A/N: okay… these "[ ]" marks are relay communication, and these "{{ }}" are translated words from other languages. (And it did not get a mention at the bottom last chapter, so terminology note: Anyone identified as a "Color" Wave is a uniformed Wave Ranger.) Thank you to emeraldshadow and Trimaj for action advice.

As she turned and struck out at her opponent, she saw the Jedi Master fighting his share of enemy warriors and wanted to stop and just watch the grace of his movements. It was one thing to read about it or see it on a screen, entirely another to see it in person. Turning back around, Pink Wave let out a chuckle. "Is it me, or does this feel kind of corny?"

Yellow Wave ducked an amphistaff strike and lashed out with her Mirage Batons. "Which part?" she asked as she bonked one of the Vong on the head severely, knocking it out and sidestepping another one.

Pink Wave motioned to where the Jedi Master was using two lightsabers and taking on several Vong warriors. "I mean him. It's weird, but in a good way."

"Ah."

[Will you two stop jabbering and get with the plan already?] Vincent broke in, sounding perturbed.

"Fine, brother darling," Yellow Wave ducked another amphistaff, did a solid cross-cutting maneuver, and knocked that Vong off it's feet. "I hate these things."

Pink Wave swung her mallet around and bashed one upside the head. He hit the ground, out cold. "A.J. and I will cover while you drop some energy bombs, right AJ?"

"Yeah," Copper Wave muttered, having just joined them. "Is it just me or is there an endless stream of them?"

"Not just you," Yellow Wave said as she sheathed her batons and sat down. "And we're on their home turf."

[Little ones, Miranda. Make 'em too big and they'll go off too soon.]

Yellow Wave rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I know that, Vincent."

[Just reminding you.]

"Mel, he's annoying when he sits out."

"It's part of his charm."

[I heard that.]

Copper Wave chuckled as Yellow Wave snorted and began making energy bombs. "Kinda hard for you not to, Iceman."

Pink Wave gave up on using the mallet and pulled out a… battle axe? "Wait a minute… Miranda? Can I borrow your batons?"

"Why? You barely know how to use them properly."

"Mallet got boring."

Yellow Wave handed her batons off and went back to making energy bombs. "Just don't hit me, all right? Don't want or need a concussion."

[Is that wise?]

"What's hard about it?" Pink Wave turned around just in time to catch another Vong. She swung the batons like she'd seen Yellow Wave do it and stared as the Vong warrior keeled over. "Woah. No wonder you like these things."

"Just remember to hit full force and use both hands, and you got it." Yellow Wave made one last small energy bomb and cloaked it, then stood up. She had to duck. "Mel!"

"This is fun!"

[Now you'll never get those back, sister darling.]

"Oh, shut up." Yellow Wave pulled out a pair of mallets and rejoined the fray. "I want them back later, Mel."

"No prob… two mallets?"

"The better to bonk people on the head with," Copper Wave said, parrying a strike.

"Ah."

Mara stood guard with Blue Wave at the first vital node and watched as everyone else carried out the plan. "This isn't what I thought we'd be doing."

"Sounded better when we were talking about it, hmm?" Blue Wave asked her.

"Somewhat."

"Better to be bored than terrified."

Mara nodded. "True." She glanced out into the corridor, noticing again how little activity there was. "It's so…"

"Don't. Say. That."

"Huh?"

Blue Wave sighed. "It never stays that way for long. Trust me."

Mara shrugged and they lapsed into silence once more, scanning the area for threats.

~*~*~*~

Luke was providing cover with Red Wave while Orange and Gold Waves made energy bombs. "This is bad."

"Is is?" Red Wave asked as she lashed out with her sword and hooked a warrior in the chest.

Luke nodded. "I can't predict their movements."

Red Wave sighed. "Or feel them?"

"That either."

"That's because you can't."

"What?" Luke frowned over at her, and then went back to covering. He swung around in time to hit one warrior and make it go down hard.

"They don't show up in the force, Master Skywalker. Stop relying on it and just use your eyes."

Luke nodded and switched tactics. He felt a shiver and turned just in time to catch the next Vong. "Thanks."

"You two almost done?" Red Wave asked impatiently.

"Almost," Orange Wave told her. "Couple more and we'll have it whipped."

[Don't make those too potent,] Jessica advised over the comlink. [Don't want them to go off too early.]

"We know, Jess," Gold Wave muttered.

[Vincent's annoying Miranda, by the way. Something about Mel having the mirage batons?]

Red Wave glanced over toward them and smirked. "Miranda's using two mallets now and Mel's got the batons. Looks like they're having fun." Her attention was taken momentarily by a trio of incoming Vong.

