Bespin: The Next Morning

Mara Jade couldn't remember the last time she'd woken to smell something delicious and home cooked, but the rumbling in her stomach told her she shouldn't care about that when food was obviously being served. A few moments later, the rest of Mara's senses had caught up with her sense of smell, and she remembered where she was—and, more particularly, who she was with. Not that waking up with Luke Skywalker's potent presence was anything unusual nowadays. Still, when she remembered it was his bed she'd been sleeping in, she'd been uncomfortably reminded of just how close they were becoming, despite her best efforts. The scent of breakfast was too compelling to be ignored, however, and she shoved any disquieting thoughts aside in favor of getting some food.

She found Luke in the kitchen, humming to himself as he cooked breakfast. Oddly enough, he looked so content that the scene seemed completely normal. Few people, she realized as she joined him in the kitchen to pour them both some caf, ever saw Luke Skywalker like this—the domesticated bachelor, making breakfast in a white undershirt and sleep-pants, with tussled hair and humming a little tune to himself. She grinned to herself at the thought of him doing his own laundry. Then, before he could see it, she wiped the smile from her face and turned to him.

"Need any help?" she asked. He glanced up at her and smiled easily, looking more relaxed than he had in any of the holos she'd seen of him in the recent years. His blue eyes crinkled as he continued to smile.

"I think I've got it under control. Relax, it'll be ready in a few minutes," he told her. Mara nodded and headed for the overstuffed chair in the small living room. "Do you cook, Mara?"

"No, not really." She frowned slightly at the memory of her last attempt at whipping up a meal. The cooks at the Imperial Palace were probably still scrubbing scorch marks off of the ceiling.

"It's very relaxing," he said, moving around with practiced ease even in the borrowed suite. "At least, it is for me."

"Yeah…I ended up with kitchen fires. That wasn't so soothing," she replied without even thinking about it. It was amazing for her to be sharing these things with him. It wasn't her style to open up with personal little details, but his contentment and their close bond through the Force had loosened her tongue.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. He carried a plate to her and then took his own seat. She took a bite, groaned in appreciation, and nodded. "Who did you think my father was? When we first met, you seemed to have fleeting thoughts—I guess that's why I assumed you knew it was Vader."

She paused, picked at the food lightly. "I overheard Vader and the Emperor talking a couple times. They were talking about a man named Anakin Skywalker. On a few occasions, Vader would talk about Anakin's impatience leading to his destruction, and his hard-headedness. My master kept questioning about him, and Vader kept assuring the Emperor that he no longer existed. Maybe he was a brother or something." She shrugged. "It's really none of my business."

He smiled in between bites. "Anakin and Vader are one and the same. Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, but he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. I guess when Vader said that Anakin no longer existed, he meant that there was no good left in him."

Mara processed that information for a long moment. That was news to her, but it wasn't all that surprising. After all, Vader never said anything about Anakin being dead. She nodded after a while, unable to think of something to say, and Luke continued to eat, unperturbed by her silence.

"Well, Mara, I think it's time to decide what we're going to do. You've got orders to take me to Coruscant and kill me," he reminded her, and she furrowed her brow and ate in silence for a moment.

"Yes…my ship's here already, on one of the city's outermost landing bays."

He nodded and rose to clean off his empty plate. Mara watched him with intent emerald-green eyes, wondering just what she was going to do with him.

"Well…" He sighed. "I wish you'd join us, Mara. You'd be a great asset. Obviously, there isn't any convincing you," he added with a smile.

We'll see, she thought, but carefully kept that thought shielded from him. Then, he surprised her.

"Mara, I want you to take me to Coruscant, please."

She blinked at him in utter shock. "Excuse me? You want to be taken to the Imperial capitol?"

He laughed a little. "Exactly."

"You Jedi really are nuts."

