By Skywalker's
Dream
September 2000
Revised January 2002
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, nor do I want to. I'm not sure I could handle fans as messed up as me. None of the characters belong to me either, not even the tiny bugs in the forest so please don't yell at me if they don't know how to behave. I am just a tool with the sole purpose of cranking out useless drivel to entertain myself and hopefully a few others in this day of Luke and Mara starvation.
Summary: Luke discovers a person forgotten from his childhood. However, when his past meets his present strange things develop. How Luke deals with it could directly affect the course of his future.
Setting: This story takes place sometime in the Star Wars universe. Where exactly I don't know, but definitely after Darksaber and before the events in The Hand of Thrawn Doulogy. I tend not to follow a strict timeline so you do the math.
Thanks to my wonderful beta Sherry!!!! For putting up with me through this one. You are the best!
Chapter 12
Luke Skywalker lay lost in his turbulent emotions. Unwilling and unable to think about anything else, he willed himself to melt into the cot he rested on. Nothing he did relieved the anguish flooding him. All he could do was curl up tighter, and bury his face against the stonewall. He did nothing to control the shivering the wracked his body as his mind twisted events before his eyes. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying in vain to stop the memories from continuing. This isn't happening, he thought desperately. He choked back a sob pulling his arms more securely around him. I can't believe she would do this to me, he sobbed. I never thought she could have been the one behind this. He could still see her face at the exact moment she saw them.
They had been searching the west side of the main building when he was suddenly cut off from the Force. It was unnerving enough to cause him to pause to try and get his bearings. In the couple seconds that it took they found themselves surrounded. Upon Han's suggestion they ran. Covering enough distance, before they were once again forced to stop, to get clear of the yasimarri (I'll look up that word later) bubble. Luke touched the Force long enough to feel that there was something very wrong. It was bigger then the fact that they were surrounded. It was then too that he sent out the first message to the others, he wanted them as far away as they could get.
The men surrounding them advanced forward slowly. While one man moved in front of the pack, Han drew his blaster. Taking Han's action as a cue Luke unclipped his lightsaber.
"You!" Han yelled moving closer. Luke looked questionably to his brother in law. It was obvious that Han had seen the man before, but Luke had no idea who he was. "He's Reiia Langman, the owner of this place," Han informed him. "Lando and I met him the last time we were here. We should be able to get our answers from him."
"Look I don't know anything," the man told them. "I'm just following orders."
"Who are you working for?" Luke asked, pausing to cough. He started to speak again when he was forced to cough once again. He realized he could not breath, like the air in the room was running out. He stumbled, his back hitting the wall, causing pain to shoot throughout his spine. He closed his eyes and shook his head trying to clear it. He pushed his fear aside, knowing that if he panicked he would not be able to fight. He could hear Han calling out his name, asking him if he was all right. However, he could do nothing to communicate with him. It took all his strength and concentration to keep moving air into his lungs.
He felt Mara reach out to him and latched on to her presence. He was asking her for help when he felt Leia join the connection. His hands started to quiver and made another plea to those outside. He waited long enough to feel the others make the decision to leave before letting his body succumb to the blackness being pressed upon him.
----
Luke woke with a start. Sitting up immediately and looking around he tried to place where he was. He found himself sitting on a cold floor. The walls and ceiling were formed from some sort of rough gray stone and Luke guessed from the soreness in his back that the floor was made from the same.
"Well that was fast." Luke spun around expecting to see his captor. He realized he was wrong when he found the person sitting on one of the two cots in the room.
"Han," he said, sounding as relieves as he felt. Then he wondered what had happened to land them both in there. He closed his eyes and forced the memories of before he blacked out to return.
"What happened?" he asked, shaking his head.
"I was hoping you would have been able to answer that question. Just as they surrounded us, you started acting funny, and then you blacked out."
"How long was I out?" Luke asked.
"Only a few minutes, they dumped up in here and left. Then you woke up."
"I couldn't breath," Luke explained. "It was like there was no air left in the room."
