Spirit of the Shifting Sands
Usual disclaimers apply. I am making no money from this fic. The characters and situations used in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Chapter 10
Coruscant
Leia paced anxiously in the private Solo docking bay as she waited for the Yavin shuttle to arrive. She was alone apart from two discreetly hovering bodyguards and an unusually silent Threepio. Leia hardly noticed them, her brow furrowed, her expression tense. It had been over a month since she had seen her children and it was too long. Longer since she'd been with her husband and the ache of separation gnawed at her spirit and longer still since she'd talked to her brother. Where was Luke? Had Mara Jade found him? Had Han seen him? They'd never been apart for so long - not since they'd discovered each other on the first Death Star.
A flurry of activity and the Yavin ship docked. Leia stretched out with the Force and the comforting presence of her three children greeted her. With a hiss and a sharp jet of steam the hatch opened and three small figures rushed down the ramp. The twins were well in the lead and threw their arms around their mother and squeezed until Leia laughingly protested. Then she looked up and caught the serious blue eyes of Anakin fixed upon her with his usual unwavering scrutiny. She raised her arms and the sober child hurtled into her embrace. Leia's eyes watered slightly. It was so good to have them home. Her fingers stroked Jaina's shining hair and ran reassuringly over Jacen's soft cheek.
"We're glad too, Mama. It has been too long," Jacen muttered a little self-consciously.
Threepio clanked awkwardly over the metal flooring. "May I say it is good to see you all home and in such good health. I only wish your father and Master Luke were also here."
The droid hesitated and Leia knew it was as if he waited for Artoo's irreverent whistle. "Where's Winter?"
"Just coming," Jacen said. "Small Corran fell asleep."
The tall regal form of the Lady Winter of Alderaan glided serenely down the ramp clutching her small son to her breast.
"Your Highness." She greeted Leia formally by her old title then she smiled and glanced ruefully at the sleeping child.
"He was supposed to sleep earlier on the journey, but no. Not Corran Celchu. He has to do it now when it's least convenient."
"Ah! Takes after his namesake."
"Well... There's quite a bit of his father in there too. Her eyes twinkled briefly. "Tycho has his moments. But this young man was too interested in what the twins were up to and not in getting some sleep."
They made their way to the internal palace shuttle with Leia monitoring her excited children. Threepio was occasionally heard to offer some sort of advice but eventually it was a tired party that arrived in their quarters.
An aide entered and handed Leia a data pad. "This just came for you. It's a high priority communication."
Leia stiffened. This was from the Arkanis sector, possibly from Han or General Cracken. She nodded and dismissed the aide before activating the pad on her reader. A slight tensing of her facial muscles was all the sign that she gave before switching off the machine. Leia turned a concerned eye on her friend. "You look tired."
Winter sighed wearily. "I am. This young man has far too much energy for his mother." She brushed a fair curl on small Corran's sleeping head. She hesitated. "Any news?"
Leia nodded guardedly and motioned to her now flagging brood. "Let's get the children to their beds and then I'll tell you what's happening, or as much as I can tell you. It's not a lot I'm afraid." A strange expression flitted across her face to be replaced by the famous Organa calm.
"Come on Jacen. Get Anakin and you and Jaina can put him to bed. You can have half an hour to read and then it's lights out. Threepio will see that's what you do."
"But Mama!"
"No buts. Look at you. You're asleep on your feet. Well, Anakin is. So off you go. I'll be in to see you before you go to sleep."
Jaina opened her mouth to argue the point once more, but spotted Anakin slumped in his mother's chair, the blue eyes almost closed.
Jacen answered for them both. "Okay Mama." He escorted his brother and sister from the room in an oddly adult manner.
Winter excused herself with small Corran. "I'll just hand him over to his nanny droid and be back immediately."
Leia's office door chimed.
"Enter," she called quietly. Winter moved smoothly into the room.
"Well?"
Leia looked uncomfortable. "The communication I received when we came in earlier was from intelligence."
"And....?"
"Everyone's in place."
"Everyone….?"
"Including Luke."
"Luke! Oh stars of Alderaan."
"And Mara Jade."
Winter relaxed a little. "Good - that makes sense. She works for Karrde after all and knows her way around the target. How did they find Luke?"
"He was apparently in the vicinity. We knew he was there but why did he have to go?" she complained.
