Disclaimer: Most of the characters featured are the property of G. Lucas.
No copyright infringement intended. I am NOT making any money with this.
ONLY TO BE ARCHIVED AT FANFICTION.NET
Timeline: Post- Vision of the Future, replacing Union
To M. For feedback, excellent company, fellowship in SW-madness and fun around the clock ;=) (Especially behind the wheel - I sure would like to see you with an X-wing!)
SPOILER ALERT: Planet of Twilight, Showdown at Centrepoint, Specter of The Past, Vision of The Future, Vector Prime as well as some later New Jedi Orders. (And naturally the Thrawn trilogy, how can anyone possibly avoid that? ;=)
WARPED UNIVERSE ALERT: For the sake of storytelling, Isard's not dead at all. Condolenses to those who get stomach cramps from the woman. I know what you're going through. Just thank the stars of Alderaan I didn't bring Callista back.
Star Wars: The Rising By Heidi Ahlmen (siirma6@surfeu.fi)
Amarice walked silently out of Senator Gann's quarters. After a grueling day which had stretched itself to late night, she'd accompanied the Senator in her duties like a lachey - meetings, negotiations and endless hours of seemingly useless political chatter in corridors. Amarice had felt like a house plant with feet, utterly useless, but it was obvious that the Senator had wanted her around.
She'd been asking her questions all day - about everything from history of the Order to her opinions on bacta trade, as if just to find out whether the Jedi where a news-wise ignorant lot or not. Amarice had answered to the best of her abilities, but with the inkling feeling that she was being played on. No wonder Master Skywalker had stepped to the side in the matter. If Amarice had been a Senator witha negative opinion on the Jedi, she'd have dealt with the matter seriously. Now as she'd been treated like a a friendly escort, so had the rest of the Order been - like a bunch of mindless idealists bowing to the politicians.
She was more than surprised to find Organa Solo's droid waiting for her in the lobby.
"Threepio, was it? You shouldn't have waited," Amarice told the droid, her heart softening.
"I was more than glad to, Master Rieekan. I was given strict orders to see that you found where you were expected, and to offer my assistance during your duties if required."
Amarice didn't quite know what to say. "Thank you, Threepio, but I won't be needing more help now. I know my way now."
"Would this mean that your duties to Senator Gann have now expired?" the droid enquired politely.
"No, not by a long chance. Looks like I'm going to be following her like a Dathomir ghost until she can make up her mind. And it sure doesn't look like she's even trying. It's like she's forgotten about it already. Thank the Republic the Senate doesn't return to work until the thirty-fourth."
Coruscant's month had fifty days. One full circle on its orbit around the double Ayren stars of the Koornacht cluster took seventeen standard months. There were no seasons, and the urban, exhaust-fumed atmosphere would've hindered them into sinsignificance anyway. The air inside inhabited buildings was filtered, but the lowlife of the city - and there was plenty as far as Amarice knew - never seemed to be bothered by the thick and stale air.
Amarice became embarrassed as she noticed herself complaining, but Threepio soon helped dissolve that feeling. There was something to the droid that was very confidence-inspiring. "I do hope this will not consume too much of your time. I can imagine - " The droid mused, emphasizing the word 'imagine' in such a humane way Amarice had to stiffen a laugh - "what a distraction this all should be to a Jedi Knight."
They begun making their way towards the entrance hall.
"Oh, I'm not a full Knight yet. I should be, I guess. But Master Skywalker disagrees."
"It is in my experience that Master Luke often does things that inspire much doubt even in his fellow humans, but I have seen his decisions often ferment the desired outcome."
"If only I knew what the outcome was." Amarice was slightly biased by the droid's use of Master Skywalker's first name. It was always strange to get a glimpse into the private life of the man Amarice had only known as a teacher of the highest authority and binding point of her life, connection to the Force.
She knew Master Skywalker's whole family were Jedi - which was no wonder considering his relation to Darth Vader. Amarice had grown up with her father's stories of great battles, stories where Lord Vader always played the part of the greatest evil of all. She could not imagine what it was like to live with such a revelation that Master Skywalker had had when he'd found out who his father was. The shock must've been worse to him than his sister who had not yet embraced the Light Side Jedi Doctrine into similar extent and thus would not see the dualism of father and child as dramatically as Luke, who feared his father, but whose greatest fear had been the Dark Side.
