Chapter Four: The Dream Medley

                "If we had a child… what would we call it?"

                Her voice was as sweet as ever, in the darkness of his mind and penetrating every thought that'd been taking residence in the forefront of his attention.

                "A boy or a girl?"

                That was his voice, young and still full of laughter, despite the perilous times that were coming. His former, optimistic tones struck envy and even pure hatred at what he once was: a stupid little Padawan who had too much trust in others.

                Then the vision of the memory came, him before his fall and her before she disappeared. Together the two were lying in bed, staring at each other's face. He'd been admiring her features in the moonlight before she'd broken his reverie.

                "Boy," she replied.

                "I wouldn't really know… thinking about children already?"

                "Don't you want a child? One to hold and cherish?" she asked. "I know I do… I want a boy, a little version of you and I'd name him Anakin Junior."

                He responded in a half snort and half sardonic chuckle. His wife of course did not appreciate being laughed at and playfully shoved him away.

                "Anakin Junior?" he asked. "You can't be serious."

                "And what if I am?" she questioned. "Anyway, I wouldn't mind a girl either. I think a girl would be nice too, she could back me up when you and Ani Jr. start ganging up on me."

                "Hey! I never agreed to naming our son that!"

                "Well that's what he's going to be named if you can't think of anything," she teased and suddenly moved to be closer to him. She rested her forehead against his while their noses were nearly touching. Her eyes were half closed as she snaked her arm around his neck.

                "Alright, alright." He sighed and began to brush his lips against her cheeks. "How about…Luke?"

                "Luke?" she pulled away until she could see him fully. "Where did you get that?"

                "Call it… a hunch," he replied.

                "More crazy Jedi stuff, huh?"

                "You know you love it," he retorted with a half grin.

                She returned his smirk with a smile of her own and began to move closer once more. This time, she rotated her body until she was comfortably nestled in the crook of his arm.

                "Luke…" she murmured and then smiled at him over her shoulder. "I think it'd fit. Luke Skywalker."

                "Glad you liked it," he murmured and gently moved his hand down her bare arm until he could clasp her hand. "So when do you suppose it'd be the right time?"

                "Soon," she answered. "For now, I just want to have you for myself."

                He smirked and tightened his grip. "Done."

                His firmly closed eyes fluttered open as the memory passed him, along with the memory were the feelings of warm comfort he had when he thought of his wife. But like always, reality would follow and he would remember his current state and with reality were the bitter feelings loneliness and betrayal. Vader allowed the feelings linger for a moment, taking pleasure in his own emotional pain before he brought his barriers up, shutting his feelings behind it.

                The memory was one he'd forgotten since he took on the name Vader and left his past where it was supposed to be. Though despite how hard he tried to shunt out the memories, they would return, especially in sleep or meditation.

                It was still interesting that Padmé too, remembered that particular recollection. It pleased him, even after she'd run away from him that she still kept fidelity by acknowledging his wishes and naming their only son, Luke. At the same time, it frustrated him deeply, how could he continue to hate her if she continued on bringing him these surprises?

                Vader's gloved hand clenched into a tight fist and somewhere, not too far away, he heard the sound of furniture--a chair--crashing. He didn't muse over the expense of the chair he'd damaged.

                The past is the past. Remember that. He reminded himself and stared about him in his meditation chamber, one of the few places where he could be without his helmet. It was bare save for the machinery needed to keep him alive, he made no effort in personalizing the pod and didn't intend to.

                A nervous presence suddenly appeared just outside door. He felt the hesitation in the being and recognized its aura in the Force. Vader's irritation doubled, he was in no mood to tolerate bumbling officers, even if they were competent in what they did.

                Making a miniscule wave of his hand, the entrance to his personal chambers opened and in stepped Piett with his hands tightly clasped behind the small of his back. He was possibly the only officer that Vader ever allowed to see mask less. He knew of Piett's loyalty and trusted him enough to know how to keep personal opinions quiet.

