Disclaimer - The characters and situations used in this story are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. My thanks to Jackie, Mona and Molly and AJ - that bit of Lego sure brightens up my bookshelves.

Chapter 11

GreoaCity

Kam Solusar stood silently watching the sun gradually sink over the crater's rim. The once proud city had been levelled to nothing but charred ruins and lumps of misshapen masonry. The last of the fires had burnt themselves out a few days ago indicating the planet's beast had now returned to a somnolent state. It had been reminiscent of a long burning funeral pyre for the many that had tragically lost their lives. Something new would rise in its place. The ground was fertile and in time people would forget.

Kam clasped his hands loosely behind his back, his mind troubled. He had been so lucky. His father had been a great man, but Darth Vader had killed him during the purges and Kam's faith in the light of the Force hadn't been strong enough to sustain him during those dark times. Until, he thought thankfully, the dawning of the new era. The rise of the 'Skywalker dynasty' as news pundits often referred to it, when speaking of Luke and Leia. 'Thank the Force for the Skywalkers.' A lot of people would be in poorer circumstances without them.

Behind him, he heard Luke continue to comfort the distraught Mara Jade. Kam had been amazed at the emotion pouring from her Force sense. She'd been so closed in before - tighter than a Hapan Battle Dragon. Her green eyes had made sure you kept your distance, the bitter blaze warning you of things long suppressed, things that would be best if you never learned about them. Mara Jade held secrets in those eyes.

There were some individuals in the New Republic hierarchy who would like to see Mara Jade imprisoned for what they saw as her role in Palpatine's Empire, but Kam knew she was as much a victim as he himself had been. He was lucky in that he had memories of his mother and father, even in the dark times. He had spoken the truth. Mirahn had been kind to him in a time when public feeling against the Jedi had been high. She had been one of his kind, a Jedi in the temple. Still she had time for a small boy and then, not many people had. He frowned, screwing his forehead into a mass of lines and furrows. It was no use, he couldn't remember very much. Nonetheless, he had memories of Mara Jade's mother, and she had none.

Unwillingly, he glanced around, feeling like a voyeur as he watched his Master hold Mara Jade close and offer her solace. Luke had thrown on his tunic pants and rushed to find Mara as soon as he'd become aware of her distress. The Jedi Master's muscular chest was bare, still adorned with multiple strips of synth-flesh and bandages, their pristine whiteness in contrast with Luke's ever-present tan. Kam came to the conclusion that Luke had been very lucky - again.

Mara seemed small and vulnerable in his arms. Kam was surprised how petite she was as Luke kissed her eyelids shut and whispered words he couldn't hear. Whatever Luke had said to her had done the trick. The girl with the red-gold hair had relaxed in the arms of the Jedi Master. Luke had reacted instantly to her need of him, as she had to his. Kam could feel their bond, shimmering like liquid fire around them. It was a powerful one. His Jedi colleague, Cilghal, was right. The presences of the two were so strongly intertwined that it was difficult, if not near impossible to separate one from the other. To him, at that moment, they felt like a single being.

He walked carefully into the corridor to give them a little more privacy, but they didn't seem to notice. The intimacy he sensed between them was not new. Luke's arms circled Mara not with the awkwardness of the new lover but with the familiarity of the old. So, in a way, he had been wrong. The rumours about them had been true, their relationship well beyond what he had thought it had been, and he was glad.

Kam cast his mind back to days he'd long tried to forget. It was common knowledge among the Jedi community that Mara Jade was ignorant of her origins, but it figured that one of her parents must have been a Jedi and a powerful one. Mara's presence in the force was nearly Luke's equal - even if she didn't think that herself. He hadn't known Mirahn well, hadn't known she'd had a child. But she must have been a young woman while he was at the temple. They'd all fled, his father cut down by the dark Lord of the Sith, Mirahn had…. Something teased at his memory. There had been something about her. Something unexpected had happened - a scandal! He tried to remember, but it was possible he hadn't known what it was. They'd had little time to absorb what was happening to them. They'd been too busy saving themselves, trying to hide. Mirahn had died needlessly, of that he was sure… and her daughter. It felt strange to think of Mara Jade as a daughter, but she'd never known the love of a mother, nor of a father. He owed it to the memory of Mirahn to find out - and to Mara too.