Winter shook her head. "He didn't have to."
Leia's head drooped. "He found Mara or she found him. I don't know. I suppose one advantageous thing came out of it all. He helped find a place to hold the meeting."
"That's good, isn't it?"
Leia fidgeted again. "According to the report Luke is there in an unofficial capacity only. He is working with Trader Jade and Karrde's people but he helped the New Republic delegation with the locale."
Winter nodded and then frowned. "I thought Luke and Mara weren't communicating much, if at all?"
Leia's expression became more reserved. "They are now. They talked last time he was on Coruscant. I think she's to go to Yavin for training."
Winter shook her head. How aware was Leia about Luke and Mara and the current status of their on-off friendship?
"The Empire doesn't want Jedi involved?" Winter asked cautiously.
"I don't want Jedi involved. Luke needs a break."
"This is the Master you're talking about. I've never known him to do that...." Winter frowned as her perfect memory sifted through the data. "….ever. He's like you. You're both stubborn workaholics with a sense of duty and obligation so huge it may swamp you in the end."
Leia picked up the data pad. "We agreed. The Empire doesn't want Jedi involved. Luke should be here on Coruscant. He's given up the Academy on Yavin in order to join us as adviser to the Senate."
Leia..." Winter began with a warning note in her voice.
"He has to return to full fitness and undergo the training necessary."
"Diplomatic coaching," Winter said flatly.
"Yes. He has so much to do."
"Leia... " Winter sighed heavily. "Luke doesn't want this."
"He does. He just hasn't realised it yet," she maintained resolutely. "He'll do it when we appoint him. It will be a fait-accompli."
Winter shook her white head. "You've not talked to him for over three months. He came to see you and your family to ask for counsel. All you did was try to talk him into a direction he has no desire to follow. He left the party at the exact moment you tried to introduce him to the political advisors."
Leia's expression paled. "How do you know?"
"I saw his face, Leia. He had been watching Jacen open some present and laughing at the excitement on his nephew's face. Then you stepped forward with Senator Obra Mahuo from Derra Five. Luke's face closed and became the mask he uses when he's tired, hurt or being at his most Jedi. He then made his immediate excuses and left. You didn't see him again until he got sick and it was Mara Jade who contacted you about his illness."
Leia stood still in shock as realisation dawned.
"Did he say goodbye personally?"
"No," she whispered. "He sent a holocube as he'd already left Coruscant. In fact he gave it to Mara Jade. I haven't heard from him since. I know he's okay because I would feel it through the Force if anything happened to him."
Winter knew that what she was telling her long time friend wasn't easy for her to grasp. The former Alderaanian princess was too used to having her commands obeyed. "Leia, he loves you, but he won't do what you ask. Not this time. You were bred for the political life - Luke wasn't. More than anyone else, he has laid down his life time and time again for what he believes in."
"Did he tell you this?"
"We do not converse much, but he didn't have to tell me anything. I'm sure he's said something to Han. Analyse his behaviour and you can see that he doesn't want to upset you but will not be stampeded into anything this time. The Jedi Master has reached full maturity - perhaps he is not entirely certain what he wants but he is willing to trust in the Force. There was another thing..." Winter hesitated. "Anakin mumbled something yesterday, but I only caught a portion of what he said. 'Mama's not going to like it, but Uncle Luke's turned stubborn.' Anakin is very percipient."
Leia moved stiffly and sank into her chair. "He did say things in his holomessage but I brushed them aside and sent Mara Jade after him like he was a criminal with a bounty on his head. "
"I wouldn't think that was too much of a hardship for her, and she did find him."
"Yes I know. Oh, he let himself be found. Luke wants to train her and she was going to him exactly for that purpose. My brother and the Jedi. Everything is geared towards finding and training more Jedi."
"He is the Jedi Master, Leia. Yoda and Obi-Wan charged him with rebuilding the order." Winter's mellow voice held a mild rebuke.
"Cracken met up with her on Pii 3 and decided she was exactly the right person to do a spot of undercover work for the New Republic."
"It makes sense."
Leia stood up again and banged her fist on the desk. "Luke shouldn't be there - not on Tatooine."
"But it is his home, Your Highness. Where else would he run to? "
Leia aimlessly shuffled a stack of data cards on her desk. "Cracken says that Luke was going to return to Yavin."
"But you don't think he's gone there, do you?"
