~A Note from Jedi Master JA:

I forgot give out thanks to those who inspired me to write this… let's see… yeah major thanks to the Sithly Sith who gave me encouragement when the trailer went up, especially Lady Kenobi. If you haven't read her fics, go read them now!! And if you have, then read it again and give her a nice big review! Thanks also goes to Michele, even though she doesn't know me, I give her a big thanks for writing all of her wonderful fics which have inspired me to write this. I enjoyed reading her story: As Long as We're Together… but don't worry, there aren't any wormholes in this fic.

Chapter Two: Post Binges

                The blaster bolt pierced her opponent's chest, giving him a few seconds for a strangled cry before he collapsed in an unsightly heap on the floor. His companion, on reflex fired a shot at her. The red bolt grazed Mara's shoulder, cutting through coarse fabric and flesh with ease.

                The Emperor's Hand cried out and felt a ravenous urge for revenge course through her. Without even aiming, she fired five bolts and three of them struck her target. The third shot had been unnecessary, as life had already fled from the man by the second bolt. The feral look of anger mixed with pleasure on Mara's face, struck fear even in the man locked in her grip.

                Taking a few moments to let the thrill of the fight pass, Mara began to compose herself. Once she was certain that she was able to interrogate her quarry properly, she tightened her grip around his neck. The pain her right shoulder flared but it was nothing compared to the suffering Mara had experienced as the Emperor's Hand.

                When he began to make struggled coughs and was about to spasm, Mara loosened her grip and pointed her blaster to his temple. "Now," she said coolly, her voice was barely above a whisper, yet the seriousness in her tone was evident. "I'm running out of time, with the death of your friends, and that poor excuse of a light show, I'm pretty certain that someone's heard it. So I want you to tell me where Ardock is, or like I said before: painful death. As you can see, I have no qualms when it comes to killing a person when necessary."

                She waited a few more moments and listened to his labored wheezes. "Ridel," he finally answered. He sucked in a deep breath and sighed. "Ardock's on Ridel, I even have his location, apartment number… everything you want on him."

                Surprised at how easy this mission could be, Mara pulled her blaster away. "I'm listening," she prompted. "Tell me everything."

*~*~*~*~*

                The one thing about traveling in space, that always bothered Luke, was that it was always harder to tell the time unless he had a chrono around. On Tatooine, all he really had to do was glance out a window and just judge by the strength of the sunlight or by the position of the moon, and he would immediately be able to tell the time.

                Considering the fact that Luke had lost his issued wristwatch and had to go through Hi-C and wait for them to give him another, he had trouble telling what the time was. Usually all he needed to do was rely on his internal clock, since it was usually accurate, but at the moment, relying on his bodily functions did not appear to be a correct thing to do.

                He stumbled down the hallway and could only guess at the time. It was probably quite a few hours past midnight. Luke paused as he felt a wave of vertigo and waited for it to pass before he continued towards his quarters.

                Beside him were his three wing mates and closest friends, Wedge, Hobbie and Janson. They too, seemed to be struck with the same ailment that Luke was suffering from. Though unlike Luke, they suffered from this disorder in a lesser degree.

                "Whoa there, Boss!" Wedge nearly tripped as he tried his best to catch Luke from meeting the deck. Luckily for the Corellian, Janson had caught Luke's arm and hauled the rebel commander back onto his feet.

                "S'ok…" Luke mumbled and leaned against the wall. "I feel… wonderful. I've gotta thank ya for this Wedge… later--after the hangover." He shot the Corellian a glare, who returned it with a not-so-remorseful grin.

                "Get some sleep, Boss," Hobbie said and shoved Luke forward, this time the commander fell. The three other pilots laughed and after their mirth was over, they rushed to help Luke up again. Once he was on his feet, Luke pitifully shoved the others away and marched off towards his own quarters with as much dignity as one drunken man could muster.

                Inside his quarters, the young Jedi rushed towards the fresher and instead of relieving himself, he vomited. His sides began to spasm as the foul liquid rushed up his throat and spewed past his lips. The only thoughts that were rushing through his mind at the moment were of how disgusting the taste of the bile was and how awful it smelled.

