Disclaimer: Star Wars does not belong to me and I am not making a single
penny off this.
Based on the comic by Michael Stackpole, Robert Teranishi, and Chris Chuckry. This story is being written for the Mara Jade Fan Club at the Jedi Council Boards at the force.net
Chapter 1
The single setting sun of Garqi shone brightly as it slid behind a single cliff. Opposite the setting son were a couple watching it in all its beauty.
"This is so beautiful, Luke, I've seen sunsets before, but somehow, this is different." Mara Jade glanced sidelong at her soon to be husband. Their relationship had changed so much. No more than ten years previous she had been holding a blaster to his head, and now she was going to marry him.
"For me, having it be a single sun rising and having you here is what makes it special."
"Yes the company does make a lot of difference, but..."
"But...?" Luke Skywalker said urging his fiancée to continue on with her statement.
"Peace with the Imperial Remnant. We're not at war anymore."
Luke leaned heavily upon his knee and glanced at her thinking how lucky he was. "Two decades of fighting now ended. War was all I knew for my adult life."
"You can't miss it, the fighting." Mara asked as a small orange bird landed on her outstretched hand.
"Miss it? No, miss friends who I wish could be here to share in the victory?" Luke's thoughts went to so many friends he had lost, and family. "Definitely. It's scary too," he continued as he got to his feet and walked up to beside her. "It's a new future and new goals to discover."
Mara glanced at Luke wondering about his last statement. "You're not concerned about our getting married, are you?"
Luke gave a small smile, "Don't even joke. Having you say you'd become my wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me. No regrets, no concerns, not now, not ever," He said as he got down behind her and his arms reached around her waist.
"I've no concerns about my choice, but the event..."
"Don't worry about that," Luke said quietly as he pulled her closer. "Leia is making the announcement on Coruscant."
"Ah, that's what has me worried," Mara said with a smile.
Luke rested his chin on her shoulder, "Leia knows you want a small wedding."
"Yes, but her saying that our union will be seen as a healing of the Rebel/Imperial rift, the symbolism..."
Luke pulled away a look of concern on his face. "I know. She did say it will convince people the war is truly over."
Mara got to her feet and urged the small bird away to its freedom. "I suppose I can tolerate the attention at our wedding, provided we don't have the same on our honeymoon."
Stars, Luke thought, I sure hope the media doesn't follow us on the honeymoon. I've been in public eye for so long and that is far beyond even my limits. "I agree, and, hey, no one knows we're here right now. Our honeymoon will be just as private."
"Good, if things go as badly as I fear for the wedding, getting away will be first priority."
Luke crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at her. "Nothing will go wrong, Mara."
"I love it, Luke Skywalker, that even after all these years you can still be so naïve."
* * *
Leia Organa Solo finished up her speech for the mob of holo reporters. "That's all I had prepared. If you have questions..." She was instantly bombarded with questions and began looking for an escape. She needed one.
"How do you react to criticism that this is a move to solidify a Jedi power-base to establish a force empire?" An insistent reporter pressed her.
"Criticism? I just made the announcement. This is just my brother's wedding we're talking about, not some political revolt." Leia stared straight ahead with a deadpan expression on her face.
Voices yelled from in the crowd. "What are you hiding Leia?"
"Why announce the wedding now Leia?"
"Is Mara's hand in marriage part of the peace package?"
Finally Leia had had enough of their questions. "Threepio, get over here."
"Me?" The prissy metallic voice of See-Threepio sounded. "Oh my."
"You know the plans. Can you handle this?" She no longer wanted to deal with all the holo reporters.
"I get to be part of the wedding? Not shoved into a closet like at yours?" He sounded dismayed about the fact that he had been locked in the closest because he had tried to stop the wedding. Thinking about her wedding she hoped that this one would not hold true to tradition. By the Force, the disaster it would be if Luke was late to his own wedding. Leia didn't think he would survive to even get to the reception and that would only be if Luke could postpone Mara killing him for a while.
"We got you out in time to join the ceremony." Leia said with a smirk.
"Only because I had the rings," he said stiffly, still feeling miffed.
"You saved the day Threepio. You can be a hero again."
Threepio became even more flustered. "A hero? Me? Oh the responsibility..."
