Title: Choices
Rated: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters from the Expanded Universe. I am not making any money off this badly written fanfiction.
Note: Special thanks to my wonderful beta, JayCee. I wouldn't even attempt writing another long story without her help!
"I can't believe I am doing this," Mara muttered to herself as she brought the Stealth Fighter prototype into orbit over the planet of Nirauan.
After her first harrowing ordeal on that planet five years ago she swore she would never return. The planet held too many bad memories: her being shot and the destruction of her ship being the least of them. The worse moment was the look on Luke's face when she turned down his proposal of marriage.
"Mara, we are meant for each other. We are destined to be together. I can feel it through the Force… and I can feel it here," Luke had pleaded as he held his hand over his heart.
"I am sorry Luke, I can't… I just can't," she had sobbed.
A part of her had wanted to say yes to his proposal as she was sure they most likely wouldn't survive the day anyway, but she knew better. It was Force bonding that had occurred while they were fighting the sentinel droids that was responsible for her strong feelings for Luke, it was not a passion based on love or a long courtship. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Luke and, in her own way, she probably did love him, but Mara was too pragmatic to let Force induced emotions sway her into making a lifelong commitment to the Jedi. Perhaps in time she could develop true romantic feelings for the Farmboy, but she would be damned if some Force epiphany was going to determine who her lifemate would be.
So Mara and Luke parted their own ways, remaining friends. Of course, Luke had trouble accepting Mara's decision. He was convinced that his destiny was to be with her and told her so on many occasions, but Mara steadfastly refused to even entertain the notion of getting involved with him. She was certain that any intimate relationship they began would end up in failure. They were too different.
He was a Jedi Master and rebel hero. She was a former Imperial Assassin and a smuggler. She would be better off dating somebody more like her, like Karrde or Lando.
But, to Mara's dismay, Luke refused to get discouraged. He continued to try to convince her that they were destined to be together. The last incident was after the Outbound Flight mission they performed together. Once again they were on Nirauan and once again Luke proposed to her at the end of the conflict.
"Mara, over the years I have spent days, sometimes weeks, in meditation. Every possible future I have seen includes you. In it we're happy. We're a family. I even see children, Mara. Why wont you accept this?" Luke beseeched her.
Mara remembered the pained look in his eyes when she once again refused to even start a relationship with him, let alone marriage. "Luke, I am just not ready for that kind of commitment with you."
"I understand Mara," he said quietly, nodding his head dejectedly. He tried to maintain his stoic Jedi façade, but Mara could see unshed tears glistening in his eyes as he turned away and walked out of the room and out of her life.
That was two years ago and she had not seen or heard much from him since.
It wasn't until he was out of the picture that she realized that she actually missed the Jedi and his annoying habit of dragging her into harms way. And, after a failed relationship with Karrde, Mara seriously started considering Luke as a prospective mate. She tried to contact him numerous times but failed. Finally she contacted his sister and was shocked to discover that even Leia wasn't sure where Luke was a majority of the time.
"He takes off in his X-Wing and disappears for weeks, sometimes months, at a time," Leia confided in Mara.
To make matters worse, Leia inadvertently discovered that Intelligence had begun investigating Luke's activities since the Outbound Flight investigation. "Security has tried to put a homing beacon on his ship, but he always performs a scan before disembarking. He is hiding something, Mara. I am afraid Luke is into something that can get him into trouble."
It was then that Leia asked Mara to tail Luke the next time he went away on one of his clandestine journeys.
Leia called in some favors and was able to procure a Stealth ship. "With you being able to cloak your presence and with a ship that doesn't show up on sensors, you should be able to follow him. Please find out what he is up to, before somebody else does. I need to know what he is doing."
Mara agreed, not only for Luke and Leia's sake, but also out of her own curiosity. She had become accustomed to him chasing her, pleading with her to marry him or at least go out on a date. She now wondered what had changed.