"That's strange," Han said. "What ever it was, it only seemed to affect you. Any idea what it was?"
"No, not really." With a loud clank as the lock was released the single door in the small room creaked open.
"Luke," said the female voice. "You never cease to disappoint me on how fast you can forget about me." Luke spun back around to face the figure that had entered the room. Her hood and cloak hid every detail, but that voice was female, and very familiar.
"It's good to see you again, Luke," came the sickly sweet voice again. He was trying to place the voice when she dropped the hood.
"Is it?" Luke asked, feeling his defenses go up. The shock that radiated from him could still be felt whenever he thought of that day. Never in all his life had thought it possible.
"Of course," she cooed, smiling at him.
"It's been a while," he probed, wondering if she would confirm what he was already thinking. She laughed slightly and walked closer to him.
"For you, I guess it would seem that way." It was what he was looking for, an implied clue that she had in fact been around during the previous abduction. "Well Luke, tell me, did you miss me?"
"For a while."
"But not anymore?" she asked, her lip jutting out in a pout.
"Not anymore. Why are you doing this?" he asked, his heart breaking at seeing the face from his past.
"Do you really need to ask?" She questioned, running her finger across his cheek. He jerked his head away, unable to bear even that amount of contact from her.
"I guess I do," he shot at her. He had felt defiant, confident that there was nothing this woman could do to him. Nothing he could not handle. He did not realize then how wrong he had been. He did not budge, wanting to see just how much she had changed. He didn't have to wait long. As he watched her eyes harden, then change he focus from him to Han, he began to feel the same tingling he had felt in the hall. Looking around it was obvious he was the only one affected, both of the other occupants stood calmly, glaring at each other. It felt like the area around him had been sealed off and was quickly becoming a vacuum.
"How?" he choked out. "Why?" His questions brought her attention back to him and he was suddenly able to breath again. He strove to get enough air back into his system.
"Why?" she repeated. "The answer should be obvious, even to you." She stalked up behind him and pushed him out of the room.
In reality Luke shifted on his cot, burring his face in his pillow. However nothing he did, nothing he tried stopped the flow of memories this time. He was at the mercy of his tortured mind, and he knew by now that all he could do was ride it out.
He had been asleep a few days later, back in the cell he shared most of the time with Han, exhausted from his sessions with his captor. He woke to the feeling of someone's breath on his cheek. Looking up, he already knew who he would find. He was not disappointed.
"Did you consider me idea?" the woman whispered. He shifted position once again so he was looking at that once again familiar face.
"I have," he said evenly.
\
"And your decision?"
"Very simple. I made the mistake of getting close to you once. Be it that I was young, naive, lonely, maybe even desperate, but not anymore. I've come to my senses and will never make that mistake again."
"We will see how long you can deny you feelings for me Luke," she hissed. "You seem to forget that I shared your bed. I know what you like, what you crave. I know it, and I can give that to you again. All you have to do is say yes."
Luke paused trying to look like he was pondering her offer. He locked his gaze with her, slowly sitting up.
"You are invading my space," he said, his face mere inched from hers. She smiled and moved back.
"You have my word that I will invade more then your space if I have to." She turned on her heal and left the room, the door locking behind her.
----
It was days after that before they saw her again. Han and Luke were never permitted to leave the room during that time. The only thing to break the monotony was when their food was delivered. Luke dared to hope that maybe they had been forgotten, but that hope was squashed when their captor once again appeared at their door.
"Did you think I left, Luke?" she asked, watching him closely.
"Only every day," Luke told her then. "Maybe one day you will leave and I will not be sitting here waiting for you when you decided to come by again."
"Do you really think it would be that easy?" she challenged him.
"Nothing is ever that easy," Luke retorted. "But I have been known to accomplish the impossible. I think I would be able to get away. I did it once, I could do it again."
"Let's get this straight," she said getting right up in his face. "The only reason you escaped was because of the incompetent people I kept around this place. You can believe me when I say that it will not happen again."
And Luke had discovered that she was correct. He was never able to escape, and he had been able to do when he tried was get himself injured or else he was knocked unconscious.