Master Skywalker had told of this to his students as a lesson of the power of the Dark Side. It was uncertain to Amarice whether either side was more powerful than the other - all she knew was that the Dark Side was easier to dabble with and more difficult to recognize. It hid itself in emotions not far from any thinking being's mind: anger, hatred, jealousy, vengeance, hunger for power.
Master Skywalker had also told them of his own struggle with keeping on the right side, in terms that were rather abstract. Rumours flew, of course - as in any kind of school, the student's favorite pastime was to banter over their teacher's private lives, matters of love in particular. And Jaina and Jacen Solo rarely kept their mouths shut.
Morning dawned as quickly as it always did on the governmental sector of Coruscant. Located almost on the Equator of the urban planet, it consisted of wide avenues, palaces from the Imperial era and Old Republic, the Emperor's Palace being the largest of them all. Still in its former glory, it now consisted mainly of administrative premises. The Council of the Republic held its meetings mostly in the adequate-sized former Throne Room. But there were also many military institutions housed in the building, along with a sizable amount of living quarters. Despite the fact that the Intergalactic Senate did not sit within its walls, in the minds of the denizens of the numerous system under its governance, the Imperial Palace indeed was the heart of soul of the Republic.
And in its left wing, third window from the left in the fifth floor, as his chrono slowly ticked towards noon, Han Solo stirred. Head pounding - a banally usual after-effect of a Horn-thrown party - he left the warm comfort of his bed to find his wife.
Leia was in the kitchen, datacards spread over the dinner table, an almost tortured look on her face.
Han, still feeling rather disoriented, frowned at the bustling sounds coming from the corridors. Leia noticed him.
"Nothing!" she exclaimed. "It's like she was never even born."
"Who?" Han asked, absolutely oblivious of what she was talking about, but it sure sounded like trouble to him.
Leia stared at him. "And where've you been? Outer Rim?" As if it wasn't enough that he had to handle this all. Leia knew Han was not to blame, but nevertheless the thought of having to explain this to someone who might not fully appreciate its political value was distressing.
She calmed herself down. Lack of sleep and a high level of annoyance and worry were taking their toll on her. Han usually understood these things as well as anyone.
"Sit down." Leia said calmly, poured him a glass of tea and piled away some of the datacards so that she could at least see Han from across the table.
"When you decided to disappear with Chewie Karrde paid Luke a visit. And so did Fey'lya - to me. They had basically the same thing to say. Something's come up about Mara that's bound to cause a stir. Luke's probably pacing a hole in his floor, trying to think how we're going to handle this."
Han put his cup away. "What is it then?" Leia tended to pad everything with a long prelude. She needed to be pushed a bit as usual. He'd rarely seen her so worked up before.
Suddenly Leia nearly blushed, and Han cursed for his lack of Jedi abilities for he couldn't tell whether it was because of anger or embarrassment. "Someone's claiming Mara had more to do with the Emperor than what she's been telling everyone. Karrde had gotten hold of a file sent from Bastion - of all places - to Fey'lya - of all people, which basically had one thing to say - that Mara was his daughter. Nothing more, nothing less."
Han poured the remains of his drink down the drainage and picked up one of the datacards. So Leia'd been reading Mara's NRI files. "So someone's trying to bluff."
Leia was startled by his reasonable and determined reply. She herself hadn't been that adamant in her opinion. "Most likely."
Han eyed him suspiciously. "Likely? You don't believe it's a hoax?"
Leia gave up and mouthed up finally what had ben bothering her so long. "I just can't keep this conversation I once had with Mara out of my head. It was when she first came here with Ghent, after Myrkr."
"When she told you she wanted to kill Luke?" Han had heard this before. Leia had been pretty rattled after the incident and it had showed.
"Wanted - would, that's what she said. I know, I know, when I see her now it's not the same person, it's just Mara. It's like there were once two of them and the better one has come out of hiding only recently. She's changed and I know her now, but if even I sometimes think about these things, then everyone else will be prone to do so also."