-

Thrawn smiled at the being growing steadily in the spaarti chamber, a being with red-gold hair and pale skin. If one Mara Jade wouldn't kill Luke Skywalker, another would. An assassin as capable as Mara Jade was too much of an asset to be wasted. He turned to his task force and grinned.

"I want three Star Destroyers above Bespin as soon as you can assemble them. Launch an all out attack. I want Cloud City blown out of the sky."

"Won't the Rebels be able to retaliate, my lord?" one of the officers asked, and Thrawn smiled again.

"I'm counting on that. I want a display of power." His eyes assessed each member of the team in turn. "Leave Skywalker to me. But capture Leia Organa if you can. That should prove to be bait enough to bring Skywalker to me."

A beep from the datapad in his hand interrupted the rest of the battle orders, and he glanced at it in mild irritation. Then he lifted an eyebrow and glanced back up at the task force. "Belay that last order, for it seems that my Hand is bringing me a present. Launch your attack, but if they flee, do not pursue. I have plans for the Rebels." He ran his hand over the cool glass of the cloning device and smiled. "One they're guaranteed not to like much."

-

Luke followed Mara onto her ship after bidding goodbye to his sister and friends, whistling softly to himself and lugging his fair share of the supplies. For someone who was heading—albeit willingly—into the heart of enemy territory, he seemed awfully cheerful, but then he wasn't usually a depressed guy. That was the optimistic farmboy shining through again, the Luke that Mara felt the most comfortable with. She tried to tell herself to at least act like she was enjoying dragging him to his death, but the novelty of killing him had faded over the past week or two, and all her attempts fell flat. Still, if she wasn't convincing, Thrawn would kill them both, and that was something she couldn't afford. She turned to him as he started to familiarize himself with the ship's cockpit and controls.

"We've got a ways to go before we reach Coruscant, so get comfy. The ship isn't very big, so finding your way around shouldn't a problem." She glanced around and shrugged. "That's it, I guess."

"It's a nice ship," he said, taking a moment to glance around himself. "Well…"

They both shifted uncomfortably, realizing that their bond had again grown without their even noticing. It made him so much more human, so likable, that Mara was beginning to hope that he really would make it out. A galaxy without Luke Skywalker would be a very unpleasant place indeed.

Ah, damn, what am I doing? I shouldn't be thinking this way! What is it about those eyes of his that has me losing my mind?

So far, despite Mara's often-desperate attempts to find things to keep them from being on friendly terms with each other, all of her good intentions for him had gone down the drain. She no longer hated him, didn't really dislike him anymore, and had let him talk her into their being friends. It was, she decided dryly, a very weird situation. But Luke genuinely seemed to enjoy being around her, even though they were usually tossing biting remarks the other's way. He always seemed rather chipper in her presence, in fact.

"Hey, Mara…" he began, but abruptly shut his mouth and shook his head. "Nevermind…I don't even know what I wanted to say."

Mara searched his gaze for a moment, wondering what had caused the minor outburst. From the pained look in those crystal blue pools, there was something very specific he wanted to tell her, but couldn't. She couldn't tell if she was relieved by that or disappointed.

"Right. Well, your room's the second one on the right." She gestured down a hall, then turned back to her ship's controls and sat down in her seat. He nodded, bottled his unspoken thoughts up inside of him, and headed for his room.

There was a silence then, one that stretched for nearly a half an hour, before Luke tentatively called out, //Mara?//

She stiffened for a moment, warily reconstructing her barriers, and replied, //Yeah?//

//If things were different, would you join the Rebellion?//

//I dunno. Would you join the Empire?//

There was another pause as he thought about it, trying to be honest with himself and her. //I guess…// He thought about her flaming red-gold hair and brilliant emerald-green eyes, thought about the dreams that plagued him—dreams of the Emperor offering her to him as incentive to join the Dark Side. He thought about their bond and about their brand-new and still quite shaky friendship, and he bowed his head. //I guess that depends. I used to be able to say 'no' and not even think about it, but recent visions have revealed that maybe…if they had used a different method, I might have turned.//

//Really?// That came as a surprise. Mara had been almost positive that the answer would have been a flat-out "no." But this self-doubt, this weakness that he'd admitted to without revealing, was all together new and a bit shocking. //What would have made you say yes?//

She could feel his embarrassment then, and wondered at it as he struggled to word his answer. Again, she was surprised. Just what was so secret?