----
The events that followed caused Luke to regret those words. He would return to the cell each time more upset then the last. Shrugging off Han's attempts to console him. Wishing more and more to fall asleep and never wake up. It had crossed his mind more then once that they may not be able to escape. Well more like he would never escape. He started thinking that if he did what she wanted, if he gave into her demands he would be able to get his brother in law out. So that he could return at least that much to his family. It upset him to think that he had unknowingly been the cause of two of the closest people in his life getting into danger.
The information he learned shook him to the bone. It was information that he would not want passed on if we was not to leave this place. He just hoped that they all would forgive him for what he had done. What have I done? He asked himself. He had been living his life the best he could. And it always seemed like actions hurt other people. Maybe this time more then anything. He had not only messed up his life this time, but that of his friends, a mistake that could never be undone. He wallowed in his misery, wondering how things could have gone so wrong. How he had let anyone manipulate his life they way she had. It was all so unfair, and all he wanted was it to be over.
He could not help the sobs that wracked his body, and was so wrapped up in his memories the light touch to his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his skin. He turned expecting the worse, and sighed with relief when he caught sight of Han's concerned face.
"Wake up kid. It's just another nightmare." Luke could only look at him, too emotional to trust himself to speak. He closed his eyes tight trying to pull back the feelings. "Luke, let it out. Locking everything up will not help you."
"Nothing will help me," he told his friend. And it was the truth. Nothing he could do now would change anything that happened. There was nothing anyone could do to rectify the situation.
"Luke this is not your fault. You have done nothing wrong." Han's hand rested on Luke's shoulder, placed there to try and offer comfort, but that was the last thing Luke wanted. He jerked away, dislodging the offending hand. "Kid, you are worrying me. You have never been this bad before. What happened last night?" Luke rolled over, wishing Han would get the hint and back off. "Please talk to me Luke. Tell me what's going on out there. I am trapped in here all day, no one tells me anything. How can I help you if I don't know what's going on?"
Luke ran his hands through his hair and pulled, trying to relive some of the frustration. Han deserved some answers Luke just did not know what it was he should tell him.
"She wants me to sleep with her," Luke blurted out. That was just the tip of the problem, but it was enough of a start.
"Well there are worse things," Han said, with a smile.
"Han," Luke pleaded.
"Luke," Han said, looking around the room before returning his gaze to his friend. "If that's what she wants, will she let us go afterwards?"
"It's not that easy," Luke explained. He tossed everything around, trying to figure out what it was he wanted to tell him. "She's evil."
"Evil?" Han asked. He seemed to choke on the word, and Luke knew that it was probably the last thing he wanted to hear at that point.
"As in the dark said. I can't give in to her. I just can't do it, I wont. I want to hate her, but I know that's what she wants. She wants me to choose to be with her, or choose the Dark Side. She would take both if I would offer it. I know what she is trying to do, I'm just not sure how much more I can take."
"What are you going to do?" Han asked, sounding as lost as Luke felt.
"I don't know," Luke admitted. "She's in my dreams now. I no longer have that privacy. I feel like I am losing my mind."
"I wish there was something I could do."
"So do I." Han sat next to him. The silence spread out so long Luke turned to get a better look as to what Han was doing. He was just sitting on the cot, staring off into nothing.
"Who were you saying sorry to Luke?" The question caught him off guard, but he found he had no idea what his friend was talking about. "Before I woke you up, you kept saying you were sorry. You kept pleading for someone to tell her your sorry. You never said who."
"It was a dream, Han. I don't remember." Though that was a lie. He knew who he wanted to say he was sorry to, but he would make the apology in person or not at all. If he was gone, or he did fail and he was turned, he did not want his friend to know what he knew now.
There was another sound in the room, one that was not constant but very familiar. It was the sound of the lock disengaging. And in walked the causes of their pain. She stopped just inside the door, smiling to them both as she toyed with the metal cuffs in her hands.
"You…" Han sneered. He started to lunge towards her, but Luke stopped him with a shake of his head.
