Predestined Soulmates
Part 2: The Way of the Force
By SJ 29-05-02/06-2002
________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving
me some of your precious time, my friend :)
__________________
Careful to not look as if he were disobeying the young woman, Luke followed Jade
into the corridor, then the cockpit of the ship.
There, he stopped at the threshold of the hatch and gazed around himself in awe.
The boards, the piloting station, the helm... It was exactly like how he had
imagined them to be. It turned out to be quite a shock to him since everyone
had managed to convince him that his images had been delusions of his
imagination. However, he jubilated inwardly, he could now see that they
weren't.
And if they weren't, he thought in renewed hope, then his feeling that he could
fly a ship without even any training might just be true as well.
Suddenly, the image of the cockpit disappeared from his mind and was replaced by
that of him at the helm of the ship, flying into deep space and fighting against
enemies who had come out of nowhere, 'but they wouldn't get him', he resolved.
He saw himself flip switches and steer the ship in a new direction, skillfully
avoiding dangerous laser blasts---
"Hey, you awake?" Jade's voice suddenly cut in his reverie and pulled him back
down to the reality of his farmboy's life.
More snaps of her fingers in front of his face pushed away his remaining daze.
"I... huh, yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "I was just thinking that I'd love to
be a pilot," he admitted to her, dimly wondering why he was telling her about
this in the first place.
"I know what you mean," the woman nodded in understanding even as she lightly
took hold of his arm and directed him back the way they had come. "I'm done
here. Let's retrieve your speeder and be on our way."
"Oh, huh... right," Luke nodded in understanding even though he was disappointed
to leave this soon.
He wanted to see more of the ship, to perhaps be granted a spin in it... but
Jade seemed to have other ideas in mind. She didn't rough him up in any way,
but she didn't give him any choice either but to exit the ship before she sealed
it behind them.
They then cleared the area of the landing pad, then Jade pulled a remote from
her belt and activated it.
Luke watched the only ship he had ever seen in his life, and perhaps the last
one he'd ever see, as it slowly rose from the ground before it slowly yet
gracefully pushed itself upward and rose toward the untouchable sky.
Some day, he promised himself, he would be aboard such a ship, on his way off
this dust ball of a planet.
Mara carefully studied her ship as it lifted off, paying attention to any
indication that the engine had been damaged while she had been away. The craft
lifted off without any mishap and was soon little more than a sparkling dot
against the blue backdrop of the morning sky.
"Well I don't know who your task master is, Jade," the youth commented softly
beside her, "but he must be powerful to 'give' you such a ship to work with."
Puzzled by the boy's comment, she turned her head sideways to gaze at him; his
eyes were still locked on the sky, as if he could still track her ship, she
reflected seriously.
"He is," she nodded curtly in answer to the youth's reflection, then pulled her
hood back over her bright red-gold hair and tucked her remote control back in
her utility belt, under her robe.
Wordlessly, she turned around to leave the landing pit; the farmboy took a few
seconds to follow her. On their way to his speeder, she dimly wondered what she
had to understand from his suddenly glum feelings.
******
Perhaps ten minutes after they had left the town, the farmboy still hadn't
recovered his more naive, brighter mood. Even though she didn't know him at
all, Mara could feel that it was not his normal behavior, that something was
greatly bothering him.
Against her every imperial instincts and lessons, she asked him what was wrong.
At first, only silence and the wind tearing past her hair and ears answered
her... then a sigh.
She noticed that it was not one of annoyance like those she was used to produce
or see, nor even those of discouragement, which were common with the regular
populace; instead, it was one filled with sorrow and regret.
"Perhaps seeing your ship wasn't a good idea," the young man commented
cryptically, effectively shedding the image that she had had up to now of an
innocent, barely grown boy... for that of a serious, thoughtful young man.
This discovery left her so speechless that she could barely nod to encourage him
to continue.
"I've been trying to register in the Imperial Academy for three seasons now," he
explained to her, his eyes locked on a spot in front of them. "Every time, I
got selected and wanted to go."
"But?" she prompted him, aware of where he was going with this.
"My uncle won't let me go," he answered sadly. "He says that he needs me for
the harvest, that it's only for one more season, but up to now, the same
scenario has been repeating itself every new season... and I'm still here."
"Why don't you run away then?" she suggested seriously, pushing a streak of hair
out of her eyes as a sudden gust of side wind pushed it across her eyes.
Having taken her eyes off the boy for a fraction of a second, she was thus
uncharacteristically startled when he whirled toward her, his face a study of
emotional pains, hopes,... and plain disbelief at her proposal.
"And leave my aunt and uncle to survive on their own in this desert?" he asked
her indignantly. "I'd rather die here than abandon them," he answered, dead-
serious.
