Star Wars

RI 2000-2002

Disclaimer: I own only this fic

Notes: I slapped this together because I wasn't happy with the place Rebel Stand left off. I won't be happy until Traitor comes out. And then only for the two hours it takes to read it.

-----------------------------

Late in the night Mara lay awake, listening to and feeling the ship around her. It was unnaturally quiet, Mara decided, without the familiar vibrations of the engines humming along the ship. She had always disliked remaining in one place for too long, and their inactivity was making her tense. She was sorely tempted to head out for the maw, as much to be doing something as to see her tiny son again, but knew Luke felt it important to stay here.

She lifted her head to gaze up at her sleeping husband's face, resting her chin on his ribs. Luke's breathing was gentle and his face relaxed. His much-scared face seemed younger in sleep, the stress lines and frowns of worry temporarily erased. He even smiled occasionally, dreaming of things pleasant to him. Mara had once probed his mind while he dreamed. She had learned that he liked grass. Three years of marriage and she learned at the moment that he liked an abundance of green grass and a little stream. A simple man, her husband. Since then they always had some little plant in the quarters. She also sensed that he sometimes dreamed of his childhood on Tatooine. Burning curiosity and impatience had colored his views of it at the time, but his aunt and uncle had loved him. For all intents and purposes, it had been nearly perfect.

"You're broadcasting." Luke's voice was pitched very low to suit the quiet of the room. He projected the same serenity he had in sleep.

"Excuse me."

Luke half-opened his eyes and grinned. "You're excused." He shifted slightly and tugged the top cover higher over them. The room was overly cool. He gave the environment controls a little tap with the Force, jumping the temperature up a few degrees.

"Thank you."

Luke looked at her. "You could have done that yourself."

"True, but it's much more fun to have your husband do your menial work."

A tremor of laughter ran down Luke's ribcage. She felt his hand in her hair--his real hand--stroking the long red strands in time with her breathing. It was relaxing, and while not as good as true sleep, she would take it.

"You want to leave." Luke said.

Mara shifted to alleviate the strain on her neck and pulled herself up to lay partially on his chest. She carefully sifted through her thoughts, panning out the truth. "I want to be doing something."

Luke nodded, his hand still working its slow rhythm. He knew how she felt about inactivity. His wife was never tense or uncomfortable until she had to wait. "You also want to see Ben."

Mara narrowed jade-green eyes at him. "If you had to read me through the Force to get that, you've got a real problem."

Luke lifted his head from the pillow and smiled at her, his deep grin that he had misplaced during the years he had become caught up in the pressure of being a Jedi. The years he had given serious thought to isolating himself, as Yoda and Obi-wan had. "No I didn't need the Force."

"Good. Hate to think I'm in this thing alone."

"You're not," Luke assured her. "I love my son more than anything."

Mara blinked passively at him. She was perfectly content with the knowledge that if Luke had to choose between her and their son, he would choose Ben. It would kill him, but he wouldn't sacrifice his son, even for her. Nor would he die with her, should those circumstances arise. He would save her or let her go. She wanted it that way. She needed it that way.

Luke disentangled his hand from her riotous red mane and dropped it to her shoulder. Mara made a noise of discontent, and his hand came back up with a soft snicker. As they lay there Mara stretched out into the Force, settling into the myriad of sensations coming to her from all over the ship. Something brushed past her, something familiar and bitter tasting at the same time. Mara frowned and reached for it. She was only able to catch traces of it, like a faint whiff of something unique-smelling. She tightened the focus of her considerable Force-sensitivity and ruthlessly sought the emotion. She found it, and found it was coming from Jaina. It was pain. Her niece was doing a decent job of masking, no doubt to avoid worrying her mother. She also knew Jaina's full focus wasn't on the task. Jaina could shut down tightly and completely when she chose.

Mara stretched a little further and realized Jaina distraction. Mara could not sense Jag Fel through the force--she didn't think it was possible-- but she did know the how her niece felt about the Chiss commander. She was willing to guess they were together now.

Luke was watching his wife and saw the conspirator smile on her face. "Now what?"

Mara withdrew from Jaina, bringing all her mind-feelers back into their bedroom. "Nothing to be concerned over." Unless you're Han.

Jag Fel?

Mara didn't so much as hear Luke's question as interpret the meaning of his thought. Yes.