"Oh, can it, Solo," she said walking up behind him and painfully slapping the cuffs on him. "He's fine," she said, smiling at Luke. "Aren't you? I always knew you would be a challenge. But I almost have you. A few more days, you'll see." She walked up behind Luke, securing his arms behind his back as well. She caressed his cheek, sighing when he pulled away. She moved to where she was standing in front of him. Gently she ran her hands across his chest.
"Do you remember, Luke, the last time I was able to do this?" the woman asked. Luke looked at her, disgust filling his heart.
"Sometimes," he bit out. "They seem like nightmares now."
"You were more than willing then," she continued as if she had not heard him. "Do you remember how I was able to make you feel?" He closed his eyes as the memories of their time together forced its way to the front of his mind. He groaned and set his jaw, trying to ride out this invasion as best he could. "I can make you feel that again," he heard the woman whisper. "More so if you would let me."
"It doesn't look like I have a choice," Luke said, frowning at the strained tone in his voice.
"Oh, but you do," she cooed. "It's very simple. The cuffs you have on, come off very easily, when I want them to. Off a Jedi Master that is," she said, glancing back at Han. "When you're ready to be mine, just take them off. It is that easy. Together we can get this government back together. Make it work where your sister has failed. Together we will be stronger then the Emperor."
"Great," Luke sighed. "Now you. The dark side does not suit you," Luke shot back.
"Ah, but I think it does." She continued to rub her hands across his chest then ventured down. No matter how much Luke wanted to deny it, there was no mistaking the effect she was having on him. He sighed and felt his face flush and knew he had to do something. It was different when she played these games out of the cell, but now he had to deal with the embarrassment of knowing Han was right there watching everything, on top of fighting off her advances. Luke did the only thing he could do.
"There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force." The Jedi Code was the best defense he could come up with. A method he had developed during the first week of his imprisonment, it was becoming less and less effective but it was all he had.
He got the expected response. She paused her activities and glared at him. "Why do you insist on clinging to that absurd saying?" Luke refused to answer. To give her the satisfaction just made her more daring. His best bet was to wait until she got frustrated and gave up.
She proved to not be dissuaded that easily. She continued letting her hands wonder, dipping lower until she was undoing the waistband of his trousers. Passion or no, he could not ignore what she was doing much longer. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, willing his body to calm down. She suddenly stopped, detaching her hold on him and stepping back.
"There is no emotion," she said mockingly. "I would say you were about to spew emotion all over me," she stoked his cheek once again, placing a light kiss on his lips. "You've not changed a bit, Luke. I bet you still remember how to please me, don't you?" He shivered at the thought, the memories grating across his already sensitive nerves. "Soon it will once again be a reality, but for now, I'll let you lick your wounds. It's moving day. But first, we have a little present for our uninvited guests." She walked back behind Han releasing his cuffs. "I have a mission for you. Follow the directions on this data pad exactly. I will be back in an hour to check your work. Make it good, or I will no longer waste my time trying to turn your friend. I'll just kill him for all the frustrations he has caused me."
She turned back to Luke once more. Griping his gaze with hers. Then raised her hand and landed it firmly across his cheek. With a smirk she left the room, the lock and door opening at her approach. Once it was closed Luke sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Han quickly moved to remove his cuffs and helped him over to the cot. He hated himself for being so weak. He should be able to fend her off, but he couldn't.
"Luke," Han's worried voice echoed in his ear. "Is that what's she's been…. Luke it's not your fault. You are doing nothing wrong."
"I am doing everything wrong Han," he snapped, turning his tear filled eyes on his friend. "I don't know if I can keep this up. I came so close to taking those cuffs off and just getting it over with."
"No, Luke, you can't do that," Han pleaded.
"I know," Luke said shacking his head. "I keep telling myself I wont."
"What are you going to do?" Han asked. It was a question he kept asking himself, but there were never any answers.
