"Open Your Door"
J. Bredin
Overall rating of MA for some adult content.
Characters copyright by George Lucas, Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson etc. Basically they aren't mine, I didn't make them up and I'm certainly not getting paid for this. So just enjoy the story.
Summary: Luke and Mara have known each other now for eight years. They've been enemies, friends, and everything in-between. But what happens when Mara and Luke both decide to take a break from their own duties and spend time together on Coruscant? This is your basic AU Luke/Mara romance.
Author's notes: This is an expanded story I started writing many, many years ago and published at Club Jade under the title "Priorities." My only hope is to do Mara Jade's character justice, because for me, there is no greater character of more strength and versatility than she. Please read, enjoy, and review if you feel so inclined.
Chapter 1
New Beginnings
"Mara! . . ." Luke Skywalker followed her as she stormed into the old Imperial Palace, red strands of her untamed mane thrown about in her wake. Mara Jade was angry. And Mara was not a person you wanted angry with you. What, Luke thought, did I say, do, or not do, this time?
Mara's rippling Force sense radiated her frustration and she blatantly ignored Luke's pleas to halt in the corridor.
She had thought she was walking swiftly enough for him to get the simple message of 'get lost,' but apparently the Jedi was not willing to back off. Gods how she wished he would just disappear sometimes. Or that she had just killed him when she had the chance. She definitely had plenty of opportunities.
"Mara, I'm sorry!" he called again.
"Forget it, Skywalker. Just leave me alone."
She was making her way swiftly to the guest quarters of the housing facilities, intent on getting some rest before she took off the next morning on the Fire. Somehow she knew, though, that Luke could not just let things be the way they were.
The door to Mara's room flew open and instantaneously closed before Luke even had a chance. Defeated and anguished, he slumped against the cold barrier and sighed, trying to reach out to her through the Force. Her self shielding quickly slammed against him, creating a void so cold Luke shivered in response to the chill he felt coursing through his veins.
Luke cursed himself. He wasn't sure exactly what had just happened but he knew he was in trouble with Miss Jade now. Mara was leaving the next morning and he hated to part with her on such bad terms, but there was little he could do when she was this wound up. He knew she just needed to let her blow off some steam. Without him around.
"It's been great seeing you again, Mara." He didn't really expect Mara to hear him, or to respond back. He started walking away.
The flat tone of his voice in itself aggravated Mara and she promptly yelled in response, "Likewise!"
For a quick moment Luke felt a surge of anger engulf him. Who did she think she was to just toss him around this way? Even Jedi had feelings to hurt. It seemed to always be a game of how many buttons she could push and how long it took him to overload. But just as quickly as the wash had come, it receded. The very fact that anyone, especially Mara, could even set him off balance this way frustrated him to no end. There was never a time when his relationship to Mara was easy, but remembering when it had ever been this complicated or this volatile was preposterous. That was, of course, unless you counted the years when she had still wanted to kill him.
"Don't been so sure about using the past tense, Skywalker."
"Hah! Then why are you hiding behind a steel door?"
Silence.
"When you want to talk, Mara," he said coolly, "you know where to find me."
Mara felt Luke's presence leave the hall and she scowled as she sat down on the high backed repulsor-chair. This was getting ridiculous. The man was insufferable!
Mara had spent this past week on Coruscant, most of it with Luke. More often than not, they argued. Sometimes it was friendly banter, sometimes it was something more intense. But what made things so frustrating was that Mara didn't know why they were arguing in the first place. She wanted more than anything to be at peace with him, to be closer, but that just didn't seem possible anymore.
All too soon the silence in Mara's living quarters became deafening. She could hear the ringing in her ears getting louder and louder as she mentally ran through the events of the past hour.
'Damn it, Skywalker!' she cursed him one last time. 'You make things so difficult!'
Gathering a few things into a flight bag, she set off to the exercise rooms. Maybe some lightsaber practice would help her a little. Mara grumbled to herself, for the first time wishing that there was someone around to practice with. Leia was all right, but she was far too heated to have a 'friendly' match right now. And Skywalker . . . well she didn't even consider him.
As Mara left, she growled, "Lights; off," leaving total darkness behind her.
