson comforter was warm and she almost gave into the temptation to close her eyes and sleep. Something shifted next to her, and Mara's eyes widened at the thought that she was not alone. Tentatively she faced the source of her indiscretion and winced as her gaze fell on the form of the Jedi Master. Wide-awake, the memories crashed in upon her mind. 'Emperor's spawn!' Luke Skywalker had made moves on her last night, and she'd gone for it like a sex-starved harlot. But he'd been good. He'd been better than good. If that was what living a relatively celibate lifestyle did for you, she was all for it. When the Jedi Master had woken up from his emotional deep freeze, who would have guessed that the waters ran so hot? Her body tightened as she remembered the things they'd done during the night. The things they had shared over and over and enjoyed them. Oh yes, she'd enjoyed them. She slammed shut the lid on some of the images, for they were too disturbing to remain loose in her head.

Mara eyed his sleeping face curiously. She'd seen him asleep before on Myrkr, Yavin and Wayland, but she'd never viewed him with the eyes of a lover. Luke lay sleeping, his face calm and untroubled, freed from the worry that was beginning to wear down his spirit. Even Leia hadn't seen his unhappiness, his loneliness - but Mara had. Was that the reason she'd given in to his body's demands? 'Unfair,' her mind screamed at her. 'You've wanted him for years. As soon as you saw his face on file you wondered what he'd be like in the bedroll. Admit it, Mara Jade. Admit it to your self.'

"When did you think he was special, Mara?" The echo of Leia's voice wound itself insidiously into her mind.

'Given in! She had given in!' The hell had she. She pushed a tired hand through her untidy red-gold hair and relaxed against the pillow. Who was she fooling? It certainly wasn't Luke Skywalker, and it wasn't anyone else in his family either. The only one doing the fooling was Mara Jade. Something had awoken her from her emotional numbness and she wasn't sure if she liked it. In the end, Mara had begged for it. She'd welcomed him into her body, as he'd possessed her. It had been a true meeting of equals. Woman to man, skin to skin, Jedi Knight to Jedi…

Luke shifted closely against her, muttering something in his sleep, his leg brushing against her own, his hand unconsciously caressing her hip, moving closer to the centre of her woman's need. A spark of awareness lit in her body, and her breasts tingled. Mara shifted a little, trying to move away from him.

"Mara?"

Reluctantly, she turned in the direction of the quiet compelling voice and found the sleepy blue eyes fastened on her with an intensity that scared her. The bed creaked, a strangely intimate sound in the stillness. He rose up a little and loomed over her, pushing her back into the soft mattress. He let his hand move down her body, smoothing his path, but leaving a trail of fire as he traversed her slim form. He traced over gently curving breasts and over the sweet skin of her stomach. Something inside her clenched. She arched and a tortured moan rose unbidden from her throat. Every nerve ending in Luke's body fired like the engines on the Millennium Falcon. Reaching down, he touched her special place and Mara couldn't believe it, she was ready for him. As soon as he'd touched her, he'd awoken sensation after sensation. She stiffened as he continued to feel, stroke and caress every inch of smooth soft skin. Luke felt his erection harden as Mara began to writhe helplessly under his ministrations.

"Touch me, Mara," he groaned. "Please… I want to feel your hands on me… Mara!"

Mara reached out and wrapped her hand around his manhood. Before too long, they were beyond coherent thought, beyond rational deliberation. Nature had them in her strong grip and wasn't going to free them until they had satiated themselves with each other. Mara opened her legs and Luke slid into her. He could feel nothing but her tight heat as she clenched around his need. Luke bent and kissed her shoulder as he moved, then finally covered her soft lips with his own. Together, they rode the wild tempest of light and stars. Every sensation seemed more intense and more real and finally Mara's scream triggered his own release.

Mara went limp in his arms as Luke pulled out of her. With a soft satisfied sigh, he parted her lips with his own and drank deeply of her sweetness. Pulling her firmly against him, Luke cupped a soft round breast and joined his lover in sleep.

Mara left the bed, her mind in a whirl.

She must have slept for several hours and then awakened, her mind confused. Mara pulled a shirt of Luke's around her nude body. It smelt comfortingly of him. Pushing aside the door to the balcony she moved as if in a trance and subsided onto a bench outside. Now the pale streaks of an uneasy dawn were creeping past the spires, columns and turrets of the Coruscant skyline.

‘Sith, this was all one big mess. What the hell had possessed her?’

She'd been in the colonies delivering goods when the call came. Something had brushed her Force sense. With it she'd seen a picture in her mind. It was a balcony on Coruscant. She was there sleepily surveying the Coruscant skyline.

'Luke!' Had been her first thought, but the message had not come from him. He was still on Yavin according to her information sources. But she would swear on the death of Vader that the view had been connected to Luke somehow. It looked like the view from his apartment. This had been coupled with the strange restlessness that had gripped her at every turn. Karrde and the other smugglers had watched her with a curious kind of concern. She'd even gone on a date with someone she'd met on one of the colony worlds, but somehow she'd felt she was betraying someone. Which was completely stupid, as she was as free as the birds on Alderaan had once been.

'Once you were, but you're not free now, Mara Jade.' The voice was low and unfamiliar - older.

"I am free, I am dependent on no one. I'm in charge of my own destiny. I can be what and who I want to be. I am content…" The words trailed off into silence. "Am I content?" she asked herself in a hushed whisper. This time she hadn't been able to use a snappy retort. For the first few days she'd chosen to ignore the strange need to go home, but eventually she'd gone to Karrde.

"I have to go to Coruscant."

"Fine." He gave her a curious stare from eyes paler than Luke Skywalker's eyes of bright blue.

Something must have changed in her expression because Karrde leaned forward. "Is everything all right, Mara. I can't shake the feeling that there is something bothering you." He ran an idle finger over his goatee beard. "Skywalker in trouble?"

Her head jerked back. "Skywalker!" She managed a careless laugh. "I haven't heard from him in months. He's too busy on his jungle moon pontificating on matters of the Force."

"You're strong in the Force too, Mara Jade."

"I'm not Jedi material."

"Skywalker seems to think so."

"Ignore him - I do." She got to her feet, the movement drawing attention to the lightsaber at her waist. Luke's lightsaber, the one he'd given her all those years ago.

"Yet you wear his father's lightsaber," Karrde mused aloud.

"He gave it to me." Now she sounded defensive.

Karrde shook his head. When would Mara wake up and realise she and Skywalker were linked in some way? Karrde wasn't sure if it was romantically or not, but there were strong feelings between them. There always had been, even before they had met.

He turned to a shelf behind him and lifted several data cards from a box. "If you're going to Coruscant, you can do some business for me. Save me going there myself." He held out the cards, and she took them reluctantly.

"Sure, I'll cover those deals. I take it the buyer knows what he wants?"

"He does." Karrde's eyes fastened on Mara, with the shrewd expression in them, that made her think he was stripping away her layers and getting at exactly what she was thinking. "Oh and Jade..."

Mara turned her head, her hand poised on the door controls.

"Say hello to Skywalker. One of the things you're delivering is for him."

"Karrde, he's on Yavin. He was yesterday and still is."

Karrde's eyebrows raised a fraction. "You're keeping close tabs on the Jedi Master, but your information is flawed. Luke Skywalker left Yavin late last night and will probably be on Coruscant within the week."

Mara sighed as she finished her reminiscences. She'd then turned and asked Karrde the question. "When did you know that Skywalker was special?"

He hadn't demanded an explanation from Mara. Karrde had looked her straight in the eye. "Myrkr."

"Myrkr?"

"He survived a trek through the forest with you, and you were not exactly feeling friendly towards him at that point. He'd ruined your life - remember?"

Mara glanced down at her hands, a sulky expression on her face. The Emperor had used her. She didn't like to be reminded of it too often.

"Then he brought down a squad of Thrawn's men. Single-handedly, without the Force. He saved my life when he got me off the Chimaera. He saved your life on several occasions, so I still have my second in command."

There was an awkward silence. Was he asking her a question? Mara had chosen to take it as one. "I don't know, Karrde."

"Mara, it's your decision. Tell Skywalker I said so."

And what a decision she'd made. Mara rubbed her weary face, the morning light beginning to pour onto the balcony. She had sex with the Jedi Master. Sith knows what would happen now. He wasn't the type to leave well alone. Luke would keep pushing until one of them did something. Force knows she was in love with him and had been for years.

Mara wrapped Luke's shirt securely round her body and watched the hawk-bats circling over something far below.

Love? With Luke? No, it wasn't possible. "It's not possible. I can't be?"

Reluctantly, she turned and gazed at her sleeping lover through the open door and a rare expression resembling vulnerability mixed with tenderness crossed her beautiful features. It was true, she was in love with him, but he must not know. For it would give him power over her, and she had no desire to be in that situation ever again.

The Awakening - Chapter 5

Luke surfaced from one of the best dreams he'd had in his life. It had been so realistic that he'd almost believed he really had held Mara Jade in his arms. He moved languorously and stretched like a basking sun lizard. It was then he noticed the head-shaped indentation in the pillow next to his. Luke's blood froze as his mind grasped the pertinent facts. Oh stars of Alderaan! It hadn't been a dream at all. He propelled himself into a sitting position as his muscles finally obeyed his commands. "Sithspawn!" He dropped his head into his hands and prayed to the Force to guide him. 'This was all one big mess. What the hell had possessed him?'

He'd felt the call of the Force summoning him across the galaxy. And here he was. Perhaps Mara was right, and it was about giving his Jedi apprentices on Yavin the courage to take that final step on their own. He had complete faith in their abilities to take over the running of the Yavin facility. He needed to be back out among the stars where he belonged. What part would Mara play in his new life? To go from enemies to friends was one thing, but to jump into bed together with the apparent speed they'd just done without building a relationship was the height of folly. 'But we do have a relationship,' he told himself. 'We have a ten year relationship.' Was there any hint before that they could tear each other to pieces with their passion? The entire galaxy could have gone belly-up last night and neither of them would have known or cared.

'Sith, what a mess.'

Luke eased from the bed and padded over to where his robe lay over a chair. It was time to see what the lady herself thought. If she tried to run him through with what used to be his own saber, he wouldn't be at all surprised.

'Tread gently, Luke, lest you tread on her dreams.'

Luke stopped in shock. That voice, it seemed familiar somehow and yet completely strange to him. It was a woman's voice. Older and deeper than Mara's, but had he heard it in reality or had he heard it in his dreams?

"Who are you?" he whispered, but there was nothing. He stretched out with the Force and caught a wisp of a faded presence long gone. But he also caught the churning of a mind far closer and very much alive. Mara - he had to face her.

Luke stood at the open window and watched. Mara sat gazing out towards the spectacular view, but he suspected she wasn't seeing it. She was dressed in one of his shirts, he realised. Her arms surrounded her knees, which were drawn into her chest, her legs smooth and bare. Pushing the door ajar, he took a step forward and hungrily eyed her slim figure. Even after all they had shared during the night, the sight of her still moved him. Her hair tumbled wildly over the white of his shirt, curling to her waist.

'Living fire,' he mused.

"We shouldn't have done what we did, Skywalker."

He knew she had felt his presence; they were so close in the Force she was bound to.

"So you think we made a mistake?"

"Don't you?"

Luke walked forward and traced the rising sun with his eyes. "No, but you do."

"We were friends, Luke."

'Were,' she'd said.

"We still are."

"It's different. We've taken a step too far."

"In your opinion." Luke countered doggedly.

"In my opinion. I cannot believe you didn't have second thoughts when you awoke?"

His silence confirmed it, and her mouth firmed just a little. "It won't happen again."

"Now wait a minute Mara! We need to talk this out."

"No! You wait." She jumped anxiously to her feet.

Luke put his hand on her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she spat viciously, trying vainly to shrug him off.

"Mara," his voice gentle and somehow - sad. "This is more than you or me. This is the Force at work." He closed his eyes. "I can feel it." His hand started to rub gently on her shoulder. Mara felt it burn through the thin cotton. This feeling between them - it was still there. She had to get away from him.

"I refuse to be in anyone's power ever again, Luke," she said coldly. Stars she didn't feel cold, she felt hot and fevered as his touch awoke the sleeping desire within. "I let the Emperor control me once."

"I'm not the Emperor, "Luke's voice rose, a touch of irritation creeping into it.

Mara dipped her head a little. "I know you're not, but the Force is very powerful in you."

"And also in you."

"I refuse to accept that. I am a Force Adept, yes, but my power is weak in comparison to many others."

"Rubbish! Stop fooling yourself. What we shared last night, was spectacular I agree, but the feeling, the strong emotions between us have always been present. Even Callista…." He paused slightly before carrying on. "Callista always thought there were things unresolved between us. We were never meant to be, Callista and I, but I won't believe you and I cannot have a meaningful relationship. You have the power and the skills to become a great Jedi. You are my equal, not my subordinate. You, Mara Jade, are very strong in the Force. The Emperor kept your powers undeveloped unless they were of use to him. He used you for his own selfish ends. If you'd challenged him in any way, he would have neutralised that threat. In my opinion, he's succeeding."

Mara's face didn't change at all, but Luke felt the turbulence in her mind and the resentment at his words. Carefully, he turned her to face him and brought her into the circle of his embrace. Resting his chin on her hair, he sent as much reassurance through the Force as he could. For he loved her, he knew that, but she wasn't ready to hear it - not yet.

He felt her relax but not relent, so he tipped her face up to his and lowered his mouth onto hers. Mara didn't resist as he parted her lips, letting his tongue enter her mouth and caress her own. The kiss grew in intensity and Luke's hands began to roam over her body, finally sliding the shirt over her shoulders, where it pooled in a puddle of white at their feet.

Mara couldn't help but respond, her hands clutching at his robe, seeking the warm skin beneath. 'Weak,' her mind screamed at her. But its pitiful attempts to reassert its independence fell under the assault of Luke's mouth and hands. Lifting Mara into his arms he carried her back to the bed and lost himself in her warmth. When he woke up, he was alone. Mara had gone.

Solo Apartment

The face of the woman on Leia's holo-imager was white, but composed. Mara Jade at her most imperious.

"I have to leave on urgent business. I won't be able to meet you tomorrow for a workout."

Leia felt the shift in the emotions. Something wasn't quite right. Mara's face held a remote expression, but her eyes glittered as if her mind was fighting with itself.

"That's a pity; I was looking forward to it. Oh, and by the way, how did you get on with my brother last night?"

If it was possible, Mara's face went whiter. "We talked."

"And?"

"We argued."

'I think more than that happened, especially the way you are acting.' Leia sighed. Honestly, Mara was worse than her brother when he got all closemouthed. "Shame, because you and Luke have so much in common and you work well together." 'Do I tell her they're beginning to look like two halves of a single whole?'

"Our ideas differ in certain areas."

"Like what?"

"I can't talk about it," Mara snapped furiously, her eyes shooting green laser bolts at Leia.

"Can't or won't?" Leia persisted, determined not to be cowed by Mara. She had a feeling her brother's future might depend upon it.

A flicker of pain crossed her face. "Trust me, I can't. Goodbye, Leia - may the Force be with you."

Leia watched dumbly as the image disappeared and Mara Jade vanished. "Luke!" She muttered. If Mara was leaving, then what kind of a state was Luke in?

"Han, I'm going round to Luke's. That was Mara; she's heading off planet."

"Now?"

His wife nodded.

"Oh boy, this is not good. You get to Luke's and bring him back for supper if you can."

Leia grinned at her husband, despite her anxiety, grabbed her cloak and left the apartment.

Luke's Apartment

Moving like an old man, Luke dressed himself slowly in his traditional Jedi blacks. Last night had been wonderful, but he should have known it wouldn't last. Nothing ever did in his life. His competence to serve the New Republic through his Force ability was the one constant; the love of his sister another. In spite of everything he still tried to dream. He had made a major decision. He was not going back to Yavin - yet. He'd checked in with them only an hour ago and informed them he was going to mediate in some disputes for the New Republic. He did not tell them where - he didn't know where.

The door com chimed and he recognised the signature in the Force of his expected visitor. Leia knew that Mara had gone. How much else she knew - that was another question.

He slid open the door and watched her as she stared at him, looking for signs that he was hurting. Luke sighed deeply to himself. Of course he was hurting, but he was used to that by now. He had never expected anyone as beautiful as Mara Jade would come to love him. He was Luke, the Farmboy turned Jedi. He was okay to have as a friend, but not suitable material as a lover. Something always got lost in the transition of his hopes to reality.

"Luke!" was all Leia said and held out her arms. The Jedi Master felt a strange prickling in his eyes and was astonished to find tears blurring his view. He crossed to his sister and buried himself in her warm embrace.

"Oh Luke," Leia comforted. "What happened? I'm here to listen if you are ready to tell me. If not, I'll wait until you are."

Luke clung, thankful that his twin was a woman of great heart and compassion and not the soulless politician her enemies made her out to be. He lifted his head and smiled at her, but it was a tired grimace rather than his usual grin of sunny optimism. Leia stifled a feeling of disquiet. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen that grin. Mara had been right. Her brother was unhappy and she'd been too caught up in her own life to see it. Luke being Luke hadn't wanted to bother her and had kept his unhappiness to himself. Most of the time he was neither one nor the other. Neither happy or sad - he just existed and went through his life doing what he had to do.

"I'm fine, Leia. Mara has made her choice. I won't give up hope, but neither do I expect her to change her mind. She's very special, Leia, with a strength in the Force that's truly remarkable. She's been used and lied to for so long that she's unable to trust."

"Mara trusts you," Leia said with certainty.

"As much as she trusts anyone," Luke answered quietly.

"No, Luke. Mara trusts you. She said to me that you'd saved her soul."

Luke's face shuttered and he turned away from Leia. He paused in front of the window and placed his hands on the sill. It was only then that Leia noticed that his knuckles were white and his shoulders shook.

"Luke…."

"When I gave her my soul to save, Leia, she gave me it back."

'Have patience, young Jedi.' The voice came out of nowhere, a mere whisper of sound like a breath on the breeze. Luke's head jerked up and his eyes darted about the room.

"Who are you? Where are you?" he called urgently into the air.

"Luke?" Leia eyed her brother.

"Didn't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The voice. I heard a voice. I heard it earlier this morning."

Leia shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't hear anything. I felt a puff of wind, but the window is open. Was it a Force user?"

"I think so." He liked the fact that his sister didn't assume he was madder than Joruus C'baoth had been. Having the occasional dead friend or relative appear to you helped the perspective the Jedi had about life. Even when you lost it, you weren't necessarily dead. "It's very faint, as if it's someone who's been gone a long time. Obi Wan could only visit me in my dreams at the end. He had to make the journey. I get the feeling this individual hasn't made the journey."

"Is it someone connected to us or to Mara?"

Luke's face lit up. "I hadn't thought about that. I have a feeling…" He looked at his sister. "I have a feeling… it has more to do with Mara," he mused slowly. Then his face fell. "But she's gone and I have no way of contacting her."

"Send a message to Karrde. He'll see she gets it."

"Good idea. I just don't know what I'll say to her."

"Trust in the Force and the right words will come, Luke."

"I have and they haven't come so far. Otherwise, Mara might still be here."

"What did happen between you and Mara, Luke?"

"More than I ever hoped and less than I'd dreamed about. I love her, I need her like a moisture farm needs rain to make things grow, but she's not ready and I'm not sure she ever will be."

"You slept together."

Luke coloured a little, but kept his chin up and his blue eyes fixed on his sister's steadfast brown ones. "That's my business and Mara's."

'Men!' Luke was being noble and discreet. He forgot she could read him like a holobook. They'd slept together. Leia wondered why she was so exasperated with her brother, after all she'd been wishing some action for him and Mara was an ideal candidate. She'd just decided to temporarily forget about the amount of emotional baggage the pair of them carried around with them constantly. 'I should have known.'

The Jade's Fire

The squat box-like astro-droid kept up his monotonous beeping until Mara flipped a switch and the machine went silent. Artoo Detoo was much better company, than this boxy monstrosity. Then a thought occurred to her. Someone was trying to contact her. "Blast!" She fumbled to flip the switch back on. She'd nearly missed an incoming message from Karrde. The droid blatted a pithy beep and Mara running out of patience, activated his off button again. She swivelled to face her communication console and faced the screen.

"Karrde?"

"Mara - this transmission just came for you. I'm sending it on."

"Thanks Karrde. Transmission accepted and received."

"You okay? I thought the Coruscant trip might have taken a little longer."

"It didn't," she replied brusquely. "I sent all the data resulting from the trip to the Wild Karrde."

"I received it. You did a professional job as always, Mara. What did Skywalker think of his delivery?"

Mara's face stiffened. "I gave that job to Faughan to deal with when I loaded the goods onto the Starry Ice. I wasn't able to run around after the Jedi Master." Her tone was cold.

Karrde picked a pad off his console and checked the data. "I didn't notice you'd passed that job on. I thought you preferred to deal with the Jedi Master yourself. Ah, so that's why he's coming to collect it tomorrow. It's top of the range too."

"Fine," she muttered, wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible. Talking about the Jedi Master was something she didn't want to do at that moment. "I'll be in touch…. Wait a minute. What do you mean top of the range?"

"He's bought himself a ship."

"One of the new Incom X-wings, I suppose."

"No, this one is quite a vehicle. It will carry a couple of X-Wings easily. I'll send you the data. "

"No, I…."

Her screen filled with the holo of a silver ship - sleek polished lines with a classic beauty. There were no ugly angles on this ship. Yet from it's specs she noticed it could withstand quite a pounding and contained a strong weapons complement.

"Quite something, eh?"

"So he isn't going back to Yavin," she murmured in surprise. "He's made a wise decision, for once."

"Keep in touch, Mara, I'll see you when you return from the corporate sector run. Oh, and read the transmission." His image flickered out and Mara was alone. Only the silent astro-droid got in the way of her thoughts. Switching it on, the droid whistled reproachfully at his mistress. "Make the suitable calculations for our jump to hyperspace." The droid set to and finally when Mara pulled the lever and the starlines disappeared did she finally let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

'Listen to him,'

Mara jumped in shock. She'd just heard a voice and it sounded like the one she had heard before. She stretched out with the Force and searched the ship. There was no one on board. Feeling distinctly rattled Mara transferred the transmission to her quarters and settled down to hear from whomever it was that had wanted to talk to her.

Luke's calm face appeared on the screen in front of her and her breath caught in her throat. A fresh wave of pain washed over her. She missed him. Stars, how she missed him! Her green eyes traced every aspect of his appearance - the cleft in his chin, the rebellious curl in his hair and his eyes… By the Force, those eyes. They were beautiful but they were old, she realised. Luke had seen more than he ever wanted to. They were also sad. He missed her too.

"Mara, my friend…"

'Friend! He still referred to her as a friend?

"I'm not sorry about what happened between us. This is not an apology, I don't consider myself to have anything to be sorry about." His pupils dilated and his eyes darkened to a storm tossed sea blue.

'Gamorrean! You made me want you. You made my body, my very bones ache for you. We crossed the line. You made me feel.'

"I would experience it all again if I had the choice and I give you fair warning. I'm not giving up on us. I can't lose you. Your friendship means too much to me. You understand me like no one else does. You can tell me the truth when all others are flattering to deceive. You give me the gift of your open-hearted clarity. I still mean to train you to the status of a full Jedi Knight someday. It is your heritage. The Emperor denied you what is rightfully yours. And Mara, I don't regret our lovemaking…."

"Sex," Mara screamed at the screen, the tears racing down her cheeks. "It was meaningless sex. A need to alleviate our frustrations, a basic human desire to…"

Almost as if he had known what her reaction would be, Luke tilted his head to one side and gave her the wry look she knew so well. "I know what you will say, Mara Jade. You will spout off a load of drivel about it being meaningless sex. If that was meaningless, I don't think I would survive sex with you that meant something. To me, it was lovemaking of the truest kind. I gave you my soul that night." He flushed a little. Talking about such things was not normally Luke's way. It was the farmboy rather than the aloof, imperturbable Jedi Master.

Mara bowed her head and her shoulders slumped. Finally she gave into her pain. Why did it have to hurt so much? Why was walking away from the one man she loved in the galaxy, so hard?

Luke's voice continued to talk to her, but it was only a recording. "What I do regret is the strain it has placed on our relationship - the distance it has wedged between us. I miss you, Mara, so much."

Mara paused the recording, her grief and unhappiness plain to see on her ravaged face. She couldn't take any more. Why did he have to sound so damn sincere? Why did he make her think that the happy ending could happen for her too, when she knew that it all would turn out to be a lie?

'Listen to him, my daughter, listen to him.'

Mara's storm of weeping continued and it was as if someone was with her in her quarters, smoothing her hair and comforting her as if she was a small child. When she lifted her head, she was surprised to find she was on her own.

Lifting a trembling hand to restart the message, Mara assessed the face of the man on the screen. Luke's eyes were red and the expression on his face was one of complete desolation. Something precious had been taken from him.

She had to hear it all, everything he had to say to her.

"Mara…" he hesitated. "I've been hearing voices, specifically a woman's voice. I think it is somehow connected to you."

The voice and the feeling someone was with her. Luke had sensed it too.

"I think it…" he stopped and corrected himself. "I think she wants us to be together, Mara. Together we are stronger than we are apart. If you ever change your mind, I'll be waiting for you. Just call through the Force and I'll come, wherever you are, whatever you're doing. If you need me - I'll be there."

The holo-screen flickered and went black, leaving Mara with her eyes wide and her hand pressed to her mouth. She gave an admiring laugh, which changed midway into a sob. "Damn you, Jedi. Why did I know you would be so obstinate?"

'And you are tractable, my daughter?"

Mara's eyes narrowed. There it was again - that voice. This time she caught the tail end of a very faint tremor in the Force.

'My daughter.' The words loomed large in Mara's mind. She was no one's daughter. How could she be when she couldn't even remember her mother? Mara was not so naïve that she would assume she was suddenly being contacted by a voice from beyond the grave. More likely it was some form of affection from a dead Jedi. Why they would want her and Skywalker to continue with a liaison which could only end in disaster was beyond her?

The Awakening - Chapter 6

The Jades Fire - Somewhere in hyperspace

It had been a good run. Mara Jade accessed the data she'd collected on her trip to the colonies. Orders new and completed - surely there was more to her life than that. Where was the purpose she'd once had when she'd served the Emperor? Somehow the thrill of the trade had gone flat. She'd never expected that to happen. She was free, independent and alone. Mara winced; there was something ugly about the last word.

'Alone.'

She had good colleagues and there were people she would admit being quite close to, but they didn't own her body and soul. The Emperor had owned her complete allegiance and it had turned to be a lie - one big deception. She couldn't let it happen again, not even with Luke, but oh, she wanted to.

Then there was that voice…

She wandered into her cabin and found the remote control for the holo-viewer. Karrde's slicer, Ghent, always made sure she had the latest galactic news bulletins sent directly to the Jade's Fire. In her job, it paid to know which system was at war with another one, or who was bedding whom amongst Coruscant's elite. Mara shivered slightly. 'That could have been me.'

She flicked listlessly through the summary titles. It was as she'd suspected - the usual petty squabbling in the Senate and somewhere in the Outer Rim a larger world pounded a smaller one to smithereens, ignoring the inhabitants in their quest for power. No one won in these conflicts and especially not the people, caught in the middle of a war they neither wanted nor asked for.

"It doesn't really matter since I'm not heading in that direction," she muttered.

'Jedi Master mediates in escalating Verran problem.'

The headline caught her eye. Suddenly, it did matter. Stars of Alderaan it mattered very much.

"Luke," her mouth shaped the word and something twisted in her gut. She thought about him constantly and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't rob herself of the memories. Mara closed her eyes trying to shut out the images as they replayed over and over. This had to stop. She scrolled down over a few more unimportant trivialities.

'Jedi Master injured in fighting - recuperates on Coruscant before flying back to battle zone.'

''Skywalker helps people in Greoa Prime after a freak volcanic eruption kills thousands. Many still missing.'

Mara's pulse thundered in her ears. What the hell was he playing at? She pulled up the last report and watched horrified at the devastation caused by the disaster. Why hadn't she heard about any of this? The world had literally exploded from underneath one of the major cities of the planet. Luke Skywalker had gone from one incident to another over the past three months. Even when he'd been caught in the war zone and slightly injured on Verran, he had only stayed on Coruscant for two days.

The holo-reporter droned on from his safe seat in a Coruscant studio while the pictures continued to run. Mara peered at the screen, anxiously straining for a sight of Luke. Just something to tell her he was alive and well. It was then that she saw him. He emerged from the temporary shelters the rebels had once moved from place to place, as they'd run from the Empire. They now housed the bewildered lifeforms, dispossessed and displaced by the vagaries of nature at her finest. It provided shelter, but it wasn't a home. Grey, utilitarian and totally soulless, they rose from the blackened earth and Luke stood there in his Jedi robes - the one sure thing for the dazed populace. But Luke was thin, his face drawn and gaunt and his blue eyes haunted and dull. He'd seen too much in the past few days. He'd pulled too many dead from the wreckage of collapsed buildings.

Luke always took things too much to heart, and Mara cried silent tears as she watched the man she loved go through so much pain. And this, she knew, would cause him pain. If Luke could prevent anything at all, it would be the needless suffering of others. He would sacrifice himself to do so and part of Mara hated him for that. He would leave her alone to mourn his loss and the loss of a love she never had the courage to embrace totally.

