Chapter 18

Luke and Mara awoke early the next day. Both were slightly stiff from sleeping propped up against a fallen tree, but the first few kilometers of hiking stretched out their muscles. Mara thanked the gods that they were not hiking through the sweltering heat of Yavin IV. She welcomed the cool weather, but could not help but glance warily at the low clouds building in the distance. No doubt they would experience some more of Adega's torrential rains before they reached her ship.

Luke seemed oblivious to the weather, good or bad. As soon as they had started out that morning, he had gone into full professor mode. Mara tried hard to listen like a dutiful student, but she felt her concentration drifting. She may have excelled in combat training and espionage, but she had never been a good student when it came to lectures. So she pretended to listen while scanning the surrounding area for awaiting enemies or traps or something she could possibly eat for lunch.

"Mara," Luke repeated. "Are you still with me?"

Mara colored slightly realizing she had been caught with her mind elsewhere. Luke never raised his voice, but he nailed her with a stern look. She met it with a defiant look of her own. He maybe her teacher, but he would never be her master. No one would.

Instead of pushing the issue, he continued on his lecture about controlling one's emotions. Mara set her teeth. She thought back to last night before falling asleep next to Luke. They had chit chatted like old friends. She much preferred talking to that Luke than the professor.

At about midday they came upon a small clearing in the trees. From the opening in the canopy, Mara could see the top of Mount Uzbira. Somewhere out of sight, she could almost feel the Jade's Fire.

"We should be able to get there this evening," she exclaimed. Then a worried crease flitted across her brow. "They will have guards around the ship. We should be prepared for a fight."

"We can sneak in under the cover of night," Luke suggested. "Hopefully, we can find a way to get in and out before they even know we were there."

"And if not, we can take care of them," Mara replied unhooking her lightsabre and giving it a twirl.

"You can't always rely on your lightsabre to get yourself out of a jam," he lightly reprimanded her. "What are you going to do the day you get into trouble, and it's not there?"

Mara visibly bristled at his correction. In the blink of an eye, she drew her hold-out blaster from its hidden holster and aimed it at his chest. "I always have a plan B, and I'm never unarmed," she replied fiercely, putting on her game face. Skywalker needed some reminding of whom Guru and Callista were dealing with. She was a former assassin and not one to be trifled with. "If I wanted to, I could shoot you where you stand."

Luke set his jaw in irritation and stepped so close to her that the barrel of the blaster dug into his ribs. "When are you going to let it go?" he demanded. "I thought we settled this yesterday. You know I don't hold any grudge against you for trying to kill me."

"Well, maybe you should. You might live longer," Mara retorted. "How do you know that I won't one day fall to the Darkside and decide to rededicate my life to killing you? I'm not as good as you seem to think I am."

"You won't shoot me," he said matter-of-factly. "And you won't fall to the Darkside. And the fact that you chose not to kill me all those years ago tells me more about your character than if you had never pulled the blaster in the first place."

For the first time, Mara looked away, refusing to let him see her expression. Her arm lost their rigidity, and she reholstered the blaster. "I could've killed you if I had wanted to," she said meekly.

It was a moot point and sounded flimsy. Luke just rolled his eyes in amused impatience at her stubbornness. She just refused to give into a disagreement, even if the end result would've been in her favor. "The point is that you didn't. Face it, Jade, you are just as soft as the rest of us."

"I'm not soft!" she yelled indignantly. His grin only made her that much more irritated. "You know, it's funny I never see you without your lightsabre. What are you going to do the day that you have to fight, and you don't have your trusty lightsabre handy?" she demanded impatiently. "I don't think I've ever seen you fight hand-to-hand."

Luke seemed surprised at the sudden turn in the conversation. A few seconds of silenced lapsed between them before he spoke. "They taught us hand-to-hand combat during the rebellion, but honestly, with the number of different weapons available out in the galaxy, rarely does a fight ever come down to fisticuffs."

"You spend too much time either teaching love, peace and harmony or battling super-weapons" Mara scoffed. "There are just as many people willing to throw a punch as a thermal detonator."

"Maybe so," he admitted. "But if it ever came down to it, I think I could hold my own in a fight."