                His stomach clenched once he was done and the bile was down the toilet, probably traveling towards some large storage tank of waste. Weak to the knees, Luke found himself unable to stand. So instead, he pushed himself away from the fresher towards the closest wall and rested against it.

                He mused over how pleasant the past few months had been, freezing on Hoth, losing his hand and now, suffering from the consequences of a drinking binge. Yet all of these problems were his fault, now that he was older, he couldn't blame his problems on everyone else. He'd been the one who suggested locating the base on Hoth. It'd been his recklessness that cost him his hand and it was his lack of thinking that got him where he was now.

                He'd thought that if he drank, he'd be able to forget, at least for one second, about Bespin and he did. For a few blissful hours, he'd been lost in drunken ecstasy, but when the effects began to wear off and all he had left was a headache and weak stomach, he started to remember.

                At moments like these, Luke would have cried, he did in that first week in the med-centre, but back then he'd been rebuilding his world. Now with construction almost done Luke wouldn't cry. If he allowed one drop to break through, then he'd be giving into weakness. What Luke needed the most, was to be strong and to forfeit any of his strength was to admit his own defeat. That was something he wouldn't allow to happen. He was in a struggle against himself and the galaxy and in the end--he was going to win.

                Taking his own advice, Luke struggled to haul himself off the floor and in slow movements he made it to the sink and mirror. In his hurry to get to the fresher before he had an accident, Luke had forgotten to turn on the lights. Even though there was a lack of light, he could still see himself in the mirror.

                He gazed at his reflection for a few more seconds before switching on the lights. His control over the Force was improving and he could now move objects without making wild gestures. All he needed to was simply think and everything did as he commanded. The lights became blinding and Luke ducked his head before his pupils would adjust to the brightness. He squinted and felt his headache become stronger.

                Turning on the water, Luke let it flow over his hands, it was cold and at the moment, he didn't care. The shock of the cold felt good against his skin, especially to his right hand. At times, it felt as if that hand were numb, he'd forget that it was a prosthetic, that it was a real hand. Other times it seemed so fake that Luke felt he could just rip the machine off.

                Sighing, Luke glanced at himself once more in the mirror and turned to leave the fresher. It was late and he needed sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

                Forgetting to readjust his alarm, Luke awoke with a start early the next morning. He shot a glare towards the buzzing machine and to his surprise, the alarm stopped. Not only that, but the chrono also blew apart. He stared at the parts on the floor and when the morning fog finally cleared from his brain, he groaned. This had been the second time in a week that he'd broken his chrono and he knew that Hi-C would not be pleased.

                Luke gently nudged the Force and watched as the parts lifted from the ground and flew over towards his bed stand. It'd been a while since he tried to fix something other than an X-wing, but perhaps it'd be simple. The last thing he wanted was to have his commanders beginning to question the usefulness of his Force skills.

                He paused when he began to climb out of bed and remembered the events of last night. There was something wrong with how normal this seemed, getting out of bed early and breaking a chrono after getting drunk. He'd expected a hangover to happen like it always did, so why was he feeling so great after endangering his health the way he did last night?

                The answer came to his mind just as quickly as the question had come. The difference between him now and him from before was his ability to control the Force. Yoda always did comment about how the Force could also be used for healing. Sometimes it was invoked to heal without thought, especially when the person who used the Force wanted his ailment to be gone. Though the answer made some sense, Luke couldn't understand how he was able to heal himself so quickly. Yoda had taught him only a few brief techniques in healing.

                Shrugging the thought off, Luke decided that if this sort of Force healing could be done without commanding and could get rid of dreaded morning hangovers, well then he wouldn't mind.

                Luke sat still in bed with his feet hovering only a few inches off the ground. Out of old habit, he began to swing his legs and while doing so, he wondered what he could do now that he was up so early. Before Bespin, Luke used to go out and practice the sims with the Rogues to keep them in good practice. It'd been quite a while since he'd flown an X-wing into battle and it'd be quite refreshing after being trapped in med-centre.

                Still it was no fun playing against CPU's, it was like competing against a 5 year old, their moves were basic and easily predictable. What Luke needed was a challenge and who better to challenge him than his fellow Rogues?