//Well, perhaps if…damn…//

//What? What is it?//

//Well, in my recent visions…I turn because the Emperor offered you…Gods, that sounds weird. I mean, not against your will or anything…you wanted to…oh, damn, I'm screwing this all up.//

His embarrassment was strong, and Mara felt her own cheeks flushing in response. If she were to be totally honest, had the Emperor wanted to give her to him, with her knowing him like she knew him now, she probably wouldn't have kicked up much of a fuss. As she dealt with the implications that brought with it, he tried to gauge her reaction without insulting or alarming her. Finally, in an effort to regain control of his emotions, Luke attempted to refocus the discussion on her.

//What about you? What would tempt you to turn?//

That was too personal to answer in seriousness, but she decided to make him squirm a little. Smiling mischievously, she replied, //Maybe…a Jedi Knight with whom to do whatever I wanted to do.//

Shock rippled through his sense, and she could practically see the flush that was undoubtedly creeping across his face. She laughed out loud, enjoying the ease with which she could bait him. She sobered a little, however, when some of his embarrassment drained away and left only sly reasoning behind.

//Well, if that's all it takes, Jade, consider me at your mercy.//

//Really?// She grinned wolfishly, thinking, it's about time I got a little payback… //So…would you strip-tease for me, Skywalker?//

There was a pause as he thought that over, amusement rippling from his sense as he recognized the reference, and he finally replied, //That depends on how nice you are to me.//

She was laughing when she broke contact with him in spite of her efforts not to. They were getting entirely too close for comfort—and it was fun. Thinking she'd finally lost her mind, she returned to her ship's controls.

-

The attack came early in the morning two days later, jolting Leia out of bed unpleasantly to say the least. She grappled for her comm as she struggled to dress. Explosions were rocking Cloud City at a regular interval, and shouted orders could be heard over the chaos.

"Han!" she yelled into the comm, grabbing her bag and heading out of her door at a run. It took a few seconds, but Han replied.

"Ship's being prepped now. Looks like a couple of Star Destroyers and some squadrons of TIE fighters. Get down here quick, Princess—you're missing all the fun."

She made a face as she ran through the maze of corridors and skyways to the landing pad that Han had put the Falcon down on when they'd arrived.

"I doubt that. Seems to be plenty of fun where I am," she replied dryly, watching as X and Y-wing pilots dashed for their fighters and transports hastily lifted off with as much cover as could be mustered. She could make out Wedge Antilles through all the smoke, shouting orders to his squadron and running through flight preliminaries on his own fighter. He punched the side of the cockpit in frustration, probably grumbling about the seconds he'd lose in flight time because of the X-wing's startup, then watched as he scrambled into it and was off half a second later.

"Leia!" Han was beckoning to her as she turned the corner. She redoubled her efforts and reached him just as the skyway behind her collapsed under the stress of an explosion.

"That's too close for my comfort! Get us out of here, Han!" she screamed over the noise, and he nodded.

"Get strapped in. Chewie, get this thing moving! I wanna be outta here yesterday!" he called over his shoulder as he yanked the princess inside and jabbed the ramp's retract button. The pair made their way to the cockpit at a steady run and Leia slipped into the seat behind Han's as Chewie's massive paws flew over the control panel.

"We're sure the hyperdrive works, right?" she asked, and Han threw her a half-amused, half-irritated look over his shoulder.

"It works, your highness-ness. You can check it yourself, if you like," he tossed back, and despite the desperation of the situation, Chewie let out a rumble of laughter as the Falcon lifted off. "Hold tight," he added.