Leia shook her head. "No, I don't. My brother wants to train Mara Jade and if Cracken has roped her in to go undercover, Luke will go with her. He can be very stubborn."
"Why don't you want Luke on Tatooine? Princess! What's really going on?"
Leia suddenly looked uncomfortable and defensive. "Nothing."
********************************
The B'Omarr Monastery - Tatooine
Night had crept late into the far reaches of the monastery where the denizens of that vast edifice had finally finished their revels. Mara picked her way carefully along the twisting passages trying to avoid slumbering guests of the Twilek in whatever shape or form they existed.
"Sith!" She angrily bit off a curse as a trandoshan slid into a heap and lay staring up at her, his glazed eyes unfocused from the glitterstim spice he'd been sampling. She glanced behind her to see if anyone was within range then levitated herself carefully over the alien. Ducking down a side passage and then easing her way carefully down a flight of stairs she came to the room she was sharing with Luke. This much they had agreed on and she reached out with the force for his comforting presence before opening the door and slipping through.
"Hi," he murmured sleepily, favouring her with a warm, lazy smile as he rose up on one elbow. The sheet covering his naked, muscular chest slipped to his waist as he sat up.
Mara smiled wearily and let her eyes drift over his bearded features. The beard would have to go when they got out of here.
"I agree," yawned Luke. "It itches"
Mara opened her mouth to protest at him reading her mind so easily but Luke merely stretched out his hand and touched her lips with a gentle finger. "Have you seen Karrde?" he asked.
"Yes - briefly and I gave him the message. He knows where we're hiding out and will be along shortly when all the activity dies down. I can't remember the partying being so intense the last time I was here."
"Ah, but you were younger then. Although I'm not suggesting you're past it."
"I'm beginning to think I am." She sent him a weary smile. "I need to sleep first. Emperor's bones - I'm so tired." She subsided onto the bed beside Luke. "Any word from Han and the others?"
Luke's brow furrowed worriedly. "No - I'll try and see Page tomorrow. He might know something."
"What's going on, Luke? There's something very wrong here."
His eyes clouded briefly. "I don't know, Mara, but it's as if there is a hole in the Force - a dark nothingness."
Mara shivered and recalled the day they arrived at the fortress. Only a week ago but it seemed like a lot longer.
***************************************
The Dune Sea - 8 days earlier
The speeder travelled steadily across the unchanging landscape of golden dunes. Gentle crescent shapes undulated in front of their eyes. It was early in the morning and already it was hot. Luke and Mara rode in silence each busy with their own private thoughts, but now and again there would be a quick glance of the eye and a faint flush of the cheek. Luke marvelled again at the transformation Mara had engendered in herself. She had again adopted the exotic face paint and complicated hairstyle of the Fayrian dancer Arica.
Mara wondered at how Luke appeared to be the same and yet so different. He slouched low in his seat and pulled the wide brim of his hat further over his eyes. He'd acquired a dangerous aura about him - a reckless, devil-may-care attitude and Mara shivered in the heat with excitement. What was she thinking about - this was Skywalker after all - but Mara admitted that she loved him and strange as it seemed, she wouldn't have him any other way.
Artoo had not been happy being left at home, but Luke had insisted and had gone as far as fitting the hated restraining bolt. He didn't trust Artoo in this matter one little bit. The rotund little droid had treated his master to a stream of angry electronic invective before rolling away to sulk in the corner with a defiant final beep.
Their lightsabers had been hidden among Mara's things disguised as hairstyling equipment. As Luke had said, they couldn't smuggle them inside Artoo. It had been done before.
"That threw me you know, farmboy. You arrived so quietly and stole right into the heart of Jabba's kingdom."
Luke grinned, his teeth white against his darkened beard. "The only heart I'm interested in is yours," he murmured suggestively with a glint in his eye.
"Oh please," Mara groaned. "Spare me the Lando Calrissian routine."
Luke grinned. "Does it work?"
"Not on me."
"So if I were never to try romancing you a little…" his blue eyes twinkled merrily at her and Mara's breath quickened.
"Maybe…" she drawled, her voice dropping to a sexy alto.
Luke coughed and blushed and Mara chuckled.
He decided to change the subject as he wasn't winning. "I'll cloak the sabers if we're scanned but after that I've rigged up false cylindrical water bottles which will fit on our utility belts. The sabers fit inside them."
