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 13
Luke sat in the pilot's chair of the small Chiss ship and checked the
read-outs on the
instruments in front of him. Mara slipped into the co-pilot's seat
and fastened the
restraints around her. She had given up the pilot's position to Luke
thinking it was
best that he deal with the New Republic personnel and the docking with
one of their
ships. Luke was only too happy to take up the task, as he had been
the co-pilot for the
majority of their trip.
A light on the control board blinked, indicating 60 seconds until they
exited
hyperspace. Luke gave Mara a wink. "You ready?" he asked her.
"As I'll ever be," she replied.
Luke placed his right hand on the lever in the center of the control
panel. When the
clock counted down to zero, he pulled down on the lever and eased the
ship out of
hyperspace. The white star lines snapped into tiny pin pricks of light.
Off in the distance, the blue and white form of Bothawui hung like an
elegant jewel.
It didn't take any heightened Jedi skill, however, to notice the amount
of space craft
that speckled the area about the planet. There had to be well over
a few hundred
ships surrounding the planet.
"Wow!" Luke exclaimed. "Something big is definitely going on."
"Yeah," Mara breathed out as she stared out at the scene in front of
them. Her eyes
squinted as she concentrated on what she saw. "But I'm not picking
up any major
sense of hostilities." As she turned her gaze to Luke, she had a confused
look on her
face. "Do you sense anything?" she asked.
Luke continued to stare at the planet and ships. He didn't reply right
away, but after a
few moments, he blinked his eyes and shook his head to clear it of
the emotions that
he had been picking up. Turning to look at Mara he responded to her
question. "Little
pockets of anger here and there, but like you said, no major hostilities.
"It doesn't make sense," he said as he turned back to look out the view
port. "There is a
strong undercurrent of excitement as well though. So there is definitely
something
going on."
A light flashed rapidly on the control board and Luke flipped the switch
next to it. A
female toned voice came over the speaker. "Unidentified ship, this
is the New
Republic flag ship Home One, we have you on our monitors. Please identify
yourself
and your purpose here."
"Home One?" Luke said to Mara in a surprised tone. "Things must have
gotten pretty
hairy for them to send out the flag ship."
He flipped another switch and spoke aloud. "Home One, this is Jedi Master
Luke
Skywalker in the Rim Skimmer. I am here to see High Councilor Organa
Solo and
request permission to dock."
"Acknowledged Rim Skimmer," the female voice replied. "Please transmit
identification and clearance codes now."
Luke accessed the appropriate information and transmitted it as ordered.
It only took
a moment before the Comm Officer responded. "Welcome to Bothawui Master
Skywalker," the female voice said cheerfully. "You have clearance to
dock in bay 25-
11. The High Councilor will meet you there when you land."
"Thank you for your help Home One. Skywalker out."
"Well here we go Flyboy," Mara said to him. "Take us in and let's get
this over with."
She gave him a wink and a cocky grin.
Luke returned with a smile of his own. "It's been a long journey Mara."
"Yeah, and we have an even longer one ahead of us," she replied still
smiling. "But I
think the next leg will be alot more enjoyable than the last."
Luke chuckled at her comment and headed for the New Republic flag-ship.
As he
changed his course to bring Home One into their sights, it brought
another group of
ships into view as well. Luke recognized who the ships belonged to
instantly. It would
have been hard not to. A small fleet of Star Destroyers and Victory
Class Destroyers
hung only a short distance from the New Republic fleet. And at the
front of their
formation was their largest ship, a Victory Class, Imperial Star Destroyer.
"Mara," Luke turned to her with his eyes opened wide. "Is that the ship I think it is?"
"Yes it is," she hissed her reply. " The Chimaera! What are they doing here?"
Still not picking up any emotions Luke would expect to feel in this
situation, he took a
deep breath and set to the task of bringing their little ship in. "Well,
in a few
minutes, maybe we will have the answer."