'He loves you too, my daughter.'

Mara didn't even snarl at the owner of the voice. Snarling, she'd found, was a complete waste of time. She had tried every way to discover whom, what and where, but nothing. So she'd given up and ignored it, even though the owner of the voice knew what was in her heart and her mind.

Luke had obviously thrown himself into the traditional role the Jedi had adopted during the Old Republic. Except he was trying to do it alone. Mara had read many of the Emperor's hidden files on the Jedi. They told of a Council of Masters and Jedi travelling the galaxy with their apprentices as they fought to uphold peace and justice. She'd shared what she knew with Luke and he had done what he could with what he had. The other Jedi on Yavin were not ready for what Luke was attempting to do now, but still, someone should have been with him to support him. His sister could have helped. There was no other more suitable.

'What about you?'

"I can't," Mara replied, then froze as she realised she'd been responding to the ever present voice in her head.

The holocam caught Luke pulling a screaming child alive from under a large rock, then easing a frightened old man into a healing trance. He was everywhere, projecting the aura of calm, helping the weak and the children. But as Mara watched the broadcasts as they'd progressed over the weeks, she saw that he had lost a little more of himself every day.

Mara's hand went involuntarily to her belly. She'd almost hoped that their one night might have produced a child and had been unaccountably distressed for some obscure illogical reason, when her usual monthly cramps had started.

She paused the distressing reports and began to ready herself for sleep. Slipping on a thin shift she wandered into the Fresher. Staring at herself in the reflector, Mara began assessing her own appearance. She too was thinner, the angles in her face more pronounced, the fire in her eyes had dulled. She looked tired and spiritless. Three months without him. Three days without him had been too much. She'd gone far longer than this before without experiencing the desire to be with him. When had this need awoken in her? When had she begun to harbour the deep-seated, gut churning need, which only Luke could assuage? In the old days they had gone for long times without contact, then slipped into an easy camaraderie as if they'd never been apart. Mara felt that she had given Luke a much-needed perspective on real life and without it he slipped back to his old bad habits. Luke was doing too damn much. He was trying to do it all. When would he realise that he couldn't? The whole bloody galaxy knew his itinerary; he'd never been out of the galactic news nets for the entire time they'd been apart. Someone should have gone with him - one of the other Jedi.

'No - You should have gone with him.'

Mara gritted her teeth. "I know." She climbed into her bunk and pulled the comforter over her body. "I'm speaking to thin air." There was no answer, no ripple in the force. There might have been an echo of a distant quaver in the Force, but not enough for her to grasp on to.

No Force visions disturbed her dreams that night, only vague shadowy memories of a man's kiss against her parted lips. If the tears ran down her face, she didn't remember, but the name she muttered in her sleep was Luke's.

'I gave you my soul, that night… my soul…. my soul….'

Coruscant Spaceport

Mara landed the Jade's Fire with a grace and skill few could rival and surveyed the deserted landing bay; something told her she'd have company soon. She could feel it, and it was vaguely hostile at that. She pulled her hair back from her face and secured it tightly with a green ribbon. Coruscant was the logical place to come. She'd stopped off at Yavin to try and gain something from being with other Force adepts. Kam Solusar, running the Academy in Luke's absence, had been friendly but suspicious. She'd taken part in a few classes, but these had quickly reinforced the idea that Yavin was not for her. None of the other Jedi could give her any help with the voice she continued to hear and when she'd asked them why they'd let Luke go off on his own, they had looked at her as if she was mad.

"He's the Jedi Master. He didn't ask us or tell us where he was going."

Mara had snorted in disgust. "That's a pathetic excuse and you know it."

Kyp Durron's eyes flashed with annoyance, but closed his mouth when Kam had shaken his head warningly. Mara was trying to needle them. She'd had enough of Jedi calm.

"If he had wanted us we would have gone." Kyp argued with a hostile glare.

"I don't agree," Mara retorted. "And it's not too late. Have you seen the newsnets recently. Luke's half dead. You all know what he's like."

Kam gave Mara a shrewd stare. He'd seen them together and had thought the Jedi Master was smitten with the beautiful redhead, but he'd not been so sure about Jade. But in the light of her comments, he had to reassess what he thought. Mara had demanded he accompany her into her ship to view the evidence, as she put it. She was right; the last few pictures to emerge from Greoa showed a clearly exhausted Luke.

Perhaps he was leading by example hoping the Yavin Jedi would grasp the opportunity to serve the Citizens of the New Republic. Maybe Mara was right about them being unwilling to accept the true nature of the tasks the Force would set for them. The Jedi had not risen from obscurity to become isolationists on a jungle moon. Still, Mara Jade was clearly very concerned about the Jedi master and looking again at the last set of pictures Kam was beginning to agree with her. Kam knew most of the Jedi were not ready for such a task, but he could prepare those that were. It was time for them to do.

"Okay, Jade. We'll prep a ship and get some of the Jedi to help out."

Mara nodded and some of the fight went out of her. Kam could feel the tension ease slowly from her slender frame. This was very important to her. 'No,' Kam concluded - Luke was very important to her.

"Take the healers, Solusar. That's the most important thing at the moment."

"We will… Mara?"

The green eyed woman lifted her head and gazed at the Jedi.

"Thank you."

"It's okay. I'm doing it for Skywalker."

The implication was obvious. 'Not you.' "I know. But think about doing it for yourself too, Mara Jade. You are as much a Jedi as he is, however much you try to deny it."

She had set out for Coruscant immediately - she still had a business to run. Mara turned to her astromech droid and gave it instructions to secure the ship, before activating the boarding ramp. The welcoming committee was waiting for her. She stalked down the ramp with her nose in the air and muttered a curt. "Solo," at the Corellian as she passed. It wasn't going to work, not even her best glare would work on Han Solo; he had enough nerve to outface her any day and not many men could make that claim. Mara looked pointedly at Solo's hand clutching her arm.

"I suggest you let me go," she remarked sweetly, but with a tinge of menace in her tone.

"Good to see you too, Jade," The Corellian uttered flatly with an insincere smile, but didn't let go of her arm. She would find that it was actually bruised later on.

"I could get out of this if I had to."

Han shrugged. "Sure, you probably could. I ain't denying it, Jade. But I want to talk to you." He smiled thinly.

"Suppose I don't want to talk?"

"Well, that's just too bad, cause we're going to talk." He produced his blaster and waved it at her. "You do want to talk."

"I could still get out of this if I had to." Mara kept her tone light. "You do know how to use that thing, I take it?"

"Nice, Jade. Sure, I know you could escape any time you wanted to, Jedi thing and all that. I live with one - remember? However, I have all the spaceport exits covered." He grinned to himself; Chewie could still move fast if he had to. He didn't enlighten Mara that Chewie was covering all the other exits. "Besides, it's not really me that wants to talk to you. In my opinion, you've talked too much and not done enough. The words 'running away' mean anything?"

'Oh Sith!' "I'm not interested in your opinion, Solo. I could use the Force to overpower you and get away."

"Fighting talk, Jade. I like that." His hazel eyes twinkled. "I was beginning to think you were sickening for something. All the fight had left you and you were mouthing meaningless threats. Funny…" Han's grip on her arm tightened and his voice dropped in pitch. "Because you didn't fight for my buddy. You left him, flat. Now he's trying to be a one man Jedi army and it's killing him." Any pretence of civility slipped from his voice and the words came out flat and hard.

Mara found herself thrust into the back of the Solo family's airspeeder. Chewbacca growled in satisfaction as Mara landed awkwardly in the back seat with Han keeping a wary eye on her, just in case she tried to make a run for it. Mara lurched into an uncomfortable place on the seat. She seemed to be sitting on something. She dug around under her seat and pulled out a stuffed Ewok toy. Han immediately reacted by waving his blaster in its face. They gaped at each other in shock.

"Do you normally threaten stuffed toys with your blaster?" Mara asked dryly, as one red-gold eyebrow rose mockingly. "I thought you and the Ewoks were blood brothers or something?"

"I'm a member of the tribe," Han admitted shortly.

"How sweet." She lapsed into silence until they approached the Solo residence. "How long do I have to suffer this kidnap?"

"When you've had your little chat."

'Oh dewback drool.' "Leia," She moaned softly.

Han grinned again. "Yeah, Leia, and you're not her favourite person at the moment. Come on, Jade. Did you really think the confab was with me? I'm flattered."

"So I was fooling myself." Mara closed her eyes and tried to wish herself elsewhere. The Skywalker twin thing - she'd forgotten about that.

Han smiled with grim satisfaction, before turning to speak to Chewbacca. "Hey, pal. I said we'd pick up the children and take them out for the afternoon. Give the girls a chance to chat."

The Wookiee snuffled softly in reply. "I think that's a good idea." He placed a massive shaggy hand on Mara's shoulder as she slid out of the airspeeder. "Talk," he growled warningly. "And listen, Mara Jade."

Han slid out of the seat and helped Mara exit the vehicle. "He said…."

"I… know… what he said," she gritted.

"Good."

Mara was left on the floating platform outside the residence with a feeling she was being watched. Leia stood waiting, her face set in impassive lines. A careful Force probe told her nothing. Mara's stomach churned and again she wished herself elsewhere.

"Mara," Leia's voice was cool, her face giving nothing away.

'Sith - protective sister thing. I should have known. Heck, it's none of her business what I do with her brother.'

"Look, Leia…" Mara began.

"Unless you want to apologise for what you've done to my brother…"

"Can it, Leia. You brought me here - I presume to discuss something."

"I want to know what happened between you and Luke?"

Mara's eyes opened wide in feigned surprise. "That's between me and the farmboy." She placed a graceful hand over her heart. "You mean, he hasn't told every sordid detail?"

"He's my brother and you've hurt him deeply. Of course he hasn't told me every detail. But, you admit it was sordid?"

The hurt flashed across Mara's lovely face and she turned on Luke's sister with a vengeance. "Listen to me, Leia Organa Solo. What happened between Luke and me was beautiful; it was not and never would be sordid. I don't regret it…" Mara stopped, her chest heaving.

"That's not the impression Luke gave me."

Mara's face paled. "You mean, he thought it was like that?"

"I don't know what he thought, but I do know this. He fell in love with you and you hurt him deeply, rejecting him yet again."

"In love… with me?"

"He doesn't think you're ready to hear it from him, so he didn't tell you. Mara, he offered you his friendship so many times before you accepted it. What makes you think he would ever believe you could love him?"

Silence greeted Leia's question. Mara stood rooted to the spot, her face stricken.

Leia guided the bewildered girl into her sitting room and pressed a glass of Corellian brandy into her hand. "Here, take this." She poured a generous amount into her own glass. "You turned him down flat…"

"I can't love him," Mara interrupted wildly, her cheeks flushed. "I can't. I cannot give him what he needs."

"Have you asked yourself what he needs?" Leia answered her own question. "Of course you have but have you asked him?" She watched the other woman struggle to find the right words with satisfaction. "I didn’t think so. He needs you, Mara." Leia's voice lost a little of its edge. "I suppose you've been watching the latest galactic newsnet feeds? Is Luke getting what he needs by becoming a one-man crusader? He cannot do it on his own."

"I keep telling him that," Mara burst out, finding something to say at long last.

"It's tearing him apart, Mara. He's gone from one dangerous situation to the next. We lived like that during the civil war. He's still doing it. He can't go on this way; surely you must see that? You've done this to him, Mara. It will kill him eventually. He's in love with you…" Leia paused, her voice lowering, "And you love him."

'Listen, daughter,'

"Will you shut up!" Mara whirled around and clenched her fists, her eyes blazing. "I don’t love him."

Leia's mouth dropped open in shock. "I beg your pardon?"

"Not you, Leia - her. She's always talking to me. I can't see her or feel her. She just tells me to listen. Listen to what?" Mara all but shouted. "It's like a stuck holodisc. Always the same - 'Listen, my daughter.' That's what she says. I don't know who she is, or where, or how. I'm going mad here."

Leia looked at Mara with concern. "Have you talked to Luke about this?" She asked the question carefully. "Luke also mentioned a female voice speaking to him - the day you left him."

Mara nodded tiredly. "Luke sent me a message. He told me."

Leia frowned. "Can you feel a presence with you?"

"No - not really."

"Not really?" Leia echoed.

Mara slumped down onto the sofa. "The voice is anchored to my presence. Sometimes I feel an echo of something, but it's fleeting. The voice is definitely a woman's and it's older. I've had no visions, no strange dreams, no Force induced phenomena, just this damn voice in my head. If Luke hadn't heard it, I'd probably be consulting him about it."

"Maybe you still should."

"Consult your brother?"

"Why not? What harm would it do?" 'And it would get the pair of you talking face to face again.' "Could it be your mother?"

"My what!" The red-gold eyebrows shot straight up.

"Your Mother? She calls you daughter."

"I'd never considered that. Well I have but I rejected the idea. I can't remember my mother; I thought it was just a figure of speech – an older Jedi trying to give me advice I don’t want. Han still calls Luke - kid."

Leia put her head to one side. "He does, doesn't he? What's funnier is, Luke lets him."

Mara picked up her brandy glass and swirled the amber liquid around. "I have no recollection of my parents, apart from the fact that I don't think they wanted me to go."

"You told me that once before. Have you never tried to delve any deeper?"

"Once or twice, but there was nothing. I figured Palpatine had them killed and my memories removed. I figured life was too short to dwell on things I can't undo."

"Yet you still think you cannot love Luke. That could be construed as moving on with your life and not letting the Emperor ruin everything. Luke could help you."

"Perhaps he could, but I'm not putting myself in his power."

"His power!" Leia exclaimed, startled. Then she laughed. "You… In Luke's power?" Leia covered her mouth with her hands and laughed some more.

Mara's eyes narrowed as she stared laser bolts at the Alderaanian Princess. "It's not funny."

Leia sobered for a fraction of a second, then laughed again, before a thought occurred to her that wiped all traces of mirth from her features. "If you were stupid enough to reject my brother for that cock-brained reason, then you're right. It isn't funny at all."

Mara jumped to her feet, ready to storm out of the room. Who did Leia Solo think she was, calling her stupid?

'I'm beginning to agree with her, daughter, and I never thought it before.'

Mara slumped back onto the sofa and dropped her head into her hands. "I'll talk to Luke."

"Thank the maker, as Threepio would say," muttered Leia. "Now I can tell Han to come home. He can think about the next problem." She pulled a face. "How to get them together, to talk.

The Awakening - Chapter 7

Greoa Prime

The ground was shaking again. Luke Skywalker gave up trying to sleep and twisted himself around inside his sleeping bag, his bare legs tangling with the inner sheet which seemed to be knotted around his knees. By the Force, he was so tired. He hadn't slept properly in three weeks. A healing trance was all very well, but one had to have time to do it. His mind searched through the endless possibilities in which he could achieve the blessed state of unconscious slumber he deserved. The last proper rest he'd had was when Mara had rested in the circle of his arms. Just thinking about her made his body ache in certain 'areas'. He shifted again, recalling the way her soft lips had brought him to the brink and beyond. Another tremor shook the ground. No wonder he couldn't sleep - at this point in time he was wide-awake - very awake. In places he didn't need to be, either. He fixed his eyes on a spot in the darkness and willed himself into drowsiness. It didn't happen. Luke emitted a big sigh and, admitting defeat, sat up.

He'd been on Greoa Prime for three weeks - three hellish weeks. He had to do something to help. Something to banish raw memories of a certain redheaded woman who'd turned to fire in his arms. It was simple; Luke Skywalker wanted to feel that he was needed again - he wanted a little adventure. Even though Yoda would have lectured him roundly, waving his gimer stick as he did, Luke knew that his old Jedi Master would understand. Luke wanted to make a difference for the people he had to help. Instead, he'd been wallowing in frustration doing the administration on Yavin. He loved teaching the new Jedi, but he'd been doing that less and less and seemed to spend all his time filling in returns on data pads. He wanted to be out there, where it mattered and where things happened again. He wanted to be somewhere where he could do some good.

His call to Coruscant had been fortuitous because from there he'd heard about the Verran debate. That had got him into the right part of the galaxy when trouble had hit Greoa. Coruscant to Greoa was far easier than Yavin to the same place. In the case of this poor place, it was a necessity - a natural tragedy of epic proportions. No one in the Galaxy should have been sitting by while this happened. But it had, and almost unnoticed too. Hopefully the fact that Luke had made it here, followed reluctantly by the news reporters, might have make the Inner council and the Senate do something. Leia had wanted to come when she'd found out about the tragedy, but Luke had said no. It was far too dangerous, and she had a young family to care for. She was much more effective in Senate Hall. Luke would, for once, show his public persona and help these people. If only he'd had Mara available to help him, but he quashed that thought quickly. He had to get on with his life. Long ago he'd realised relationships were not going to happen for him. Perhaps once he might have pursued Mara, but these days he accepted his lot and moved on. Part of him would always hope, but he was human and human nature being what it was - it was inevitable he would feel this way. Mara was the most beautiful thing in the world to him, but she had her own life and he had to let her go. 'She should be here with me', he argued to himself. 'She's a Jedi and a powerful one'. But as Luke firmly pushed her into the corner of his mind reserved especially for her, he knew he would never stop loving Mara. He could love her, but it wouldn't help him solve the problems he was facing on Greoa Prime.

The third planet in the Greoa system was the only one out of six others, which could support life. It was so far from the core that it had never attracted much attention before. Greoa Prime had one fertile continent, the rest of the planet consisting of dry crater strewn plains. Very few people lived on the plains of the southern continent preferring to work the pleasant flatlands of the central zone. Greoa City and spaceport was the largest of the settlements and was home to about one hundred thousand people. It was here that the problems had started. Luke pulled out his data pad and lit his reading light.

The city had been hit by earthquakes over a two week period. Scientists had been saying for years that the city had been built over a fault line, where planetary plates collided, but there had been no history of such a thing happening in the Central Zone. If it had been in the Southern continent, that would have been another story entirely. The flat dry plains were littered with examples of long dead volcanic activity. The tremors had started slowly at first, but as time had passed they increased hourly. People had started to report that on the outskirts of the city, the ground had in places turned from flat to undulating.

Some had left their homes, but the majority ignored the scientists' predictions and decided to do nothing. The ruling council on Greoa had concluded that the scientists were over-reacting and deliberately scaring the populace. One of the leading seismologists had been arrested and imprisoned. His frantic staff, increasingly convinced something dreadful was going to happen, had finally secured his release near the end of the second week. They set up a monitoring station in field next to where the worst of the land distortions had occurred. Members of the ruling council were unimpressed when they'd paid the site a visit. All they'd found was the beginning of what looked like a small crater emerging in a field on the outskirts of the city. It hadn't made galactic news, because it hadn't been important enough. No one had been killed, injured or badly mutilated. No one was starving or suffering from strange epidemic diseases.

The crater continued to grow, monitored carefully by the scientists - they began to recommend evacuation of the whole eastern district. Little puffs of smoke and gas began to emerge from vents in the ground. The smell of sulphur hung in the air, thick, heavy and turning white clouds a vaguely yellow colour. There was an increased number of bronchial conditions in the young and the very old, resident in the Eastern district, but still people refused to believe that a disaster was about to happen.

Luke switched off his reading light and lay down. People were the same the galaxy over - never preparing for what might happen and refusing to believe that their lives may be ripped apart at any moment. The memory of his home burning, so many years ago on Tatooine, had never faded. It remained as vivid for him as the day it had happened.

Luke pulled his inner sheet into some sort of order and wriggled to get comfortable. It was no use. These temporary beds were too narrow and uncomfortable to help him relax. The sheet in double quick time had already twisted itself underneath him and now lay bunched in a hard knot at the small of his back. Luke swore in several languages and sat up again, pulling his legs out of his sleeping bag and crumpling the offending inner sheet into a large wad of cloth. Why was he here again?

He'd been drawn into the disaster when a Force dream had awoken him from a Jedi healing trance. It was just after he'd been caught in a stray bit of cross-fire during the Verran incident. They'd shipped him home to the Coruscant medicentre and he'd spent a day in a bacta tank - again, followed by a day in a healing trance. Luke sighed as he recalled his premature rousing from the trance to find that everything in his room shaking. When he'd blinked it was as if it had never happened. He'd reached into the Force for his sense of calm and he'd seen it - the explosion, the fiery fountain of incandescent drops raining down on the defenceless people. He'd felt their pain, their hopelessness and the loss of everything they had. He knew about that and could understand it.

"Where?" he asked.

He saw visions of a planet he didn't recognise, so he'd snuck out of the medicentre and gone to the Imperial library. Finally he'd found something that identified the planet as Greoa Prime. Not quite Outer Rim, but very nearly. Leia hadn't discovered he'd gone till he'd contacted her after he'd left Coruscant. He'd also contacted the main news agencies. They'd heard of nothing unusual happening on Greoa Prime, nothing ever happened there. Half an hour later they had. A volcano had exploded underneath the city with devastating results. Anyone remaining in the city itself had been killed.

Why hadn't the ruling council taken proper note that the outskirts of the city had risen two hundred feet in eight months? A yellowish cloud permanently covered the top of the new hill on the edge of the city, little bursts of smoke emerged every so often and people living near the mound found their houses and gardens covered in small black specs of ash. Finally they'd realised something was dreadfully wrong and the area was evacuated. Some people refused to leave homes they'd spent all their lives in. Nothing was going to happen. The experts were just trying to frighten them. They'd been born there and would die there. It would happen sooner than they thought.

For a month the scientists watched and monitored, waiting for the inevitable eruption but nothing happened. The volcano continued to rise, but not with the same speed and even the scientific experts began to relax. Some people even moved back into the homes they'd vacated a couple of months previously. They didn't know how wrong they were to do so.

The day that Luke left Coruscant was marked by a heavy stillness on Greoa Prime. None of the birds sang over Greoa City and the people moved lethargically through their daily routines. It was too warm - unnaturally so for the time of year. The volcano was covered by a far thicker cloud of smoke than usual and strange rumbling sounds seemed to come from the very centre of the planet itself. With a sound resembling all the explosives on Greoa going off simultaneously, the volcano shot some of its contents miles into the sky. The ground began to shake again, but these tremors were much bigger than the ones they'd experienced all those months ago. The tremors continued and the rumbling in the bowels of the planet got louder and louder. There was a strange roaring in the air.

The head of the scientific study sent his assistant to report to the ruling council. He told the rest of his personnel to get out of the city. He would stay on the slopes of the volcano and watch. His colleagues left him with heavy hearts for they knew what was going to happen.

"Evacuate the city!" the leader of the ruling council cried frantically, and an operation had begun to clear the people, but it was too little too late. Their complacency had killed them. As the volcano on Greoa Prime began to erupt in earnest, there was no time left for those still in the city. Their deaths would be more horrific than any Death Star. By the time the galactic press had been alerted by Luke and by those on the planet, it was too late. Greoa City was blown apart, destroyed by a cataclysmic explosion from the erupting volcano.

Luke rubbed his tired eyes with his hands. He'd arrived to a scene that must resemble every hell imagined. An enormous caldera crater had replaced the area once known as Greoa City. No one had been able to go near it, the blistering heat drove back anyone who tried to approach and the air was thick with choking sulphurous smoke. Thousands dead and thousands injured, orphaned and homeless. Luke's heart bled for the innocents. War was cruel enough, but the only crime on this world had been blindness and complacency.

"Master Skywalker, are you awake?"

It was the voice of the camp organiser. Luke called a quiet affirmative, grabbed his trousers and pulled his Jedi Tunic back over his head. He emerged to the familiar scene of someone cradling a filthy burned body in their arms, Someone who'd miraculously survived, but without the Jedi Master's healing abilities would not last the night. In this wretched instance it was wasted energy, but Luke couldn't tell the grieving, broken people that. He tried, he really did to find the healing energy, which would signal that small individual's signature in the Force, but in the end he eased them into a trance which meant the end was kind when it did come.

Again he got no sleep at all that night.

Coruscant - Luke's Apartment

Mara felt strangely guilty about spending the night there, but her own place was being rewired. Leia and Han had offered to put her up, but the children were there, as were Winter and Chewie. Leia had then offered her Luke's apartment. She'd opened her mouth to refuse, she really had. She always had the 'Fire' as an option. However, the words had stayed in her mouth and she'd found herself reluctantly accepting the data pad with Luke's access codes on it.

Han had arrived back with the children to find a smug Leia and a rather quiet Mara Jade. Mara had been pressed into staying for an impromptu supper, the children tumbling over the gentler woman who sometimes emerged. Leia wondered if Mara might have been more like this and less abrasive, if she'd been left with her family. But that was something they would never know. Mara was awkward with the children, but listened to their talk and tried to answer their questions in a reasonable manner. It was their constant references to 'Uncle Luke this and that,' which Leia could see, affected Mara, the most. So she let the children stay up well past their bedtime and encouraged them to talk about their Uncle. Eventually the children were sent to bed and it was time for Mara to go. Han offered to take Mara to Luke's and she nodded absent-mindedly.

"Thanks, Leia. Look, I'm sorry about… well, things."

"Give yourself a chance, Mara. That's all I'm asking you to do. Have you ever really given a relationship between yourself and Luke the possibility that it might succeed or are you too scared?"

Mara's eyes flashed in quick anger, but she said nothing, and Leia pressed her advantage.

"So you have no family history. I've searched all the Imperial records I could find, and I know Luke has too."

"He has?" Mara's face expressed surprise. "He never told me that."

"I think he hoped to surprise you one day, by presenting you with the complete life history you possessed BP."

"BP?"

Han grinned as he grasped Mara lightly by the elbow, leading her towards where the airspeeder sat humming. "Yeah, BP - Before Palpatine."

Mara sat silently beside Luke's long time friend and tried to think of something to say. Han didn't seem to be mad at her any more, but she wasn't sure that she shouldn't feel angry with herself.

"Okay, Jade?"

Mara smiled a little in the darkness of the speeding vehicle. "Don't really know. I thought I had everything worked out. Thought I was in control."

Han pursed his lips and made a small silent 'Oh'. "When have we ever been in control?" He muttered a little irritably. "I sure can't remember the last time. Don't you get it, Jade? You can't control what you do; you can try, but you have to accept what life deals you in the sabacc hand and make the most of it." He gave her a sly look. "You know I hadn't figured you for a coward?"

He felt her bristle beside him. "Luke threw that accusation at me, too."

"Frustrated was he?"

"Like hell."

Han chuckled. "He's human after all. I've wondered if the Luke I first met, hadn't been swallowed alive by the Jedi Master?"

"He's still there…"

"Oh yes, he's still there, but struggling to keep himself whole. You've never seen Luke as he was when I first met him. Naïve…"

"He's still that sometimes."

"Just his farmboy upbringing. He had his chin stuck out at this angle all the time. Trying to be worldly wise and failing miserably. I was an old cynic, who'd been round the galaxy and back a few times. Luke was different. He still believed in doing the right thing, still wanted to be a hero. The thing about heroes - they're so busy saving everyone, who's gonna save them? He needs you, Mara. You could keep Luke sane. He's not happy. I told Leia a long time ago, but she didn't believe me."

"I told her the same thing and I think she does believe you now. He’s lonely and stifled and feels as if his life has no direction. He has the Force…"

"But it’s a lonely bedfellow."

Mara glared at Han in the dark. "I never thought that."

"Come on, Jade. I don’t believe that nerfshit for a moment. You’re missing him too. You existed before without each other, but it was a half-life. Something’s woken the two of you up, and you’re fighting it. Luke’s my best friend, along with Chewie, and he’s a special guy. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him. Either that or living a different sort of life. I wouldn’t have Leia or my children and believe me, my family is the best thing to happen in my life and I include Luke in that family. He needs his own family – something he’s never had. Not really. Why can’t you relax and see where this thing takes you both?"

Mara shifted uneasily in the suddenly claustrophobic confines of the speeder. "We don’t have that kind of friendship."

"I think you do. Have you ever seen the two of you when you’re together?"

Mara shook her head, wondering what others saw.

"You have an energy together – a connection… And I’m not talking about the Force thing. I might as well say it," he paused, as he tried to frame the words into a coherent sentence. "I may as well be shot as an Imperial rather than a smuggler." He swerved wildly to avoid an out of control air taxi with a grinning Duro at the controls. "Sex."

"What!"

"Sex," Han shrugged and steered towards Luke’s entrance platform. "The tension between you is sexual. I don’t know when it changed, perhaps it has always been that way, or you hid it better. But mark my words, Jade. It’s there and it’s not going to go away until you do something about it."

"But… I swore never to need…"

"Mara! My wife is right; you are being stupid. Threepio would say ‘wilfully obtuse’," He mimicked the droids tone with an accuracy Mara found startling. "Luke will never abuse his power. He knows too well what he is capable of. He wants to be a regular guy. He’d never give up his Force, because it’s part of him and part of you too. Talk to him, Mara. Go and get him off that planet, before he kills himself. He needs you, and you need him. Plus, I could do with a bit more support in this family."

Han deposited an extremely quiet woman at Luke’s apartment and hoped he’d done enough to please his wife. ‘Hell, he wanted to please himself too. Mara and Luke were crazy about each other, but stubborn as a pair of taun-taun on Hoth. The taun-taun probably found it easier to mate, even on Hoth and that was saying something. He owed the kid a lot. Mind you, the kid must be good in bed to have Mara Jade in such a dither. He’d never seen her in such a state.’

