Author's Note: I just want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews. They inspire me to keep writing. Also, a special thanks to Jedi 2-B for pointing out an oversight on my part. If you see anything else I've missed, please feel free to tell me about it. Okay, now on with the story.

Chapter 16

"I do not tolerate delays," Pellaeon said menacingly.

Callista thrust her chin out defiantly, something she never would have done during Grand Admiral Thrawn's reign. But then Thrawn's second-in-command was not as ruthless as his predecessor was. The mantel of command was too heavy for Pellaeon's withering shoulders.

"It would be better to wait an extra day or two to insure that Skywalker and Jade have been taken care of," she replied reasonably.

"They should have been taken care of the moment they landed," he retorted. "I have given you much leeway in regards to Skywalker, Callista. Do not make me regret the decision."

Callista let out an irritated sigh. "Skywalker will not pose a threat once he is with me. And Jade days are fast coming to an end."

Pellaeon glared at her contemptuously. "We'll see. I will wait two more days, but if the situation has not been resolved by then, I will come down there and resolve the matter personally. And believe me, you will not like my solution."

His aging visage dissolved, and Callista switched off her comm unit. She sat alone in her chambers gazing out the window at the expanse of green forest. Somewhere in the dense foliage, Luke and his tramp eluded Guru's men. The corners of her mouth turned up. Luke was too smart to allow himself to be captured by the morons Guru employed.

She reached out with her senses, searching for his familiar presence. He was trying to conceal himself from her, but she could detect him somewhere in the vicinity of the Mt. Ange. She could almost feel the confusion and the anguish flowing through him. Their connection was too strong for him to hide from her. But she would not chase him. In his confused state, he would only run away. No, she would let him come to her. Knowing his irresistible compulsion to save the innocent, even the not so innocent, he would no doubt come looking to find her – to save her from the Darkside. All she had to do was wait.

But Mara Jade. Callista scowled. Something would have to be done about her. Callista could never figure out why Luke felt so connected to that woman. She would never have pegged Luke as the type to fall for the tortured soul with a dark past type. Jade was colder than the top of a mountain at the north pole of Hoth. She was hardly a woman at all, yet for some reason Luke seemed to feel drawn to her.

Suddenly, Callista's eyes lit up with an idea. She turned back to her comm unit and summoned Guru.

"Yes?" he responded. Callista made a mental note to deal with his impertinent disrespect. Later.

"Have your men found Skywalker and Jade?" she asked, knowing full well that they had not.

"Not yet, but they have picked up their trail heading for our Mt. Ch'ameki – directly to our fortress in fact. We will have them soon."

Callista smirked maliciously. "Your men will not find them there. They are following a trail that has been planted for them."

"How do you know?" he demanded.

"Because I am not a simpleton," she nearly shouted. "I know how Skywalker thinks. They will head to their ship on Mt. Uzbira first for supplies and probably to contact the New Republic. If they alert them of our plans, all this will have been for nothing. Send your men to wait for them at their ship. When they arrive, capture Jade, but let Skywalker go."

"What?!" Guru stared at her in disbelief.

"You will of course make sure the ship's communications are destroyed," she continued as if he had said nothing. "And take care that you do not permanently damage Jade."

"Are you crazy?" he exploded. "You want us to let Skywalker go? I know you have some infatuation with him, but he will destroy our plans and bring his sister and the whole New Republic down on our heads!"

"Guru!" Callista snapped. "You will not question my judgment again. I believe you have forgotten just who is in control here. Do not make me remind you."

Guru shut up, but the defiance remained in his eyes. She knew he thought her to be powerless, but he would not dare attack her for fear of recuperations from their superiors.

"Now, you will do as I say," she continued. "Capture Jade. Do not worry about Skywalker, he will come to us."

Before Guru could reply, she abruptly switched off the comm unit. She simmered with anger for a moment and vowed that before this thing was over, she would have Guru's entrails strung from the highest tower of the fortress.

* * * * *

Luke awoke before dawn the next morning. He stretched his muscles and was somewhat surprised to find the space next to him empty, for he had begun to grow accustomed to waking up next to Mara. He had spent much of the previous night watching Mara as she watched the fire slowly die. Fatigue had finally overcome him, and he once again fell into a deep sleep. Mara now lay peacefully snuggled up in a blanket on the other side of the hut.