Despite her most rigorous training and her frequent experiences with her
dangerous, powerful master, Mara Jade couldn't help but swallow in uneasiness as
the suddenly defiant/determinate, icy blue eyes of the boy rested on her.
This young man was much more than what he seemed, she dimly reflected even as
she watched the powerful gaze slowly soften back to its more 'familiar' kindness
and warmth.
"I'm sorry," the youth apologized softly for his outburst, "it's just that they
are the only family I have. They took care of me ever since my father died. I
can't turn my back on them," he finished sadly, focusing back on his piloting.
"It wouldn't be right," he mumbled to himself.
So many emotions, Mara thought in unusual kindness as she continued to gaze at
the profile of her glum companion. The farmboy cared so much for those who had
and still raised him that he didn't even think about fulfilling his own dreams
until they wouldn't need him anymore.
Even though she was aware that she had only heard about the tip of the ice
block, she could feel that if the farmboy waited for 'that' day to happen to
leave... it would never happen.
"But enough about me," the object of her thoughts commented in the silence, then
turned his head once again in her direction. "What about you? How did you
become a secret agent while this young?"
"Secret agent?" she slightly glared at him, feeling uncomfortable with the fact
that he had hit this close to the mark... A mark she had been trying to keep
secret from him.
"Well, something along those lines anyway," he smiled sheepishly. "So, how did
it happen?"
For a moment, Mara turned away from him and gazed straight ahead of them. The
sand dunes were constantly growing closer yet they were endlessly stretching as
far as the horizon went. Very much like her master's domain, she reflected
even as she considered how unhappy he would be when he would find out how she
had 'dealt' with the boy.
Not answering his questions would at least help to appease his anger, she
thought seriously--- yet her heart decided otherwise once again.
"My master found me and trained me since I was little," she answered him
truthfully. "He saved me from slavery and gave me all the knowledge I needed to
survive on my own. I chose to serve him to thank him for saving me," she
revealed, dimly aware that she had never, ever been this truthful with anybody
before, not even herself.
"I'm sorry," the boy answered softly, giving her a warm, compassionate gaze
before refocusing forward.
Mara frowned at his word and turned around to gaze at him once again. "For
what?" she asked even as she reflexively noticed the presence of a survival
shelter in the distance and on their left. It too zipped past them and
disappeared behind a sand dune as the speeder flew onward.
"Well, for---"
The farmboy never had time to complete his explanation before they were both
almost thrown out of their seats as the speeder suddenly bucked hard under them-
-- and stalled completely.
Once recovered from his shock, Luke became aware that the speeder had completely
stopped, stranding them right smack dab in the middle of the Dune Sea.
"Great," he muttered in annoyance even as he pulled himself out of his seat and
jumped out of the speeder. "Are you all right?" he asked his companion; she
nodded in reassurance. "Stay put, I'll take a look at it. It's probably
nothing," he tried to comfort himself.
He made his way around the front of the speeder. Now that they were immobile,
he quickly grew aware of the worrying side wind that was ruffling his hair where
there normally was no air at all, only the stifling heat from the double suns
which were cooking them mercilessly. Trying to ignore the implication of the
wind, he pulled the hood of the speeder opened--- and took a few, hasty steps
backward to protect himself from the scorching heat of the hot engine. As he
recovered from his unpleasant surprise, he saw that his companion had also
stepped out of the speeder and had joined him to study the problem.
The first thing he noticed about her this time was that the side winds were most
unmistakable in her beautiful hair, pushing them toward her left. Even though
her sight was most beautiful, perhaps even angelic, he admitted to himself that
he didn't like at all the implication of the winds. He spared a gaze at the sky
above them; it was still as clear as ever.
"So what's the problem?" she asked him even as she peered at the tangle of wires
and mechanical parts of the engine. "Oh, looks like the ventilation coil is
blown," she then commented seriously.
Surprised by her knowledge of mechanic... as well as her accurate evaluation of
the situation once he checked the engine by himself, Luke turned around to gape
at her---- and truly gaped in horror at the sight of what was swiftly
approaching them from behind her.
Without thinking, he grabbed hold of her hand and tore away from the stranded
speeder. If he remembered right from his memory of the previous minutes, there
was a survival hut somewhere nearby.
It was their only chance.
Mara was almost indignant at the face the boy began to make at her, but her
retort died on her lips when his expression changed from surprise to horror.
She hesitantly turned around to see what he had detected--- and barely gaped in
turn at the steadily approaching wall of sand and winds before she found herself
tripping over her feet and the hem of her robe as the farmboy pulled her after
himself; they set on a flat out run in the opposite direction of the approaching
sandstorm.
"Where are you going?" she asked him even as she managed to catch her balance
and drew level with him.