"If not, I'm sure Chewie..." Leia began slyly.
"Chewbacca!? We'd have arms of everywhere... The mess! I'll do it."
"I am See-Threepio," he began in his basic voice of a protocol droid. "Human-cyborg relations, it was my privilege to first meet the groom Master Luke Skywalker, on Tatooine, the planet of my birth. Her was not the Master Jedi you know now, though I did call him master, but this is a common courtesy as well you know, and for a protocol droid conversant in six million languages..."
Leia grinned as she slipped out the back and saw the crowds already beginning to disperse. A protocol droid was useful at times such as this to bore crowds to death.
"Nice escape," Han Solo said as he came up behind her, "I thought I was going to have to come in shooting."
Leia rubbed her head as if suffering from a horrible headache she was just tired of the crowds. "What stopped you?"
"Not nearly enough clips for the blaster."
"Next time bring the Falcon," Leia quipped.
A pair of children came running up excited, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. "They're really getting married? Will we be invited?"
"Yes and yes, Jaina, New dress-up clothes for you, all of you."
"Even Dad?" Jacen exclaimed.
"Well, I don't..." Han stuttered.
"Even your father."
"Only because it's Luke's wedding." Han relented.
* * *
In an apartment, elsewhere on Coruscant Wedge Antilles leaned lazily back in his chair. Leia had recently told him the news but he wondered why Luke had not told him directly. They had been close friends ever since the Rebellion and to think Luke had refused to tell him any sooner than the rest of the public, actually he hadn't even seen Luke since the signing of the peace treaty and even then when Wedge had asked seeing as Luke had grown closer to Mara Jade, whether anything had happened between them, Luke had brushed it off a refused to answer. "When Leia told me that Luke and Mara were getting married..."
"About time," his wife Iella said as she came up behind him. "It will be good for both of them."
Wedge turned around to scowl at his older daughter as he glanced at the younger one that was making a mess. "Syal, don't play with your food. Myri follows your lead."
"But Dad," Syal began in an earnest tone. "I keep mine on target."
"Summer wedding," Iella continued as she wiped her hands on a rag. "Provided they have it here on Coruscant."
Wedge contentedly leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, crossing his arms behind his head. "That's the plan. I hope they'll be as happy as we are."
"I'll go live with them," Syal muttered obviously disagreeing with her parents' assessment of happiness.
* * *
"Hey, have you gotten the news?" The distinguishable voice of Wes Janson rattled through the Rogue Squadron Headquarters. It caused several of his squadron mates to look up. One of them working up in his X-Wing glanced down and groaned. It was a bad thing to get Janson excited. Problems were sure to follow. "Luke and Mara Jade are going to get married. This is great!"
"Great?" Derek "Hobbie" Klivian asked snidely as he came up with a cup of caff. "How do you figure that? Another hero abandons the solitary path."
"Are you kidding? The women, they love weddings. And this wedding will be so big we'll have the pick of the galaxy to accompany us."
As if to mock him one of the female Rogues turned towards her alien partner and began laughing, most likely at Janson.
Tycho Celchu grinned as he hoisted his pack up to his shoulder. "Didn't I hear Janson say the same thing about my wedding, Gavin?"
The younger Tatooine man glanced up. "Mine too, the you remember what they did..."
"Oh, right. Need to remind Luke not to have a champagne fountain." There was no sense letting Luke face what Gavin had when they knew about it. Tycho was sure Luke Skywalker had enough problems with his impending wedding; he wouldn't need Wes and Hobbie to add to it.
* * *
Talon Karrde sighed as Booster Terrik's face in the holoprojection. "If you insist Booster, I'll believe you had the news as soon as I did."
"Then this call is because you want a date for the event."
"Already got that covered." Karrde wondered why Booster was wondering if he didn't know the date. Afterall this was the wedding of his second in command to the Jedi Master they were talking about. He had found out as soon as the Solo's had. When Mara had told him that she was resigning and had left Skywalker to explain. They had left out so much information in their story that no one knew whether to believe htem or not. But they had proof, they had brought back the Camas document, Artoo refused to let them know anymore either. Probably on strict commands from Skywalker. Both of them had changed so much since they had left on the trip that Karrde didn't know what to think and they had began to avoid everyone so quickly. Avoidance was very unlike Skywalker and it surprised everyone.