                "Admiral?"  Something had to be said first for it was quite obvious that Piett was not going to speak without a prompting. He noted the slight look of wonder on the Admiral's face as he stared at his face. This was not the first time Piett had seen him without a mask and it could be the last if the he continued on wasting his time.

                "My Lord," Piett replied and bowed low. "I was informed to tell you when we would arrive on Imperial Centre."

                Vader made a dismissive gesture. "If that is all?"

                "Yes My Lord," he answered and bowed again.

                The Dark Lord watched as Piett exited the room. The prospect of returning to Imperial Centre, what was once his former home as a Padawan, did not thrill him. The prospect of seeing the Emperor to report his failure on Bespin was not an event Lord Vader looked forward to.

*~*~*~*~*

                "You know, Skywalker, I've eaten worse," Red said as she gestured at him with her ration bar. Mealtimes were just the only times asides from refresher breaks, where she was freed from her bonds save for the binders around her ankles and wrists.

                "And let's see, you've eaten better?" Luke finished for her.

                The look of amusement on Red's face was becoming a familiar sight to see. Luke actually enjoyed watching her face break out into a grin after one of his attempts at cracking a joke. She appeared truly amused by his sense of humour.

                "Oldest line in the book, I know," she replied and finished off her ration bar. "But if it works then I use it."

                "The rule of thumb of any Imperial agent," Luke remarked.

                Red arched her eyebrows at him over her plastic cup of water. "I never said I was one," she replied once she was done. "Why do you persist in labeling me as an agent?"

                "Because you are one," he retorted. "A Jedi can sense when a person's lying, you know."

                "So it's true," she found herself saying out loud. "You are a Jedi."

                Her declaration brought a heavy flush to Luke's cheeks as he glanced the other way. The young Jedi slowly shook his head. "I wouldn't call myself that… a Jedi-in-training perhaps."

                "So is that how you survived against Vader?" Red asked, staring at him with narrow eyes.

                Luke straightened at the mention of Vader and once again, clenched his right hand. He wasn't going to be angry with her, she didn't know. Still, Luke couldn't help the annoyance that spiked in him when she voiced her boorish question.

                "Yes," he answered.

                Immediately he saw her study him with her green eyes and felt her sudden realization that she'd hit a sensitive area. She took the hint and dropped the subject.

                "Well now that you're done," Luke said and quickly stood up. "I guess you'll have to be strapped in again."

                "Fun," she muttered.

                "Well it certainly is for me," he forced himself to grin. "I suppose… you'd like to know that we're nearing Alliance headquarters now."

                He felt the sudden wave of fear that overtook Red's senses as she turned away from him. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was worrying her. Luke began to move closer to her but reconsidered his course of action when he felt Red's irritation rise.

                "They'll just question you," he said. "Nothing else."

                "And keep me their prisoner until I crack," she returned bringing her face around to meet his. "I can't stay like that forever."

                "You won't," he reassured her. "Listen… if you just tell me now what you're mission was, who you served, then I'll let you go, drop you off at a nearby spaceport and leave you alone forever."

                "Strangely enough, I believe you would do that," Red murmured. "But I can't tell you anything."

                "Not even the reason why you wanted to kill Ardock?" Luke urged.

                A small smile appeared on her face as she regarded him. "If I answered that he annoyed me… would that be valid?"

                The young Jedi grinned at her, almost surprised at Red's developing sense of humour. "Nope," he replied. "I guess this is going to turn into an old conversation, isn't it?"

                "Very likely," Red agreed.

                "Then it's about time I turned in for the night," he replied. "You'd better get some rest too."

                Red snorted. "For me, Skywalker, it's still late afternoon, but I guess sleeping's the only thing I can do while I'm strapped to this thing."

                Luke chuckled softly and began to work in strapping Red back onto the cot. He paused once he was done and stared in a fixated manner at her face. It was amazing how he never got tired of staring striking green eyes.

