Han made a showy pretense of cleaning out one ear. "I think all this laser fire has affected my hearing. I could've sworn you said you were married to Mara Jade."

Luke gritted his teeth and braced himself for the backlash. "I did. I am."

"Aw, kid." Han ran a hand through his hair. "Just cause you've been in bed with her doesn't mean you had to go and marry her."

"I love her, Han, and she loves me. We wanted to get married, the opportunity came up, and we took it."

"Just like that." Han leaned back against the outside wall of the building they were passing. "So you just happened to cross flight paths with an officiator somewhere between Coruscant and here, and thought 'What the heck, let's get hitched.'"

"It was on the planet where we landed for ship repairs," Luke muttered. He wasn't about to mention that the wedding came about because the villagers wanted a couple to marry so their harvest would be blessed. He was already feeling the same way that he had when Uncle Owen chewed him out for busting up his skyhopper.

"Oh, well, that's different," Han said sarcastically. "It was the B-wing's fault."

"I thought you'd be happy for me," Luke said quietly, holding Han's gaze until the older man looked away. Luke didn't look back up until he felt Han's hand on his shoulder.

"It's just gonna take me awhile to get used to the idea, kid." Han gave Luke's shoulder a friendly shake, then folded his arms officiously. "But don't you know you're supposed to consult with me before doin' something like that?"

"Consult with you? I—" Luke's annoyance was suddenly replaced by anxiety as a jolt of panic, then pain, speared into his Force-sense. "Mara!"

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

Thoughts came randomly to Leia as she struggled to clear her mind – her body hurt; the floor had given way; it was dark; Mara had shouted to warn her; dark – where was Mara's lightsaber?; where ... Mara!

"Mara!" Leia tried to call out, but her voice emerged as a whisper, echoing in the darkness. "Mara, where are you?"

A moan came in answer, somewhere to Leia's right.

"Mara? Are you all right?" Leia attempted to drag herself toward Mara's voice, and immediately discovered that her left wrist felt broken. She pushed aside the throbbing pain and held her wrist as still as she could.

There was a shuffling sound from across the room as Mara stirred.

"Leia?"

"I'm here," Leia answered shakily, checking for any further injuries and sighing in relief when she found none. "I think my glow rod must've broken on the way down." She shook the instrument one more time, then laid it aside. "Do you still have your lightsaber?"

"I ... Hold on."

Leia could hear Mara begin to rummage around in the darkness, then suddenly fall silent.

"Mara? What's wrong?"

After a few moments, Mara replied "It's Skywalker, checking up on me. On us," she amended. "I told him not to worry, that we just ran into a slight delay."

"You can communicate with him telepathically from this far away?" Leia asked, now more certain of all the instances where she had suspected Luke and Mara of having silent conversations. "I thought perhaps it was only when you were close together."

"We seem to have a bond that allows us to ... well, we're not sure how far it extends," Mara replied. "Anyway, I convinced him that we were fine, and that they didn't need to come charging in for the rescue."

"And they agreed? You're more skilled than I thought." Leia looked upward, trying to gauge how far they'd fallen, but all she could see was a dark cloud of dust. "So, is this only a slight delay?"

"I can answer that better when I find my saber." Mara resumed her search, but Leia didn't think it sounded like Mara had stood up. "Blast, where did it go?"

"Luke claims he can call his to his hand even when he can't see it."

"I don't doubt it." Mara sighed loudly, almost as if groaning. "He hasn't taught me that trick yet."

"Something about he focuses on it in his mind, visualizes it in his hand, and poof, it flies right into his grasp."

"Luke said 'poof'?"

"He might not have used that exact word," Leia admitted, chuckling to herself.

Leia's attempt at humor had the desired effect, and Mara snickered in laughter, though Leia wasn't quite sure why she was trying to humor the former assassin.

"All right, I'm visualizing."

Leia held her breath and reached out with her fledgling Force sense, hoping to feel a residual of Mara's efforts. But she couldn't contain her gasp of surprise when a rattle sounded nearby and soon Mara's face appeared, illuminated by the bluish glow of her lightsaber. Leia remembered the astonishment she'd felt when Luke revealed several months ago that he had given his first saber to the young woman who'd faced the Emperor with him, a woman he'd just met. It was one of several actions that had suggested to Leia at the time that there was more between the couple than Luke had let on. Well, it wasn't as though Leia wanted anything to do with the weapon, even if Anakin Skywalker hadn't yet been Vader when he'd wielded it.

"What do you know?" Mara sounded almost surprised. "It worked."

"You didn't think it would?" One of Luke's frequent lectures centered on not doubting oneself when practicing the Force.

"Luke has a closer connection with this lightsaber than I do." Mara shrugged lightly and busied herself with examining their surroundings.

Maybe you have a close enough connection with him, Leia thought to herself. But she said nothing, and followed Mara's lead in studying their predicament.

It didn't look promising.

From the limited range of the lightsaber, the two women determined they'd crashed through two floors, landing in what appeared to be some type of storage cellar. Crates and boxes were scattered around them, many of which had obviously fallen from shelves along the duracrete walls. Some were broken open, with a variety of foodstuffs mixing with the dust and debris. Splintered pieces of flooring covered everything, their jagged edges jutting ominously from the rubble.

Leia let out a disappointed groan when she finally spied what she'd been searching for. The remains of a wooden staircase lay crumpled in one corner, and as Mara aimed her blade to the edge of what was left of the ceiling, they could just make out the stairway opening. No doors were visible along any of the walls. There was nowhere to go but up.

"Can you sense anyone close by?" Leia asked, reaching out with the Force as much as she was able. She couldn't detect any life forms, but she did notice that the laserfire sounded more distant.

"No," Mara replied after a slight pause. "The building seems to be empty." She pressed her lips into a straight line, grimacing as she lightly rubbed one ankle. "Any ideas?"

"I'm working on it." Leia narrowed her gaze at Mara. "Is your ankle broken?"

"Just twisted, I think," Mara said dismissively. She flicked a glance back, noticing how Leia cradled her wrist. "What about you?"

"It might be broken." She glanced at the scratches on Mara's bare arms, then looked down at the rips in her own jumpsuit. "I guess we're lucky that we weren't injured any worse."

"I cushioned our fall as much as I could with the Force," Mara said.

Leia was impressed in spite of herself. The two-story fall could have killed them. "Ah, that's right. No such thing as luck."

Mara shook her head with a smirk. "Do you want me to contact Skywalker again? You know he'd come running in an instant."

Leia regarded the other woman, knowing how independently she always carried herself. "Do you want Luke to come?"

A myriad of emotions played across Mara's shadowy face – longing, affection, pride. "I'd like to think we can get out of this mess by ourselves," she finally said. "He already had to come rescue me once." At Leia's confused look, she continued. "On the planet we landed on. I was hiking to the village, to look for a part for the B-wing, while Luke did other repair work on it." She paused and shifted her position, carefully stretching out her injured leg. "I foolishly fell down a ravine and was knocked unconscious. Luke ran all day to reach me."

Leia noted that Mara had been increasingly calling Luke by his first name, a seemingly rare occurrence for her. And Leia didn't voice her wonder at how Luke knew that Mara was injured – no doubt it was due to that cryptic bond they shared. A bond apparently more potent than the one she herself shared with her twin.

"It was winter there, and I was suffering from hypothermia. Not to mention spraining this same ankle." Mara reached down to rub her ankle once more. "He saved my life," she finished quietly.

"I think he considers rescuing damsels in distress his specialty," Leia joked lightly. "His term, not mine," she added at Mara's scowl.

Mara nodded, then looked overhead at the gaping hole that had been the ceiling. "Too far to jump, with this blasted ankle."

"I know I can't jump that high," Leia said, struggling to her feet. "Could you levitate me up there?"

"Maybe." Mara pulled herself up to sit atop a nearby crate. "But then levitating myself that far, I'm not too sure about. And since ..." She gave Leia a pointed frown.

"And since I do well to levitate a datapad," Leia finished matter-of-factly. She glanced around at the assorted crates and canisters, then up at the ceiling. "Time for Plan B?"

"Time for Plan B," Mara repeated dispassionately. A disapproving glare crossed her soot-streaked face. "If you'd let Luke train you, we wouldn't be in this hole. You would've sensed the danger in time to avoid it."

"I did feel that something was wrong, but I didn't ..." Leia paused, knowing deep down that Mara was correct. "You're right, I should take the time to learn more about the Force. I'm just so busy all the time."

"You took the time to come chasing after Luke when you thought he was in danger," Mara returned.

"I owed it to him to make sure—"

"You owe it to him to accept your Force heritage," Mara chastised. "You say you don't want to see him hurt? It hurts him every time you deny your father, deny that the Force is strong in you."

Leia stared at the red-haired woman. Who is Mara Jade to be lecturing me?

"Who am I?" Mara blurted out. She ignored Leia's indignant look at sensing her thoughts, and rushed on. "If anyone has cause to regret being endowed with the Force, it's me. It was the reason Palpatine took me, and trained me to be his Hand. It was the reason I was his best assassin, and his brainwashed servant." Mara's voice shook slightly. "It took your brother to show me that the Force wasn't to blame, wasn't something to be ashamed of – that it could be used for good just as easily as for evil." She drew a breath, and continued. "I know people will criticize him for training me to be a Jedi, especially when my background is revealed. But I vow ..." Mara's green eyes blazed defiantly. "I vow never to shatter his faith in me."

For one of the few times in her life, Leia was stunned speechless. This wasn't just Luke's rhetoric; this was Mara talking from her heart. Any doubts Leia may have still had about Mara's loyalties were quickly ebbing into oblivion. And the realization began to creep in that embracing the Force would not turn her into another Darth Vader.