                Grinning, Luke hopped out of bed and headed for the fresher first. Just because he felt great didn't give him an excuse to have bad breath. Luke noted that after last night's vomiting his mouth felt dry and had a funny taste to it.

*~*~*~*~*

                "Rise and shine boys!" Luke exclaimed with good cheer as he waltzed into the Rogue's dormitory. The light of the corridor poured into the darkness of the room, brightening it by several degrees.

                Luke heard a few muffled groans and watched as some of the pilots turn in their bed. They covered their heads with their pillows and Luke felt in the Force that most of them had fallen back to sleep. This was not surprising to Luke since this was the reaction he always got after trying to wake his squadron after a night of drinking.

                He'd wished for a challenge before and Luke had it. He clasped his hands together and tried to figure out a creative way to rouse his wing mates but when his mind drew a blank, he resorted to just using the Force. With a mere thought, all pillows and blankets of the dorm flew across the room and landed with a thud as they hit the wall.

                The Rogues groaned as they were hit with a sudden chill, not very surprising some still remained sleeping. Others on the other hand, did awaken, Wedge yawned loudly and glared in Luke's direction. He scratched the back of his neck and tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

                "What's up, Boss?" he asked, his voice was hoarse, which did not shock Luke, considering how loud he'd been shouting the previous night.

                "Training," he replied.

                His response prompted several groans from the rest of the Rogues. There was a moment of silence before the rustling of bed sheets finally broke it. Luke watched as his entire squadron began to clamber out of bed in search of their flight suits and boots.

                "Yeesh, Boss," Wes muttered. "How can you be up so early and be in such a cheery mood too."

                "One of the few perks of being a Jedi," Luke answered offhandedly. His attention was focused on Leia as he felt her awaken.

                "Wish I were a Jedi," Hobbie mumbled as he awkwardly pulled on his boots.

                Though Wedge agreed with Hobbie, he could only give a weak nod as he pressed a hand against his temple. Luke sympathized with his friend, but at the same moment, got a small pleasure from his retribution. Wedge after all, was the man who almost gave him a hangover.

                "Aw, quit your whining Hobbie and be a man," Luke suppressed the urge to grin and failed miserably.

                Most of the Rogues in the room shot their boss a glare before they resumed dressing. Luke rolled his eyes and left them to prep the simulators.

*~*~*~*~*

                There was nothing like the feeling of flying, the emotions and the adrenaline that was pumped into Luke's systems were the same, though over the years, the young commander had developed a slight tolerance to it. Still, Luke enjoyed flying, at least that had been something that'd never changed.

                Though Luke was surprised to find himself pulled out of the simulators when he shot down his last opponent. He returned to reality and pulled his helmet off, a frown on his face. He'd been disappointed that it was over so quickly even if it was quite pleasing to know he still hadn't grown rusty.

                When he clambered out of the simulator, he found his squadron giving him mixed expressions of both annoyance and confusion, though underneath it all, there was also pride. Luke was about to speak when he spotted Leia watching him from the entrance. Her lips were pressed into a thin line. Luke took this as a sign that she was unhappy and wondered if he should approach her or not.

                The decision was made up for him when Leia beckoned for him and as he got closer to her, he noticed the datapad in her hands. He hoped that she was there to assign Rogue Squadron on a mission.

                It was Leia who spoke first, "What do you think you're doing?" she asked. The cross expression on her face dared him to try and be smart mouthed with her. Luke knew that Han would have taken that sort of challenge immediately, but he'd known for quite a while that he wasn't Han and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't try to fill Han's place or be anything like him.

                Feeling the stir of impatience in her aura, Luke answered quickly. "Practicing with the sims, doing a little training, you know, crazy pilot stuff." Ok, Luke had to admit that he did pick up a few of Han's bad habits, but that did happen between close friends.

                Leia apparently realized this too as she stared at him in puzzlement for a moment before her visage changed back into a stern mask. Not normally the one who got subjected under her hard gaze, Luke flinched unconsciously. "Not funny," she retorted. "You're still healing, therefore you shouldn't be here at all. Go back to bed."

                "I've been in bed for over two weeks now," Luke argued. "I'm fine, besides, just because I'm on a break doesn't mean I should give up practicing all together. What if something happens?"

