By JediGirl
CATAGORY: New Republic
SPOILERS: Tim Zahn's Hand of Thraw duology
RATING: R
SETTING: Those missing chapters that Mr. Zahn forgot to write in Visions
of the Future. Luke and Mara have just taken off from Nirauan and heading
out
to meet up with Leia, Han and Karrde. This is my version of what happened
between Luke and Mara during those days alone on their "borrowed" Chiss
ship. And of course how the "family" hears about the pending nuptials.
DISCLAIMER As always, these charcters do not belong to me. They belong
to wonderful people such as Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Timothy Zahn, among
others. They inspire me to make up my own tales and share them with
others....just for pure enjoyment. There is more to life than just money
:)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A huge big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta reader,
Michele. This story would never have happened without her. She
completely inspired me and helped to make it as good as it could be.
Plus, if it wasn't for her, the "challenge" would never had happened
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CHAPTER 11
Well clear of the planet Carva III, Mara pulled back on the control
levers and the
small ship launched into hyperspace once again.
Looking at the data scrolling across a small screen on the control board,
Mara read it
out loud. "Three days, 18 hours and 27 minutes. Not a bad time, this
ship is pretty
quick."
Turning in her seat to look at Luke she gave him a sweet smile. "So,
what are we
going to do to pass the time?"
"Well, there are lots of things I can teach you," Luke replied. "Even
in the small
confines of this ship."
"I'm sure there are," she said with a wink. "But I was hoping to do
more than just
meditate for the next 3 days."
"That wasn't what I was thinking, but it would make the time go by faster
if done
correctly." From the look on his face, Mara knew he was completely
serious.
Mara sighed deeply and shook her head at him.
"Do you have something in mind?" Luke asked.
"Well, I was kind of hoping to use this time to get to know each other better."
"I thought we've been doing that pretty well already," he said with a confident smile.
"That is NOT what I'm talking about," Mara reprimanded him. "You really
have spent
way too much time with Solo.
"We need to get to know more about each other's lives, about who we are."
"Mara, we've known each other for more than ten years. Don't you think
we have
learned something about each other in that time?
"Sure we have," she replied settling back into her chair and looking
out at the star
lines. "But you know as well as I do that there has always been a barrier
between us.
We have shared alot of personal aspects of our lives with each other.
However, there
is that boundary that we have refused to cross. Things we didn't want
to or just
couldn't share.
"This new bond that we share has changed that. The way I think of you
now is
completely different than it was only a month ago. I find myself actually
wondering
about who you are, what makes you tick, what made you who you are today.
"When we were fighting those droids in that underground chamber, our
bond
allowed me to look into your soul. At that instant I knew everything
about you, but it
all came at me so fast, there is no way I could process it all. In
my heart I know you
completely. What I know in my mind, however, is something completely
different.
It's like a huge blur.
"By sharing things verbally, things become more clear and feel more real."
Luke leaned towards her and took her left hand in his. He gave her a
warm smile as
she turned to look at him. "I've had the same thoughts myself, but
I guess I was just a
bit nervous to ask. You have never been one to reveal personal information
about
yourself freely."
Mara returned his smile. "I have never had a good enough reason to do so."
"Ok then, where do we start?"
"Well," Mara said as she swiveled her chair around to face Luke's. "I
was thinking
that we could each take turns asking each other questions, and just
go back and
forth. You can start if you like?"
"You sure?" Luke asked as he played with Mara's fingers which he still
held in his
hands.
She nodded her head in reply. "Go ahead, I'm sure there is something
you've been
eager to know about me."
"Ok," Luke said. "Where did you learn to use a straight edge shaving razor?"
Mara let out a hardy laugh at the question. "I give you the chance to
ask me any
question about my life and you ask me about that?"
"I have at least 3 days to learn everything else, don't I?"
"You have a point there," she replied. Luke released her hand and leaned
back into
his chair to listen to her tale.
"As I said before," she began. "It really isn't that interesting of
a story, but you asked
for it.