Something shimmered on the far horizon. "Stop!" Mara uttered abruptly. Luke hurriedly applied the brakes and the speeder ground to a halt hovering in mid-air like a live thing. They both stared at the faint outline of a large structure and felt a chill run up their spines. Luke took a sharp breath and his hand groped awkwardly into Mara's.
"It's dark," he muttered hoarsely.
"What is?" asked Mara worriedly.
"The monastery. It's cold... dark... I can't explain it."
"Like Wayland? Is it Ysalamiri?"
Luke shook his head. "No - not that kind of dark. The Force is there but it's as if there is a hole in it." He knew he'd come across such a feeling before, but not with the darkness attached to it.
Mara frowned and stretched out with the Force to probe the gloomy edifice. Even with Luke's tutelage and her increasing Force skills as she grew and developed she couldn't sense what he was experiencing, but a sick feeling settled in her stomach. Her danger sense had gone into overdrive.
Luke was closely attuned to the planet Tatooine in a way that Mara couldn't yet understand. He'd been brought up living in the harsh, unforgiving environment and the spirit of every settler was in his bones. He was aware of the smallest grain of sand, the direction of the wind over the dunes and drew life and hope from the strength of the two suns.
Mara could only feel her own disquiet and a fear she couldn't quite banish.
"'Fear is...'" Luke quoted softly.
"I know," she growled and he hit the accelerator.
*************************************************
The B'Omarr Monastery
Mara peeled off her bodysuit and climbed into the bed beside Luke. The Jedi's eyes widened perceptibly as the faint light of the glow rod hit her naked body.
"Hey!"
"Hey nothing, Skywalker. I've kinda gotten used to you being in my bed."
"I thought I'd gotten used to you in mine."
"Whatever, farmboy, whatever."
"Jade?" he queried huskily. "Are you greeting Karrde dressed in er... well, not in... er...? I've kinda got used to you being naked next to me mentally, but my body has other ideas."
"Oh Sithspit," she grumped and pulled her sleeping shift from below the pillow. "You know I hate this thing."
Luke ran a teasing finger over her flat stomach and lazily drew circles on the smooth skin. "I prefer you without it, myself."
"Lech," she put in as she drew the shift over her head. "Wake me up in four hours."
Luke pulled her into his arms. "Will do," and willed his body to behave.
Talon Karrde exited the cargo ship on which he'd been serving. So far he hadn't been asked to do anything he would balk at. In fact he was reliving part of his early career in the smuggling trade, but something foul tainted what he was doing. The excitement had gone. 'I'm too old for this game.' He laughed without humour. Mara had the right idea going legitimate, although he didn't think she'd caught on to that quite yet.
He turned and there she was just finishing a graceful spin. He noted the hand signals, which to anyone else would be meaningless. Aves wandered casually up to his boss. "Do you want me to come too?"
"No. Get some sleep. Mara won't be finished for a while and then she'll need to rest. I'll drop in past her quarters in a few hours. How was your trip?"
"Usual stuff – running some goods past officialdom. I think we haven't been here long enough to be in on the real stuff."
Karrde smiled but it was merely a stretching of his lips. "I would think that is a good thing. I'm already seeing things and people I've no desire to. I'm going to get some shut-eye myself. Be careful."
***************
A few hours later Karrde made his way through the main hall on the lower level. He kept his gait unsteady and his eyes unfocused. At this late hour the stench of sweat, spice and alcohol hung heavy in the air. A few collapsed beings lay where they had fallen and Karrde stepped over a particularly large trandoshan, which blocked one of the corridors. Luke and Mara had found rooms on a lower level near one of the back entrances. Pulling out a bottle of Corellian whisky he'd borrowed from his last cargo he adopted the stagger of an inebriated man and bashed his way through the door of Luke and Mara's room
"My friends..." he boomed theatrically, then stopped as the door swung shut behind him.
Luke and Mara lay sound asleep wrapped in each other's arms. No - not asleep. Luke opened one eye, "Ssh! Karrde. By the Force, you smell like a brewery," and eased from Mara's embrace. Leaning over he kissed her gently on the lips and finally faced the smuggler chief. "Why not?" Luke muttered defensively. "We're both adult and free agents."
Karrde stifled an amused smile. "I wasn't going to say anything, but I can't say I'm surprised. How long has this been going on?"
