Shattered Remembrance
Chapter
Nineteen
Mara
blinked rapidly as the figure moved inside, allowing the glaring light from the
corridor to fill the pod. Squinting, she
sat up quickly, just barely managing not to bump her head on the low ceiling.
"Luke?"
"Mara,
what are you doing in the escape pod?" Luke repeated, crouching down in
front of her.
"That's
what I'd like to know, too," a second voice echoed through the hatch. "I don't appreciate stowaways on my
ship."
Luke
glanced back and forth at the two women.
"Uh, Callista, do you know—"
"Mara
Jade," Callista said evenly, eyeing Mara with a cool gray gaze. "The Emperor's
Hand."
"Former
Hand," Mara corrected coldly. She
forced her brief flare of anger to burn down into resignation. She'd been caught, that's all there was to
it. "And don't you think it's
getting a little crowded in here?"
Callista
backed away without a word, allowing Luke and Mara to exit the pod. She stood ramrod straight, crossing her arms
expectantly.
Luke
cleared his throat and took the initiative.
"Mara, why were you hiding on Callista's ship?" He paused, his brow furrowed with uncertainty. "Did Leia send you?"
"No,
she did not," Mara ground out, then mentally kicked herself
for passing up what would've been a plausible excuse. No matter.
She would take responsibility for her own actions.
"So
you were spying on me of your own accord."
Luke's blue eyes darkened as he stared at her, and Mara could hear the
resentment building in his voice.
"I thought you, of all people, believed in my ability to take care
of myself."
"I
do, Luke." Mara knew she had to
tread carefully. "It's just ... you
haven't been off-planet since your accident, and I was concerned for your
safety."
Callista's
eyes narrowed in obvious indignation. "Why wouldn't he be safe? Luke's well-being is my primary
consideration."
Mine, too, you claim-jumper.
"That's good to hear.
Anytime someone sweeps in out of the blue and spirits away a friend of
mine, I get suspicious."
"Anytime
someone sneaks aboard my ship, I get suspicious."
Luke
had been hanging back along the bulkhead, glancing back and forth at the two
women. Now he stepped forward, palms up
in supplication. "I'm fine, Mara. Really. And Callista, I'm sure Mara's reasons are
just as she says. We did leave rather
abruptly."
"All
right, Luke." Callista's posture
softened ever so slightly. "If you
vouch for her, that's good enough for me."
Shaking her head, Mara looked Luke square in
the eye, ignoring the ship's owner.
"How did you know I was in the escape pod?"
"I
... I'm not sure," Luke faltered.
"I was thinking about you, and then I just knew. It was like I could sense you."
Except
that Mara knew she'd been hiding her presence, even as she slept. It was as if their Force bond, which she
feared had been lost, was fighting to resurrect itself.
"Many
times Jedi can sense each other," Mara returned, falling back into the
role of teacher.
"I
was not aware that you are a Jedi Knight," Callista said, both her tone
and face expressionless.
"Of
course she is," Luke interjected before Mara could answer.
"If you say so, Luke."
A simpering smile appeared on Callista's face, and it was all Mara could
do not to groan in disgust.
"Regardless of why you felt the need to intrude onto our journey,
Mara Jade, you're here now, and we shall make the best of it. I have finished preparing evening meal, so
you are welcome to join us."
Mara
couldn't deny that she was hungry, and she really didn't want to let Luke out
of her sight, anyway. "Thank you, that would be appreciated."
***
Dinner
that evening was the most strained meal Mara could ever remember having. Callista didn't exactly fawn over Luke, but
she was ridiculously attentive to his every need – refilling his glass after
each sip, shoveling second helpings onto his plate, offering a dozen different
seasoning shakers to him before he could ask for any of them. Luke was clearly uncomfortable, keeping his
gaze fixed on his meal while mumbling 'thank you' every few minutes.
When
Callista did take time to nibble at her own plateful of food, it was a
methodical tasting of each dish in turn.
Mara swore the woman chewed exactly the same number of times with each
forkful. She could remember etiquette
teachers in the palace drilling rules like that into her head. Did the woman have to be so kriffin' perfect?
As to
her own dining, Mara was famished enough to devour everything set before her,
and distracted enough to not remember anything she ate. She spent a good portion of the meal trying
to get a read on Luke's thoughts, but she'd taught him too well when it came to
mental shields. His mind was locked up
tighter than a Hutt's treasure vault. He glanced her
direction a few times, only to avert his eyes when she met his gaze.
Finally
laying down her fork and leaning forward, Mara asked the question that had been
hammering at her since the previous night: "Do I get to know where we're
heading, or is it some galactic secret?"
"Not
a secret," Callista answered slowly, and it seemed to Mara,
reluctantly. "But I was hoping to
keep it a surprise for Luke."
