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
--------------------------------------------
Chapter 12
The small blue and white astromech droid sat in the alcove at the back
of the flight-
deck. His internal chronometer indicated the set time. He released
a little warble into
the quiet space of the cockpit. When he got no reply, he set his audio
for a higher
volume and warbled again.
Once again he received no reply. He took notice of the two sleeping
forms huddled
under some blankets on the floor a meter or so away from him. He had
been
requested by his master to wake him an hour before they were to come
out of
hyperspace. Not being a droid who ever shirked his duties, no matter
how small, R2-
D2 raised his audio output several more notches and sent out a piercing
whistle that
filled the small space the three of them inhabited over the last 3
days, 17 hours and 27
minutes.
Luke's eyes snapped open and he quickly surveyed his surroundings. His
eyes came
to rest on the R2 unit sitting at the back of the flight deck.
Artoo gave him a questioning beep.
Mara moaned sleepily and wiggled under the blankets next to him. "Shhhh,"
Luke
soothed her as he ran a hand through her hair. He placed a gentle kiss
on the top of
her head. Mara snuggled into his chest and fell back into slumber.
He turned back to the droid, "I'm up, I'm up," Luke told Artoo in a
whispered voice.
"Though you could have done it a bit nicer."
Artoo released a series of annoyed sounding beeps and whistles.
"I'm sorry," he responded to Artoo's complaining. "Now keep it down.
I don't want to
wake Mara just yet."
Slowly disentangling himself from Mara's arms and legs, Luke slipped
out from their
make-shift sleeping area.
Yesterday Luke had spent many long hours tutoring Mara on some advanced
Force
skills. The exercises were very draining. More so for Mara since she
was still
learning. She had stuck with it though, even when he thought she was
at the
breaking point. When he finally called an end to the training session,
Mara slumped
into her chair and fell right to sleep.
Luke woke her a short time later suggesting she should eat something
before they
retired for the evening. He wanted both of them to be on New Republic
time when
they finally caught up with Leia and Karrde. It could be pretty bothersome
when
everyone around you was just eating breakfast and your body thought
it was bed-
time.
Mara had continued to look pretty exhausted during their dinner. When
they had
finished eating, Luke suggesting turning in for the evening, but Mara
seemed to get
a burst of energy. She thought they should make the most of their last
'private'
evening together. She had pointed out that once they reached civilization,
they
would probably not have much opportunity to be 'together' until the
wedding night.
"How would it look to everyone for the 'Great Jedi Master' to be spending
the night in
some woman's bed?" she had said to him. "We don't want to tarnish that
shining
image everyone has of you."
Luke replied that he didn't consider his image to be "shining"-at least
not at the
moment-and he really didn't care what anyone thought anyway.
He could still see the exhausted look in her eyes. The events of the
past month were
finally catching up with her. He had to admit they were catching up
with him too.
"Maybe we should just get some sleep," he suggested, but Mara only
had one thing on
her mind. And knowing her as he did, he knew there would be no changing
it. Not to
mention, his body truly didn't need a second invitation.
Sensing Mara's fatigue however, Luke took it upon himself to take control
of their
love-making. To his mild surprise she didn't argue. She had laid back,
relaxed and
allowed Luke's ministrations to send ripples of pleasure through her
body. Their
love-making, slow yet strong, continued for close to an hour. Both
lovers savoring
every moment along the way. As Mara had said, they weren't sure when
they would
have this opportunity again.
When Luke finally brought things to a gentle, and slow stop, Mara curled
herself up
against him. He held her tightly as he caressed her fatigued muscles.
In only a few
minutes, she was fast asleep, her breathing slow and deep. He felt
himself following
suit, but had presence of mind enough to ask Artoo to wake him before
the ship exited
hyperspace. Which Artoo had just done, dutifully.
Luke grabbed his flight pants from the back of the co-pilot's chair
and slipped into
them quietly. He made his way to the small refresher unit located at
the back of the
Chiss ship. He splashed some water on his face to wash the sleep out
of his eyes and
help him wake-up. Grabbing a hand towel from its hook, he dried his
face. When he
brought the towel away he found himself looking into the mirror that
was mounted
to the wall just above the cleaning station. His eyes met his own and
he released a
nervous sigh.
"Well Skywalker," he said to his own image. "In just over an hour you
will be face to
face with your sister. How are you going to explain all of this?" He
leaned heavily on
the small counter in front of him, closed his eyes and released a heavy
sigh. He could
feel his stomach tightening into a knot of nerves.
"I thought you said she would be happy for you," Mara said softly from
behind him.
Her warm hands caressed his bare shoulders as she rested her head against
the back
of his neck.
Luke felt both his muscles and his stomach relax as Mara wrapped him
in a blanket of
assurance and love. Her effort made him smile. His grip on the counter
lessened and
he reached up with his right hand and placed it over her left one.
"She will be," he
said and gave the hand a light squeeze. "Thank you for reminding me."
"You're welcome," she replied simply and placed a kiss between his shoulder blades.
Twisting around, Luke took her in a loving embrace. "I love you Mara,"
he told her
and kissed her on the forehead. He lowered his head and placed his
forehead against
hers and looked deeply into her eyes. "And I can't wait to let everyone
know it."
"I love you too." Her green eyes sparkled as she said the words. She
took a deep breath
and eased herself out of his embrace. "But we only have about an hour
before we
dock, so I suggest we make ourselves presentable before then."
"Practical as ever." Luke chuckled and squeezed by her as he exited
the refresher
unit.
"One of us has to be," she responded. "Or we would never get anywhere."
Luke responded with a smart slap to her bottom as she turned to access
the wash
station. Mara gave him sharp, stern look over her shoulder. Luke laughed
heartily in
return and made his way back to the flight-deck to gather the rest
of his clothing.
Mara smiled and shook her head as he retreated. That farmboy surprised
her
everyday. She turned back to the washing unit and proceeded to 'make
herself
presentable.' She was about to have one of the most important 'meetings'
of her life,
and she wanted to make sure she made a good impression.