[Ah… Peter says that they're moving on to the sixth node now. Anything you want me to tell him?]

"Only if you want to relay a flirtatious message, and being that he's your foster brother, I'm pretty sure you don't." Red Wave turn and caught another Vong that tried to sneak past her guard.

[Cute. I'll just tell him that all is well and that you're planning on lots of innuendo later.]

"Jess!"

[What?]

"Nevermind."

[Uh-huh...]

~*~*~*~*~

Blue Wave turned to Mara as they were finding their way to the next node and regarded her calmly. "Ranko wants to know how you are."

Mara smiled. "Better than I've been in weeks... how's Luke?" She could feel him sure, but that wasn't good enough and the signals were confusing.

"Jess? Mara wants to know how Luke is." He listened for a moment, then nodded. "And Moira? ...Okay, good."

"Well?"

"He's fine. Finding the Vong disconcerting, but fine."

"Disconcerting?"

"They don't show up in the force." Blue Wave shrugged. "Takes a little getting used to."

Mara frowned a moment. "Is that why I don't feel anyone here but our group?"

"Yes," Gray Wave said from behind them.

"Oh." Mara was about to say something when she felt a sudden emotional uprising in the rear. "What was that?"

Gray Wave sighed. "Elsie."

"Again?" Blue Wave asked, letting Mara take the lead, and going to check.

"I'm confused."

"Don't be. It's par for the course while on a mission."

"'Par for the course?'"

Gray Wave chuckled. "Yeah."

~*~*~*~*~

Han smiled as Jacen and Jaina played with a toy boat in the tub. They let him give them their baths and now all they seemed to want to do was play in the warm water. A hand on his shoulder made him startle and he looked to find Leia there, worry in her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"It's probably nothing," Leia said. "Odd sensations is probably all it is."

"They're all right out there?"

"I think so… I hope so."

"Come watch us rock the boat, Momma!" Jaina said excitedly.

Leia smiled at her antics. "That looks like fun."

~*~*~*~

Dark Star was laying at Moira's feet while Moira listened to the open comm channel and watched the sensors.

[Moira? Peter is requesting a status check,] Jessica's voice said from the relay channel.

Moira checked the monitor board. "Everything's all clear on this end. How are things?"

[One moment… Okay, sorry about that. Things seem to be great. My brother is being annoying and Miranda may have to bargain with Melinda to get her weapons back. Oh, and I have a question for you from Mara.]

"Yes?"

[How is Dark Star?]

Moira glanced down. "Sleeping."

[At least someone is… wait. Who is Dark Star?]

"Mara's pet." Moira looked at the status board again and noticed that one of the grays was lit up. "Ask Peter if Elsie's all right. Her sensor is blinking at me."

[Right…] There was a slight pause, and then she came back. [She's fine. Slight problem at a check point. Turns out that the Vong aren't completely invisible and she walked through a psychic shadow.]

"Do I need to pull her?"

[No, if we had to pull her every time something like that happened, she'd never get to do anything.]

"Ah."

~*~*~*~*~

Mara had almost gotten used to it being quiet and the mission being easy when they happened upon a group of Vong and she found out why Blue Wave had told her not to say that it had been too quiet.

Her eyes narrowed and, lightsaber ignited, she waded into the fray, the rest of Blue Team quickly behind her.

Mara stuck and lashed out with her lightsaber as the rest of blue team let loose around her, unsheathing their assortment of small arms. There would be no mercy here, she knew, for they'd come too far and seen too much as they'd made their way from node to node.

Blue Wave entered the fray with his glaive already swinging for the first warrior in his path. He struck, and it fell to the ground. "I was hoping to get through this without fighting," he said through clenched teeth.

Bronze Wave chuckled. "Small chance of that, Shadow Man." She aimed with her bow and fired, then pulled out a short sword and a dagger.

Mara barely noticed the action around her as she took down a warrior at a time, coldly and methodically. Time became fluid as they kept coming, seemingly without end, and then it was over, just as quickly as it began.

Out of breath, but not exhausted, Mara looked around and was prepared for more.

Dust Wave came up beside her. "I think we got 'em all."

Mara nodded slowly, still scanning the shadows for more. "Seems that way."

Blue Wave looked around at his team and counted. "Alright, lets move on, shall we?"

Echo Wave saluted him. "Sir, yes sir."

Mara blinked at that as the rest of the team had a collective chuckle.

"Was that really necessary, Chris?" Blue Wave asked as they continued on to the next node.

"Probably not, but I felt like it."

