Disclaimer: All hail the great GL.

RETURN TO SELF--Chapter 5

Luke sat close to his sister, keenly aware of how much pain she was in. The miracle that
had saved her legs had not been without its price; she could only stand for ten minutes at a
time; walking was limited to five. Her sacrifical act to save the refugees would always be
with her.

As the senators droned on, he listened less and less. Rather than listening to thinly-covered
lies, Luke opted to read the emotions of the speakers, to see how they truly felt about the
subject. The intense negativity waving up from Borsk Fey'lya was hard for him to ignore.

Leia stood up suddenly, and Luke cringed as he felt the pain jolt to her knees and hips.

"You are suggesting that we allow all those who are Force-sensitive to be captured so that
we have *no* defense against the Vong when they attack again?" she asked hotly.

*Easy Leia,* he thought. The Dark Side began with that sort of passion.

"They have promised to stop if we give up the Jedi; why shouldn't we do just that?"

What Leia wanted to say was "You are an ignorant, self-serving, furry little pile of Bantha podoo" but instead bit her tongue and calmly replied "Have the Vong kept their promises to us yet?"

The senate began to roar. Those supporting Leia clapped their approval of her words; those
with Borsk grumbled and whispered amongst themselves. And those with no clear-cut
position simply observed. Luke felt a massive headache coming on.

*****

*...and three,* Mara thought, opening her door to the Force while massaging her limb of the
war coordinator. Despite the empty pockets formed by the Yuuzhan Vong, Mara felt
energized by the flow of the Force through her.

The creature bucked and began to throw out its tentacles in random directions. Mara
cringed as the war coordinator wrapped its tentacles around her. It began to suck lightly at
first, tentatively exploring the energy she was giving off. Curiosity began to feed it then, and
the Jedi woman felt her knees go weak.

The events of the next few moments were a blur. She heard doors opening; she felt herself
hit the floor. As two sets of muscular arms hauled her off the floor, Mara hoped Luke hadn't
just been given a way to find her.

*****

Viqi Shesh watched the tape of the senate hearing with great interest. Illness had meant she
was unable to attend, and now she wished the villip hadn't reacted so poorly with her body.
The strained muscles on both sides were rather comic.

Sometimes she regretted what she was doing, but she could tell a victor when she saw one
and she didn't want to anger those who would soon be in charge. Some might have said she
was a traitor, but she preferred to think of herself as an opportunist.

The villip next to her began to morph and she watched it with interest and then saw the face
of the War Master. She smiled.

"You honor me, Lah. What can I do for you?"

"We do not have enough Jeedai; what is the delay?"

She bowed her head respectfully. "The people of the Republic are hanging onto hopes that
the Jedi can save them. Until they learn otherwise, some will not want to turn them over."

Lah shook his head. "This is not good enough." *The war coordinator needs the Jeedai
power if we are to succeed.* He frowned. "Find us more Jeedai, Senator Shesh."

*****

Mara rolled over slowly but wished she hadn't. She thought about using the Force to block
some of the pain, but found herself too tired to even do that. She decided that she must have
a few bruised ribs and maybe a sprained ankle.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and then opened them slowly. She was
staring at a wall much like the one she'd leaned up against that first night on Duros. But from
this room, she felt an overwhelming pool of the Force. There were Jedi nearby.

With great determination, she rolled back on to her back and then tried to sit up. From each
side, two pairs of much kinder arms helped her press her back up against the wall. She
nodded her thanks to both men.

"I don't recognize either of you," she said slowly, the muscles around her mouth tight.

One of them grinned. "Another lady said that when she first got dropped here. She
explained to us about the Prax-e-um," he stumbled over the word, "We told her we weren't
Jedi, just travelers."

She blinked. "Wait, other woman? How long ago was she brought in?"

The one who'd been talking to her, probably as tall as Luke with whitish-blue hair, looked to
his companion who just shrugged. "A week, maybe two."

Mara grinned. "It was her. Do you know where she is now?"

Both men shrugged. "The creatures took her right after she arrived."

As if on cue, two of the Vong walked in and grabbed hold of Mara tightly, finishing her
ascent to vertical. She looked over her shoulder as they dragged her out of the room, but her
new companions had already turned away.

*If they're not Jedi, why are they here?* she wondered as she was dragged through another
expanse of hallways. Wherever they were taking her, the Force was getting stronger as
they neared it. *Going to put me with my own kind, I see.*

She was dropped uncerimoniously into a room with maybe a dozen other beings. A quick
survey of her comrades revealed that she only knew one of them, even if she wasn't wearing
the wig.

All of the others looked at her and then walked over slowly to shake hands. "Welcome to
the party," a Bothan said. "As you can see, things are just getting started."

Mara nodded. "Evidently." She looked through the crowd again. "How come I don't know
who any of you are?"

The Bothan spoke again. "Most of us are so weak in the Force, we didn't bother to go to the
Academy Luke Skywalker had set up. But apparently we were strong enough for some
person or another to decide we could save the galaxy by sacrificing our lives." He looked her over. "Hey, you look really familiar."

Mara ducked her head. Some people obviously had a vid network. She extended her hand.
"Mara Jade," she said, "but don't let the word get out I'm here. I'm a piece of high-interest
for the Vong."

"Who turned you over?" a woman with brown hair and gray eyes asked. Mara examined the
speaker closely. She was eerily familiar.

"No one," she declared, advancing slowly on the speaker. "I'm here to hopefully fix this
mess." She reached out with the Force towards the other woman but found a solid wall.
"Who are you? We've met before."

The woman ran a hand through her short, greying hair. A ripple of saddness and...regret
flowed from her and then Mara saw a picture of Luke, much younger and smiling, float into
her mind.

Mara's green eyes went wide. "Callista?"

The woman from her husband's past nodded. "Yup, it's me. Congratulations, Mara. You've
got quite a husband."