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

Mara wandered around the apartment. At first, she'd been strangely reluctant to leave the upstairs area, but her still vivid memories of the time they'd spent together called to her and she made her way down the stairs. Ignoring the guestrooms, she entered the Master bedroom. The warm dark colours soothed her tired spirit and for the first time in days, she relaxed. The evening view of the Coruscant skyline drew her for a moment, but her gaze returned to the bed. The memory crept unhindered into her consciousness and this time she let it. The picture of the two bodies moving as one in the graceful ritual of human love - each of them so attuned to the other's needs that the whole experience burned into their souls. Shaken by what she had recalled, Mara pulled off her clothes and slid into Luke's bed. His masculine scent surrounded her and she fell asleep, dreaming of his bright blue eyes telling her without words that he loved her.

The Awakening - Chapter 8

Coruscant Spaceport

To a casual observer, the small party at the Coruscant Spaceport docking bay 523A was merely some friends saying farewell to a friend. But in reality it was far more than that. Leia stood solemnly, her dark eyes holding Mara Jade's sharp green ones in place.

"Find him and bring him out of there. I can't help the feeling that Luke is in the worst area, risking his life."

"Of course that's where he'll be. I plan to start with the worst places first and then move up to something easier." There was a brief flash of humour in Mara's gaze but her tone was grim. She and Leia knew Luke too well - far too well.

"Please, Mara - be kind to him. He's been lost for such a long time. I hoped you and he might have been able to work something out, if I was too presumptuous, I'm truly sorry. I never meant to push you into anything. He's special and worth the effort, but it takes time to love him properly. Luke won't run the risk of being hurt again and keeps his feelings closed up too tight. He's been heart wounded too many times in his life to let his real personality escape. I want him to experience a little joy."

"I know you do. I'm sorry I ever caused him pain. But I cannot promise you a happy ending. I'm just a little confused right now. All my ideas are changing, and I don't know what to do. Nonetheless, I'll go and find him for you - just to see he's okay. I don't trust thesse holo-reporters one bit."

Han stood listening at his wife's side, uncharacteristically silent for once, but a smirk crossed his face - one that Mara instantly wished to wipe off.

"Solo?" she growled warningly.

"Nothing, Jade. Just wondered how okay you think he really is? Remember our little talk?"

"No, you've been spouting so many bantha-like ideas to me it's a wonder you've not turned into one. In other words, Solo - Butt out!"

Han merely grinned at her, a definite twinkle in his hazel eyes. "I think you're protesting over much, Jade. Go check on the kid. But I would take my time. Convince myself that I'm 'finding him' for Leia. We know the truth."

Mara sniffed and turned away, stalking into the 'Fire' with her back ramrod straight. No sooner was she in, than the ramp closed with a decidedly petulant hiss and immediately the engines started.

"Han, she'll fry us if we don't move." Leia pulled Han out of the danger zone.

"Yeah, I think you're right." He chuckled softly to himself.

"Han Solo, what have you been saying to the girl?"

Han pulled his wife close and wandered casually to a safe distance from the imminent departure of Mara's ship. "Me!" Han put on his best wide-eyed and innocent stare. "I've said nothing that you haven't wanted me to say."

The Jade's Fire blasted out of Coruscant as the Solos watched it disappearing into the blue yonder.

"By all accounts, Greoa Prime is in a bad way. With the loss of the capital city, the whole planet has descended into chaos and confusion. I just hope she knows what she is doing." Leia's smooth brow furrowed, as worry clouded her brown eyes.

"She doesn't," Han said thoughtfully. "Not really. Oh, she knows how to plan a rescue and other useful skills. But Mara Jade doesn't have the first idea about relationships. She wants to be in control of what she does." He laughed again and pulled Leia firmly into the circle of his arms, his eyes twinkling into hers.

"Ah, relationships," Leia's eyes answered her husband's. "What did you say to her?"

"Oh, this and that." Han tapped the end of his nose and winked roguishly at his wife.

"I love you."

"I know, but have some faith. What did you expect? It is the master at work."

"Don't get too full of yourself, laser-brains. This is Luke and Mara we're trying to sort out. Not your average citizen."

"Hey, I tried my best." Han defended himself and brushed a light kiss on the bridge of his wife's nose.

Leia lifted an immaculately perfect eyebrow. "Well then, I'd better put out the wedding invitations."

"You do that." Han sauntered off with his nose stuck in the air and left Leia to sigh in exasperation after him. The scoundrel was probably right, darn it.

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

The Jade's Fire

Mara anxiously scanned the reports coming in thick and fast from Greoa Prime. Karrde's slicer, Ghent, had been told in no uncertain terms that he had to keep Mara informed. Anything that happened - anything at all - was considered to be a top priority and what Karrde thought about it - Mara cared not one bit. The New Republic, thanks to Leia, had finally decided to send a task force to the beleaguered planet. It was also known that Jedi Master Skywalker was on the ground helping at the worst of the disaster areas. He had obviously been in touch with other Jedi from Yavin IV, because a small group containing healers had left for Greoa just the day before. Mara snorted derisively - at least they were going. What the news groups hadn't guessed was that Skywalker was in the middle of a temporary break from Yavin. He'd not been near them since the day he'd left. The one who had pointed out their duty to them was a former Imperial assassin turned smuggler. Mara wondered if that would be a popular item on the holonet. Of the Jedi Master there had been no word for at least a week. It was reported he was alive and well, but where exactly he was on the planet, they didn't know. The reporters had been kept out of the worst areas. They had more than enough to report on. Misery always made for good news copy.

Mara paced round her cabin on the Jade's Fire. The report hadn't been encouraging, but Luke was alive. At least he wasn't infiltrating some enemy military installation, for once. The sight of his tired, white face had tugged on her heartstrings. She didn't want to love him, yet could not bear to see him go through such pain alone. Then it hit her - hard. Mara took a trembling step forward and subsided onto her bed, her knees were shaking, her hands clammy and her heart thundering loudly in her ears. "It's too late," her voice soft and her green eyes wide and stunned. "I don't have the choice any more - to love or not to love. I love that ideallistic, sand spewing, gravel headed farmboy, whether I want to or not, and I need to have him in my life." That was the real shock. She already knew that she loved him but had thought that she could control that love. She couldn’t. Mara needed to be with him.

Mara took a deep breath and stood up. Suddenly the fire and purpose she possessed in abundance returned to her gaze. "Okay, Skywalker. I'm coming to get you, but not for Leia or Han or the children. I'm not doing it for your Jedi rabble on Yavin IV, or the entire population of the galaxy who need someone to do stupid things to save their lives. I'm doing this for me - for Mara Jade and I'm doing it for you too, Luke. So you'd better beware. I’m coming after you and this time I will succeed."

The words rushed from her like a river in flood, tumbling over the sharp rocks of her fear, beyond the things that had held her back. "I'm coming, Luke. Please take care of yourself for once - please," she tried to send to him, but if he was receiving anything she got no sign. The fervour of Mara's thoughts reached an ethereal spirit from the edge of the great journey. She'd existed in the void for so long - only the combined strength of her daughter and her daughter's lover could send her to her proper destination. First, she would see her daughter contented. There was only one man capable of bringing that to her difficult, brilliant child. Only one, and Mara had tried to alienate him for good. Still, if she'd caught the emotions correctly through the Force there might be hope yet.

Greoa Prime

Luke wasn't infiltrating enemy territory, but he was at that very moment perched precariously on a thin wooden plank, trying to coax a small child to safety. The ground was incredibly unstable, the slightest movement could set off a series of tremors leading to a landslide, or something far worse. He was incredibly tired and he had a tenuous grip on the Force, at best. He reckoned he'd now gone nine days continuously without sleep, and he was becoming a liability. Luke knew this to be true, but none of those he was helping noticed how tired he was. They were too eaten up with shock, loss and grief to take in how the Jedi Master was faring. Closing his eyes, just for a second, Luke reached deep into the Force to focus once more on the task ahead. Instantly Mara filled his mind's eye, her face worried and her eyes pleading. Her lips moved as she said something, but he was too fatigued to catch her words. Luke blinked as his eyes watered and his vision wavered. With effort, he banished his life's torture and joy from his mind again and concentrated on what he had to do here and now. This child's life depended on it.

"Come on, precious," he crooned softly to the child, sending as much reassurance through the force as he could to the frozen toddler. The baby inched a little closer and a shower of rocks trickled into the widening hole in the earth behind her. "Jump," Luke coaxed. "Come on, little one. Please. It'll be okay. I'll catch you." The child took a tentative step forward, then with a shriek she disappeared from view as the unstable ground shook. Luke, with his heart in his mouth, put all his trust in the Force and plucked the little girl from the air and with the last of his strength flung her to safety where she landed basically unhurt and screaming furiously.

The horrified onlookers watched as the area next to Luke subsided and the Jedi Master's limp form vanished below.

The Jade's Fire

"Luke!" Mara suddenly stopped dead, as his tired, white face appeared in a vision before her eyes. She had this feeling that the farmboy had gone and got himself into a lot of trouble. "Oh nerfspit, Skywalker. What have you done now?"

Mara had almost convinced herself that Luke's running off round the galaxy doing noble, death defying deeds had nothing to do with her, but deep in her heart she had the horrible feeling that she was the reason. If he did get himself killed - her mouth went dry at the thought of never seeing him again, never holding him in her arms. Not that she wanted to hold him in her arms. He had caused her more trouble than she'd ever needed or wanted in her life. Solo and Leia would forever hold it against her, blaming her for her rejection of his advances. "I didn't reject his advances," she whispered, her cheeks turning warm at the thought of what exactly she had done when he'd advanced in her direction. "Oh mynock droppings! I do want him in my arms. I want that more than I can say."

'You did reject him. You gave him hope, then took it away from him. All is not lost - go to him.'

"I'm going, I'm going!" She bit out angrily. "I'm claiming him as mine. I'm the only one who can match him. He needs someone to stop him careering round the galaxy for one thing."

Mara's eyes widened as something glimmered, almost tangibly, within her grasp of the Force. Stretching out her hand, she thought that she might grasp the elusive something she sought, but it vanished and she was left with the nagging feeling that she hadn't quite done enough.

'*****##*!!'

Mara's head snapped round as her musings were rudely interrupted by the harsh chattering of the V1 pilot droid as it communicated incomprehensibly with Mara's astromech. The astromech gave a flat beep in reply. That droid would have to go. It had all the personality that half the Jedi Knights were adopting - none at all. She switched her attention to the Navicomputer and then stared hard at the forward view screen. The droids had reported a ship in orbit around Greoa five. Scanners indicated there were no lifeforms aboard, so Mara urged the Jade's Fire closer. The pilot droid whistled softly again to the astromech and a message flashed over her screen. "Yes, I see it," she told the droids breathlessly. "I see it and Karrde was right. It is beautiful." A silver ship floated in orbit around a small moon on the far side of Greoa Five. "Luke's ship", she voiced gently with awe. "What a beauty!"

On a sudden impulse, Mara opened a channel to the silent ship. She didn't even know if it had a name. Her enquiry was met by a burst of impassioned electronic speech.

"Artoo! Is that you?"

The answer in droid language was short and rude.

"Okay, okay! Don't panic. Where's your master? Do you have co-ordinates?" The droid blew an avaberry, then gibbered wildly in melodic whistles. Mara could see Artoo in her imagination, rocking from side to side on his wheels and rotating his head frantically back and forth." Slow down, Artoo." Mara grinned faintly to herself with a certain amount of relief. This would save an awful lot of time. Now all she needed to do was go and get him - which might not be easy if Luke turned stubborn. Artoo's message scrolled across her screen. Luke was helping the stricken population as best he could. He was also in the worst hit area. "Well, I could have predicted that. In fact I did predict it. Find the centre of the trouble and Skywalker's at its heart," Mara muttered to Artoo tartly and received an agreeing, but fed up beep.

"He's been checking in regularly?"

The whistle Artoo gave in reply was worried.

"No?" Mara sighed. She should have expected it. More words scrolled across her screen, but she'd known immediately from Artoo's pathetic tone. "You've not heard from him for two weeks, but you've monitored all broadcasts coming from the planet and he's fine." Mara shrugged her shoulders, easing some of her tension away. "Well, that's something I suppose."

Artoo gave Mara the droid equivalent of a disdainful human snort. Mara peered at Artoo's words. "According to the broadcasts, he's fine. According to you, he's not." Mara shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess you know him better than the holo-reporters."

Artoo gave another burst of information and Mara frowned in response. "You don't think he's had any rest at all. Biological lifeforms need to power down too. Yes Artoo, we do and I think you're right on this one. Skywalker's back to his old bad habits - he's trying to do it all. Artoo?" She moved decisively towards her equipment and weapons locker and began to stow things into bags and cases. "Get me the co-ordinates of his last known position - Now!" Mara's voice strengthened with certainty. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Artoo moaned, but Mara didn't wait for the translation to scroll across her data screen. If she had looked at it - it said. "Not you too."

Mara pulled a couple of breath masks from a rack and stowed one in her baggage and placed the other around her neck, clipping the cylinder of oxygen to her belt next to the lightsaber Luke had given her. Artoo’s co-ordinates fed into her own navicomp and the V1 pilot droid brought the 'Fire' and Luke's silver ship into synchronous orbit around the fifth planet. Moving the survival and safety gear onto a small repulsorlift loading droid, she stowed it onto the Skipray blastboat.

Moving into the smaller ship Mara fired up the engine converters before easing the Skipray out of the 'Fire's' main docking bay. Checking the controls, she linked up with Luke's faithful astromech droid. Artoo was the best assistant to have under the circumstances.

"Alright Artoo, how near have you got me?"

The forward viewscreen showed a reddish planet covered by clouds of thick yellowish smoke. As she travelled closer through gaps in the clouds, Mara could see a world that had taken a beating. A large blackened patch marred the surface. Even from such a distance she could see the still burning areas where the volcano had exploded, destroying a once thriving and prosperous city.

"Emperor's bones!" Mara uttered in horror. "They need more than a couple of Jedi down there." The sense of urgency in her breast grew and with it, the fear. Fear that the Jedi Master wouldn't be there when she arrived. There was a reluctance to use her abilities, but already she could feel the presences. The pain, suffering and loss felt by the people who'd been in the midst of the chaos. She could also feel the agony of the dead as they'd died, suffocating in sulphurous fumes or being entombed in a fiery black death as a shower of scalding black rain descended upon their unprotected heads from on high. They hadn't stood a chance.

'Use the Force, Mara. It can be a powerful ally when you use it for good. You have a strength few others can attain. Don't deny what is yours by right. It is your birthright, your heritage. Don't be afraid, Mara. Fear is of the dark side.' Luke's words echoed in her mind. He said these words to her so many times and had she ever really listened to him? Had the words ever registered where it mattered? She could repeat any number of Jedi platitudes, but had she been merely paying them lip service and not absorbing them into her soul?

'I gave you my soul…."

"Luke - I'm afraid for you!" Mara burst into speech, shattering the tense stillness of the Skipray's cockpit. "I don't want anything to happen to you. If I don't love you, then you'll be safe and so will I. I'll be free to go about my business and never … hurt again. But it's too late for that now. I do love you and no matter how hard I try, I cannot keep you from doing stupid idealistic things that get you hurt."

Mara froze; she couldn't remember feeling pain because of another person, not since she'd been with the Emperor. Since she'd met Luke Skywalker, she'd been fighting to keep him from discovering the depth of pain, which was somehow still in her body. Pain that she couldn't remember, but must have experienced once. Mara Jade had shut away her heart, but hadn't bargained for Luke Skywalker. She'd admitted she loved him and had thought that it made her a better person, but it had not. In some ways, it was worse because, afraid to feel properly, she had refused to let her love burst forth and let it grow in the sunshine which would accompany Luke's love for her. That's if he loved her. He did love her - he had to. She hoped she wasn't too late and he still carried her in his heart. Something of her usual dry wit seeped through her worry. "Luke Skywalker! You're the only person who has ever driven me to talking to myself."

Mara took a deep breath and sifted carefully through the maelstrom of emotions coming from the planet. They buffeted her wary mind and her heart ached for the people suffering such pain. Mara had known pain; she'd known pain before she could remember it. Something always held her back from making that final commitment as a Jedi.

'Embrace my destiny,' Mara grimaced. 'It sounds so pretentious, but it's what I have to do if I want to be victorious over my past. I need to accept my future. I cannot control it; I must reach out and grab it with all that I am.'

His presence called to her, his power attracted her, but she wasn't held in thrawl to that power. He was in trouble; she could feel it. "Gods, Luke - hold on." Mara closed her eyes and immersed herself as deeply as she could in her own sense of the Force. Not since the days of her servitude as Palpatine's messenger had she been able to see and hear as clearly. "Luke…"

She touched lightly over the shining presences of Kam Solusar and Cilgahl, the Calamarian healer, as they worked in a field hospital on the outskirts of the danger zone. Kam lifted his head a little and a wry smile approached the edge of his lips, before he turned back to his task. Mara continued her search. It began as a small flicker and grew into a roaring fire. His presence called to her closer and closer. 'Luke!' her mind screamed and her stomach churned sickly. "Sith!"

Snapping out of the almost hypnotic state she'd achieved, Mara shouted at her astromech. "Get us the hell down there as fast as possible. All power to the thrusters. I don't care how many circuits you overload - just do it!"

The Skipray accelerated towards the planet, with the pilot straining her will to get them there.

Greoa Prime

Luke came to with a faint groan. He lay dazed and winded on a narrow ledge halfway up or down, whichever way you preferred to look at the situation he'd got himself into again. A long ago conversation between Han and him many years ago trickled into his befuddled brain.

"How we doin?

"Same as always."

"That bad, huh?"

Luke tried not to think about the gaping hole to his left. He tried not to think about the crumbling rock rushing to meet the red-hot innards of the earth. He tried - he really did - not to think about the effect the molten fiery core would do to his fragile human body. The thought of what his father must have suffered flashed into his brain along with a picture of Mara Jade looking absolutely terrified and screaming his name. Automatically, the way he had always done, he strove to reassure her.

"Hey…. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Luke hesitated, suddenly cold despite the heat rising from below him. Mara Jade was as far from him as she had ever been. How he wished she was with him - there wasn't a day when he didn't long for her presence by his side. Truth be told - he wasn't fine. Luke ran a brief check on himself. A badly sprained ankle and another bang on the head. It was just as well he had a very strong skull. He ignored the burns, bruises and other contusions liberally sprinkled over his body. Everything was intact - his artificial hand was working perfectly. He lifted his aching head a little and cautiously opened one eye.

"Uh -oh!"

Getting out of here seemed like a good idea and immediately seemed like the best bet.

"Master Skywalker?" An anxious voice came over the comlink miraculously still pinned to his chest.

"Yeah! I'm here - not going anywhere at the moment." Luke tried to laugh, but the chuckle emerged as a feeble attempt, especially when it ended on a groan of pain. His ankle and his much abused head decided at that point to raise a protest to the treatment they had been given.

"Just hold on, Master Skywalker," the anxious voice continued. "We're trying to get you out of there as soon as we can."

"Fine, but I wouldn't take too long about it, guys. My current spot for sunbathing is getting a little too warm."

Luke heard someone say. "He's conscious, but we think he's in some pain. We don't know if he has concussion or broken anything."

"I'm fine guys," Luke interjected as firmly as he could. "How much time do we have?" His head ached, a dull gnawing pain, which counterpointed beautifully with the throbbing of his ankle. All the other parts of him that hurt, he’d tuned out completely.

"We don't know how long the ledge you're on will stay. The ground isn't stable at all."

"Tell me something I don't know," he grouched dryly, but lay as still as possible because he sensed the precariousness of his position. He didn't need to be a Jedi Master to work that one out. He watched idly as a pile of small stones trickled past him and dropped into the churning smoke filled pit below. The ledge would never withstand a Force leap and neither would his ankle. If he'd had more time to recover he might have attempted to levitate himself from his perch, but he knew what he was currently capable of and that wasn't on his sabacc deck. Could he risk a healing trance? An ominous sounding crack from just below him ruled that idea out. Yup, he knew. "Time's run out, guys, so if you have any ideas we need them now. Or I need them now, to be more accurate."

Mara's face appeared before him. 'Hold on, Luke. Please hold on!'

"Sithspawn!" Luke swore as a large piece of rock came hurtling past his ledge and thundered into the chasm below with a crash and a burst of sulphurous smoke. Luke curved himself as close to the wall as he could as it set off a chain reaction and other large boulders followed the first. Part of the ledge he was on slid into the molten, bubbling lava.

"Master Skywalker! You still there?" The shaken voice sounded on his comlink.

"Yeah," Luke cleared his throat and coughed, trying to clear smoke and dust from his lungs. "I’m still there, but if it gets too dangerous, I want you to go. Do you hear?"

"Master Skywalker, we’ve got some rope. We’ll put it down to you. Attach it to your belt and we’ll pull you up." The man’s voice was nervous. Luke could tell that even though the man was wearing a breath mask.

"Primitive, but it might just work. Okay, go for it, I don’t figure I have much option anyway." He took a steady breath of the tainted air. Luke wasn’t wearing a breath mask. The child they’d been trying to reach had reacted with horror anytime one of them had approached wearing a mask. Luke had learned the Jedi art of filtering out toxins in his lungs and bloodstream. He’d been the one to go for the child as she’d seen his human face. However, as Luke’s strength had waned so had his ability to rid himself of the poisonous elements in the atmosphere. Time was not now on his side. He had to hope the Force was still with him.

"Go for it."

Mara flew as low over the danger zone as she dared. She’d already been warned off several times by the Greoan military, but she’d dazzled them with stolen ID codes she’d got from Karrde. It gave her clearance into all sorts of areas. Nothing would stop her from getting to Luke – nothing.

The area where the volcano had erupted was a disaster. The ground cleaved in many places. Some patches were still on fire weeks after the event had happened. She could see trails of lava, the crust black, but occasionally splitting to show it’s red-hot inner core. Charred shapes rose from where a civilisation had lived, loved and died. Bile rose to Mara’s lips and she looked away, sickened by the destruction.

She received co-ordinates for landing and gracefully set the Skipray down. She was still too far away, but her landspeeder was one of the most up to date models and would take her there quicker than any other forms of transport. Mara pulled her breath mask over her bright head and set off to find the one man in the galaxy who would leave no stone unturned until he had found her. "Hold on, Luke. I’m coming for you."

"I’m sorry, Ma’am. No civilians allowed past this point." The guard was polite but inflexible.

"I need to see Master Skywalker."

"You can wait for him at the field hospital in sector eight."

"I don’t think you got my meaning," Mara returned crisply. "I need to see Master Skywalker, and I will see Master Skywalker. I’m going in."

"I can’t let you, Ma’am. It’s too dangerous." The guard lifted his weapon and brought it to bear on the determined woman in front of him. "It’s not safe."

Mara fumed silently, her green eyes narrow. "Listen," she spoke low and with the Force. "Do I look stupid to you?" The man shook his head mutely, still clutching his rifle. "I’m going in and you’re going to let me."

"You’re going in."

"Good." Mara swung the speeder around and shot past the suddenly motionless guard. Nothing would stop her reaching her man – nothing.

Deep in the void, a being chuckled silently. Every step her daughter took towards her knighthood meant that her Mother would soon be free to complete the journey long denied her.

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

The guard stood in a stupor for several moments before he suddenly came to life and futilely waved at the lights of Mara's speeder as it vanished from his view. He shrugged - he'd done what he was supposed to. If she got herself killed, it wasn't his fault.

Greoa City proved to be a strange alien landscape as Mara moved the speeder among burning ruins and gaping fissures in the ground. Adjusting her breathmask, she reached through the Force for Luke. What had he been doing to himself? His presence was very weak - dangerously so. "Luke!" she called softly and felt a stunned reaction in return. "Luke!" as the tears began to run down her face. He was alive, but injured. "Typical Skywalker," she scolded him.

A sudden flicker in her danger sense alerted her and she jerked the speeder wildly to the side as a jet of sulphurous steam burst up in exactly the spot she'd been in. The ground rippled beneath the speeder and a new impression of foreboding gripped her. Mara tried to pinpoint Luke's exact position. She was close - so close - she could feel his presence. She also felt several terrified others in front of her. Leaping out of the landspeeder, she ran across shaky ground to where they stood in front of another vehicle.

"You all need to get out of here - fast."

"But the Master!"

"Where is he?" Her heart leapt into her mouth.

The ground twisted and shook and Mara barely kept her footing. "Where is he?" she shrieked above the rumbling earth. One of the party lifted a trembling hand and pointed to where two men were pulling something using thick ropes.

Mara squinted through smoke and blowing soot, but she couldn't see Luke. She could feel him and he was very weak. The two men pulled hard and with a major effort dragged something over the top of a widening crack in the earth. As they did so, the ground shook violently. Valiantly keeping her footing, Mara assessed the situation. If they didn't get out of this situation now, they were dead.

"Get the hell out of here!" Mara yelled, horrified to realise one of the men next to her was cradling a sleeping child. The little one was thin and dirty and her face was covered with soot and small burns, but otherwise she was alive. Mara realised she was the reason Luke was still here. He had risked his life to save a child and she couldn't fault him for that. The snap hiss of her saber awoke them from their petrified state and acted like the shock of cold water hitting them. "Get in." Mara indicated the landspeeder. "The child should be out of here. For Sith's sake, what are you playing at?"

"But…"

Mara modified her tone. "Come on. I'll deal with the Jedi Master; he's a friend. You get this child to the medics. There are Jedi healers at the field hospital in sector eight. They will know what to do."

"She wanted to know if he was safe."

"Safe?" Mara sighed, as things became clear. "He will be. Now go." She pushed them towards their own transport and ran towards where the two men were helping a blond man in black to stand. He brushed them away, murmuring that 'he was fine', and they ran towards Mara. The ground shook again. "Get the hell out of here - Now!" she repeated.

One of the two men opened his mouth. "The Master…."

"You need to get the child to the hospital."

"The Master too, he's been hurt."

"Tell me something new. Get in the speeder with the others." The smoke drifted across her face obscuring her vision. "Where is he?"

"He's over there, but you'll need help…."

"I'll manage." Ignoring him. Ignoring them all, Mara ran, sheathing her saber as she went. The ground shifted beneath her feet like liquid.

"Go!" It was Luke's voice. It sounded like the loudest shout, yet he had spoken in a whisper. The figure of one man, standing unsteadily before her. The figure of a man she would know anywhere. "Please, go."

Mara pulled her mask from her face and stood motionless for an instant, her eyes drinking in his battered form, her heart in her mouth. She took a hesitant step towards him and watched as Luke blinked in disbelief and a kind of dawning hope that she was real. He hadn't dreamt her. Shakily, he lifted his arms and held them out to her.

"Stars, Luke! What have you been doing to yourself?" and she was in his arms, clutching at his thin body, covering his face with frantic kisses, before finally placing her lips over his. Luke's lips were hot and dry and they clung, the kiss deepening between them, saying things without sound. Things they already knew in their hearts.

It was a single moment, but one charged with the certainty of eternity. Mara forgot her doubts, her fears and all her insecurities, because she was in the arms of the man she loved. Tears ran down her face and mingled with the tears on Luke's face. Reluctantly, they drew apart and she stared deeply into Luke's cloudy blue eyes. "I had to come, don't you see," she whispered. "I had to come. I couldn't stay away any longer."

"Mara…." His voice barely spoke. "Oh Mara…" His eyes closed and he clutched at her shoulders, drawing her closer as he gathered comfort from just holding her within the circle of his arms.

"Come on. I have to get you out of here."

"Sure, you'll get no argument from me." Luke's words expelled from him in a burst of air and she barely had time to catch him as he crumpled into a heap in front of her.

Chapter 9

Greoa Prime - Field Hospital, Sector Eight

Kam Solusar finished placing his patient into a healing trance and watched as his fellow Jedi, the healer Cilghal, did the same. He sighed deeply. He was tired - they were all tired. It had been quite a hectic few weeks, but things were slowing down. Finally, they were turning the tide.

"What is it?" The Calamarian Jedi looked at Kam curiously through huge, round all-seeing eyes.

"It's Luke. He's coming here and his presence in the Force has been damaged."

"Damaged! You're certain of this? I felt his presence when we arrived, but wasn't aware of his distress. Is Mara Jade with him?"

"Of course." Kam picked up some dressings and moved to clear a bed. "Mara Jade is close to him, and was very aware of his impending distress. She's the reason for us being here after all, and we owe her our thanks."

Cilghal nodded thoughtfully. "I felt her presence touch us not long ago."

"Somehow, Mara knew Luke would need us here. She knew he would need her, even if he didn't. We'd better prepare a bed." He cocked his head to one side as if listening to something. "Mara is on her way with him. He's unconscious, has burns all over his body, and she thinks he has a badly sprained ankle as well as concussion. She's broadcasting to any Force sentient who will listen."

"How did he get himself into that kind of trouble? I don't know if we have enough Bacta."

"We don't."

"We need more supplies, however for the first time in days, this unit is empty. So we've plenty beds."

"I'll contact the special Senate disaster Committee straight away, although I think Councillor Organa Solo has things in hand. As acting head of the Yavin Facility, I have the political clout, wouldn't you say? They'll see that we get an emergency batch. It's not quite as urgent as it was, but Luke should surely qualify as an emergency, don't you think?"