"When I was the Emperor's Hand, I had to learn alot of different skills,
dancing...sabotage," she smiled at Luke as she recalled the memory
of only a day ago,
her slashing away at the wall in Thrawn's hidden chamber to cause the
spartii
cylinders to explode. "Every mission required me to learn something
new.
"I think I was about 19. Palpatine got word that some of his senior
staff were making
plans against him. He didn't have anything concrete, so he put me on
the case to find
out what I could. This certain group of individuals happened to frequent
a very high
class spa on Coruscant, the Corusca Gem Health Resort. The Emperor
thought this may
be the place where they were discussing their plans. He had me placed
among the
staff to see if I could find out anything.
"Men have this bad habit of revealing information and boasting about
themselves to
beautiful women when they are in a relaxed environment. Palpatine knew
if I acted
like I was impressed with their level of authority, they would try
to increase that
impression further by telling me what sort of things they were involved
in. I would
make sure that they saw me as a naive female who didn't have a clue
to what they
were talking about. Once I had them convinced I wasn't a threat, I
would ask the
right questions and I'd get the information I was looking for."
"The mission lasted almost three months. During that time I worked in
just about
every part of the spa, including a salon, where I would shave the faces
of
many an imperial officer. I give a pretty mean back massage as well."
"Maybe I'll get a sample of that in the future," Luke teased.
"Only if you're a very good boy," she returned the taunt.
"So have you ever shaved anyone else since then?" Luke asked.
"Uh-uh," Mara shook her head. "Only one question at a time. It's my turn now."
"Fine," Luke replied rolling his eyes at her. "Fire away."
"How many women have you slept with?" she asked without hesitation.
Luke's eyes opened wide with shock at the question. "Whoa, you don't
beat around the
bush, do you?"
"I've learned it is easier to get straight to the point most of the
time," she said
crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a serious stare. "Now
answer the
question."
Luke dropped his gaze from her and fiddled with his fingers in his lap.
He took a deep
breath as he thought about his answer. He would answer her honestly,
but he
worried how she would react to the answer. Would she be surprised by
the number?
Was it too many women? Or would she laugh thinking he was really inexperienced?
A tingle of nervousness ran through Mara's stomach. "Is it that many
that you can't
remember?" she asked him with a bit of shock in her voice.
"No," Luke said quietly. He raised his eyes to her, but kept his chin
tucked down to his
chest. "Including you or besides you?" he asked her.
"Which ever," she replied.
"Only those who I have actually had sex with or including those I have
fooled around
with?" he asked as he bit the corner of his lower lip.
Mara took a deep breath. "You're really dragging this out farmboy.
"Only those you had sex with."
"Four," Luke answered quickly.
Mara's eyes opened wide. "Besides me?" she asked.
"No," he replied as he brought his head back up and sat taller in the
chair.
"Including you."
The number had surprised her, but she wasn't sure why. Subconsciously,
she guessed
she figured Luke was like any other high ranking male in the galaxy.
Women
probably threw themselves at him all the time and Mara just assumed
Luke must have
taken advantage of that situation from time to time.
But she knew Luke better than that. He would never take advantage of
his position
that way. Lando Calrissian, yes -- Luke Skywalker, never!
Then what was she surprised about? Deep down she found her answer--she
had
secretly hoped that she would be the only woman he'd 'been' with. But
that idea was a
completely selfish one. She herself had a list of sexual experiences
of her own. A list,
in fact, that rivaled Luke's by more than half. So why should she be
upset by his
history of intimacy?
She tried to quell her emotions, but a hint of jealousy still seemed
to nibble at her
heart. "Who were the other three?" she queried, her surprise still
showing on her
face.
Luke held up a hand to the question. "One question per person, remember?"
he told
her. "Your rules, not mine."
Mara squinted her eyes at him menacingly. "Fine! Ask your question."
Luke smiled at his little victory. "Have you ever given anyone else
a shave after your
mission at the spa?"