As Mara was leaving her quarters, Luke stormed into his apartment and growled, "Lights; on." By now the sun had long since set over the Coruscant city, leaving behind a seemingly endless sky, shining brightly with billions of stars. Stars that Luke would usually marvel under, but now only made him scowl. That's where they had been when this whole fight had started; on the roof of the Capitol Building, the formal Imperial Palace.
Ever since Luke had given Mara his father's lightsaber, they often found each other up there, remembering times long gone. It was never planned, but had come to be almost expected. There they would talk politely about nothing in particular; everything and nothing. More often than not, though, it ended in an argument.
In vain, Luke tried to calm himself, to search for the indifference inside of him once more. And eventually it came.
For the second time that night, Luke relived what had happened up on the roof. It had started friendly and casual, both finally calmed from the argument they had two days previous.
"I should have seen it coming," he mumbled to himself aloud as he thought.
The conversation had drifted to the argument the other day-which was a mistake in itself, Luke thought-and they began to bicker over who had caused it and the original problem resurfaced again.
A couple days ago, Luke and Mara had been having a 'friendly' lightsaber match, or so Mara put it, when the issue of Mara's uncompleted Jedi training came up. From there, it turned into a battle of mixed priorities and judgment of character, leaving both swelled with anger. It was, of course, Luke who apologized first, seeing as though it really was his fault, and Mara accepted.
'Tonight, though,' thought Luke, 'she was the one who started it. She was the one who brought it back up. And her priorities are out of balance. There's no reason for her not to complete her training, now. She's so close.'
Luke sighed and let the thoughts pass. There was nothing he could do about it right now. If it was one thing he had learned over the years it was to not disturb Mara when she was this angry; it would just make matters worse. And Force did he have a way at making her angry!
With a defeated sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. But it was in vain. Cooling off time was for Mara, but certainly not for the Jedi Master.
Sometime later Mara entered her quarters to find the holovid flashing a small indicator light at the bottom of the screen indicating she had a message. "What now?" she grumbled. It was probably flight control telling her she couldn't leave for a few more days, knowing the luck she had been having lately.
Luke Skywalker's face appeared with a pitiful, 'I'm sorry' look in his eyes. She managed to push back the temptation to turn it off, and decided to listen to what he had to say.
"Look, Mara . . . I'm sorry. Things got out of hand. I didn't mean it, really." Mara could see that he had some trouble in saying that last statement. Over the years she had learned to watch this body language very closely. The lines around his eyes creased ever so slightly. Perhaps he was sorry that she reacted as she did, but Mara found it hard to believe that he did not mean what he had said.
"It's just that I want you to finish your training; you're so strong in the Force and still have so much to learn, so much control you need to establish." She could hear the sigh that he never let out. "If you're not too angry, I hope that you'll call back. I'd hate for us to have to part on bad terms tomorrow morning." To Mara, he seemed as though he wanted to say something more, but the transmission just ended there.
With a sigh and a short grumble, Mara sat down at the comm station and keyed in for Luke's apartment. When his face appeared again, she almost flipped it back off.
"Hello, Mara," he said carefully.
"Skywalker," she nodded once.
Luke looked at her expectantly, but realized that she was waiting for him to say something. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely, letting his defenses down.
"Yeah," she looked away, refusing him the satisfaction of eye contact.
Luke's forehead creased curiously and he frowned. This was certainly not the reaction he had anticipated. He expected her to yell, or argue, or simply refuse his apology . . . to accept it even, but not this shunning that he was getting, now.
"Truly, Mara, I didn't mean it. I-"
"Yes you did," Mara said sternly, but uncharacteristically low for her. She turned to look at him, her eyes stabbing at him. "For you to go off the deep end like that you had to have meant it. And that is what hurts."
Luke froze with sudden realization. Many times he had aggravated Mara, but never before had he hurt her . . . not like this. It showed in her eyes. Maybe deep down Luke was always the person that she could count on for support. And he had put that hidden trust in check, now.
When Luke did not say anything, she smiled sadly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Jade out," she said more coolly than even Mara knew she was capable of.
Still in shock, Luke was unable to say anything until it was too late. The transmission ended and Mara's image was replaced by a vast darkness, matching the mood she had already bestowed on him.