---------------------------------------
Luke glided the small ship into their designated docking bay on the
New Republic
Flag Ship, Home One. The only other ship the bay housed was Han Solo's
ship, the
Millennium Falcon. Luke guessed his sister had requested having him
dock here to
keep their reunion private and personal. It had been quite awhile since
the siblings
had seen each other, and Leia probably didn't want to share him with
others just yet.
*But how will she feel about having to share me for the rest of our
lives?* he
thought to himself.
Luke was pleased with having the privacy, but not for the same reason
he figured his
sister was. He was more concerned about the attention they would receive
because of
the ship they were arriving in. The Chiss ship was nothing like that
of anything in
the New Republic. It did sport some similarities to various Imperial
crafts, but they
were very subtle.
The uniqueness of the ship would draw attention to it, and that attention
would result
in questions. Questions that Luke wasn't ready to answer.
Luke brought the ship to a gentle landing on the docking bay floor.
Mara barely felt
it touch down. "Not a bad landing," she said in a not-too-impressed
voice. "I was
almost afraid you would be a bit rusty."
"Fear leads to the Dark Side Mara," he returned her taunt. "And I'm
never rusty when
it comes to flying."
"Vanity is also a Dark Side trait my love," Mara quipped as she unfastened
her seat
restraints. She pulled herself out of the chair, leaned over her fiance
and planted a
kiss on his forehead.
"Now be a good little Jedi and power this bucket of bolts down. We have
company
arriving," she pointed out the forward view port.
Luke leaned forward to get a better view and was rewarded with the sight
of Leia,
Han, Chewbacca and C3PO making their way across the docking bay. He
dropped
himself back into his seat and exhaled deeply.
"You've been through worse and survived it," Mara said and placed a
steady hand on
his shoulder.
Luke looked up and gave her a worried smile. "But not like this."
"Don't worry, I've got your back."
Mara went to the back of the cabin and started unloading the items they
had brought
with them from Carva. Luke quickly ran through the ship's shut-down
procedures
and joined her.
They made their way to the exit hatch with Artoo following close behind.
Luke
pressed the release mechanism and the hatch popped open. "You first,"
Mara told
him. "They're your family."
He gave her a nod and stepped down the access ladder. Before his head
disappeared
below the deck, he glanced back at her. "They'll soon be your family
too, you know."
"Stop reminding me," she said with a wry smile. "Now get down there.
I'll help lower
Artoo down."
------------------------------
Out on the landing pad, Leia Organa Solo and her husband Han, along
with Chewbacca
and the golden droid C3PO, all made their way towards the strange little
space craft
that had just landed. Leia knew it was Luke. The comm technician had
told her he had
entered Bothawui space and she had requested that he dock in this bay.
And she could
feel his presence on the ship, but the alien ship still surprised her.
She had expected
him to come in his X-wing or the Jade's Fire. Why was he in that ship
and where did
he get it?
"What in the universe is that thing?" Han questioned out loud at her side.
"I was hoping you would be able to tell me," Leia turned to him with
a surprised look.
Han just shrugged his shoulders.
Threepio piped up from the back of the small party. "Excuse me your
Highness, but I
believe that is the same ship that Captain Karrde encountered while
he was on the
Errant Venture. Which is supposed to be the same kind of ship Mistress
Mara was
trying to track down."
Han turned and gave the droid a questioning stare. Threepio looked at
him and cocked
his head to the side trying to comprehend the look on Han's face. When
he figured
out what the meaning was he straightened himself a bit and answered
the unspoken
question. "I happened across the files while I was in the service of
Captain Karrde,"
he stated matter-of-factly.
"Of course you did," Han responded with a roll of his eyes.
The group continued onward and as they closed in on the craft they saw
Luke
Skywalker drop out from the underside of the ship. He accepted two
satchels that
were handed down to him from someone in the ship and placed them on
the ground
beside him. Following the satchels came the blue and white barrel form
of R2D2. The
droid, though pretty heavy of an object, was lowered steadily and gently
to the
docking bay floor. The droid whistled his thanks to his Master and
spun happily in a
circle now that his wheels were safely planted on the deck.