"He
doesn't remember the places he's been," Mara returned. "Thinking any particular place would
surprise him is useless."
Luke
finished swallowing a spoonful of rold-peas and
started to open his mouth to speak up, but Mara and Callista forged on without
him.
"And
if Luke prefers to be surprised?" Callista said in that irritatingly
sultry, husky voice of hers.
"I
happen to believe he doesn't," Mara countered.
"Uh,
I'm right here," Luke interjected, waving his spoon over the table.
"It
doesn't matter anyway," Mara continued.
"I don't like surprises, and I demand to know our
destination."
"You
demand?" Callista said coolly.
"You are an interloper who has no business being here."
"I'm an interloper?" A tiny part of Mara's brain was wondering why
her fork hadn't bent yet, she was gripping it so hard. "I didn't invite myself to Calrissian's wedding.
I didn't invite myself to Luke's apartment. I didn't invite myself into his life seven
years after having disappeared."
"Still
here," Luke mumbled, almost to himself.
"Am
I to understand that you are his social secretary now?" Callista's voice didn't change pitch, which
only served to further Mara's irritation.
"Should I have made an appointment with you to visit my former
lover?"
"You
certainly should have consulted with someone close to him before whisking him
off."
"Luke
is a grown man. I don't believe—"
"Excuse
me." The two women continued to
argue, until Luke finally stood up.
"Excuse me!" he practically shouted, then waited until they
turned their attention to him.
"Don't I get a say in this?"
Mara
felt ashamed for allowing Luke to witness her debasing herself into a shouting
match with her rival. Even Callista had
the decency to look abashed.
"Of
course, Luke," Callista said.
"I will tell you anything you'd like to know."
Luke
sat back down, obviously both satisfied that he was finally being listened to,
and self-conscious now that all the attention was on him. "I would like to know our destination, please."
"Very well."
Callista smiled warmly. "Our
first stop is Bakura."
Mara
seethed inside. All Luke had to do was
bat those baby blues – which she loved – and Callista melted like a snowball on— Wait a minute. Wait just one minute.
"Bakura!?"
Mara said, willing her voice not to screech. "You and Luke never went to Bakura together."
Luke
raised one eyebrow questioningly as he turned to Callista.
"I
never stated that we did," Callista replied smoothly.
"You
specifically told me we were going to visit places that we'd visited
together." Luke's jaw clenched in a
reaction that Mara had seen both recently and in years past. He didn't like to be lied to.
"So
we shall." Callista didn't act the
least bit contrite, or secretive. "Bakura is only a brief stopover. Then we may journey to wherever you
like."
"So why Bakura?"
Luke's expression was taut with what seemed like a mixture of curiosity
and wariness. Mara was more than willing
to let him take over the interrogation, since he apparently was much more
likely to get answers out of Callista than she was.
"Please
believe me when I say there's nothing sinister or dangerous about our visit
there." Callista sounded sincere,
but Mara had learned long ago not to take anything at face value. "I have an acquaintance there who wishes
to meet you."
"I
have lots of old acquaintances lining up to meet me," Luke said
evenly. "Why should yours be any
different?"
"You
helped him and his family many years ago, and he wants to thank you
personally."
Luke's
eyes narrowed, and Mara hoped he was having the same
suspicions that she was. "Why
didn't he thank me many years ago, then?" he asked.
"He
was only a child on Bakura when you saved him by
default, in that you saved the entire population. He was not lucky enough to meet you in person
at the time."
"The
attack by the Ssi-ruuk," Mara interjected, and
Callista nodded in acknowledgement.
Luke
frowned, most likely pulling the name out of the recesses of his mind. The Ssi-ruuvi
invasion had been summarized in one of the displays in the
"It's
not easy for an ordinary citizen to gain a private audience with the master of
the Jedi Order," Callista explained, unintentionally reminding Mara of how
she'd always hated it when Callista had gone out of her way to emphasize Luke's
title. "And it's well-known how
humble you are, Luke. We didn't think
you'd journey to Bakura merely to receive accolades
for what you saw as your duty."
Mara
couldn't stand it any longer. "Who
the blazes is this mystery man?" she blurted
out. "And how did you get hooked up
with him?"
"His
name is not important," Callista began.
"I'd
like to know it," Luke said, leaning forward.
Callista
nodded. "Ra'uf Buaran."
Luke
glanced sideways at Mara, and she felt as baffled as
he looked. "Never heard of
him," she said.
"As
I said, he was but a child then, from an insignificant family. Only in recent years has his station in life
allowed him to realize his dream of thanking Luke personally."
How
Mara wished she could get a read on Callista's emotions. Nothing about her demeanor suggested she was
lying. "And you fit into this great
dream realization how?"