                "Something the matter?" Red asked when she noticed his staring.

                Luke smiled as he pulled his eyes away from hers and shook his head. "No," he replied. "Just tired."

                "Night, then," she replied.

                Luke nodded and soon exited. Mara was once again, left to her own devices and after much debating with herself, she decided that sleep would probably be the best thing to do.

*~*~*~*~*

                Lightsabres clashed on a platform high above a seemingly endless shaft. Two figures fought each other, one a small boy dressed in a sweaty, gray flight suit, while another, dressed in black with his face covered by a helmet.

                What?

                Mara backed away and bumped into a railing as the two brought their duel closer to her. She was almost afraid that they would notice her and attack her with their weapons, but as they neared, she recognized the duelists.

                Skywalker and Vader, one fought with a red lightsabre while the other with a blue. The two weapons contrasted with each other, as did the men wielding them. Mara pushed herself closer to the edge, as they passed, their lightsabres locked and soon it became a contest of strength.

                And the obvious outcome was Vader's victory. Using his superior strength, the Dark Lord shoved the boy away. Skywalker landed on top of a few small steps, barely aware of the cuts and bruises that were beginning to show on his face. His attention was focused solely on the Sith who approached him and soon had his lightsabre pointed to the boy's throat.

                "You are beaten," the Dark Lord growled. "It is useless to resist. Don't make me destroy you as I did Obi-Wan."

                Against her better judgment, Mara found herself edging closer to the duel and silently cheered as Luke fought back. The mention of Obi-Wan's named sparked an anger within the boy that gave him renewed strength. And as he was driven back by Vader, his eyes landed on the sole spectator. His eyes widened as he recognized her.

                "Red?"

                Everything around them faded into white mist. Mara glanced about her, startled, she was certain now, that this was a dream, but confused about what she'd seen. Glancing ahead of her, she saw that Skywalker still remained.

                And the expression on his face, nearly made her shiver.

                It was pure rage that was contrasted by betrayal reflected in eyes; it was evident in his scowl and just the way he stood. She could have sworn she felt his emotions, but that made no sense to her. She began to move away from him and suddenly stopped, realizing that she was giving into her fear.

                "What are you doing in here?" Skywalker snarled as he approached her. "This never happened! Get out!"

                Surprising her, Skywalker shoved her away, causing her to stumble backwards…

                …And out of her sleep.

                Mara awoke with a start and strained against the bonds that kept her down. Panic began to flood her systems until memories came back and she soon remembered that she was chained and stuck as a prisoner.

                What was that about?

                Never had she experienced such a dream. On the occasions when she was aware of when she was dreaming, then Mara would be able to gain control of it. Yet the result of her most recent one was perplexing. No one had ever tried to physically hurt her in a dream and she was still confused about how she could have conjured up a fantasy of Skywalker and Vader fighting like that in such detail. It was almost as if she were seeing a memory, but certainly not hers.

                For the rest of the night Mara lied back, pondering about the vision.

*~*~*~*~*

                The days that followed her dream of Skywalker and Vader were uneventful. No longer did the Jedi Knight grace her with his presence. When she asked of him, the other Rogues would ignore her and treat her in a cold manner.

                She admitted that she did miss Skywalker, but reminded herself that she'd been planning on escape before and those little idyllic chats with him served to be nothing more than a mere distraction.

                Of course, things did become much livelier when on the fourth day after her dream; four Rogues came into her prison. All four of them were heavily armed and regarded her with wary expressions. Mara suddenly began to realize that perhaps they'd finally arrived at the Rebel Base, it was the only explanation as to why four pilots would suddenly enter looking like frightened mice about to face a feline predator.

                Her suspicions were confirmed when the dark haired Corellian, Wedge, spoke. "We've arrived at the fleet," he gave her a cold look. "And Commander Skywalker ordered us to have you ready for transport."

