ENTRY 20

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Mirax Terrik Horn? If I haven't, allow me to reiterate what a wonderful, amazing woman she is.

Why is Mirax so wonderful? It's simple.

She got us tickets to Lando Calrissian's book tour stop on Corellia.

I love that woman. So much.

When Mirax returned to the moon several days later, that was my cue it was time to get back to work. During my stay at the Academy, Luke and I talked long and hard about our plans for the future. With the exception of helping Karrde close up shop on the smuggling aspects of his business, I was pretty much done working for him. I figured it wouldn't take me very long to finish up his remaining tasks.

Luke felt obligated to stay at the Academy for a few more years, at least until the Solo kids finished their initial training. But he was in the process of transferring his official duties to Jedi headquarters on Coruscant, where we would maintain our permanent residence. The Academy would become a place where young students were introduced to the Force, and after leaving Yavin their training would mimic the Jedi of the Old Republic, where apprentices were assigned to a master and learned from them on a more personal basis.

While the Academy was entering its final transitions, we'd still be able to see each other on Coruscant and Yavin, probably more often than usual, and I was glad. We'd been married two years and I still felt like a newlywed. Every time we began to fall into a routine, it was time for one or both of us to go back to work. We knew what we were getting into when we got married, but I was looking forward to the time when we could live together on a daily basis, like a real married couple.

The miscarriage didn't help matters. Staying at the Academy pulled me out of my depression, but I was still feeling down when it came time to leave.

Which leads me back to Mirax being the best friend ever. Knowing I needed cheering up, she bought me Lando Calrissian's new autobiography—How to Succeed in Everything. (Yes, that is the actual title.) We read it in a day and laughed our asses off.

Then, since we were going to be on Corellia at the same time Lando was doing a grand presentation, she got us tickets. I don't know what strings she pulled, but somehow we ended up front row center.

To say the night was entertaining…well, let's just say that we may or may not have been a tad tipsy. And we may or many not have asked one too many questions about the nature of the relationship between Lando Calrissian and Mara Jade. It's his fault—his embellishments were ridiculous and I decided to get him back. (I was in disguise; Lando, of course, figured out it was me and realized what we were up to. He glared virboblades at us while trying to answer our questions and it was the only time I'd ever seen Lando unflappable.)

When Mirax and I got back to the Pulsar Skate, I got on the hypercomm with Luke, who was just waking up back on Yavin IV. I told him all about our evening and he also had a huge laugh. Then, because I love my husband so much, I read him an excerpt from the autobiography.

It must be preserved for prosperity in this datapad. It's that good.

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It was a dark and stormy night. My lady and I had just landed on the planet Dagar and set out to explore the capital city, in search of lost Jedi artifacts for my dear friend, Luke Skywalker.

The artifacts were being held for ransom by a religious cult following what was called The True Path. The Pathfollowers, as they called themselves, believed that the Jedi were abominations and needed to be destroyed.

My lady and I found their nest and infiltrated it quietly. Her moves were as quiet and graceful as a nexu hunting its prey, her red, braided hair flowing beautifully down her exquisite black catsuit.

She found the artifacts and extracted them without catching any attention, like a true professional. However, when leaving the residence, we were discovered by a pair of roaming guards and the rest of the Pathfollowers were alerted to our presence.

A fight ensued but my lady and I were more than capable of defeating the cultists. However, they must have used some sort of magic against us, because that is the only way to explain how they managed to kidnap my lady and drag her into their clutches!

I was distraught and set out to rescue her immediately. I contacted the local authorities and we raided the Pathfollowers' secret compound, where the cultists were in the process of sacrificing Mara to their deity. She was screaming for help and flames were licking up her feet. When I cut her down from the stake, she threw her arms around me and thanked me and the Force for saving her.

Later that night, as things between us grew intense and passionate, I realized that it was time for our relationship to end. You see, while she was screaming for someone to save her from the cultists, she did not call out my own name. I did not hold that against her, because I recognized my lady's true feelings and knew it was for the best.

I held her at arms length and she gave me a sad look. "What is wrong, Lando dear?"

"We cannot do this anymore, my love," I told her sadly.

She stepped back, deeply affronted. "But why? Do you not love me anymore?"

I sighed, not wanting to let her go, but knew that this was more important than my happiness. "You belong with someone else."

"But who?" she gasped. "Who could I ever love more than you?"

"Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker! But I hate that intolerable man!"

"No you don't, my dear. You love him and he loves you. You belong with him. You should be a Jedi. Those cultists captured you because of your ability in the Force. That is your destiny."

"But I thought that you wanted to be with me!" she nearly cried.

"Oh, Mara, do not fret." I kissed her forehead. "Search your feelings, and you will find that I speak the truth."

After that, we went our separate ways. Eventually, she saw the truth in my words and married my good friend, Luke Skywalker.

I was an honored guest at their wedding and knew that I had made the right decision by letting her go. They looked so happy together.

But do not feel sorry for me, ladies! I found love with my own lovely woman, Tendra Risant, and have many stories about that relationship. Read on!

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One might wonder why I didn't kill Lando after writing that dreck about us. It's simple. It made me laugh. A lot. So instead I thanked him for lightening my mood.

Plus, it's better not to retaliate right away, and have him sleep with one eye open for the next ten years.

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Wait a minute Mara, are you telling me that story isn't true? My world has been shattered. – MTH