Chapter 10 "All in all my day was very uneventful," Mara said as she plopped down on the couch and rested her arms on the back. She looked up to see Luke Skywalker shaking his head slowly as if confused.

"What Skywalker? You get lost during the Spa?"

"No, Mara, I understand what happened. I just don't understand how you consider your day uneventful."

"It's not the same as what happened to you last night. You started a riot."

Luke looked back at her earnestly as he tried to emphasize his point. "And you just disabled an assassin." He pointed out as his gaze leveled on her. She was comparing it to something he had not even wanted to happen. He didn't understand how she could view fights as something good.

"He was a kook," Mara said as she glanced at him.

Luke sighed and turned away from her. "No, turns out he used to be an Imperial guardsman." He brought his hands up to his chin as he thought on it. He had thought they had all been dead, had thought that Kir Kanos had been the last of them. Obviously the histories had been wrong. This man, Chik Apla, had been one of them and as he was trained he refused to talk.

"Well, I didn't disable him."

Luke raised an eyebrow, a skeptical look crossing his face. "Ruptured Spleen, bruised Liver, broken Ribs, fractured skull."

Mara flashed a look in Luke's direction, "see, nothing Bacta can't fix."

Luke shook his head giving up on making a point. "The dream I had the other day gave me a bad feel_"

Mara grew instantly serious, "don't say it. I had a nightmare too, not good, I think your telling me about yours may have triggered mine."

Luke turned away and shut his eyes trying to focus. "Could have been the Force, it could be trying to tell us something."

"Or could be the same wedding jitters everyone else gets. We may be schooled in the Force, but why should we be so special?"

"Can't argue with that." Luke paused as he pondered on what she had just said. A nightmare that she had refused to tell him about, but why? "I mine I saw enemies, dead friends, then that big hand clutching at me."

In mine, the Emperor had won. Everyone I know was dead, 'cept you."

"That's good, right?" Luke asked, an edge of concern in his voice."

"You were the Emperor's creature."

"Don't like that."

Mara crossed her arms and got to her feet to join Luke. "If I had stopped you from killing the Emperor, my dream would have come true."

"Yours was about failure, as, really, was mine."

"You think we're afraid our marriage will fail?"

"In the past, if we failed, there were grave circumstances. Here, too, so having apprehensions makes sense. However, I love you and I know you, Mara. You could never fail in our marriage."

She stepped close to him and stared into his face. "I know the same thing about you Luke, you couldn't fail our marriage. Together there is nothing that could defeat us."

Luke seized her hand and drew her closer. "This will be forever, Mara."

"Ever and always, Luke." Forever, the word had once been drenched with fear, but not now, now it was full of hope as she stepped closer to the wonderful man that she was to marry.

Luke supported her back with one of his hands as he pulled her closer and leant down to kiss her. A kiss that felt like it would last forever. Even now one kiss was the world to Mara, as it had been the first time. Mara slowly pulled away to draw a breath as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and grabbed his cloak, pulling him closer.

Luke brought his hands up and tilted her chin upward to look directly into her eyes. "I love you, Mara, and I'm so glad I found you."

Mara pulled away and led him outside. "I love you, too, Luke, and remember, I found you."

"Yes, Mara ... oh, you were at the Spa, you must have seen it." Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they stared out at the cityscape. "A gang of females swoopies came in and beat the daylights out of some guys from Champion Squadron at Slingball."

"Really, dear? I must have missed it."

Luke looked at her disbelieving as he leaned down as if to kiss her again. "Really, just like you're going to miss this." Mara leaned forward to receive the kiss but he pulled away and she was leaning too heavily on him so that she fell onto the ground when he drew away.

"Luke Skywalker! That was just plain mean!"

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay," she snarled, "I get the point. You won't tell anyone, will you? Leia made me swear not to tell!"

"You were going to listen to Leia? You really shouldn't do that, it has got to be bad for your health."

"No worse than keeping you around. Promise not to tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone, really, only Han and Corran and Kam and Wedge and Tycho and_"

"Skywalker! Don't you dare!"

"And if I do?" Luke asked trying to draw something of a threat.

"I'll make you sleep on the couch! Alone!"

"Sure you can?"

"Yes, I bet you'll be begging to get back in the bed."

"I'll take that bet."

Mara turned back towards him and glared at him. He had never agreed to a bet that easily unless he knew he was going to win. "Okay, what going on?"

"C'mon Jade, one this apartment is mine and we aren't married yet and two, you can hardly keep your hands off me, what do you think is going to happen after the wedding?"

Mara scowled at him, "fifty credits say you're on the couch."

Luke just shook his head at her.
___________________ "My wife's plan did not go well, and Chik has been taken." Takkar paced back and forth as he suddenly paused and turned towards the other Imperials.

"Chik gone? They'll bet us." Banner spoke up as he tried to discourage the mission

"Nonsense, he was an Imperial Guardsman. He won't talk." Takkar declared.

"I meant he was better than us. They'll get us for sure."

Takkar shook his head. "His loss is a setback, but not a critical one. We have ways to make out plan work. It must work or his sacrifice will be in vain." He reached out his hand, beckoning to them. "We can not allow that to be true, can we my Imperial brothers?"

"Um," Banner started but then saw the eyes of the others on him. "No."

"Not likely," Chala said.

A look of confusion spread its way across Iry's face. "We can't?"

"No, we cannot." Takkar leaned down beside his wife as she clutched to him through her sobs. "She does not weep for Chik, but for the through that the Empire will not be avenged. I have a plan that will work, and parts for each of you to play. You will follow my orders without question. Do that and we will not fail."

Takkar turned to each of them in turn as he spoke. "Chala, you have dealt with the underclasses. Find me footsoldiers: Swoopies, whomever, we will pay them to provide a distraction. Banner, you understand bureaucrats. Clean yourself up; woo the woman coordinating the wedding. Learn all the secrets you can about the site and ceremony. Iry, you've survived in the gutter for years. I need you to go deeper. Find the places here where no one would imagine a human would go, and there we find our egress. Wife mine, you will put your skills to good use. There is information I need and you will obtain it for me."

His wife stood up and grabbed his arm. "And what will you be doing, my husband?"

There was a glimmer that shone in his eyes. "I will be doing everything else. I have something special in mind and I'm sure, on Coruscant, my needs will be met."
___________________ Chala Venan stepped into the seedy bar. In the lower levels of Coruscant there were many of these places and they had not reduced since the Imperial hold on their capitol had fallen. Imperials were not the only ones that despised the heroes of the Rebellion. The scum on Coruscant did as well. All they truly did care about was money and they were sure to get it. They were thieves and scoundrels that just wanted a drink.

Chala smirked as he passed one of them a few credits and leaned over to talk to him.
___________________ Banner Sumptor nodded towards a few others whose gaze had been directed towards him. He spotted exactly who he was looking for and nodded toward her as she came over with a smile. He offered her a flower and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
___________________ Iry Danta broke to the surface and gasped into the air. The palace was riddled with entrances in the sewage pipes. Of course the high government types paid no mind to it even though he was sure they had once used it for infiltration. So sure of themselves and that would be there doom.
___________________ Anlys Takkar gazed at the information on the screen in front of her. She knew what to do. She had been trained to find the information as she pulled it up and smiled wickedly to herself.
___________________ Moff Derran Takkar smiled to himself as he handed over the money to one dealer at a time telling them a representative would pick it up later. It was set. The Rebels would die.