"Got that covered Booster, but in terms of a gift..."
"You thinking something from my fine selection of Jedi artifacts?"
"Yes, one of the real ones." Karrde remembered some of the fake ones he had seen. If he had tried to pull off one of the fake ones the automatic thought was that he had been playing them for fools. If that ended up being the case he would no doubt hear it from Mara and possibly Skywalker too. And if that was the case it might get out to Corran and Mirax, both good friends of Skywalker and Mara, not to mention the daughter and son-in- law of Booster.
* * *
The forest of Yavin four completely surroundind the old temple which housed the Jedi Academy it was many times dismissed as nothing but old ruins for anyone who didn't know better. For those that did just called it a Jedi mind trick. With no shields or protection it was dismissed as sometimes an easy pick for any attack except it was shielded with far more than just a man-made shield, the Force itself protected Yavin Four so that potential Jedi could learn and grow in safety. Free from worry of invasion.
Within the safety of the Force shields like went on as usual for the Jedi Academy except the bustle of the news that had just arrived there.
"The Master and Mara will be wed on Coruscant," Kam Soulsar said as he held his wife close. "If we leave now we can be there within the week."
"We can leave Ganner and Wurth in charge in our absence," Tionne commented. "This will be a wonderful celebration of light."
"No whistler I want it in the key of Cresh." A small boy told the green and white R2 unit beside him as he began experimenting with the keyboard around him again.
Corran Horn leaned against as large pole across from his wife. "The message just came through. How did your father know?"
"You know how he is," his wife Mirax explained, "he just knew."
"He must have heard from Karrde."
"Regardless, it's great news."
"It was kind of obvious to everybody but them that they were made for each other." Corran commented remembering the many a time they had made small signs trying to catch the other's attention but neither of them realized it. It was a shame since everyone else saw it that no one shoved them in the right direction. But, then again, you'd have to be a fool to purposefully rouse Mara Jade's temper, Luke had, at times, quite a temper too, however hard he tried to hide it.
"Sometimes love is blind, sometimes it's blinding," Mirax said with a small smile.
"Still, he'll be living with Mara. Good thing he's a hero."
Based on the comic by Michael Stackpole, Robert Teranishi, and Chris Chuckry. This story is being written for the Mara Jade Fan Club at the Jedi Council Boards at the force.net
Chapter 1
The single setting sun of Garqi shone brightly as it slid behind a single cliff. Opposite the setting son were a couple watching it in all its beauty.
"This is so beautiful, Luke, I've seen sunsets before, but somehow, this is different." Mara Jade glanced sidelong at her soon to be husband. Their relationship had changed so much. No more than ten years previous she had been holding a blaster to his head, and now she was going to marry him.
"For me, having it be a single sun rising and having you here is what makes it special."
"Yes the company does make a lot of difference, but..."
"But...?" Luke Skywalker said urging his fiancée to continue on with her statement.
"Peace with the Imperial Remnant. We're not at war anymore."
Luke leaned heavily upon his knee and glanced at her thinking how lucky he was. "Two decades of fighting now ended. War was all I knew for my adult life."
"You can't miss it, the fighting." Mara asked as a small orange bird landed on her outstretched hand.
"Miss it? No, miss friends who I wish could be here to share in the victory?" Luke's thoughts went to so many friends he had lost, and family. "Definitely. It's scary too," he continued as he got to his feet and walked up to beside her. "It's a new future and new goals to discover."
Mara glanced at Luke wondering about his last statement. "You're not concerned about our getting married, are you?"
Luke gave a small smile, "Don't even joke. Having you say you'd become my wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me. No regrets, no concerns, not now, not ever," He said as he got down behind her and his arms reached around her waist.
"I've no concerns about my choice, but the event..."
"Don't worry about that," Luke said quietly as he pulled her closer. "Leia is making the announcement on Coruscant."
"Ah, that's what has me worried," Mara said with a smile.
Luke rested his chin on her shoulder, "Leia knows you want a small wedding."
"Yes, but her saying that our union will be seen as a healing of the Rebel/Imperial rift, the symbolism..."
Luke pulled away a look of concern on his face. "I know. She did say it will convince people the war is truly over."