                Mara was silent as they began to unlock her bonds. She suddenly saw her chance to escape and resisted the urge to smile. Of course the Rogues would be expecting her to try a move, but if she acted fast enough, she could be free.

                As soon as her legs were free from the binders, Mara jumped up and swung around in a high kick, knocking Wedge back into his companions. She moved to her side as the other three, opened fire at her. She dodged out of the room as a blue ring of energy shot over her head.

                The other Rogues obviously heard the commotion and rushed towards her prison to see what was the matter. Luckily for Mara, not many of them had been smart enough to bring their own weapons. Though she was bound at the hands, Mara was still a capable fighter.

                She dodged low and rested her weight on her hands as she executed a foot sweep, knocking a nearby Rogue off his feet. A blow to his head had him unconscious. She then rounded a corner and was nearly shot by a red bolt this time. Apparently they'd discarded their stun only rule.

                Of course, fighting with only her feet was a challenge. Mara needed to find a way to free her hands. The answer came to her as another bolt of energy shot towards her, she held up her hands and grimaced as the shock of the bolt hit her binders. The heat of blast quickly spread through the cuffs, burning her skin. Despite the pain, Mara began to gather her strength and began to pull apart the cuffs. She gasped when the binders broke apart and she was free to use her hands.

*~*~*~*~*

                Luke felt the stirring in the Force before he heard it. There was an obvious commotion happening on the ship. It was no surprise to him when he traced the stirring down to a certain red head. Grabbing his blaster, he left the sanctuary of his room to enter the corridor, only to run straight into Red. She stared at him in shock, and it was obvious that the woman was hassled. One glance down the hall told Luke that she had quite a time trying to flee from his wing mates.

                Though before Luke was given a chance to speak, the Imperial agent cried out and kicked at his right hand, numbing his grip and causing his blaster to clatter to the ground. His momentary shock was all she needed to subdue him; she barreled into his midsection, bringing him to the ground. Luke fell back hard and felt the wind being knocked out of him. He was disoriented for a few seconds and when he was back to a coherent state of mind, he found himself staring up the barrel of a blaster.

                But that wasn't enough to stop a Jedi Knight, quickly resorting to use the Force. Luke wrenched the blaster out of her grip, flinging it across the hall. Red stared at her empty hand in shock and was deftly punished for her lack of attention when Luke pushed her off him, not with his own hands, but with the Force. She flew across the corridor and nearly slammed into the wall, yet in mid flight, the agent had twisted her body around and slammed her feet towards the ground, digging her heels into the floor until she slowly skidded to a halt.

                Snarling like a predator, she then rushed towards him. Luke quickly scrambled away and felt his hands come across the discarded blaster. Without thinking, the Jedi Knight brought the weapon around and pointed it towards the woman and fired a single shot. The bolt hit its target and had it been anywhere near a vital part of her body, then Red would have died. Luckily for her, the red bolt had only caught her on the side and knocked her back.

                She gasped in pain and stumbled in mid run. Her knees suddenly buckled and Red would have fell face first to the ground if Luke had not rushed to her side. He caught her in his arms and cradled her weakened body against his chest. His right hand rested on top of her hands. Luke tried his best to force the girl into a healing trance.

                What little Yoda had taught him of Force healing, was used, and to his own surprise, he felt Red using her own skills to attend to the wound. She tried weakly to fight back the trance with her own Force strength but succumbed to it. Luke stood there, and wondered about the girl's ability to touch the Force. What would someone call her? Force strong? Force sensitive? Luke couldn't come up with way to describe her abilities with the mystical energy field.

                You're more than just an agent, aren't you, Red? Luke silently asked her, but as expected, he received no answer.

                "Boss?"

                Luke glanced up to see Wedge, with a hideous black eye approaching him. He arched his eyebrow in surprise and in one single motion; he heaved Red into his arms, carrying her like she was nothing more than a small child.

                "She can certainly throw a punch, can't she?" Luke asked as he approached his friend.