Mara cursed Skywalker for bringing those feelings back to the surface. She had just gotten them under control and was about to go to sleep. Now she was sure she would have at least some difficulty.
After jumping in the shower mostly to clean off, but somewhat to clear her mind, Mara dressed for the night and slipped beneath the blankets of her bed. The gentle hum of the repulsors and generators surrounding her eventually lulled her to sleep, leaving behind all previous grievances and worries.
The balcony to Luke Skywalker's apartment did not hold such a spectacular view as the rooftop did, but he lay out there nonetheless, sulking. Mara was a friend. Despite all of their harsh words and feelings, they were friends. And he had hurt her. But was what he said to her really what he thought?
'No,' Luke decided. 'I just let her anger get to me and I said things I didn't mean. Well . . . NOW what do I do?'
Mara was scheduled to leave the next morning at daybreak and she obviously would not talk to him. He reached out with the Force to see if she was still awake . . . but no; she felt content and at peace, meaning only that she was asleep. The only thing he could do now was to try and contact her in the morning. She was one of few friends that Luke could depend on these days and he couldn't bear it if she left still angry at him. After all, he never knew when he would see her again. Mara's visits were so fleeting and often unannounced. He would just have to hope that he could catch her before she left the docking bay in the morning.
With a strained sigh, Luke walked back into his apartment and collapsed onto his bed, slipping into a deep, dreamless sleep.
By the time Mara had awakened the next morning, the chrono already read 0830. She had wanted to be well into hyperspace by this time. With a muffled curse, she got out of bed and began gathering the few belongings she had in the modest suite. She could feel a tingling in the back of her mind and she instantaneously knew that Luke was probing her. She ignored it, trying to believe that it meant nothing. She really was not in the mood for dealing with more of his bantha dung today.
After one more quick check, she gathered her flight bag and exited the suite. She had to make a stop to turn-in the room, and then she would be on her way to the hangar bay. /And I better not find you there, Skywalker,/ she warned bitterly.
It would take her a good three standard days traveling in hyperspace to rendezvous with Karrde as it was, and any further time she had to spend here was a waste as far as Mara was concerned. And this 'vacation' had been far from pleasurable. It had been Karrde's idea. And she would have to talk to him about that.
Mara grinded her teeth together thinking about how Karrde had sent her here. "You're losing your edge, Mara. Why don't you take a trip to Coruscant to clear your head." It had been more of a dismissal than a suggestion. Why in the worlds he had decided it, though, Mara would never know. It was highly uncharacteristic of him to send one of his people away just so they could simply 'clear their head.' He was either expecting her to find something here, or there was something going on there that he did not want her to find out about, which seemed highly unlikely. Ever since the time of Myrkr, Mara knew just about everything that Karrde knew, as far as business was concerned anyway. Then what in the Empire had he intended her on finding here?
The sounds coming from the hangar bay brought Mara back into reality and she quickly got her clearance before heading to the Jade's Fire.
'Good,' she thought. 'No Skywalker.' Perhaps he did get her message after all.
It was just then that she felt it again-the probe into her mind. She absolutely despised it when he did that! /Stop that! You sorry excuse for a-/
/Don't go!/ he called before she could finish her sentence. /You have to believe me when I say I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of those things, Mara. You're a good friend and I don't want-/
/Get out of here, Skywalker!/ Even through the Force Luke could hear the bitterness in her voice. /I've got business to take care of./ Mara started up the preflight sequence, aggravated that it would take another five to six minutes before she could lift off.
It took a few seconds, but Luke's voice finally came to her again.
/Fine./
It wasn't a tone of anger or annoyance, but of defeat. Luke had given up.
Mara was taken aback. Luke had given up? She wasn't sure if she was glad or depressed over the fact. Did she really want him to give up? But either way, she was certainly confused.
/Fine,/ she echoed, putting more sadness in her voice than she had intended.
After the preflight sequence had finished, Mara keyed in the turbolifts and lifted out of the hangar bay. To her, the flight to the outer-atmosphere had never seemed longer. For a short moment, she looked out the cockpit to the world below her. It was one large city, the whole planet-an endless mob of technology and politics. Usually it would have looked magical to Mara, but right now it simply looked like a living nightmare.