"Really." Amusement practically dripped from Mara's lips. "All right, farmboy, let's see what you've got." She shrugged off her light jacket and tossed it with her lightsabre to the edge of the clearing.

Luke still hadn't moved. He was at a loss for words. He kept opening and closing his mouth like a Mon Calamari on Tattooine. Finally, he managed to squeak, "Mara, I can't – I mean, you –"

"What's the matter?" she was growing impatient. "You can vaporize a woman with a blaster, slice her and dice her with a lightsabre, but you can't throw one measly punch? Snap out of it!" She swatted at his arm in emphasis.

Still unsure of himself, Luke tossed his lightsabre aside and faced her. "I just don't want to hurt you," he said meekly.

Mara burst out laughing. "I'm not the one you should be worried about. But, look, if it will make you feel better, we'll keep this light contact."

He nodded slightly, but she had already sunk into a semi-crouch waiting for him to attack. Realizing that they would be there all day waiting for him to make the first move, Mara sprung at him with the agility of a Noghri. Her fist came within bare millimeters of his face as he swiftly moved aside to avoid the punch. Finding herself now behind him, she dropped to one knee and swept her other leg across his calves effectively toppling him to the ground.

"Come on, Skywalker," she taunted. "Maybe you didn't grow up on the streets, but I know you can do better than this!"

He scowled at her and leaped from the ground in an attempt to tackle her. As he approached, she dipped her shoulder at the last minute and used his momentum to fling him over her shoulder and on to the ground again. His breath whooshed out of his lungs as he impacted against the grassy terrain. At her throaty laugh, he righted himself once more and prepared to come at her again. This time he moved slower, more deliberately. Mara watched the various muscles in his arms and chest twitch with the expectation of movement. She saw him throw the punch before his arm ever left his side. Effortlessly, she blocked the right, left, right cross combination making it look like a child's game. Then she roundhouse kicked, her foot coming within a hair's breath of his nose. He pulled his head back and twisted to the side to keep from being swept off his feet again.

Luke set up his own attack of quick jabs to her torso. She managed to deflect most of them, but a few broke through her defense to land on her firm abdomen. He didn't hit her very hard, but she could tell he was still surprised that she didn't even gasp at the light impact. She lashed out with another punch to his face, but he caught the movement early. His hand darted out, caught her arm and spun her around so her back was pressed against him, her arm pinned between their bodies. His other arm was wrapped in a choke hold around her neck.

"I guess I'm not as clumsy as you thought, Jade," he taunted in her ear.

Not one to give up that easily, she stepped back, planted her butt into his stomach and pitched forward. With a little nudge of the Force, she flipped Luke over her back. But he was quick to twist in the air and land on his feet in front of her. Not missing a beat, Mara delivered a quick jab to his stomach. She received the pleasure of not only hearing his sharp gasp, but also the feeling of his tight, muscular stomach. She had to admire how his training kept him in terrific shape. Her light punch had only surprised him. He hadn't budged from his stance. As her mind wandered for a split second to the aesthetics of Luke Skywalker, he had used her hesitation to his advantage. She never saw his next punch that nicked her across jaw in a sudden flash of pain.

At her yelp, Luke, who had not expected to actually make contact, jumped to her side. "Mara, are you okay? I'm sor—" His last words ended in his own cry of pain as her foot planted itself squarely against his chest and sent him flying backwards and crashing into the ground.

"I'm not made of porcelain, farmboy," she retorted. She silently berated herself for letting herself get distracted in a fight, but she still couldn't prevent the tiny smile of pride from creeping across her lips, which immediately caused her to slightly wince and rub her jaw. "That wasn't a bad hit – apprentice." Her green eyes glinted wickedly in the sunlight.

Luke had made no move to get up until he heard that last word. "Apprentice?!"

"You barely touched me. Then you left yourself open to attack – again, I might add." She looked down on him in mock exasperation. "You've really got to do something about this overly chivalrous side of your personality."

Skywalker's eyebrows shot up at that last amazement. "Too chivalrous?!" Calling upon the Force he suddenly launched himself at Mara. She had been ready for this move and crouched to toss him again, but he had expected her reaction and aimed lower this time. He caught her around her thighs and hefted her a few feet in the air before tackling her to the ground. He grinned as she shrieked, clearly thrown off her defense, but before he could congratulate himself, her powerful legs came up around his chest and gripped him tightly. His eyes bulged as his lungs were compressed between her vise-like grip. Before he had time to react, she lifted him up and flipped him onto his back until she was straddling him.