"I don't know. What else is there for me to do?" He paused realizing they were just repeating earlier conversations. He decided to change the subject. "What is that?" he asked, indicating the data pad he still held. Han laughed, as he looked at it.
"She wants me to write a letter to Leia. Giving details about what has been going on here. Says here I am to leave nothing out."
"That's why she did what she just did," Luke said, glad that something was making since. "So that you would have to put it in that letter."
"That would be my guess," Han agreed. "I have to do this Luke. I believe she would kill you if I didn't."
"I believe it too," he said, his hand covering the red handprint still clearly visible on his cheek.
---
A month had past and Leia still had not heard from her husband or her brother. They had made it back to Coruscant only to find that the planet Nivina had filed charges against the New Republic for being on their planet and unlawfully entering a private building. The Senate being tied down in legal matters over this could not let a rescue team be sent.
Finally, after a it became clear that Han and Luke had not made it off the planet, it was agreed that they needed to do something to get back. After a little convincing from Leia that this could be considered an act of war against the New Republic, the council decided that a strike team should be sent to take care of the problem, and to try and stop this from getting out of hand. They succeeded in taking the complex with little trouble and began the search for the two captives. Leia, following her feelings, found a cell in the basement. The cell contained two cots, and a data pad was placed on one of them.
Lei settled herself on one of the cots and began to read. Once she finished, she stared at the stonewall, tears running freely down her cheek. She sat in the cell that her husband and brother had lived in for the past month, trying the best she could to reach them but everything was cold. There was no trace of them. She turned when she heard movement at the door and saw Corran Horn look in.
"We haven't found anything besides the two lightsabers," he said regrettably. "Their not here. We're ready to go as soon as you are."
"That Bitch!" Leia screamed, unable to hold in her feelings. "When I get my hands on her I will kill her!"
Corran took a step back, visibly shaken by Leia's outburst. "Who?" he asked. She stood up and paced the small confines of the room. "Calm down, Leia, what are you talking about?"
"I found this." She stopped and held out the data pad but did not give it to him. Instead, she held it to her chest. Unable to let go of the only link she had to the two most important men in her life. "It's from Han," she explained, forcing back a sob. "Telling about everything that happened here." She started pacing again. "I can't believe this is how she repays him for all that he has done for her."
"Who?" Corran asked again. "Do you know who is behind this? Leia, we need to know."
Without saying a word, Leia walked out of the cell, Corran following right behind her.
"Where's Mara?" Leia demanded.
"I think she was in the control room," Corran offered. "Let me check." He spoke quietly into his comlink, listening as the reply came back. "No she's this way, come on."
"Let's go. She needs to know about this."
-----
Leia walked into the room where Corran said Mara was. As soon as she looked around her jaw hit the floor. The room was dark, the only lights illuminating a single wall which had all sorts of chains and cuffs attached. Mara was standing next to the wall, her hands resting lightly against it, with tears in her eyes.
"He was here," she whispered, without turning around. "I can feel it. Luke was here, and he was hurting."
"Come on, Mara," Leia said, moving Mara away from the wall and out of the room. "There's nothing we can do here, and there is something I need to show you." Leia glanced back as they left the room and started as her mind started showing her hints of what happened within those walls. She closed her eyes, now understanding what had Mara so upset.
She looked over at the woman walking next to her. Mara's pregnancy had really loosened her up. They had become friends over the last two months, and Leia had enjoyed answering Mara's questions about the baby. She was currently four months into the pregnancy and starting to show. She had been increasingly worried about the things she could do and still keep the baby healthy, and took Leia's advice concerning her diet and regular doctor visits very seriously.
It was amazing, but Leia was sure that Mara would make a good mother. So Leia was dreading telling Mara about the data pad she had found. However, Han had mentioned Mara in the letter, telling her that Luke had been thinking about her. It was Han's suggestion that Mara know what was going on. There were lots of people that would like to know, but only one person she was willing to tell.
"What is it Leia?" Mara asked as they boarded the shuttle. "Did you find something?"
"As a matter of fact, I did," Leia admitted. "Lets get on the shuttle and I'll show you."