She was just keying in the last coordinates for the jump to hyperspace when a bleeping on her controls caught her attention: a ship, X-Wing class, approaching from behind. Opening the secure comm channel, she cursed into it.
"You kriffing, worm-ridden, son of a sith! What are you doing?"
The comments seemed not to faze him and he answered back, "I've had enough of this. Come back down so we can talk."
"I'm already running behind schedule," Mara argued.
"Karrde's not going to miss you if you're a few hours off," Luke countered. "Come back down . . . Please," he added more gently.
Luke felt the internal struggle going on within Mara but smiled when she reluctantly agreed. "You better make this good, Skywalker. And wipe that grin off your face."
Wisely, Luke did not respond, only turning his ship around as Mara did.
After both had landed, they met on the landing pad, neither one smiling . . . nor speaking.
"What do you want?" Mara finally asked, coldly.
"The same thing I've wanted since last night; to apologize." Luke gestured for them to begin walking off the platform and Mara reluctantly did so.
In silence, he led her to a nearby cantina already filled with chatter and alien musk at this early hour. Several tables attracted groups of Sabacc players of different races, some still dragging over from the previous evening, no doubt. This was certainly the type of place that Mara would be accustomed to, but Luke . . .
They sat down at a table to the side, Mara's eyes unyielding from his pitiful expression. For once, why couldn't she just soften up?
"Look," Luke began after the barmaid had taken their orders for drinks. "I've already said I'm sorry, and I mean it. Yes, I did go off the deep end and I don't know why, really. I'll understand if you can't complete your training . . . if you give me a good reason why," he added carefully.
Mara groaned. She should have known. "I'm needed with Karrde. I haven't the time to spend on Yavin finishing some ancient training that I have no use for. The Force serves me well with what I know right now."
"Karrde didn't seem to miss you this week, did he?"
She stared at him carefully, her lips pursed tightly together. No, he hadn't exactly missed her this week. He had, in fact, insisted that she leave. There was something there in Luke's eyes . . . and then it clicked. No, it hadn't been Karrde's idea to send her to Coruscant, or not his idea solely.
The tone in her voice when she spoke was cold and spiteful, something that Luke had not even heard when she had still wanted to kill him. "I don't like being deceived, Skywalker." Her expression was stone and unreadable. "If you had asked me to come to Coruscant you may have been surprised. The fact that you had to get Karrde to send me proves something to me." She paused, seeming to be thinking. "You're no better than the rest of them." For a long moment she just stared him in the eyes, sending chills through his spine. He visibly swallowed.
Luke wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by 'the rest of them,' but he wasn't sure that he wanted to know. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and he truly believed that until their first fight three days into her visit. But now . . . now he regretted the decision more than he had ever regretted anything.
The only thing Luke could think of as he absently watched Mara leave was how stupid he had been.
The mottled sky turned into starlines, and finally into the brilliance that they were; stars. The trip had given Mara some time to cool down, but now as she approached the docking bay where Karrde would undoubtedly be meeting her, the rage began to boil again. It may had been Skywalker's idea, but for some absurd reason Karrde had agreed to it.
For the tenth time within the last three days Mara muttered to herself that if Skywalker had just asked her to fly to Coruscant she would have. She had secretly been wanting to see him, anyway. But for him to trick her into going just so he could persist about her uncompleted Jedi training . . .
"Men," she muttered lowly to herself, even though there was no one around to hear her.
The bay came into view and Mara keyed in the turbolifts, gently setting the Jade's Fire down. The whining of the engines came to a halt and Mara sat there while they ran through a post-flight sequence, gritting her teeth together. To the Empire with Skywalker, and Karrde for that matter. They had played her for a fool, thinking that she would not realize what had been going on-and she almost hadn't-and if there was anything that Mara Jade hated it was being fooled. She didn't know how, but she would get them back. Both of them.
'For now,' Mara thought, 'I've got to pretend like nothing happened. Besides, any hostility that gets through, Karrde will probably blame on old grudges for Skywalker, as he usually does.'
Mara snorted. Did everything in her life involve him somehow?