Inside the tiny office, Mara had stopped thinking ages ago; she only felt. Luke's arms surrounded her slender form and in her distress, they had become a safe haven. It had been a long time since they had held each other. He made her body quiver and she made his clench with need. His mouth lowered to hers and possessed her with a kiss of such aching sweetness that it was hardly a possession at all. Her whole body reacted with the quickness of fire, and she felt her blood begin to sing to him. Luke parted her lips with a gentle finger and she deftly kissed its tip, causing his groin to react with painful alacrity. His mouth smothered hers and for just a fraction of time he pretended to forget where they were. But any time spent kissing Mara Jade was enough to make his body hard and hungry for hers. Mara's arms smoothed over his naked chest and coiled themselves around his neck as she pressed her lithe form closer to Luke's need.

"Mara," Luke finally groaned against her mouth. "We have to stop this….. Kam..."

Mara stiffened and moved carefully away, her face scarlet and her body throbbing with sexual frustration. "Sith, farmboy, you should be in a bacta tank, and I'm ready to … to…" She blushed and looked away, horrified at herself.

Despite his body's discomfort, Luke grinned. "You're ready to what, green eyes?"

Mara's eyes flashed emerald fire. "You can hardly hold yourself upright and you're thinking about… about…. Skywalker!" Her voice rose as she sensed his need, and more importantly she tried to stifle her own.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Luke offered cheekily, as he willed his body to return to normal. But despite his determinedly jaunty air, his eyes still looked tired, dark circles outlining the vivid blue, still bright in his pale face. He picked up her small hands and then sat staring at them as if he didn't know what to do. Kam chose that moment to return to his office.

The older Jedi took in the scene as the Jedi Master and his beautiful companion sat and stared at the other, holding hands, but saying nothing. Kam felt like a spare rocket-pack.

"I'm sorry I upset you, Mara. I didn't mean to," Kam said gently.

"I know." She didn't remove her gaze from Luke's. He squeezed her hands tightly before letting them go, and she turned to Kam with an unreadable expression. "Can you tell me anything about her?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I was just a boy at the time and I only remembered her because she was kind to me, made me laugh and fed me sweet things. It was a time when there was little laughter among the Jedi. I'm going to meditate on it. If I remember anything more, I'll let you know." He held out a hand to her and she looked a little startled, but in essence, apart from Luke and his family, it was the first time that one of the Jedi had accepted her totally and offered her a hand in friendship. Her eyes closed briefly. Then with a little glance at Luke, she stretched out her own hand and clasped Kam's.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You've given me more than I ever had before, than I ever hoped I'd have."

"I'll take Mara back to her ship. She needs to sleep," Luke suddenly said.

"Fine," Kam murmured, recognising Luke's intent even if the Jedi Master did not. He coughed a little, embarrassed by his envy of the younger man. "I'll go and see if Cilghal has finished her rounds for the night."

Mara got to her feet and stumbled out of the room. Luke immediately arose and limped after her. But Kam put his arm out to stay the Jedi Master for a moment. "There's something about Mirahn, something important, but I can't remember. I don't want to upset Mara any more than I already have, but there was just…" He clenched his fist in frustration. If only he could remember…

"Don't worry. If it is meant to be, the memories will return. Thank you, Kam. I appreciate it. She'll be fine; she's the strongest person I know. You've given her somewhere to start, more than she's ever had in her life. Palpatine and his darkside evil did this to her. I don't know what I'd do to him if he were still alive. Anger, hate, aggression are the darkside and I'm teaching the Jedi to renounce such emotions. But as far as I'm concerned - I might not be able to control what I'd do to him for doing this to her."

Kam blinked. Luke's voice had darkened and so had his sense in the Force. Yes, he thought. Mara Jade is important to him. More important than any other woman, save his sister and even then, I would say that what links Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade together is stronger than the thickest slab of durasteel.

Kam shook his head as he watched Luke starting to follow Mara outside, his limping gait slowing him down as his ankle protested at such ill usage. Immediately able to sense he was in pain, Mara returned to his side and offered him a supportive arm.

"Should you really be up, Skywalker? I think you should be in that bed in there. I could get 2-1B to knock you out." Her voice was brisk, but Luke could tell that she still felt shaken by news of her mother's identity.