                "Then the other Rogues will handle it, Wedge is a capable commander," Leia replied. She reached out and touched his forearm. Her face was now a look of loving concern. "Luke, you know I worry constantly about you."

                Her concern should have been touching. It should have brought about a wave of guilt from Luke, but at that moment, he felt nothing save for slight irritancy. Why couldn't Leia understand that he didn't need her to watch over her? He decided that it was about time to voice he opinions to her.

"Leia," Luke pulled his arm away. "I'm not that farmboy from Tatooine anymore, I know how to take care of myself, I know right from wrong. There are things I know now that I didn't before, I can't sit still. I need to do something."

Leia slowly nodded since she understood his lack of patience. She still worried about him. Despite the strong front he showed, Leia remembered that feeling of grief and anguish she'd received from him.

Luke gently probed her with the Force and his eyes lit up when he realized the reason why she was there. "You were going to give the Rogues a mission," he stated. A small smile crept on his face. "And since I'm their commanding officer, I should be told of it first."

"I don't think…" Leia began but was cut off by Luke.

"Hey, it's only fair that I get to do my job if you're gonna do it two, we're both on leave, either you drop everything and start relaxing or you send me on a mission," he pointed out.

Taking in Luke's point, Leia debated the reasons in her mind and finally came to a conclusion. A smile grew on her face as she conceded his point and handed the datapad to him. "You should watch yourself around me, Luke," she said, a sly gleam in her eyes. "You seem to picking up some of my many bad habits."

"Well I can't say debating was ever my strongest point, but I can say that having met you, I'm getting better at it," Luke replied with a grin.

The young Jedi's expression grew solemn again as he skimmed over the datapad, Leia watched silently until he finally finished reading the mission.

"An escort mission?" he asked, deadpanned. He waved the datapad in the air in exaggerated gestures. "You expect the Rogues to go and escort some defect when someone else with half a mind and good aiming could do this?"

Leia shrugged and snatched the datapad out of his hand. "Well if you don't want to do this then you don't have to," she replied. She suddenly pointed a finger in his direction. "I heard about last night's drinking binge you know and I think its best for the Rogues to be kept busy and away from alcoholic drinks as much as possible."

Luke snorted and rolled his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, Leia was right as always. "Point," he conceded. "I guess this is better then nothing."

                "You do understand the specifics, right?" Leia asked. She gestured at the datapad.

                Luke rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air in an exasperated motions. "Yes, Leia, a simple escort mission isn't going to take me half the day to figure out."

                "Alright, alright," Leia sighed though her annoyance quickly faded as she smiled and reached out to take his hand. "You just be careful. I worry about you."

                Luke returned her warm smile and placed his other hand on top of hers, the warmth of his gesture brought a calm to Leia. She wondered if this was more of his Jedi techniques or just natural skills. She'd been away from him for so long that she'd nearly forgotten what his touch was like.

                "I'll be alright," he reassured her. "Han may not be here to look after both of us… but I'll do my best to be the protector until he gets back."

                Leia's head shot up as she locked gazes with him. Her brow was creased as she stared into his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. "Luke…" she murmured and then squeezed his hand harder. "You don't have to feel this need to fill Han's void. Just continue on being your lovable and brave self."

                 Luke nodded slowly, but Leia wasn't sure if her words were getting through to him. She understood his need to live up to Han's standards, but the last thing she needed was a substitute. She couldn't admit this to Luke, but if he understood her well enough, he'd eventually stop pretending to be something he wasn't.

                "I'll go tell the Rogues about this," Luke said. He pulled his hand away and held the datapad up while grinning at Leia. "I'm sure they'll be happy to fly, even if it is an escort mission."

                The goofy grin on Luke's face forced Leia to smile as well. She folded her arms across her chest and with one hand gestured for him to leave. "I'm quite certain about that," she said wryly. Luke did a mock salute and turned on his heel to join the other Rogues.

                She watched with slight interest as he began to gesture towards the datapad trying to explain about the mission. Though she couldn't hear them she could imagine what the Rogues were saying. The squadron's reaction was a mixed one: some had bored expressions and seemed more interested on the lint on their flight suits then towards the mission. Others, such as Wes, were more than eager to fly again.