"Right…"

Much later…

Red Wave was concentrating on providing cover when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that distracted her for a moment with a sense of déjà vu so real that it nearly bowled her over.

Not five feet away, Luke felt a ripple of emotion, almost like an echo, and frowned. "Ranko?"

"It's nothing," Red Wave said, her voice tight.

Luke wasn't convinced, but nodded and shifted his attention back to the incoming Vong.

"Okay, we're done," Orange Wave said from behind him as she got up off the ground, and pulled out her staff. "What's going on… oh no."

Gold Wave heard the almost strangled tone in Susan's voice and frowned. "What?"

Orange Wave motioned to Red Wave. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Huh?" Gold Wave turned as she unsheathed her weapon, and nearly dropped it in shock. "Oh ****."

Luke blinked at the sudden use of language and turned just in time to find Orange Wave throwing herself at him, and tackling him bodily to the ground.

He had no time to wonder why, as the answer erupted right in front up him in an electrical frenzy.

"Sorry!" Orange Wave yelled over the noise.

~*~*~*~

They were at another node, and Mara was again guarding an opening with Blue Wave. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"Not too long," Gray Wave told her quietly. "This node is bigger than the others, so it's taking longer to do."

"It's a central node, Dawn," Bronze Wave pointed out. "Of course it's bigger."

"So we could have just come straight to this one to set up the feedback?" Echo Wave asked.

"Wouldn't have been as effective," Silver Wave muttered. She noticed a slight flicker in the light levels and frowned. "That's weird."

"What is?" Mara wondered.

"Minor atmospheric change, not sure what kind… Jessica?"

[Yes?]

"We had a flicker. Did something happen?"

Pause… [It's nothing, really. We'll tell you later.]

Silver Wave frowned at that answer. "What?"

[Just trust me. It can wait.]

"Jess?" Blue Wave asked. "Are you hedging because you know I'll get mad?"

[Yes,] Jessica said simply.

"Right, then. Is she at least speaking an earth language?"

[Mostly.]

Blue Wave sighed. "Tell Moira to pull her in ten minutes if we aren't done before then."

[Will do.]

Mara frowned at him. "What happened?"

"She pulled a Thundershock on the Vong."

"What does that have to do with atmospheric change?"

Luckily, he didn't have to answer as they were interrupted by the other half of their team pulling away from the node and joining them at the archway.

"Okay, now we're done," Gray Wave told them. "And Mara? You'll find out. Trust me on that."

Mara looked at her funny. "Right…"

~*~*~*~

Luke slowly got up off the ground and dusted himself off, then stared around at the immediate area. Everything, including the Vong warriors in the general vicinity, was absolutely charred to a crisp. "What in the name of the Force?"

"That's why I tackled you," Orange Wave said sheepishly. "I forgot about the personal shields."

Luke's gaze fell on Ranko, who was now in plain clothes and sitting down. "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Gold Wave muttered. "Ranko?" The woman shrugged, and said something in a language Luke didn't understand, and Gold Wave stared first at her, then turned around to see where everyone else was. "Ah. You know Amy is fine, right?"

"Si."

"I knew there was a reason I didn't want to do another one of these missions," Pink Wave said as she came up to them, still dusting herself off. She glanced at Luke. "Sorry about that. Our fearless leader will be fine. Granted, she'll be speaking nearly every language she knows for an hour or so and Peter may kick her butt, but she'll be fine… and that last one was Spanish. Como esta?"

"Bien," Ranko said as she got to her feet, shaking her head. "Usted?

"Fine, but I'll believe it when you're speaking English."

"Is this kind of thing a regular occurance?" Luke wondered.

"Only when something stupid happens," Copper Wave said as she joined them, limping more than slightly.

[Hey guys?] Jessica asked. [Allison wants to know what's going on.]

"Ranko happened," Yellow Wave told her.

[Ah… Do you think Moira should pull her right now?]

Yellow Wave glanced at Ranko. "Your call, Ranko."

"Niet."

Yellow Wave snorted. "You start speaking Chinese, I'll hurt you."

Blue Team appeared just then, and Ranko ran to Blue Wave. "Airen! Wo Ai Ai!"

"…or not…" Yellow Wave giggled as Ranko snuggled up to Blue Wave.

"Wo Ai Ni."

"Love you too, Ranko," Blue Wave muttered. He glanced around the immediate are and whistled softly. "Moira?"

[Yes?]

"Fourteen to teleport. We're done."

~*~*~*~

When the transport sequence wound down, Peter took a moment to glare at his wife. "What was the idea here?"