All business once more, Mara stood up and limped over to some of the larger boxes. "We'll begin with these bigger ones on the bottom." Mara glanced Leia's direction. Wedging the lightsaber hilt between two sacks of grain, she pulled a dishtowel from a stack of linens. "Come here."

Leia picked her way across the room, a vague sense of Mara's intentions making itself clear. Her suspicion was proved right as Mara folded the cloth into a triangle, making a sling for Leia's wrist. "Thanks."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Mara began shoving a crate into position, and Leia hurried to help. In her own unique way, Mara was making an effort at forming a rapport between the two of them. Leia was determined not to be outdone.

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

"What do you mean, a slight delay?"

"Just what I said." Luke began walking again. "They had a mishap, and they'll get to the Falcon as soon as they can."

Han began muttering under his breath, and Luke made little attempt to decipher Han's ranting.

"Stang, I wish Leia had a comlink with her."

"You already said that, Han," Luke said dryly.

"I don't like relying on third-hand information," Han retorted. "Especially from someone with no more common sense than a bantha has."

"Don't you trust me to tell you the truth?" As soon as the words were out of Luke's mouth, he regretted them.

"The truth?" Han snorted loudly. "Like the dozen different tales you spouted about you and Jade? Not involved with her back on Coruscant, my foot. Next you'll be telling me you've never even slept with a woman until your wedding night."

Luke sighed, but didn't answer. What he did or didn't do wasn't any of Han's business, no matter how good a friend he was.

"Kid ..." Han stopped, an incredulous look on his face. He grabbed Luke by the upper arms, towering over him.

Luke winced in vexation. On second thought, maybe he should've made up a little white fib, just one more time.

"You ... never ..." Han snickered loudly, shaking his head. "Kid, I coulda fixed you up with a woman a dozen times over."

"No," Luke said defiantly, his chin tilted upward. "Han, it was the most wonderful night of our lives. That is not something I would want to experience with some stranger I'll never see again, or worse yet, some casual acquaintance that I pass in the hallway everyday."

"Okay, okay. Don't get so defensive."

Luke sighed quietly. "Look, I'm not judging, or criticizing, you or Leia or anyone else I know. Each person has their own path in life, and this was the right path for Mara and me."

"Mara, too? The Imperial assassin?" Han narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation. "The bond we share means it's impossible for us to lie to one another."

"If you say so, kid."

"And I'm not a kid anymore."

Han eyed him carefully, then broke into a grin. "No, I guess you're not."

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

The two women coordinated their efforts in building a makeshift stairway out of their dungeon. Leia would locate appropriate-sized, sturdy containers and shove them with her foot to the corner of the room where the steps had been, Mara would levitate them onto the stack, then Leia would one-handedly straighten the boxes into position.

Luke had contacted Mara once again, just to make sure that she and Leia were still all right. Mara had sarcastically complained about Luke's overprotectiveness, but the expression on her face while 'talking' to him told Leia otherwise.

"Luke's a warm and caring person," Leia countered. "He deserves ..."

"Deserves better than me?" Mara kept her attention focused on the additional bag of mill-flour she was levitating underneath her ankle, to keep it elevated just a bit higher.

"I never see you smile, even when you're with him."

Mara finally gazed directly at Leia. "He makes my heart smile."

But does he know that? Leia wondered. "Can I ask you something?"

A guarded look returned to Mara's face. "I suppose."

"Do you love my brother?" she asked bluntly. Leia had the feeling that any attempt at diplomacy would be wasted on this woman, even though their conversation so far had been considerably more amicable than usual. But she had to know the truth.

Mara's expression barely wavered, and her hesitation in answering was infinitesimal. "Yes. I do."

Leia has suspected— No, she had hoped for that answer, for Luke's sake. What she hadn't really expected was Mara being so forthcoming with her admission. "Good," Leia replied succinctly, not knowing what else to say. "Good," she repeated softly to herself.

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

Han and Luke continued threading their way between the besieged buildings of the palace compound, stopping occasionally to give aid where they could. To Luke's relief, Han gradually let up on his taunting of Luke's new status as a married man. But that didn't mean he'd forgiven Luke for sabotaging his hoped-for engagement to Leia.

"The least you could do is have another little chat with your sister," Han said, stepping over a fallen piece of ornamental fencing. "You know, convince her what a great catch I am." He gave Luke a sly wink. "Tell her how wonderful married life is."

"I will, as soon as I've been married enough days to be able to appreciate it myself." Luke smiled wanly. "Han, would you really want to marry Leia knowing that someone had to talk her into it?"

"No," Han said resignedly. He gazed ahead at the distant columns of flame dotting the horizon. "I still think we need to track down the girls. If your, uh, wife is anything like Leia, and I think she is, they're too stubborn to ask for our help even if they need it. I'll feel a lot better when we're all aboard the Falcon."

Luke barely heard him. A sense of dread filled Luke as they neared the location of Regent Ke'lor's offices – offices he had left little more than an hour ago. "You go ahead," he quietly said to Han.

"What about you?"

"My place is not on the Millennium Falcon."

"What? You gonna fly that B-wing into battle?"

Luke shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the battered edifice in front of them. "No."

"Listen here, kid—"

"Leia and Mara were in the servants' quarters," Luke said distantly. "Mara said it was a long, barracks-type of building, near a short-cut that you and Leia took."

"Yeah, I think I know the place." Han stared at Luke, a worried expression on his face. "I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

"I'll be fine, Han. I just feel I need to check out this building."

"All right," Han finally conceded. "As long as I don't have to come back looking for you next."

"You won't." Luke gestured for Han to get going, then turned to enter the crumbling doorway.

He had a really bad feeling about what he would find inside.

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

The ziggurat of crates stretched two-thirds of the way to the hole in the ceiling when Leia noticed Mara wiping beads of perspiration from her brow. Leia's own clothes were soaked. Whoever said that princesses don't sweat hadn't seen one push and tug more than a dozen heavy boxes into place. And Leia had witnessed enough of Luke's mental exercises to know that continuous, strenuous use of the Force sapped a person's strength, too.

"Ready for a rest break?" Leia asked, breathing heavily as she found a seat on a plasteel barrel.

"I'm fine," Mara said.

Leia could read the proud contradiction in Mara's tired eyes.

"Let me rephrase – We're taking a rest break."

Mara nodded, pushing a damp strand of red-gold hair back from her face. She reached behind her head and began rebraiding her long thick tresses. Leia recalled that Mara's braid had already been half undone when she'd clambered off the couch in her suite. The slightly disconcerting thought suddenly flickered through Leia's mind that most likely Luke had been the one responsible for undoing the twisted coils. It was hard to imagine – no, she didn't want to imagine – her shy brother being intimate with a woman. He always turned three shades of red whenever anyone introduced him to a new female recruit.

Not that Leia hadn't tried to fix him up on a date, especially after the death of the Emperor had brought the war to a precarious standstill. But Luke balked at the idea of going out with anyone she suggested. He always had a kilometer-long list of excuses, usually topped by an urgent need to practice his Force training. He did, however, always seem to find time to spend with Mara.

"By the way, Mara," Leia began tentatively, "I apologize for the way Han and I interrupted your ... uh ... evening with Luke."

Mara's hands stopped in the middle of looping one hank of hair over the other. She then nonchalantly continued her plaiting, as if Leia's comment hadn't thrown her for a loop. "No apology necessary," she murmured, keeping her head bent down.

"Yes, but, I imagine you haven't had a lot of chances to spend time alone. I mean, if you really haven't been, hmm... together ... before leaving Coruscant."

Mara gave her a sharp look, as if she were about to berate Leia for not believing Luke's claim of when their relationship began. But then she seemed to reconsider. "No, not nearly enough chances," she said quietly.

Leia pursed her lips, wondering how far she could push Mara.

"Has Luke asked you to marry him yet?"

This time Mara's hands did fall away from her hair arranging. "What? Why? What makes you think he would?" she stammered.

"You two have already admitted that you're sleeping together." Leia shrugged lightly, though she was dying to hear Mara's answer. "Knowing Luke, he would feel honor bound to make it legal."

"I didn't think most men felt that way," Mara said evenly.

"Most men don't," Leia returned. "But this is Luke we're talking about. He's got honor oozing out of every pore."

"Do you think that's why Han asked you?" Mara asked, sidestepping the question.

"No. Well ... I don't think so." Leia's thoughts turned to her own topsy-turvy romance. "It's not that Han isn't honorable. He's just more surreptitious about it."

"He loves you."

"I know." More memories flitted through Leia – wonderful memories of recent days, ... and recent nights.

"And yet you turned down his marriage proposal," Mara said, jolting Leia back to reality. "That has to be hard on a man's ego."

"I didn't really turn him down, not completely." Leia clasped her hands, fingering the empty spot on her left hand where Han wanted to place a ring. "He was so sweet, so nervous. We were only halfway through our meal, and I could tell something was on his mind. He was fidgeting, and Han never fidgets. Suddenly, in middle of discussing the trade proposal with Lorrd, he got out of his chair and knelt down on one knee. And he just blurted out 'Marry me, Leia.' Just like that." Leia glanced over at Mara, who seemed to be listening with rapt attention. "You said earlier that Luke told you about the discussion I had with him last night." Leia winced inwardly, remembering that last night was yet another occasion when she'd unknowingly intruded on Luke and Mara.

"Yes, he told me," Mara said.

"Well, I tried to explain to Han that right now wasn't a good time to get married. Maybe in a few months, or next year, when the New Republic is better established."

Mara didn't seem impressed by Leia's justification for dashing Han's hopes and dreams. "So you put government above happiness."

"Did you not put the Emperor's commands above any consideration for your own happiness and well-being?"

