Luke was feeling strangely light-headed. By all rights, he should be at the lowest point of his life...But he wasn't. Why was that?
It didn't take him long to think about it. He was just in love, a constant state of euphoria that just seemed to rise, never dipping down.
It was a strange feeling. His head felt muddled, but he was also seeing things more clearly than ever.
When he thought about Vader, he didn't feel as grim as he had during their first few meetings. When he had been expecting to see Vader, he had been very grim, but now a little of that grimness had faded away...
He stared at the ground for a few minutes in thought and then grinned at Mara. "I give Vader ten minutes." They were both seated on the floor with their legs crossed.
"I don't know...He seemed pretty peeved."
"Yeah, but I'm sure he can't wait to come back in here and see what we're up to," Luke pointed out.
Mara shrugged. "That's what he has security cameras for, Skywalker."
"Ah. Well, in that case, we should put on a show for him," Luke's eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Oh, really?" Mara raised an eyebrow. "What kind of show?"
"This kind," Luke grinned, as he reached over and pulled her to him, bringing his head down to hers. Their lips came together, and the kiss started off gentle, as each explored the taste of the other. Quickly, it became more impatient, as arms snaked around backs and the moment became more heated.
Vader watched the holoscreen before him, feeling annoyance wash over him. It hadn't taken too long for the two to start groping and necking like teenagers.
He considered interrupting them, but then he paused as an idea struck him.
What if he could convince them that he was going to leave them alone for a few days with the security cameras off? Without food, of course...
How far would the obviously-in-love couple be willing to go in an Imperial cell?
Vader had to grudgingly admit that they weren't likely to go too far...
But what if they thought they weren't going to survive much longer?
Of course, there was an easier way to get a Force-sensitive grandchild. He could always collect certain samples and have a physician perform in vitro fertilization...
It was something to mull over.
Meanwhile, he had something to attend to. He turned on the communications unit and relayed orders to his specially placed group of men, all of whom were several systems away.
His men would make sure that the pair regretted ever standing against him.
Mara turned around and allowed Luke to pull her onto his lap.
"Well, he didn't run in here to stop us."
Nuzzling his head against her hair, Luke growled playfully in his throat, "Maybe he doesn't know what animals we can be."
"We? You're the one that's growling like a fimdaug in heat!" Mara laughed.
Luke nipped at her ear. "Woof woof...Does that mean I get to—"
"What?" Mara turned around and looked at him challengingly.
"Well..." Unable to think of a reply that wouldn't earn him a smack on the head, Luke just laughed, rolling his twinkling eyes and pulling Mara toward him for another kiss.
Several minutes later, Mara sighed, her head on Luke's shoulder. She spoke wistfully, "I wish we could stay like this forever."
"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Sitting here like this with you...It's like a dream come true."
Mara smiled. "It's even better than being on Coruscant. Instead of scrambling about to fulfill duties, we can just sit here together in this cell, with no duties to complete..."
Luke chuckled. "We're a weird pair, aren't we?"
"We relish spending time a prison cell—what's weird about that?"
Luke turned Mara around and raised an eyebrow at her. He captured her mouth with his own, only to pull back with wide eyes and a hanging jaw as he was abruptly bombarded through the Force by screams.
Thousands of panicked death-cries...
Pain fright regret sorrow.
And then—a big, dark void in the Force.
'I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced,' Obi-Wan's words came back to haunt him, taunt him.
It was a horrible sensation, being hit with the ambivalence of so many creatures' deaths at once. So much hurt, sadness, confusion, anger, fear...
And evil.
The evil was actually real now. His grimness returned in greater force than he had ever felt.
This was not just a day in paradise with the woman he loved.
Darth Vader was a real threat. Their situation was actually grim.
The deaths of those humans and aliens were a real tragedy.
It was because he had let his guard down that he had been unable to prevent their deaths.
If he hadn't been so caught up in what he'd ignorantly thought was an opportunity to spend some quality time with Mara, then Vader wouldn't have stooped to such low measures to give him a wake-up call.
It was his fault. All his fault.
Although not as strongly as Luke, Mara had also sensed the deaths, and her face was paler than a ghost. A small headache had started to build, somewhat akin to the headache that ysalamiri gave her. Eyes wide, she had merely stared straight into nothingness after the deaths passed, and now her thoughts were running awry. Vader had killed so many people, just like that...
Suddenly, she felt a darkening of her companion's thoughts, of a kind that she had only rarely sensed from him before. Instantly, she knew why. The feeling was reminiscent of the time Callista had left him because of her lack of Force powers.
He was blaming himself again.
"It's not your fault, Luke," Mara told him softly.
But he wasn't as forgiving of himself. "I should have known better than to let my guard down! I should have paid attention to what was happening around us long enough to—"
"Skywalker!" she exclaimed a little too sharply. She tried to stare into his eyes, but they were downcast. Firmly, she took his chin in her hand and lifted it up so that his eyes looked into hers. With a stubborn set to her jaw, she spoke softly but with intensity. "It is not your fault that your father came back from the dead and got it into his hard head to rebuild the Empire and kill people."
"But if I had tried, I would have been able to see through his illusion on the Death Star or Endor, and I could have penetrated it! He was weak—"
"And you were, too," she reminded him. "Being hit with Force-drawn lightning bolts is no small experience, believe me."
"But I wasn't that weak—"
Mara cut him off. "Look, we can either sit here and argue about it all day, changing nothing and simply proving how you can be as stubborn as your father, or we can try to do something about it." She gave him a solemn yet stern gaze. "It's your choice."
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of Luke's heavy breathing. He had gotten worked up quickly, and he was trying to calm himself. Patience, he told himself as he took in a deep breath. Hyperventilating won't get you anywhere.
That may be true, but if you hadn't been so preoccupied with joining your sister and friends on Endor, then you might have actually noticed that the body didn't burn and smell the way that Vader's suit would have, a little voice in his head pointed out.
Defensively, he shot back, I was stressed!
Oh, great, the galaxy is doomed because Luke Skywalker, hero of the Rebellion, got stressed, the voice nagged.
He tried to cut it off, but it was still present in the deep recesses of his mind, informing him of his failures and short-comings.
Swallowing, Luke spoke, "What are we going to do? Grab our guards' blasters, shoot everyone in sight, and steal a ship?"
"If only it were that easy," Mara sighed, her emerald eyes losing a bit of their spark. She shook her head slowly. "I think the only thing we can do for now is wait."