"I would agree, especially as Luke has invested so much of his time and effort helping the people. Supplies will be in short supply for some time and we will have to depend on foreign aid. It's the way of such disasters. We must help until the people can help themselves." Cilghal grimaced, the words coming from her mouth sounded so trite, but they were true. The Jedi healers had been instrumental in organising aid to the stricken planet. Organising it and making sure it kept on coming. She glanced at Kam, pleased that he had become a capable leader in such a tragic time.

Cilghal's fin-like hands were graceful as she prepared salve to help cool burning flesh. "Do you know how the Master knew the volcano was ready to blow?"

"Apparently it was a vision, while in a healing trance. Because he was on Coruscant he had access to planetary records and he was able to discover the identity of the planet. So he was in the right place at the right time, and the Force drew him to the suffering of the people. Mara Jade is right about the Jedi. Luke, or Master Skywalker, as he deserves to be called more than ever, didn’t rejuvenate the Jedi order for us to become isolationists on a jungle moon."

Cilghal smiled. "Mara Jades’ words?"

"Who else." Kam retorted, sharing her amusement.

"She will become a great Jedi."

"She will, when she accepts the Force as her true destiny."

"I think she already has."

"You could be right there." They shared another small smile. "It’s up to the Master."

Cilghal’s smile widened, her large luminous eyes wise to the frailties of individuals. "No, it’s up to Mara Jade."

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

A group of men rushed in through the makeshift building's entrance, carrying a small child. "The Jedi Master rescued her, but got injured in the process. She's not badly hurt, but suffering from malnutrition, shock and a few burns. Master Skywalker looks far more serious."

Kam nodded calmly, while Cilghal took the child and transferred her into the arms of a passing medic. The child never stirred. "We know. Where is he?"

"You know?"

"Mara Jade has already been in contact."

"Ah, the flame haired woman. She is Jedi? Then all must be clear. She is bringing him in her landspeeder. He collapsed at the scene and we think he inhaled a lot of the poisonous gases."

Cilghal sighed softly. "I'll get the medical droid. He wasn't wearing a breathing mask, I suppose?"

"The child panicked whenever one of us approached. The Master suggested he try to coax her to him without one. It was our final solution; we'd tried everything else. He was breathing in the poisons for a long time."

There was a commotion at the entrance to the facility, and Mara's voice could be heard angrily demanding something. "Get him inside - quickly now and careful."

Two medics carried the unconscious form of the Jedi Master into the hospital, with Mara hot on their heels. Kam gave Cilghal a look.

"I'm not leaving him. So if you're going to treat him, you do it with me present." The redheaded woman folded her arms mutinously across her chest and dared the other Jedi to argue with her.

"Don't you think…?"

"I'm not leaving him." Mara's chin firmed obstinately as several medical orderlies ran past them and loaded Luke onto a trolley. Mara pushed past Cilgahl and followed the medics until the operating theatre doors formed a barrier.

"Mara…." Kam gave chase.

"I'm sorry, you cannot come in here. Medical personnel only." The Medic squawked in surprise as Mara grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"Listen, you scum-sucking son of a wampa…"

"Mara!" Kam stopped to yell in frustration. This was not the behaviour of a Jedi. She wasn't thinking - she was reacting. He legged it after her, before she did real damage.

She felt herself pulled roughly from behind. Mara's saber arced into her hand as she turned, ready to defend Luke. The emotionless face of Kam Solusar stared at her. "Let him go, Mara. You need to let the medics do their work."

She blushed in silent shame - one hand was still gripping the medic's overall and slowly she let the nervous man go. He'd honestly thought the madwoman would do him harm. "I apologise," Mara murmured softly to both men. "I want… Oh spit. Look, I'm… Oh sith!" Her ability to articulate clearly departed, just as many of her more rational thought processes had done recently, especially when in the presence of Luke Skywalker. The medic gibbered something and vanished into the theatre after Luke's unconscious body.

"You can watch from the observation gallery." Cilghal's voice was calm and reassuring. Just what Mara needed.

"I can? Thank you," she whispered.

Kam nodded his head and Cilghal ushered Mara to a chair, where she subsided into it on suddenly shaky legs. 'He was alive - she had found him. Mara sat in the corner of the room, silently - but with green eyes fixed on the motionless form of the Jedi Master. The medics and the 2-1B droid bustled about, but Luke never moved.

Eventually, the emotional strain took its toll on Mara and her bright head drooped in sleep. Kam gave the exhausted girl a sympathetic glance while he covered her with a blanket. Luke would be fine; he just needed to have his blood cleansed of the toxins, plenty of rest to counteract his sleep deprivation and nutrients to build up his wasted frame. Kam was concerned at the amount of weight Luke had lost. His ankle would need a bacta wrap, but they had none left. The ancient art of Jedi healing would therefore be invoked. That and a splint of some description.

Kam marvelled that the man still gave with everything that was in him, without expecting reward. Luke would have given his life for these people if the Force had willed it and what that might have done to Mara Jade didn't bear thinking about. The 2-1B droid looked through the transparisteel partition. "We are finished, Jedi Solusar. We have done for Master Skywalker what we can. His lungs will need a day or two to recover as he breathed in some nutrients that were not essential for a member of the human species, we are running his blood through the filter to cleanse it. Unfortunately, without bacta, he will have to recover the old-fashioned way. He has been sedated otherwise I suspect he would continue to ill-use his person."

"Many thanks, Doctor. We will transfer him to a quiet room to recover."

"His companion. Is she in need of medical assistance?" The medical droid observed Mara Jade asleep.

Kam shook his head. "No."

"As you wish. Now I must check on our other patients. Good day, Jedi Solusar."

Kam moved towards Mara, stretching out his hand to awaken her.

"Leave her to sleep." Cilghal voiced quietly. "Waking her up now would do neither of them any good. He worries about her too."

"You're correct." Kam turned to see Luke's trolley being wheeled out of the theatre. "It's strange that Luke should be treated here - symbolic in a way. We've nearly finished our work amongst the worst of the casualties. The reports indicate only the dead are being brought out now. Sad for the people, but time to pick up the pieces and move forward. Greoa has been wounded but is recovering. We have many lessons to take back to Yavin with us. The rebuilding programme is extensive and urgent. Perhaps some of our less experienced Jedi trainees might benefit from the work, now that the real danger is past. "

"True - a good idea, but I don't think the Master is ready to return with us."

"No, I suppose not. Much will depend on…." He waved his hand towards Mara, who oblivious to all, slept on.

Cilghal gave Mara a curious look. "Do you think the rumours about them are true?"

Kam ran his hand through his cropped grey hair and considered his words carefully. "You know I don't like to gossip about the Master and Mara would kill you if you did so about her. Both of them are very private individuals. They are close, that much is clear and it's not good for someone to be so alone." He looked a little uncomfortable. "I'm talking about Luke, here. He has shut himself off from all of us lately and although we would do anything for him, I'm certain it's not 'us' that he needs. There is a strong connection between them in the Force, they work well together and I have a feeling…" He let his voice trail off.

"What?"

"They would probably both deny it, but yes, I think the rumours are perhaps not yet true, but will become so."

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

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

Greoa Prime had turned the corner. The Government had pulled together and with help from the New Republic was beginning to walk the slow road to recovery. Memorials for the dead had been said and built, along with new habitation complexes in areas known to be safe. A new Greoa City would rise from the ashes close, but not too close to the old one. They would never forget their dead, but where they could, the people were trying to recover.

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

Luke wondered why he felt so strange. His head felt as if he was cocooned within an incredibly thick blanket and his aching limbs were heavy. Lifting his head brought an attack of dizziness.

"Hey, don't move."

Luke tried to sit up, his eyes flickering open. The light was too bright and he squinted upwards. Something moved in front of his blurred vision, and he blinked to clear it.

"I told you to stay still. Lie back down." The voice was soft and familiar. A tender hand touched his cheek in a gentle caress. Awareness flooded his being, as he recognised her presence. He hadn't dreamt her; she was real - vital and alive. "Don't you ever do anything you're told?" her voice admonished mildly.

"Mara?" His voice came out barely louder than a whisper and he opened his eyes a little wider. Her hand on his cheek stilled and her gaze met his. Bewildered blue met hopeful, sparkling green. Luke swallowed, his throat dry. Were there really tears in her eyes? Was she crying because of him?

"Here", she moved away and Luke tried to protest. It came out as an awkward croak. "Ssh! It's okay," Mara soothed. "Drink this. It should help." She brought a beaker to his dry lips and he gulped thirstily at the water. His throat felt like the inside of the sarlacc pit. He swallowed too much and a little of the fluid went down the wrong way. "Hey, slow down, flyboy. You'll make yourself sick and then I'll have the medical droid and Cilghal onto me. Carefully now." She lowered his head back on to the pillow. "Now, get some rest."

Mara's heart melted the moment Luke opened his eyes. The bond between them was stronger than she'd thought; her life had little value without him. The poignancy of the moment was not lost on her. She was sitting at his side where she wanted to be. Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked quickly to dispel the image. She couldn't have Luke think she was crying over him. He'd think he was dead. Her lips quivered at the thought, but he was here, not quite in her arms, but he was alive.

"Mara?" Luke's drowsy voice sent little tendrils of something sweet into her heart. "Why are you here?"

"You needed me, so I came. You know you get into trouble without me."

"I do not." But the protest was weak.

Mara shook her head, amused at how much like a little boy he sounded. He didn't make love like a boy. She wondered how she could have been so foolish as to imagine Luke would hold her in thrall like the Emperor would have. Luke didn't need to exert power over people. They gave him their loyalty and most of the time he was ignorant of it. He wasn't above a little manipulation now and again, but he was a man. Mara's face flamed a little; there was no denying that.

"You made me a promise, Luke. You said, that if I needed you, you would come, wherever I was, whatever I was doing. If I needed you, you would come. I find the promise works in return. I can't ignore your call. I never could. Very few people would make an oath of that magnitude, but you would. This is nothing to do with debts, or credit and debits. This is about trust and friendship. I feel that I have both and I give you mine in return."

His eyes widened at her words and he attempted to say something. She had the impression that she'd hurt him a little, but she'd given him the highest honour she had in her to bestow. He already had her love, which had been granted to him a little unwillingly. Mara shook her head. "I've told you this already. Get some rest," she instructed firmly, restraining the urge to ruffle his hair. There was a nasty bump in there somewhere. "We didn't have enough bacta, so you're having to do a little natural healing."

"You could put me in a healing trance." His voice was barely a whisper.

"I could?"

Luke nodded, his eyelids beginning to droop, but stubbornly he tried to keep them open. If he closed them she might not be there when he opened them again. That was what had happened the last time. He'd fallen asleep with her in his arms and he'd awoken alone. He couldn't bear to have that happen again.

"Sure, I could." She smiled at him. "Close your eyes then."

"Don't leave me," he pleaded quietly. "Last time I closed my eyes, you had gone when I opened them again."

Mara's eyes darkened at the loneliness she heard in his voice. "I won't - you know I won't. Now for the last time, Skywalker. Close your eyes or I will start to get annoyed."

Trustingly, like a child, he did and Mara began to reach into the Force, ready to put him into the healing trance, but stopped as his eyes snapped open. "I'm not ten," he murmured, a spark of something mischievous lighting the blue orbs.

"Luke," she drawled warningly.

He wriggled an arm out from underneath the bedclothes and crooked his little finger. "Mara," he whispered and muttered something she failed to catch. Bringing her head nearer, she let out a little gasp when his hand caught her chin and pulled her face to his. Before she could protest, his lips covered hers like a man starving. Her mouth opened and his tongue darted in to caress hers in seductive exploration. Mara's eyelids fluttered close and she just let herself feel. The kiss deepened until Mara, her head spinning, knew she wanted more than just his lips on hers, but cognisant of the real state of Luke's health, she reluctantly brought the kiss to a close. Blue eyes met green eyes full of an attraction they could no longer deny.

"Mara, I…"

"Healing trance, farmboy."

Mara sat beside him as he slipped deep into sleep, finally giving in to the stresses and strains he'd been under since he'd arrived on the planet. His presence in the Force muted and faded. Leaning over him once more she placed a kiss on his forehead. "Rest, Skywalker and yes, I know."

Kam Solusar stood at the open doorway and caught the last part of Mara's cryptic statement, plus the gentle salute to his brow. Grinning, he crept away and headed to check on any of the patients who really needed him at that point. Luke and Mara were fine, for the moment.

He returned half an hour later to check on them and found Mara curled up beside Luke, her arm curved around his waist. Her face, in repose, held all the tender promise of awakening love. On Mara Jade, it was beautiful.

There was a tremor in the Force. Kam watched, startled as the shimmering blue figure of a woman appeared and seemed to smile on the resting pair. The figure was dressed in the traditional garb of a Jedi, but he knew without question, that this woman was long gone from life. The image, as fickle as that of a hologram, faded gradually from view. Kam pondered on the vision he'd been granted. There had been no evil intent - no overtones of the dark side. He'd gained the impression that the spirit had been happy, the sensation of recognition arriving to him at the same time. Once, long ago, he'd seen that woman before - before the dark times, before the Empire.

Chapter 10

The late afternoon sun filtered through the small windows set high in the prefabricated hospital building. Mara curved herself closer into Luke's side. He was warm and Mara moved her head seeking the bare skin at his neck. The unwillingness to open her eyes stemmed from the fact she was with Luke and while she was lying here, everything was okay. Her eyes snapped open. Something, she amended that, someone was in the room with them. Her hand moved slowly to where her saber hung from her belt. Whatever happened, she must protect Luke.

"Easy, daughter."

Mara's eyes focused on a shimmering figure standing at the foot of the bed. Pushing herself upright she stole a quick glance at Luke, but he was still deep in his healing trance. Mara stared curiously at the figure. The woman was dressed in the garb of a Jedi, but her old-fashioned hairstyle was one popular during the height of the Old Republic. Mara felt caught, strangely defensive and a little embarrassed. Slowly, she swung her legs around and placed them on the floor, and bending down; she retrieved her black knee length boots and pulled them on.

Green eyes met green eyes.

"And you are?" Mara's chin tilted at the defiant attitude with which she faced the world at large.

"You know who I am," the vision said patiently.

"I do?" Mara's tone turned sarcastic. "Then I'm the lucky one."

"Stretch out with your feelings. You know it to be true."

Mara groaned. "Oh, not that old chak root. Sith, you sound like him." She waved an airy hand towards Luke's recumbent figure. "You are saying you’re my 'Mother', I take it?" The words came out low and bitter. Mara couldn't help it. She didn't blame her parents for what had happened to her, others had had it far worse. Luke, for instance. Still, part of her resented that the woman in front of her had been unable to stop the Emperor from taking her. Part of her longed to have known a normal childhood.

"I was once what you are becoming. Or should I say that you have become."

"Bitter and twisted?"

Mara caught a slight smile flicker across the spirit's beautiful face. "No - a Jedi Knight of a rare and true calibre."

Mara dropped her head in apology. "I'm sorry." She cursed her vicious tongue. She'd nearly driven Luke away from her with it - or at least she'd tried to. Mara gave him a quick darting glance from the corner of her eye. If he were standing with her, would he still want her?

The woman watched Mara carefully, a look of understanding on her face. "You've had a lot to contend with recently. I do understand. I've suffered many hours of soul searching myself."

Mara's green eyes darkened with remembered pain as again she heard Luke's words. 'I gave you my soul that night.'

"It's been a big step for you to take. Belief is just along the path from imagination and taking that final step along the worn way to the Jedi ideal is not easy. You will doubt and despair, but you are strong. I could never have hoped for you to be as you are. The Force kept your heart pure and true - for that I give many thanks." The spirit's eyes seemed to be full of moisture.

Mara shrugged, her expression non-committal. "I am what my life has made me and yes, it's been hard. I know hearing things is part of a Jedi's existence and I've had my fair share of voices in my head. Including…." her voice darkened, "Palpatine. Couldn't you have picked another way?"

The spirit sighed and held out her hands in appeal. "I didn't have the strength. It was only when you made the connection with the young Master that I was able to return from the void. Only the two of you together have the power to send me back. It's good to finally see you with him. I was doomed to never undertake the journey because I lost you," Her voice grew fainter. "May the Force be with you."

Mara moved towards the woman and watched as the vision faded from her sight.

"But who am I?" Mara asked. "Please tell me that. Who am I?"

Her mother's face grew more transparent. "Anyone you want to be. Forge your own destiny, my daughter. I love you." Finally, she disappeared completely.

"What kind of an answer was that?" Mara snarled into the nothingness, but she was alone, apart from Luke, still motionless in his healing trance. Mara crossed to the bed and sank down into the chair next to it. "I blew it, Luke," she whispered, clutching at his hand like a lifeline. "The voice we heard. It was my Mother's voice, but I snapped at her, drove her away, like I did you. It wasn't long enough to know who she was. When will I learn? I'm not worthy of the Jedi order - I'm not worthy of you." She put her head down on the bed and wept tears of genuine grief for the loss of the Mother she'd never had. The first inkling she had that she'd awakened Luke from his trance was a feather touch on her red-gold head. Fingers tangled in her wild hair, threading through it. With his touch she felt the love and tenderness surround every part of her. Luke hadn't said the actual words, but then again neither had she.

"Luke!" Her head lifted and her tearstained face gazed into the bright blue gaze of the Jedi Master. In all her years of knocking round the galaxy, she'd never seen anyone with eyes that clear colour. It was the sky above the sands of Tatooine, the seas on Chad during high summer, and the colour of the most precious Corusca gem - a pure glistening crystalline blue.

"Don't cry, I can't bear to see you cry." His hand lifted and with a gentle finger traced the path of the tears on her soft cheek. With his thumb he brushed her lips. Mara's mouth hung slightly open, soft and vulnerable like the velvety petals of a flower. As if drawn by some unknown power, Luke's hand curved into her hair and drew her mouth to his. It was like being burned, scorched by sheer passion. His mouth moving firmly on her parted lips. Too many sensations to count rushed through her at the moment of contact as every nerve ending pulsed with awareness. Pleasure rippled through her body at the gentle movement of his mouth upon hers. The kiss went on and on, and Mara felt dizzy by the time she needed to pause for breath.

Reluctantly, Luke pulled his lips from hers and closed his eyes in a prayer to the powers that let him experience so much feeling. Mara's parted lips seemed to draw him to her; they were soft, inviting and wet. He traced her beautiful features with tired eyes. Mara too had dark circles under her eyes. 'Probably worrying over me', he thought. Her glorious hair straggled untidily out of her thick braid, but to him, she'd never looked more beautiful; tearstains smudged over her soft, grimy cheek.

"Why don't you think you're worthy, Mara? Tell me." Luke shifted a little in the bed and pulled her down to lie beside him, curving her head into his shoulder. "Tell me, Mara. But before you start running yourself down, I want you to know that I won't allow you to do that, do you hear? The Force radiates within you; the light is there in your soul. Why the tears, Mara?"

It wasn't an order and somehow Mara found herself talking. "I saw an apparition."

"A person outlined in a blue shimmery light that you could see through - kinda transparent?"

"Yes," Mara blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Obi Wan."

"Obi Wan what?"

Luke grinned and tucked her head firmly under his chin, which was difficult to do as he was under the covers and she was on top of them.

"Obi Wan used to appear to me. It was like a hologram message, but you knew the person was not of this life. Once when I was lost in a Hoth blizzard, another time on Dagobah. The weirdest was when I woke up and found him on the end of my flotation bed."

"Flotation bed! Where?"

"Medicentre on Home One after the battle of Endor." His voice was meek.

Mara twisted her head round to glare at him. "You end up in these places far too often for my peace of mind, Skywalker."

"Hey, what can I say? Now talk, Jade."

"This figure appeared and we talked," Mara said as she made herself comfortable under his chin again.

"Talked?"

"Well, I snapped at her, lost my temper a bit."

"A bit."

Mara twisted her head around again. "Yes, just a bit," her eyes shot laser bolts at him, then fell. "I tried to drive her away," she mumbled. "Like I tried to do to you."

"You'll never get rid of me, Jade. I'm your friend - remember? She'll understand."

"You think so?"

"I did. Didn't I?" Luke's voice turned a little flat and there was a subtle shifting between their Force bond. "Thanks for coming after me, by the way. I owe you one."

Mara sat up, exasperation etched on her features. "Luke." She drew his name out over several syllables in the way she'd perfected over the years. "You don't owe me anything. I told you. I was returning the honour you gave me with your trust and friendship. Genuine friends don't keep score." She picked up his real hand and rubbed it against her cheek. "I came because I wanted to - because I had to."

"Why did you have to come?" Luke sat up, his covers in disarray and stared straight into her eyes.

Mara's tongue moistened suddenly dry lips and Luke's eyes zeroed in on the tell tale movement "I came because…" she whispered. "I came because I lo…"

The door hissed open and Mara leapt off the bed, but Luke refused to let go her hand, so she was in the undignified position of trying to free herself from a very determined, fast recovering Jedi Master. Kam Solusar stood at the door, masking a grin.

"Let go, Skywalker," Mara gritted. "Or you'll need another new hand."

Luke immediately let go and watched with a wicked glint in his eye as Mara fought to control her balance. Kam chuckled, and Mara levelled at him one of her death glares.

"You're looking better, Master Skywalker."

Luke grinned, "Feeling better too, but forget the Master Skywalker stuff. Just call me Luke, for Sith's sake. It's great what twenty-two hours in a healing trance can do for you."

Mara snorted. "Try forty-four hours in a healing trance, farmboy."

Luke lay back, his arms behind his head. "So I lost a day."

Kam turned to Mara. "There's a message for you from Coruscant and Luke, you still need to rest."

"I've been resting for forty-four hours," he protested.

"Maybe so, but according to those in the know, you didn't sleep at all, or rest, for over an entire week. Our chief Jedi Medical Officer, Cilghal, insists on it. Have you ever seen a Mon Calamari mad?"

Mara shook her head and sighed. "No, I don't think he has, but he's seen me really mad, and I'm more frightening."

"Okay," Luke gave in with surprising swiftness and Mara raised an eyebrow in Kam's direction. What was the wily Jedi Master up to? She watched as he obediently closed his eyes and within minutes, Luke was fast asleep.

"Well," she muttered.

"He's a lot better," Kam commented thoughtfully.

"Yeah, nearly well enough to argue," she mumbled irritably. "But it shows how unwell he's really been. Nothing would keep Luke Skywalker in that bed if he were all right."

'Not even you?', thought Kam to himself.

"My message?"

"In the temporary Comm Centre. It's this way. It's from Councillor Organa Solo."

"Checking up on him."

"We kept the holo-reporters out of this. They think Luke is resting, not hurt. He's not seriously hurt after all."

Mara stopped and faced Kam in the narrow corridor. "He could have been. Luke was very lucky. He collapsed because he had no strength left. He went without sleep and often without food while helping here. He'd nothing left to fight with. The man was completely exhausted. All right, he wasn't hurt in a saber fight or battling a dark Jedi, but he was still killing himself. If he’d been any longer in that atmosphere without a breathing mask he would have been dead for sure."

"It's good he has you to look out for him, Jade. He needs a friend," Kam told her succinctly.

Mara gave him a hunted look from wary green eyes and vanished into the Comm centre.

The place was deserted as Mara tapped into the codes to return the call. She didn't have to wait long before Leia's worried face appeared on the screen. "Mara, is he okay?"

"Sure, a bang on the head, a sprained ankle, a lungful of poisonous fumes, no sleep for a week and not enough rations. Yeah, he's fine. All situations normal."

"You being ironic, Mara?"

Mara's face softened and the worry lines smoothed from her brow. "He's fine. Exactly as I told you. In fact, he's sleeping this very minute. He has a hard head - shouldn't addle his wits more than they're currently addled."

"What did you do - knock him out?"

"No, I just threatened him and he gave in."

Leia’s face paled. "That bad, huh?"

"He's your brother and Skywalker stubbornness seems to go more with the male gene pool."

Han's face peered over his wife's shoulder. "I heard that. If you want stubborn, have you met the female Skywalker twin?"

"I believe I have. Listen, he's going to be fine. I’ll keep a close eye on him and see he doesn’t do anything stupid."

Han put one hand on Leia’s shoulder and leaned in as close to the monitor as he could get. "Don’t you do anything stupid either, Jade." His eyes for once were serious.

"Was he pleased to see you?" Leia asked.

Mara’s eyes darted nervously away for a moment before returning to face Luke’s sister. "I think so. Thought he was seeing things for a while."

"Don’t run out on him this time, Jade," Han warned. "Look what a mess he got himself into."

"Han, shush!" Leia murmured. "Just tell him I love him, and I want to see him home as soon as he’s fit to travel. Oh, and Mara… Look after him."

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

Mara returned to the Skipray to check on the emergency medpac in the small craft. She might have a bacta wrap there. It would help with Luke's ankle. Most of his burns had healed, but she still had some synth-flesh to spare. Might as well donate it to the hospital. Moving into the tiny cabin, Mara collapsed tiredly on the bunk. Sifting through her memories, she tried to build a picture of her mother. They hadn't shared much in appearance, her eyes had been the same -that clear strong green and perhaps somethhing in the curve of her face and the copper glint in her hair. Her mother's hair had been more brown than red.

Perhaps Luke would help her search. She'd thought that she didn't need her background, but perhaps she did after all. Her mother had, after all, been a Jedi and there was comfort in that. Maybe Luke was right, and she had the strength necessary to complete her training.

Sitting up, she surveyed her person. A shower and a change of clothes would be a good idea before she returned to check on farmboy. He was down at the moment, but Mara held no illusions about him. That deceptively innocent expression was hatching plots and when he was well enough, he would spring them on her.

Standing under the shower, she ran her fingers down her body, her breasts growing heavy as she remembered the care Luke had given them, until they had sprung proud and throbbing. She moved restlessly as an ache began to throb between her thighs. "Luke!" she moaned, her eyes shut. The sensations began to build - they were so powerful. That one night had ruined her for any other man for ever. 'But you enjoyed it every moment of it,' her own taunting little voice crowed jubilantly. 'Who would have thought the saintly Jedi was so good in the bedroll?' Mara grabbed a handful of cleaning solution and tried to rub his touch from her body. 'You knew what it would be like with him, deep down you always knew.'

Enough of this, she told herself and flicked the switch to cold and the water jerked her back to reality.

Pulling out a long dark green tunic, she dressed quickly, all the time trying to forget Luke making love to her. But the longer she spent near him, the more she thought about it. The tunic hugged her curves faithfully, a tight upper bodice and a wide skirt over her sturdy knee length boots. Brushing out her hair, she left it loose to dry and it rippled down her back in a sea of red-gold waves. She could feel Luke's restlessness return as he turned and agitated in his sleep.

"It's okay, I'm still here," she soothed, reaching him through their Force link.

"Mara!" The comlink she'd pinned to her throat went off and Kam's voice was heard clearly.

"Yes," she answered.

"Luke's calling for you. He's still sleeping, but seems to be very restless."

"I know. I can feel it. I'm coming to check on him and I've found a spare bacta wrap."

"Good."

Mara left her ministrations and made her way quickly back to the hospital. She could feel Luke's presence with her and hurried towards the warmth she felt.

"Mara," Kam's voice called from the office he shared with Cilghal. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Biting down a sharp retort, Mara stalked gracefully into the small room. "What?"

"You know my career as a Jedi has covered a lot of ground, shall we say."

"You were trained by your father, had a brush with the darkside and I know Luke brought you back to the light. So?"

"Luke was brought up in isolation on Tatooine and you belonged to Palpatine. Why would Mirahn appear to you and Luke?"

Mara's heart froze in shock. Opening her mouth she tried to say something, anything to hide the fact that that one word had knocked the stuffing from her. Her mouth opened and closed, her pulse sounded loud in her ears and all the colour drained from her face. Kam leapt to his feet and guided her to a chair.

"Mirahn!" She managed to stutter out the word. "Mirahn..." She looked up into Kam's proud face. "That's her name?" She wet her dry lips.

Kam peered worriedly at Mara; he'd never seen her hit this hard by anything.

"Can I have a drink of water, please?" Mara asked shakily.

Kam poured a generous amount into a tumbler. "Wouldn't you like something stronger?"

"No," she whispered. "Water's fine."

She looked up urgently. "Are you sure that was her name?"

"Pretty much. I only saw her a few times. And I was only a boy at the time, but she had a unique signature in the Force - all the Jedi do. She was kind to me, that's all I remember. She was someone who fed me sweet things if I attended the temple with my father. He was a Master. His name was Ranik." Kam kept his voice low and even, hoping it would prove to be calming.

Mara reached for the centre of her focus. "Mirahn," she repeated wildly and tried to peel away the twisted layers in her brain. But nothing came - no visions, no memories - nothing. ";Why can't I remember her? Why?"

Kam shook his grey head regretfully. Mara had curled into herself, her shoulders heaving, in an effort to regain her control.

"Ssh." The arms surrounding her were safe and strong. "Ssh, it's going to be okay." Mara realised with a shock that Luke was there in the small room and had bundled her into his embrace. He lifted cold hard eyes towards Kam. "What did you say to her? What made her react like this?"

"I asked her why Mirahn should appear to you both?" Kam's eyes were grey and bewildered.

Luke turned to the shaking woman in his arms. "What's this, sweetheart?" He kissed her brow, uncaring that Kam should see him and possibly draw conclusions about the nature of their liaison. "Who's Mirahn?"