Leia was aware she was babbling, that this was just a detour of explaining what made her feel so furious, so helpless. After all, the bottom line in this struggle was that she loved both Luke and Mara to bits, and if she hadn't let Mara's past bother her much before, she wouldn't start now. After all, her own father hadn't exactly been a role model.
"When you've spent your whole life fighting for the empire, the desire to keep every little shard of it out of your life will never go away," Han finished her sentence. Leia had told him that the conversation in question had made her realize that none of them were ever going to be safe - that before that the thought of Luke being in actual danger had never really crossed her mind. They were a family, all in a bubble that would never burst. Han said no more. He walked from one end of the table to the another, and surrounded Leia in a hug.
"I don't hate anyone in particular, I just hate the empire. I hate talking about it, hate solving this kind of problems. It's different with a military conflict - it's more clear-cut. But things like that can stay in minds forever." Leia stiffened a tear.
"It's just so unfair. After all Luke's done, after all that Mara's been through they should bother with this. Noone ever complained about us," Leia smiled through her wet eyes.
"Hey -" Han replied in mock offense, "What's to complain in a smuggler who did the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs?"
Then a thought occurred to him. An obvious one. "Well what does Mara say then?"
Leia pulled off from his arms. "Good question. She left after Karrde had told Luke. Karrde had tried to get here before the files got to Fey'lya but he was too quick as usual. Mara found out about the same time as Luke."
"At the party? Han asked, already knowing the answer. It was so like the Bothan to come gatecrashing. He silently cursed himself for being in the wrong place the previous evening. "Where'd she go them?"
"An even better question."
Han was surprised by her lack of information. "Luke's looking for her, right?"
Leia grimaced. "I told him to stay here. We need him in the Senate when this gets out."
Han didn't like this at all. He'd seen his brother-in-law Maraless on many occasions, and it usually drove everyone nearby into near insanity. But Leia did have a point. A realization dawned on him. "You want me to go? Mara wouldn't like it one bit, though."
"I don't know. Just keep an eye on Luke, will you?"
Han nodded, got dressed and went out in search of his brother-in law.
************************************************'
Thank you for reading. Reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated - they're the fuel that feeds this creative furnace.
Heidi Ahlmen siirma6@surfeu.fi
ONLY TO BE ARCHIVED AT FANFICTION.NET
Timeline: Post- Vision of the Future, replacing Union
To M. For feedback, excellent company, fellowship in SW-madness and fun around the clock ;=) (Especially behind the wheel - I sure would like to see you with an X-wing!)
SPOILER ALERT: Planet of Twilight, Showdown at Centrepoint, Specter of The Past, Vision of The Future, Vector Prime as well as some later New Jedi Orders. (And naturally the Thrawn trilogy, how can anyone possibly avoid that? ;=)
WARPED UNIVERSE ALERT: For the sake of storytelling, Isard's not dead at all. Condolenses to those who get stomach cramps from the woman. I know what you're going through. Just thank the stars of Alderaan I didn't bring Callista back.
Star Wars: The Rising By Heidi Ahlmen (siirma6@surfeu.fi)
Amarice walked silently out of Senator Gann's quarters. After a grueling day which had stretched itself to late night, she'd accompanied the Senator in her duties like a lachey - meetings, negotiations and endless hours of seemingly useless political chatter in corridors. Amarice had felt like a house plant with feet, utterly useless, but it was obvious that the Senator had wanted her around.
She'd been asking her questions all day - about everything from history of the Order to her opinions on bacta trade, as if just to find out whether the Jedi where a news-wise ignorant lot or not. Amarice had answered to the best of her abilities, but with the inkling feeling that she was being played on. No wonder Master Skywalker had stepped to the side in the matter. If Amarice had been a Senator witha negative opinion on the Jedi, she'd have dealt with the matter seriously. Now as she'd been treated like a a friendly escort, so had the rest of the Order been - like a bunch of mindless idealists bowing to the politicians.
She was more than surprised to find Organa Solo's droid waiting for her in the lobby.
"Threepio, was it? You shouldn't have waited," Amarice told the droid, her heart softening.
"I was more than glad to, Master Rieekan. I was given strict orders to see that you found where you were expected, and to offer my assistance during your duties if required."