                "Well she can certainly throw more than one punch," said Hobbie, who'd sidled up to the Corellian. The poor pilot was in an even worse condition then Wedge. His face was covered with cuts and bruises and his lip had been split open, half of his face was swelling up to a startling size.

                Luke glanced down at Red in amusement, his anger towards her had all but been forgotten. Certainly he'd been angry with her for her entering his dream. He'd spent the last four days in his own private quarters fuming over it and trying to come down to a more logical conclusion. But one couldn't waste his entire life time staying angry at someone.

                "Well, just thought you'd like to know that we've docked," Hobbie muttered and held a hand towards his cheek.

                "Good," Luke replied. "Inform med-centre to be ready to take in a few injured."

                "Sure thing, Boss," Hobbie replied. He snapped into a sloppy salute and began limping his way back to the cockpit.

                Still carrying Red, Luke gave a single nod to Wedge before he began to head for the ramp. He trusted his friend to take care of things while he was gone. Luke began to wonder if it'd just be best for him to relinquish his rank so that way Wedge could have a shot at becoming a leader. The Corellian pilot certainly deserved it, but it seemed almost impossible for anyone in his squadron to earn a rank while they were stuck under his shadow.

                It was no surprise for him when he exited the ship to find the docking bay empty, save for a few Rebel guards whom he addressed for a short moment, informing them of who and what happened to the woman in his arms. They, like almost every other rebel in the fleet, listened to him in awe and regarded him as if he were some sort of hero. This sort of admiration was becoming sickening, but that was the price one paid for saving the lives of millions and for taking millions.

                An escort guard followed him to med centre, though Luke thought it unnecessary considering the fact that he could now easily take down just about any opponent thrown at him. Though he supposed the guard was still wary at the thought of having an Imperial agent on board the same ship as he.

                The 21-B droid greeted him in the med-centre and showed him where to put Red; Luke gently laid her down and to his surprise, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. For a moment, he was afraid the woman would awaken and start roaring at him.

*~*~*~*~*

                Leia had heard about Luke's arrival when he'd docked though despite her wishes to be there to greet him personally, she was detained in a meeting. All of the superior commanders of Hi-C were gathered around speaking of supply runs and where they would keep the fleet until finally the meeting was adjourned.

                She had to ask around first before she was able to find where Luke was, though upon hearing that he'd been in the med-centre, her heart had slammed into her ribcage. Worry began to take the better of her as she thought of an injured Luke, floating in a bacta tank, or maybe he'd be comatose, never to awaken again and she'd be left alone once more.

                Of course, Leia's logical side told her to stop being silly and to just head down to the med-centre, when she entered, she heard the sounds of a bacta tank being run, it'd become a very familiar sound to her since Hoth. She quickly rounded the corner and found Luke, not in the bacta tank, but outside, staring at the person that was inside, a woman.

                "Luke!" she exclaimed, calling for his attention.

                The young Jedi turned around in surprise, though it quickly melted in joy at seeing his best friend. Holding out his arms he grabbed Leia in a tight embrace, this was neither startling nor new to the rebel princess. She instead returned his hug just as fiercely.

                "You seem worried," he observed and then allowed himself to smirk. "Afraid something might have happened to me?"

                "Don't even joke about it," Leia retorted and playfully shoved him aside. "When I heard you were in the med-centre I came down here as quickly as I could… what's wrong?"

                "Nothing's wrong with me," Luke replied, he then gestured towards the bacta tank. "Just that a… friend of mine got injured."

                Leia directed her attention towards the tank, and noticed for the first time, the red headed woman who floated in the fluids with an almost serene expression on her face. She was clothed only in as minimal clothing as possible while in the tank and had her face covered in a breath mask. Leia stared at her and then returned her attention towards Luke, for the first time in a long time, she began to wonder about the romantic aspect of Luke's life.

                "Who is she?" the Alderaani princess asked.