Ranko blinked innocently at him. "Nani?"

"You knew that an energy discharge like that could set off a bad reaction, Ranko. What happened? ...And don't start acting like you don't understand. I know you do."

Mara turned to Luke. "What is he talking about? I still don't get it."

Luke shrugged. "Some sort of energy thing. She hasn't spoken basic since."

Mara thought back to what the area had looked like. "Oh." Her eyes widened when Ranko launched into a long explanation in a tongue that she wasn't familiar with. "Oh... huh?"

Susan sighed and handed translators to Luke, Mara, and Moira who'd just entered the cabin. "She'll be like that for a while. Put these on or you'll be utterly lost."

"How many languages does she know?" Moira wondered. She remembered the lessons in elvish, so it wasn't that much of a surprise.

"I lost count at 10," Susan muttered good-naturedly. "Don't ask. It had to do with an education mix-up, or so the story goes."

"A what?" Mara asked as she put the translator on, still slightly baffled.

"My sister didn't have a normal childhood," Susan shrugged. "One of the results was that she's multi-lingual."

Mara nodded slowly, still not getting it really. "Right." She turned her attention to the currently defensive Ranko and was startled when she could understand it.

{{…and then I saw Amy down, and had a…}} Here Ranko paused, at a loss for words. {{Well, you know what I had. It wasn't good. And I forgot all about the energy bombs, Peter. I shouldn't have, but…}}

Peter glanced at Amy. "You got thrown to the ground?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I let my guard down and a hit got through. I'm fine... And you're seriously blaming it on something totally random?"

Ranko just looked at her for a moment, unsure of how to explain it. {{I am not blaming anyone for my actions, AJ. I am just explaining. You know why.}}

"Yes, I understand that you had a flashback. I also understand that I was fine and there wasn't a paralelle between my getting knocked to the ground and Carter having an aneurysm caused by a Colmeri telepath."

{{I didn't say it was logical, Amy.}}

Peter muttered something that Mara couldn't hear and Ranko turned to glare at him. "Don't think I'm not serious, because I am."

"I was going to tell Jill to stop by and have a talk," Susan spoke up after a moment of thought. "This just reinforces that."

{{And what was your reasoning?}}

"Various little things, like you bringing up my being kidnapped. It happened 30 years ago and it is over and done, just like what happened to Carter. And they were both accidents more than anything else."

[I hate to interrupt here, but y'all may want to look out the view ports or something.] Jessica's voice came over the comm system before they could lay into Ranko any further. [And I called Jill already. She'll be here shortly.]

{{Great,}} Ranko muttered as they all turned to the view port and watched as… nothing happened. {{Um... did we forget something?}}

[Aproaching max build-up, two, one... zero... now.] Vincent counted down for them, almost in sync with a bright flash that filled the view port.

{{Vincent?}} Ranko asked. {{Did we get all of them in that?}}

[Peter, did she just ask if we got everything? I didn't understand most of it.]

"Yes, she did. Well?"

[We're checking,] Jessica told him. [I'm pretty sure you did, but is good to make certain so we don't have to do it all over again… Hi, Jill. Good to see ya.]

Ranko sighed. {{Terrific. I don't wanna.}}

[You're the one who had the incident. Deal with it.]

{{What are you, my mother?}}

[No, but I could call her and tell her all about this if you want. See how well it goes over with her, hmm?]

Ranko said something not worth translating.

[Hah, hah… Okay, according to my screen here, this says, preliminarily, that all of them blew up, skips included. Don't go celebrating just yet, as it's a prelim report.]

Susan frowned, and turned to Ranko. "I'm going to go and help them with that."

Ranko nodded. {{Go on.}}

"Right... Savvy, come with me."

"You understood that?" Savage asked as she followed Susan out of the crew compartment.

Susan laughed. "It's only ancient Valari, Savage. Of course I understood it..."

Ranko shook her head and glanced at Peter. {{If she gives Jill a full report, I'll scream.}}

"Before or after your language skills return to normal?" Peter teased her playfully.

{{You really think it'd matter?}} And then Ranko grimaced as she heard something over her private comm chanel that she didn't like. She sighed. {{Fine. Peter, tell Jill okay for me, would ya? Might as well get it over with.}}

Peter chuckled. "Right. Jill? If you didn't understand the grumbling, permission granted."

~*~*~*~*~

Mara leaned against the bulkhead, calmly watching as the Wave Rangers went through various calming routines and cleaned up.

Luke turned to her with an inquisitive expression. "How was it?"

"Couple hours of boredom with a moment of sheer terror," Mara told him blithely. She turned and smiled a little. "I think it was weird that all I did was provide extra guard…"

"And?"

