Okay, granted I'm not even done with the story, but I thought this would help readers. I originally started writing this as a short fanfic, but it's sorta snowballed. Ideas keep popping in my head, and I am their humble servant. This story will be written in two parts: Resurrection and Absolution. I am aware that I am taking great liberties with the Star Wars universe, and am defying all laws of physics and most likely the Force, but I don't give a crap. It's a fun and interesting story, and I like the emotional appeal. It's not strictly about Luke and Mara, but as Mara is my favorite character, she's in there a lot. Also, I know I'm also taking great liberties with the Star Wars past, but as the next two prequels aren't out yet, I don't give a crap about that either. I must also mention that I am NOT a Jar Jar Binks fan, but I thought it would be interesting to see Mara's reaction to having a Gungan in life debt to her. Also, and here's the biggie, several scenes are inspired by fantasy novels, movies, soundtracks, etc. I am as big a fan of James Horner as I am of John Williams, and consquently excerpts from the Willow and Titanic (I just like the music) soundtracks inspired some scenes. The idea of the ancient Jedi contraption was conceived from a scene in The Dark Crystal. For those of you who have seen it, it is meant to look like that planet contraption of Aughra's. The whole idea of the artifact was an offspring of the dark crystal. All characters with exception to the ones I made up are property of George Lucas and other authors. I am receiving no money for this. Yadda Yadda Yadda..... Resurrection Part 1 Written by Elora (queelock@hotmail.com) Talon Karrde was dreaming. He was dreaming one of those absurd dreams that make absolutely no sense and seem only to deplete your sleep-stored energy instead of giving a peaceful period of rest. Thus it was that when an persistent beeping pulled him from his slumber, he wasn't exactly in the most cheerful of moods. He rolled over in his bunk with a grunt, picked up a boot from the floor, and threw it in the general direction of the com consol. His aim was good, and a moment later Aves's voice came back with a muted "Captain?" "What?" he snapped, coming fully awake. Aves had orders not to disturb him unless it was extremely important. Karrde hoped for his sake that whatever had caused Aves to call him was extremely damned important. "We've dropped out of hyperspace to repair the power coupling as ordered, sir." "And?" Karrde growled impatiently. They must be three parsecs away from Andorems then, a bit beyond the Outer Rim Territories. "We've picked up a ship to our starboard, sir. Looks old." "I'll be right up." Karrde stepped onto the bridge of the Wild Karrde, the familiar mill of organized chaos oddly comforting. He glanced over at the nav station where Aves was hunched over the consol with Juoine. He started over to join them. "Well?" He asked. "Old model, sir. I've never seen anything like it," Juoine said, tossing her bejeweled tentacles over her shoulder. Karrde looked at the display. Oddly enough, he recognized it. "It's a T-68 personal transport, Pre Clone Wars." Aves traded a glance with Juoine. "My grandfather had one," Karrde explained, "Send a team aboard." Dankin shone the glow rod down the dark corridors of the ghost ship. Sensors had already ascertained that there was no life aboard the vessel, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Grav units were still offline, and Dankin was thankful for the magnetic suit that anchored him to the ship's deck. Abruptly his comlink beeped. "Yeah." Torve's voice came over the comlink, souding about as calm as a Jedi. "Grav unit should be up and running in a moment. Life support's back on line, so go ahead and take your helmet off." "Sure. Right." "You sound spooked, Dankin. It's just an old lost ship." "Uh-huh. Dankin out." He had just reattached the comlink to his belt when the floating pieces of machinery drifting through the corridor fell with a collective bang. The grav unit was back online then. But no sooner had he removed his helmet than a shudder ran through the ship, stressing the hull. "What the--?" he shouted, loosing his balance and falling to the deck. He palmed the comlink off his belt. "Torve! What in all blazing hells was that?" Cold with shock came the reply. "Someone just stole our shuttle." Mara Jade-Skywalker awakened to the pleasant smell of breakfast wafting through the small appartment. She yawned and stretched, staring for a few moments at the ceiling, trying to decide if hunger could compete with comfort. The smell again graced her nostrils, and she decided in favor of hunger. Sliding silently out of the double bed, she pulled a robe on over the knee-length shirt she'd slept in the night before and made her way into the kitchen. There she leaned against the doorway and watched her husband hover over the stove like some sort of mother bird. "Did you cook enough to share?" she asked, still leaning against the doorway. Luke Skywalker looked up from the task at hand. "Only if you ask nicely," he said, smiling. Mara shook her head and laughed. "If you think that I'm going to beg for my food, you can guess again. You're not that good a cook." Although the truth was that he was a fantastic cook. Mara had been surprised and definitely delighted to discover that she had married not only a Jedi Master, but a four star chef as well. Luke shrugged. "You could always make your own breakfast." Mara grimaced. "No thanks." Her food skills were horrible, at best. Two days after their marriage, out of sheer boredom, she'd decided to make biscuits from a simple recipe. They'd come out as hard and flat as rocks. Luke had walked around the Palace for days after that flipping one like a coin, and offering twenty credits to anyone who could identify the object. That little jest had cost him a bruise on the shoulder which still, after six months, hadn't gone away. She walked over to where Luke stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. "How about a deal?" she asked looking up a full two centimeters to meet his eyes. He returned the look and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" "The food for-" She broke off as the comm consol twittered. She considered ignoring it, but something nagged at her to answer it. "I'll be back." Mara sat down and keyed up the display. It was a message from Karrde. GOT SOMETHING YOU'LL WANT TO SEE. BRING SKYWALKER. Coordinates were included. Mara puzzled over them for a moment, then decided that Karrde would never have contacted her if it wasn't important. The fact that he'd asked for Luke as well reinforced that suspicion. "Luke?" she called, "Get some things packed. I have a feeling we're in for a very interesting trip." "So much for breakfast," she muttered under her breath. To be continued...