Mara got to her feet and urged the small bird away to its freedom. "I suppose I can tolerate the attention at our wedding, provided we don't have the same on our honeymoon."
Stars, Luke thought, I sure hope the media doesn't follow us on the honeymoon. I've been in public eye for so long and that is far beyond even my limits. "I agree, and, hey, no one knows we're here right now. Our honeymoon will be just as private."
"Good, if things go as badly as I fear for the wedding, getting away will be first priority."
Luke crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at her. "Nothing will go wrong, Mara."
"I love it, Luke Skywalker, that even after all these years you can still be so naïve."
* * *
Leia Organa Solo finished up her speech for the mob of holo reporters. "That's all I had prepared. If you have questions..." She was instantly bombarded with questions and began looking for an escape. She needed one.
"How do you react to criticism that this is a move to solidify a Jedi power-base to establish a force empire?" An insistent reporter pressed her.
"Criticism? I just made the announcement. This is just my brother's wedding we're talking about, not some political revolt." Leia stared straight ahead with a deadpan expression on her face.
Voices yelled from in the crowd. "What are you hiding Leia?"
"Why announce the wedding now Leia?"
"Is Mara's hand in marriage part of the peace package?"
Finally Leia had had enough of their questions. "Threepio, get over here."
"Me?" The prissy metallic voice of See-Threepio sounded. "Oh my."
"You know the plans. Can you handle this?" She no longer wanted to deal with all the holo reporters.
"I get to be part of the wedding? Not shoved into a closet like at yours?" He sounded dismayed about the fact that he had been locked in the closest because he had tried to stop the wedding. Thinking about her wedding she hoped that this one would not hold true to tradition. By the Force, the disaster it would be if Luke was late to his own wedding. Leia didn't think he would survive to even get to the reception and that would only be if Luke could postpone Mara killing him for a while.
"We got you out in time to join the ceremony." Leia said with a smirk.
"Only because I had the rings," he said stiffly, still feeling miffed.
"You saved the day Threepio. You can be a hero again."
Threepio became even more flustered. "A hero? Me? Oh the responsibility..."
"If not, I'm sure Chewie..." Leia began slyly.
"Chewbacca!? We'd have arms of everywhere... The mess! I'll do it."
"I am See-Threepio," he began in his basic voice of a protocol droid. "Human-cyborg relations, it was my privilege to first meet the groom Master Luke Skywalker, on Tatooine, the planet of my birth. Her was not the Master Jedi you know now, though I did call him master, but this is a common courtesy as well you know, and for a protocol droid conversant in six million languages..."
Leia grinned as she slipped out the back and saw the crowds already beginning to disperse. A protocol droid was useful at times such as this to bore crowds to death.
"Nice escape," Han Solo said as he came up behind her, "I thought I was going to have to come in shooting."
Leia rubbed her head as if suffering from a horrible headache she was just tired of the crowds. "What stopped you?"
"Not nearly enough clips for the blaster."
"Next time bring the Falcon," Leia quipped.
A pair of children came running up excited, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. "They're really getting married? Will we be invited?"
"Yes and yes, Jaina, New dress-up clothes for you, all of you."
"Even Dad?" Jacen exclaimed.
"Well, I don't..." Han stuttered.
"Even your father."
"Only because it's Luke's wedding." Han relented.
* * *
In an apartment, elsewhere on Coruscant Wedge Antilles leaned lazily back in his chair. Leia had recently told him the news but he wondered why Luke had not told him directly. They had been close friends ever since the Rebellion and to think Luke had refused to tell him any sooner than the rest of the public, actually he hadn't even seen Luke since the signing of the peace treaty and even then when Wedge had asked seeing as Luke had grown closer to Mara Jade, whether anything had happened between them, Luke had brushed it off a refused to answer. "When Leia told me that Luke and Mara were getting married..."
"About time," his wife Iella said as she came up behind him. "It will be good for both of them."
Wedge turned around to scowl at his older daughter as he glanced at the younger one that was making a mess. "Syal, don't play with your food. Myri follows your lead."
"But Dad," Syal began in an earnest tone. "I keep mine on target."
"Summer wedding," Iella continued as she wiped her hands on a rag. "Provided they have it here on Coruscant."