"And it was fun."

"Fun?"

"With sheer terror intermixed." She considered him for a moment, then put her arms around his shoulders. "And I remembered something in all of this, Farmboy."

Luke smiled down at her. "Oh really?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"And what was that?"

"I love you."

He saw in her eyes a sparkle that had been missing since she'd woken up in the hospital months ago, and he believed. "What changed?"

"I needed to go and do something to remember what it was that made me… me." She paused, going over that in her mind. "Okay… that made no sense, but you know what I mean."

He silenced her with a kiss. When the kiss ended, Mara blinked up at him. "I know what you mean, Mara. I love you, too."

Mara gazed up at him, then said with conviction: "We are so getting married when we get back to Coruscant."

"There was never a doubt in my mind that we wouldn't be."

Off to the side, Melinda nudged Amy in the shoulder and motioned to the happy couple. "You know, for some reason, I don't think the cannon time line applies."

Amy followed her gaze and smiled. "It's a possibility."

~*~*~*~

Melinda waited until Peter came back from the private lounge before trying to discuss her suspicions with anyone. "I think we don't have to worry about The Eye."

Peter took a moment to process that, then looked at her for an explanation. "And what makes you think so?"

Melinda rolled her eyes and dragged him to the crew compartment. She motioned to the two occupants. "Them and the run-down of events that haven't happened yet. Exar Kun but no Callista? Really, Peter."

"That could be delayed, you know." Peter noticed just how comfortable the two Jedi seemed together, then turned to look at Melinda. "Have Susan do a data analysis, just to make sure. If it can wait, then it'll have to wait."

"You mean triage."

"Exactly."

[Already on it,] Susan said over the private comm channel. [Also, we didn't QUITE get everything.]

Peter leaned against the door frame. "How much are we talking about?"

[Ninety-seven percent was destroyed... Palora saw the final readout, and rushed out of here so fast it almost gave me whiplash. She's putting an ASTG unit together now.]

Melinda blinked. "What?"

[Just what I said. The ASTG's are going to mop up the rest… should we pity the Vong?]

Peter exchanged a glance with Melinda, then snorted. "No. If anything, feel bad that Palora just pulled Wildcat and Tiger off their vacation because we didn't get everything."

"She wouldn't do that, would she?" Melinda wondered.

"Of course she would. And Salana, too. Right, Susan?"

[Yeah.]

Luke noticed the two of them by the doorway, took in the somberness, and nudged Mara. "Something's up."

Mara followed his gaze, and nodded slowly. "Seems that way. Think we should ask?"

Luke considered them for a moment, assessing them, then shook his head. "No. I don't feel anything totally wrong there, just…"

"A feeling of unease?" Mara finished when he trailed off.

"Somewhat." They watched as Ranko joined them at the door, and were treated to Melinda sighing dramatically and stomping away. "Huh?"

Ranko glanced their way and smiled. "Post-mission debriefing. It's required."

Mara blinked. "When did you start speaking Basic again?"

"An hour ago." Ranko looked at Peter. "I heard Susan's assessment. That's not bad, really."

Peter rolled his eyes at her. "Not bad, but not good, either. And we could have gotten everything."

"In just the right circumstances, yes. I'm just glad we don't have to do it all over again."

"Amen to that."

Ranko turned to regard Luke and Mara again. "So… where were you going before your trip turned into a royal mess?"

"On a trading run, then back to Coruscant," Mara said with a slight smile. "We're not due back for another couple of weeks, though."

Luke suddenly remembered something. "Hey, is there any way to make a comm to Coruscant from here?"

Peter nodded. "I can help you set it up if you want." He led Luke out of the room.

Mara shook her head, still smiling, then looked at Ranko. "Where is my ship, anyway? I had some cargo on board and I hope it's still intact."

"It's locked in our tractor beam still. The damage wasn't that bad, really… just extensive. Come on, let's go see what there is to salvage, hmm?"

Mara nodded, and followed Ranko out.

~*~*~*~

Mara stared at the sensor readout with amazement. "How in the name of the Force did we get out of that?"

"I've seen worse," Ranko muttered while she adjusted the screen so Mara could see it better. "We had a knock-down drag-out at home that caused more than this and ships still managed to limp away from it. Kinda... the most I see here is structural. Right there, see?"

Mara looked at where she was pointing and nodded. "The pressure seals were broken... wait, does that mean that the cargo is frozen?"

Ranko adujust the senors a little more and studied the output. "Would that be a bad thing?"

"Some of it was medical."