"Yes, until I met Luke," Mara said. "But I wasn't allowed a choice. You are."

"I have responsibilities to the people of the New Republic."

"You have a responsibility to yourself, and to Han."

Leia pressed her lips into a straight line. She couldn't believe Mara Jade was practically trying to convince her to marry Han. Up until today, she wouldn't have thought there was a romantic bone in the woman's body. Leia narrowed her eyes at Mara, who sat staring back at her.

"You never answered my question," Leia said.

"Question?"

"Has Luke asked you to marry him?"

"Yes." The word was so soft that Leia had to strain to hear it. "He asked."

"And ...?" This was worse than trying to drag information out of Luke.

"Luke was supposed to tell you," Mara said in a rush of obvious exasperation. "He was starting to tell you, tonight, but he should have told you right away. He ... Oh ..." Mara halted her uncharacteristic babbling.

"Hold on, hold on." Leia leaned forward and laid a hand on Mara's arm. "Are you saying that you two are engaged?"

"No," Mara breathed. "Not exactly."

Not exactly? What was that supposed to mean? On second thought, she and Han weren't exactly engaged either. Did Mara turn down Luke's proposal, just as she had Han's?

"Mara ..." Leia trailed off as she gazed at the gritty determination in Mara's eyes. The woman was warring with herself about whether to say any more or not, that much Leia could tell. Leia waited with as much patience as she could muster at the moment.

"We're already married," Mara finally said – simply, calmly, quietly. "We got married in Zembuhl, six days ago."

Leia hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath, and now she gasped loudly. The room spun in slow motion as she digested Mara's words. Married ... Luke and Mara ... already married. Leia's mouth formed the word 'What?' but no sound came forth. It was several more minutes of Mara's expectant stare boring into her before Leia was finally able to choke out "Oh, my stars!"

===========================================================================

Luke quickly but carefully entered the foyer of the royal offices. Military rescue personnel, alongside liveried guards, had already been sweeping the area for anyone injured or trapped. Their powerful search lights had enabled Luke to switch off his lightsaber some time earlier, and he and Han had blended in with the chaos.

But now, as Luke's eyes adjusted to the shadowy darkness of the outer waiting room, he once more ignited his weapon.

"Sir?"

Luke turned to face a brightly garbed palace guard. He remembered passing this particular worker in the street just a few moments ago.

"We've already searched in here, sir," the guard said. "The private offices of the Regent are blocked by debris, but we were told no one was here at the time of the initial strike, and there was no answer to our hails."

Luke nodded in acknowledgement, but reached out with the Force nevertheless. He thought he felt a weak presence nearby, but with so many injured and dying in the immediate vicinity, it was hard to pinpoint an exact location.

"Thank you," Luke said. "But I think I'll take one more look around."

"Of course, Jedi Skywalker," the man returned, bowing slightly.

At the mention of his name, Luke took a closer look at the man's weary face, and recognized him as also being one of Regent Ke'lor's personal guards. "Ah, yes. Sentinel ..." Luke scoured his memory. "Vidin-and- ..."

"Sentinel Vidin-and-Cip Abera-Roget." The young man, barely older than Luke, snapped his heels together in a salute, but the light in his dark eyes reflected his pride at being remembered by the noble Jedi Knight. "I am at your service, sir."

Luke glanced at the damaged entrance to the interior of the building, considering. Perhaps having someone familiar with this wing wouldn't be such a bad idea. "Very well, come with me."

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

For the next several moments, Leia Organa forgot that she was trapped in a hole with an aerial bombardment going on outside, forgot that her wrist was aching, forgot that she was hot, sweaty, and exhausted. She simply stared, dumbfounded, at the woman sitting a couple meters away.

"Hmm ... Well, I guess our rest break is over." Mara started looking around the room. "That crate over there—"

"Hold it just one second, sister," Leia barked. She paused as her inadvertent choice of words hit her. Sister ... Sister-in-law ... "I think an explanation is in order."

Mara gazed at Leia, their tightly controlled expressions mirroring each other's. "What's there to explain? We wanted to get married, so we did."

"That's ... that's like saying you wanted to go eat at a restaurant, so you did." Leia was utterly flabbergasted. Luke wouldn't do something this drastic without telling her. Would he? On the other hand, she didn't think Mara would lie about being married to him, either. "Luke wouldn't do that to me," Leia said quietly, though deep inside she somehow knew that it was the truth.

"Luke never meant to hurt you," Mara said, her tone also softening.

"I didn't think he would go behind my back, not for something as momentous as his wedding." Leia accorded Mara her best regal glare. "You couldn’t wait until you got back to Coruscant? Or didn't Luke want me there?" Leia knew she should be saving these accusations for her brother. But her brother wasn't there – his wife was.

Mara sighed resignedly. "Of course Luke wanted you to be present, and we were planning on waiting. But while we were in Zembuhl, a ... situation ... came up, and we decided we should go ahead—"

A situation? "You're expecting, aren't you?" Leia broke in. It was the only logical reason Leia could think of for the hasty marriage. Though in order for Luke and Mara to already know about a baby on the way, they must have been involved before leaving on the mission ...

"Expecting what?" Mara's expression quickly turned from confused to indignant. "Blazing stars, no! You think we got married because Luke got me pregnant?" For some reason Leia couldn't fathom, Mara started laughing.

"What's so funny? It's not an impossibility."

"For us it would have been," Mara said, smirking.

"Mara, no prevention med is one-hundred-percent foolproof."

"Abstinence is." Mara rose to her feet and limped over toward a stack of usable crates. "Not that it's any of your business, Princess."

Would this day of surprises ever end? All right, Leia could accept the idea of Luke wanting to be married first, and for some strange reason, she could even believe it of Mara. "But you couldn't wait a few more weeks? What was this 'situation' that was so dire that you had to get married right away?"

Mara pressed her lips into a straight line, and Leia could swear the woman looked embarrassed. "It's a long story."

"Everything with you two these days seems to be a long story."

"Don't you want to wait and hear that part from Luke? I'm sure he'd be eager to tell you." Mara smiled to herself with a sort of self-satisfied look of smugness.

"Yes, I believe I would enjoy squeezing some of these answers out of Luke." Leia began helping Mara push the next box closer to their makeshift stairs. She was still concerned about Mara's past ties to the Emperor, but she really didn't think Mara was a threat to the New Republic. As much as Leia hated to admit it, even to herself, she was almost beginning to like the former Imperial. Perhaps Mara had been a victim of circumstances. What had Luke said yesterday? 'It could just as easily have been you or me.'

Leia glanced sideways as Mara finished levitating the heavy crate to the top of the stack. "By the way, Mara, welcome to the family."

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

"You think there is still someone trapped inside?" Roget asked Luke as they cleared the wreckage from the receiving office's doorway.

"Yes, I do," Luke answered. In fact, the sensation was getting stronger by the minute. He could feel the coldness of death hovering at the edge of his perception.

Roget stepped back as Luke cut through the collapsed doorjamb, then, careful of the glowing blade, pushed the timber out of the way. "Should I go get a medkit, sir?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Luke turned to his eager helper. "But please, call me Luke." And don't call me 'Sir Luke,' he added to himself, sighing inwardly.

"As you wish," Roget replied formally before stepping back toward the building's entrance. "I shall return as soon as possible."

Wasting no time, Luke continued moving debris aside as he searched further into the inner offices. The life signature he'd been sensing was growing weaker, and Luke had the sinking feeling that it wasn't because the person was moving farther away. With one final Force shove, Luke created a passageway just large enough to squeeze through. He found himself in the Regent's private office, and Luke silently hoped it wouldn't be the Regent that he would find inside.

What he found made him instantly ashamed of his thoughts.

Prime Aide Meend lay near a rear exit of the office, impaled through the abdomen by a ruptured ceiling beam. Meend's breath was shallow; his eyes hollow and filled with pain. The beam had sealed the wound, not allowing any blood to escape. But Luke knew that the moment the timber was removed, Meend would die instantly.

"Sir ... Sky ..." Meend rasped, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Shhh," Luke hushed, kneeling beside the dying man. "Don't speak. We'll get help for you."

Meend tried to shake his head, but even that much effort was too draining. "Please ... I must ..."

"Meend ..." Luke soothed, laying his hand on the older man's forehead and doing his best to send comforting waves of the Force into him.

"The ... Regent ..." Meend coughed up spittle mixed with blood. "With ... his ... family ... You ... must ... help ... "

"I will, Meend." Luke could feel the relief pass through the aide's tortured expression. "He's with his family, in their suite?"

Meend's mouthed the word 'Yes,' his strength nearly gone.

"I'll help them, I promise," Luke said solemnly. He searched his mind frantically for anything he could do to help the genial aide, but logically he knew there was nothing anyone could do. "Just hold on, Meend," he said, trying to put as much hope into his voice as he could. "Help is coming."

Meend turned unfocused eyes in the direction of Luke's voice and summoned one last ounce of willpower. "It was ... an honor ... to ... meet you, ... Sir ... Knight," he choked out, and then his life force flickered out completely.

"Just Luke," Luke whispered to himself, tears trailing down his dirt-streaked cheeks.

Luke was closing Meend's eyes when Roget burst into the room.

"I'm too late," Roget lamented, taking in the scene before him.

Luke looked up, noting four more rescue workers standing silently behind the royal sentinel.

"You said there was someone trapped in here," Roget explained softly. "The word of a Jedi Knight is not to be taken lightly."

Luke nodded. "Before ... before he died, Meend was concerned for the safety of the Regent and his family." He looked at Roget questioningly.

"The royal residence was hit hard," Roget informed him. "There is a large contingent of workers there, clearing the rubble as fast as they can. I haven't heard if they've found the Regent yet. I had been on my way there when I saw you enter here."