"He
is my employer. I assist him in many
aspects of his business, overseeing shipments, dealing with employee
concerns. When he learned that I knew
Master Skywalker, he asked if I would bring Luke to meet him."
"What
kind of business is he in?" Luke asked.
"Repulsor manufacturing," Callista answered.
From
what Mara could remember of Bakura, that part was
believable. Repulsors
were big business there. "And you
just decided to help your boss out of the goodness of your heart. No ulterior motive whatsoever."
Callista
reached over and laid her hand lightly over Luke's. "I admit that I did want to see Luke
again."
Mara
wanted to jerk that hand away so badly, it was laughable.
A
chime rang through the ship, effectively bringing about the result that Mara
had wanted to do with her vibroblade.
"We'll
soon be reversing to realspace for a course
correction," Callista announced, rising from her seat. "If you will excuse me ..."
Mara
waited until the other woman's footfalls could no longer be heard before
turning all her attention to Luke.
"What do you think?"
"Me?" Luke seemed surprised that Mara was asking
his opinion. "Is this the kind of
thing that happened to me often?"
"As
a matter of fact ..."
Mara allowed a smirk to grace her face.
"Well,
okay." Luke took a breath as he
gathered his thoughts. "Her story
sounded plausible, I suppose. Though it's hard for us to know for certain." He looked Mara square in the eye. "You know Callista better than I do, at
the moment. Do you think she's telling
the truth? Or is she the type of person
who would deceive me or try to harm me?"
Mara
bit her lip. Luke wanted her honest
opinion and she owed it to him to give it.
And unfortunately, her danger sense was being obstinately silent. "The only time I remember her deceiving
you was when she let you believe she was dead, at least for a short while. And that was only so you wouldn't recklessly
try to follow her." She exhaled
wearily. "I can't say I ever liked
her especially. But no, the Callista I
remember wouldn't deliberately put you in danger."
"Then
you think we should agree to accompany her to Bakura?"
Her
heart swelled at how he was considering them a team. It was 'them' against 'her.' "I think ..." She drummed her fingers on the table's
plasteel top. "I think we need to
comm your sister as soon as we drop out of hyperspace. Let her know what's going on. Maybe they can run a check on this Buaran person."
Mara smiled warmly at Luke.
"And if we find out he's not some mass-murdering Sith,
then perhaps it wouldn't hurt to go along with Callista's itinerary. I doubt she'd take kindly to having to turn
around and return to Coruscant, anyway."
"And after Bakura?"
Luke shifted nervously. "I
don't think I want to travel around the galaxy with just her. She may have been an important part of my old
life, but I'm not that person anymore."
Joy
erupted inside Mara, its flow hampered by the acknowledgement that Luke's
confession didn't translate into an admission of love for her. That,
and the strange look that came over his face.
Tighten your shields, you fool.
A
tinny voice sounded through the intercom:
"Please strap in back there.
Reversion in one minute."
Luke
and Mara rose at the same time, moving toward the acceleration couches in the
ship's small lounge. As Luke paused at
the doorway to let Mara exit first, he suddenly grasped her arm.
"Mara,"
he began quietly, "Why are you here, really? I can't believe you think I'm so incompetent
that I can't be trusted on my own. You
already said that Callista isn't a danger to me."
"Not
physically." Mara traced the lines
of his face with her gaze, wishing she could do so with her fingers. "She broke your heart when she left you,
Luke. I care about you. I don't want that to happen again."
Luke
nodded as they continued on to the lounge.
"She asked my forgiveness for her past actions. But how do you forgive someone when you can't
remember their betrayal?" He
settled into a seat next to Mara, his shoulder grazing hers. "I know I haven't shown it, but I'm
glad you came after me, Mara. I've come
to consider you a friend. A good friend, even though our first meeting was less than
ideal."
"It
was, wasn't it?" Mara concurred, her lips quirking as she thought of a
first meeting ten years earlier.
"So
thank you, Mara. And whether I decide to
go to Yavin, or stay on Coruscant awhile longer, I hope ... I hope we can stay in touch."
"Definitely,"
Mara breathed, as the pair pulled their seat straps tight.
"And
maybe, if you'd like, we could go out to dinner together sometime," Luke
said, hope shining in his eyes. "I
mean, some place nice, not the diner.
I've been saving any extra credits I have."
A slow
smile blossomed on Mara's face.
"Like ... a date?" A dinner date, before a marriage proposal. This new Luke had potential after all.
"I
guess you could call it that." He
had such an earnest expression that Mara nearly laughed aloud. "So, will you?"
"You
mean when we return to Coruscant?"
"I
mean anywhere. Bakura. Yavin. Anywhere."
She
hadn't made him sweat, waiting for an answer on Nirauan. She wasn't about to now.
"Yes,"
she said. "I will."