There was no need to tell her twice. Leia gripped the arms of her seat as Han punched the thrust back and shot toward the outer atmosphere at a nearly vertical angle. A sheen of sweat made Han's forehead gleam as he worked the controls of the freighter-turned-fighter, and Chewie's fur rippled in agitation. It wasn't long before they were in the heat of battle. The sight of X-wings and TIE fighters in battle never ceased to take Leia's breath away, and neither did the sight of Imperial Star Destroyers. There were three of the impressive ships looming above the atmosphere. They hovered over the battle like the Grim Reaper's scythes, blasting away at Cloud City from orbit as the Rebels desperately made their getaway. More and more transports were jumping into hyperspace as the X andY-wings offered what cover they could. Laser fire rocked the ship as the shields absorbed the hits, but against a continuous barrage they would fail. X-wings darted across the cockpit's veiwport, lasers firing at their targets in rapid fire. TIEs continued to encourage the dog fighting, and the zealous X-and Y-wing pilots complied. Chewie was doing his part, zooming in and out of battle and corkscrewing through the sky, taking out TIEs left and right. After a few minutes of heated, intense battle, Han flicked his hand over the switch for the comm.

"Wedge, pull out!"

"General Solo--!"

"We're way too overpowered here, pull out. Three squadrons can't hold their own against three Star Destroyers and there squadrons of TIEs. Get out."

There was a pause, but as the last of the transports moved into position to make the jump, Wedge nodded.

"Yes, sir. All right, you heard the general. Pull out," Wedge replied, and Han shut off the comm again. Then Chewie pulled the hyperdrive lever and space turned into bright blue and white starlines. They had made it, if only barely.

"It's a good thing we were expecting to get out of there soon, anyway," Han muttered, relaxing back against his chair for a moment. He let out a long breath. "Even more of a good thing that we already had a rendezvous picked out."

Liea nodded wordlessly, forcing herself to settle down. "They must have had a inside source…or a bug or something."

Chewie rumbled something deep in his chest, and Han agreed with a nod. "Either way, it means we've got to be a lot more careful." There was a pause, and then he continued, "This was Thrawn's first openly aggressive move. He's obviously a capable commander."

"Yeah." She shot a sideways glance his way. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Amused, Han gave her a crooked half-smile. "Yeah, me too."

-

"Sir, the scouts from Myrkr are back."

Thrawn turned from a tactical display of the Rebel's forces at Bespin and nodded. "Have they brought what I asked for?"

"Five dozen ysalamiri with nutrient frames, yes sir," the lieutenant replied.

"Very good. Dismissed."

The attack at Bespin had proved to be a success. The Rebels were as unorganized as he'd suspected, perhaps more so. He paced back and forth, hands behind his back, and planned his next move. Minor strikes like the one he'd launched at Cloud City would force the Rebels to stay on the move as he built his army. They would be unorganized, lost and scattered, and eventually the divided would fall before the superior power of the Empire. Thrawn stopped pacing and glanced down at the spaarti cylinders, all operational. Smiling slightly, he flipped on a comm.

"Find the Rebels, strike again. This time take four Star Destroyers. Be sure that the Rebels have settled in before you attack. Keep them on the move."

Scouts were deployed moments later to track down the fleeing Rebels, and Thrawn returned to his chambers and a massive holo-museum of art as the ysalamiri were prepared for their eminent arrivals.

-

Luke was sleeping when Leia called to him, stretching out in her fledging Force abilities. Her mind was clouded with cooling adrenaline and lingering worry, and the sense of that familiar combination had Luke wide awake in seconds.

//Luke…//

//I'm here.//

And from a light brush of a third, curious presence, Mara Jade was also. She remained silent, shielding herself from Leia's presence, and observant.

//There was an attack on Cloud City.// Leia sounded tired.

//There was? When?//

//Just twenty minutes ago.//

Luke suppressed his shock, but Mara's sense near-screamed, typical. He opened his mouth to comment, and then he decided to ask her about it later.