                The young Jedi shrugged and turned his attention towards the woman and Leia could easily spot the lines of worry on his brow. She often had them when she thought about Luke's safety while he was on a mission.

                "I don't know," he replied. "We ran into her on Ridel. My assumption is that she's an Imperial agent."

                It was as if a lever had been switched; everything inside Leia had stopped working save for the boiling anger that began to rise. She shot a scowl towards the woman and then tugged at Luke's arm, whirling him around to face her.

                "You brought an Imperial agent here?" she demanded.

                Luke was startled by her sudden anger towards him and pulled away from her grasp. He glanced nervously towards the agent and then back towards the princess, he was obviously confused and wondered what he'd done wrong.

                "Yes," he answered. "I thought it'd be best to hand her over to Hi-C for questioning. She wouldn't answer me, but then again I barely had enough training about interrogation to be qualified."

                Leia snorted and stiffened when Luke rested his hands against her shoulders and brought her closer to him in a half hug. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

                "Nothing's wrong," she snapped though her anger was beginning to leave her. "I just… well I don't feel safe with Imperials here, that's all."

                "Don't worry, I'll watch over her," he soothed. "I… have a feeling that she's important. Just a while ago I discovered she was Force… strong."

                "Force strong?" she asked.

                "I really can't think of a way to word it, but basically she was just strong in the Force, I could feel it since I met her, but I wasn't certain," he smirked. "I'm not good at that kind of stuff."

                That explained it. Luke's sudden caring for the woman was caused by the fact that they shared something in common. Leia tried her best to scowl, but failed miserably. She instead sighed and made a dismissive gesture.

                "Fine, if you want to be with this woman, then do whatever you want, you have my permission," she replied tersely.

                "Yes, ma'am," Luke teased and offered a mock salute.

                His attention was already turned on the Imperial when Leia left. She paused at the door, staring at him with lingering regret and deep down, a jealousy.

*~*~*~*~*

                The shadow of a demon chased after her with unwavering speed, engulfing the entire sky behind her and it was miraculous how Mara was able to keep ahead of it. Inwardly, she knew that this was a dream but primal instincts told her to continue running and she obeyed them without a second thought.

                Since it was a dream, the young woman was able to continue running faster than she could imagine without the need to slow down. Though that was also the same result for the shadow. No matter how fast she ran she couldn't escape it.

                He came at him out of nowhere, as if springing from the ground, he just appeared before her. Though dreams did not have physical properties, Mara still thought by the limits of force. She therefore collided into him, sending the two sprawling to the ground, if there had been one.

                "Luke?" she exclaimed and remembered of the shadow. She quickly glanced behind her but was instead staring at an endless white plane.

                "We keep meeting like this," the man underneath her commented and then wriggled free. "Especially in the strangest places."

                "This is a dream…" she murmured. She laid a hand on his forehead. "So are you real?"

                The young Jedi shrugged and sat up, taking her hand into his, a wide and almost foolish looking grin had graced his features. His smile almost made the Emperor's Hand blush. She snatched her hand away, but instead of reprimanding him, she stayed silent.

                "I'm pretty sure that I'm real." He replied. "So are we in my dream or yours?"

                "Mine," Mara answered.

                Skywalker was silent once more before something lit in his eyes. Mara caught the change in his expression almost immediately. Though it irked her that he did not seem to want to forfeit his thoughts.

                "What?" she snapped.

                "Before, you called me Luke." His answer made Mara roll her eyes but he was right, she did call him by his first name. She never before had that kind of familiarity with anyone.

                "I suppose I did," she retorted. "It was just a slip of the tongue, you surprised me."

                "Yeah, I understand," he replied though the subtext of his reply was evident to the Imperial agent.

                Mara was about to rattle off a long explanation about how being surprised could have people saying the strangest things when a memory resurfaced. Luke caught the dangerous flicker in her eyes but was too late to stop her fist from connecting with his jaw.