"Oh, R2D2!" Threepio exclaimed happily, waving frantically at the little
droid. "I'm so
happy to see that you are safe." Artoo spun his dome and whistled merrily
in
response.
Once the droid had cleared the area directly below the hatch, Mara Jade
climbed
skillfully down the ladder and turned to face Luke. He handed her one
of the packs
that she had passed down a moment ago. "This is it," Luke whispered
to her.
"Yup," she answered simply and gave him a lop-sided grin.
The two Jedi turned and made their way to greet their 'welcoming committee.'
They
walked side-by-side. Not touching, but not as far apart as they would
have been only
a month ago. Luke had the urge to reach out and squeeze Mara's hand
to help quell
the nerves he could feel rising inside him. He restrained himself from
doing so,
knowing it would clue Leia and Han into what was going on between him
and Mara.
He didn't want to reveal that information too prematurely.
Mara noted quickly that Talon Karrde was not part of the approaching
group. The
skin around her eyes tightened a bit in annoyance. She had thought
he was eager to
see her back safely and to talk with her about whatever it was he needed
to discuss
with her.
"Wonder where Karrde is?" Luke said as he looked at her out of the corner
of his eye.
He had also assumed Karrde would be part of the 'welcoming committee.'
"I was just thinking that myself," Mara growled her response. She allowed
her face to
tighten into a stern expression, figuring that was what Leia and Han
were used to
from her anyway.
As the two groups closed in on one another, Leia could no longer hold
in her
excitement at seeing her brother. This was such a wonderful time and
she could not
wait to share it with him. She took off at a run and all but bowled
Luke over as she
jumped into his arms causing Luke to drop his pack to the deck. She
squeezed him
tightly. "Oh Luke!" she cried happily into his ear. "I'm so glad you
are finally here."
Luke squeezed her back. "So am I," he responded with a bit of surprise
in his voice.
There had been many times that he and his sister had been separated
for a long
stretch of time, but Leia had very rarely welcomed him back so enthusiastically.
Her
reaction actually reminded him of her welcoming when he returned back
to the
Yavin base after the destruction of the first Death Star.
When Leia pulled away to arm's length and looked him in the eye he truly
thought
he was actually looking at the same Princess Leia Organa of almost
20 years ago. She
was grinning from ear to ear and there was a sparkle in her eye that
would have
rivaled that of a Corusca gem.
They stood there for a moment, holding hands, looking into each other's
eyes,
sharing a quiet brother and sister moment. Finally Leia broke the silence.
"Oh Luke,
there is so much to tell you," she said jovially. "So much has happened
in the last
couple of weeks. I don't even know where to begin."
Luke couldn't believe the excitement he saw in his sister. Through the
Force she was
like a star going super nova. He picked up on her energy and mirrored
her wide
smile. He shook his head trying to clear away some of Leia's brightness
and focus on
what was going on. His smile remained as a question finally made it
to his lips. "Leia,
what is going on? Is that the Imperial Fleet out there? What in the
name of the Force
are they doing here? And what ARE you so excited about?"
Leia laughed joyfully at her brother. "You won't believe it when I tell
you!" she all
but shouted. "But here is not the place to discuss it.
"I want to hear about all that the two of you have been through as well,"
she added
and looked over Luke's shoulder at Mara who stood a few feet away.
Leia smiled at the
red haired woman. Mara returned with a small smile of her own. Leia
looked back
into Luke's blue eyes and noted that there was something there that
wasn't the last
time she saw him. She squeezed Luke's hands once again and stepped
away to greet
Mara.
As Leia moved away, Han came up and took Luke's hand in a strong grasp.
He brought
his other hand around and slapped Luke happily on the back. "Hey Kid,"
he said with
his traditional Han Solo, lop-sided grin. "Glad to see you made it
back all in one piece."
"Thanks Han," Luke chuckled to his friend. "It got kind of hairy a couple
of times, but
I did my best."