//Is…is everyone all right?// he asked his sister instead.

//A couple of casualties…pilots. But everyone else is fine.// She paused, and the worry in her sense increased.

//What's wrong?// he asked, and felt Mara reach out for him to strengthen the contact.

//There hasn't been any signs of pursuit. That worries me. I'm completely blank on this guy. His tactics are a complete mystery.//

//Hold tight, Leia. We'll get through this.//

He could feel her sense lighten a bit, and sent her reassurance.

//Yeah, you too. Careful out there, Luke.//

//I will be, I promise,// he assured her, and Leia broke contact. Then he focused on Mara. //You know this guy. How bad is it?//

//From the rumors I've heard…pretty bad. It's going to be a tough fight, and I can't tell you what to expect on Coruscant.//

//I figured as much. Well…I guess we'll just have to wing it.//

//Probably.//

Luke laughed a little. //Ah well, at least winging it isn't anything new.//

He felt her brief flash of amusement. //I'll bet.//

She broke contact and settled back down in her seat, wondering just what was going to happen on Coruscant.

-

Thrawn descended from his mountain the next morning, armed with a few guards, a light blaster, and a ysalamiri strapped to his back. He mentioned someone of great importance to their cause, but didn't elaborate and refused a large guard. By mid-morning, he was standing in the small courtyard of a small town near the base of the mountain. Natives dashed to hide in their homes as Thrawn regarded the area and headed straight toward one particular building. Instructing the guards to wait outside and to be on their guard, he walked into the squat building.

A few minutes later, after a short but heated argument, he reappeared with an old man at his side. An old man who was gazing at the ysalamiri like it was contaminated with a horrible disease.

"When do I get my Jedi, Thrawn?" he was asking, refocusing his attention on Thrawn as they walked back toward the guards. Thrawn smiled as soothingly as he could manage and replied, "As soon as they are ready. We must make a trip to Coruscant now, but we will return."

The old man mulled this over but didn't answer, and the group headed for the transport. Once, the Republic had an army of Jedi. Now, with the Rebellion armed with only one—and one that would be dead in the next few days—they were vulnerable and susceptible to what promised to be quite an unexpected attack.

As they entered the ship, a slim figure appeared in the doorway, and jewel-bright green eyes met flaming red ones. The figure bowed gracefully, and those flaming red eyes traveled up and down the length of her body in satisfaction.

"My lord," she murmured, her voice feminine and soft. Thrawn reached out and ran blue fingers through red-gold hair. "We are ready."

He smiled thinly and nodded. "Thank you, Maara. Wait for me in my quarters while I get our guest settled in," he replied, and led the old man down the hall to a room of his own. After seeing the man into his room and making sure he was comfortable, Thrawn returned to Maara Jade, his clone.

He'd been entranced by the Emperor's Hand since the night he'd been promoted. Undoubtedly she thought he hadn't noticed her presence in the room, but he'd been rather acutely aware of her in fact. It was her cold stature and red hair that drew him to her, and he'd finally thought of a way to have her. The fact that she would be taking care of a few annoyances made the situation all the sweeter.

"Maara," he called as he entered, and saw her standing near a viewport. She turned at the sound of his voice and bowed again, and he reached for her. Willingly she approached him, and he guided her to a seat. After they'd strapped in, he tapped a button on his comm and the ship started its liftoff. Then he turned to her. "My guests will be arriving on Coruscant just after we do. You are aware of your duties?"

Maara nodded silently, her eyes locked onto his.

"I am to kill them both."

He smiled and stroked her hair. "Good."

"Master, how long will it take us to reach Coruscant?" she asked as the ship's simulated gravity kicked in and they could stand once more.

"A few days."