"Well, not all of it was frozen and the boxes were pretty well insulated, so... chances are, no. Not all of it is frozen."

Mara turned to look at her. "You babble when you're thinking, don't you?"

"Comes with the many-language episode. Annoying, yes, but... it's a short-term thing." Ranko shrugged and adjusted the senors some more. "Nice ring, by the way."

Mara snorted, trying not to laugh. "Thanks."

"So when's the big day?" At the unresponsive silence, Ranko turned and looked at her. Mara was staring at her with an unreadable expression. "What? No one on this ship is so blind that they can't identify sexual tension from fifty paces. And I know what it looks like, I've watched three kids be teenagers in love… more, if you count my younger siblings."

"When we get back to Coruscant," Mara said slowly.

"Oh, so that's why you want to get the trading run over with."

"Yes."

Ranko chuckled and then turned back to the sensor panel. "You think we should drop these things back at Lamarred? That's the system you were in."

Mara shook her head. "Only if there were people left there. And considering that we jumped into the middle of an attack and just barely managed to get away…" She let the unsaid conclusion hang there between them.

Ranko sat back and thought about it a moment, before cocking her head to one side. "Sue?"

[I wouldn't recommend it. That was Palora's first stop. She said there wasn't a whole lot left that was salvageable, and hardly anyone left alive. The ones that survived were evacuated to Elidar for treatment.]

"Meaning that we don't need to go there."

[Correct… hey. This is interesting…]

"What is?" Mara asked. Ranko glanced back at her in question, and Mara shrugged. "I didn't take my comm. off."

"Ah… Well, Susan?"

[Hmm? Oh, right… You don't mind hot and dry weather do you?]

"No…"

[Well, it goes like this…]

Ranko listened to the plan that Susan was laying out while sharing a look with Mara. "You're not serious, right?"

[Why wouldn't I be? The supplies have to go somewhere, don't they?]

"Well yes, but… Tatooine?"

[Alright, you give me a better planet and I'll look it up. It's the closest one that I recognized and there's always a supply need.]

"Right… what about Kessel?"

"No," Mara answered before Susan could. "She's right. It is the closest one."

[There's also a medical need.]

"That, too."

"Are you two ganging up on me or something?"

[Yes.]

"Wonderful."

[There's also something else, Ran-chan.]

"Clear it with Peter first."

[Why?]

"Jill demoted me, is the why."

[Huh?]

"Nothing major, but it's Peter's call on where we go and when until I'm reinstated." The wry tone of her voice didn't go unnoticed.

[I'll ask him, then.]

Mara found that very odd. "This Jill person has that kind of authority?"

"She's a psychiatrist," Ranko said simply.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that yes, she has that kind of pull, both for medical and mental reasons."

"Oh."

Susan came back momentarily: [Okay, Peter thinks it's a good plan, though he does wonder why you're deferring to him.]

"He WANTS to go to a desert planet?"

[You're the one who left him with the Jedi moisture farmer.]

Ranko sighed. "Great."

"It's not that bad," Mara muttered absently.

Ranko turned and stared at her. "Yes it is, especially when there's a possible emergency of undefined origin."

"Well, yes, but… no, forget I said that."

[There's one thing in all this…] Susan began, then trailed off.

"And that would be?" Ranko asked blithely.

[This way, you won't get blamed for misuse of teleportation privileges again.]

Ranko couldn't help but laugh. "True."

"Misuse of what?" Mara wondered.

"I had a world tour via our teleportation system. My aunt wasn't exactly thrilled about it."

[Mom wasn't either.]

Earlier…

Tasha sighed as she examined a warrior and realized what she was looking at. "This one is tagged."

Palora turned from the discussion she'd been having with Aniya and frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Do I sound sure?" Tasha concentrated on the female warrior that had been severely injured and frowned. "I…"

"Do it, Tasha. Some good must come of all this."

But Tasha wasn't listening to her. She was holding eye contact with the warrior, silently asking, searching. Something in the warrior's gaze was saying very clearly: "I am strong, and I choose this. But not your way. Not with you."

Tasha nodded very slowly, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I understand." The warrior nodded back, acknowledging her.

Tasha bowed her head, observing a moment of silence as she felt the warrior's passing. Then slowly, Tasha stood up and turned to face Palora. "She didn't want it. I can do nothing unless they want it. She didn't."

Palora started at her. "But you said she was tagged."

"Not every tagged person becomes a time guardian, Palora. You know that."

"But…"

Tasha motioned to the warrior's body. "As a healer, I have to ask and honor the choice one makes, whatever it may be. If a person doesn't want to become a T.G., then that is their right."