"Survival hut!" was his only answer as he continued to run for their lives.
Understanding his plan, Mara reached out with the Force for a guidance--- and
pulled him sharply toward the left as she changed their direction. Now it was
his turn to almost fall face first in the scorching sand.
Behind them, the wall of sand had almost reached the stalled speeder.
"This way!" she answered his unasked question while they both struggled against
the yielding sand and overheated atmosphere to gain more speed.
She herself knew where the hut was, but she couldn't estimate the distance; what
she knew though was that if they didn't reach the hut before the almost solid
wall of wind and sand hit them, they were done for.
Sounds of scorching sands against metal informed them that the storm had already
reached the speeder. That spurred them on. Ignoring their already ragged
breaths and burning muscles, they pushed onward, drawing more desperately needed
speed from their already exhausted bodies.
Behind them, the howling storm seemed to catch on them, slowly nipping at their
heels while their chosen shelter had yet to show itself in amongst the dunes
that they were now tackling.
Luke had long since let go of Jade's hands, using both of his hands and feet to
climb as fast as he could over a sand dune, only to run as fast as possible down
the other side before repeating the procedure with the following one. Beside
him, Jade was also struggling against the tumbling sand to not loose terrain to
the quickly closing storm.
All of a sudden, Jade threw herself over him and made him fall down on the still
hot sand before she scrabbled back to her feet, pulling him back to his own feet
in the same occasion.
Still catching his breath from the rough landing, the youth meant to glare at
her--- until he saw his own speeder, now half buried in the sand dune that was
directly in front of him; he also caught sight of the dome of the survival hut.
"Come on!" Jade urged him even as she ran as fast as she could toward the now
revealed hut.
Ignoring his thoroughly depleted energies, Luke found new reserves in himself
and pushed onward.
As it was, they both reached the vicinity of the hut just as the storm caught
with them; the moment that it enveloped them in its fury, they closed their eyes
and protected their exposed skin against the punishment of the scorching sands.
Moving on instinct, blindly trusting his last memory of the location of the
shelter, Luke fought past his sudden, burning pain and walked onward, trying to
ignore the stories that he had heard about people dying in the sandstorms and
others finding only the remains of their bones which had been scraped clean by
the merciless sands.
A hand suddenly grabbed hold of his tunic and pulled him toward his left--- then
the buffeting winds and sand disappeared from around him although the sound
remained.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Jade force the door of the hut closed
against the wind---- just as a howling gust of wind pushed through a side
window. Luke frantically looked around himself... and spotted a broken table
that would almost fit in the opening. He swiftly took hold of it and wedged it
tightly in the open window.
The howling wind died down once again... and they were alive but stranded in a
shelter in the middle of nowhere.
For a long moment, neither Mara nor the farmboy spoke, both too busy catching
their breaths and recovering from their flight from Death itself, or so it felt.
When the youth crumpled to his knees, obviously drained of all his strength, she
followed suite, strangely feeling comfortable to show her own weakness to him.
If he noticed her shameful state, he didn't say anything; instead, they both
panted in the near darkness, catching on the fact that they had made it to the
shelter.
While she recovered from her strenuous exercise, Mara pondered what she had just
done, not once but twice already.
She had saved the boy's life.
The moment that she had felt the danger for him, she had thrown herself at him,
pushing him to the ground, thus saving him from the hurtling speeder. Had she
not followed her instinct, she knew that the boy would have died from the impact
with the tumbling craft. However... never in her life had she ever used her
sensitivity to the Force to save someone's life.
Up to now, it had always been restricted to her own survival, like her training
about not caring about others had taught her. Today however, she had carelessly
flung that hard-learnt lesson to the four winds and had saved the boy.
Twice.
She had been safe in the shelter, a few minutes later, had managed to maintain
her shield long enough to reach the hut unscathed. Normally, she wouldn't have
returned in the sandstorm to save the boy, would have let him find his way by
himself... or else abandon him to his fate, but instead... she had reconstructed
her already strained shield and had gone after him.
Once again, she had saved him from certain death...
But why?, she wondered uneasily as she gazed at his exhausted figure. Why had
she willingly defied everything she had ever learnt to save this mere stranger?
As if in answer to her question, the youth slowly raised his head until his eyes
could see her despite the shadows that were permeating the place.
"Thank you," he whispered in genuine gratitude. "I owe you my life."
Mara could only gape at him as his words settled in her brain. He owed her his
life... He was aware of what she had done; he understood the risks she had
taken for him.
Unbeknown to him, he had just taught her her first lesson ever about gratitude
and selflessness.
"I, huh... you're welcome," she mumbled uneasily, having never said such words
to anybody before; she stood to her feet.
