NOTHING STAYS THE SAME
CHAPTER NINE
The Princess' eyes narrowed. "Explain."
Corran took a deep breath. Okay, I'm already in deep shit with Mara, and I know this won't help that. But I made a promise, and I will keep it, damn it! Why doesn't Mara understand? "I met Luke several years ago. It was right before us Rogues went…rogue, you know, the Thyferra campaign? Yeah, well, Luke explained to me that I was the grandson of a Jedi Knight, and he invited me later on to come to the Academy. He seemed really depressed, although he hid it really well. Did I mention that I'm the strongest with telepathy, and stuff like that? Anyhow, I went to the Academy, and while I was there, Mara showed up. The change in Luke's attitude was noticeable, but I guess the others just kind of put it to getting his mind off of Gantoris, and Exar Kun. I didn't say anything to Luke about it, but I talked to Mara, and I actually liked her, something that surprised me, because, well, everyone's heard about her being an Imperial. Then she left, after making sure Luke was okay, and she even asked me to keep an eye on him, to make sure he'd be all right." Corran realized that he was rambling, but he didn't have anything really prepared to tell Leia. Oh, yeah, by the way, Princess, your brother was going to get married and he didn't bother to tell you.
"Even after I left the Academy, and after Luke helped me find Mirax, I still wondered about that. I mean, you know your brother, Leia. Even though he's really nice, he always has this sadness to him. There's something bothering him. The next few years, I kind of kept an eye on them, and there was a definite difference whenever he was around her. They always bantered back and forth, playing around. I figured that they were really close friends, and I was right. And Mara was also relaxed around him. Around most people, she's on edge. She thinks that everyone is judging her for what she did, and, well, now with this trial, it's true. But she knew that Luke wouldn't judge her. You know the old saying, 'Opposites attract'? Well, it happened here.
"I'm not really sure what changed things, but before Callista showed up, I was at the Academy, just kind of brushing up, and I was working with a kid who had talents kind of like mine. Not as strong as mine, but he was pretty good." Iella recognized the pilot's ego behind the last statement. "Well, I was just talking to Luke and he asked me about Mirax. After a few minutes of easy conversation, I turned the tables on him. I don't know why I did it, but I asked about him and Mara. He laughed at me, telling me that I was crazy to even think that he and Mara…Well, it was strange. One minute he was trying to convince me I was making things up, and then he asked me what he should do. To tell the truth, I think one reason he gave in so quickly was because I'd brought a bottle of Whyren's Reserve with me. I don't think your brother drinks that much, Leia, because we split that bottle, and I doubt he remembered much of that night. Well, I told him that if he liked her, he should tell her. He said he valued their friendship too much to try anything like that. He didn't want to move too quickly with her, to scare her off. That's about all I remember of that conversation. I wasn't exactly completely sober myself."
Iella laughed. "Better not let your Rogue buddies hear that. Drunk after only half a bottle of Corellian whiskey? They'd disown you."
"Anyways," Corran continued, pausing slightly to glare at his old friend, "I waited a while, but nothing seemed to be happening. I was kind of waiting for a bombshell to go off, but it was like nothing changed. So I decided to take things into my own hands. I mean, if Luke was too chicken to ask Mara out, well, I might as well see Mara's reaction to it, right? So I just happened to go to the same…uh, hangout that she did, and we met up, we got caught up and all, just nice conversation. After a few drinks, and this time I went easy on the drinking, I brought up the Academy, and I asked whether she'd be going back any time soon. She answered with her usual laugh, and made some comment about how she would never voluntarily go there again. All Skywalker was doing was refreshing her own Force lessons. She knew how to use the Force as much as she wanted, and she didn't want to waste any more time there. So I tried again. I told her that I bet Luke was as bored with it as her. I remembered that tidbit from another talk with Luke."
"Luke was bored with teaching?" Leia asked, surprised. That was the first time she'd spoken since Corran began talking.
"I guess bored isn't exactly the right way to phrase it…he wanted action. Even after he'd been told and he'd told others that 'A Jedi does not crave action or adventure,' he still craved it. He thrived on the missions the New Rep sent him on. He told me that he felt that teaching was something important, and that he knew he had to teach the new generation of Jedi. I don't know. Mara could probably explain that better. She understands him better than I ever will.
"Where was I? Oh, yeah, and I mentioned to her that Luke probably hated the Academy as much as she did. And she looked at me like I had grown another head. We talked about it a little more, and I was just getting to the part where I thought she should go to the Academy to save him from boredom, when guess who walks through the damned door? Lando. I couldn't figure out how he even figured out where Mara would be, but he walked through the door, and saw Mara, and so he came over to chat. I excused myself from the table, and I've never seen Mara so pissed. I swear, if looks could kill, then I would have died a horrible death right there. Well, a few minutes later, she tosses her drink into his face and walks away. I couldn't stop laughing at the poor guy.