"Do no harm?"

"Exactly." Tasha glanced down and noticed the silvery sheen of an aura outlining the body. "What in the…"

"What?" Palora asked, looking down. She frowned. "What is that?"

Tasha didn't answer her, instead gauging the glow with her senses, her eyes trying to make sense of it. She was still trying to figure it out when the shine turned into a glow, and then the warrior coughed and sat up.

Tasha knelt down again, looking hard into the warrior's stunned eyes… and blinked in surprise. "Palora?"

"Yes?"

"Was there a time element for the Yuuzhan Vong homeworld?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Palora pulled a datapadd out and considered the info there for a long moment before looking up again. "No, there isn't."

"Well now there is." Tasha smiled and spoke in the warrior's language. The warrior answered back, and Tasha nodded, then glanced up at Palora. "Tagged, but not for us. This one is special."

"They all are."

Now…

Elsie waited until she could catch a moment alone with Mara, and then pounced. "I have something to tell you."

Mara looked up from the datapad that she'd been reading a frowned. "Oh really? What?"

Elsie pulled a chair over and sat down. "I don't usually get flashes of events that haven't happened yet, but the first time I touched you, I got something. It took a while to sort through all the information, but… well, it's not bad, just important that you know."

Mara was curious now. Up until this moment, the woman sitting across from her had been short-tempered, almost rude. "I'm all ears."

"It'd be easier to show you, but basically… you…" Elsie took a deep breath to calm herself. "You have family out there. I have no idea where or when or how, I just know that you do. Don't run away from it if it happens that I'm right." As Elsie stood up, she paused. "And your first grandchild? Don't get mad, Ms. Jade. I know you don't understand right now, but you will."

Mara watched her leave, almost mystified. "First grandchild?"

She'd wonder for a very long time.

~*~*~*~

Dark Star had refused to stay behind again when they prepared to depart via teleporter. Moira had tried to pick her up and Dark Star had hissed and swiped with a clawed paw, startling Moira so bad that Melinda had to take her aside and calm her down.

"I…" Moira glanced at the animal that was sitting at Mara's feet and growling. "I…"

"Look at me," Melinda commanded, drawing Moira's attention on to her. "Don't look at Dark Star, look at me." Finally, Moira looked straight at Melinda. "You're fine, got that? She's a cat, they do that when they don't want to be held."

Moira took a deep breath to steady herself, and nodded. "You're right. It's just… she let me do it yesterday."

"Doesn't mean she'll fall for the same trick twice." Melinda turned and waved those that were going off. "Go on. Try not to get into too much trouble down there."

Ranko snorted. "Right. We'll try."

"Try not. Do." Melinda smirked as she saw the surprise in the Jedi Master's eyes right before she hit the teleport mechanism. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Do what?" Moira asked her.

"Grandstand."

"Huh?"

"Long story."

"Right…"

~*~*~*~*~

"I forgot how much I hated dry heat," Ariel muttered to Elsie as they stood on a sand berm standing guard while Mara and Luke negotiated a deal for their cargo. Well… Mara was negotiating. Luke was standing beside her looking intimidating with a cat at his feet.

"It's not so bad," Elsie murmured back to her.

"Uh-huh. Sure it's not."

[Hush, you two,] Susan told them. [Your voices can carry farther than you think.]

~*~*~*~*~

"That was good thinking," Mara told Luke after they were done. "Just the right people who needed what we had."

"Glad you think so." Luke glanced around to see where their guards were and shook his head. "Think we can lose them for a little while? It's…"

Mara bent down and picked Dark Star up while she considered it. "Probably. Why?"

"We haven't had a true moment to ourselves in days."

The sincerity in his voice made her smile. "All right. Here, hold Dark Star for a moment."

Luke took Dark Star from her and they both watched as Mara went off to talk to Ranko. "Hmm…"

~*~*~*~*~

Ranko considered the red-haired woman for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. We're a beep away if you need us. Go for a walk or something."

Mara nodded back. "I don't suppose you'd take Dark Star with you?"

"Not a chance. I don't get between territorial felines and their owners."

Mara couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Good point."

~*~*~*~

As they walked among the sand dunes, Dark Star trailing behind them, Mara couldn't help but notice her fiance's far-off expression. "Luke?"

Luke glanced at her. "What?"

"Are you all right? You seem distracted."

He looked away from her and shrugged. "It's nothing."

"I don't think it's nothing." A year ago, she wouldn't have intruded on his thoughts in this way, but they'd been getting closer and he'd done it to her so much in the past few months. Only the fact that it had helped her to heal was making her bold now as she reached out and made him look at her. "Tell me?"