"I'm fine," he dismissed her words as he usually did and promptly stumbled as he tried to put his full weight on the offending limb.

"Lean on me, flyboy," Mara offered, her tone dry as she helped him towards the Skipray. Once they'd made their slow progress up the boarding ramp, she waved him to a seat and thrust a sealed packet in his face. "Look what I've found. The only spare bacta wrap on the whole planet."

Luke' s azure eyes lit up. "You'd better give that to Cilghal; she could probably use it."

"She probably could," Mara's tone mocked gently. "On you."

"Hell, Mara, my ankle's fine." Luke tried to stand, to prove he was as healed as he could be and quickly crumbled as the ankle gave out. His face blanched and he sank down upon the seat. "Just give me a couple of minutes and I'll prove it."

"Luke," she drawled. "So your ankle's fine?" She placed both hands on her hips. Yeah!" she said dryly. "Right!"

Suddenly kneeling before him, Mara unwrapped the wrap and applied it gently. Her smooth fingers soothed the healing bacta over the swollen area and carefully, trying all the time not to cause him any pain, wound the bandage around it. Luke could feel the healing properties in the bacta immediately begin to work and he closed his eyes for a moment, finally relaxing.

Mara got slowly to her feet, watching carefully as Luke's breath expelled from his lungs and his body eased. He must have been in considerable pain, even with Jedi pain suppressing techniques. His eyes blinked open, surprising her. "You okay?"

"I should be asking you that." But she nodded, her face still a little troubled.

"Palpatine never wanted to risk you finding out about your past. You know that, don't you?" Luke asked gently.

"I thought I never would. I still know nothing about her. Who she was, when she lived or how she died. Kam was only a boy himself, he wouldn't know anything, even with meditation. I understand that, but it's hard to get a glimpse and then - nothing."

"It's surprising what children can pick up, even when they are not supposed to. I've got some new records at home on Coruscant."

Mara lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "Why on Coruscant and not on Yavin at the Jedi Academy?"

"I just received them. They were unearthed in a vault deep below the Imperial Palace just before I returned to Coruscant." His eyes darkened. "Just before we…, "he blushed and continued quickly to cover his embarrassment. "Once they were determined to be Jedi records they were turned over to me. At the moment they are unreadable, being heavily encrypted. The records I have on Yavin are much older, belonging to an era long before our currently troubled times."

Mara paced the deck in front of Luke, her strides swift and agitated, before turning to face him, her expression strained. "I know now that she loved me, but I just never expected to feel like this."

"Like what?"

"As if I've suddenly awoken from a thick fog, and things are not the same. I was viewing everything in monochrome and now it's in colour."

"At the risk of sounding like my former Master Yoda, I can only state the obvious. Things are not the same…" He stuck out his hand and caught Mara's, pulling her steadily towards him.

"Luke…"

"Mara…" he mimicked and drew her onto his knees.

"Skywalker. What about your ankle?"

"What about it? What ankle?" He dismissed it and brought his arms around her. "Mara…" he looked deep into her eyes and she felt her insides begin to dissolve.

"Luke…" The word came out as a breathy moan, barely even a sound. She felt his intent and closed her eyes as Luke's intense blue eyes drew nearer and nearer. Her lips parted automatically and finally his well-shaped mouth descended on hers. Sensation sizzled through her as their mouths met. Mara's hands clenched but slowly came up and placed themselves around his strong shoulders. Her fingers clung to him like a hawk bat on a Coruscant tower. Their mouths sought the hidden tastes and textures of one another, tongues probing, teeth nipping and all the time it was undeniably possessive on both sides. He was hers and she was his. Her breasts swelled within the confines of her tunic, yearning to have his hands and lips teasing them into taut, rosy peaks.

With a little gasp, she tore her mouth from his and rested her head against his forehead, her hand reaching up to trail tenderly across his cheek, feeling the rasp of stubble covering the little cleft in his chin. Luke's arms wound even tighter, if it were possible, around her slim form.

"You need to go back, Luke. Kam and Cilghal will be waiting."

"No - I want to stay with you tonight. Please…. I don't want to be alone and neither do you," he murmured shrewdly. "I'm not asking for, or expecting, anything from you. I'd just like to hold you in my arms and sleep."

Mara gave a faint grin. "And sleep? Skywalker?"