He enjoyed watching her during these unguarded moments, though he knew that she would probably take exception to it if she were awake. These musings brought back memories of the argument he had witnessed between Annaïse and Mara. Annaïse's revelation had jarred through his body as each word was spoken. As he watched her in the dying firelight, he could feel the conflict within himself. He wasn't sure how he felt about anything anymore.

He got up slowly, testing the strength of each leg before putting his full weight on it. The poison no longer posed a danger to him, and he was beginning to feel strong again. He knelt down by Mara's side and brushed a loose tendril of red-gold hair from her face. She no longer wore her disguise, and Luke had forgotten how lovely her natural color really was. If Mara hadn't come when she did, he probably wouldn't be standing here now. She seemed to sense him, even from the deep oblivion of sleep, and presently rolled over to present her back to him. Geez, even in her sleep she is aloof, he thought. Then with an inaudible sigh, he left her sleeping form and wandered outside.

The sky was gray with a few streaks of pink pre-dawn light. A cool breeze snaked through the crumbling buildings of the ancient village. Unlike at Guru's fortress, the Force flowed easily here, each living thing resonating with the energy of life. Luke inhaled it, absorbed it, let it refresh his weakened body. Feeling revived, he took off at a leisurely pace into the surrounding rain forest. He needed to think, to sort things out. His thoughts and feelings were a confused jumble in his heart, and his chest physically ached under the strain of it. Not far into his walk, a small clearing opened up before him. He wandered to the very center where he knelt down, his knees sinking into the soft, dew-sprinkled grass, and fell into a deep meditation.

* * * * *

When Mara awoke, she noticed Skywalker's makeshift bed was empty. A sort of relief wafted through her. She didn't want to have to talk to him yet. There was too much on her mind. Welcoming the moment of solitude, she got to her feet tested her ankle, and finding it able to support her weight with no pain, she wandered outside and began a leisurely walk through the forest.

Her boots rustled through the wet underbrush as she roamed through the trees. Several varieties of brightly colored flowers filled the air with their sweet, musky scent. Overhead, Adega's native birds offered their song to each other as they gave into the primordial mating rituals that invariably accompany the spring. She was tempted to lose herself in the beauty of the place, but her mind continually fell back on the argument she had had with Annaïse the night before. The thought that Skywalker could fall in love with her, his former would-be assassin, seemed ludicrous to her. Even if he had been able to see past her previous life, he was still in love with another woman.

The hum of a lightsabre broke through her thoughts. He was nearby and, as far she could tell, hadn't felt her presence yet. She immediately turned to head off in the opposite direction. But even as she told herself to go, she felt herself drawn to that sound like an insect to a glowrod. That annoyed her, but she pressed on.

Using a cloaking technique she had seen him use many times, she drifted as noiselessly as possible toward the spot where she knew Skywalker would be. A spark of annoyance hit her again as she realized that she had been using a lot more of the Force than usual in the past few days. Maybe she should complete the training. The Force is just a tool, she reminded herself. If Callista had grown as powerful as Skywalker feared, then the more practice Mara had at wielding the Force the better. It would be logical to equip herself with the tool that would best do the job of defeating a Dark Jedi.

Mara halted abruptly behind a tree, surprised to find him wearing only a snug fitting pair of black pants. For a few moments, she hid behind the tree and indulged in watching him practice his lightsabre techniques while remaining unobserved. The only article of clothing above his waist was the black glove he wore over his bionic hand. Before she could stop herself, she fully took in the sight of his supple shoulder and chest muscles glistening with a thin film of sweat. He seemed to have fully recovered from the after-effects of the poison. He arced the green blade through the air gracefully, swept it from side to side like a dance between flesh and energy among the thigh high blades of grass.

Mara shook her head chiding herself. Okay, Jade, enough gawking like a silly teenager. She slipped out from behind the tree and inched through the tall grass toward Skywalker. She noticed his eyes were closed. To a non-Force adept, he probably looked like he was sleep walking, but she knew that he had opened himself up completely to the Force. She didn't sense any acknowledgement of her presence from him, so with a sly grin she crouched low, like a feline stalking its prey, ready to pounce on the over-confident Jedi Master. She sprung up, but had taken only a step when his voice halted her.