She doubted that Luke was doing anything nefarious, but had he perhaps found somebody to occupy his time. Could his jaunts away from Yavin and Coruscant actually be secret rendezvous' with a lover? That would explain his disappearances and his sudden lost of interest in her.
Mara was shocked to find herself feeling jealous over the prospect. She knew it was unreasonable to do so, did she actually expect Luke to pine over her for the rest of his life?
When she took on the mission and began following him two days ago, she had assumed he would go to some lover's destination on Corellia, Lianna, or, Force-forbid, Chad, but to find herself orbiting Nirauan as Luke's X-Wing dipped into the atmosphere was troubling to say the least.
'What in the Corellian Hells is he here for?' Mara thought to herself as her mind frantically tried to think of a reason for Luke to travel to the stronghold of the Empire of the Hand.
'The Chiss must have dug out the Outbound Flight wreck and found Jedi records.' Mara reasoned as it was the only logical explanation she could think of, unless…
At the end of their last mission to this planet the Empire of the Hand had invited Mara to join their organization, but she refused. The offer was tempting, but her loyalty to Karrde and the money she was raking in at the time made her decline. Could they have made the same offer to Luke?
She contemplated the possibility briefly, but then dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Luke was loyal to the New Republic, and even though The Empire of the Hand was no longer the enemy of the NR, Luke's affiliation with them could only complicate life for him, his sister, and everyone involved.
No, it was more likely that Luke was researching the Jedi and was keeping this fact secret, possibly to avoid bureaucratic red tape from hindering his research. Or at least that is what Mara told herself as she followed Luke's fighter into the atmosphere.
She kept back from Luke's fighter as far as possible without losing visual contact. When
Luke dived down a narrow valley and set his ship down in a small military spaceport, Mara quickly dropped her craft down behind an outcrop of rocks about eight kilometers from the base. After spreading a camouflage tarp over the ship, she hefted a small equipment satchel on to her back and began the long trek to the military facility on foot.
It was dark by the time she arrived at the spaceport, a small military base of an old Imperial design which she was familiar with. Shielding her Force signature heavily, but still able to sense Luke's presence, which shone like a beacon, she located him in a small, one-story building at the far end of the facility.
She surreptitiously made her way over to the building, easily overriding the locks, and silently entering the facility.
It appeared to be standard military VIP suites and she was relieved to find this wing of the base was empty. With any luck, Luke was the only person in the area at this time of evening.
Using the Force, Mara quickly ascertained what room he was located and quietly slid into a small storage room a couple doors down from his suite. She would wait until late at night, when he was sure to be asleep, to sneak into the room. With any luck she would be in and out in minutes, just needing to find out what he was doing to report back to Leia… and to satisfy her own curiosity.
A little past 0200 hours, Mara slowly slid open the closet door and lightly stepped out into the empty hallway. Cautiously she made her way to the room Luke occupied. She worked swiftly to hook up an electronic lock decoder to his door and it took only a minute for the system to run through a few thousand possible combination sequences. A green light appeared on the hand held machine and with a soft click, the door quietly slid open.
Out of sheer habit Mara unholstered her holdout blaster and softly stepped inside to survey the room. It was the standard Officer Suite with a main sitting room, kitchenette, and a door leading to a separate bedroom.
Moving toward a small desk cluttered with paperwork, she dug into her pocket and produced a small penlight, which she lit and began to look through the papers. To her relief, the documents only revealed information on the Jedi and Outbound Flight. She smiled knowing that some old tome of Jedi Lore was only thing that could pull Luke away from his family, the NR and her.
She was about to leave when she noticed the signature on the bottom of some of the reports.
Luke Skywalker
Lieutenant Commander,
Empire of the Hand
Her hands trembled slightly as she picked up the flimsiplast. She couldn't believe it. Luke did take their offer!
'He walked away from the Jedi, the NR, his sister… and me for…' Mara stopped in mid-thought. 'For what?'