Mara took a deep shuddering breath and raised stricken eyes to Luke's face. "I think that's my mother's name, Luke. But I tried to remember her," she cried brokenly. "I searched my memories and I found nothing. I thought I would be satisfied with that, but I'm not. That monster who raised me took away my memories of my family and now I have no one."

"You have me, Mara. You'll always have me."

Disclaimer - The characters and situations used in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. My thanks to Jackie, Mona and Molly and AJ - that bit of Lego sure brightens up my bookshelves.

Chapter 11

Greoa City

Kam Solusar stood silently watching the sun gradually sink over the crater's rim. The once proud city had been levelled to nothing but charred ruins and lumps of misshapen masonry. The last of the fires had burnt themselves out a few days ago indicating the planet's beast had now returned to a somnolent state. It had been reminiscent of a long burning funeral pyre for the many that had tragically lost their lives. Something new would rise in its place. The ground was fertile and in time people would forget.

Kam clasped his hands loosely behind his back, his mind troubled. He had been so lucky. His father had been a great man, but Darth Vader had killed him during the purges and Kam's faith in the light of the Force hadn't been strong enough to sustain him during those dark times. Until, he thought thankfully, the dawning of the new era. The rise of the 'Skywalker dynasty' as news pundits often referred to it, when speaking of Luke and Leia. 'Thank the Force for the Skywalkers.' A lot of people would be in poorer circumstances without them.

Behind him, he heard Luke continue to comfort the distraught Mara Jade. Kam had been amazed at the emotion pouring from her Force sense. She'd been so closed in before - tighter than a Hapan Battle Dragon. Her green eyes had made sure you kept your distance, the bitter blaze warning you of things long suppressed, things that would be best if you never learned about them. Mara Jade held secrets in those eyes.

There were some individuals in the New Republic hierarchy who would like to see Mara Jade imprisoned for what they saw as her role in Palpatine's Empire, but Kam knew she was as much a victim as he himself had been. He was lucky in that he had memories of his mother and father, even in the dark times. He had spoken the truth. Mirahn had been kind to him in a time when public feeling against the Jedi had been high. She had been one of his kind, a Jedi in the temple. Still she had time for a small boy and then, not many people had. He frowned, screwing his forehead into a mass of lines and furrows. It was no use, he couldn't remember very much. Nonetheless, he had memories of Mara Jade's mother, and she had none.

Unwillingly, he glanced around, feeling like a voyeur as he watched his Master hold Mara Jade close and offer her solace. Luke had thrown on his tunic pants and rushed to find Mara as soon as he'd become aware of her distress. The Jedi Master's muscular chest was bare, still adorned with multiple strips of synth-flesh and bandages, their pristine whiteness in contrast with Luke's ever-present tan. Kam came to the conclusion that Luke had been very lucky - again.

Mara seemed small and vulnerable in his arms. Kam was surprised how petite she was as Luke kissed her eyelids shut and whispered words he couldn't hear. Whatever Luke had said to her had done the trick. The girl with the red-gold hair had relaxed in his arms. Luke had reacted instantly to her need of him, as she had to his. Kam could feel their bond, shimmering like liquid fire around them. It was a powerful one. His Jedi colleague, Cilghal, was right. The presences of the two were so strongly intertwined that it was difficult, if not near impossible to separate one from the other. To him, at that moment, they felt like a single being.

He walked carefully into the corridor to give them a little more privacy, but they didn't seem to notice. The intimacy he sensed between them was not new. Luke's arms circled Mara not with the awkwardness of the new lover but with the familiarity of the old. So, in a way, he had been wrong. The rumours about them had been true, their relationship well beyond what he had thought it had been, and he was glad.

Kam cast his mind back to days he'd long tried to forget. It was common knowledge among the Jedi community that Mara Jade was ignorant of her origins, but it figured that one of her parents must have been a Jedi and a powerful one. Mara's presence in the force was nearly Luke's equal - even if she didn’t think that herself. He hadn't known Mirahn well, hadn't known she'd had a child. But she must have been a young woman while he was at the temple. They'd all fled, his father cut down by the dark Lord of the Sith, Mirahn had…. Something teased at his memory. There had been something about her. Something unexpected had happened - a scandal! He tried to remember, but it was possible he hadn't known what it was. They'd had little time to absorb what was happening to them. They'd been too busy saving themselves, trying to hide. Mirahn had died needlessly, of that he was sure… and her daughter. It felt strange to think of Mara Jade as a daughter, but she'd never known the love of a mother, nor of a father. He owed it to the memory of Mirahn to find out - and to Mara too.

Inside the tiny office, Mara had stopped thinking ages ago; she only felt. Luke's arms surrounded her slender form and in her distress, they had become a safe haven. It had been a long time since they had held each other. He made her body quiver and she made his clench with need. His mouth lowered to hers and possessed her with a kiss of such aching sweetness that it was hardly a possession at all. Her whole body reacted with the quickness of fire, and she felt her blood begin to sing to him. Luke parted her lips with a gentle finger and she deftly kissed its tip, causing his groin to react with painful alacrity. His mouth smothered hers and for just a fraction of time he pretended to forget where they were. But any time spent kissing Mara Jade was enough to make his body hard and hungry for hers. Mara's arms smoothed over his naked chest and coiled themselves around his neck as she pressed her lithe form closer to Luke's need.

"Mara," Luke finally groaned against her mouth. "We have to stop this….. Kam..."

Mara stiffened and moved carefully away, her face scarlet and her body throbbing with sexual frustration. "Sith, farmboy, you should be in a bacta tank, and I'm ready to … to…" She blushed and looked away, horrified at herself.

Despite his body's discomfort, Luke grinned. "You're ready to what, green eyes?"

Mara's eyes flashed emerald fire. "You can hardly hold yourself upright and you're thinking about… about…. Skywalker!" Her voice rose as she sensed his need, and more importantly she tried to stifle her own.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Luke offered cheekily, as he willed his body to return to normal. But despite his determinedly jaunty air, his eyes still looked tired, dark circles outlining the vivid blue, still bright in his pale face. He picked up her small hands and then sat staring at them as if he didn't know what to do. Kam chose that moment to return to his office.

The older Jedi took in the scene as the Jedi Master and his beautiful companion sat and stared at the other, holding hands, but saying nothing. Kam felt like a spare rocket-pack.

"I'm sorry I upset you, Mara. I didn't mean to," Kam said gently.

"I know." She didn't remove her gaze from Luke's. He squeezed her hands tightly before letting them go, and she turned to Kam with an unreadable expression. "Can you tell me anything about her?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I was just a boy at the time and I only remembered her because she was kind to me, made me laugh and fed me sweet things. It was a time when there was little laughter among the Jedi. I'm going to meditate on it. If I remember anything more, I'll let you know." He held out a hand to her and she looked a little startled, but in essence, apart from Luke and his family, it was the first time that one of the Jedi had accepted her and offered her a hand in friendship. Her eyes closed briefly. Then with a little glance at Luke, she stretched out her own hand and clasped Kam's.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You've given me more than I ever had before, than I ever hoped I'd have."

"I'll take Mara back to her ship. She needs to sleep," Luke suddenly said.

"Fine," Kam murmured, recognising Luke's intent even if the Jedi Master did not. He coughed a little, embarrassed by his envy of the younger man. "I'll go and see if Cilghal has finished her rounds for the night."

Mara got to her feet and stumbled out of the room. Luke immediately arose and limped after her. But Kam put his arm out to stay the Jedi Master for a moment. "There's something about Mirahn, something important, but I can't remember. I don't want to upset Mara any more than I already have, but there was just…" He clenched his fist in frustration. If only he could remember…

"Don't worry. If it is meant to be, the memories will return. Thank you, Kam. I appreciate it. She'll be fine; she's the strongest person I know. You've given her somewhere to start, more than she's ever had in her life. Palpatine and his darkside evil did this to her. I don't know what I'd do to him if he were still alive. Anger, hate, aggression are the darkside and I'm teaching the Jedi to renounce such emotions. But as far as I'm concerned - I might not be able to control what I'd do to him for doing this to her."

Kam blinked. Luke's voice had darkened and so had his sense in the Force. Yes, he thought. Mara Jade is important to him. More important than any other woman, save his sister and even then, I would say that what links Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade together is stronger than the thickest slab of durasteel.

Kam shook his head as he watched Luke starting to follow Mara outside, his limping gait slowing him down as his ankle protested at such ill usage. Immediately able to sense he was in pain, Mara returned to his side and offered him a supportive arm.

"Should you really be up, Skywalker? I think you should be in that bed in there. I could get 21B to knock you out." Her voice was brisk, but Luke could tell that she still felt shaken by news of her mother's identity.

"I'm fine," he dismissed her words as he usually did and promptly stumbled as he tried to put his full weight on the offending limb.

"Lean on me, flyboy," Mara offered, her tone dry as she helped him towards the Skipray. Once they'd made their slow progress up the boarding ramp, she waved him to a seat and thrust a sealed packet in his face. "Look what I've found. The only spare bacta wrap on the whole planet."

Luke' s azure eyes lit up. "You'd better give that to Cilghal; she could probably use it."

"She probably could," Mara's tone mocked gently. "On you."

"Hell, Mara, my ankle's fine." Luke tried to stand, to prove he was as healed as he could be and quickly crumbled as the ankle gave out. His face blanched and he sank down upon the seat. "Just give me a couple of minutes and I'll prove it."

"Luke," she drawled. "So your ankle's fine?" She placed both hands on her hips. Yeah!" she said dryly. "Right!"

Suddenly kneeling before him, Mara unwrapped the wrap and applied it gently. Her smooth fingers soothed the healing bacta over the swollen area and carefully, trying all the time not to cause him any pain, wound the bandage around it. Luke could feel the healing properties in the bacta immediately begin to work and he closed his eyes for a moment, finally relaxing.

Mara got slowly to her feet, watching carefully as Luke's breath expelled from his lungs and his body eased. He must have been in considerable pain, even with Jedi pain suppressing techniques. His eyes blinked open, surprising her. "You okay?"

"I should be asking you that." But she nodded, her face still a little troubled.

"Palpatine never wanted to risk you finding out about your past. You know that, don't you?" Luke asked gently.

"I thought I never would. I still know nothing about her. Who she was, when she lived or how she died. Kam was only a boy himself, he wouldn't know anything, even with meditation. I understand that, but it's hard to get a glimpse and then - nothing."

"It's surprising what children can pick up, even when they are not supposed to. I've got some new records at home on Coruscant."

Mara lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "Why on Coruscant and not on Yavin at the Jedi Academy?"

"I just received them. They were unearthed in a vault deep below the Imperial Palace just before I returned to Coruscant." His eyes darkened. "Just before we…, "he blushed and continued quickly to cover his embarrassment. "Once they were determined to be Jedi records they were turned over to me. At the moment they are unreadable, being heavily encrypted. The records I have on Yavin are much older, belonging to an era long before our currently troubled times."

Mara paced the deck in front of Luke, her strides swift and agitated, before turning to face him, her expression strained. "I know now that she loved me, but I just never expected to feel like this."

"Like what?"

"As if I've suddenly awoken from a thick fog, and things are not the same. I was viewing everything in monochrome and now it's in colour."

"At the risk of sounding like my former Master Yoda, I can only state the obvious. Things are not the same…" He stuck out his hand and caught Mara's, pulling her steadily towards him.

"Luke…"

"Mara…" he mimicked and drew her onto his knees.

"Skywalker. What about your ankle?"

"What about it? What ankle?" He dismissed it and brought his arms around her. "Mara…" he looked deep into her eyes and she felt her insides begin to dissolve.

"Luke…" The word came out as a breathy moan, barely even a sound. She felt his intent and closed her eyes as Luke's intense blue eyes drew nearer and nearer. Her lips parted automatically and finally his well-shaped mouth descended on hers. Sensation sizzled through her as their mouths met. Mara's hands clenched but slowly came up and placed themselves around his strong shoulders. Her fingers clung to him like a hawk bat on a Coruscant tower. Their mouths sought the hidden tastes and textures of one another, tongues probing, teeth nipping and all the time it was undeniably possessive on both sides. He was hers and she was his. Her breasts swelled within the confines of her tunic, yearning to have his hands and lips teasing them into taut, rosy peaks.

With a little gasp, she tore her mouth from his and rested her head against his forehead, her hand reaching up to trail tenderly across his cheek, feeling the rasp of stubble covering the little cleft in his chin. Luke's arms wound even tighter, if it were possible, around her slim form.

"You need to go back, Luke. Kam and Cilghal will be waiting."

"No - I want to stay with you tonight. Please…. I don't want to be alone and neither do you," he murmured shrewdly. "I'm not asking for, or expecting, anything from you. I'd just like to hold you in my arms and sleep."

Mara gave a faint grin. "And sleep? Skywalker?"

"We have a bond in the Force, Mara," Luke insisted.

"Yeah," she sighed heavily. "It's a strange one that."

Luke winced a little, but whether it was from her words or from the aches and pains in his body, she had no idea. Mara assessed him and slipped out of his embrace. "You really should go back to the hospital."

Luke caught at her hand again. "No! I'm staying with you." His voice was determined, but the impression of vulnerability caught at her heart. He stood up, gingerly testing his weight. The bacta wrap had helped and the pain was less. He let out a relieved grin. "See, it's better," and pulled out her bunk, immediately spreading himself full length upon it. "I'm even resting here, taking the weight off." He used his best innocent smile, the blue eyes clear, the smile without guile, and Mara rolled her eyes, not fooled for a minute.

"The charm doesn't work on me, farmboy. You know that." She tried to sound stern, but the sight of him lying on her bunk, his blue eyes wide and full of hope melted her steely resolve. She would not let him get to her. She would not let him get to her. She would not…

He'd got to her again. "Look – I'll be no trouble," he said sweetly.

"Somehow," she stood over him, her hands back on her hips. "I find that very hard to believe." But eventually she accepted his need to stay with her and took the hand he held up to her. Joining him in the bunk, her body lay stiffly next to him with a barely perceptible gap between them. Mara knew if she touched him she would be lost.

With a wave of her hand, Mara switched the lights off and for a few moments they lay stiffly side by side in the dark, getting used to the feeling of being together again. Subtly, the awareness began to grow between them, like heat seeping into a cold room. Mara held her feelings in check, unwilling to act upon the sensations that were beginning to course through her body, threatening to swallow her whole. Her skin prickled, nerve endings tingling, energised and receptive to the man lying silently beside her. The man she was in love with. Mara's throat went dry, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. It was going to be a very long night.

Luke resolutely closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on anything rather than the beautiful green-eyed girl he was so in love with. He was as relaxed as she was, which meant he was not relaxed at all. Every muscle strained not to act upon his feelings. If he'd given in, acted upon his desires, Luke Skywalker would have torn the clothes from her and buried himself in her beautiful, receptive body. He knew it would be that way. His body was on fire, aching more than his ankle had ever thought to. If he touched her, even in the slightest way, Luke knew they would both be lost. His eyes flew open as he attempted to banish such an evocative picture from his mind. It was going to be a long night and, Jedi or not, he didn't think he had that much control. He slammed his eyes shut again, working to distract himself from the stiffening in his groin. He concentrated on the pain in his ankle, the bacta wrap, and the contents of bacta itself. It had helped his ankle considerably, but as a diversion it failed. Nothing would lead him away from thoughts about the woman at his side. It was where she belonged; he knew that.

Luke sensed Mara moving just a fraction as she tried to steady her erratic breathing. It brought his awareness of her presence next to him all the more forcibly to his tortured mind. He could inhale her scent, redolent of a fresh spring day. He could imagine rubbing such a fragrance over her smooth supple body. He could remember the feel of her skin against him, her firm breasts in his hands, the sensation of becoming one in body and in mind. He had given her his soul.

The Jedi Master had reached the breaking point in his control and without realising it, let out a small moan. In the tense stillness of the Skipray's miniscule cabin, the moan sounded louder than a triumphal war cry.

Mara jerked upright and using the Force anxiously waved the lights on. The cabin became painfully bright and Luke blinked dazedly into worried green eyes, her pupils still dilated owing to the thoughts she'd been having, thoughts of what she'd like to do within the sanctuary of Luke's arms.

Mara placed a hand on his forehead, Philokian fire moths dancing in her stomach. His skin was hot and dry to her touch, his blue eyes dark with wide aroused pupils. Mara bit her lips in concern as he moaned again. "Luke… I'll get Cilghal. I should never have allowed you to stay here with me. I…"

Luke's eyes widened at her words and a swift hand snapped around her wrist and yanked her down on top of him. She never saw it coming.

"Luke…!"

His mouth covered hers - hard, forcing her to yield to him and he rolled her underneath him, imprisoning her with the weight of his body. But no force was needed because as soon as flesh had met flesh, they both fell prey to their strongest desires.

'Hot'.

By the Force, the fire building between them was hot, and Mara gave into the flames burning between them without the slightest protest. She needed him as much as he needed her. Hands fumbled and clutched as clothes were removed without ceremony. This would be no gentle loving. This would be hot and hard and desperate. Too much had passed between them, too much fear that they might never have had the chance to love like this again. Mara grabbed at his naked shoulders in a frantic attempt to meld with him. Luke's hands and mouth were everywhere until all their clothes were scattered to every part in the cabin. The temperature rose higher as Luke parted Mara's legs and, with one quick thrust, buried himself within her, just as he'd dreamt of earlier. Mara gasped loudly, her hands gripping his shoulders, but she was ready for his entry, her inner muscles tightening around him as if they intended to never let him go.

Kam sank deeper into the Force. There were strange currents there tonight. Something had woken the swirling fragments and something was joining them together. The puzzle he'd become involved in was solving itself. Or was it creating even more questions he couldn't answer? People and places he didn't remember vanished past him, but one face remained, her hand stretching out to him, pleading with him to help her reach the one person she'd thought she'd lost. 'Mirahn'?

Luke gasped for breath as Mara's fingernails dug into his back leaving livid scratches to add to his other faded scars. His body thrust as the pain acted as a stimulus to his final completion. Mara's face contorted, the waves of pleasure leaving her coated in sweat. This was more than it had been in Coruscant - much more. She'd been ready as soon as he'd entered her body and climaxed almost immediately before setting off to reach completion again. Luke slid down her body, caressing and kissing every contour with frantic haste, until his mouth tasted the sweetness of her breast. Mara offered herself to him, glorying in what she'd once been afraid to give. Her eyes screwed shut, her hands tangled in his hair as he slid lower and tasted the very essence of her womanhood.

Kam felt as if he'd descended into a whirlpool. Images flew at him from every direction, in a swirling kaleidoscope of colours and sounds and, gasping for much needed breath, he threw himself from the vision.

Mara's body rose off the bed, her voice lifting in a keening cry as Luke's spirit joined with hers and they became so totally immersed in each other's souls that Greoa could have blown itself to pieces again and they wouldn't have noticed.

Luke's fingers slid to the nape of Mara's neck and tangled in the damp length of her hair, as he turned her head towards him. "Mara Jade, you bewitch me." His voice was quiet, the expression in his eyes deadly serious. "No matter how hard I've tried, I cannot get you out of my mind. You've always been there. Even if I hadn't consciously thought of you in weeks, you were there, a presence just hovering where I could feel you with me. Do you know how I feel about you?" His voice shook a little. "I have to tell you, even if it is something that you don't want to hear. I cannot keep quiet any longer, not when you mean so much….."

Mara's hand lifted to stay his words momentarily. "I want to hear. Tell me."

Luke closed his eyes and with a deep breath and a heart thundering in his ears spoke the words he'd held deep inside himself for so long. "I love you."

Mara's eyes filled with tears at the import of his words. Her hands still shaking from the climax of their loving and, she could no longer deny it was loving. She knew that as surely as he did. They couldn't have hidden anything from each other in that cataclysmic frenzy of passion if their lives had depended on it. She knew his heart as surely as he did hers and they would never be apart again.

"But I knew that," she whispered huskily, the light of her self-discoveries shining brightly. "I think I always knew it. Even when I hated you, I loved you too. Luke…"

He warily opened the eyes that had haunted her over the years and throughout the galaxy.

"I love you."

With a gentle finger, she traced the outline of his firm chest and then let her hand drift lower. Her vivid green eyes darkened to match the storm tossed blue of his, before he rose up on one elbow and began once more to bring her body to completeness. His body hardened and, as it would always do, no matter what happened to them, hers leapt in response.

"Oh, Mara…" he whispered reverently, lovingly. His mouth covered hers and they lost themselves once more.

Kam paced the small room he'd been using. He had to tell her. There was no question she would want to know. But it wouldn't be easy for her. Kam shifted uncomfortably. He could feel Luke and Mara's passion through his carefully constructed shields. He'd never experienced anything quite that strong amongst the Jedi. How would Mara take it when she heard that her mother had been banished from the Jedi temple for having a liaison with one of Emperor Palpatine's most trusted officers? That she had been suspected of betraying the Jedi. The picture of Mirahn, her hand outstretched, pleading to someone to spare the life of her…. Kam's body straightened. Mirahn had pleaded for the life of her child and Palpatine had granted that wish. The Jedi Temple had been destroyed and those remaining had gone into hiding. Kam never knew what had happened to her. His father's grey face came to mind, urging him to hide in a ship full of spare engine parts. He'd left Coruscant for good and shortly after that his father had been murdered too. Kam grimaced as he walked reluctantly towards the Skipray Blastboat. He had to wait for the lovers to emerge. The daughter of Mirahn and Imperial Captain Jan Jaden had to know what he knew. It was her right.

Chapter 12

Mara awoke gradually with the dawning knowledge that something awaited her. Carefully stretching out with the Force, she amended that to - someone. Cautiously, she disentangled herself from the arms of the Jedi master. He was sound asleep, his still boyish face almost free from the recent strain it had been showing. Reluctantly, she eased away from his warm body and groped about the floor for her scattered clothing.

Luke muttered something unintelligible and fumbled for her presence in the bed, his head turning and burying into the pillow. Mara quelled a moment of amusement as she was presented with a shapeless lump under the bedclothes, with a mop of tousled, overlong fairish hair, the only visible part of him.

"S'all right, Kam. She's strong…"

Mara caught the muffled words and knew who was awaiting her.

Kam Solusar. Trained by his father, the Jedi Master, Ranik Solusar. But saved from the darkside by Luke. She cast another amused glance at the lump under the covers. His hair needed cutting.

Kam was waiting outside for her. She cast a quick glance at her chrono. It wouldn't be light yet. So, he'd been meditating as promised and had more to tell her. Mara's stomach turned over nervously. Scoffing at herself, for she'd faced far worse than this, she picked up her tunic.

Dressing quickly, she cloaked her presence and moved silently from the cabin. She hoped Luke would remain asleep for some time; he badly needed his rest. He'd probably argue against this, but it was her decision and her origins. She had to be strong and being strong meant looking out for Skywalker and his overprotective genes. The fact was that part of her wanted Skywalker with her to hold onto her hand, but Mara squashed it into the darkest corner of her mind. If they were to spend time together in a… her mind balked a little at the word 'relationship' but that was what they had - she needed to make sure it was an equal one. Still, a trickle of fear wormed its way past her carefully erected barriers.

Kam Solusar stared resolutely away from the Skipray Blastboat behind him and out into the dawning morning on Greoa Prime. He'd been sitting there now for several hours just watching the sun come up. He knew enough to distress Mara Jade and perhaps not enough to give her what she craved.

'S'all right, Kam. She's strong…'

Luke, always the Jedi Master, had picked up his troubled thoughts. Kam pulled his barriers down tight around his worries. Luke would become familiar with them in due time, he was sure of that. First he had to tell Mara everything he knew. It wasn't much, but she had a right to know.

"I'm ready for anything, Kam."

Her voice was clear and strong. It surprised him and he whipped around to face her, startled as he'd not felt her approach him.

"Practising your cloaking techniques, Jade?" he asked.

Mara cocked her head to one side and gazed at him. He felt himself shrinking beneath the intensity of the fabled stare. She made no reply. Although it took courage, Kam returned the steady look, taking in her mood and every aspect of her appearance. She seemed calm enough; her hair pulled tightly back into a thick rope of burnished fire. But a few fiery strands escaped and framed her face in a feminine display of gentle curls. He took a moment to appreciate her stunning beauty, but then he nodded - her expression was composed, her eyes clear. It was time to tell her. She was prepared to face the truth.

"I get the feeling this won't be easy, Solusar. So let's get it over with."

"I…"

"Don't have much to tell me - I know."

Kam hunched into his black cloak, pulling it securely around his shoulders as he shivered in the chill of the morning air.

"This is not entirely clear, Jade. I meditated on it and some memories returned, other things happened, but I think they are visions of what happened - things that I couldn't possibly know. The images were blurred, tumbled - confusing…"

"I understand," Mara whispered. "Tell me."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"The Force wills it." Her tone was resigned, but something more profound lurked in her clear green gaze. Kam hesitated. She'd spoken words that Luke might have said himself. Kam closed his eyes and bowed his head in a silent prayer before beginning to talk.

"I didn't know Mirahn well - in fact, I met her only twice. She was a Jedi, but not a master, I believe. My father talked about a spark of defiant independence that she kept within herself. She was too stubborn to ever accept totally the dictates of the Jedi Council. He disapproved of her, but admired her too. She had a freeness of spirit that was refreshing. You've inherited it, Mara Jade."

Mara smiled a little. "Yes - I suppose I must have. I am stubborn. Luke always says so, but then again he should recognise the trait, for he has it himself."

Kam opened silvery grey eyes, which gleamed agreement. "When we met, she was playing with some of the children in the temple. I was too old to play, yet too young to be with the adults. You know, that painful, adolescent no man's land. She must have sensed my envy of the younger children, for she stopped what she was doing and came and talked to me. I can remember the conversation clearly, as if it were yesterday. That in itself is strange as I've not thought of Mirahn for years. Much of my past is painful to me. I have no wish to remember…" His voice tailed off, a far away expression clouding his grey eyes.

"Padawan?" Mirahn asked.

"Not yet, Lady."

"But you hope to be?"

"More than anything. I want to serve the Force."

"Even in these dark times?"

"If the Force wills it, Lady."

"Then it will happen," her eyes sparkled green fire. "You're Ranik's son!" she exclaimed. "You have a strong look of him and a powerful presence in the Force."

I nodded and gave a furtive glance towards the unconsciously happy children. "Are we in danger?" I blurted it out.

She gave me a keen glance of sympathy and understanding. "A Jedi's life is never easy. We live in difficult times." Her mouth pinched a little at the corners and her vivid presence in the force dimmed just a little.

"Jedi Mirahn!" The deep voice belonged to a close friend of my father's. He stood tall and grave before us; a narrowed stare at me, indicating it was time to make myself scarce. "The Council will see you now."

Kam looked at Mara's rapt expression and shrugged. "Mirahn grinned at me and began to fish around in the capacious pockets of her Jedi robe. When she produced a packet of sweet things, I was surprised. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had such a treat."

"Here," she said. "You have them. I won't need these."

"Why not?"

Her grin was infectious and I smiled back.

"I'm in trouble again."

"Big trouble?" I asked. I knew all about that. My father was still serving me stern glances a week after I'd dismantled his lightsaber to see how it worked.

"Pretty big, but I'll get by. I usually do. I have to… this time."

"Kam!" It was my father's voice. "We have to go."

I looked at Mirahn and dipped my head in the way I'd been taught was a mark of respect to a lady. "May the Force be with you," I told her, with real sincerity. I could feel my father's disquiet and for a moment I watched as his eyes met Mirahn's. Something shuttered and she turned swiftly and strode into the council chamber. My father grabbed me painfully by the arm and hustled me from the building still clutching the bag of sweets she'd given me. We smuggled ourselves off Coruscant, my father finding passage for himself in an old beat up freighter and I hid in a crate of spare engine parts. "

Mara's eyes were moist as Kam finished his tale. "That was the only time you met her?"

"No, but this is the hard part. I didn't know what happened, but things got harder and harder for the Jedi. We were being hunted down like criminals. The Jedi Temple had been destroyed in a great explosion and the remaining adepts had scattered.

We went from world to star system, never staying longer than a few months at most. I think I must have seen twenty places in little over two years. My father and I were hiding on an agri-world in the outer rim colonies. We worked in the fields; they always needed casual labour and didn't ask too many questions. If my father thought it safe, he would train me in the ways of the Jedi. I was his Padawan learner - a great honour that he trusted me enough to train."

"Padawan!" Mara echoed the unfamiliar word slowly.

"We had moved to a different continent seeking work. We'd heard a farm on the outskirts of the spaceport required manual labour. We headed towards the fields and I remember the sensation of tension emanating from my father. When I saw her, I recognised her almost immediately. She too, was working in the fields. I felt my father stiffen and he grabbed hold of my belt. I would have run to her, for I still remembered her smile. But she'd changed. She had no lightsaber at her waist, her reddish brown hair was dull and her face haggard and worried. She was toiling in a field with other beings - some human, but mostly alien. When she stood up I knew it was she and it was with a sudden dread that I spotted the tall Imperial walking towards her.

"Do they know we're here?" I hissed frantically at my father. He shook his head, something in his bearing sinking under a kind of fatal acceptance of something. He'd known she was here.

"The Imperial officer walked tall in his invulnerability though there was something about him that didn't fit and I never knew what it was. But my father recognised him. I could feel that much."

"Who is he?" I whispered to my father.

"Captain Jaden," His words were clipped.

