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 16
The revelry finally subsided and everyone settled back into their seats.
"Well," Leia said as she sat tall in her chair, hands clasped in her
lap. "This is
definitely surprising news. When I talked with you several days ago
I could tell
something had changed between you two -- but this," she spread her
hands wide to
the couple sitting across from her. "This is not what I expected at
all."
"Trust me," Mara replied. "It took us by surprise as well." Mara was
again sitting next
to Luke, but now much closer. Luke draped his arm over the back of
the couch and
Mara leaned back against it and placed her hand on his knee.
"So," Han said as he leaned back into his chair and placed his hands
behind his head.
"How did it happened? Is it a story you'll be sharing with the grand
kids?"
Luke chuckled at the idea of being a grandfather. He and Mara hadn't
even discussed
if they wanted to have children. He took it as a good sign that Mara
didn't cringe at
Han's teasing.
Playing with the ends of Mara's hair, he thought how he should answer
Han's
question. He and Mara had agreed not to tell anyone about what they
discovered on
Nirauan. At least not until they had sorted it out themselves. But
his family did
deserve some sort of explanation.
"I think it has been in the works for awhile really," Luke finally said.
"We've just
been too stubborn to realize it."
"You two, stubborn? Never!" Han teased his brother-in-law.
"Hard to believe I know," Luke said with a grin. "When we were on Nirauan,
we got
into some difficult situations and had to really rely on each other.
Before we knew
what had happened we had formed a bond. A bond through the Force that
I can't
even begin to describe." Luke looked down at Mara and gently stroked
her cheek with
his thumb. "Mara is a part of me, and I'm a part of her. It is like
finding a piece of me
that I hadn't even realized was missing. But now that I know it's there,
I can't
imagine how I lived so long without it."
Mara didn't look completely comfortable talking about what was in her
heart, but she
did give a warm smile and nodded in agreement with Luke's statement.
Leia reached out through the Force to her brother and indeed noticed
there was
something there she had never seen before. But unlike her twin, she
had known for
a long time that a piece of him was missing. She had done what she
could do to help
fill that void, but knew that only the love of a soul-mate would truly
complete him.
Mara was that soul-mate, and Leia had suspected it for a long time.
She just knew that
they had to figure it out for themselves. Part of her was sad that
it had taken so long,
but the past was the past and could not be changed. All that mattered
now was the
present and their future.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of love," Leia said with a bright smile
as she
reached over and squeezed Han's knee.
Han looked as if he was going to reply with a cocky comeback, but then
decided
against it. Instead he gave his wife a warm, loving look and placed
a hand over hers.
He turned to Luke and Mara with an almost embarrassed smile. "She's
right you
know."
"I know," Luke responded with a twinkle in his eye.
"You've still skirted the question though," Han said, trying to get
away from the
sentimental mood that was hanging in the air. Sure he was happy for
the kid, but
there seemed to be things that Luke and Mara weren't telling them,
and he was eager
to find out what they were. "What happened on Nirauan?"
Luke swallowed and exchanged looks with Mara. "We would rather not talk
about the
details right now," Mara spoke for the both of them. "There are some
things we want
to sort out first before we discuss them with anyone."
"Even us?" Leia asked in a hurt tone.
"Leia, please," Luke responded in a pleading tone. "Just give us some
time. Trust me,
we'll talk about it when we are ready." Luke's eyes searched Leia's
for understanding.
After a few tense moments, Leia sighed deeply. "You know I trust you.
But people are
going to ask questions. And that ship in the docking bay..."
"I know, I know," Luke replied holding a hand up to his sister. "But
I need you to help
us quell those questions and that ship needs to disappear. Not permanently,
but just
stored somewhere secure for a while. Someplace people won't ask questions
about it. I
was thinking about putting it in one of the unused bays at the academy."
"But Luke..."
"Please, Leia."
Leia bit her bottom lip and studied Luke for another few seconds. "Okay,
fine!" she
said, somewhat reluctantly. "I'll do my best, but I can't protect you
forever."
Luke gave his sister a quirky smile. "But you'll do your damnedest 'til the day we die."
Leia rolled her eyes at his comment, but deep down inside knew he was
right. She
would do whatever she could to protect her brother, no matter what
the situation,
until the day she died.