"Come for some lightsabre practice, Mara?" he asked, barely hiding his amusement. He turned slowly to face his would-be attacker and opened his eyes.

Mara crossed her arms in irritation and a little embarrassment. "You were so engrossed in your meditation, I didn't think you had noticed me."

"I noticed you," he said simply.

"Besides," he added with a flip of his hand, "I knew you were out here taking a walk and wouldn't be able to resist the temptation if the occasion were to arise."

Her jaw dropped slightly and quickly snapped shut. "You set me up!" Mara was tempted to wipe the smug grin off of Skywalker's face permanently. She wondered anxiously if he had known she had been spying on him as well.

"You certainly are in a good mood this morning," she said.

He shrugged. "It's amazing was a little meditation and insight will do. Sadness, hopelessness, pain – they are all of the Darkside. We'll never defeat Guru or turn Callista back to the light if we allow ourselves to fall prey to these negative emotions."

Mara rolled her eyes, but said nothing. As long as he wasn't moping, she didn't care much Jedi philosophy he rambled on about.

"So what has you up so early?" he asked with a teasing grin. "The sun's not even overhead yet."

"I thought we might start working on a plan to stop whatever business Guru is running and maybe free a few slaves while we're at it."

"Good idea. I say we head back to the fortress, sneak in through the tunnels during the night and get the slaves out before sunrise. Do you know how far the river took us last night?"

"I'm not sure," Mara replied, "the water was moving really fast. I would guess that we have at least a two day's journey on foot, if not three. But there is another small problem. The Fire isn't big enough to hold all those people. We're going to need another ship."

"If we can get to your ship, we can contact the Leia and have her send another ship and warn the Academy."

"And I've also got weapons on board and some decent food."

He snickered derisively. "Please, Mara, I think being poisoned once is enough."

She snorted, but didn't rise to the bait. "We'll need to figure out a way to destroy the laboratory. If they get this spice into the wrong hands, it could spell death for the Academy and trouble for the Republic."

"Why, Mara! I had no idea how much you cared!" Skywalker exclaimed in mock-incredulity.

Mara rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the grin that was threatening her mouth. "Zip it, Skywalker." She chuckled inwardly preparing for his reaction to her next announcement. "Oh, and one more thing," she added keeping her voice casual, "I think we should work on completing my training."

He said nothing for a full five seconds until he found his voice. He kept his voice steady though she could feel his heart do an excited flip. "Why the sudden change?"

"We are going to be going into battle against a Dark Jedi," she replied, and ignored the reflexive prick of pain that she felt from him. "I still don't believe in using the Force to make everyday life easier, but if it will give me an edge in a fight, then I will use it. And I think we are going to need all the edge we can get."

"We are going to bring Callista back to the Light," he reminded her.

Mara sequestered any pessimistic remarks that came to mind. "I know, but I think we should be prepared for anything."

"You do realize that if they can take away Force ability, this might all be for nothing," he said.

"Yes, I know. But I should have done this long ago anyway."

He couldn't suppress his grin any longer. "Well, then let's get started. You can practice while we travel. You won't be able to learn everything in two days, but let's see how far we get."

"I'll try," she replied. But before he could correct her, she amended, "No, I'll do it. But first, have you seen Annaïse this morning?"

Luke shook his head negative, then closed his eyes and did a mental scan of the area. After a few seconds he opened his eyes. "She's not in the area. Her signature leaves an odd imprint in the Force, though."

"I noticed that, too. I have a feeling she'll find us though. She seems to be able to track us as if we had homing beacons in our skin." Mara glanced down at her arms and legs, but pushed the bizarre thought away.

"Well, let's go back to the hut, gather our stuff and start moving toward your ship."

Mara nodded. Another bizarre thought struck her and made her smile at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I think this is the first time we've ever agreed on anything without debating it to death."

Luke chuckled. "Feels good, doesn't it."

"Don't spoil it, Skywalker."