"I'd heard of him, who hadn't? He was one of the Emperor's brightest and most loyal soldiers. A man going places in the new order of things. A man to be feared, not trusted. I watched him move towards the overseer and speak quietly. Mirahn lifted her head a little as the overseer came to her. He began to drag her towards the Imperial. She gave him a cold look and brushed his fingerprints from her dusty homespun tunic as if banishing the imprint of the man's hands from her person. Very much as if she were the essence of nobility.

With a dignified nod, Mirahn followed the Imperial towards the farm buildings where my father and I had hidden ourselves. We'd been hoping to find work there for a few days; at least that's what my father had told me. Later on I discovered he'd been following Captain Jaden.

As soon as the tall Imperial and the small woman had disappeared from the view of the workers, they turned and enfolded each other in a desperate embrace. I was startled but couldn't turn away as they kissed as if they'd been apart for too long. Suddenly they both jerked apart, and Mirahn stared worriedly around her."

"There are other Force users near," she told him in a harsh whisper.

"You sure?"

"Can't you feel them?"

"I think so, but I'm not strong enough to really tell."

The words may have been bitter, but I couldn't tell. My father had placed a hand over my mouth just in case I had decided to cry out.

"It's not the Sith lord?" Mirahn's voice shook.

Jaden looked hunted. "He's away on other business near the core, but Palpatine will send him out here eventually. No trace of the Jedi must exist."

Mirahn's face paled. "You shouldn't have come, you've placed us all in great danger."

"I know, but I couldn't bear to be apart from you any longer. It's tearing me apart, Mirahn."

"And you still believe Palpatine's a good man?" This time her tone was bitter.

"Mirahn, we've talked about this before. I don't trust Vader, but the Emperor has only our best interests at heart. The Jedi have grown corrupt and the rot has started from within. It must be cleansed."

"That's not true. If you really believe that, then you are a fool and I'm a bigger one for loving you." Her voice held real anguish. "What did I do, to suffer in this way?"

"You made your choice."

"I did, didn't I? Do you think I'm corrupt, that…." She tore herself from his arms and stood breathing heavily, her gaze averted from the entreaty in his.

Jaden held out his arms in an appeal. "Look, Mirahn, we must find these Force users. Suppose they are tracking us? I don't like it."

"No, nor do I."

"My father slammed down force shields and cloaked our presences. We left the place at a run and caught the first transport off the planet. I never saw Mirahn or the Imperial Captain again.

Once we were off the planet, I asked my father why we'd been there."

"I was seeking truths."

"Did you find them?"

"Perhaps yes, or maybe no."

"I don't understand."

My father's wise bearded face gazed down at me, something strange flickering deep in his grey eyes. "I'm not sure I do either, Kam."

"She's a good person," I insisted with the fervour of a boy in the middle of his first crush.

"Perhaps, but she's made her choices and if they were the correct ones for her, we'll maybe never know." My father shook his head sadly.

I still didn't understand why the Jedi could abandon her out here, for instinctively I knew that was what had happened.

"She let herself be distracted by this Captain Jaden, and together they had a liaison. We thought that had ended."

"You were looking for her?"

"We've found no trace of her up until now. None at all. She may be completely innocent in all of this. But if she's still involved with Jaden, then the safety of the Jedi is compromised. You heard him. He's Palpatine's man. If the Emperor and Vader get their hands on Mirahn, she is not powerful enough to resist them both. She was banished from the Temple until it was clear that her mistakes hadn't endangered more Jedi lives."

"Mistakes!" Mara screeched, outraged.

Kam straightened, an apologetic expression crossing his face. "Calm down, Jade. I never knew she was pregnant. Perhaps my father did, but he didn't choose to enlighten me. I'm sure Mirahn never felt you were a mistake. I'm not even sure if you even existed when we were there on the agri-world. She might have let things slip when with Jaden - things that betrayed other Jedi.

Once we left there, we ended up further than ever from the Core Worlds. The Jedi Temple had been destroyed so we'd nowhere to go back to, and all the time the Jedi hunters were casting their nets and closing them around us. Think about the time we were living in. The Jedi were hunted, persecuted, imprisoned and killed. They were purged from society. All the things that were good and true were smashed and broken. I survived that time and you came to be because of it. Mistakes were made, but never consider a good soul to be part of total folly. Mirahn bore you and somehow you survived. The Force made that possible. Never discount that fact."

Kam sighed heavily. "Mirahn took the consequences for her actions. She knew she had to do that. You have always done the same for anything you have done."

Kam's tired eyes followed a stray bird as it cut a lonely path across the early morning sky. "My life was never the same after that. Something in my father… died. We ran for another year and then one day he disappeared. I learned he'd been caught and killed by Vader. I ran until I could run no more and lived out a few more years roaming the outer dregs of the galaxy, with bitterness feeding the darkness in my heart."

"So you had a brush with the darkside forces of evil, but you came through it." Mara's tone was flippant. "I lived with it too."

"You only lived with it. It never became a part of you, feeding off any light and hope you had. It wasn't destroying you."

Mara shook her head in disagreement. "I was heading that way, before Luke saved me. I too was bitter and the darkness in me was growing. If I hadn't awoken to the danger I was in, I would have been consumed by it." She poked at a tuft of something vaguely green with the toe of her black boot. "You think that the dashing Imperial Captain was my father?"

"It does make sense. You could have been named for them - Mirahn and Jaden. Your own name, a combination of theirs. But there is something else that just makes me certain…" Kam let his voice tail off.

"What?"

"When Mirahn dislodged his hat in her haste to embrace him, he had the reddest hair I've ever seen. Yours has streaks of gold in it, but his was as fiery as the heart of the volcano that destroyed this city."

"It's a start," she whispered. "There must be something about them somewhere. Information must have survived."

"Mara…." Kam's voice hesitated. "I saw other things too in my meditations - things that I hadn't experienced, none of which made sense. I saw the Jedi Temple explode, the people shouting against the Jedi and the Emperor's yellow eyes laughing at me."

"The Temple?"

"Palpatine built the Imperial Palace on its founds."

Mara chuckled derisively. "That sounds like the kind of stunt he would do." But her smile faded when she sensed the trepidation coming from the older Jedi. Kam Solusar wasn't quite so sure how to break the next part to her. "Just say it. Spinning it out won't make unpalatable truths any sweeter."

"I don't know if they are truths or what might have beens."

"Just tell me," Mara insisted.

"I saw Mirahn on her knees in what was the Emperor's throne room. She was bloody, battered and bruised, but still with that spark of stubbornness I'd reacted to. And Captain Jaden stood next to her in the same physical state. But he had a blank look on his face as if his mind had been wiped and he…he was holding a blaster to his lover's head."

"What!" Mara's head jerked, as she recoiled in horror. "That's not true. It's impossible!"

Kam's shoulders sank. "I don't know, Mara. It may only have been one of a dozen possible explanations." He shifted uncomfortably and then told her the rest. "Sitting on Palpatine's knee was a small red-haired female child - watching."

"Watching?" Mara's face drained of all colour and the word emerged through bloodless lips. "I saw my father murder my mother?"

Kam closed his eyes. "I… He may have been partially Force sensitive. Not enough to train as a Jedi, but enough for Palpatine to be able to bend him to his will."

"Why can't I remember? Why did this have to happen to me?" Mara said bitterly. "You Jedi always have an explanation."

"We don't. We try to seek the truth, but it can be worse than an asteroid field and - Mara…"

Mara lifted a heavy head and stared into his face. "Yes?"

"Are you not one of us? Are you not a Jedi?"

"I… I…." she stuttered, caught, her mind urging her to deny it.

"Yes, Mara." A new, but very familiar voice echoed behind her. "Are you not one of us?"

"Luke!" she exclaimed thankfully and ran into his arms pressing her head into his shoulder, his comforting presence anchoring her whirling mind into focus.

He tipped her chin up and his blue eyes bored into her. "Mara… Have you no answer for me?"

Suddenly it all became clear. "Yes, Luke. I am a Jedi."

"Thank the Force," he whispered and drew her close. "Thank the Force."

The Awakening - Chapter 13

Coruscant - Luke Skywalker's home

Luke bent his fair head over the task of making sense out of the data disks he was scrutinising. It seemed like such a mammoth assignment he'd created for himself. It was a lifetime task and one he would not shirk. He'd done so much already. He'd brought the Jedi to the point where they could carve themselves a niche in the brave freshness of the New Republic. Still, he had to learn of their mistakes and their triumphs. His mouth quirked a little. Yoda would surely have had something to say about him seeking triumphs. Perhaps he was seeking the Light of the Force instead. He was still searching for the good in things - still searching for truth.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. Where was Mara at this moment and was she missing him? He wanted her so much. He would find Mirahn for her if he had to work a lifetime. He had promised. His eyes closed for a moment as he remembered their departure from Greoa. He'd been tired and sore and Mara… Mara had watched him with real concern in her eyes.

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

They'd left Greoa the day after Cilghal had given Luke the all clear. It had been the day of Kam's revelations too. Mara suspected that Luke had pressured Cilghal into letting him go early. Even with Jedi accelerated healing there was no way he could be completely well, but the stubborn gene had been activated and whatever his state of health, Luke was ready to leave Greoa. The planet didn't need him anymore. It was ready to resume something close to normal life. Mara wanted away too, for there was too much to think over - the truth behind her conception, birth and early life, and her affair with the head of the Jedi order. Or did she want to think about her affair with the Jedi Master? She'd thought quite a lot about it as it was. Her face warmed in the cool breeze covering the newly seeded grass plains. It was time to go.

Their trip back to the moon of the fifth planet had been silent, both Luke and Mara busy with their own thoughts. Mara docked the Skipray carefully in the silver ship Luke had bought.

"It's beautiful, Luke. Really beautiful. Why…?"

"Why did I buy it? I don't know." He'd shrugged, his face expressionless. "It was time I had something of my own. If I'm going to change the way I operate, I'll need better transport."

"But your x-wing. You love flying your x-wing."

Luke's eyes lit up with enthusiasm and he grabbed her hand, dragging her into the cockpit. "But I'll love flying this one too. I will never give up flying the x-wing. This ship is …. is a dream to fly." His eyes lit up as he looked at her, and his voice quickened. "There are other things I won't give up and that is a promise."

Mara could only stare dumbly at him, before he swept her into his arms and fastened his mouth securely over hers. Her lips parted and his tongue darted in, caressing her own. As ever they both emerged from the encounter shaken and breathless, faces flushed, hearts thumping loudly and with the desire to continue. The thirst they'd slaked twice with one another wasn't going to ever go away. But this was not the time or the place and again they both needed to retreat from the emotions that threatened to swamp them.

"Hey!" Luke whispered as he brushed his mouth tenderly over hers.

"Hey what?" Mara's lips clung.

"I know you, Jade. I know exactly what you want to do. You'll back off and go hide for a few months. It's too late for that, Mara. You cannot hide from me now. But I'll give you some time. I'm not letting what we have go. I love you…"

"I love you too, but Luke…."

He placed a finger over her mouth. "I'm not listening to your excuses. I'm going to give you time, but there will be a limit on that time."

"Luke!" She spoke through gritted white teeth. "Will you just…?"

"No, I’m not letting you run away this time. We will be together."

"Luke…"

"I'll see you on Coruscant in one month."

Mara's eyes widened. 'Of the all the dictatorial, mynock brained…' She was intrigued, despite her annoyance with him. "Will you just listen…."

"One month."

"Or what?" she drawled, danger signals flashing in her green eyes.

"I come and get you."

"Oh please," Mara rolled her eyes. "Spare me from the almighty Jedi Master. I'd like to see you try. You can't make me do anything I don't want to."

"That's right," he replied steadily, his blue eyes alive with a certainty she couldn't ignore. "I can't, but I reckon you'll want…" His breath sounded loud in the confines of the cockpit as he stepped close to her and again placed his firm lips upon hers. Mara's eyes fluttered shut and her hands clutched his shoulders as again the merest touch of his lips on hers made her insides melt. He stopped kissing her and took a step backwards, devilment replacing the passion in his gaze. "Yup, I reckon you'll want…to." He thickened his accent until his basic sounded pure outer rimworld.

Mara's green eyes shot a couple of laser bolts at him and turned to leave, her chin jutting out, indicating her ire.

"Mara…" Luke caught her hand and swung her to face him. Quick as a Jawa with a droid part in his sights, she poked him in the ribs and watched with interest as he winced in pain. "Healed, huh? How come Cilghal let you out if your ribs are still this sore?"

"Aw, Mara, don't fuss."

"Someone should. I'll tell Leia…" She grinned maliciously. "That should have you running scared."

"Mara," Luke's voice rose in a long forgotten whine. "That hurt and you can tell Leia if you want to. She won't fuss - too much."

Mara arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and decided it was time to change the subject

"So - what makes you think you could find me?"

He straightened, and Mara noted with misgivings that he still clutched his ribcage. "It's simple."

"Simple?"

"We have a connection through the Force - a bond. This is something I've felt with none other, not even my Force strong twin sister. Only you." His voice was fervent, matching the earnest expression in his blue eyes. Luke did mean every syllable of what he said.

The mocking words on the tip of Mara's tongue died and she moved towards him, her face raised to his in mute appeal. Luke brought his hand to her cheek and caressed its softness tenderly. "Only you, Mara. I'd know you anywhere. You are special, Jade, and I would search forever until I found you."

He brought her close, and Mara could only shut her eyes as a lump made its presence felt at the back of her throat. Luke tipped her head up and smiled wistfully into her face. "Come to me in one month on Coruscant. I'll be at home waiting for you. I'm going to find your identity for you, Mara. I'll find Mirahn."

He released her with great reluctance and steered her along the passageway towards the Skipray's location. "May the Force be with you, Mara Jade." Then he immediately turned and almost running, left the docking bay. Mara climbed into the craft and before she knew it, was back in her own ship.

"The big Jedi nerf. I would have gone with him here and now but he never let me get a word in." She gazed at the sleek chromium lines of the ship. She'd never seen one quite like that before. What had Karrde said? Oh yes - it was a Nubian. Mara frowned. It was a long time since one of them had come on the market. They were rare birds indeed.

She fired up the converters and set the co-ordinates in the navicomp. "Luke Skywalker, you'll pay for that little stunt. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but you'll pay." A vision of his bed in the apartment on Coruscant and never letting him out of it did cross her mind, but then again, she was only human.

'You are special, Jade.'

"For you, Luke, I want to be."

Luke's apartment

Luke felt the warm brush of his sister's presence as she reached out towards him. Leia was on her way to see him. He smiled and sent back an answering tendril, feeling it connect and entwine with hers.

He spoke into his com. "Artoo, let her in please."

The droid tooted a happy melody of whistles and soon Luke heard Leia's light footsteps tripping down his spiral staircase.

Jumping from his chair, he met her half way across the room and hugged her tightly. Leia stepped back but, without letting him go, ran a thorough check over him.

"Luke!"

"I'm fine."

"I had a call from Mara. She said you'd been in the wars again, and I had to drag you to the medicentre if you needed it."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Hmm." She pursed her lips at him suspiciously. "Mara thinks you made poor Cilghal release you from the medicentre on Greoa early."

"Now why would she think that?" Luke questioned humorously.

"Past performances, perhaps?"

"Unfair."

"No, not unfair. Typical behaviour."

"I told you. I'm fine," and he meant it.

"But you're missing her?" Leia was past the point of being coy over Luke's relationship with Mara. The more he admitted, the more he would realise he had to do something about it.

"Of course I am, but she's coming here in a month."

"She is?"

"I told her she had to be here. Otherwise, I'd go and get her from wherever she'd holed up." The determination in his voice echoed in Leia's ears and she stifled a smile. 'About time'.

"You gave Mara Jade an ultimatum like that and you're still living," Leia's voice was admiring, but full of irony. "Brave boy. Han will be impressed."

Luke grinned. "Not so much of the boy, sister dear. I am a man."

"Bragging about it too," she murmured sweetly.

Luke immediately went scarlet. "Look Leia… I didn't, that is I…. Oh hell…Nerf droppings!" He subsided heavily into his seat, averting his red face from Leia's amused expression.

"It's okay. I now know one question I don't need to ask."

"It's none of your business," Luke muttered, coughed and returned to fiddle with the data pad on his desk. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with Leia. "I'm sorry, but…"

Leia lifted a shoulder. "It's okay, I was out of line with that one. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm happy you and Mara…" She flushed a little, shrugged and smiled. It was a gesture reminiscent of her husband's. Leia knew how protective her brother was of his private life. He had so little of it.

"I don't suppose Ghent has had any luck with the encrypts? I've tried everything I can think of and a few I shouldn't have, to try and decipher these records."

Leia peered at the strange hieroglyphics on the pad. "It's nothing to do with any Sith writings?"

"First thing I thought of."

"Too simple."

"Too obvious," Luke retorted.

"Now, brother dear…"

"It doesn't reek of the darkside. Feel it, Leia. The taint of the Sith just isn't there. Yet, I still sense great sadness, just not evil." Luke fiddled with the controls on the data pad again.

"It will be a big task," Leia observed as she took in the many dusty data cards. "There's a lot of information in there."

"If I can get at it."

"You will."

"If I can get at it, I'm looking forward to it."

"When will you have the time?"

"Now - I'm having a…" He searched valiantly for the right word. "Vacation," he announced triumphantly.

"Stars!" muttered Leia, truly shocked. "You were supposed to be having one of those before you headed off on the Jedi Master saves galaxy crusade, practically single handed." 'Mara better get over here before that month is up. I don't think I can stand a month of Luke on vacation. He'll never stay the course and I'll end up worrying about what kind of trouble he's inveigled himself and probably Han, into.'

"I might manage a spot of nephew and niece babysitting. If you're interested?"

"You're not trying to fend off any more awkward questions, are you?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Me?" The blue eyes guilelessly widened.

"You're worse than Han."

"Stang, Leia. I'm not that bad!"

"No, course not." Her mouth curved and she watched fascinated as Luke pulled several flat, square pieces of glass from a dusty box and placed it on the desk.

"Look at these, Leia. Aren't they beautiful?"

Leia brushed a careful finger cross the delicate surface of one of the pieces and marvelled at the intricate carving on the crystalline surface. "What are they?"

"I think they store data of some sort but there's nothing in this box to indicate what kind of device would read these. But the Force tells me that these small, flat pieces of glass are very important. So it's a puzzle I'll have to solve, along with hoping that Ghent will come up with the code to get into the rest of the data."

Solo Apartment

Mara Jade paced back and forth in front of Han. He lounged back on the comfortable sofa, with his arms crossed and shook his head. She was quite something, and he could see why his brother-in-law was so taken with her. That is, once you got past the anger, the mistrust and the former Imperial agent assassin thing. She was beautiful, funny and smart. Plus, she was in love with Luke. There was no doubt about that. She really was in love with Luke, and he'd just made her mad. That in itself was nothing new - just the way he'd done it. Han chuckled, and she zeroed him in place with a fulminating stare.

"He just stood there and told me to go away for a month. There was none of his usual 'come with me and I'll train you in the way of the Force' thing. The big nerf sent me away so he could find out about my mother. Or something like that. Kam knew my mother; he'd met her and meditated so he could remember things about her. It's as if Skywalker thinks he's failed me in some way. That he should have been the one to give me the data. It's not a competition. I've exited for years without such information, surely it could have waited?"

She threw her hands upwards exasperatedly and the air crackled with purpose. Her hair had fallen from its usual thick rope long ago and tumbled untidily around her slim figure. Han loved Leia with everything that was in him, but he still could appreciate the picture of an attractive woman. This one had the added bonus of being able to kill you easily if she wanted to or smuggle you some decent Corellian Whisky. He could do with a few bottles of Whyren's Reserve.

'No', he decided, he liked the woman he had quite fine, and Luke could handle this whirling firebrand. In fact, by the looks of things his brother-in-law had handled Mara Jade and then left her to make up her mind about it. 'Never allow them to think, Luke, especially when they are as sharp as our two women are. They can run the fire rings of Fornax around us both.' Mara had expected Luke to try to convince her of what they both knew she wanted to do – not to give her time to think things over. She'd expected to be trampled over as if by a construction droid. Skywalker could be very single-minded when he wanted to. On second thoughts perhaps Luke had done a very stupid thing. He'd given her time to think.

"Mara," he interrupted the monologue, which had dwindled to muttered curses in a language Han didn't recognise. "You do remember Luke's thought processes don't work the same as everyone else's."

Mara stopped abruptly. "I should have." Then she again glared and Han almost felt sorry for the Jedi Master. "But he's still gonna pay."

"For what?"

"For being Skywalker, sith, I don't know. For being too understanding and giving me time to think things through… I need something to make him know I mean business."

"I think he would know that by now." Han was clearly nervous.

"He has to let me know what he's up to. How can I trust him if he keeps surprising me like that? I thought he was predictable old farmboy Luke. He has to pay for all the worry he puts me through. Reckless, that's what he is - reckless." Mara gave Han a mocking look. "Ease off, Han. I won't bruise him."

"Uh, Mara… Look…." Han sat up and scratched his chin. "Do you think that's…?"

"Relax, Solo. It'll be fine."

"What will?" Leia breezed into the room, her pretty face smiling.

"Mara's planning some sort of revenge on your brother."

"Fine," Leia remarked brightly. "As long as it doesn't involve broken bones and turning to the darkside."

"I can manage that."

"Good, then there's no problem."

Han fell back against the back of the sofa with a muffled thud, his hand covered his eyes and he groaned faintly.

"He doesn't know I'm here?" Mara asked Leia.

"No, you seemed to have cloaked your presence quite effectively."

"With a little help from you, Councillor. You're coming on in that department yourself. I couldn't keep up my shields for quite as long otherwise."

Leia smiled smugly. "He's got a lot on his mind. I think you're the main thing, but he's got a whole box of disks he's trying to decrypt."

Mara nodded. "He told me about those. Found them in a vault in the Imperial palace."

"That's right. Anyway, he's puzzling over them and he's hoping you'll be there to meet him in three weeks time."

"Who said anything about waiting for three weeks?"

"'Atta girl!" Han crowed, still with his eyes shut. "Still time to leave the planet."

Both women totally ignored him.

Luke's Apartment

Luke leant back in his chair tapping his data pad thoughtfully. He had a far away expression in his clear blue eyes. Something told him these records were not as old as the ones given to him by Mother Rell on Dathomir. They'd been in the Imperial Palace which indicated to Luke at any rate, that they were far more modern. Then there was the haphazard way they were packed and hidden. To him, that said these data cards were hidden hastily. They had been in one of the vaults - there were still places in the Palace, which hadn't been cleared. Secret rooms, cupboards full of junk and the occasional treasure. There had been so much rubbish in there that most of it had been ignored. That particular vault had been cleared and one of the workers had stopped him one day.

"We found this and I think you might want a look."

"Thanks," he'd stuttered and peered at the pile of dusty data disks. He'd felt the Force within them as soon as he'd opened the box. There were answers here, even if he didn't yet know the question.

"Why give this to me?" he asked curiously. There were no markings which said - 'Jedi '.

The worker shrugged. "Don't know. Just thought you might want it. No-one else does."

Now he was left with a stream of incomprehensible gibberish in front of his eyes. Ghent had been and gone and even he was no closer to cracking the code. He squinted into the symbols. This was impossible.

'Forget so quickly what you have learned?" He seemed to hear Yoda's cackle. 'So certain are you that this cannot be done?'

Then a grin started to form on his handsome face. Suddenly, the answer was as clear as day. Clear as the green eyes of the woman he was so in love with. He closed his eyes and drew on the Force. When he opened them, the symbols had somehow formed into words. Luke smiled and was about to start reading when a feeling of urgency gripped him and his fingers brushed the delicate crystal squares lying wrapped in a piece of soft material for safekeeping. Placing one on his palm, he marvelled how it fit so easily and the cool glass warmed to his touch. The glass wasn't clear as he'd thought, but shot through with colours. The different shades intermingled with the carving, creating a thing of real beauty. He picked up another piece and placed it at right angles to the first. There was a flash and the two pieces bonded together. Luke paused, a fluttery, nervous feeling starting and he picked up a third piece, then a fourth. Using the Force, the pieces hovered in mid air and gradually they were drawn towards the one held in the centre of Luke's palm. With a tiny jolt he noticed five of the pieces had joined, forming a small lidless box. Luke sank even deeper into the ever-present, ever-surrounding power and when he opened his eyes, the final piece had joined the other five. Luke held in his hand a small crystal cube.

"A holocron!" he breathed, awed at the reverence he felt, and the strength in the Force he perceived at that very moment.

The Awakening - Chapter 14

Luke held the small, precious object in the palm of his hand and marvelled at the craftsmanship that had gone into making it perfect. A holocron - who would have believed it? He peered at the carvings and networks of fine threads that seemed to run through the centre of such an object. He knew it had been hollow, just six pieces of coloured glass and now it looked as if the whole thing had been carved from a single large crystal. He could feel its power - feel the Force coursing through it and into him. He wanted to unlock the secrets it held within its depths but something held him back. He glanced at the data pad lying on his desk - everything was there for him to find out what he wanted to know. Yet, he hesitated. He knew that he was not the first person who should access its veiled mysteries.

That privilege belonged to Mara.

Solo Apartment

Mara sat on the balcony and gazed out at the Solos' view of Coruscant. It was different from Luke's, yet almost as impressive. So many people, all moving in their own progressions through life. She'd moved very far suddenly of late and it left her disoriented. A memory of a similar evening only a few months before on another balcony but with a much different outcome. The night she'd been changed forever and all because Luke Skywalker had kissed her. Mara sipped at her glass of pale green Alderaanian wine and tried not to think about the things she'd learned only five days ago. She'd been stubbornly ignoring what she needed to face - perhaps now was the time, although she didn't want to have to face it alone. Mirahn and Jan Jaden - her parents. It was a strange concept - to have parents. She'd never had them before. Had Jaden really turned the blaster on Mirahn? It was possible, especially if Palpatine had anything to do with it. Her former master had no qualms about destroying anything if it served his ends. 'I wonder how close he came to destroying me?' she mused. 'I was loyal. Would he have used me and then cast me aside?'

The lights of the city drew her attention again and she wondered what Luke was doing? Was he missing her? She craved his touch, his kiss, his hands on her body. She missed the warm, safe feelings of contentment and love he gave her. How could she not love such a man? It didn't bear thinking about.

The ripple of emotion caught her attention. Instantly she was on her feet, pressing herself against the balcony rail and searching through the dark for the presence of the Jedi Master. The surge of feeling came from Luke - it had to. Was he in trouble or in pain? She reached out with her sense… No, he wasn't in any distress, but something had profoundly affected him.

"Mara!" Leia's anxious voice came from behind.

"I felt it."

"The disturbance in the Force?"

"Yes, it was Luke, but you are closer to him than I."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Mara turned to face the other woman and scrutinised Leia with her piercing green gaze. "But you are his sister, his Force strong twin."

"And you are the woman he loves."

Mara looked a way, a bit uncomfortably, but then admitted, "We have a bond." Mara's mind automatically heard again Luke's voice telling her he'd given her his soul. "He gave me his soul…"

Leia smiled with a mixture of pleasure and pain. "I know and it's good that he did." Mara had certainly changed. It wasn't that she was any softer - she was still dangerous. However, there wwas an awakening warmth about her.

"I gave him mine and I didn't realise I had." Mara's voice held wonder.

"This is Luke; he will know."

"Yes… he will."

"Is he in trouble?" Leia's voice was brisk.

"No," Mara blinked. "He could still use a comlink if he was."

"This is true," his sister replied dryly. "It's just as quick as the Force."

"It is on Coruscant." Mara stared across the endless streams of traffic as they flew past in their allotted lanes. "This was a different feeling. It held wonder, awe, and even reverence if you will. He's excited about something."

"When isn't he? Okay… and…" Leia's voice stretched the word out warily.

"He's on the move, probably here," she finished. "Can't find me, who's next on the Skywalker hit list - you."

"Probably and it figures. Has he sensed you yet?" Leia asked quizzically.

"No… but he will soon. He's not thinking about me or I'm sure he would have sensed me before now. He'll be mad you didn't say anything earlier." Mara looked at Leia apologetically. "This bond - he can feel when I'm near. I shouldn't have come."

Unknown to the women, Han had joined the discussion and stood quietly behind his wife at the open window. "You're wrong about that, Mara Jade. If Luke loves you and you love Luke, then you're family. Why shouldn't you be here? We're not turning you away."

"I have a perfectly good apartment of my own to go to."

"Yes you have, but you came here instead of being on your own and you must ask yourself why. In any case, Leia and I want to get to know you better. If you're still planning on killing the kid, then we get to find out what your weaknesses are." Han smiled wryly.

"He can still drive me down the Death Star's trench and back up again. But no," her head dipped a little. "I don't want to kill him." She grinned suddenly and the sight of it sent Han retreating a couple of steps. "Well, not at the precise moment I don't."

"Hey, Jade, you should smile more often. You look quite pretty when you do."

"Han!" Leia's tone went up an octave in embarrassment. "What a thing to say to the girl. Thank you, Mr Charm. Ignore him, Mara. In fact, kill him instead."

"I only meant…. Girls - be nice…." Han backed away even further, his hands in front of his body to ward off any imminent attack.

Leia laughed and Mara, surprised at how free she felt to join in - did so.

Han took a step forward and wrapped a fond arm around his wife, dropping a careless kiss on her forehead. "As I said… If Luke loves you, then you're family and you belong with us."