However, her muscles weren't ready for such a strain; she almost crashed back
down on the floor but managed to steady herself and catch her balance and save
what little remained of her professional pride at the moment.
Now, her private trainer seemed to remind her with a deep scowl for not doing it
any faster, it was time to see where she was and what were the possibilities,
Shedding her robe, she brought her hands to her utility belt and pulled out her
pocket luma. The farmboy, who was still sitting on the rough ground, looked up
at her, surprise written all over his handsome but sand-burnt features.
"Always be ready for anything, farmboy," she told him seriously even as she
turned the light away from his gorgeous eyes and swept the place with her luma.
"I can see that you are," he commented--- then hissed slightly and brought his
hands to his face as he felt the pain of his new burns.
Normally, Mara wouldn't pay much attention to such expression, leaving him to
care for himself, but once again, that boy was making her act in ways she had
never even considered possible before.
Luke hissed again as he brought his right hand to rest against his cheek; he
thus felt the scorches that were marking it. Carefully, he moved his hand from
his face to his neck... and thus discovered that it and even hands had also been
injured.
Before he could think further though, his companion was once again kneeling in
front of him, although much closer this time. He watched her, bemused, as she
tore a piece of her discarded robe before wetting it with a flask she had pulled
from a pouch on her belt.
"Don't move," she advised him before she gently dabbed at his cheek.
He instantly understood that the flask wasn't water but a disinfecting solution.
He bit his lower lip against a new hiss of complain.
"You're lucky that the rest of you was well protected, farmboy, or else you'd be
in worse state," she commented lightly while she dabbed some more at his painful
chin.
He opened his eyes and meant to remind her that it would be her turn afterward--
- when he noticed that she wasn't bearing marks anywhere. Even though the light
was dim and coming from the floor, he could see very clearly that the mysterious
young woman hadn't been injured at all in the storm. As far as he knew though,
she hadn't had anymore protection than he had.
"How---- how can it be?" he finally stuttered around his slackened jaw--- then
clenched his teeth again at her new touch, this time against his neck.
"I was ready for anything," she answered him cryptically. "Hold still now, this
is worse than your face."
While Luke pondered her ambiguous answer, he became aware that indeed, the
burning in his face was nothing compared to the slash-like sensations he was now
discovering on his upper chest.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised by these marks," Mara commented as she tried
to dampen the painful effects of her disinfectant on her companion. "You
couldn't protect both your head and your exposed chest and neck. How do you
feel?" she asked him gently.
"To be honest," the boy answered wryly, "as if I've been trampled by a group of
banthas."
Mara smiled slightly at his figure of speech.
"Had it been the case, farmboy," she reminded him, "you wouldn't be this alive
to know how it feels."
"Right," he slurred slightly then fell silent.
As she continued to tend him, Mara really began to wonder what was going on with
her. Had she been possessed or what? She could barely recognize herself at the
moment, yet, she admitted with herself that she had never felt this at ease with
her actions nor words.
It was, she thought in growing bemusement, as if she suddenly were a new person,
yet the same one at the same time. It was most unsettling, especially since
everything in her mind was screaming at her to not act this way, to not risk the
Emperor's anger, yet here she was, caring, tending and even saving the boy's
life.
And what was worse was that she didn't mind being this way. It should disgust
her, make her feel despise toward herself, but instead, she was well aware that
she liked this new experience and almost thanked the storm for confining her
with the young man for the time being.
Even the Emperor wouldn't scold her for staying in a shelter during a sandstorm,
she reflected seriously, and the Jedi wouldn't go anywhere in the meantime since
he too would undoubtedly be hit, sooner or later, by this huge storm.
However, she made a note to herself to not dawdle in the least once the storm
would be over. She would lose the boy and go on with her mission... or would
she?
The more she was spending time with him, and the more she was growing absolutely
interested by him.
The strong gaze he had given her in the speeder when she had mentioned his
running away had totally caught her unprepared, yet it had also affected her
feelings toward him. From this moment on, he hadn't been a mere weakling to
spend time with; he had been someone with a strong personality, a young man who
seemed wiser than his years.
"Looks like there's nothing much left from the last scavenging expedition," the
object of her thoughts commented as he turned his head toward their left.
She gazed in the direction he was looking at... and noticed the thoroughly
destroyed radio system along with the empty lockers of food and blankets.
"We'll make do, farmboy," she reassured him, focusing her tending on the back of
his right ear.
Her obviously worried companion remained silent and locked his gaze on their
sole, tiny opening with the outside world... and the most severe storm the
planet had ever known.