The entry ramp of the Jade's Fire lowered and Karrde saw a slim figure descend with her usual cat-like grace. "Mara," he greeted warmly, walking to the end of the ramp. "It's good to have you back. It's however unlike you to run off schedule." It wasn't a threat or scolding, just impending curiosity.
"I ran into a problem," she said coolly. It wasn't a lie. Skywalker was a problem, as far as Mara was concerned.
"Ah." The two turned to walk, Mara toting her flight bag. "Sorry to hear that."
'I'm sure,' she thought sardonically. "It couldn't be avoided," she said instead.
Karrde just nodded. "I'll need to brief you on everything you've missed. Much can happen in two weeks, as I'm sure you know."
"I know," she said evenly. "The sooner I can get back into the swing of the things the better."
"Indeed," agreed Karrde. "I'll give you time to rest from your flight, however. May I have anything sent to your quarters?"
"No, thank you. When would you like to meet?" Mara came to a halt as they reached the inner hallways of the ship and she turned to look at him.
"Business dinner at 1900 standard time," he said simply. Mara just nodded. That would give her about three hours.
Mara turned one way while Karrde headed in the other. She absently walked the halls, turning mechanically when she needed. Although she hated to admit it, Coruscant had been a pleasant change to the drab surroundings here. While in business there was only so much room allowed for comfort and style, she knew that, but after a while these same corridors that she saw day after day seemed to scar her mind with conformity and dreariness.
Somewhere, deep in her mind, Mara missed those days when she had still wanted to kill Skywalker; the days when she knew adventure. Ever since he had entered her life and she had become "legitimate," things had grown increasingly dull. Karrde didn't seem to miss it, but she sure did. She found herself dealing more and more with papers and records than she did in the field, and even when she was out there making a delivery, the fear of being boarded was gone, leaving behind an inevitable predictability.
Mara sighed as she punched in the code to release the locking mechanism of her door and it opened with a swoosh. It closed automatically as the lights turned on. 'It's no wonder why Karrde told me I was losing my edge. There's no place to use it.'
She threw her flight bag down on the floor, not really caring where it landed, and slumped down at her comm/information center. As expected the messages and paperwork had piled up. Mara groaned and rubbed her temples. 'Why am I still here?' she asked herself, not for the first time. She no longer liked the work she was doing, that was for sure. And that left her with two options, really. One, demand reassignment from Karrde, which was just a waste of air. Two . . . Mara scowled at her second choice. That would be her last resort, or so she told herself.
"This can wait," Mara mumbled, standing up from the station. Her flight had worn her out more than she thought and she still needed some rest before she was to meet with Karrde.
Plopping down onto her sleeping pallet, Mara slept peacefully.
"I wish you wouldn't leave so soon, Luke," Leia pleaded with her eyes.
"I know," he smiled back sadly. "But I'm needed back at Yavin." He knew he was lying, but he hoped that Leia couldn't see it. From the frown on her face, he knew that she did.
"Very well," she said solemnly. "I understand."
Luke kissed his sister gently on the forehead and then moved on to each of the kids. Jacen and Jaina, who were each eight now, seemed to be growing so fast. Luke, too, hoped that he could come back for another visit soon. "Be nice to your sister," Luke smiled and mussed the boy's hair. Jacen smiled his father's lop-sided grin and promised he would.
"You too," Luke said to Jaina. She just smiled at him.
Little Anakin who was waiting patiently smiled at his uncle. "When are you coming back, Uncle Luke?"
"Soon, I promise."
Han patted Luke on the back of the shoulder. "Come on, kid. I'll walk you to your ship." Luke nodded.
All three kids called to him as he was leaving. "Bye, Uncle Luke!"
"Bye," he smiled.
Han could hear the sigh escape from Luke as they headed down the corridor and towards the landing pad where his X-Wing was being prepped for flight. "So what really happened?" Han asked.
"Huh?"
Han grinned. "Look, kid, Kam and Tionne are far more capable of running that academy than you have us believing. Now, I of all people understand the concept of running away from your problems, but just what are you trying to run away from?"
Defensively, Luke countered, "What makes you think that I'm running away?"
Stopping in his steps, Han turned to face Luke. "I may not have that Force capability that you have, but I can still sense when my wife doesn't believe something."