"Then that is where I need to head," Luke said firmly, standing aside as two of the rescuers began tending to Meend's body. He began moving toward the front of the building when Roget put out a hand to stop him.

"Begging your pardon, sir. I mean, Luke." Roget bowed apologetically, then gestured toward the door behind where Meend lay. "But that door leads to a private corridor to the royal residence. It would be quicker to go that way, if it is still structurally sound."

Luke nodded his acquiescence. Roget reverently stepped behind the prime aide's body and keyed in the door code, then gestured for two of the soldiers to precede them into the dark corridor. Luke took one last look at Meend before following Roget.

"Do you feel that the Regent is in danger, Jedi Skywalker?" Roget asked as the quartet made their way along the secluded passageway.

"I'm not sure," Luke replied honestly. He had sought to get a reading on the Regent through the Force, but the ruler's particular signature eluded him. Was it because Luke didn't have a familiar enough connection with the Regent? Or was it due to his continuing need for more training? But who could train him? And who was he to be training another?

Roget seemed to accept Luke's uncertainty without judging him. He raised a comlink to his lips. "This is First Sentinel Abera-Roget. Has any word been received yet on His Excellency?"

"Not yet," came the reply. "We have teams searching room by room, but we have yet to locate His Excellency or his family."

"Very well. Jedi Skywalker and I are en route there now."

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

Han hurried through the wreckage-strewn streets as quickly as he could. He was making much better time, he reflected with only a hint of compunction, without Luke tagging along, wanting to stop every few meters to check on any and all beings they passed. There were plenty of rescue workers milling about now; let them handle the first aid duties. Han wasn't even supposed to be on this planet. He had someone very special to concentrate his efforts on – someone who wasn't supposed to be onplanet either.

Making his way down the alley that he and Leia had discovered was a shortcut to the Falcon, Han stopped at the long duracrete dormitory looming ahead of him. The building had been pounded heavily by the enemy assault, and Han's gut twisted in fear that Leia could have been caught in the fallout.

"Leia!" Han called loudly as he entered, cautiously stepping around the scattered rubble and broken glass. "Leia, are you in here?" His voice echoed eerily in the gloomy emptiness, but he dismissed the notion that Luke was wrong about where the women were. As unhinged as Luke could act at times, he was rarely wrong when it came to sensing things through the Force. And apparently he could communicate telepathically well enough with Jade to learn their exact location. Now, if the gals just had the decency to stay put inside, so Han could heroically rescue them, he'd be all set.

The gals ... His Leia ... and Mara Jade. Mara Jade Skywalker, he guessed it was now. He wasn't fool enough to assume that adding a new tag at the end of her name was going to change her cold-as-durasteel personality. What in the galaxy did Luke see in her, anyway? Sure, she was a looker, up until she blackened your eye for daring to look. Though Luke seemed to be all in one piece and relatively unblemished. Perhaps, Han thought, he should be wondering what Mara Jade saw in Luke. An ex-Imperial, ex-assassin had to go bonkers listening to all that Jedi drivel he constantly rambled on about.

Those two deserved each other.

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

Leia took two giant steps up the assemblage of boxes, crates, and cartons, then turned to offer Mara a hand up.

"I can manage on my own," Mara said, determinedly crawling up the first crate, dragging her swollen foot behind her.

Shaking her head at Mara's sheer obstinacy, Leia pulled herself up to the next level. The cartons they'd used on the upper levels were increasingly taller, making the climb more difficult. With one hand still immobilized, Leia was actually beginning to have a harder time than Mara.

"Wait." With a barely suppressed grunt, Mara drew up alongside Leia, no easy feat on the narrow step. "I think I should be the one to pull you up."

Leia started to protest, just on principle, then realized this wasn't a competition on who could be the more stubborn. "Perhaps you're right," she conceded, scooting over as close to the edge of the crate as she could and allowing Mara to continue upward.

Once she braced herself on the next higher box, Mara reached down and grasped Leia's hand securely. Leia suppressed a wince at Mara's strong grip. Despite her slim figure, Mara had as much strength as many men Leia had known. She certainly wasn't an epitome of femininity. And yet ...

"The dress!" Leia said, a glowlamp going off in her head. "The white dress – it was your wedding dress, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Mara stated flatly, displaying little interest in the matter.

"I apologize for insisting that I try it on," Leia said. "It never occurred to me that, well ..."

"It's all right. You had no way of knowing." A wry smile tugged at the corner of Mara's mouth. "Though Luke may need a few sessions of psychotherapy."

"I did manage to rattle that Jedi calm of his, didn't I?" Leia frowned slightly. "But it still seemed to me that Luke's reaction was a bit excessive."

"You're forgetting that you were once his dream girl," Mara said dryly. "Some of those dreams no doubt involved you in just such a gown."

Leia blanched. She'd nearly forgotten the starry-eyed crush Luke had once had on her. "Did he say that?"

Mara shook her head. "No, and I spared him the embarrassment of bringing it up."

"Thanks," Leia said. This was yet another piece of the puzzle to fall into place to explain Luke and Mara's strange behavior. Could there possibly be more secrets for her to discover?

Mara was just pulling Leia onto the edge of the floor of the room above them when Leia heard her name being called.

"It's Han," Leia said, a feeling of warmth and security flooding into her. "Han!" she called out, directing her voice to the open hole overhead. "Han! Luke! We're down here!"

"Luke's not with him," Mara noted quietly. Looking back down at the storage cellar, she carefully levitated her still-lit lightsaber into her outstretched hand.

Leia extended a tendril of the Force, and as far as she could tell, Mara was right. Only Han's familiar presence was close enough to detect. Even though Mara's tone of voice was very matter-of-fact, Leia thought she caught a pang of disappointment and concern wafting from her. Leia was considering whether or not she should return a comment when Han's face appeared, peering down at them.

"Leia!" Han's eyes widened as he took in her immobilized arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Leia assured him, blinking in the harsh light of Han's glow rod.

"I'll go get a rope or ladder," he called, starting to back away.

"No, wait," Mara spoke up. She pointed toward one of the side walls. "It looks like there's a door over there. Let us check if it leads to a stairway."

Han met the women as they were halfway up a nearby stairwell, which Mara had pronounced as being stable enough to hold their weight.

"What happened?" he asked, putting one arm protectively around Leia's slim shoulders as they retreated to the dining hall. He glanced at the ragged hole in the center of the floor. "Tell me you didn't fall all the way to the bottom." He glared warily at Mara with a look that suggested whatever had occurred, she had to have been the cause.

"We weren't injured badly at all, thanks to Mara," Leia said, deliberately countering Han's distrust. "It just took us awhile to construct a way out."

"Humph." Han navigated Leia through a fallen archway. "What in blazes were you doing in here, anyway? I expected you to be at the Falcon by now."

"We were checking for injured residents," Leia said. She didn't allow any hint that her answer was in any way an apology.

"Yeah," Han drawled with a scowl. "Luke had us detouring all over the place lookin' for casualties, too."

Leia knew that Han would have done the same if he'd been alone. Blaming his heroics on Luke was just a convenient excuse. "Speaking of Luke ..." Leia raised an eyebrow questioningly. She fleetingly wondered why Mara had not inquired about her ... husband. Did Mara already know, through the Force, why he had not accompanied Han? Had she been 'talking' to him just now? Or did her pride prevent her from coming out and asking Han where Luke was?

"Aw, he went off to explore some building 'cause he felt he needed to," Han said gruffly, before glaring once more at Mara. "Hopefully he has enough sense not to fall through the floor."

Leia reached up and turned Han's face toward her. "That was my fault, not Mara's." She flicked a quick glance over her shoulder toward the other woman, then speared Han with an authoritative stare. "I think you owe Mara an apology."

"I didn't accuse her of anything," Han was quick to reply.

"You were thinking it," Leia returned. "You should be nicer to her. She's ... she's ..." Leia wondered if Luke had informed Han of his and Mara's new status. Han's next words removed any doubt.

"Yeah, I know." Though he was still directing his words at Leia, Han leveled a steady gaze at Mara. "She's part of the family now."

"More a part of the family than you are, Solo," Mara retorted evenly. She looked instantly contrite as she shot an apologetic glance toward Leia. Leia did her best to convey the sensation that she wasn't angry over Mara's less-than-polite slip.

"Ah, blast it. Let's just get out of here," Han said with a growl. As they began making their way to the outside doorway, he seemed to finally notice that Mara was noticeably limping. "What's wrong with your leg?"

"Don't worry, I can keep up," Mara returned, ignoring the actual question.

"Believe me, I wasn't worried," Han said, tightening his arm around Leia and guiding her forward.

"Han!" Leia scolded, pulling up short.

Han mumbled a few choice words which Leia was glad she couldn't understand, then pulled out his comlink. "Lando? You there?"

After just a moment, Lando's deep voice came online. "The question, ol' buddy, is where are you?"

"Listen, I need you to bring the Falcon to ..."

Leia tuned out Han's voice as he gave Lando directions. Han and Mara were acting like spoiled children, she thought to herself.

She and Luke sure knew how to pick 'em.

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

The secluded passageway opened into the Regent's private study – a stately room now marred by overturned furniture and broken treasures. As Luke and the other men filed into the sanctuary, he noticed that the door sliding shut behind them blended invisibly into the elegant Fijsi wood paneling.

The two rescue workers hesitated by the study's main doorway, looking between Luke and Roget for direction.

"Are the family's living quarters nearby?" Luke asked. Even as he spoke, he let his eyes flutter half-shut, reaching out with the Force and straining for signs of life.

"Yes, Jedi Skywalker," Roget replied, watching Luke carefully. "This entire wing is used only by the royal family."