As they entered the shuttle they realized it was nearly empty. Leia, Mara, and Corran making up most of the passengers. Corran sat near the front with the remaining two people, leaving Mara and Leia the relative privacy of the back row of seats.
"OK we're here, Leia, spit it out." Leia sighed, trying to summon the curage to say the words.
"She has him. I'm sorry Mara I should have known. It's not like I didn't have the clues. She left right before we wnt back, she was leaving to be there to capture him again."
"Who?"
"Callista. It says here that she wanted him back. And all this time and possible the time before, she has been trying to break him."
"Break him?" Mara asked. "What do you mean?"
"She wants Luke back," Leia explained, her voice breaking at the thought of what he had been going through. "But not by force. She wants him to choose her."
"I would think that Luke would not have a problem with that," Mara said, eyeing the data pad.
"According to Han, he has been putting up a good fight." Leia sat back and sighed, wiping a stray tear off her cheek. "Luke is a strong man, and capable of a lot of things, but I'm afraid for him…and so is Han."
"Can I see it?" Mara asked. Leia hesitantly handed over the data pad and sat quietly as she read over it. Mara for her part sat perfectly still, reading over the data pad once then again a second time. Leia could feel the anger brewing just under the surface, and knew just how she felt.
"Mara, we will find them," she assured her new friend.
"How could she?" Mara growled. "How could she do that sort of thing? She said she loved him. How could she hurt him that way?" She was crying by this time. Tears openly and shamelessly running down her cheeks. It had not been the first time Leia had seen Mara cry, and this time, just like the others, Leia could not help but join her. When asked about her elevated emotions, she quoted her doctor, blaming the now well known pregnancy for her lack of control.
"I don't know Mara," Leia told her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. "We'll find them."
"Did she not realize how much he still loves her?" Mara asked as if she did not hear Leia's comment. She shrugged off Leia's arm and turned to look at her. "He's moving on, but he loves her. I think he would have always loved her." She paused, looking at the data pad in her shacking hands. "Before this. How could she just throw that back in his face? He does not deserve this. When I find her I will make her pay for all the pain she has been putting him through." Mara's voice was steadily rising, and Leia could feel the anger building along with it. It reminded her of the time she had detected that anger towards Luke, now it was in defense of him. Mara really was changing, but the issue now was to somehow diffuse this anger before Mara hurt herself or someone else. Suddenly Corran appeared at her side and sat down.
"Mara, calm down," he said, turning her face to look at him.
"Don't tell me to calm down," she bit out. "Why should I stay calm?"
"Because you have someone else that needs you to," he said evenly. "Think of that baby. You asked me to help you with this, Mara. And you have been doing great. However, blowing up now will not help anyone. Not you, not the baby, and especially not Luke and Han. If you act now, you will be using the Dark Side, and that is the last thing you want to do." He looked over at Leia, and she could see the worry in his eyes before he looked once again at Mara. "I have no idea what is on that data pad. Even though I would like to know, I understand that neither of you can tell me. I also understand that it must be terrible, because it has sent both of you into a rage. What everyone here needs is for everyone to stay calm. We will find them, and we will take care of this, once and for all."
Mara had been quiet during Corran's speech. Concentrating on bringing her breathing under control and clamed her emotions as the shuttle landed. As the ramp opened, they heard alarms, and Leia's comlink beeped.
"Yes?" she barked.
"We have detected a ship on the out skirts of the system," a voice reported. "It's sitting in the shadow of one of the planets."
"Do they know we've detected it?" Leia asked, walking towards the door.
"We don't believe so."
"Ok, then we wait," she said with a small smile. "Lets see where they go, and we follow them."
"Yes, Ma'am." Her com clicked off and she turned to the others following her out of the hanger.
"Lets get to the bridge."
It was a short walk to the main bridge, but all were out of breath, the anxiety of the situation starting to weigh heavily on them. As they entered the bridge, the captain informed her that the ship had jumped to hyperspace. They had their exit vector and were in pursuit. Leia and Mara settled in to wait.