                When Leia finally turned away, she realized to her own surprise that she was feeling a slight twinge of jealousy. She didn't know the cause for it since she'd never been alone in her life after all. In her childhood, she had her family, Bail Organa and her mother, Saché Organa and even a best friend to play with. Yet that was the past. In the present, she had no family, only a farmboy and not quite long ago, a smuggler to watch over her. She didn't even know where Winter was at the moment, but at least she had the small comfort of knowing that her friend was still alive.

                But here was Luke, who had the entire Rebellion watching his back, a large squadron of friends who would do anything for him and friends where ever he went. She should have been happy that there were people looking out for him from at all sides, but why this sudden envy?

                Leia brushed the thought aside and like always, locked her emotions away. She was in the middle of a war and as a leader and figurehead so she had to set an example. Luke had the friends and the freedom to go on nightly drinking binges but Leia couldn't afford to waste her time like that.

*~*~*~*~*

                Following the information that her contact had given her, Mara soon found herself on Ridel, where it was a more busy and cleaner planet than Antorah had been. Though having lived on Imperial Centre for most of her life, the Emperor's Hand was less than impressed.

                It was only an hour until noon but the streets were already filled with patrons walking to and fro, minding their own business. Mara pulled her shawl closer to her body as she approached a few of the planet's law enforcements. They took no notice of her as she passed them. The Emperor's Hand relaxed slightly, but reminded herself to stay alert.

                She soon came to her destination, a large, run down hotel. While staring at it, Mara couldn't believe that her contact had considered this a place where most of the upper class of Ridel stayed. She'd taken his warning about dressing to blend into the hotel's crowd seriously and had donned an ankle length maroon skirt and a tight sleeveless shirt, in a lighter shade of red. It'd taken her half the morning within the confines of her ship to get herself to look accordingly and wrapped herself in a gray ugly shawl so her flashy outfit wouldn't cause suspicion.

                Sighing heavily, Mara mustered the strength she'd need to play the part of a rich baroness. She glanced briefly around her and then pulled her shawl off. The luggage bag she'd been carrying was heavy with just a bunch of clothing she'd recklessly thrown in. Undoing the clasps, Mara stuffed the shawl inside the bag as well and checked the carefully hidden weapons. Once she was certain they were secure, she picked the bag up and strolled into the building.

                Inside was not as dingy as Mara had expected. The place was clean and there were even a few expensive baubles hung about the room for decoration. Out of old habit, she committed the room to memory and once she was certain she had every detail mapped out in her brain, Mara approached the counter.

                The receptionist's eyes lit upon spotting Mara. This reaction made Mara wonder how many wealthy, off planet visitors stayed at the hotel. She kept her face neutral when the receptionist, a mousy looking woman, began to address her.

                "Welcome to the Livian Hotel," she greeted with false cheer. "How may I help you, Madame…?"

                "Baroness Andra Filin," Mara answered. "I've called before."

                "Yes… the people who were occupying the room you specified for, amazingly decided to leave the day before your arrival," the receptionist said, adding a slight touch of shock in her tone. "It's free for your now, please wait while we find your keys."

                Mara wondered how much work it took for the hotel managers to clear the people out. She could estimate that it was less than an hour. She watched as the woman began to search for the keys for her room and resisted the urge to fidget. It was only moments later before the woman returned with the key card and gave her an over done thank you. She was then lead to her room by another member of the staff who was overjoyed at being able to carry her bags. When they finally reached her room, Mara paid the man a generous tip and slammed the door in his face when he began to advertise the many relaxing spas the hotel owned.

                With nothing to do for the rest of the day, the Emperor's Hand decided that a nice hot bath would be a good way to waste time. It'd been quite a while since she had one and with Ardock, being the person who occupied the room that was just below her, it wouldn't be taking too much leave from her mission.

*~*~*~*~*

                Night fell quicker than Mara had expected, it was already a few hours before midnight and she hadn't prepared. Though it only took her a mere few minutes to get ready. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit with her weapons concealed beneath the dark cloth. She'd learned a while ago how a blaster's reflective surface could easily give away one's location. Pulling on the half mask that covered the lower half of her face, Mara made sure that her face was not easily recognizable. She glanced at herself in the mirror and for a brief second admired how well she blended into the darkness of her room.