Luke walked slowly to the doorway, seeing the next room, and yet not seeing it. Fear was the first sensation to reach him, fear radiating from the Regent's daughters – Jahnna and Coena. Luke congratulated himself on being able to recognize their youthful life signatures after meeting them but once. He just as quickly chastised himself – pride was a trait to be eschewed by a Jedi.

"This way," Luke murmured, taking off at a hurried pace and not looking behind him to make sure the others were following. As he nimbly stepped over debris and ducked under swaying ornamentation, Luke easily detected the Regent and his wife. Both radiated determination and concern – whether for their daughters or for their planet, Luke could not determine. Most likely for both.

"Jedi Sky—" Roget began.

Luke held up a hand for silence. He could discern that they were coming close to the family, but he could also make out the presence of a half dozen or so other beings, all projecting a nervous hostility. Luke took note that Roget carried a sidearm; the other two men, essentially recruited from the palace staff for the purpose of search and rescue, did not.

"Werl and Chice," Luke said, remembering their names, "I'd like you to stay here. Don't let anyone follow us, if more workers find their way in here." Luke turned to his other companion. "Roget, contact the palace guard corps and tell them that the Regent and his family are possibly being held against their will." He felt Roget stiffen at his words and unholster his blaster. "Have them surround the building as quietly as they can, and be sure they are alert for more intruders. Above all, instruct them not to start blasting at any movement they see. Have them use their stun settings, even for Argazdans."

If Roget was surprised at Luke's authoritative tone, he didn't show it. "Yes, sir," he answered smoothly, already clicking on his comlink.

As Roget quickly and quietly relayed instructions to his fellow guardsmen, Luke continued to assess their adversaries. Definitely six, he determined. He glanced at Roget's shining glow lamp and made a swift decision. "Do you know your way around these rooms well enough to navigate in the dark?"

"Yes, sir," Roget affirmed, killing his light without question. He signaled for one of the rescue workers to switch off his light, also. The other aimed his beam down and away from the direction that Roget and Luke would be taking.

Even though Luke had never been inside the family quarters before, he took point as he and Roget moved stealthily through the shadowy rooms. Search beams outside in the palace compound sent occasional flashes of illumination through the windows of many of the rooms they entered. Most of the time, though, Luke found his way by using the Force. He was impressed by Roget's ability to follow, only needing to whisper a warning whenever an unforeseen obstacle blocked their path.

Briefly Luke wished that it were Mara at his side, but shook off the thought. Wishful thinking served no purpose other than distraction, and Luke didn't need to be distracted right now. He had been checking on Mara frequently enough that he knew she was safe.

Gripping his lightsaber hilt tightly, Luke felt the impending confrontation filling his senses. Soon voices could be heard – angry, harsh voices – along with frightened whimpering. Luke paused, the silent sentinel stopping right behind him. Rushing in without a plan might do more harm than good. Leaning in close to Roget, Luke whispered an outline of his intention.

Han tried to hurry Leia along the alleyway, but Leia purposely slowed her pace so Mara could keep up. As it was, Mara was doing pretty well, her stony expression doing nothing to betray any pain from her swelling ankle.

As the trio ducked through an archway in the rock wall surrounding the palace compound, they immediately saw the familiar shape of the Millenium Falcon, just setting down with its repulsers. Leia could spot Chewie's shaggy arm pointing at them through the cockpit's viewport, and moments later, Lando was hurrying down the lowering ramp.

"Han, Leia!" Lando called. "It's a good thing the fighting's moved north of us. I don't know if anyone would have heeded our 'friendly' broadcast." His eyes widened as he caught sight of Leia's sling. "What in blazes happened to all of you?"

"A slight delay," Han said, a sarcastic tone coloring his voice. "They couldn't stay out of trouble," he added, glancing back at Mara, who was limping forward to join the others.

"Mara!" Lando practically tripped over his own feet in his rush to reach the redhead's side. "Let me help you."

"Oh, this should be good," Han whispered to Leia, and privately, Leia agreed. Mara had always shunned all of Lando's overtures, and now ...

"If you so much as lay a hand on me, Calrissian, I swear ..." Mara said with a growl, her emerald eyes blazing in warning as she stood favoring her injured ankle.

"But, my dear," Lando soothed, undaunted, "I merely want to help you into the ship. It would be ungentlemanly of me not to assist a lady in need."

For one horrifying moment, Leia thought Lando was actually going to attempt to pick up Mara.

"I am not in need of your assistance," Mara grated out, taking a deliberate step back.

"Let's all get into the ship," Leia interjected. Everyone except Mara started heading toward the ship's ramp.

"I should go help Luke," Mara said, hesitating. "He may need me."

"Mara, you need to have your ankle looked at first," Leia said. "You won't be much help to him hobbling along like you have been."

Mara bit her lower lip and let her eyes flutter shut briefly. Leia decided Mara must be contacting Luke, and she tamped down the pang of jealousy that she wasn't able to converse with her own twin that easily. Whatever Luke answered, he must have assuaged Mara's anxiety, and indirectly Leia's, as Mara relaxed and started for the ship without saying a word.

Leia was barely through the hatch when a metallic clanking echoed down the corridor.

"Mistress Leia! Mistress Leia!" See-Threepio waved his arms in agitation. "How good to see you fully func—" The mechanized voice stopped as the droid finally focused on Leia's injury. "Oh, my! You're not fully functional."

"Not quite, Threepio," Leia answered, grateful when Han took hold of her elbow and pushed them past the prissy droid. She paused, however, and glanced back when Threepio then turned his attention on the next person entering the ship.

"Mistress Mara!" Threepio hesitated, as if considering his words. "Or am I to now address you as Mistress Arica? I have not been informed which is your true name."

Mara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So, you're the squealer," she said in a deadly voice. Her hand hovered just above the lightsaber hanging from her belt.

If it were possible, Leia thought Threepio's optical sensors widened marginally as he stepped back as quickly as his servomotors allowed.

"Oh, dear!" Threepio wailed. "Please don't dismantle me."

Leia hurried back to intercede before she found herself without a protocol droid. "Lando and I finally remembered you at Jabba's ourselves," she said, lightly touching Mara's arm. "Threepio merely confirmed it."

Mara dropped her arm away from Leia's contact. Giving one last hard look at the nervous droid, she stalked on into the ship.

"Threepio, why don't you stay in the cockpit with Chewie?" Leia suggested soothingly. "Help him monitor the battle." And don't do anything to antagonize Chewie next, she thought to herself.

"Of course, Mistress Leia," Threepio said in obvious relief. As he shuffled off, Leia wondered – not for the first time – how a mechanical voice box that logically should always be the same tone could convey such a variety of emotions.

Mara had started to reach for the medpac in Lando's grasp, but he pulled his arm back with a devilish grin.

"Tsk, tsk, m'dear." Lando swept his free hand out to indicate a cushioned seat just behind Mara. "It's been said I have a magic touch when it comes to rendering first aid."

With a noticeable grunt, Mara sank heavily onto the chair and extended her injured foot. Lando delicately removed Mara's boot, then made the mistake of running one hand up her calf as he examined her ankle. He glanced up to find a wicked-looking blaster pointing at his face, and beyond that were a pair of eyes narrowed to hard green slits.

"You think she even lets Luke touch her?" Han asked Leia quietly as they watched the scene unfolding from the acceleration couch across the room.

"They were certainly touching when we barged into her room this evening," Leia pointed out. Somehow, that incident seemed like it was days ago instead of mere hours.

"Yeah, but wasn't she threatening him about it, too?" Han replied, tenderly holding Leia's wrist. "I knew Luke couldn't keep that reckless streak suppressed forever."

Leia relaxed when Lando mumbled an apology and got down to the business of wrapping a compression splint around Mara's ankle.

"I can't believe those two are compatible enough to make a life-long commitment," Han continued in a whisper.

"They say opposites attract," Leia said with a knowing wink.

"Is that so?" Han favored Leia with the roguish grin that she loved so much. "Have any personal experience with that adage?"

Leia ran a finger down Han's arm. "I have proof positive." She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. Han pulled her close, being careful of her now-splinted wrist. Their kiss deepened, and the galaxy spun lazily and unconcerned around them until the deep sound of a throat clearing sounded nearby.

"Mara left," Lando said, his dark features looking both miserable and confused. "I tried to talk her out of it—"

"She let you talk?" Han interrupted with feigned amazement.

Lando scowled at Han's jibe, then continued. "She kept insisting she had to be with Luke." He shook his head. "I don't get it. I thought there was nothing between Mara and Luke. I know Jedi have this insatiable need to help people – I even offered to accompany her – but it was almost as if she were having withdrawal pains, being separated from him."

"What can I say, ol' buddy?" Han glanced slyly at Leia, then turned back to Lando with a shrug. "Women – you can always count on them to be consistently unpredictable."

Leia gave Han a predictable poke in the ribs, then looked up when Chewbacca appeared in the doorway, waving his shaggy arms.

[Are we just going to sit here?] the Wookiee asked. [There's a war going on all around us, if you haven't noticed.]

"Yeah, fire her up, pal," Han said. "Let's see what we can shoot down."

"No, wait, Han," Leia spoke up. "I'm not sure we should get involved, at least in the battle."

Leia's words were met with disbelief from the three males in the room.

"Listen," she continued. "We're here in a diplomatic capacity. We shouldn't just jump in and start blasting ships. We don't even know all the details behind this conflict."

"I thought we were here to save Luke from Jade," Han countered.

"Well, it turned out that he didn't need saving, for once." Leia stood and one-handedly began stuffing bacta bandages into a pouch. "We will gather as many first-aid supplies as we can carry, and do some assisting of our own." She raised an eyebrow at her companions, clearing indicating that the matter was not open to debate. Han and Lando glanced at each other in defeat, and quickly moved to help.