TBC in part 3: Soul mates
Well, liked it? Had fun? Hope so ;)
If you've got questions, I'd love to answer them :) Please sign in for your
review, or leave your mail so that I can answer you :)
2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Any positive stuff is welcome :)
Part 2: The Way of the Force
By SJ 29-05-02/06-2002
________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving
me some of your precious time, my friend :)
__________________
Careful to not look as if he were disobeying the young woman, Luke followed Jade
into the corridor, then the cockpit of the ship.
There, he stopped at the threshold of the hatch and gazed around himself in awe.
The boards, the piloting station, the helm... It was exactly like how he had
imagined them to be. It turned out to be quite a shock to him since everyone
had managed to convince him that his images had been delusions of his
imagination. However, he jubilated inwardly, he could now see that they
weren't.
And if they weren't, he thought in renewed hope, then his feeling that he could
fly a ship without even any training might just be true as well.
Suddenly, the image of the cockpit disappeared from his mind and was replaced by
that of him at the helm of the ship, flying into deep space and fighting against
enemies who had come out of nowhere, 'but they wouldn't get him', he resolved.
He saw himself flip switches and steer the ship in a new direction, skillfully
avoiding dangerous laser blasts---
"Hey, you awake?" Jade's voice suddenly cut in his reverie and pulled him back
down to the reality of his farmboy's life.
More snaps of her fingers in front of his face pushed away his remaining daze.
"I... huh, yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "I was just thinking that I'd love to
be a pilot," he admitted to her, dimly wondering why he was telling her about
this in the first place.
"I know what you mean," the woman nodded in understanding even as she lightly
took hold of his arm and directed him back the way they had come. "I'm done
here. Let's retrieve your speeder and be on our way."
"Oh, huh... right," Luke nodded in understanding even though he was disappointed
to leave this soon.
He wanted to see more of the ship, to perhaps be granted a spin in it... but
Jade seemed to have other ideas in mind. She didn't rough him up in any way,
but she didn't give him any choice either but to exit the ship before she sealed
it behind them.
They then cleared the area of the landing pad, then Jade pulled a remote from
her belt and activated it.
Luke watched the only ship he had ever seen in his life, and perhaps the last
one he'd ever see, as it slowly rose from the ground before it slowly yet
gracefully pushed itself upward and rose toward the untouchable sky.
Some day, he promised himself, he would be aboard such a ship, on his way off
this dust ball of a planet.
Mara carefully studied her ship as it lifted off, paying attention to any
indication that the engine had been damaged while she had been away. The craft
lifted off without any mishap and was soon little more than a sparkling dot
against the blue backdrop of the morning sky.
"Well I don't know who your task master is, Jade," the youth commented softly
beside her, "but he must be powerful to 'give' you such a ship to work with."
Puzzled by the boy's comment, she turned her head sideways to gaze at him; his
eyes were still locked on the sky, as if he could still track her ship, she
reflected seriously.
"He is," she nodded curtly in answer to the youth's reflection, then pulled her
hood back over her bright red-gold hair and tucked her remote control back in
her utility belt, under her robe.
Wordlessly, she turned around to leave the landing pit; the farmboy took a few
seconds to follow her. On their way to his speeder, she dimly wondered what she
had to understand from his suddenly glum feelings.
******
Perhaps ten minutes after they had left the town, the farmboy still hadn't
recovered his more naive, brighter mood. Even though she didn't know him at
all, Mara could feel that it was not his normal behavior, that something was
greatly bothering him.
Against her every imperial instincts and lessons, she asked him what was wrong.
At first, only silence and the wind tearing past her hair and ears answered
her... then a sigh.
She noticed that it was not one of annoyance like those she was used to produce
or see, nor even those of discouragement, which were common with the regular
populace; instead, it was one filled with sorrow and regret.
"Perhaps seeing your ship wasn't a good idea," the young man commented
cryptically, effectively shedding the image that she had had up to now of an
innocent, barely grown boy... for that of a serious, thoughtful young man.
This discovery left her so speechless that she could barely nod to encourage him
to continue.
"I've been trying to register in the Imperial Academy for three seasons now," he
explained to her, his eyes locked on a spot in front of them. "Every time, I
got selected and wanted to go."
"But?" she prompted him, aware of where he was going with this.
"My uncle won't let me go," he answered sadly. "He says that he needs me for
the harvest, that it's only for one more season, but up to now, the same
scenario has been repeating itself every new season... and I'm still here."
"Why don't you run away then?" she suggested seriously, pushing a streak of hair
out of her eyes as a sudden gust of side wind pushed it across her eyes.
Having taken her eyes off the boy for a fraction of a second, she was thus
uncharacteristically startled when he whirled toward her, his face a study of
emotional pains, hopes,... and plain disbelief at her proposal.
"And leave my aunt and uncle to survive on their own in this desert?" he asked
her indignantly. "I'd rather die here than abandon them," he answered, dead-
serious.