Amarice didn't quite know what to say. "Thank you, Threepio, but I won't be needing more help now. I know my way now."
"Would this mean that your duties to Senator Gann have now expired?" the droid enquired politely.
"No, not by a long chance. Looks like I'm going to be following her like a Dathomir ghost until she can make up her mind. And it sure doesn't look like she's even trying. It's like she's forgotten about it already. Thank the Republic the Senate doesn't return to work until the thirty-fourth."
Coruscant's month had fifty days. One full circle on its orbit around the double Ayren stars of the Koornacht cluster took seventeen standard months. There were no seasons, and the urban, exhaust-fumed atmosphere would've hindered them into sinsignificance anyway. The air inside inhabited buildings was filtered, but the lowlife of the city - and there was plenty as far as Amarice knew - never seemed to be bothered by the thick and stale air.
Amarice became embarrassed as she noticed herself complaining, but Threepio soon helped dissolve that feeling. There was something to the droid that was very confidence-inspiring. "I do hope this will not consume too much of your time. I can imagine - " The droid mused, emphasizing the word 'imagine' in such a humane way Amarice had to stiffen a laugh - "what a distraction this all should be to a Jedi Knight."
They begun making their way towards the entrance hall.
"Oh, I'm not a full Knight yet. I should be, I guess. But Master Skywalker disagrees."
"It is in my experience that Master Luke often does things that inspire much doubt even in his fellow humans, but I have seen his decisions often ferment the desired outcome."
"If only I knew what the outcome was." Amarice was slightly biased by the droid's use of Master Skywalker's first name. It was always strange to get a glimpse into the private life of the man Amarice had only known as a teacher of the highest authority and binding point of her life, connection to the Force.
She knew Master Skywalker's whole family were Jedi - which was no wonder considering his relation to Darth Vader. Amarice had grown up with her father's stories of great battles, stories where Lord Vader always played the part of the greatest evil of all. She could not imagine what it was like to live with such a revelation that Master Skywalker had had when he'd found out who his father was. The shock must've been worse to him than his sister who had not yet embraced the Light Side Jedi Doctrine into similar extent and thus would not see the dualism of father and child as dramatically as Luke, who feared his father, but whose greatest fear had been the Dark Side.
Master Skywalker had told of this to his students as a lesson of the power of the Dark Side. It was uncertain to Amarice whether either side was more powerful than the other - all she knew was that the Dark Side was easier to dabble with and more difficult to recognize. It hid itself in emotions not far from any thinking being's mind: anger, hatred, jealousy, vengeance, hunger for power.
Master Skywalker had also told them of his own struggle with keeping on the right side, in terms that were rather abstract. Rumours flew, of course - as in any kind of school, the student's favorite pastime was to banter over their teacher's private lives, matters of love in particular. And Jaina and Jacen Solo rarely kept their mouths shut.
Morning dawned as quickly as it always did on the governmental sector of Coruscant. Located almost on the Equator of the urban planet, it consisted of wide avenues, palaces from the Imperial era and Old Republic, the Emperor's Palace being the largest of them all. Still in its former glory, it now consisted mainly of administrative premises. The Council of the Republic held its meetings mostly in the adequate-sized former Throne Room. But there were also many military institutions housed in the building, along with a sizable amount of living quarters. Despite the fact that the Intergalactic Senate did not sit within its walls, in the minds of the denizens of the numerous system under its governance, the Imperial Palace indeed was the heart of soul of the Republic.
And in its left wing, third window from the left in the fifth floor, as his chrono slowly ticked towards noon, Han Solo stirred. Head pounding - a banally usual after-effect of a Horn-thrown party - he left the warm comfort of his bed to find his wife.
Leia was in the kitchen, datacards spread over the dinner table, an almost tortured look on her face.
Han, still feeling rather disoriented, frowned at the bustling sounds coming from the corridors. Leia noticed him.
"Nothing!" she exclaimed. "It's like she was never even born."
"Who?" Han asked, absolutely oblivious of what she was talking about, but it sure sounded like trouble to him.
Leia stared at him. "And where've you been? Outer Rim?" As if it wasn't enough that he had to handle this all. Leia knew Han was not to blame, but nevertheless the thought of having to explain this to someone who might not fully appreciate its political value was distressing.