Luke sighed. "She hasn't finished her training, either." He said it more to himself than he did to his brother-in-law.
"Either?" Han cocked an eyebrow. "What's this all about, Luke?"
He turned his gaze back to make eye contact. "Mara; I want her to finish her training but she's arguing that she doesn't have the time, or the desire, to finish it."
"Oh, is that it?" he asked, a little too casually. Seeing Luke frown, he added, "You can't force her into it, Luke. She's got to come to you on her own terms, right? Arguing with her isn't going to get you anywhere. Especially with her." He almost rolled his eyes; Luke stifled a chuckle.
"I know what you mean. She does have quite a temper, doesn't she?"
Han let out a laugh. "Put it this way, I don't envy you, pal."
With a smile, Luke continued to walk, Han following. "Anyway, she left four days ago, angry. The thing is, I was the one who told Karrde to send her here and she found out. And you know Mara."
Han hissed through his teeth and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Not a good idea, I imagine."
"Ah, no," Luke assured him. After a short silence, he felt he needed to explain himself. "It's been great seeing you guys again, but I just need to get back to the academy to clear my mind of everything. And if Mara ever decides to accept my apology, I think that's the first place she'd think to contact me."
"I understand, kid. Leia's the one you got to worry about."
Luke winced slightly. His sister would undoubtedly be unhappy about this. "Right," he agreed. "Han, would you-"
"No way," he said quickly. "I'm not gonna take the heat for this one. You want to explain it, you do it your own way."
With a sigh, Luke nodded. Han was right. This visit had only lasted a little over two weeks and the last week had been spent mostly with Mara. Leia had been asking Luke for months, now, to come and visit with the family. And now she would almost surely feel that he was turning his back on them in expense for his own problems. "All right. I'll contact her as soon as I get back to Yavin, then I can send a clear transmission. I just hope she's not too angry with me."
"She can fight," said Han, "but she doesn't stay mad for long."
"You should know," he mused.
Han shot him an annoyed glare. "Yeah, yeah. But the make-ups make it worth it." A lop-sided grin appeared on his face.
Luke nearly blushed. "I didn't need to hear that."
"Ah, Luke," Han let the grin fade. "When are you going to find a girl of your own? Someone has got to rid that modesty from you."
"In time, buddy. In time."
Han watched the X-Wing take off, only to hear his comlink go off a second later. He picked up the device and switched it on. "Solo."
"Han, is Luke still there?" Leia's voice came across.
"No, he just took off. Why?"
"Oh, no," she sighed. "Mara just called in and was looking for him. I guess I'll tell her to try him at Yavin once he gets there."
Han grinned. So she had changed her mind, had she? "Yeah, I guess."
"Okay, I'll see you in a few."
"Wait, Leia..."
"Yes?" Han could hear the uneasiness in her voice.
Han paused for a grin and a moment of remembrance. "I love you."
Leia smiled into the comlink she was holding. "I know," and after a moment, "I love you, too."
(The previous day)
". . . and that's about it," Karrde concluded.
Dinner had been anything but pleasurable for Mara. It had consisted of her sitting there quietly, listening to Karrde drone over the business dealings that took place over the two weeks that Mara was not present for. Hardly things that she was interested in, but those that were expected of her to know.
Again she silently wondered what in the worlds she was doing here. The credits were good, she couldn't deny that, but she lacked all the passion she once knew. The free spirited-perhaps even reckless woman-was lost, replaced with this shell of pity and restlessness. No matter what it cost her, she would have to do something about it.
"Mara?" Karrde lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes?" she looked back up at him.
"Something on your mind?"
Mara bit at her inner cheek. This was it. "Maybe, yes . . . I know what you and Skywalker did."
Karrde's face stayed expressionless. "Oh?"
Mara snorted. 'Typical.' "Don't pull that with me, I know you too well," she warned. After a pause, she added, "I would like to request a leave. A long one."
"A leave?"
"I told you not to pull this with me." She glared angrily, not quite believing that she was doing this. "I want to take some time off. But I'm not going back to Yavin Four, not now anyway."
Karrde was confused. He had almost fully expected Skywalker to have convinced her otherwise. But if she wasn't going to Yavin . . . "Where will you go?"