Despite her most rigorous training and her frequent experiences with her
dangerous, powerful master, Mara Jade couldn't help but swallow in uneasiness as
the suddenly defiant/determinate, icy blue eyes of the boy rested on her.
This young man was much more than what he seemed, she dimly reflected even as
she watched the powerful gaze slowly soften back to its more 'familiar' kindness
and warmth.
"I'm sorry," the youth apologized softly for his outburst, "it's just that they
are the only family I have. They took care of me ever since my father died. I
can't turn my back on them," he finished sadly, focusing back on his piloting.
"It wouldn't be right," he mumbled to himself.
So many emotions, Mara thought in unusual kindness as she continued to gaze at
the profile of her glum companion. The farmboy cared so much for those who had
and still raised him that he didn't even think about fulfilling his own dreams
until they wouldn't need him anymore.
Even though she was aware that she had only heard about the tip of the ice
block, she could feel that if the farmboy waited for 'that' day to happen to
leave... it would never happen.
"But enough about me," the object of her thoughts commented in the silence, then
turned his head once again in her direction. "What about you? How did you
become a secret agent while this young?"
"Secret agent?" she slightly glared at him, feeling uncomfortable with the fact
that he had hit this close to the mark... A mark she had been trying to keep
secret from him.
"Well, something along those lines anyway," he smiled sheepishly. "So, how did
it happen?"
For a moment, Mara turned away from him and gazed straight ahead of them. The
sand dunes were constantly growing closer yet they were endlessly stretching as
far as the horizon went. Very much like her master's domain, she reflected
even as she considered how unhappy he would be when he would find out how she
had 'dealt' with the boy.
Not answering his questions would at least help to appease his anger, she
thought seriously--- yet her heart decided otherwise once again.
"My master found me and trained me since I was little," she answered him
truthfully. "He saved me from slavery and gave me all the knowledge I needed to
survive on my own. I chose to serve him to thank him for saving me," she
revealed, dimly aware that she had never, ever been this truthful with anybody
before, not even herself.
"I'm sorry," the boy answered softly, giving her a warm, compassionate gaze
before refocusing forward.
Mara frowned at his word and turned around to gaze at him once again. "For
what?" she asked even as she reflexively noticed the presence of a survival
shelter in the distance and on their left. It too zipped past them and
disappeared behind a sand dune as the speeder flew onward.
"Well, for---"
The farmboy never had time to complete his explanation before they were both
almost thrown out of their seats as the speeder suddenly bucked hard under them-
-- and stalled completely.
Once recovered from his shock, Luke became aware that the speeder had completely
stopped, stranding them right smack dab in the middle of the Dune Sea.
"Great," he muttered in annoyance even as he pulled himself out of his seat and
jumped out of the speeder. "Are you all right?" he asked his companion; she
nodded in reassurance. "Stay put, I'll take a look at it. It's probably
nothing," he tried to comfort himself.
He made his way around the front of the speeder. Now that they were immobile,
he quickly grew aware of the worrying side wind that was ruffling his hair where
there normally was no air at all, only the stifling heat from the double suns
which were cooking them mercilessly. Trying to ignore the implication of the
wind, he pulled the hood of the speeder opened--- and took a few, hasty steps
backward to protect himself from the scorching heat of the hot engine. As he
recovered from his unpleasant surprise, he saw that his companion had also
stepped out of the speeder and had joined him to study the problem.
The first thing he noticed about her this time was that the side winds were most
unmistakable in her beautiful hair, pushing them toward her left. Even though
her sight was most beautiful, perhaps even angelic, he admitted to himself that
he didn't like at all the implication of the winds. He spared a gaze at the sky
above them; it was still as clear as ever.
"So what's the problem?" she asked him even as she peered at the tangle of wires
and mechanical parts of the engine. "Oh, looks like the ventilation coil is
blown," she then commented seriously.
Surprised by her knowledge of mechanic... as well as her accurate evaluation of
the situation once he checked the engine by himself, Luke turned around to gape
at her---- and truly gaped in horror at the sight of what was swiftly
approaching them from behind her.
Without thinking, he grabbed hold of her hand and tore away from the stranded
speeder. If he remembered right from his memory of the previous minutes, there
was a survival hut somewhere nearby.
It was their only chance.
Mara was almost indignant at the face the boy began to make at her, but her
retort died on her lips when his expression changed from surprise to horror.
She hesitantly turned around to see what he had detected--- and barely gaped in
turn at the steadily approaching wall of sand and winds before she found herself
tripping over her feet and the hem of her robe as the farmboy pulled her after
himself; they set on a flat out run in the opposite direction of the approaching
sandstorm.
"Where are you going?" she asked him even as she managed to catch her balance
and drew level with him.