                Once she was set, the Emperor's Hand headed for the balcony with a cord of rope, which she promptly tied to one of the railings. She tugged on the rope, making sure that it was secure and taking one deep breath, Mara leapt over the railing and began falling.

                It'd been something she'd done many times before, casually leaping over a railing, and years of practice had given her an edge to move with ease during free fall. The length of rope quickly ran out and Mara felt the tight squeeze of the rope around her hand as the abrupt halt tightened the loop.

                She was still several stories above ground and at moment, her grip on the rope could have weakened and she would surely fall. Still, Mara felt no fear but only the pounding sensation in her heart as adrenaline flooded her systems. She took a few moments to calm herself, before twisting her body around so she could face the wall of the building. Mara began to swing herself back and forth, every swing brought her closer to the wall until her feet came in contact with it and momentum was quickly lost.

With her feet planted against the wall, Mara began scaling the building. Her climb was nothing new to her, but with a building had such a thick layer on slime on it, Mara found herself occasionally losing her footing.

                Her climb stopped when she came across Ardock's balcony and still hanging on the rope, Mara peered into her target's room. The place was dark and there was no sign of anyone being present at the time. Yet Mara knew that Ardock was still using the room since she spotted luggage piled near the door. Apparently she arrived on planet just in time, for the man seemed to be planning on leaving soon. Hauling herself onto the balcony, Mara approached the glass doors and frowned as she realized it was lock. This came as no surprise to her, but still it was just too much work to figure out the codes that would unlock the door. Sighing, Mara realized that she should have brought her decoder.

                Gently laying her hands on the glass, an idea struck the young woman. She could have broken the glass and made a noisy entrance, but she could also slice open an entrance. Taking out her lightsabre, Mara hesitated, there were very few moments in her service to the Emperor when she used the lightsabre. It was a weapon that the Emperor had given her and the weapon that Vader used the most. She surprised herself into bringing it along but perhaps it was one of those urges that was brought on by her intuition.

                She switched on the lightsabre and winced at the loud snap-hiss it made when it was ignited. She was certain that the neighbors could hear the blade's hum. Sighing, Mara brought her weapon against the window and began to cut away at the glass. Once the glass began to slip, Mara's left hand shot out and caught it before it crashed.

                With the entrance made, she switched off her weapon and gently laid the large piece of glass aside. She stepped into the apartment and traded her lightsabre for her blaster. Her senses were alert as she quickly surveyed the area. It looked no different than it did from the outside, but there was always the possibility that Ardock could be hiding in one of the other rooms, after all, the man couldn't have been that stupid to not have heard someone was entering his apartment.

                Her head snapped towards her right when she heard the slight pattering of footsteps and someone whispering in the next room. Smirking, she made her way towards her target, her footsteps were light and made no sound in the carpeted area.

                Gathering her strength before the doorway, Mara kicked it open, the finely polished wood splintered as it collided with the wall. With her blaster at ready in one hand, she entered the room and spotted Ardock crouching behind a chair, fright was etched on his face as he stared at her.

                Without saying a word, Mara cocked her blaster in his direction and pulled the trigger. The sound of a blaster fired, but it wasn't hers.

                The Emperor's Hand felt a jolting pain at her side, which quickly numbed and spread throughout her body. Mara tried to whirl around and managed to get a look at her attacker before collapsing and falling into a world of darkness.

A/N

Special thanks to for reviewing:

Deja Vu, petrobunny, Renee, Data, Nicholette, Moyima( x2), child_of_serenity, tmar, REM, cindy skywalker, Michele, Eriu, Mara Skywhiner

Favourite review of the Chapter: Deja Vu

"And then?!?!?!??!?!?!?

Come on! You can't leave us hanging!!! *Stomps her feet* Gardblawnit! You have to give more! Soon, or I'll send LCV after you, and I usually just reserve him for Moy!!!

*Eyes well up* Please?"

The more reviews I get, the faster I type!

Edit: Whoopsies for the spelling error on Michele's title… that's what you get for writing a thank you to people in less than five seconds and never taking the time to make sure the title was right. And OMG!! I can't believe you actually reviewed this!