"Not long, just since Coruscant."
"I think it's been longer than that, Luke."
Luke disagreed. "We haven't been in contact much over the past year."
"I know."
Luke's mouth quirked into a half smile. "Figures you would know. Mara and I talked last time we were both on Coruscant. We grew closer and she agreed to be trained. She came to me here…"
Karrde shook his head. "You've always had a very strong effect on each other. Your emotions have always been close to the surface. Negative… positive… whatever. Perhaps your relationship hasn't been in this form, but you've been heading in that direction ever since you met."
"Maybe you're right Karrde, but Leia doesn't know and I'm not sure how she'll react. She doesn't trust Mara like I do."
"I won't tell. This is your business, not mine."
"Thanks," Luke grinned and grabbed his tunic. "I want to tell her myself. I'm not exactly sure how she'll take the news."
Mara rolled over in the bed to where, by rights, Luke should have been. "Damn!" Karrde must have arrived. She opened her eyes to find Luke's bright eyes and Karrde's paler ones fixed on her intently. Mara coloured, but in the faint light it was difficult to tell. Embarrassment crept through her senses. It was one thing to be sleeping with the Jedi Master but another thing altogether to be caught doing it.
"What's going on, Karrde?" she blurted out shortly. "I sure as hell would like to know."
**********************************************
Droid Pool, B'Omarr Monastery
Page moved quickly to the droid pool to check if his surveillance devices were still intact. The droids used in this place came in for some rough handling. With a weary sigh he watched as several astromech droids and a couple of heavy squat power droids offered themselves for repair. With a hissing and clanging the smell of molten metal and burned circuitry attacked his nostrils. As several of the droids exited he fitted several of them with the implants they needed if he was to gather all his data and no one saw him do it. He had learned to become one with the shadows and it was time he got some sleep. He had a feeling it might be in short supply later on.
"You are not the one we seek." It wasn't a question.
Page jumped. The voice was hushed, almost non-existent. Cullen Page thought that no one could surprise him like that anymore. He'd been wrong. He was the ultimate intelligence machine and his thoughts scrambled in momentary and unaccustomed panic. They'd been betrayed!
"But you are with him are you not?"
"What!" Page glanced swiftly around him for the source of the voice - all his senses on full alert. In front of him in the deserted passage was a mechanical brain walker and next to it a small wizened figure in a monks cowl and hood.
"Stars of Alderaan," he breathed softly.
"Yes - the B'Omarr. We are not unaware of what goes on. This is not a game you are involved in, young man."
"No - it never is," answered Page deliberately. "Games never inflict suffering and misery or take lives."
A series of lights flashed on the front of the walker. "People may die," translated the monk. "We cannot stop it."
"Probably," sighed Page. "I've seen more deaths than you ever will."
"You may be correct in this matter, young man. But we need to know. Where are the Jedi?"
"Jedi! There are none here."
"Ah! We see."
"See what?"
"The deception. It is part of your art - your skill. But deception has little place among us."
"I take it you just mean the B'Omarr and not the..."
"Others who currently reside here."
"Well... Yeah."
"You will see in time. This being..." The monk indicated to the brain in the jar. "He is truly enlightened. I wish you were also."
"No thanks. I like my brain where it is."
The monk widened cracked lips to show yellowing teeth. "You make the joke - it is amusing," and the lights on the brainwalker's jar flashed in agreement. Page rolled his eyes, but felt oddly reassured. Still, he'd hoped that the Jedi these creatures sought were indeed, elsewhere. Unfortunately several days ago he'd seen them both insinuating themselves into the daily life of the monastery.
********************************************************
Tosche Station
Han Solo paced the floor of the cantina angrily. The meeting had been strangely unsatisfying. Something was going on in the background. He would bet his old smugglers instinct on it - the one that knew when things were going wrong. They'd met with three Imperials and fenced round in circles not saying anything. But Han was sure Cracken and the head of the Imperial faction, what was his name - Captain Ardiff - had signals and ways of talking about things that were coded and he didn't like it. The door opened and Chewbacca stuck his head around it.
"Yeah pal, come on in. They've gone. I don't like them either. They're not soldiers, they're politicians and I really don't like them."
Chewbacca sat on a table and uttered a series of pithy barks.
"The General's coming. Now I want answers and he'd better give me some."