                He moaned and brought a hand up to his chin it took him a few moments before he was able to speak. "You know, for a dream that hurt a lot more than I would have expected."

                Mara stared at him in surprise. She'd prepared herself for some sort of raging anger. Skywalker was confusing her at every turn. Steeling herself again, Mara quickly buried surprise behind a wall of rage. "That, was for shooting me with a blaster."

                "I deserved it," he conceded and then shrugged as if getting punched in the face was an everyday occurrence. He glanced at her catching her eyes and smiled. "Sorry."

                Deciding a change in subject would be most appropriate, Mara asked, "Where am I, anyway?"

                "Rebel fleet, medical centre, sleeping on a cot last time I checked," Skywalker replied while still rubbing his jaw, it took Mara a moment to decipher his garbled words.

                So she was really a prisoner, she wondered why she felt a sudden surge of worry. She'd been one for quite a while in Luke's custody. No, there was a difference between being Luke's prisoner and the Rebellion's, the first time she'd met him, she knew right away that Luke would never harm her. The Rebellion on the other hand was different, there were those who most likely ranked higher than Luke, that would wish any Imperial, even a suspected agent, dead.

                "Hey." Luke reached out and grasped her hand, pulling her closer to him. "Nothing's going to happen to you. The Alliance would never do anything so stupid."

                "The very existence of the Rebellion is stupid," Mara retorted but despite her anger, she never pulled her hand away. She suddenly realized this and glared at Luke. "And what are you doing here? How is it that we're in each other's dreams?"

                The young Jedi gave a calm shrug and Mara could not deny the fact that it was beginning to deeply irritate her. "I have no real idea, perhaps the Force? It could be pushing us into each other's dreams."

                "The Force? I've heard about it," Mara murmured. She glanced down at their entwined fingers. Fleeting memories of her training resurfaced as she remembered the Emperor having mentioned something about a mystical energy force a few times before, but he'd never given her a clear definition. "It's what gives you Jedi your power right?"

                "Yeah I guess," he replied. His face flushed as he began to look sheepish. "I took a crash course in being a Jedi, there's still a few things that are unclear to me."

Mara appeared to be skeptical but voiced no further questions on his Jedi training. "So I guess if we just try to wake up, we'll be out of here?" she questioned and gestured around the white ether. "I'm not too much of an open space person."

                Luke's disappointment became evident to Mara and for a brief moment, she wanted to keep him smiling. This wanting made Mara frown. It was very unlike her to care about another's feelings. She glanced up at Luke again who had averted his gaze and seemed enthused with something in the horizon.

                "It's really strange, but this place kind of reminds of Tatooine," he spoke softly. "The endless horizon and the brightness of this place, I wouldn't be surprised if I just turned around and found myself staring at the twin-" As he spoke, Luke did turn and was greeted with the fiery hue of the Tatooine sky during sunset.

                Mara grimaced as she felt the gritty texture of sand beneath her and that was what told her that this was more than just a dream. She never had a dream that had so much detail in it. This wasn't real, but there was still Luke and everything about him told her that he was no product of her own fantasies. What little she knew of the Force and Luke's explanation made sense to her though it did leave her unsatisfied. She was never the one to venture around without knowledge of what she was doing.

                As the Emperor's Hand, she'd been around many places before and studied about the social structure of quite a few planets and so she was easily able to recognize her surroundings. There were quite a few binary systems in the galaxy, but very few of them had planets that were able to support life. Tatooine was one of those few and she had a suspicion that all of this was just a memory.

                "Quite an impressive sunset," she commended, letting her gaze trail towards the horizon. "I've never seen a binary one before."

                Now Luke was grinning again as he picked up a handful of sand and let it slip through his fingers. "Until a few years ago, I'd never seen a single one," he confessed and watched the sand fall to the ground. "Even now sunsets just don't seen right unless there's two of them."