"Survival hut!" was his only answer as he continued to run for their lives.
Understanding his plan, Mara reached out with the Force for a guidance--- and
pulled him sharply toward the left as she changed their direction. Now it was
his turn to almost fall face first in the scorching sand.
Behind them, the wall of sand had almost reached the stalled speeder.
"This way!" she answered his unasked question while they both struggled against
the yielding sand and overheated atmosphere to gain more speed.
She herself knew where the hut was, but she couldn't estimate the distance; what
she knew though was that if they didn't reach the hut before the almost solid
wall of wind and sand hit them, they were done for.
Sounds of scorching sands against metal informed them that the storm had already
reached the speeder. That spurred them on. Ignoring their already ragged
breaths and burning muscles, they pushed onward, drawing more desperately needed
speed from their already exhausted bodies.
Behind them, the howling storm seemed to catch on them, slowly nipping at their
heels while their chosen shelter had yet to show itself in amongst the dunes
that they were now tackling.
Luke had long since let go of Jade's hands, using both of his hands and feet to
climb as fast as he could over a sand dune, only to run as fast as possible down
the other side before repeating the procedure with the following one. Beside
him, Jade was also struggling against the tumbling sand to not loose terrain to
the quickly closing storm.
All of a sudden, Jade threw herself over him and made him fall down on the still
hot sand before she scrabbled back to her feet, pulling him back to his own feet
in the same occasion.
Still catching his breath from the rough landing, the youth meant to glare at
her--- until he saw his own speeder, now half buried in the sand dune that was
directly in front of him; he also caught sight of the dome of the survival hut.
"Come on!" Jade urged him even as she ran as fast as she could toward the now
revealed hut.
Ignoring his thoroughly depleted energies, Luke found new reserves in himself
and pushed onward.
As it was, they both reached the vicinity of the hut just as the storm caught
with them; the moment that it enveloped them in its fury, they closed their eyes
and protected their exposed skin against the punishment of the scorching sands.
Moving on instinct, blindly trusting his last memory of the location of the
shelter, Luke fought past his sudden, burning pain and walked onward, trying to
ignore the stories that he had heard about people dying in the sandstorms and
others finding only the remains of their bones which had been scraped clean by
the merciless sands.
A hand suddenly grabbed hold of his tunic and pulled him toward his left--- then
the buffeting winds and sand disappeared from around him although the sound
remained.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Jade force the door of the hut closed
against the wind---- just as a howling gust of wind pushed through a side
window. Luke frantically looked around himself... and spotted a broken table
that would almost fit in the opening. He swiftly took hold of it and wedged it
tightly in the open window.
The howling wind died down once again... and they were alive but stranded in a
shelter in the middle of nowhere.
For a long moment, neither Mara nor the farmboy spoke, both too busy catching
their breaths and recovering from their flight from Death itself, or so it felt.
When the youth crumpled to his knees, obviously drained of all his strength, she
followed suite, strangely feeling comfortable to show her own weakness to him.
If he noticed her shameful state, he didn't say anything; instead, they both
panted in the near darkness, catching on the fact that they had made it to the
shelter.
While she recovered from her strenuous exercise, Mara pondered what she had just
done, not once but twice already.
She had saved the boy's life.
The moment that she had felt the danger for him, she had thrown herself at him,
pushing him to the ground, thus saving him from the hurtling speeder. Had she
not followed her instinct, she knew that the boy would have died from the impact
with the tumbling craft. However... never in her life had she ever used her
sensitivity to the Force to save someone's life.
Up to now, it had always been restricted to her own survival, like her training
about not caring about others had taught her. Today however, she had carelessly
flung that hard-learnt lesson to the four winds and had saved the boy.
Twice.
She had been safe in the shelter, a few minutes later, had managed to maintain
her shield long enough to reach the hut unscathed. Normally, she wouldn't have
returned in the sandstorm to save the boy, would have let him find his way by
himself... or else abandon him to his fate, but instead... she had reconstructed
her already strained shield and had gone after him.
Once again, she had saved him from certain death...
But why?, she wondered uneasily as she gazed at his exhausted figure. Why had
she willingly defied everything she had ever learnt to save this mere stranger?
As if in answer to her question, the youth slowly raised his head until his eyes
could see her despite the shadows that were permeating the place.
"Thank you," he whispered in genuine gratitude. "I owe you my life."
Mara could only gape at him as his words settled in her brain. He owed her his
life... He was aware of what she had done; he understood the risks she had
taken for him.
Unbeknown to him, he had just taught her her first lesson ever about gratitude
and selflessness.
"I, huh... you're welcome," she mumbled uneasily, having never said such words
to anybody before; she stood to her feet.