She nodded, and he watched the way the light made her hair seem like flames. She started to look around the room, but he caught her chin and brought her face back to his. So beautiful, he thought, like a glacier or a maiden caught in ice. For a moment, he let his gaze roam over her face while his other hand grasped her waist. In one swift, graceful moment, he pulled her into him and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. She resisted, her entire body stiffening at the contact, and then, because he was her master and she would do anything for him, she relaxed and returned the kiss.

He was smiling as he drew back. Yes, Skywalker could have Mara Jade for the few more days they were alive. He would have his own Maara Jade to enjoy for a lot longer.

Still smiling, he tilted her chin up for another kiss.

-

Mara woke from a rather horrifying dream about Thrawn. Her heart throbbed in her chest, and for some odd reason or another, she felt completely disgusted with herself. When the feeling hadn't dissipated a half an hour later despite all her attempts to rid herself of it, she decided there was only one option left. She'd wanted to do it since she'd first shot awake anyway, even though she told herself firmly that she would never allow herself to soften that much. Now it seemed that she'd have to eat her own words, suck up her pride and…wing it.

She padded down the hall to Skywalker's room, where he was still sleeping like a baby, lost in a half-trance as he dreamed.

//Hey…Skywalker…//

His smoky blue eyes opened very slightly, clouded over with sleep and dreams, and then he closed them again. His tongue passed over his lips as he got used to consciousness once more. Apparently, he didn't trust his physical voice to answer out loud, and replied through their bond instead.

//Everything all right, Mara?// he asked, sending her soothing and reassuring feelings as he opened his eyes once more and gradually levered his upper body off of the bed, supporting himself with his elbows. He was wearing a gray shirt that made his eyes seem deeper and stormier than they'd ever been before. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she also opted to reply mentally.

//I had a…disturbing dream.//

//A dream?// More awake now, he turned his gaze to her. Wordlessly, he lifted the covers and motioned for her to join him. She paused for a long moment, then shrugged and slipped into the bed next to him. He drew her closer to his side, so that there were mere centimeters of room between them, and settled back down. After a moment, she followed his lead and did the same.

//Yeah. Something about Thrawn and me. I think he was kissing me.// She shuddered at the unpleasant memory and turned to face him. "It was…disgusting. I…couldn't get over it after I woke up."

"Sounds like a vision," he muttered, and answering shudder running through him.

"Oh gods…" She covered her face in her hands and shivered. He reached over with a warm, work-callused hand and gently tilted her chin up. For one long moment, he searched her eyes with his own, looking for something there that perhaps he was only wishing for.

"Mara, if he ever touches you like that—if anyone touches you a way you don't want them to, I'll kill them," he told her, both the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice coolly firm. A third shudder ran through her at this, but unlike the others, this one wasn't because of disgust. This time, it was his steely resolve and the grim promise he'd made her that had her body reacting. Jedi didn't kill in cold blood, so he was promising her something he probably shouldn't. Her eyes met his and held the gaze, her own hands coming up to his, as something inside of her broke and their bond strengthened once more.

"Skywalker…" she started, but he touched a finger to her lips and smiled, an odd look in his swirling blue eyes.

"Luke," he corrected softly, and suddenly she wanted more than anything to kiss him right then and there. But even as she thought it, that very urge frightened her away and she dropped her hands and pulled back. No, she wasn't ready to call him by his first name yet. That would be too premature.

"I…you shouldn't promise things like that."

"It's not a promise," he told her, still smiling, and she let out a sigh of relief. That was cut short as his eyes hardened once more until it looked as if his irises were made up of tiny bits of blue steel.

"It's a vow."

Suddenly she knew that nothing between them would ever be the same again. He rose gracefully and tucked her into his bed, telling her softly that he was going to meditate, and sent her into a deep trance where no more nightmares or disturbing visions could reach her.

Author's Notes: I know the updates have slowed down a little, but bear with me. It's tough cuz I'm in school and my time on the computer is limited. I know this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, but that's because this seemed like an ideal place to end this part. Look for more in the near-future! Please continue to review, I love hearing from you!