                "On Coruscant, we have sunsets, but the horizon's obscured by the tall buildings," Mara remarked and swatted at his hand, giving him a scowl. Her gesture caused Luke to grin sheepishly. "But it's beautiful too, all of the buildings seem to glow."

                Beside her, Luke began to chuckle softly. Mara blushed and berated herself for being a fool but perhaps Luke had felt her embarrassment because he'd pulled closer to her. "It's funny, you don't really seem like the type of person to me that appreciates a sunset."

                "I usually don't," Mara admitted. "But it doesn't mean I don't notice. You know, sometimes even Lord Vader stops and watches the sunset too, I've caught him doing it a few times actually."

                The mention of Vader's name brought a heavy gloom between the two. Luke's face twisted into a scowl while his hand clenched into a tight fist. Mara was immediately shameful for bringing up a hard subject and took his balled hand and after forcing it open, she slipped her fingers around his and tightened her grip on it. Luke realized that she was trying her best to comfort him, albeit badly, but the thought was still touching.

                "Tell me about how you grew up," she suddenly asked.

                Luke stared out into the vast dune sea and knew that he would have been scorching had he not known that this was a dream. Very few of his friends knew very much about his life on Tatooine, there really wasn't much of a story to tell so he really never bothered to give one. And though he'd spent so many years, pining to get off the dust ball, he had to admit that it was sometimes good to be home.

                "I grew up here," he told her and waved a hand around him. "An out of the way outer rim planet that was so small that not even the Rebellion or the Empire took notice of it. I thought I had no future here and you know how small coincidences will eventually pile up to a greater destiny. Everything that's happened to me occurred when one small droid blew its motivator."

                "And here you are," Mara said. "Hero of the Rebellion and number one enemy of the Empire."

                "What about you?" Luke asked when he realized that the conversation would regress back to silence if he didn't make an effort.

                "I… uh…" Never in her life had anyone asked Mara about her childhood. Though she should have expected it, she couldn't think of anything to tell him.

                "If you don't want to then you don't have to," Luke reassured her. "It'd just be nice to know."

                "Well I grew up on Coruscant," Mara replied. "And I trained and that's about it."

                Luke snorted but didn't press Mara anymore. Obviously she felt uncomfortable divulging information to people and it'd probably been a miracle for her to tell him anything. For a long moment the two stood in silence before Luke felt that familiar tugging in the back of his mind. He found it harder to stay still and even Mara's grasp on him was beginning to weaken.

                "I think I'm going to wake," Luke said and turned to face her. "But… before I go, I want to know one thing: your name."

                Mara opened her mouth to protest when she saw the pleading look in Skywalker's eyes. Something inside of her was suddenly compelled to make him smile and so she relented. Leaning forward, she whispered her name into his ears. "You may call me Mara Jade."

                Luke pulled away with his eyebrows arched. "Mara," he repeated and smiled. "It fits you."

                "Don't tell anyone," she told him sharply. "Or I will kill you."

                Laughing, Luke held a hand up in the air and gave a curt nod. "Alright then, your secret's safe with me and I prom-"

                And he awoke.

A shout out goes to the following for reviewing:

Déjà vu, Dulcea, Prince Luke Skywalker

Favourite Review for Chapter 2: Deja Vu

*Waiting to learn what in space Mara is doing...*

*Waiting...*

*Waiting...*

*WAITING...*

*WAITING...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

WELL!?!?!? WHEN DO WE GET TO KNOW!?!? SOMETIME THIS CENTURY??? Maybe.....Tomorrow? *checks her schedule* Oohh, tomorrow's not so good. Going out of town...Monday. Monday's good. Monday's really good. Lots of time. Lots of good.

From the fictional mouth of Oliver Twist, "Please (*snips out the "sir" since you might not appreciate it*), I want some more..."

*~*~*~*

Honestly Vu, you must be making it a personally goal to become my favourite reviewer. And I guess posted a month too late from what you'd hoped *g*. And no, I don't mind being called sir at all. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner than I did with these two.