After a pause, she responded, "Coruscant."
A crease forming in his forehead, Karrde thought. It would be contradictory of him to say no. After all, he was going to grant her leave for her Jedi training. "How long will you be needing?" He may have known she wanted a change, but he was not prepared for the answer she gave.
Without hesitation this time, she answered, "No less than three standard months."
"Three-!" Aghast, Karrde found himself unable to speak, much less protest. Mara was his best. Why in the worlds was she requesting a three month leave?
Impatiently, Mara asked, "Well are you going to give it to me or not? I'll understand if you can't, but if you cannot grant it to me I'll be forced to resign."
Karrde's mouth fell open. Resign? This was definitely not Mara speaking, it couldn't be. What in the Empire was she going to do on Coruscant. And why? "Mara, I . . ." With a defeated sigh, he slouched. "I don't want to lose you, but I won't pry." He paused. "Leave granted."
Mara nodded. She hadn't really expected him to argue, but she had to put it as politely as possible. "Thank you. Excuse me, I have some things to take care of."
Dully, she heard him ask, "When can I expect you to leave?"
Mara thought for a moment. There was much she had to do, many people she had to talk to. "As soon as I can make plans to leave. Perhaps tomorrow."
Wordlessly, Karrde nodded.
The decision finally made, Mara felt content to retire to her chambers. She had too much to do right now, but she would contact Coruscant as soon as it reached morning there.
Mara sat there for several minutes staring at the blank screen. This was by far one of the hardest things she had to do. And she didn't even know why she was doing it!
With a grumble, Mara finally keyed in for Luke Skywalker's apartment on Coruscant. When she got no answer there, she figured that perhaps he was at the Solo's apartment. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she would have to call there to find Luke. His sister of all people would know where he was.
"Organa-Solo," Leia's image appeared on the holo. "Hello, Mara. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually, I'm looking for your brother," she said matter-of-factly.
"He and Han left a few minutes ago for Luke's X-Wing," she said ruefully. "Hold for a moment and I'll see if I can get them on the comlink."
Mara nodded a thank you and the screen went blank. 'Great,' Mara thought. 'He's already leaving.'
After two or three minutes Leia's image flickered back on with a slight frown. "I'm sorry, Mara. Luke has already taken off. He was heading back to Yavin Four. Perhaps you could try him once he lands."
Mara frowned. "Yeah, maybe. Thank you."
Leia nodded. "My pleasure."
The transmission ended and Mara was left with a choice. She could wait the two or three or four, whatever amount of days it would take for Luke to get to Yavin to contact him, or she could just forget it. Neither option rather appealed to Mara's senses. 'But maybe . . .'
Flipping the comm-port on, she tried to remember the frequency of Luke's personal X-Wing. If she could talk to him right now she could get everything into the open and she would at least have more absolution in her decision.
Impatiently, Mara tapped her foot against the floor and bit her lower lip while she was waiting for Luke to respond. Finally, his confused response came across. "This is Skywalker."
Mara drew in a deep breath, and let it out rather loudly. "Skywalker, this is Mara Jade."
"I . . . uh, hello, Mara. What can I do for you?" So that was it; no snide remarks, no smirks of any kind, just a simple, confused greeting.
With an obvious effort, Mara managed to bite out, "I've changed my mind."
"About the academy?" he asked innocently.
"No," she growled. "I . . ." she softened her tone a little. "It's hard to explain. Your sister said you were heading back to Yavin Four?"
Confused, he responded, "Yes, I am."
She paused. "Do you have to?"
"Not really," he responded honestly. Another second later, "Why?"
Mara sighed, thinking more intently than she wanted to be. "I'm heading back to Coruscant. I'd appreciate it if you'd meet me back there."
A smile that Mara could not detect spread across Luke's face. That was the one thing Luke both cursed and praised about these comm channels; unlike holovids you could not see the person's expression. "I suppose I could. You're lucky you caught me before I made the jump. What's the travel time from there to here?"
"About three standard days," she said. "I'll see you then."
"Right. See you."
The static remained for a few more seconds before Mara closed the channel. "Well," she said to herself. "That was easier than I thought."