"We have a bond in the Force, Mara," Luke insisted.

"Yeah," she sighed heavily. "It's a strange one that."

Luke winced a little, but whether it was from her words or from the aches and pains in his body, she had no idea. Mara assessed him and slipped out of his embrace. "You really should go back to the hospital."

Luke caught at her hand again. "No! I'm staying with you." His voice was determined, but the impression of vulnerability caught at her heart. He stood up, gingerly testing his weight. The bacta wrap had helped and the pain was less. He let out a relieved grin. "See, it's better," and pulled out her bunk, immediately spreading himself full length upon it. "I'm even resting here, taking the weight off." He used his best innocent smile, the blue eyes clear, the smile without guile, and Mara rolled her eyes, not fooled for a minute.

"The charm doesn't work on me, farmboy. You know that." She tried to sound stern, but the sight of him lying on her bunk, his blue eyes wide and full of hope melted her steely resolve. She would not let him get to her. She would not let him get to her. She would not…

He'd got to her again. "Look – I'll be no trouble," he said sweetly.

"Somehow," she stood over him, her hands back on her hips. "I find that very hard to believe." But eventually she accepted his need to stay with her and took the hand he held up to her. Joining him in the bunk, her body lay stiffly next to him with a barely perceptible gap between them. Mara knew if she touched him she would be lost.

With a wave of her hand, Mara switched the lights off and for a few moments they lay stiffly side by side in the dark, getting used to the feeling of being together again. Subtly, the awareness began to grow between them, like heat seeping into a cold room. Mara held her feelings in check, unwilling to act upon the sensations that were beginning to course through her body, threatening to swallow her whole. Her skin prickled, nerve endings tingling, energised and receptive to the man lying silently beside her. The man she was in love with. Mara's throat went dry, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. It was going to be a very long night.

Luke resolutely closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on anything rather than the beautiful green-eyed girl he was so in love with. He was as relaxed as she was, which meant he was not relaxed at all. Every muscle strained not to act upon his feelings. If he'd given in, acted upon his desires, Luke Skywalker would have torn the clothes from her and buried himself in her beautiful, receptive body. He knew it would be that way. His body was on fire, aching more than his ankle had ever thought to. If he touched her, even in the slightest way, Luke knew they would both be lost. His eyes flew open as he attempted to banish such an evocative picture from his mind. It was going to be a long night and, Jedi or not, he didn't think he had that much control. He slammed his eyes shut again, working to distract himself from the stiffening in his groin. He concentrated on the pain in his ankle, the bacta wrap, and the contents of bacta itself. It had helped his ankle considerably, but as a diversion it failed. Nothing would lead him away from thoughts about the woman at his side. It was where she belonged; he knew that.

Luke sensed Mara moving just a fraction as she tried to steady her erratic breathing. It brought his awareness of her presence next to him all the more forcibly to his tortured mind. He could inhale her scent, redolent of a fresh spring day. He could imagine rubbing such a fragrance over her smooth supple body. He could remember the feel of her skin against him, her firm breasts in his hands, the sensation of becoming one in body and in mind. He had given her his soul.

The Jedi Master had reached the breaking point in his control and without realising it, let out a small moan. In the tense stillness of the Skipray's miniscule cabin, the moan sounded louder than a triumphal war cry.

Mara jerked upright and using the Force anxiously waved the lights on. The cabin became painfully bright and Luke blinked dazedly into worried green eyes, her pupils still dilated owing to the thoughts she'd been having, thoughts of what she'd like to do within the sanctuary of Luke's arms.

Mara placed a hand on his forehead, Philokian fire moths dancing in her stomach. His skin was hot and dry to her touch, his blue eyes dark with wide aroused pupils. Mara bit her lips in concern as he moaned again. "Luke… I'll get Cilghal. I should never have allowed you to stay here with me. I…"

Luke's eyes widened at her words and a swift hand snapped around her wrist and yanked her down on top of him. She never saw it coming.

"Luke…!"

His mouth covered hers - hard, forcing her to yield to him and he rolled her underneath him, imprisoning her with the weight of his body. But no force was needed because as soon as flesh had met flesh, they both fell prey to their strongest desires.

'Hot'.