General Cracken returned to the empty bar followed by a silent Wedge, Corran and Tycho and met Han's level gaze with an oblique green one of his own.
"What's going on, General?"
Cracken sat stony faced. "I can't tell you any more than you need to know and you've reached your limit on this one, trust me."
'How come when someone says 'trust me' you immediately don't,' Han thought sourly. "I was brought in to negotiate in good faith, although I would have thought Leia was better at this sort of thing."
"You were brought in because of who you are."
"My famous name! Bait," Han sneered. "Not for my skills round a negotiating table. Did you want these talks to fail, General? It certainly seems as if you do."
"Your wife decided this was for the best… give them a Rebellion hero and it might distract them."
"Leia!" Han's face drained of colour and Chewbacca suddenly snarled at his friend's distress. 'Leia wouldn't do that to him. Would she?'
"It's because of Leia we're pulling you out now."
"No way, pal."
"Look, Solo!"
"No! You look. I want to know what's going on - every little last bit. My friend's gone in there in good faith."
The General stiffened. "What friend? Oh, no… You're not telling me that Skywalker is still on planet?"
Han stared at his boots.
"He said he was going back to Yavin or Coruscant."
"He said maybe," Han mumbled. "You sent in Mara and Luke went with her."
Cracken swore under his breath and then lifted his green gaze to meet Han's betrayed hazel. "I'm sorry then, Solo, it was his choice. I can't tell you any more. Every effort is being made to get Luke out of there." Cracken avoided Han's eyes. "He shouldn't be here at all. I tried to get him to leave. We asked Mara Jade so that Luke didn't have to be involved. We're trying to protect him."
"From what or whom?" Han stopped pacing as something unpleasant slithered around in his stomach. "And Jade - her too?"
The General stayed silent and Wedge looked awkward. Corran frowned suddenly.
"What about Karrde and his people or even some of our people? You getting them all out?"
Cracken's face was cold and unresponsive.
Furious, Han made a lunge. "Why you..." But he was held fast in a pair of shaggy arms. The Wookiee growled something menacing in Cracken's direction.
"Come on, Chewie. Let's get out of here," Han gritted. "Before I say something 'undiplomatic'." He turned on his heel and marched from the building. The outer door banged shut and for a moment there was silence.
Cracken turned to the Rogues. They sat tight-lipped.
"Return to the base on Pii4 and stay there till you're called."
Corran spoke up. "Look, General, I don't know what's going on, but what I'm sensing isn't good."
Wedge stared at the floor. He knew some of what was happening - probably as much as Han did - and he didn't like it either. That's what you got once the politicians took over from the soldiers - all these wheels within wheels. The General would be given orders by a faceless beaurocrat on Coruscant. He nodded to his comrades and exited the room, his eyes never meeting the General's. Corran opened his mouth to say something, but Tycho shook his head and with a shared gesture of disgust they followed their commanding officer.
Cracken rubbed a weary hand over his white hair. "Arnek - I'll need access to the subspace holo."
Arnek looked at him blankly.
"It's through the back."
"Oh the computer thing."
"I have to send a message to Coruscant."
'How do I tell Leia that I may have incited several of our greatest war heroes to mutiny, one of them possibly her own husband? And how do I tell her that her brother has gone willingly into a situation from which he may never return? Apart from that – things went well.'' The General suddenly felt very old.
**************************************************
Han strode to the speeder he'd hired and climbed in like an old man. Chewie growled softly. "Cracken knows us too well. He's just waiting for us to go racing after Luke ourselves. Remember Leia just about skinned the both of us the last time we did that. Stars, we've coped with situations that were far worse during the war and never expected to get out alive. Luke came out more dead than alive in many an escapade. But he got out and more often than not without our help, much as we like to think otherwise. You know how secretive he's become."
Chewbacca cocked his head to one side and looked at Han thoughtfully. "He's protecting you and has been for quite a while now. You have a family - the children and Leia. Luke will do his utmost to protect you. So are you going to do something for him? My friend - let's discount the General. What do you want to do?"
Han looked at his friend and partner, his eyes bleak and empty. "I don't know."
"Well, I'm not leaving him there. He's part of my honour family too. I'm going to try to get him out and he won't go without Jade. So I'm going to get her out too."
Han nodded. He knew Luke would never desert a friend in danger, which was what Cracken was telling him to do.