"You, too," Leia said in reply to Chewie's soft wuffing. "We won't have Luke or Mara along to lift heavy objects with their minds."

"Sweetheart," Han said, "something tells me it won't be long before you'll be the one lifting really big rocks."

"Nah," Lando countered with a wink. "She'll just order the rocks to rise up, and they won't even think about disobeying."

Lando ducked.

Han cringed.

And Leia – even one-handed – demonstrated that she didn't need the Force to make objects fly.

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

Luke edged closer to the family lounge, located in the very heart of the royal manor house. He could make out snatches of conversation now, confirming his suspicion that the Regent and his family were being held hostage by Argazdan commandos. Luke had left Roget stationed in a hallway on the other side of the Regent's location. After receiving a summary of the layout of the rooms from the sentinel, Luke had circled around into position.

It wasn't easy to communicate through the Force with a non-Force-sensitive being, but it could be done. After all, Luke only needed to send a single sensation to alert Roget when it was time to move.

And the time was ...

*Now!* Luke pushed the thought into Roget's mind, and was gratified to feel the guard's knee-jerk reaction. Luke sensed Roget swiftly move forward, calm and deliberate. And just as quickly, Luke ignited his lightsaber and bolted into the lounge, ready for anything.

Three intruders that were standing in the shadowy back of the room swung around, blasters blazing. Luke easily deflected their fire toward the ceiling while warily watching the other three antagonists, who were keeping their weapons trained on the royal family. As everyone's attention was riveted on Luke's actions, Roget stepped through the opposite doorway and swept his blaster across Luke's opponents, stunning all three. He quickly ducked back behind the door as the other assailants sent a spray of blaster fire his way.

One of the Argazdans began shouting orders to his two remaining companions. His words were being drowned out, however, by the squeals of joy from the Regent's daughters.

"Quiet!" the leader yelled at the girls, his dark angry expression mocked by the shining light of the room's two glow rods. He frantically tried to regain control of the deteriorating situation. His two subordinates were clearly torn between keeping watch over their prisoners and facing the fair-skinned young man who stood silently holding a blazing sword of light.

"Put down your weapons," Luke said evenly. "No one need be hurt." Especially with those young girls in the room.

The leader, a tall broad-shouldered man dressed in battle fatigues, flicked a glance at the three commandos lying unconscious at the rear of the room. "You're still outnumbered three to one," he said with a growl, waving his blast rifle threateningly.

"Three to two." Roget stepped back into the room, his brown eyes flashing defiantly. "Of course, a Jedi Knight more than evens the odds."

Luke stood his ground. "What purpose does it serve you to hold this family hostage?" he asked quietly, though he already suspected the answer.

"He wants me to surrender Lorrd," the Regent said, "and is using my family as leverage." The ruler glared at his family's oppressor. "Whatever the outcome in this room, know that Lorrd shall be victorious, for we have a Jedi to lead us."

Luke cringed inwardly, knowing he was going to have to deal with the Lorrdians' underhanded plans for him.

Regent Ke'lor moved forward, gently shrugging off his wife's clinging hold. "I demand you surrender immediately," he ordered.

"Or what?" The Argazdan leader sneered at the Regent, then narrowed his eyes in Luke's direction. "You think this boy's gonna save you?" he spat. "He might be fast with that light sword, but he can't move faster than I can squeeze this trigger." The leader reached out and yanked Jahnna by her ebony hair, holding the barrel of his blaster rifle to her head.

"No!" Madam Ke'lor screamed, horror marring her elegant features. "Please don't hurt her!" She reached out with both hands, clawing at air, pleading for mercy from a man who knew none.

"You coward," the Regent intoned. "Let my wife and daughters go. It's me you want."

The leader only laughed – a deep, mocking, guttural laugh.

Luke looked into the frightened eyes of Jahnna and sent a tide of calm her way. She blinked, then seemed to steel herself with resolve. Feeling momentarily relieved that the girl wouldn't jerk away and cause her assailant to fire, Luke subtly took in every aspect of the situation. He carefully watched the leader's trigger finger for the slightest hint of movement and monitored his emotions for any foresight of his intent. The two subordinates continued to point their weapons at Luke and Roget. It was a stand-off, with Jahnna's life caught in the middle. Think, Luke! He had to trust in the Force to guide him. If he could somehow draw the fire of the two Argazdans closest to him, then maybe—

Suddenly a loud noise echoed through the room, and voices could be heard from somewhere inside the building. It wasn't the distraction Luke had been planning, but it would do. He waved his lightsaber though the air, and immediately both his adversaries began firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Luke deflected one of the bolts into the arm of the leader, causing him to loose his hold on Jahnna and drop his weapon.

Luke then sliced off the barrel of the rifle being held by the Argazdan closet to him. At the same instant, Roget stunned the other man. Taking a deep breath, Luke looked over to see the Regent scoop up the leader's rifle while Madame Ke'lor pulled her daughter into her arms. Luke extinguished his humming blade and let a sigh of relief escape. It was over.

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

Mara hurried across the palace compound as fast as her still-tender ankle would allow. Han had told her that Luke was heading into the royal office complex when the two men parted. But as Mara neared the office annex, she could feel that he was no longer inside. Ignoring the rescue efforts going on all around her, Mara stood perfectly still and reached out with the Force. Luke was near enough that she had no trouble picking out his warm and gentle presence, yet far enough away that, as was the case every day since she'd met him, she felt incomplete without him by her side.

She was getting soft – all because she fell in love with a brave, naïve, idealistic farmboy-turned-Jedi. And it was worth it. The Emperor had been her whole world until a few short months ago, and then she was thrown into a tiny cell on what she considered a routine assignment, and that world turned upside down. Mara didn't regret for one moment her decision to defy everything she'd been taught, everything that had been implanted in her mind as the truth. For now she knew the real truth about the Empire. There was no longer any conflict in her beliefs.

But the vanquishers of the Empire had yet to discover the truth about her. Only Luke and his little band of friends knew of her past deeds. Mara knew that Luke would defend her to the death, but he also was a stickler for revealing the truth. She had been mildly surprised when he supported her cover-up of being a mere court dancer. Perhaps love did make people do strange things, Mara thought as she zeroed in on Luke's presence in the imposing building ahead.

"Mistress Mara!"

Mara turned at the sound of her name, groaning as Second Aide Vazan-Jayce waved his hand to catch her attention. Breathless, he ran up beside her.

"Mistress Mara, I am so glad you are safe." Jayce raked his gaze up and down her, and Mara shuddered in exasperation. "But you are injured!" he cried, seeing the splint wrapped around her ankle.

"It's nothing," Mara said brusquely, resuming her trek toward Luke. Stang, of all the people to run into. First it was Calrissian fawning over her, and now this fop.

Jayce surveyed the surrounding area as he quickened his steps to keep up with her. "Is Jedi Skywalker already with the air patrol?" he asked.

"Why would he be?" Mara asked, eyes narrowed. She and Luke had figured out the Lorrdians' scheme, but she wanted to hear Jayce's explanation.

"Uh ... well ..." Jayce stammered. "I just assumed he would be called upon to lead the battle."

"I see." Mara stopped in front of a large ornate building. Palace guards and rescue personnel swarmed around the heavily-bombarded structure. Mara could feel Luke inside. His normally calm presence felt tense, almost as if he were unsure of himself. He needed her! She knew it even without communicating with him. Kicking aside a chunk of duracrete, Mara started to mount the wide steps when a line of uniformed guards barred her way. "What the—"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," one of the guards intoned. "No one is allowed inside."

Jayce tugged on Mara's arm. "Perhaps I can escort you to your ship," he ventured in a hesitating voice.

Mara ignored the aide's attempt to steer her toward participating in the battle. "What is this building?" she asked, glaring back at him from halfway up the steps.

"This is the home of His Excellency," Jayce replied, taking a step back as Mara loomed over him.

"I must get inside," Mara said emphatically. "Do you know another way in?"

Jayce's eyes widened with anxiety. "I ... I don't think ..."

The rest of Jayce's stuttered reply faded as Mara felt a rush of adrenaline coming from Luke. Something was happening ... A confrontation ... Mara's attention was suddenly caught by a flurry of movement among the ever-vigilant guards. One of them was listening to a comlink, then half the contingent rushed through the wide front doors. Mara followed without hesitation, even though Luke's relief was palpable through the Force link. Two of the rear guards started to protest, then quickly gave her a wide berth as she ignited her lightsaber. No one was going to stop her from reclaiming her spot at her husband's side.

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

It hadn't taken long for the back-up which Roget had called to sweep into the room, herding – and dragging – the would-be kidnappers to their place of confinement. Madame Ke'lor and her daughters, after assuring the Regent that they would be fine, delivered themselves into the care of several royal servants. Regent Ke'lor stared at Luke a moment, then gave a nod of dismissal to Roget and the remaining sentinels.

"Jedi Skywalker, I am in your debt," the ruler said sincerely once they were alone.

Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, Luke bowed briefly in acknowledgement and appreciation. "I am glad to be of service, Excellency." His head turned toward the open doorway as Mara noiselessly slipped into the room. Luke had felt her approach, of course, and sent her a comforting reassurance that everything was under control. Mara returned a mischievous sensation of feigned incredulity that he was able to handle anything on his own, but she graciously played the part of subservient apprentice and glided into a watchful stance by the wall.

"I was afraid Meend would stumble into this mess," Regent Ke'lor continued. "He was supposed to follow me here."

"I'm sorry, Excellency," Luke said quietly. "Meend didn't survive."

"I ... see," Ke'lor replied slowly, grief showing in his downcast expression.