By the Force, the fire building between them was hot, and Mara gave into the flames burning between them without the slightest protest. She needed him as much as he needed her. Hands fumbled and clutched as clothes were removed without ceremony. This would be no gentle loving. This would be hot and hard and desperate. Too much had passed between them, too much fear that they might never have had the chance to love like this again. Mara grabbed at his naked shoulders in a frantic attempt to meld with him. Luke's hands and mouth were everywhere until all their clothes were scattered to every part in the cabin. The temperature rose higher as Luke as the two Jedi joined together.

Kam sank deeper into the Force. There were strange currents there tonight. Something had woken the swirling fragments and something was joining them together. The puzzle he'd become involved in was solving itself. Or was it creating even more questions he couldn't answer? People and places he didn't remember vanished past him, but one face remained, her hand stretching out to him, pleading with him to help her reach the one person she'd thought she'd lost. 'Mirahn'?

Luke gasped for breath as Mara's fingernails dug into his back leaving livid scratches to add to his other faded scars. His body thrust as the pain acted as a stimulus to his final completion. Mara's face contorted, the waves of pleasure leaving her coated in sweat. This was more than it had been in Coruscant - much more. Mara offered herself to him, glorying in what she'd once been afraid to give.

Kam felt as if he'd descended into a whirlpool. Images flew at him from every direction, in a swirling kaleidoscope of colours and sounds and, gasping for much needed breath, he threw himself from the vision.

Mara's body rose off the bed, her voice lifting in a keening cry as Luke's spirit joined with hers and they became so totally immersed in each other's souls that Greoa could have blown itself to pieces again and they wouldn't have noticed.

Luke's fingers slid to the nape of Mara's neck and tangled in the damp length of her hair, as he turned her head towards him. "Mara Jade, you bewitch me." His voice was quiet, the expression in his eyes deadly serious. "No matter how hard I've tried, I cannot get you out of my mind. You've always been there. Even if I hadn't consciously thought of you in weeks, you were there, a presence just hovering where I could feel you with me. Do you know how I feel about you?" His voice shook a little. "I have to tell you, even if it is something that you don't want to hear. I cannot keep quiet any longer, not when you mean so much….."

Mara's hand lifted to stay his words momentarily. "I want to hear. Tell me."

Luke closed his eyes and with a deep breath and a heart thundering in his ears spoke the words he'd held deep inside himself for so long. "I love you."

Mara's eyes filled with tears at the import of his words. Her hands still shaking from the climax of their loving and, she could no longer deny it was loving. She knew that as surely as he did. They couldn't have hidden anything from each other in that cataclysmic frenzy of passion if their lives had depended on it. She knew his heart as surely as he did hers and they would never be apart again.

"But I knew that," she whispered huskily, the light of her self-discoveries shining brightly. "I think I always knew it. Even when I hated you, I loved you too. Luke…"

He warily opened the eyes that had haunted her over the years and throughout the galaxy.

"I love you."

With a gentle finger, she traced the outline of his firm chest and then let her hand drift lower. Her vivid green eyes darkened to match the storm tossed blue of his, before he rose up on one elbow and began once more to bring her body to completeness. His body hardened and, as it would always do, no matter what happened to them, hers leapt in response.

"Oh, Mara…" he whispered reverently, lovingly. His mouth covered hers and they lost themselves once more.

Kam paced the small room he'd been using. He had to tell her. There was no question she would want to know. But it wouldn't be easy for her. Kam shifted uncomfortably. He could feel Luke and Mara's passion through his carefully constructed shields. He'd never experienced anything quite that strong amongst the Jedi. How would Mara take it when she heard that her mother had been banished from the Jedi temple for having a liaison with one of Emperor Palpatine's most trusted officers? That she had been suspected of betraying the Jedi. The picture of Mirahn, her hand outstretched, pleading to someone to spare the life of her…. Kam's body straightened. Mirahn had pleaded for the life of her child and Palpatine had granted that wish. The JediTemple had been destroyed and those remaining had gone into hiding. Kam never knew what had happened to her. His father's grey face came to mind, urging him to hide in a ship full of spare engine parts. He'd left Coruscant for good and shortly after that his father had been murdered too. Kam grimaced as he walked reluctantly towards the Skipray Blastboat. He had to wait for the lovers to emerge. The daughter of Mirahn and Imperial Captain Jan Jaden had to know what he knew. It was her right.