"Yes!" Mara answered. She saw Luke work his mouth to ask "Who?" but
he knew the
rules and his lips closed down on the question. Mara let a few moments
pass as silence
filled the air. She knew she didn't have to tell Luke who it had been,
but it really was
silly for her not to. "You," she said with a clever smile that lightened
the mood that
had all of a sudden fell upon them.
Releasing a long breath he smiled at her. "You're good at this game, aren't you?"
"And you're not," she whispered, followed by a quiet giggle.
"So, who were they?" she asked getting back to the topic at hand.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he replied. "On my
sixteenth
birthday some of my 'friends' fixed me up with this girl named Kirra.
She was the
cousin of one of the guys that I hung around with and she was on Tatooine
visiting
family. She was a year older than me, pretty nice looking and 'experienced'.
The guys
thought of it as the perfect birthday gift. I got pretty drunk and
ended up in the
backroom of the local garage with Kirra. I don't really recall much
of what
happened. She left the next afternoon and I never saw her again. I
don't think it
meant anything to her.
"The second was a quick fling right after I joined the Rebellion. I
was pretty cocky
after the whole Death Star thing, and girls weren't that hard to come
by. I got
involved with a girl who was originally from Alderaan. She was pretty
similar
looking to Leia, and I'm sure that is why I was attracted to her."
Luke blushed a bit at
the mention of actually having a crush on the woman who ended up being
his sister.
"She was nice, but it just didn't work out, so we went our separate
ways. It really
wasn't a good time for making long term commitments anyway. Her name
was
Tarjsha. She died during the battle at Hoth."
He closed his eyes for a moment as the pain of the memory washed over
him. Mara
leaned over and squeezed his hand that rested on the armrest of the
chair. "You don't
have to tell me all this you know, I just wanted names."
"I know," he replied with a hoarseness in his voice. He opened his eyes
and smiled at
her. "But I thought you would want to know anyway."
"Only if you really want to tell me," she said passionately.
"I do," he told her.
Mara bit at her bottom lip and looked intently into his blue eyes. "And
the third?" she
asked.
"Callista," he all but whispered the name.
Mara swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She closed her eyes
and squeezed
his hand again. She felt the tinge of pain that swept through Luke
as he said Callista's
name.
She had seen the pain he had gone through over the years as he tried
to come to
grips with Callista's leaving. The wound had run deep and she had wondered
how
much it had healed. *Not fully,* she thought to herself.
Mara was confident in the love that she and Luke had for each other.
But what of his
love for Callista? Where did his feelings stand on that subject? Did
he still love her?
"I love you Mara." she heard him whisper to her. "Callista is part of
my past.
But you are my present and my future and nothing is going to change
that."
Luke placed his free hand under her chin and lifted her lips to meet
his as he leaned
in towards her. Mara melted into it without hesitation. She felt their
bond intensify
and found herself looking deep into his heart. It beat strong and steady
and the
emotion that flowed from it was directed at her, and only her. The
sensation
overwhelmed her and she broke away from the kiss and released a quiet
sob. She felt
the wetness from her tears run down her cheeks. She hadn't even realized
she had
been crying.
She tried to blink away the tears and make Luke's face come into focus,
but the effort
seemed to be futile. The tears continued to flow, though not out of
sadness, but out of
joy. The joy she felt from the love she now was able to share with
another. It was an
emotion she thought she would never have. An emotion she made herself
believe she
didn't want or need. She was never so happy about being SO wrong.
Luke wiped her cheeks with his thumbs and smiled lovingly at her. "Who
would ever
think Mara Jade could be so emotional?" he teased her.
"No one," she said with a sniffle. "And you better not let it out that I really am."
"Never! I like the idea of knowing a completely different Mara from everyone else."
Mara jumped out of her chair and pressed herself against Luke. Their
lips met once
again and their arms slipped around one another in a passionate embrace.
No more
words were exchanged as the two lovers clung to one another. This question
and
answer session was over for the evening.