"Speaking of the Academy," Mara said to change the subject. "Luke and
I have
discussed some changes in that area."
"Changes?" Leia asked. "What kind of changes?"
"Restructuring basically," Luke said and he pressed his lips tightly
together. He knew
it was something that needed to be done, but he was unsure how people
would
respond to the idea. He was even more worried about how the students
would respond
to it.
"Doesn't a Jedi Master ever give a straight answer?" Han asked, looking at Mara.
"Hardly ever," Mara replied, eyeing Luke with a smirk. Turning her gaze
back to Han
she added, "we are rethinking the idea of the Academy. We basically
think that it
should be more like a training ground for very young Jedi trainees.
Once a student
has spent time on their basics, then a more advanced Jedi, such as
Kam or Streen or
one of the others will take the student on as an apprentice and the
two of them will
go off and get some hands-on training out in the galaxy. We feel that
it is closer to
the way things worked in the past."
"Just because it was how the old Jedi did it, doesn't make it the right
way," Han
commented gruffly.
"But it makes the most sense," Luke said, his Jedi Master air now firmly
in place.
"Students should have more one-on-one training. I can't do that efficiently
myself.
There are too many students and not enough hours in a day."
"Do you think your advanced students are ready to play Master?" Han
asked getting
straight to the point, a darkness settling in his eyes.
Luke could feel the tension in the room starting to rise. It was something
that tended
to happen when the two of them discussed anything that had to do with
the Jedi. No
matter how long Han had known Luke, he was still skeptical when it
came to the
Force and the Jedi. Han would never feel completely comfortable in
the presence of
the Jedi, even if that Jedi was part of his family.
Closing his eyes, Luke tried his best to calm himself. He didn't want
to get into an
argument with Han. This was supposed to be a time for family and sharing
the happy
news, not debating the position of the Jedi in the galaxy. When he
opened his eyes,
he looked directly at Han and tucked in his bottom lip. The act of
looking uncertain
made his Jedi Master mask slip away.
"I....I don't know," he finally answered Han's question. "But we believe
this is the
correct direction to go in. We believe it is what is best for the Jedi,
and had hoped we
would have your's and Leia's support in this decision."
Luke had purposely used the word "we" in his statement. He knew if he
used "I" Han
would feel he was playing "Master of the galaxy" and that would only
cause more
tension between them. But by saying "we" he was showing that he was
listening to
others and that he couldn't continue moving through life making all
the decisions on
his own. Plus, Luke knew that the ex-smuggler had alot of respect for
Mara Jade and
it had nothing to do with her Jedi ability. Han saw Mara as one of
his own and if she
had backed this idea or had anything to do with the idea at all, then
he would be more
willing to accept it.
Han continued to glower for another moment. He turned his gaze to look
at Mara and
saw that her eyes as well were asking for his understanding and acceptance.
With a
deep exhale of breath, the tension left Han's face. He gave the couple
a lopsided smile.
"Well, if you two are sure about this."
"We are," Luke and Mara said in unison.
"Are you going to teach then, Mara?" Leia asked from her chair.
Mara looked a bit surprised by the question. Only her and Luke actually
knew that
she had finally made the step into Jedi Knighthood. Why would Leia
think she was fit
to start teaching? "I've come a long way in the past couple of weeks,
but I think I
have a bit more to learn from my Master before I'm ready to move onto
that path."
An expression of pride pasted over Luke's face as he looked at the woman
at his side.
He had been training Mara off and on for over 10 years. And though
that training
had become more intense over the past few weeks as their bond developed,
her
statement just now was the first time he actually felt that he was
her teacher. He
knew without question that her use of the word "Master" was very sincere
and that is
truly what she considered him; her Jedi Master, and she was his apprentice.
Sensing Luke's thoughts, Mara turned and gave him a warm smile. *I wouldn't
want
any other,* she sent to him through their bond.
"I'm sure you would make a wonderful teacher, " Leia said sincerely.
"Whenever you
choose to walk that path."
"Thank you," Mara replied.
"What about Karrde and his association?" Han piped up. Chewie added
a growl that
voiced the same question.
Just as Mara was about to answer, a chime rang out indicating that someone
was at
the door to the suite.
"Speak of the devil," Leia said as she got up to answer the door.