"Doesn't matter now, Mara. You're safe, we're alive." He tried to look away again, but she wouldn't let him.

"Sure it matters." She looked into his eyes lovingly. "Tell me? Please?"

Luke considered her for a minute before taking her in his arms and embracing her tightly. "I am never letting you go again. Not without me."

Mara blinked, not having expected him to react that way. "Huh?"

Luke pulled back to look at her again. "I searched for you for months and then found you in the nick of time."

"That reminds me. What happened there? I need to know, Luke."

Luke looked away for a moment. "Most of them are dead. Two ended up in a Correllian prison for life."

"I was on Correllia?"

"No, that was the planet with governing authority in the sector."

The way he answered that question made her wonder why he was being so… dodgy in answering. "So where was I?"

"On a planet in the Correllian sector."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He hesitated before answering her. "There were more than just you there in that place, Mara. They… well, it wasn't good, any of it."

"And you don't want me to go there and see the remnants of it?"

"No."

"Okay."

Luke blinked. "Huh?" He'd obviously expected her to go further in probing him out.

"I don't want to go back there either, I just wanted answers. I'm glad you found me, farmboy." She kissed him soundly, only pulling away at the soft 'meow' at their feet. Looking down at Dark Star, Mara smiled. "We still have a chaperone."

"Yes we do… I love you, Mara."

"I love you, too. What's say we get going, hmm?"

"I want to be alone with you a little while longer."

"We're not alone."

"Dark Star doesn't count."

They walked among the dunes for a while longer, hand in hand, with Dark Star following behind them.

~*~*~*~

They were still walking amid the sand dunes when Mara felt Luke stiffen slightly beneath her hand. As she moved to ask, an answer came in the form of a lowing animal, far-off in the desert. It almost seemed like the wind had carried the sound directly to them. "Luke?"

"Bantha," he muttered, as if to himself.

She frowned at his tone as she turned to look at him. There was something there… primal and unknown, but there. She hadn't heard him use that kind of a tone before. "Are you all right?"

He nodded slowly. "It's nothing, Mara."

"Really?"

The question hung between them for a long moment until Luke turned to her, an old pain clearly in his eyes. "They day I left Tatooine, there were Banthas… and Sand People… and Dewbacks outside the cantina."

Mara wasn't sure what to make of that statement as she looked back at him, taking in the pain that she could feel through their bond as well as see in his eyes… and then she began to put the pieces together in her mind. He'd left after something terrible… Wordlessly, she pulled him into her arms. He'd lost so much that day...

"At least there weren't any Eopies," Luke said after they'd stood there a while, tickling her ear with his breath.

Not wanting to let go, she frowned down at Dark Star, who was watching them with what appeared to be curiosity. "What's an Eopie?"

At that, Luke snickered. Then he chuckled. Then, unable to contain himself, he outright laughed and pulled gently out of the embrace to sit down on the sand.

Mara stared down at him. "Eopies are funny?"

That, plus the befuddled expression on her face, just set him off again. "Oh, you have no idea!"

"Um… right…"

Mara sat down next to him as he slowly sobered, and Dark Star climbed into her lap. "So, really… what is an Eopie?"

"Sort of a pack animal, really," Luke said as he reached over and scratched behind Dark Star's ears. "The Tauntaun's on Hoth reminded me of them, a little…"

She nodded, waiting for him to continue, and frowned again when he didn't. Looking at him, he seemed really focused on the feline in her lap, and Mara decided to let that one be. She did want to know why a Tauntaun reminded him of desert pack animals, though…

"It wasn't the Tauntaun," he said suddenly, startling her. At Mara's unspoken question, he answered, "It was what happened to the Tauntaun."

"And?" Mara asked, probing for more. "What happened to the Tauntaun?"

Luke looked away again, a distant expression on his face. "I…"

"Don't," Mara told him, and he looked at her in question. She slowly cupped his cheek and smiled comfortingly. "You don't have to tell me now, Luke. When you're ready, and not before."

Luke nodded, and together the three of them enjoyed some quiet, although warm, time before they needed to rejoin the group to leave…

A/N: Foreign words this chapter...

Niet: "No." (Russian)

Nani: "What?" (Japanese)

Airen: "Husband/loved one" (Chinese)

Wo Ai Ni: "I love you." (Chinese)

Si: "Yes." (Spanish)

Hola, Como Esta: Spanish greeting meaning "Hello, how are you?"

Usted: "And you?" (Spanish)

Bien: "Good." (Spanish)