"Anyways, I began to doubt anything would really happen between them until I volunteered to drop supplies off at the Academy. Mara was there, and then I picked up from some of the students that Luke was more relaxed than usual, always spending time with her. The next day I had to leave, and I was nearly certain that they had both gotten smart.
"I don't know what happened between them, but they were apart for a while and then the Callista thing happened. I really don't know why Luke fell for her. He never wanted to talk about it. After she left, I tried talking to him. He needed to move on with his life. I had really doubted that anything could happen between him and Mara now. I mean, come on. He turned away from her to go with another woman. I just don't know. This time Luke came to Coruscant—I'm sure you remember that trade summit, right, Leia? You finally convinced your brother to come along? He told me the only reason he decided to come was so he could have a good excuse to show up and talk to me."
Leia was no longer looking at Corran. Instead she stared at a spot above the pilot's head, absorbing all this new information. Surely Corran was exaggerating—Luke loved teaching. Didn't he?
"That was about three months ago. We had dinner over at the Tr'oshn'ika Inn, and then he finally decided to bring up the topic of Mara. I swear, I nearly fell off my chair when he did that. I kept thinking, So all hope is not lost. Luke's finally gotten smart. Luke admitted that he and Mara had been dating for couple of months. He asked whether I thought he should take the next step and propose to her. He said that she was the one, and he just wanted to know whether I thought he was making a big mistake."
"And so you told him to go on."
"Well, yeah. I mean, anyone who really thinks about it knows that they are perfect for each other, and so I told him to go for it. He changed the subject to something about the Academy, and that's what we talked about for the rest of the meal. But right before he left, he told me that he had just wanted my opinion. He'd already proposed to Mara; she'd accepted. I'm pretty sure that that time I did fall of the damned chair. He was still laughing as he walked out of the restaurant. I guess it must have looked really funny to him: there I was, encouraging him to propose to her, and then it turns out he already did."
"Corran Horn, CorSec, Rogue pilot, matchmaker," Iella smiled. "A man of many talents."
"Director Wessiri Antilles?" a disembodied voice asked from the comm system built into the desk.
"Yes?"
"I have a Talon Karrde out here. He demands to speak with you. He says it is crucial to Mara Jade's trial."
"Let him in." She turned back to Corran. "It'll be about five minutes before he gets into here past security. So, you knew about this the whole time, and you didn't tell anyone?"
"Mirax knows, but I didn't tell her."
"Women's intuition," Iella smiled. "Well, I was expecting some sort of alibi for her, but not this kind."
"Why didn't he tell me?" Leia asked quietly. Corran felt guilty for dumping all this on her like that. But he had no choice.
"I promised Luke that I would take care of Mara in case anything happened," he said, and stopped as soon as the door to Iella's office slid open. The tall smuggler walked in. He glanced at Corran and Leia, his gaze on Leia longer than the others, and then he looked back at Iella. What was the Princess doing here? She looked like she'd been knocked around a few times. Corran. It must be something he said. What would he know that Mara wouldn't want him to tell? Well, if the Princess was here, he might as well make the best of it.
"Mara needs to be moved to a more secure location, Director."
"The security has been increased since the accident last night."
"Accident? The only accident is that the assassin got past your guards!" Talon took a deep breath. "I apologize. Everyone on my team has been working around the clock on this. But my request remains the same: Mara must be moved somewhere else."
"I agree," Leia said.
Talon found himself frowning slightly. What had Corran told them? As the leader of an intelligence agency, he was bothered by the idea that someone knew something he didn't. He knew it was a natural feeling, but also childish. Occupational hazard.
"Where are you going to be moving her?" Talon asked.
"I want to talk to her," Leia said.
"I'm not quite sure that's a good idea." But who am I to say what I believe is best for my employee?
"Iella?" She turned to the other woman.
"I'm not sure. Mara's been acting kind of strange lately. Last time you were in there…"
"Last time you were in there it took me several minutes to wake her back up," Talon interrupted.
"I'm not going to yell at her," Leia said quietly. "I never meant to."
Corran was also reluctant to let her talk to the prisoner.
Iella stood up. "I'm sorry, Madame President, but I cannot permit it."
"I can order it."
"And I am the Intelligence Director. I say 'No.' Leia, really. I don't think it's smart to let you in there."
"Director Wessiri Antilles, perhaps you have some information," Talon said quickly. "One of my associates found several sources claiming that Mara was a part of a weapons smuggling ring. I can prove that it was not she; she was nowhere near the places mentioned on those days. Hell, I might as well kill two hawkbats with one stone.
Iella shook her head. "I haven't heard anything about that. I'm fairly certain if something like that would have come up, especially with Mara's popularity lately, I would have heard about it."
What kind of intelligence agency are you running, Iella? the smuggler asked her silently. Talon glanced over at Corran, and was surprised to see the man slightly pale.
"Was this ring off of Corellia? Smuggling weapons to the Empire?" the Rogue asked.
"Yes," Talon confirmed. Corran closed his eyes. "Why?"
"That's what Luke was doing."