There was a momentary silence as the room's occupants regarded each other, broken when Luke steeled himself and dared to speak his mind to the sovereign. "You lured me to Lorrd to lead your battle against the Argazdans."

The Regent smoothed his neatly-trimmed beard with one hand. "I suspected you were bright enough to figure that out on your own," he said with a seemingly forced smile. "Your insight is to be commended. It is true, we need your skills in this war. Just as your New Republic needs our norumite crystals."

The underlying meaning of the Regent's last statement was not lost on Luke. "You would blackmail a Jedi?"

"I would do what I must for the good of my people," Regent Ke'lor replied. "You are a Jedi Knight – it is your duty to protect the oppressed."

"I am sworn to defend the oppressed," Luke said evenly, "but I cannot fight your war for you. The Jedi are not mercenaries."

"Lorrd was liberated from the Argazdans in the past only through the intervention of the Jedi. Would you stand by and let the Lorrdian people be enslaved once more?" the Regent pressed on. "Would your conscience allow it, Jedi Skywalker?"

"There are alternatives to fighting," Luke said, remembering those very words spoken by his first mentor.

"Yet your New Republic only recently ended a decades-old war against the Empire," the Regent pointed out. "A war in which you were an active participant."

"Under the tyranny of the Emperor, all attempts for a peaceful resolution were crushed." Luke squared his shoulders and unwaveringly met the Regent's gaze. "That doesn't have to be the case here. Call for a truce, Excellency. Propose to the Argazdans that you reconcile your differences over the negotiating table instead of the battlefield."

"And if these negotiations fail? Would your New Republic then rush a fleet here to defend us from our enemies? Will they pour funds into our coffers to cover our military expenditures?"

"You know I can't promise that," Luke said, careful to keep his expression shuttered, even though it was taking more willpower than it should to maintain a semblance of patience. He had learned from Lando that the Lorrdians had inflicted a similar strafing run on a large Argazdan settlement a month earlier. Intermittent skirmishes had been going on for centuries – aftershocks of a feud that had started thousands of years ago, when the Argazdans had subjugated the Lorrdians into slavery. Both sides had contributed equally to the latest round of engagements, finally culminating in the current all-out war. "Do you really want to continue all this bloodshed?" Luke continued. "Do you believe Argazda wants to? If there is any chance for peace, isn't it worth the effort to pursue that chance?"

The Regent pursed his lips and let his eyelids fall shut briefly in thought. "Who would mediate these negotiations?" he finally said. "You?"

"I would be willing to assist in any way possible. But ..." Luke hesitated, considering, then plunged ahead. "There is a representative of the New Republic on-planet at this very moment who is much more skilled and experienced in the art of arbitration."

The Regent's gaze flickered briefly to Mara, his expression clearly one of confusion.

Luke shot Mara a silent apology at the Regent's obvious disbelief. Mara no doubt would be more skilled in the negotiating arena than he would. Heck, Han and Lando would probably be better at it.

"I am speaking of Leia Organa," Luke said.

"Princess Leia is here on Lorrd?" Regent Ke'lor questioned. "I am certain the trade arrangement stipulated that no one but you and your padawan were to come."

"Leia is here due to a personal matter," Luke returned. "I was not aware of her arrival myself until yesterday."

"I see. And you believe she would agree to oversee peace negotiations between my planet and Argazda?"

"I cannot speak for her in certainty, of course," Luke said. "But I think she would be willing." He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "For a promise of certain mineral options."

Regent Ke'lor smiled slowly, stepping forward and holding out his hand for Luke to shake. "Very good, Sir Knight. Are you sure the Princess is the only capable negotiator on-planet?" he quipped.

===================================================================================

As soon as Regent Ke'lor left with a contingent of his sentinels and aides, Luke wanted to pull Mara into his arms and shower her with kisses. But the apprehensive look on her face as workers swarmed all around them put a crimp in his actions.

*Later,* Mara sent, along with a mental promise of things to come.

Luke let out a frustrated sigh, and he and Mara began making their way out of the besieged building. He frowned as he quickly saw that Mara was limping slightly.

"Can't let you out of my sight, can I?" he said, shaking his head.

"Why would you want to?" Mara responded with a smile. "Though obviously you didn't need my help here. I was all ready to knock some heads, but you went and saved the day without me."

"Sorry." Luke grinned sheepishly. "I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities in the future for you to knock lots of heads." He focused once more on Mara's ankle and slowed his pace. "Do you want me to see if I can reduce the swelling?"

"You mean, kiss it and make it better?" Mara laughed teasingly, a sparkle in her emerald eyes. "Let's wait until we get back to the ship. A healing trance takes awhile, and I don't feel like plunking down right here for several hours." She glanced around at the rescue efforts winding down in the open courtyard.

"You mean, back to the Falcon?"

"Of course. You don't think I'm anxious to get to that B-wing, do you?"

"I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that you were anxious to get to the Falcon." Luke grinned, fondly picturing the beat-up freighter. "Han still drills me with a reproachful stare when anyone refers to her as a piece of junk. It's like he's accusing me of planting that description in other people's minds."

"Believe me, people don't need your help in accurately characterizing that rust bucket."

Still mindful of Mara's injury, Luke looked out over the plaza, trying to judge how far they would have to walk. "But isn't it berthed several kilometers from here? Have you already been to it?"

"It's not, and I have," Mara replied succinctly, shivering slightly as a slight evening breeze wafted over her bare arms. "Follow me, flyboy."

"You're cold!" Luke quickly removed his outer tunic and helped Mara put it on, gallantly even rolling up the sleeves for her.

"Thanks. I guess I was too busy worrying about you to notice earlier."

"You were worried about me?" Luke said, his heart gladdening at the sentiment. "I was worried about you, too," he added tentatively, wondering if Mara would be offended by his concern.

Luke squeezed her hand. He was back with Mara, it looked like they wouldn't have to participate in this war, and he was happy. Any further attempts at conversation were cut short as the two Jedi were called upon to give aid to the few remaining injured beings along their route. It was nearly an hour later when they wearily reached the deserted Millennium Falcon.

"Hmm ... Nobody's home," Luke muttered, reaching out with the Force. "Wonder where everyone is?"

"I half expected the ship to be gone."

Luke felt Mara scan the surrounding area, as he had, but neither of them found any familiar sense. "Think they might've joined the fray?" he asked.

"You know how Solo is," Mara said with a smirk. "Shoot first, ask questions later."

"Now, Mara. That's not fair. Han's not nearly as trigger happy as when I first met him."

"If you say so." Mara shrugged, glancing at the closed hatch and then at Luke. "Well, we may as well make ourselves at home."

"Right." Luke punched in the code to lower the ramp. They were no sooner inside the hatchway when Luke acted on his earlier desire, bending his head to lay a much-anticipated claim on his wife's lips. Now this is more like it! Mara fervently returned Luke's overtures with a matched enthusiasm, winding her fingers through his tousled locks and holding him tightly against her. They shared a feeling of delight and gratitude that the ship was void of its usual occupants. In fact, they could probably even—

"Mistress Le— Oh ... Oh, my!" Threepio's shuffling came to an abrupt halt as soon as he saw who had boarded. "Excuse me." His head swiveled to Luke. "Master Luke, thank the Maker you're safe."

"Uh, yeah," Luke mumbled, his eyes riveted on Mara as she silently pulled out of his arms and brushed past the golden droid without a backward glance.

His photoreceptors also following Mara's retreat, Threepio began moving warily in the opposite direction. "I shall return to the cockpit," he announced formally before disappearing from sight.

Bracing his hands on the cool inner wall, Luke slowly rapped his head against the curved bulkhead. This had to be one of the most frustrating honeymoons on record.

Shaking off his disappointment, Luke followed Mara down the ring corridor to the forward hold. He scrunched up his face in confusion as vague mechanical mutterings drifted in from the cockpit. "What's up with Threepio? He usually talks my ear off. I didn't even get a chance to ask him where the others are."

Mara chewed on her lower lip a bit before answering. "I think maybe someone frightened him earlier this evening."

"Frightened him? Mara!"

"It was a misunderstanding," Mara muttered. Pulling off her boots, she sat down heavily on the acceleration couch, stretching out her injured leg and closing her eyes. "This would be a good time for that healing trance."

Luke shook his head, settling himself at the other end of the padded bench, ignoring the cracks in the worn covering from which stuffing occasionally escaped in scrappy clumps. Propping Mara's foot in his lap and removing her splint, he began sending healing vibes to her ankle, but refrained from actually putting her in a trance.

"I told Han," Luke said without preamble.

"About us?"

Luke raised one eyebrow and gave her his best 'What do you think?' look.

"Hmmm. What was his reaction?"

Luke was silent a moment. Han's reaction hadn't quite been what he'd hoped. "Mixed," he finally said.

Mara reached over and clasped Luke's hand, sending comfort to him in her own unique way.

"And I thought Leia would be the hard sell." He let out a resigned sigh, giving Mara's hand a quick squeeze. "Well, guess I better get it over with as soon as she gets here." He felt Mara's emotional sense shift. "What?"

"You don't have to worry about telling Leia," Mara confessed.

"You told her?" Luke found it hard to hide his surprise.

"I wouldn't have had to if you'd told her outright," Mara pointed out, poking him with her toe. "The subject came up, and I wasn't going to lie to her."

Luke privately wondered how the subject had just happened to come up, but he didn't ask. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Leia and I had quite an interesting conversation about you."

This time Luke knew he didn't want any details. "So you're ... getting along with Leia all right? How did she take the news?"

"Better than Han apparently did." Mara shifted her weight on the creaking couch. "She was bewildered and a bit upset that you would get married without her being invited." She gave Luke an admonishing look. "I warned you this could happen."