She calmed herself down. Lack of sleep and a high level of annoyance and worry were taking their toll on her. Han usually understood these things as well as anyone.
"Sit down." Leia said calmly, poured him a glass of tea and piled away some of the datacards so that she could at least see Han from across the table.
"When you decided to disappear with Chewie Karrde paid Luke a visit. And so did Fey'lya - to me. They had basically the same thing to say. Something's come up about Mara that's bound to cause a stir. Luke's probably pacing a hole in his floor, trying to think how we're going to handle this."
Han put his cup away. "What is it then?" Leia tended to pad everything with a long prelude. She needed to be pushed a bit as usual. He'd rarely seen her so worked up before.
Suddenly Leia nearly blushed, and Han cursed for his lack of Jedi abilities for he couldn't tell whether it was because of anger or embarrassment. "Someone's claiming Mara had more to do with the Emperor than what she's been telling everyone. Karrde had gotten hold of a file sent from Bastion - of all places - to Fey'lya - of all people, which basically had one thing to say - that Mara was his daughter. Nothing more, nothing less."
Han poured the remains of his drink down the drainage and picked up one of the datacards. So Leia'd been reading Mara's NRI files. "So someone's trying to bluff."
Leia was startled by his reasonable and determined reply. She herself hadn't been that adamant in her opinion. "Most likely."
Han eyed him suspiciously. "Likely? You don't believe it's a hoax?"
Leia gave up and mouthed up finally what had ben bothering her so long. "I just can't keep this conversation I once had with Mara out of my head. It was when she first came here with Ghent, after Myrkr."
"When she told you she wanted to kill Luke?" Han had heard this before. Leia had been pretty rattled after the incident and it had showed.
"Wanted - would, that's what she said. I know, I know, when I see her now it's not the same person, it's just Mara. It's like there were once two of them and the better one has come out of hiding only recently. She's changed and I know her now, but if even I sometimes think about these things, then everyone else will be prone to do so also."
Leia was aware she was babbling, that this was just a detour of explaining what made her feel so furious, so helpless. After all, the bottom line in this struggle was that she loved both Luke and Mara to bits, and if she hadn't let Mara's past bother her much before, she wouldn't start now. After all, her own father hadn't exactly been a role model.
"When you've spent your whole life fighting for the empire, the desire to keep every little shard of it out of your life will never go away," Han finished her sentence. Leia had told him that the conversation in question had made her realize that none of them were ever going to be safe - that before that the thought of Luke being in actual danger had never really crossed her mind. They were a family, all in a bubble that would never burst. Han said no more. He walked from one end of the table to the another, and surrounded Leia in a hug.
"I don't hate anyone in particular, I just hate the empire. I hate talking about it, hate solving this kind of problems. It's different with a military conflict - it's more clear-cut. But things like that can stay in minds forever." Leia stiffened a tear.
"It's just so unfair. After all Luke's done, after all that Mara's been through they should bother with this. Noone ever complained about us," Leia smiled through her wet eyes.
"Hey -" Han replied in mock offense, "What's to complain in a smuggler who did the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs?"
Then a thought occurred to him. An obvious one. "Well what does Mara say then?"
Leia pulled off from his arms. "Good question. She left after Karrde had told Luke. Karrde had tried to get here before the files got to Fey'lya but he was too quick as usual. Mara found out about the same time as Luke."
"At the party? Han asked, already knowing the answer. It was so like the Bothan to come gatecrashing. He silently cursed himself for being in the wrong place the previous evening. "Where'd she go them?"
"An even better question."
Han was surprised by her lack of information. "Luke's looking for her, right?"
Leia grimaced. "I told him to stay here. We need him in the Senate when this gets out."
Han didn't like this at all. He'd seen his brother-in-law Maraless on many occasions, and it usually drove everyone nearby into near insanity. But Leia did have a point. A realization dawned on him. "You want me to go? Mara wouldn't like it one bit, though."
"I don't know. Just keep an eye on Luke, will you?"
Han nodded, got dressed and went out in search of his brother-in law.
************************************************'
Thank you for reading. Reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated - they're the fuel that feeds this creative furnace.
Heidi Ahlmen siirma6@surfeu.fi