Wedge contentedly leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, crossing his arms behind his head. "That's the plan. I hope they'll be as happy as we are."
"I'll go live with them," Syal muttered obviously disagreeing with her parents' assessment of happiness.
* * *
"Hey, have you gotten the news?" The distinguishable voice of Wes Janson rattled through the Rogue Squadron Headquarters. It caused several of his squadron mates to look up. One of them working up in his X-Wing glanced down and groaned. It was a bad thing to get Janson excited. Problems were sure to follow. "Luke and Mara Jade are going to get married. This is great!"
"Great?" Derek "Hobbie" Klivian asked snidely as he came up with a cup of caff. "How do you figure that? Another hero abandons the solitary path."
"Are you kidding? The women, they love weddings. And this wedding will be so big we'll have the pick of the galaxy to accompany us."
As if to mock him one of the female Rogues turned towards her alien partner and began laughing, most likely at Janson.
Tycho Celchu grinned as he hoisted his pack up to his shoulder. "Didn't I hear Janson say the same thing about my wedding, Gavin?"
The younger Tatooine man glanced up. "Mine too, the you remember what they did..."
"Oh, right. Need to remind Luke not to have a champagne fountain." There was no sense letting Luke face what Gavin had when they knew about it. Tycho was sure Luke Skywalker had enough problems with his impending wedding; he wouldn't need Wes and Hobbie to add to it.
* * *
Talon Karrde sighed as Booster Terrik's face in the holoprojection. "If you insist Booster, I'll believe you had the news as soon as I did."
"Then this call is because you want a date for the event."
"Already got that covered." Karrde wondered why Booster was wondering if he didn't know the date. Afterall this was the wedding of his second in command to the Jedi Master they were talking about. He had found out as soon as the Solo's had. When Mara had told him that she was resigning and had left Skywalker to explain. They had left out so much information in their story that no one knew whether to believe htem or not. But they had proof, they had brought back the Camas document, Artoo refused to let them know anymore either. Probably on strict commands from Skywalker. Both of them had changed so much since they had left on the trip that Karrde didn't know what to think and they had began to avoid everyone so quickly. Avoidance was very unlike Skywalker and it surprised everyone.
"Got that covered Booster, but in terms of a gift..."
"You thinking something from my fine selection of Jedi artifacts?"
"Yes, one of the real ones." Karrde remembered some of the fake ones he had seen. If he had tried to pull off one of the fake ones the automatic thought was that he had been playing them for fools. If that ended up being the case he would no doubt hear it from Mara and possibly Skywalker too. And if that was the case it might get out to Corran and Mirax, both good friends of Skywalker and Mara, not to mention the daughter and son-in- law of Booster.
* * *
The forest of Yavin four completely surroundind the old temple which housed the Jedi Academy it was many times dismissed as nothing but old ruins for anyone who didn't know better. For those that did just called it a Jedi mind trick. With no shields or protection it was dismissed as sometimes an easy pick for any attack except it was shielded with far more than just a man-made shield, the Force itself protected Yavin Four so that potential Jedi could learn and grow in safety. Free from worry of invasion.
Within the safety of the Force shields like went on as usual for the Jedi Academy except the bustle of the news that had just arrived there.
"The Master and Mara will be wed on Coruscant," Kam Soulsar said as he held his wife close. "If we leave now we can be there within the week."
"We can leave Ganner and Wurth in charge in our absence," Tionne commented. "This will be a wonderful celebration of light."
"No whistler I want it in the key of Cresh." A small boy told the green and white R2 unit beside him as he began experimenting with the keyboard around him again.
Corran Horn leaned against as large pole across from his wife. "The message just came through. How did your father know?"
"You know how he is," his wife Mirax explained, "he just knew."
"He must have heard from Karrde."
"Regardless, it's great news."
"It was kind of obvious to everybody but them that they were made for each other." Corran commented remembering the many a time they had made small signs trying to catch the other's attention but neither of them realized it. It was a shame since everyone else saw it that no one shoved them in the right direction. But, then again, you'd have to be a fool to purposefully rouse Mara Jade's temper, Luke had, at times, quite a temper too, however hard he tried to hide it.
"Sometimes love is blind, sometimes it's blinding," Mirax said with a small smile.
"Still, he'll be living with Mara. Good thing he's a hero."