Han continued to smile at him, but didn't respond. He looked Luke up
and down for a
few moments as if looking to see if a piece of him was missing.
"What?" Luke asked.
"There's something different about you," he commented as he squinted
his eyes at the
Jedi.
"Me?" Luke asked innocently, pointing at himself. Han responded with
a raise of an
eyebrow.
Luke laughed once again and placed a hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder.
"Don't
worry, I'll tell you all about it soon enough," he said softly.
"I can't wait to hear it," Han responded, his eyes wide.
Luke was about to give another response, but it flew out of his lungs
unspoken as two
big, hairy, brown arms grabbed him from behind. Chewbacca lifted him
off the deck
in an energetic Wookiee hug.
As the men continued their 'bonding,' Leia approached Mara Jade and
extended her
hand to the stern emerald eyed woman. With only a minute amount of
hesitation,
Mara accepted it. Leia squeezed Mara's hand gently in appreciation.
"It is good to see
you again, Mara," Leia told the woman.
"It is good to see you too, Leia," Mara replied with a hint of a smile on her lips.
Leia could feel an air of heaviness weighing on the two of them. She
took it upon
herself to try and lighten it. She looked over her shoulder at her
husband and
brother happily greeting each other. She turned back to Mara and gave
her a
friendly smile. "I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble," Leia
said to her in an
almost apologetic tone.
Mara was a bit surprised by the statement, and wasn't exactly sure how
to respond. It
seemed to be a very un-Leia-like thing for her to say. At least for
Leia to say to her. "I
was the one being rescued, remember?" Mara replied doing her best to
hide her
surprise.
"Ah yes," Leia answered. "That is what Karrde had told me. But it's
usually the other
way around isn't it?" Leia had an odd little grin on her face.
Mara was suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable with the direction the
conversation
was going. Luckily Leia had given her a way out of it. "Speaking of
Karrde," Mara
said in a confident tone. "I was hoping he would be here to meet me
when I arrived.
Do you know where he is?" she asked.
"Oh yes, I'm sorry," Leia said as she turned to head back to where her
brother and
husband stood together. Mara followed her to hear the rest of her reply.
"You two
arrived about a day earlier than we had anticipated. I called him when
I was
informed you were approaching. He is in the middle of a meeting he
cannot get away
from. He told me to tell you he would head over to Home One as soon
as he was
finished."
Mara took a deep breath and released it. She was hoping she could meet
with Karrde
while Luke met with his family. She had to admit to herself she was
starting to get
nervous about announcing their engagement. She figured it might have
been easier
if she wasn't present when Luke told Leia and Han.
*Not on your life.* she heard Luke's voice in her mind. *We're in this
together.*
Mara brought her eyes around to meet his and he gave her a small smile.
She
returned it in kind.
"Well, that's Karrde for you," Mara stated out loud. "Business always comes first."
For a few moments everyone just looked at each other. Han felt the lull
tugging at
them and decided someone needed to say something. "So, how did you
guys get here so
fast?" he asked Luke and Mara.
Luke pointed his thumb at the ship behind them. "She has a few surprises."
"I'd love to hear all about it," Han commented, eyeing the ship as only a pilot would.
Mara gave Luke a hard, warning stare before he could respond. He knew
what it
meant, but didn't need the reminder. "I'll tell you what I can," he
stated simply. Han
stared at him for a moment and then shrugged it off.
"Speaking of telling things," Leia piped up. "I think we should go someplace
quiet
and private. Seems we all have alot of things we want to share." She
slipped her arm
into Luke's and led the group out of the docking bay.
"They are?" Threepio said to the R2 unit who rolled along beside him
as they followed
the group of humans and Wookiee out the door. "Oh, my! How exciting!"
The little droid warbled to his golden counterpart. "Well of course
I won't say
anything to anyone," Threepio responded to what Artoo had just conveyed
to him.
"But you have to admit, it is wonderful news." The door swished closed
behind them as
they followed their masters along the ship's corridor.