"Yes, you did." Luke sighed, slumping back in his seat as he continued to hold Mara's foot in his hands. "I'll have to smooth things over with her somehow." He looked at Mara hopefully. "Since you're on such good terms with my sister, I don't suppose you'd want to tell Leia that I volunteered her to mediate the peace negotiations?" Luke gave her the most innocent smile he could muster.

Mara's laughter fell gently on his senses. "And I thought I married a brave man!" She wiggled her foot experimentally, and gave Luke a pleased smile. "Why didn't you do this when I twisted my ankle on Zembuhl?"

"I did. You were unconscious."

Mara frowned in obvious skepticism. "It still hurt after I woke up."

"Maybe I was hoping you'd lean on me," Luke teased, backing off when he received a mock glare in reply. "My healing abilities are sporadic, at best. It would've helped if you could have stayed off your feet at the time."

"But we needed to reach the village," Mara concluded for him. "And now ..."

"Now you can take the time for some rest."

Mara rubbed her heel lightly over Luke's upper thigh. "You did pretty well healing your own wound."

"It seems easier to work on myself than someone else. Though you're practically an extension of myself, now." Luke leaned forward for a kiss, ignoring the sound of the ship's hatch opening.

"Hey, you two," Han said as he and Leia entered the hold. "Get a room."

Luke and Mara pulled apart, and Luke gave his friend and sister a wry grin. "We've been trying. People keep barging in."

Leaning back once more, Mara shot Luke a subtle wink as Lando entered next. Sighing contentedly, she trailed one toe up the front of Luke's tunic as he stroked her leg with a tender familiarity.

"Hey!" Lando cried, his eyes widening in disbelief. "How come you're not pointing a blaster at his nose?"

"Because shooting one's husband is generally considered bad form in polite society," Mara replied with a smirk.

"Hus ... husband?" Lando gaped at the pair, then narrowed his eyes at Han and Leia. "Did you two know about this?"

"We found out earlier this evening," Leia said.

"Why didn't you warn me?"

"Because watching you make a fool of yourself is too much fun, ol' buddy." Han grinned, slapping Lando on the back.

"Don't worry, Lando," Leia put in. "She had the blaster on stun."

"An assassin keeps her blaster on 'stun?' You must really think I'm a fool."

The last to trail on board, Chewbacca set the satchel of medical supplies he was carrying in a corner of the hold.

"Did you know about this?" Lando questioned the Wookiee. "Am I the last to know anything?"

[Know what?] Chewie grunted.

Lando waved a hand toward Luke and Mara, now sitting upright and doing their best to maintain straight faces. "They're married!"

Chewie studied the pair with his discerning blue gaze, then roared his approval. Pushing through the crowd, he leaned over and grabbed Mara in a durasteel hug.

"Let go of me, you overgrown mop!" Mara screeched, struggling to escape and glaring at Luke when he began to laugh.

"You're now part of his honor family," Luke informed her. He looked up at his furry friend. "Better watch it, Chewie. It's not wise to upset an Imperial assassin."

"You actually sleep with her, kid?" Han said, shaking his head at Luke. "And you claim that Jedi don't crave danger."

"Pay no attention to him," Leia advised, moving forward to favor her brother with a much gentler, but no less enthusiastic, hug. "I am happy for you, Luke. However ..." She gave Luke a reproachful frown.

"I know, Leia." Luke smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wanted you to be there. And I should have told you as soon as you arrived on Lorrd."

Leia pursed her lips in reflection. "We didn't exactly give you a good opening for an announcement like that."

"But still ..." Luke looked down at Leia's splinted wrist. "Mara told me you'd hurt yourself, but I didn't realize ... I could practice my healing skills on you, if you'd like."

"I doubt it would be as much fun for you as you seemed to be having with Mara's ankle," Leia answered with a laugh. "I'll be fine, Luke. Doctor Solo took good care of me."

"You're not the only one who can dole out tender loving care, junior," Han put in. "Now I want to hear what kind of trouble you managed to get yourself into when you went off by yourself."

With a strained grimace, Luke related to the others how the Force had drawn him into the Regent's office. Mara rubbed his shoulders in sympathy as he described the death of Prime Aide Meend. Luke gave an abbreviated account of rescuing the royal family with the help of the sentinel Roget. He then insisted that Mara and Leia reveal to him their adventure in the bombarded dormitory.

"I think we need some fortification while listening to that tale," Han said, digging into his stash of Whyren's Reserve and setting glasses out on the nicked-up game table. As he poured the amber liquid into Luke's glass, Mara shot Luke a hard, questioning look.

"Don't you dare!" Luke whispered to her, knowing she was thinking of his alcoholic imbibing in Zembuhl, and fearing she would bring it up.

"Is there another story worth hearing?" Han asked, perceptive as always.

"No," Luke said quickly, a split second before Mara's "Yes."

Though Luke was expecting the worst, Mara was mercifully lenient as she described his unfortunate experience with the village's local brew.

"Sounds like he was sicker than the time we took him to a little cantina on Kaal," Han said. "Remember that, Chewie?"

[How could I forget?] Chewbacca chortled. [He spent the night in the refresher.]

Luke buried his face in his hands, doing his best to ignore the good-natured ribbing. "I thought we were going to hear about Mara and Leia," he said between his fingers.

"Ah, yes," Han said dramatically. "The tale of the two fallen women." He refilled his and Lando's glasses, the only ones emptied so far. He gave Leia a lop-sided grin. "Wouldn't mind hearing that one again."

Leia shook her head in exasperation, then launched into her version of the detour she and Mara had taken through the servants' quarters. Luke squeezed Mara's hand upon hearing about her raising the wardrobe with the Force.

"Very good, my padawan," he said. "I knew you could lift something that big if you needed to."

"I have an excellent teacher," Mara returned softly, love shining in her eyes.

Luke lowered his head until his forehead was brushing Mara's. "And I have an excellent, and beautiful, student," he murmured.

"Oh, sheesh," Han drawled. "Is the mush level starting to rise in here? Get on with the story, Leia, before these two melt into a saccharin puddle of romantic sap." He took a long swig of his whiskey, muttering under his breath "Newlyweds."

Luke didn't miss the slight frown that Leia sent Han's way. He still felt bad that his sister and friend hadn't been able to come to an agreement about marriage yet. Never in his wildest dreams had Luke thought he would be married before the two of them. Mara apparently heard his thoughts, as she snuggled closer under his outstretched arm and laid one hand lightly on his leg.

"... and then the floor gave way, and we fell through to the sub-basement," Leia was continuing. She raised her splinted arm. "Which is how we received these badges of courage." Leia smirked sideways at Mara. "Or should I say, badge of foolhardiness, at least on my part."

"Nonsense," Mara returned. "It was an accident, and you contributed quite well in our extrication."

"You're being generous," Leia said. "Anyway, we stacked up crates to use to climb out, and then Han came along, and we made our way back to the ship." She glanced around at the others. "I think you all know the rest from there."

"We were surprised to find the Falcon still here when Mara and I returned," Luke said, sipping his drink slowly. "We thought you might have joined the battle."

"And we thought you might be leading the battle," Lando said.

"Nope," Mara spoke up, raising her glass in salute to Luke. "In a dazzling display of grown-up Jedi finesse, Skywalker here convinced the Regent to call for a cease-fire."

"I'm impressed, little brother," Leia complimented.

"That's good, because I volunteered you to mediate the peace negotiations."

"What? Luke, the Lorrdians don't even know I'm here."

"They do now." Luke gave his sister a strained smile. "You're so much better at that sort of thing than I am. And I'm sure Mon Mothma would approve, since I wrangled a promise of norumite crystals out of the Regent if the negotiations are successful."

"In other words, you're dumping your assignment onto my shoulders." Leia crossed her arms and exhaled in resignation. "And I though Han was the devious one."

"I learned from the best." Luke's grin evolved into a long yawn. "Didn't realize I was so tired." He squeezed Mara's shoulders warmly. "You about ready to head back?"

"To our quarters?" Mara frowned. "You think either of our suites survived?"

"That's right, Luke," Leia said. "The whole ambassadorial wing could be structurally unsound."

"Stay here tonight," Han offered. "Your cabin is still empty." He glanced at Leia, as if wanting her confirmation that she wasn't planning on moving into the spare bunk. Leia nodded back with a concurring smile. "Then it's settled. You kiddies go enjoy some unsupervised playtime." He gave Luke a sly wink. "Unless you plan on sleeping out here in the lounge again."

"No!" Luke said quickly, blushing slightly as the others began chuckling at his expense. He stood up, pulling Mara up beside him. "Just remember, all of you, we'll be able to tell if anyone tries listening outside our door."

Mara brushed a soft kiss across Luke's lips, then got a teasing glint in her emerald gaze. "Last one there ..."

Luke caught her memory of the time they raced through his suite in the Emperor's palace. "...is a rotten Hbuuga egg," he finished, taking off first.

"No fair!" Mara called. "My ankle isn't that healed."

Luke's grin vanished as he suddenly stumbled over an invisible obstacle. "Hey! Illegal use of the Force," he complained when Mara raced past him.

"Then get down here and show me some legal uses," Mara's voice echoed from the end of the corridor.

Luke didn't need a second invitation.

The remaining occupants of the forward hold stared at each other, dumbstruck.

"Was that really Luke Skywalker?" Han asked, shaking his head in astonishment. He reached down to pick up Luke's tunic, which had fallen from Mara's shoulders in her mad dash, and placed it by her discarded boots.

"Never mind him," Lando said. "Was that Mara Jade?"

"No, it was Mara Skywalker," Leia said, smiling to herself. "Luke and Mara Skywalker. The galaxy may never be the same again."