Luke made an enlightened sound. Privately, he was pleased with the relationship. Wedge's nephew was a good man, well trained with a strong mind. He provided a suitable balance to his sometimes-impulsive niece. He also provided her with support and acceptance that she wouldn't have from most because of her slide to the Dark Side. Luke had often observed the young man carefully as he interacted with Jaina. He had no fear of her or her abilities. It gave Luke a little peace of mind to know his niece was with friends. And odd collection they were: Kyp, a sometimes immature Jedi Master; Jag Fel, a Chiss trained pilot and expert tactician; Piggy, a Gammorean pilot and mathematics expert; and Sharr Latt, the psychological warfare expert and general oddball.

But then, his best friends growing up had been a T-16 Sky hopper, a few dreams and the night sky. Not so odd, for a Skywalker.

Mara was thinking of Han Solo and how he would react to his daughter being attached to an Imperial. Chiss-trained and deployed, but an Imperial. "You realize we'll never have to deal with what they will?"

Luke raised a brow. "Young, adolescent love?"

Mara snorted. "Young love is overrated. Aged love is better. But no, I was speaking of family. You, me, Han and Leia; we never had to deal with any in-laws. It was just us, and what we wanted. There was no one else to encourage us or to stop us. But those two have the full compliment: parents, siblings, hold-parents, family friends, peers."

"I hadn't thought of that," Luke said thoughtfully. His mood grayed. "I'm not convinced Jacen is alive, but I do trust my sister's feelings. If we get him back, Jag Fel is likely in for a battle. I used to wonder how anyone would ever separate the twins; unless Jacen is seriously damaged from his time with the Vong, it's going to be harder than ever."

Mara thought it, but didn't say it. He'll never have to deal with Anakin. The younger Solo brother had been as protective of Jaina as Jacen was. The three children had always watched each other's backs and protected one another. Without Anakin, that circle seemed incomplete. Without Jacen, it seemed demolished. A sudden insight of Jaina's desolation at being left alone to fend for herself swept over Mara. Kyp and Jag were ideal, but they would never be her brothers. Another thought hit Mara: Ben will never know his cousins.

Luke broke into the choking thoughts. "Find something lighter to think about."

"Well, for starters, Ben is going to need going to need new clothing soon…."

* * *

Jaina padded down the corridor that led to her quarters aboard the Mon Mothma. The lights had been dimmed for the sleep cycle but Jaina made her way unfalteringly to the unmarked door to her luxury quarters. Inside the air was cool and the massive fine-linen draped bed was a most inviting thing. Jaina sat wearily on the edge and struggled her boots off, then stripped out of her flight pants and soft shirt to don a larger black shirt that had once belonged to Jacen. Jaina had taken it from him when she left to join Rogue Squadron. The black material had long since lost the smell of the warm spicy scent he used to wear. She slid the sheets back, crawled into bed and slipped off the oversized chrono belonging to Anakin. Gently she put it on the bedside table.

She closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply. She hadn't used a Jedi trance in place of natural sleep in several weeks. Opening up to Jag had opened a floodgate of emotions and memories that she couldn't--didn't want to -- deal with right now. Too many images, to many memories, to allow her sleep this night. She soon felt herself slipping into the welcoming blackness of mindless rest, where she could close the darkness over her and rest comfortably, safely shut away from her own mind.

Her datapad chirped. She opened one eye to glare at the pile of clothes next to her bed. The chirping became more insistent. She then realized that it wasn't her datapad, but her comlink. She needed to change the tone of one of them. Groaning profoundly she rolled over and reached for the cast off pants until her fingers found purchase on synthetic material. She dragged them forward and dug in her pockets until she grasped the comlink. She thumbed it on and answered it.

One of her squadron techs answered back. There was a problem with her X-wing and Cappie wouldn't let them close enough to fix it. It could wait until morning but she wouldn't have her X-wing until that evening. Jaina told them she would be down to corral her astromech and signed off. She muttered a few a choice words in Basic and Twi'lek and rolled out of the comfortable bed. After redressing in her pants and boots she left her quarters to go BACK to the docking bay where he X-wing was, settle the situation with Cappie so she could come BACK to her quarters for the SECOND time and grab the three hours of sleep she would have left by that time.

A few more imaginative curses were released into the empty corridor, jolting Kyp Durron out of his sleep. Jaina smiled coldly and went to kick on his door. After all, a Goddess shouldn't work while her manservant slept.

-------------------------------

Coming soon: part four of this ride.