"There must be something we're overlooking and there have been clues, but to what? I'm not even sure the General knows what's happening or if he is getting Luke out. What will we be getting them out of?"
"I don't know, Chewie. That's what's so weird. Everyone is circling round something and I'm not sure it's so big. They've made it into ... I just don't know."
"Well, Han - what are you going to do? Are you with me? I think I know what your choice will be but I'm not making it for you. Leia will understand - she married you."
"Then why won't she let me be what I am?" The comment was quietly spoken but the Wookiee knew that it came from the heart.
"She'll have to. Leia loves you, Han. She's just got other things on her mind and doesn't realise how far Luke has got himself into trouble...if he's got himself into trouble."
"Knowing the kid, if he hasn't found it yet, it'll find him soon."
"Mara's there. She'll keep an eye on him."
"Hmm."
The speeder stopped and Chewie leapt out and made for the Falcon. Han wandered to the door of Luke's home and pressed his palm to the entrance. It slid open smoothly. The cool darkness of the shuttered building eased his bruised senses and the now familiar peace, which Han had come to associate with his brother-in-law, surrounded him.
Chewie appeared in the doorway. "There's a message for you on the Falcon. It's Leia - she wants to talk to you."
"I don't want to talk to her just now. She's not my wife - she's the politician and frankly I've had enough of them."
"Han… She could tell us what we need to know. You have to talk to her." Chewbacca gave a last growl and headed back to the ship.
Leia waited by the console for Han to appear, but only Chewbacca returned and shook his shaggy head.
"He's alright isn't he?"
Chewie nodded. "He's mad about one or two things and would rather not talk just now."
"Why? What's wrong?" But she knew. "Tell him to talk to me. It'll be fine – Luke will be okay. I love Han and the children miss him."
"That's not what he needs right now. He needs straight answers from people he thought he could trust. The meeting with the Imperials turned out to be nothing but a sham; there are things going on that Han knows nothing about. He feels betrayed..." Chewbacca pinned Leia in place with a fierce glare. "And what about Luke and Mara?"
"Luke's not out of there yet? He should be on his way home by now. I hoped he was coming home."
"He just went in. Nothing's happening, Leia - not yet. We just met with the Imperials and that seemed to be a waste of time."
Leia ignored Chewie's little dig. "Luke went in where?"
"To the B'Omarr Monastery."
"He has to get out of there."
"He won't go without Mara. They're..." he hesitated. "…very close. In fact..." Chewbacca drew the sentence out so it was clear enough for Leia to understand the Shyriiwook. "They're lovers."
Leia gulped as surprise crossed her face. "You're not seriously considering that Luke would want to sleep with the woman who once tried to kill him?" She shook her head. "Forget I said that - this is Luke, after all. I suppose he would. I should have known."
"He wouldn't go without her even if they weren't lovers. They're more than that. They are friends. Luke and Mara are very good friends and she is a prospective pupil as well."
"But..."
"Why should you know everything about Luke? He's a grown man and can make his own decisions without you." Han's voice was flat.
Chewbacca turned his head and looked at his long-time partner.
"Yeah, Chewie, I'd better say something."
"Han!" Leia exclaimed.
He stood in front of the monitor, his face serious. Leia stretched out with the Force to try and gauge some clue to his mood, but she was not as powerful as Luke was and the distance between them was too great. Emotionally and spatially.
"So Madam Senator, High Councillor Organa Solo, suppose you fill me in a little." He emphasised her title in the mocking way he'd once done when trying to rile her.
Leia opened her mouth helplessly, for once her fluent tongue letting her down.
"I can't, Han. I don't know what's going on."
"Liar." His voice was quietly cold and his face was suddenly that of the sabacc-playing smuggler he used to be, giving away nothing of the emotions churning inside him.
Leia blinked back tears. Han had never talked so harshly to her in all their time together.
"Start talking, sweetheart, or I'll go back for Luke unprepared. Why am I now barred from these things when I never was before? It can't be because you don't trust me. No…." he drawled. "It's because you don't really agree with what you're doing, but you're doing it anyway."
Leia's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"So start talking, sweetheart or I'll be taking home that brother of yours in a body bag by the sound of it."
"Okay, Han, I'll tell you what I know."
"It's not what you think."
"It's exactly what I think. Politics and games and Luke got himself caught right in the middle of it – didn't he?"
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