Mara gazed down at him triumphantly. "Surrender!"

"Never!" He shouted gleefully. He couldn't very well pummel her to death all day, so he chose the next best thing. "I hope you won't kill me for this." With a devilish grin, he swiftly reached up and began to tickle her abdomen.

She jerked violently, squirming to escape from him and desperately keep her composure at the same time. Nevertheless, a few giggles escaped as Luke held her with one hand and continued his excruciating torture. She felt herself losing the battle on both fronts.

Finally, her resolve broke and burst out laughing. "No! Stop!" she gasped between giddy outbursts. She pawed at his hands, trying to capture them, but to no avail. "That's cheating!" Her effort to work up some amount of indignation was futile. Seeing as she couldn't stop him, she decided to fight fire with fire. She attacked him at his stomach and along his sides until she found a spot under his arm that made him jerk in much the same way she had. Cackling evilly, she exploited this newfound weakness without mercy until he was the one squirming and trying to flee.

Laughing until tears streamed down their cheeks, they wrestled over the grassy clearing trying to escape from each other's torture, but wanting to stay to inflict more. They rolled down a slight dip in the terrain leaving a trail of crushed blades of grass in their wake. Using the Force to guide him, Luke landed on top of Mara whose hands were still mercilessly attacking him. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. His body crushed against hers as they both lay still, breathing heavily from the exertion.

Mara stared up at Luke. She could feel his heart pounding wildly against his chest through her thin tank top. His eyes were bright and seemed to stare right into her mind. She fought down her first instinct to panic and flee, choosing instead to fortify her mental barriers. It was absurd; she knew he would never intentionally hurt her. Nevertheless, she could feel herself trembling slightly against him.

Before she knew what was happening, his face closed the distance between them, and he brushed his mouth against hers. His lips were soft and warm. A thousand emotions hit her at once. She wanted to run, scream, punch, dig her hands into his thick blond hair and pull him closer to her. Her body seemed to respond without her permission, and she felt her neck arch slightly, tentatively inviting him to deepen the kiss. His response was immediate. He parted her lips and hungrily caressed her tongue with his own. Despite his weight crushing her into the ground, her body rose to meet his, pressing against the full length of him. He released his grip on her wrists to gently caress her face, eliciting a small moan of pleasure from her. Slowly, cautiously, she snaked her arms around his neck lightly stroking the sensitive skin just below the base of his hairline.

In that moment, their minds met in a confusing swirl of emotions. Mara fought to keep her mental defenses in check, but she could feel them begin to crack like a giant dam under too much pressure. She frantically tried to clear her mind of all thoughts and emotions, but the feelings radiating from Luke distracted her. She could feel the genuine affection he had for her. He held great respect for her, for her creativity, quick thinking and passion. But what surprised her most was the feeling of trust that emanated from him. He trusted her implicitly with his life. She had been trusted by men before, but never on such a deep level.

Another emotion brushed against her mind. Her heart nearly stopped beating when she realized it was love. It was warm and tender like the first spring breeze after a harsh winter frost. He was hopelessly and completely in love. The human image of that love projected toward her, and she felt a sudden stabbing pain in her chest that both distressed and alarmed her.

Callista's face flashed in their mind's eye, and Mara could feel him filling with sorrow and shame. They jolted away from each other, breaking their embrace and putting some distance between them. She regarded him in confusion, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I –" he began.

"No, I --" she stuttered scrambling to her feet. Her mind was still reeling from his physical and mental touch and couldn't make any sense out of what had just happened. She attempted to control the shaking in her voice, but it still came out strained. "I don't know what all that was about, but I know you still love Callista. And that, well, we just got … carried away." She spoke too quickly and darted her eyes around looking for an escape. Finding none, she lashed out. Her eyes became hard jade stones boring into him. "I do not play second to anyone, especially that ditsy, body-snatching twit. So you can just rebound on someone else." Without allowing Skywalker another word, she darted off through the trees at a dead run picking pieces of grass from her hair.