She didn't think the remnants of the Post-Palpatine Empire had anything to offer Luke. They had promised the NR the return of the Outbound Flight wreckage and its contents in due time. There was no reason for Luke to join their cause to gain access to the contents of the ship.
A horrible thought struck her. Could they have offered him power? Luke fell to temptation once before on Byss….
The shock of this revelation resulted in Mara's shields faltering for a split second before she could strengthen them, but the damage had been done.
"What the Kriff!" Mara heard Luke say behind the bedroom door, along with the sound of him stumbling about the room.
She quickly turned and dashed towards the exit, still clutching the papers. Her way became blocked when a Force shove slammed the door closed.
"Who's there?" Luke demanded as he fumbled for the light switch.
There was nowhere for her to go so she reluctantly stopped and turned to face him. "It's me Luke."
"Mara?" he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness once he turned on the lights, "What are you doing here?"
For a moment she couldn't find the words to speak as the sight of him warmed her heart. Until now she never realized how much she really missed him. As he stood there wearing only loose sleep pants, Mara's gaze wandered over his muscular chest and up to his handsome face and beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that gazed back at her in confusion.
She was a fool, she finally realized. They really were meant to be together.
Luke gaze narrowed as he noticed the flimsiplast Mara still clutched in her hand. "What are you doing here, Mara?" he asked again, this time his voice tinged with anger.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Farmboy?" Mara replied defensively. "Intel has been getting mighty suspicious of your activities of late. I thought I would check out what you are doing before they found out." She walked over to her friend and thrust the paperwork in his face. "Lieutenant Commander?" she growled incredulously. "Luke, what could the Imperials and Chiss possibly offer you to get you to work for them? Money, power? You could have had that with the NR if you wanted it."
"Mara, it is not what you think," Luke was suddenly quiet. "First of all, the Empire of the Hand has the same goals as the NR. They fear something, an enemy from outside our galaxy, and through my meditations, I have seen it also. Second, I am not here for the money or power, my reasons are… personal."
That piqued Mara's curiosity. "Personal? What do you mean by that, Skywalker."
Luke's face hardened as he grabbed Mara at the elbow and guided her to the door. "Mara, I don't have to answer to you. You are not my superior or…. or anything else to me. I suggest you get back in your ship and get off planet, or I will call security."
Mara angrily shrugged out of his grip. "Don't you dare try to dismiss me. I want to know what is going on with you!"
"Luke?" a groggy female voice called from within the unlit bedroom.
"Go back to bed, Jadie." Luke called back as he glanced nervously at the bedroom door.
Mara stepped back in shock. "Jadie! You have a girlfriend here?"
Luke's eyes turned into slits as he gazed at Mara. "No, I have a wife here, Mara," he answered hotly. "Now please leave and don't come back."
Mara could only stare at Luke in shock. Her stomach clenched and she experienced a horrible sense of loss with the realization that Luke had indeed found somebody else. She had stupidly refused Luke's advances one too many times over the years and now it was too late.
She nodded dumbly, embarrassment quickly displacing her sorrow as she realized she had thrown away her only real chance of romance and marriage.
Turning to leave, she saw movement at the bedroom door. A woman stood there wrapped in a bed sheet, her mouth hanging open, a stunned look on her face.
"Luke… Luke, who is this woman?" The other woman asked as she sidled up next to Luke, her arm possessively snaking around his waist. Mara gazed dropped down to the woman's swollen belly as she was obviously in the third trimester of pregnancy.
"Jadie, I told you to go back to bed," his voice was angry at first, but he then gave a resigned sigh as he leaned over and gently kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, my love."
"Luke, she… she looks so much like me," the redheaded woman whispered an awe.
Luke shook his head slowly, "No, Jadie honey, you look like her… you're her clone."
Luke turned back to Mara and gazed into her shocked green eyes, "I'm sorry Mara, but the Empire of the Hand did have something they could offer me. Something I wanted very badly."