However, her muscles weren't ready for such a strain; she almost crashed back
down on the floor but managed to steady herself and catch her balance and save
what little remained of her professional pride at the moment.
Now, her private trainer seemed to remind her with a deep scowl for not doing it
any faster, it was time to see where she was and what were the possibilities,
Shedding her robe, she brought her hands to her utility belt and pulled out her
pocket luma. The farmboy, who was still sitting on the rough ground, looked up
at her, surprise written all over his handsome but sand-burnt features.
"Always be ready for anything, farmboy," she told him seriously even as she
turned the light away from his gorgeous eyes and swept the place with her luma.
"I can see that you are," he commented--- then hissed slightly and brought his
hands to his face as he felt the pain of his new burns.
Normally, Mara wouldn't pay much attention to such expression, leaving him to
care for himself, but once again, that boy was making her act in ways she had
never even considered possible before.
Luke hissed again as he brought his right hand to rest against his cheek; he
thus felt the scorches that were marking it. Carefully, he moved his hand from
his face to his neck... and thus discovered that it and even hands had also been
injured.
Before he could think further though, his companion was once again kneeling in
front of him, although much closer this time. He watched her, bemused, as she
tore a piece of her discarded robe before wetting it with a flask she had pulled
from a pouch on her belt.
"Don't move," she advised him before she gently dabbed at his cheek.
He instantly understood that the flask wasn't water but a disinfecting solution.
He bit his lower lip against a new hiss of complain.
"You're lucky that the rest of you was well protected, farmboy, or else you'd be
in worse state," she commented lightly while she dabbed some more at his painful
chin.
He opened his eyes and meant to remind her that it would be her turn afterward--
- when he noticed that she wasn't bearing marks anywhere. Even though the light
was dim and coming from the floor, he could see very clearly that the mysterious
young woman hadn't been injured at all in the storm. As far as he knew though,
she hadn't had anymore protection than he had.
"How---- how can it be?" he finally stuttered around his slackened jaw--- then
clenched his teeth again at her new touch, this time against his neck.
"I was ready for anything," she answered him cryptically. "Hold still now, this
is worse than your face."
While Luke pondered her ambiguous answer, he became aware that indeed, the
burning in his face was nothing compared to the slash-like sensations he was now
discovering on his upper chest.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised by these marks," Mara commented as she tried
to dampen the painful effects of her disinfectant on her companion. "You
couldn't protect both your head and your exposed chest and neck. How do you
feel?" she asked him gently.
"To be honest," the boy answered wryly, "as if I've been trampled by a group of
banthas."
Mara smiled slightly at his figure of speech.
"Had it been the case, farmboy," she reminded him, "you wouldn't be this alive
to know how it feels."
"Right," he slurred slightly then fell silent.
As she continued to tend him, Mara really began to wonder what was going on with
her. Had she been possessed or what? She could barely recognize herself at the
moment, yet, she admitted with herself that she had never felt this at ease with
her actions nor words.
It was, she thought in growing bemusement, as if she suddenly were a new person,
yet the same one at the same time. It was most unsettling, especially since
everything in her mind was screaming at her to not act this way, to not risk the
Emperor's anger, yet here she was, caring, tending and even saving the boy's
life.
And what was worse was that she didn't mind being this way. It should disgust
her, make her feel despise toward herself, but instead, she was well aware that
she liked this new experience and almost thanked the storm for confining her
with the young man for the time being.
Even the Emperor wouldn't scold her for staying in a shelter during a sandstorm,
she reflected seriously, and the Jedi wouldn't go anywhere in the meantime since
he too would undoubtedly be hit, sooner or later, by this huge storm.
However, she made a note to herself to not dawdle in the least once the storm
would be over. She would lose the boy and go on with her mission... or would
she?
The more she was spending time with him, and the more she was growing absolutely
interested by him.
The strong gaze he had given her in the speeder when she had mentioned his
running away had totally caught her unprepared, yet it had also affected her
feelings toward him. From this moment on, he hadn't been a mere weakling to
spend time with; he had been someone with a strong personality, a young man who
seemed wiser than his years.
"Looks like there's nothing much left from the last scavenging expedition," the
object of her thoughts commented as he turned his head toward their left.
She gazed in the direction he was looking at... and noticed the thoroughly
destroyed radio system along with the empty lockers of food and blankets.
"We'll make do, farmboy," she reassured him, focusing her tending on the back of
his right ear.
Her obviously worried companion remained silent and locked his gaze on their
sole, tiny opening with the outside world... and the most severe storm the
planet had ever known.
TBC in part 3: Soul mates
Well, liked it? Had fun? Hope so ;)
If you've got questions, I'd love to answer them :) Please sign in for your
review, or leave your mail so that I can answer you :)
2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Any positive stuff is welcome :)