"Family!" Mara's face stiffened. "Family! What do I know of family?"

Leia took a step closer to Mara and clasped her hands gently. "There are no rules in a family. If you don't know what to do, you make it up as you go along. This is not the Jedi Code."

Mara's face crumpled and her shoulders shook as she fought to contain her distress.

"Let it out, Mara. There's no shame in crying."

"But I never cry, and I've done so more times since I got entangled with your family, than I ever did in the whole of the rest of my life."

But she submitted to the almost motherly feelings of Leia's arms as they wrapped themselves around her in the age-old gesture of comfort. The wave of pain she couldn't stifle rippled from her very core, and she clung to Leia as one would to a lifeline. Leia's dark eyes met the serious lighter hazel gaze of her husband and nodded. Mara had a lot of issues to deal with and still needed time to assimilate things properly, and for that she needed Luke.

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

Luke felt the sudden wave of feeling and it nearly knocked him sideways. There was only one person in the entire galactic universe who could have that kind of effect on him. It was Mara and she was hurting. The wave of muffled pain caught him completely unawares. It was as if Mara was trying to spare him her pain. As if she were hiding from him.

Luke stopped abruptly and turned around in a circle. The air around him was charged with the Force. Faces merged into things and he was left in a psychedelic swirl of chaos, colours and sounds. It was as if time itself had stopped in a kind of expressionist nightmare. Through it all he could feel Mara's pain.

'Mara! Where are you?'

No answer. So he tried something else.

'Leia!'

'I hear you, Luke. Mara's here. She's with us and she's fine, but she needs you.'

The world righted itself and he knew. Beginning to run, Luke ignored the startled expressions of passers by. He had to get to Mara now that he knew where she was. She was on Coruscant and she needed him.

Mara lifted her head and stared intently into space, before tearing herself away and running towards the door.

"After her!" Han yelled.

"No! It's okay," Leia murmured as she watched Mara run to the entrance and jabbing furiously at the keypad. With a violent hiss, the door slid aside revealing the Jedi Master himself and if appearances were anything to go by - he was not happy.

"You've been here all the time, you've been hiding from me." His voice stiff.

Mara flushed a little, her head lowering.

"Five days I've been back and you've been here all that time. Didn't you trust me, Mara? Couldn't you have said I'll see you on Coruscant - forget about the month." Luke didn't accuse but the hurt in his voice was so palpable you could touch it.

Mara lifted her chin, her anger with him returning. "Yeah, I've been here. Why not? This is a free planet - you don't own or control it. You didn't ask me if I wanted time, did you?"

Luke's mouth opened in shock.

"No, you just assumed you knew the best for me, as always. What if I told you I would have gone with you at that moment? I would have gone anywhere, but no. Master Skywalker, Jedi Knight had to decide what I needed. No one makes decisions like that for me. Not any more."

Luke took a step forward, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What mynock put that idea into your head? Since when have you ever opened up enough to admit you want to be with me." His voice grew louder. "You say you love me, but when do I get what everyone else has? When do I see proof."

"I came after you, didn't I?"

"You always come after me. I'm beginning to wonder if you're not checking that someone's finally managed to finish me off."

Mara's face tightened with anger. "Someone should have a long time ago. But no, Skywalker always seems to come through it. Why?" she screamed inches from his face. "Because I'm there to pull the big krayt dragon out of trouble."

"I would have managed fine on my own. You didn't have to come after me."

"Sure I did."

"Yeah, then you run away. Scared of feeling too much emotion. Scared of letting go, letting someone in. Scared of what I make you feel…" he finished on a whisper. His shoulders heaved and his head dropped a little.

"Luke…." Mara whispered. "Why are we shouting at each other like this? You've not even set foot inside the door."

"Are we shouting?" he questioned huskily.

"No."

She took a careful step forward and so did Luke and he bent his head and covered her mouth with his own. Their arms wound round each other's bodies, so close that nothing could have squeezed between them. Luke parted Mara's lips as they continued to kiss.

"Is it okay to come out now?" Han stuck his head up from behind the sofa, where he'd taken refuge as soon as Luke and Mara had started shouting at one another. He saw the couple in the doorway. "Is that the way the Jedi always greet guests?" he asked whimsically. "I could get used to that part. No wonder hokey religions always last a long time."

"I'm not sure, haven't tried it quite like that."

"You could on me, Councillor Organa Solo," his voice deepened. "But just on me."

"I'll try it out…." She gave her husband a sly wink. "Later, when the courageous Corellian I married comes back."

"Oh, he's still here but sharing quarters with the one who's rather keen on self-preservation."

"I think well preserved is more accurate," Leia vamped quietly. "Crisis over, I think." She indicated Luke and Mara and their passionate reunion.

Luke pulled Mara into his inflamed body as he continued to taste the sweetness of her kiss. She was in his arms and she was warm and real. He hadn't wanted to let her go, he'd genuinely thought that she would need time to think things over. His temperature began to rise, and he knew if he didn't pull away from Mara soon there might be an embarrassing situation.

"Mara," he pulled himself away from her willing mouth and seeking hands. "Mara, we need to stop this."

She pulled away a little, her mouth with the ripe appearance of someone who'd been thoroughly kissed, her eyes a dark stormy jade under heavy lids, summoning him to a feast he'd already tasted, and it was food from the gods. A feast he wanted to experience again soon. Luke felt a tightening in his groin, but closed his eyes and took a mental breather, willing his body to relax.

"We're in the open hallway of Han and Leia's apartment. I don't know how many people we've given a free show to."

"Just the security staff and a couple of Noghri," Leia quipped with a warm smile. "Come on." She pulled Luke and Mara carefully back into the lounge. "Well? Sit down, before you fall down. You look shell-shocked."

Luke sat in a well-stuffed armchair and watched, as Mara stood bewildered for an instant. Luke grinned and gave the hand he still held a little tug. Mara ended sprawled in a heap on his lap. Before she could leap up and find her own seat, Luke wrapped his arms around her and brought her close. With any luck, this would hide the erection he was threatening to display. With a big effort he again willed his body to return to normal and the thought that Han and Leia were sitting opposite helped a great deal.

"I found something," Luke said quietly.

"We know," answered Leia. "Mara and I felt your reaction."

"The disks are ready to read."

Mara twisted in his grasp and turned to face him. "You didn't read them?"

"No, I felt you should be there when I did."

"Oh."

"There's more."

"More?" Leia and Han chorused together.

"The pieces of glass…. They formed into a holocron."

"A holocron." Mara murmured.

"This is the repeating show, with Han Solo in his lounge reporting for…"

"Shut up, Solo," Mara growled.

"You know how rare they are. To find another intact is miraculous. It's beautiful." He gazed steadily into Mara's face. 'Like you', he thought, appreciating her creamy skin, fiery tresses and the amazing green of her eyes. A colour which changed with her mood. 'Beautiful.'

"You didn't access the contents of it either, did you Luke?" Mara asked.

"No, because I wanted to wait for you. At first I was going to find out everything I could for you, then I realised I wanted you with me. We make a good team, you and I." He traced a gentle finger across Mara's parted lips and Leia turned her head away, feeling she was intruding on an intensely private moment.

Han got up and left the lounge, momentarily returning with Mara's bag. "Go on, go home. Be together. You've spent too much time apart. I think you still have some squaring up to do. One or two issues have to be sorted out between you. Before the Councillor here sends out the wedding invites." He grinned at his wife.

"Now wait a minute, Han." Leia and Han had discussed such a possibility, but it was better to wait until Luke and Mara decided what they were going to do. She had the feeling Han had just pushed them all to the edge of a dangerous precipice.

Luke and Mara gave each other quick embarrassed glances and then stared at the Solos.

"You're right, Leia. We have things to discuss." Luke's face had shuttered at Han's words. He placed Mara on to her feet and rose to join her.

Leia tried to probe her brother's feeling through the Force but found he was locked up tighter than Jabba's safe deposit box.

Han crossed to Luke and handed him Mara's belongings. "Mara was ready to go with you that last time and you blew it. Listen to her this time, kid."

"She was… You were? Stars, I'm sorry." Luke's earnest face paled a little. "But you usually… I'm sorry," he muttered again.

"You will be," Mara warned darkly.

"She's planning revenge, kid. So beware."

"The Jedi don't do revenge." Luke insisted.

"This one does." Green eyes locked defiantly with blue.

"Now, Mara," he muttered warningly.

"Don't you 'Now Mara' me, farmboy. Perhaps revenge isn't the right term. We could think of it more as payback."

Luke squirmed. He was in trouble. He could feel it.

"Kids!" Han remarked loftily to his wife. "You never saw us behaving like that."

Luke took a threatening step towards his brother-in-law, which Mara, after a sign from Leia headed off. He shifted Mara's belongings into his left hand and held out his right. Mara, with a nervous expression, placed her hand within the clasp of his. Then she looked at his clothing. Luke was wearing his Jedi blacks, but just at his collar she caught a hint of blue. His hand tightened reassuringly in hers.

"Mara," he whispered hoarsely. "Let's go home."

"Yes," she answered, her eyes darkening to sage. "Let's."

For a moment they stood outside the door to the Solos' apartment as it closed behind them and then they began to walk. They said nothing, but felt the connection grow between them because the simple touch of their clasped hands transmitted comfort and security. They reached the first shuttle station and Luke helped Mara carefully into the small craft before it hurtled the five-minute journey along to the nearest point for the short stroll to Luke's apartment. Climbing out, he again held out his hand and Mara took it, wondering all the time what was happening to them. They felt as if they were in some sort of a daze, almost protected from reality, if only for a moment.

Luke's apartment was dark when they arrived there. Luke reached for the light controls, but Mara shook her head, her eyes glittering at him in the darkness. Still saying nothing, Luke pulled her into his arms and devoured her mouth with his own, crushing her slim body to his harder, more masculine one. Breathing hard, they broke apart and Luke ran his hand over the softness of her cheek.

"Come," he murmured, as if afraid to speak aloud.

The lovers carefully climbed down the spiral staircase, Luke leading and Mara following. It wouldn't always be that way because they were an equal partnership. When they reached the bottom, Luke dropped Mara's things on the floor and lifted her into his arms.

Mara's heart soared as he swept her off her feet, and she placed soft lips against the sensitive spot on his neck as he carried her into his bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.

"Payback time," she whispered throatily and pulled him down to her.

"Payback?" Luke moaned, as she began to torment him in ways he'd only dreamt of. Mara removed her clothing until she was left in her thin undergarments. Luke's eyes traced the outline of her feminine shape as she began to tease him. Mara's hands tugged at the collar of his tunic and stripped it carefully from him, revealing the blue shirt underneath. Luke opened passion-glazed eyes and smiled at her. Mara began to remove it, searching for the naked flesh beneath and when her lips met tanned skin, Luke shuddered. His hands rose of their own accord and slowly pulled the thin straps from her shoulders and the camisole slipped to her waist, revealing Mara's body in all of its perfection. Slim waist, curved hips and soft rounded, taunting breasts…. The picture swam before Luke's tortured gaze. His hands reached for her taut pink tipped nipples and Mara laughed low in her throat.

"Not yet, just wait."

Luke's head pressed back into the pillow and his cheeks flushed feverishly as her hands trailed lower and began to unwrap his lower half from his remaining clothes. She did it so slowly that Luke's already fragile grasp of his body's attributes vanished.

"Mara!" His eyes glittered wildly in his burning face. "Mara!" His voice rose in the strangled groan of a man very close to the end of his tether.

"Oh yes, farmboy - payback. Now ssh! Don't talk." Mara slid her supple body completely over his and began to rotate gentle hips.

"This is payback?" Luke's voice cracked.

Through the long night, they spoke little verbally, but communicated with hands, lips and senses. Flesh to flesh, skin to skin and soul to soul. Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker were weaving spells of desire that they could never break. The tempo of their loving rose and fell and rose again as Mara took Luke deep within her until they both reached the completion they needed. When the passion stilled, there were tears in their eyes.

Chapter 15

Luke Skywalker's Coruscant apartment

Luke gazed steadily across the low table towards Mara. Her green eyes contained all the promise and trust that their relationship had sought and gained over the years. He did not smile - neither did she. What was to come before them contained some of their own history. The things they were about to find out could tell them why they were what they were. They'd come a long way together. They still had a long way to go, but it was a journey they were ready to take.

"It's time," he whispered gravely. "Banish fear from your mind, empty it of all thoughts save the connection to the Force. We will need all our combined strength."

"I know," Mara answered. "I can feel it."

"Then we are ready. It is time - begin."

Earlier the same day

Mara awoke alone in the big bed, but didn't feel the disorientation and unease she'd felt the time before. It had been good last night - in fact, it had been better than good. Payback was definitely something she should have done much earlier and that man…. Her body tingled at the memory of how passionately he'd reacted to her touch. All that Jedi calm was extremely deceptive and Mara wouldn't have it any other way. What it hid was for her alone and her face warmed at how wantonly she'd succumbed to his fervent caresses.

Light was streaming through the open windows and the smell of caf teased her nose. Rising quickly, she showered and dressed, then followed the appetising smell onto Luke's lower balcony.

Luke sat engrossed reading a data pad, munching on his breakfast and occasionally patting Artoo Detoo's little domed head. Mara grinned and sneaked up behind him. She would have to have words with him about his general level of alert concentration. She could have been trying to kill him. As it was, she was just after his breakfast. Luke's hand hovered in mid air, clutching a newly baked bread roll as he absently scrolled down the text he was reading.

"Hey!" Luke's face pouted. "That's my breakfast!"

Mara grinned triumphantly and took a healthy bite, her perfect teeth closing over the roll with a satisfying crunch.

"Was your breakfast, farmboy."

"Artoo, she's stolen my breakfast!" Luke complained. "Zap her with something - now."

Artoo let out a pealing electronic chuckle and then snorted. That's what it sounded like to the humans. Luke rolled his eyes; he would get no help from that quarter.

Mara grinned and took another large bite taunting Luke, her eyes gleaming with irrepressible good spirits. Luke stood up and closed in on her, his arms surrounding her tightly.

"Do you want to share?" he asked throatily.

"Should I, share? You know I don't normally share anything with anybody." Her tongue slipped out and moistened her lips. Luke's breathing quickened, his gaze focused on her lips.

"You shared plenty with me last night," his voice deepened, and Mara felt her insides quiver.

"Yes, but only with you." Pausing, she relented and fed him a small piece of the roll. His mouth closed over her fingers and he sucked at the suddenly sensitive tips.

"Good morning," he whispered, gazing steadily into her sharp green eyes.

"Luke…"

"I just wished you a good morning, Jade. What have you to say for yourself?"

Green eyes narrowed in on twinkling blue. "Morning, Skywalker," her voice turned breathless as he pulled her closer. "Luke…. I… Oh hell." She wrapped her greasy, bread-crusted fingers around Luke's neck and kissed him. When they drew apart they were both breathing heavily.

"Now, it is a good morning," Luke whispered unsteadily.

"Oh go away with you," she muttered. "Sleep well?"

"Yes and no." His mouth curved into a smile. "I kept trying to sleep, but this strange woman kept brushing up against me, winding her arms around my defenceless body and forcing me to make love to her."

"I didn't hear you complain much," she countered dryly, watching with wicked amusement as Luke flushed. His awkward flirting was a welcome change to the penetrating regard of the Jedi Master. This was the man she'd fallen in love with. Oh, she loved the Jedi Master too but he was only part of Luke's persona - part of a complicated, frustrating, annoying, wonderful individual.

"I forgot," he offered lamely, tilting his head and giving her a sideways look. "Hungry?"

"Famished."

"All that exercise…." Luke turned scarlet, then white before his colour returned to something approaching normal. "… makes you hungry," he finished bravely.

Mara smiled at him and sat down, grabbed his plate and began to munch her way through the rest of his breakfast, before he finally went to get more. When he returned, he proceeded to steal items from her plate.

Breakfast was a carefree and light-hearted meal, as if they both knew they had difficult issues to deal with later in the day. Luke behaved in a way that Mara had never witnessed before. It was as if being together and being happy had turned him into the man he should have been. Mara's heart filled with a fierce determination that he would become that man.

For the rest of the morning they went through a strenuous workout and drill with lightsabers, focusing mind and body. Then Luke insisted on meditation.

"Skywalker!" Mara moaned.

"Jade," he returned unmoved, his tone even. "We need to do this - to be completely in tune with the Force today. We need its strength and its guidance."

"The holocron?"

Luke nodded, his expression intent. "Something tells me this is the way forward."

"A Force hunch?"

"Perhaps."

This was the Jedi Master, not the lover. Mara, in turn, became more serious. She' d never been one to turn away from difficulties.

"Of course, I'm sorry," she told him, her face grave.

"You've nothing to be sorry for, Mara."

"I have, you know."

"It's past - over. We're wakening a new future. Yes, we look backwards today, but only to help us move forwards into tomorrow."

"Very profound, Skywalker. Just the thing the Jedi Master would say," Mara teased lightly.

"I am the Jedi Master. I can't get away from it, Jade. It's part of who I am." He offered her a bittersweet smile. "If you take me on, Mara, this is what you get."

Mara dipped her head and a rueful smile appeared. "I know, but I'll never let him take you over completely."

Luke moved to her side and took her into his arms. "I need you, Mara Jade. Never forget that. The Jedi Master needs you. So does the man from a third rate farm on a tenth rate backwater, sandball planet. The one who doesn't think he deserves you, but desperately loves you and hopes you will pity him enough to love him back."

"You know I do, Luke." Mara peered at him, her green eyes suspiciously bright. "You gave me your soul and I now know what a precious gift that was. Could you keep mine safe for me?"

"Oh, Mara." Luke murmured tenderly and brushed his lips over hers, a wisp of a touch, gossamer wings of delight spiralling through them both. She placed her head on his shoulder and they moved into the warmth of his favourite room, shutting away the bright lights and hectic life of the planet city.

"I'm ready."

Luke nodded and brought Mara to a low table surrounded by cushions. "Sit there," he murmured, then he moved towards where Artoo Detoo was plugged into a computer socket. "I'm going to move you upstairs Artoo, and I want you to make sure we are not disturbed by anyone for any reason. I don't care how many clones of Emperor Palpatine are discovered, or if the Ssi-Ruuk invade. I'm not at home. My sister may contact me, but you can give her a message. Tell her…." he paused. "No, I'll tell her…"

'Leia,'

'Luke!' He could feel his sister's surprise, but Leia was naturally interfering and would not be able to wait much longer on learning how Luke and Mara had fared on leaving her and Han the previous day.

'We're going to investigate the holocron tonight, so I'd prefer if you didn't contact us. We'll be in touch if anything happens.'

'Do you need any help?'

'No, this is something Mara and I have to do alone.' In his mind's eye he visualised his sister, her dark eyes serious, wanting to aid him in any way, but also respecting his judgement.

'Okay, brother and May the Force be with you. I'll be thinking of you both.' Her tone turned mischievous. 'How did things go yesterday?'

Luke grinned; Leia just couldn't help it. He loved his strong-willed, interfering sister but there was no way he was telling her everything. He sent a feeling of warmth and satisfaction to her. 'Things went fine.'

'Love you and take care.' He felt her smile.

'Will do," Luke, with a tender smile of his own, cut the link and helped Artoo move upstairs to his usual place by the door. Artoo swivelled his head and chirped a couple of times.

"Of course I'll be careful, Artoo. You know me."

Artoo blatted a quick raspberry and plugged himself into the socket.

Luke climbed quickly down the spiral stairway and retrieved a small box from a drawer in his workstation. With a rapt expression on her face, Mara watched him placed the box reverently on the table in front of her. A breeze from the slightly open windows moved over her face, teasing her tumbled curls without disturbing them. Luke's hands pulled gently at a springy reddish-gold lock before sitting across from her.

He gestured for her to go ahead and Mara opened the box, bringing out a small cloth-covered item. With careful fingers, she unwrapped it from its jade green cover. The cloth was old and almost felt as if it might have come from a piece of clothing. Ignoring the holocron, she fingered the fabric. It had to be vinesilk and a vision of a woman dressed in the fabric holding a baby to her breast flashed into her eyes.

"Luke!" she said, her eyes sparkling. "That's the first real memory I have of my mother. It's the only memory. I never thought it possible."

"I know. I see it too." He marvelled that their connection, their bond in the Force had become so intertwined that they almost could experience the same things at the same time. "Don't worry, Mara, we'll find more and if we don't, we will just have to make memories of our own."

"It was Mirahn." Her voice was certain.

"Yes, your mother."

"My mother." Mara hugged the knowledge to herself.

The holocron sat nestled in the soft fabric and Mara finally paid it the proper attention it was due. The power of the Force rippled from the small crystal cube.

"It's beautiful," Mara whispered, awed.

Luke gazed deeply at the woman across from him and stretched out his hand, his rough fingers clasping hers. "So are you," he murmured. Mara stared at him, the man who was her destiny, and took a deep breath. Luke was right. It was time.

Luke closed his eyes and sought the patterns in the Force that centred and grounded him totally in the lightside. Mara watched him curiously. She’d seen him lose control in her arms, now she was watching him gain the ultimate in control through the Force. She saw all of Luke Skywalker – Jedi master and man. Closing her eyes, Mara sought to join him in the cool calm of the meditative state. As their fingers reached for each other and entwined, Mara inadvertently touched the holocron and it began to glow with a steady pulsing hum in the Force as it, too, tapped into the power that connected all living beings.

The room grew dark as Coruscant’s sun descended over the horizon. Time passed and Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker sat motionless, their eyes shut, their breathing deep and slow. The two Jedi were caught in something so powerful that they would never have believed it if they hadn’t experienced it. Colourful images began to swirl in front of their closed eyes. Luke suddenly became aware that he could see Mara – he could feel her presence with him in the vision. They were both experiencing exactly the same thing. He’d never sensed such unity between two Jedi before – ever.

They saw an agricultural world and behind a ramshackle farm building, two figures embraced passionately. The man wore an Imperial Captain’s uniform, but his hat lay discarded on the dusty earth. His hair, a flaming red, shone in the weak sunlight. The woman was smaller with red brown hair and dressed in rough homespun work clothes. When they parted, Mara could see that the couple had tears in their eyes and the woman’s green eyes were uncannily like her own.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," the man whispered brokenly.

"Why?"

"I’ve deserted. I can’t be without you any longer."

"But we’ll be tracked, hunted down, like the rest of the Jedi. You’re the Emperor’s man, his loyal servant. Captain of the finest flagship in the Imperial fleet. He’ll take this personally. I’m on the run because I was a Jedi Knight. You didn’t have to share my exile. Now there are two of us and you cannot shield."

"Mirahn, I don’t care. I’m beginning to believe you about the Emperor. Vader is evil, but I’ve seen things, done things that His Majesty cannot be unaware of. I’ve done it because the Emperor wanted it done. No reason, just a vicious whim and Mirahn…. You are a Jedi Knight. You can still be one."

"Do you trust me, Jan?"

"You know I do."

A small cynical smile flashed quickly across her face. "Do I?" she questioned, but not expecting an answer. ‘Never underestimate the Emperor, Jan. You may think Vader is evil, but he’s mainly Palpatine’s puppet, his tool – the Emperor created Darth Vader to destroy us."

He moved away from the woman and taking out a small knife, violently ripped the Imperial insignia and rank cylinder from his tunic and ground it into the dirt beneath his booted feet. The picture then changed to a shabby building in an anonymous industrial world and two naked figures tangled in a bed, communicating the way men and women had done for millennia. That there were repercussions from this act was not lost on the watchers. The picture changed and the woman was in great pain. The Imperial Captain, still wearing his now threadbare uniform, was helping her as she gave birth.

Mara tightened her grip on Luke’s hand. "My birth," she sent to him. Then the calm picture of Mirahn wearing the dress of green vinesilk. It must have been a happy time, for her face bore an expression of love and contentment.

"Isn’t she beautiful, Jan?"

Jaden moved towards his wife and child, placing his arm around them. But the look on his face was a troubled one. "You both are." He hesitated, unwilling to spoil the moment; they’d had so few. "Mirahn… we have to leave here."

"But why?" Her voice rose. We’ve been happy here, made a little money, and lived comfortably for only six months. What have the Jedi done that is so terrible?" Then she nodded, her face paling with the dawning realisation of a horrible fate just over the horizon. "I feel it – it’s Vader."

"It’s worse than that, Mirahn. The Emperor has tracked us himself."

"How can you know?"

"I heard some of the troopers talking." Jaden lowered his face a little ashamedly. "I know I shouldn’t have been anywhere near them, but I had to know."

"Oh, Jan," her voice murmured sadly.

The fear and darkness palpable in the next jumbled series of images made Mara and Luke’s blood run cold as the little family ran for their lives. There was no doubt that a great love was present, albeit a slightly unwilling one between the Jedi woman and the Imperial. They had given up everything for one another. They had made their choice and now they were paying for it. The two adults grew careworn; streaks of grey appeared in the man’s bright hair and tiny lines on her face. Mirahn’s shoulders seemed to bear the brunt of the hardships as they plotted to stay one step ahead of Palpatine and his Jedi catchers, yet the baby grew and thrived. Sharp green eyes, pale creamy skin and a determined little chin with curls of a colour most people only dreamt about. It wasn’t as red as her father’s, the child’s’ hair contained copper and streaks of gold. It was getting more difficult to hide her.

Time passed, scenes changed and things happened that Luke and Mara couldn’t and didn’t understand, but time was running out. Imperials were catching up with the little family. The net was closing in and there was no way to slip through the mesh. The relationship wasn’t as happy either. Yes, two people who loved, but even the most secure struggle, living the way they were.

"Mirahn! She’s broadcasting the Force like an Imperial homing beacon. I’m only slightly Force sensitive and I can feel her over at the space station. Vader lands on this world, and we’re all dead."

"Don’t you think I don’t know that? I’ve tried to shield her presence," she coughed weakly. "But I haven’t the strength to do it and your powers are too weak to help."

"Don’t remind me that I’m not as strong as other Jedi. I wasn’t picked for training." He turned his back on Mirahn, his shoulders stiff, his voice bitter.

"Jan, don’t let us fight. I’ve been having such dreams." Her voice was truly terrified. "I’m tired, Jan, so very tired." She coughed dispiritedly. "I’m using all my strength protecting Mara and I don’t know how long I can go on doing that. Fear is of the dark side and I’m frightened, Jan. I’m really frightened. Look at her, she’s so innocent and beautiful, and she’s more Force sensitive than any Jedi child I’ve ever come across. What’s going to happen to her? We’re not going to outrun them for ever." She broke down and he wrapped her in his arms, his own face tight. He knew she was right. He was tired of running and they had little money, but he would protect his wife and daughter with his last breath.

"Palpatine won’t change, when are you going to realise that. He’s evil and he’s Sith. Vader is under his control and more of us are picked off every day."

" Mirahn!"

"Perhaps you should go, take Mara and hide. Perhaps if I gave myself up, they wouldn’t hunt for you."

"I’m not leaving you."

"So we go on as before." Her lips tightened into a thin line and she walked wearily to check on the baby who lay sleeping.

"She’s growing so fast, Jan. This isn’t the kind of world I wanted her brought up in, amongst fear, hatred and persecution."

The picture faded and as much as Luke and Mara strained they couldn’t bring it back. The next image wasn’t pleasant. Jaden sank to his knees clawing at his collar, gasping for breath and in front of him stood a black visaged figure.

"The Emperor will be pleased. He wants to see both of you, most particularly." His breath mask hissed chillingly as the child, sensing the darkness and fear in the air, began to cry.

Mara moved as in a dream into Luke’s arms. They were powerless to stop what was going on for it had happened a long time ago. Vader stretched a black-gloved hand and the figure of her father crumpled to the floor. Mara choked back a cry as she immediately saw Mirahn holding a screaming child close to her breast.

"Don’t take my baby…"

The Imperial soldiers took hold of Mirahn and one of them wrenched her daughter from her. She fought with all that she had, but she couldn’t risk using her blaster, not when one of the soldiers trained his on the wailing toddler. The child sobbed and held her arms out to her mother but was carried off until her piteous cries could no longer be heard. The expression on the woman’s face was heartrending in her anguish and despair. She begged, pleaded, but to no avail and was left next to the unconscious form of her husband in the planet’s garrison detention block, where her sobbing cut through the dreaded emptiness in her heart.

The Imperial soldier put the sobbing child on the cold metallic floor of the Emperor’s private shuttle. "This is the Jedi woman’s child."

Vader knelt down and swept the child into his arms. "She’s strong in the Force. The Emperor will want to see her too." He scrutinised the small figure in his arms. She stopped crying and surveyed him with a cool almost adult look on the tiny, flower petal face and placed a hand on Vader’s black mask. He chuckled for a moment. "We would not see you suffer, for you are innocent of their crimes. You have a destiny to serve a higher cause." He made her a promise then drew a hand across Mara’s forehead, lulling her into a Jedi hibernation trance.

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

Luke opened his eyes to find Mara clinging to him, tears running down her face.

"Mara," he whispered. "Mara." He shook her gently. "Snap out of it. You're here now with me, and you're safe. It's past."

"Here." Luke handed her a glass of something strong and helped her take a sip. Mara choked and coughed as the fiery Corellian Brandy trickled down her throat. Luke poured himself a generous measure and tossed it back in one gulp. Mara widened her eyes a little, but said nothing. Luke wasn't one to drink much.

They both looked at the holocron, seeing for the first time that it shone with a strange inner glow as if it was fired by a mysterious power source.

"The holocron aided our vision," Mara said, sounding shocked.

Luke nodded looking unsurprised. "Yes - it did. We know very little on how they work. But let's take a little break. I feel I've gone ten rounds with the rancor."

"Me too." Mara rubbed her hands wearily across her reddened eyelids, too emotionally drained to notice Luke's apprehension. Was he ever to escape the legacy of being Vader's son? Would she hold it against him - stop loving him?

He returned to her side and pulled her onto his lap, her head on his shoulder and they sat just drawing comfort from each other.

They sat for about an hour, not speaking, just touching. Luke caressed Mara's hair and the gentle motion soothed her into a light doze. This had to be so hard for her. He secured her firmly in his arms and lifted her through to the bedroom. He would access some of the data files while she slept. Anything to stop thinking about his father and the evils he'd helped to perpetuate

He looked down at Mara, as she lay curled in sleep, her face free from the brittle mask she often assumed like a suit of armour. She was not an easy person to love; though he admitted to himself that he found it very easy and had done so for a long time. Would she forgive him after the things they had seen together? He hoped with all his heart that she would - he loved her that much. Wandering back into the sitting room, he switched on his desklamp and sat at his workstation. Drawing on the Force, he again peered at the strange hieroglyphs until they formed the data he required. Names, dates flashed past his eyes. If he'd ever wondered about the number of Jedi killed during the purges, he had his answer. It was all there. He switched off the light and rubbed his hands tiredly through his hair and still the holocron pulsed with power behind him. All the names of the Jedi Palpatine had destroyed had been meticulously entered into the records. Mirahn's name was among them as was a mention of her husband. They had died together, but it didn't say how. Mara would have to be told yet he knew it would be no surprise to her.

"Skywalker?" He turned at the sound of her soft voice. "Do you think the holocron held our vision within it?"

He stared at her for a moment, then said. "Partly. I wonder if it's been connected to your signature in the Force. It formed in my hands, but I had to see you first before we accessed it."

"Is it too late to access now?"

"No, I don't think so, not unless you're still tired." Luke tried to keep his unrest from their strengthening bond in the Force, but she knew something had upset him. A shadow had darkened his eyes and his sense had clouded.

"Skywalker - what is it? What's wrong?"

He peered up at her through his overlong fringe, the fair strands hiding the expression in his eyes. "Nothing."

"I want to know and don't give me the garbage about patience. You're concealing something from me. "

"Would I do that?" He quirked an eyebrow, trying to change the subject

"Farmboy, you can't lie to me. I know. Out with it".

"Vader."

Mara instantly understood and she saw how he'd been worrying over it for the past couple of hours. Luke Skywalker may be the Jedi Master, but in some areas he had little or no confidence and what irked her was that he was anticipating how she would react and immediately thinking the worst. Fire leapt to her green eyes and she immediately grabbed the front of his tunic pulling him roughly from his chair. "You ever doubt me like that again and you'll be missing another limb. You are not answerable for what Vader did. You can't change the past, Luke. My parents weren't saved, but you saved me."

Mara examined her feelings and found that she didn't care who had done this to her parents. Vader had been the Emperor's puppet, just as her mother had said. Luke wasn't to blame for any of it, but he still wanted to shoulder the blame, if she'd wanted to lay it on him. Didn't he know how much she loved him? She pushed him back into the chair, where he sat with wide blue eyes staring at her in bewilderment. But Mara was to learn the innocent guise was just that - a mask to cover the fragile heart he guarded so carefully beneath. The heart he'd given to her

"I'm truly sorry about my father, Mara."

Mara laid a graceful hand on his cheek in a comforting gesture. "Forget about it, Luke. It changes nothing between us."

He stretched out a careless arm and wrapped it around her slim waist pulling her towards him. Tumbling her into his lap he pulled her close and nuzzled into her hair. Mara stiffened for a moment, she was unused to such loving, but Luke seemed to see it as perfectly natural so she relaxed. Pulling back a little he gave her a quick possessive kiss and pushed her to her feet again.

"Hey! I just got here."

"You did want to access the holocron?"

"You know I do."

"Well then!"

"Jedi masters!" Mara muttered crossly.

"Don't you just love us," Luke quipped and pulled her back to the low table where the holocron sat on the faded piece of vinesilk. He plopped down on a cushion and pulled Mara down with him where she rested in between his legs. "Go on Mara. Touch it," he urged quietly all teasing gone from his handsome face.

"Only if you touch it with me."

"Sure,"

Luke threaded his hand through Mara's and together they placed their intertwined hands gently on the delicate cube. It was literally like being sucked into a whirlpool. The cube drew them towards it.

"I am the gatekeeper of …."

The voice crackled and broke off. Luke frowned, as he'd had little experience with holocrons, most having been destroyed long ago. The vision of a bearded man with silver eyes vanished and a young woman appeared in his place.

"This is the holocron containing the teachings of Jedi Master Ranik Solusar, Jedi Master Allia Dinn and Jedi Master Ekhro Yharn. Unfortunately they were unable to finish what they started, but all the information on their teachings has been recorded. I was the third padawan of Jedi Master Ranik Solusar. I am Jedi Knight Mirahn Vashneyik of Commenor. I must make sure their work is not lost forever, yet it must not fall into the hands of the Sith."

"I am Jedi Master Luke Skywalker of Tatooine and this is Jedi Knight Mara Jade of Coruscant."

The holographic figure hesitated. Whatever technology was used to make this was simply amazing. Mirahn looked surprised. "So you are alive, my daughter?"

The Awakening - Chapter 16

And now the conclusion….

"So you are alive, my daughter?"

The image flickered unsteadily and Luke suddenly understood that this recording had been made hurriedly. It was as if Mirahn had slit the holo imaging technique itself and slipped between the data. Just waiting for something or someone with the correct presence in the Force to activate it. If Mara had died before all this was discovered, the message would never have been heard.

'Always in motion is the future.' Yoda's oft-quoted saying seemed to linger in Luke's mind. Strange how things turned out.

Mirahn held out her hands. "If I am talking to you now, it is because you have grown and accepted your rightful place as a Jedi Knight in the light side of the Force."

Mara fell forward onto her knees and held out her hand in appeal. She tried to commit every detail, every part of Mirahn to her memory. Luke steadied her and supported her, his hands sure at her waist.

"Mother?" Her voice shook but no censure, accusation or hatred coloured her tone. There was great depth of feeling and a just acceptance of the way things had come to be. Mara had accepted the truth about herself. She stood on the threshold of a new life; she had awakened from a long sleep and stood on the dawn of change.

The woman smiled.

"I'm not really here you know, I died a long time ago. I'd hoped this message would reach you someday. That's why I coded into this holocron. It wasn't mine to make. I am not a master -unlike you." She directed her comment to Luke. He had to be amazed at the awesome power of the Force. How had she known? Perhaps the holocron was tapping off his power and recognising Luke's own white Force presence. He wasn't sure if that was the case, but it was a reasonable explanation. He wanted to believe it was more than mere chance. Luke nodded deferentially towards the Jedi woman - he did believe.

"I was Ranik Solusar's third padawan learner and I studied with the others who helped put their knowledge into this holocron. Masters Dinn and Yharn have much to teach you. I helped with setting up some of the information held within. The Emperor learned of its existence through me. I was not good at shielding my thoughts and my feelings, unlike you, Mara. You have yours locked so tightly - how will your young man ever know your true feelings?"

"I picked a wiser one than you did," Mara paled as the words left her lips.

"True, daughter."

"He knows my feelings. He's always known."

Luke closed his eyes as the twin emotions of total joy and abject pain threatened to overwhelm him. Joy at her admission of any emotional dependence and pain that it had taken them so long to come to this point in their lives.

Mirahn gazed at the couple with compassion. Her road had finished long ago. They were setting out on their journey with hope in their hearts. If she'd been of the living, she would have envied them.

"Jan Jaden had some Force aptitude, but was not strong enough to train. However, he could communicate with Palpatine through the Force - only at short distances and for limited periods of time - but he couldn't control or hide it, and I think half the time he wasn't aware of doing so. We met in the grounds surrounding the Senate gardens where I was acting as an assistant to one of the Jedi Representatives, and I fell in love with him immediately. Oh I tried to hide it, as such a union would have been forbidden, but it was my destiny to love him and thus to have you. My unthinking belief and trust in Jan was played to the Emperor without our knowledge.

Eventually the Jedi Council found out - it was inevitable that they would. We were warned that this relationship could not happen - it had to end. There was too much at stake. I was young and I didn't understand."

Luke rubbed his hand across his mouth. "You disobeyed the Council," Luke murmured knowingly. Mara had to get her spark, her bloody-minded determination, from somewhere. Now he knew. Luke gave the woman in his arms an affectionate glance. If her mother was anything like his Mara, then Jan Jaden wouldn't have stood a chance.

Mirahn continued her tale. "Palpatine was by then undergoing his systematic extermination of our kind. At first, it was only a rumour and then as we began to fall one by one he grew more confident. Yoda and the Jedi Council tried to do what they could. Kenobi had disappeared a few years earlier, as had Anakin Skywalker. The way of the Jedi was disappearing fast in front of our eyes.

The council looked for ways to safeguard their most precious teachings if the worst happened. Some of the Jedi began to create holocrons and smuggle them off world."

"Many still haven't been found," Luke murmured quietly.

Mirahn nodded slowly. "I was eventually confined to my quarters in the temple because I had disobeyed instructions the council gave me regarding Jan. I watched Master Solusar, Master Dinn and Master Yharn work on their holocron. I had studied with Master Solusar; I knew his ways. But even the final warning wasn't enough to keep me away from Jan. The Emperor learned of this last holocron because of me. I was stubborn to a fault and I couldn't stay away from the man I loved. I was wrong. It should never have happened and I should have adhered to the council's instructions. I unwittingly betrayed the knowledge to Jan and he couldn't keep a secret from his Master any more than he could stop breathing. I suspect if at that time Palpatine had told him to do that, he would have obeyed.

Palpatine decided he would steal the holocron and possibly destroy it, once he had learned its teachings. But this holocron was so attuned to the light side of the Force, Palpatine could not access the vast wealth it hid within it and in revenge he destroyed the Jedi Temple. We couldn't prove it was him but the flames burned with dark side energy. It was my home, my centre and my salvation and it was gone. The Jedi Council knew it had to be because of me. I had disregarded their instructions too many times. I was headstrong and lacked discipline but I felt so much emotion in my soul..."

Mara flinched and turned to stare at Luke. He was watching her, not Mirahn. 'I gave you my soul, that night.' His eyes seemed to bore through her and he nodded unsmilingly. Mara pulled Luke's head towards her and gave him a quick hard kiss.

"I know," she whispered. "The Jedi code got it wrong. Emotion binds us together."

Mirahn watched their exchange with a sympathetic expression. "Don't lose what you have. When I left Coruscant I thought I'd lost everything. I was banished and I accepted my fate, but not before stealing the holocron back. I should have returned it to Yoda, but terrified that the Emperor would find me and kill me for what I'd dared to do or even worse take out his anger on Jan, I ran, taking the holocron with me. Then I ran as far away as I could. I ran away from the Jedi and from Jan, I lost my pride; ashamed of my weakness I gave up carrying my lightsaber. Eventually Jan found me again. He was a good man and could no longer take what was happening in the New Order. Losing me had somehow opened his eyes to what was really happening out there. We fell in love all over again and you blessed our lives, but also made it more difficult for us to run. He was a good Imperial soldier and I suspect the most courageous thing he ever did in his life was to fall in love with me. He left all that he knew for me, to follow a path he never really believed in and suffered for the choices he made. He did love you deeply, Mara. You made it worthwhile for both of us."

Luke placed his hands on Mara's tense shoulders and began a soothing massage. She was straining without moving, her muscles knotted and tight. "Relax," he murmured softly.

"It was inevitable we were caught. You had such a powerful Force signature added to Jan's weak link with Palpatine. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't shield all three of us and we knew it. I met Solusar one more time before he was killed and told him I had the holocron. Ranik had smiled wearily and told me a holocron could be broken up and only a true Jedi strong in the light side of the Force would be able to forge it anew with its secrets intact. I dismantled it and when I was caught, I think it disappeared. I'd carried around some things for such a long time. The holocron, some data cards onto which I'd added information as I discovered it. I had records of my own training so that one day I would be able to pass on what I'd learned to my daughter. Not much to show for a life. Still, I had you, Mara, the most precious thing in the world to Jan and me. This message was keyed to your presence in the Force, Mara. I had to believe there was still goodness and light in the galaxy - I had to believe there still was hope and you would survive. I am at peace now. Cannot you find some too?"

"I'm trying to," she snapped. Mara's eyes darkened to a stormy grey-green but as she glanced at Luke, her fierce expression softened. "Finding my true identity, who I really am is important to me, especially after living a lie for so long."

Her mother smiled. "Even as a baby, you could hold out from sleeping longer than we thought was humanly possible. You would not give in." She smiled and Luke saw an echo of Mara's seldom seen carefree grin.

"We were caught and you were taken from my arms. Jan and I were separated for days until we were brought into the presence of the Emperor himself. You sat on his knee, but they had done something to you and you didn't react to anything that was going on. He gave you to me, but you didn't respond at all. You just stared with a glassy look on your little face."

Mirahn began to weep, tears sliding down her face. Mara sat as if turned to stone and Luke found that his own eyes were wet. He wrapped his arms around her and channelled all his love towards her. She was going to need every bit of it; he knew that much.

"Palpatine had snapped something in Jan's mind too, he was dazed, confused, barely coherent. He didn't recognise you or me, Mara, and I begged him to wake up. I screamed at him and Palpatine sat cackling at us, feeding off our pain."

"Destroy them"

"He held his blaster and pointed it at you. I didn't know what Palpatine had done to you, but you didn't recognise either of us and I tried to correct it through the Force. He was much stronger than I was and it was to no avail. I did what I could and instead sent a wave of the Force towards Jan. I sent my last despairing effort and I thought I had failed. They all thought I'd failed - Vader and the Emperor thought that. I could sense Palpatine smirking. But Jan… he looked at me, something sparked in his eyes. His hand lowered.

'I can't.'

'Then kill the Jedi.'

Jan's arm raised again and he faced me avoiding Mara, avoiding even looking at her and placed the gun against my temple. I could feel his despair and his confusion, his whirling, spinning thoughts. Again I sent the light of the Force to him through our marriage bond and the dark terrors began to clear. I thought I was too late but his hand shook and I knew the Force had given him back his right mind. He now knew what he was doing - what he had to do and turned the blaster on himself.

'Forgive me. I love you both.'

Then he fired.

Palpatine's face darkened in shock, surprise and a swift spiralling anger - the air crackling with twisted energy. He raised his hands and hissed something. I felt a searing pain in my gut. With my failing strength I held on to you and begged and pleaded for my life so that I could look after my daughter, but I could see no room for mercy on the Emperor's part. I would not turn to the dark side - I could not. I only had to look at my daughter. Then Vader whispered something and the Emperor stopped causing me such pain. Lord Vader removed you from my arms and carried you away, but as he did so, he dropped my own saber, the one I hadn't seen for years into my lap. I killed myself with my own saber in the hope that if I became one with the Force I could protect you. I was wrong and I'm sorry. I loved your father, Mara, and he loved us. Please forgive me…."

The flickering image disappeared and was replaced again by the man with the silver eyes. "I am Ranik Solusar…"

Luke pulled his hand from the holocron and Ranik Solusar's wise visage vanished

"Bring her back, Luke!" Mara turned crying wildly. "She can't be gone."

"Mirahn will always be with you," he assured her gently, his voice and manner projecting peace and calm.

"She's in the holocron." She beat her hands on Luke's strong chest. "She's there. I want my mother… I need her. Bring her back!" Her face twisted in a painful grimace. Her fists clenched, eyes blazing through her tears.

"No, she's not there, not any more. It's a manifestation of her spirit. The Force has granted you this gift." He grabbed her by the wrists and looked directly into her eyes. "Come on, Mara. It's okay."

"But I saw her…. I saw her." The glare crumpled and her head dropped, her neck too slender to support the weight of her pain.

"Ssh…" Luke pulled her into his arms and rocked her, trying to stop the storm of weeping. Thirty years of anguish poured from Mara Jade. Thirty years of tainted association, thirty years of living a lie so twisted that even she hadn't known she was living it.

"Ssh…" he comforted. "Let it go, let it heal. Come on, sweetheart." His soothing voice finally eased her into almost stillness, punctuated with small sobs, until her bright head rested on his chest. Luke caressed her and held her close to his heart, letting its rhythm ease her fears and her doubts. Eventually, she released the last of her tension in a shuddering breath.

"Mara!" Luke pulled her head from his chest and rubbed his thumb over her parted lips. "Mara."

"Oh, Luke" Her arms surrounded him and she pressed herself tight into his warm, living, loving presence.

"You know who you are." He kissed her forehead tenderly, his love enveloping her in a way that she almost remembered in a different lifetime. It had been millennia since she'd been loved this much.

A wisp of an image flashed in front of her eyes, just a pair of green eyes smiling down at her and the feeling of a man's arms keeping her safe. She'd been loved, she was sure of it and she was loved now. The man who held her so close to him, treating her as if she was the most precious thing in his world, loved her.

"Yes…" Luke breathed. "Believe, Mara." He tipped her chin up with a gentle finger and dipped his head so that his lips could find her own and with a sigh like a drop of rain in the desert he once more offered her his heart.

Ignored, the crystal holocron shimmered and for the last time, the ghostly figures of Jaden and Mirahn watched the living proof of their love as she was gathered ever closer into the arms of the man who loved her. Finally whole again after so many years of uncertainty and doubt. Then their spectral images vanished, never to be seen again.

Luke's hands began to untangle Mara's hair from its plait and he threaded his fingers through it. His lips parted and his tongue darted out to taste Mara's own. He kissed her as if it were the first time and the last time that he had ever seen her. She tilted her head back, her eyes closed, allowing him access to the delicate smoothness of her neck and the sensitive pulse point just behind her ear. Hands began to knead and clutch, as their duelling tongues grew wilder and more frantic.

"We must stop…" Luke gasped out between heated kisses.

"No! This is life. This is their blessing, their benediction. I want you, Luke."

"And I want you…. Forever."

Her green eyes darkened to slits of grey green chips. "That's the only deal I'm curious about."

"With interest?"

Mara tugged at the collar of his tunic until she could rip it from his body.

"Mara! My …."

Her lips travelled wildly down his strongly muscled chest and found one of his nipples. She sucked and tasted until he couldn't take any more. Pushing her down onto the cushions, he tore at her clothes and helped her do the same to him until they had enough access to complete their frenzied mating. Luke's eyes glowed brighter than any star as he found the home he remembered so well and discovered they were both ready. With a cry of exultation, he parted her legs and made them whole again. Mara arched her back and accepted him within her welcoming warmth.

As he sheathed himself within her, there was a moment when they paused, their eyes darkening further and a wordless communication passed between them. Then Mara smiled, for the first time truly free from her past.

"What kind of interest are we speaking about here, farmboy?" Her tongue slowly wet her parted lips and Luke's staff hardened even more within her body. His hands teased her nipples, his tongue tormented the soft sensitive pulse points at her throat until her head tipped back and her eyes closed. She could no longer remain still against his passionate onslaught. His hands trailed over her body, igniting a trail of fire so hot that it threatened to obliterate them both.

Mara forgot about giving him a chance to answer her question. She didn't give him time to formulate a reply, but murmured huskily, "Just love me, Luke."

His wonderful eyes softened with love as he pressed his mouth softly to her cheek in a gentle kiss. "That's the easy part, my heart. I always have. Even when I didn't know you - I loved you…"

With a smile that promised him everything in the galaxy he ever wanted. Mara pulled his head down to hers and they communicated in a way much older than language.

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

Two weeks later.

Luke pulled his wife into the crook of his arm as they stood on the balcony of their Coruscant apartment, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I can't believe I actually went and married you!" Mara sounded a little shell-shocked.

"Well you did." Luke's voice was definite and just a little pleased with himself

"You sure?"

"Yup." He turned his head and nuzzled the smooth skin of her cheek, dropping a light kiss on her temple. "I have the records to prove it."

"You sure?"

"Oh yes. I have lodged one with Karrde,"

Mara rolled her eyes. "How much did that cost you?"

He ignored her. "With Lando, one at the Yavin Jedi complex, the New Republic has several and there may be one on Tatooine. Even Artoo has one lodged within his memory banks. I'm just making sure."

"Making sure of what?" she snapped.

"Of you."

Mara lifted her head, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by that, farmboy?" she drawled slowly.

"I want to let everyone in the whole galaxy know that you're mine and I'm keeping you and that…" His voice trembled. "You love me enough to marry me. You didn't have to, you know. I would have done anything to keep you with me. I still can't believe…."

Mara placed her slim arms around his neck and moved until she'd pressed her body against his. "Believe it, Luke," she whispered, her lips closing hungrily over his. They kissed deeply. Mara closed her eyes, relishing the taste of him that was so warm, and she had been so long in the cold.

"Leia had already started organising things. Besides, the tales she told me about some of the women who have their eyes on you." She shuddered, mock delicately. "I've always rescued you from the scrapes you've landed yourself in and I thought it would save time in the long run if I just posted you permanently off limits to them."

"You still want to kill me?" Luke sighed theatrically. "That's what the permanent bit means?"

"Oh no. I like having you around," she murmured huskily. "You have certain… uses…" Her voice trailed off suggestively as she dropped a kiss just below his ear.

"My cooking skills?" The words came out with difficulty.

"Number one on my list." Mara murmured as she kissed her way around his jaw. Interesting, the Jedi Master had become somewhat tense.

"Oh," he muttered. The little word accompanied by a pathetic look.

Mara chuckled until she realised the Jedi Master had begun to unbutton some of her wedding apparel. The delicate cream shimmersilk gown was surely one of the most beautiful things she had ever owned. She stayed his hands for a time. She was enjoying their light banter before things would turn…. Serious. A delicious shiver ran through her and Luke's sky blue eyes darkened to a passionate hue

"I'm going to have to go through a big thing too, for the public?" She turned the conversation back to something a little safer.

"I think the reception Leia has planned will do the trick. That way we can keep the fuss to a minimum."

"Luke!" She gave him an exasperated glare. "Where you are concerned the fuss won't be 'minimum'. You can be so naïve sometimes and for someone who should know better."

But Mara, I don't take part in public life any more. I just teach Jedi. I leave all that kinda stuff to Han and Leia." He collapsed into a low chair and pulled her into his arms and for a while they sat and watched the sun descend and the lights brighten.

Leia had pressed for a public wedding, but Luke had been rather reluctant and Mara downright against it. The Jedi ceremony they had undergone with just their close family including Karrde, Cilghal and Kam Solusar had been truly moving. The civil ceremony had been attended by about fifty of their family and closest friends. To keep Leia happy, Luke had promised a formal reception at a time later on in the year and that had seemed to satisfy her. The most important thing for Luke, after Mara had agreed to marry him, was to get it done as quickly as possible before she had a chance to change her mind. There was no way he was letting that happen.

"Hey!" Her voice cut into his thoughts.

Luke blinked.

"Where were you?" she asked curiously.

"Just thinking about things," he grinned at her.

"What things?"

"Miss Inquisitive," he teased.

"'Scuse me, farmboy, that's Mrs Inquisitive to you. I got married today." Mara stuck her nose in the air and climbed off his lap, only to return with two glasses of a dark red, rich Borleias claret.

Mara handed Luke a glass and watched as he stared into the heart of the liquid. She moved to the chair opposite him. But he lifted his head, his eyes penetrating and she returned to his arms.

"When…" he cleared his throat. "When did you realise how you felt?"

"About you?" Mara took a careful sip of the wine.

He nodded.

"You're still alive aren't you?"

Luke chuckled. "I think so, but that's not what I meant. When did you know?"

Mara curved herself into his body, her head on his shoulder. "I'd begun to suspect things weren't what they should be between us for some time. I was too happy to see you, jealous of any other woman you paid attention to. Then something in the Force twisted round my senses and called me to Coruscant."

I walked in to my upstairs room and you stood there bathed in light. The sunlight shone through the window and your hair turned to a fiery halo of gold. I knew then - consciously I knew then. Unconsciously I must have been in love with you for a long time before that," Luke whispered reverently. His hand traced the path of a wayward curl. "How could I not have fallen in love with you?"

"I asked Leia when she knew you were special."

Luke's jaw dropped. "You asked my sister that! Mara, it’s a wonder the wedding invites weren't put out then. You don't give Leia Organa Solo openings like that." He shook his head.

"She was very good about it," Mara's soft voice was defensive. "But she did ask me some awkward questions."

"She would - she's very good at them. Been married to Han for too long. She knows he will try to out think her or worm his way out of things. So she stays one step ahead. I waited for you that night. I waited here and the Force was strong. It seemed to suggest things that I wanted to hear and yet, couldn't ever consider."

"I had visions of being in your arms. By the time I got to your apartment I'd worked myself into a very tense frame of mind."

"Touch you and you would snap. I remember." He trailed a gentle finger over her bare arm and she shivered. "But I'd never seen anyone looking more beautiful than you did that night, until today of course. If I'd had suspicions before I definitely knew then. Something had awakened in me and all I could dream about was you."

"Then we made love."

"It was inevitable, wasn't it?"

"Inevitable, incredible, indescribable. I've never been so lifted from within myself."

"Me too," his voice tailed off and he smiled with something suspiciously like moisture in his eyes.

Mara caressed his cheek surprised to find that he needed to shave again. She trailed over the little cleft in his chin and smiled as he kissed her fingers. "It was then I realised I was in love with you."

"So you ran away."

"I ran away with my mother's voice ringing in my ears. She liked you."

"I'm a very likeable guy."

"Then I found out what you were doing to yourself, Skywalker." Her face grew pensive at how lost she had felt without him. How vulnerable her emotions had left her - all because of him.

"I had to do something. I hoped you would reconsider, but there were no guarantees. I'd had you in my arms for one night. No one would ever take your place there. My lifetime choice was made. You or no one. Greoa Prime needed me and I was glad to go." Luke sighed. "I thought I'd botched another relationship and this one I'd never recover from. I needed to go where I didn't have time to think because if I did think, all I could see was your face. The volcano reminded me of the volubility of out relationship. Say the wrong thing and something would explode."

"I had to go and get you. You were in trouble so it was my job to get you out."

"Did you ever wonder why you always did that?"

She pinched him hard in the ribs. "I tried not to, Skywalker. I was feeling things I didn't want to feel and I tried to ignore them by using my anger as a shield. But I gave in on the trip to Greoa. I was coming to get you, but this time I was coming for me. I loved you and I knew you loved me. Things suddenly seemed simple. I'd never thought beyond the my finding you part and the sacrifice I'd have to make in return. I'd never considered the fact that finding you and opening myself to the Force would give me a true identity but it did."

"You're quite a woman, Mara Jade Skywalker."

"I'm married to someone very special, so I'm a lucky one and in the end I didn't have to make a sacrifice at all. The things I thought I desired weren't what I wanted at all. They were meaningless and hollow without you."

Luke pushed her to her feet and stood up. Pulling her back into his arms he wrapped his arms around her and they stood like that for a while. Luke wanted to make love to her but he was prepared to take his time, in fact the delaying tactics were heightening the eventual surrender by both of them.

"The holocron is a wonderful piece of history for the Jedi. Kam was especially pleased to see his father's teachings held within it. He's grateful to your mother for keeping it safe. Mirahn has given him a real gift. She's given me one too. I get you." He kissed her nose. "Did I tell you how beautiful you looked today?" Luke gazed at his wife, her cream gown of crushed shimmersilk accentuating the fiery red-gold curls and the sharp clear green of her eyes.

"Frequently," she murmured as her eyes danced into his. "But I don't mind. You were certainly the most handsome of the men. You know I quite fancied you. Blue is your colour." Mara smiled wickedly, enjoying the teasing. That was until Luke bent his head and bit gently at the sensitive point of her neck. Mara Jade Skywalker wasn't the only one who could tease. She let out a breathy moan. "Luke…."

He swallowed and his eyes turned smokily dark with desire. The time for playing games had just run out. He began to kiss her in real earnest, kisses that left her aching and breathlessly desiring more. For a moment they paused stepping away from each other. Mara picked up her glass and offered her husband a silent toast. Luke fetched his glass and returned in kind. Then he drained his glass, deposited it on the table, plucked Mara's from her fingers and roughly swept her into his arms.

Mara slid down Luke's body when they reached the bedroom and suddenly the teasing and playing had gone and the passion which existed between them burst into glorious, burning life. Luke's dark grey-blue tunic was discarded on the floor and Mara's gown received a similar treatment. They tumbled into the bed and joined together, consummating their love again and again.

"My love, my life." Luke's words were slow and slurred as he stared down into Mara's face at the point of possession. She arched her body accepting his heavenly intrusion and whispered. "This was meant to be, Luke. I love you."

===========================================

Somewhere beyond the void Mirahn lifted her head. She had a new journey to take, as had her daughter. Mara had awakened from the influence of Palpatine and had now assumed the place in life she'd been meant to have all along. Mirahn could no longer return to watch over her daughter's soul, but with a last wisp of vanishing presence she sent them love and contentment.

"May the Force be with you both."

The End