Disclaimer - The characters and the situations used in this epistle are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. My thanks to Jackie, Mona, Molly, Aria and all the girls on the list for help and support. I keep telling them one of these days I'll write short. Ash
The Awakening - Chapter 14
Luke held the small, precious object in the palm of his hand and marvelled at the craftsmanship that had gone into making it perfect. A holocron - who would have believed it? He peered at the carvings and networks of fine threads that seemed to run through the centre of such an object. He knew it had been hollow, just six pieces of coloured glass and now it looked as if the whole thing had been carved from a single large crystal. He could feel its power - feel the Force coursing through it and into him. He wanted to unlock the secrets it held within its depths but something held him back. He glanced at the data pad lying on his desk - everything was there for him to find out what he wanted to know. Yet, he hesitated. He knew that he was not the first person who should access its veiled mysteries.
That privilege belonged to Mara.
Solo Apartment
Mara sat on the balcony and gazed out at the Solos' view of Coruscant. It was different from Luke's, yet almost as impressive. So many people, all moving in their own progressions through life. She'd moved very far suddenly of late and it left her disoriented. A memory of a similar evening only a few months before on another balcony but with a much different outcome. The night she'd been changed forever and all because Luke Skywalker had kissed her. Mara sipped at her glass of pale green Alderaanian wine and tried not to think about the things she'd learned only five days ago. She'd been stubbornly ignoring what she needed to face - perhaps now was the time, although she didn't want to have to face it alone. Mirahn and Jan Jaden - her parents. It was a strange concept - to have parents. She'd never had them before. Had Jaden really turned the blaster on Mirahn? It was possible, especially if Palpatine had anything to do with it. Her former master had no qualms about destroying anything if it served his ends. 'I wonder how close he came to destroying me?' she mused. 'I was loyal. Would he have used me and then cast me aside?'
The lights of the city drew her attention again and she wondered what Luke was doing? Was he missing her? She craved his touch, his kiss, his hands on her body. She missed the warm, safe feelings of contentment and love he gave her. How could she not love such a man? It didn't bear thinking about.
The ripple of emotion caught her attention. Instantly she was on her feet, pressing herself against the balcony rail and searching through the dark for the presence of the Jedi Master. The surge of feeling came from Luke - it had to. Was he in trouble or in pain? She reached out with her sense… No, he wasn't in any distress, but something had profoundly affected him.
"Mara!" Leia's anxious voice came from behind.
"I felt it."
"The disturbance in the Force?"
"Yes, it was Luke, but you are closer to him than I."
"I'm not so sure about that anymore."
Mara turned to face the other woman and scrutinised Leia with her piercing green gaze. "But you are his sister, his Force strong twin."
"And you are the woman he loves."
Mara looked a way, a bit uncomfortably, but then admitted, "We have a bond." Mara's mind automatically heard again Luke's voice telling her he'd given her his soul. "He gave me his soul…"
Leia smiled with a mixture of pleasure and pain. "I know and it's good that he did." Mara had certainly changed. It wasn't that she was any softer - she was still dangerous. However, there was an awakening warmth about her.
"I gave him mine and I didn't realise I had." Mara's voice held wonder.
"This is Luke; he will know."
"Yes… he will."
"Is he in trouble?" Leia's voice was brisk.
"No," Mara blinked. "He could still use a comlink if he was."
"This is true," his sister replied dryly. "It's just as quick as the Force."
"It is on Coruscant." Mara stared across the endless streams of traffic as they flew past in their allotted lanes. "This was a different feeling. It held wonder, awe, and even reverence if you will. He's excited about something."
"When isn't he? Okay… and…" Leia's voice stretched the word out warily.
"He's on the move, probably here," she finished. "Can't find me, who's next on the Skywalker hit list - you."
"Probably and it figures. Has he sensed you yet?" Leia asked quizzically.
"No… but he will soon. He's not thinking about me or I'm sure he would have sensed me before now. He'll be mad you didn't say anything earlier." Mara looked at Leia apologetically. "This bond - he can feel when I'm near. I shouldn't have come."
Unknown to the women, Han had joined the discussion and stood quietly behind his wife at the open window. "You're wrong about that, Mara Jade. If Luke loves you and you love Luke, then you're family. Why shouldn't you be here? We're not turning you away."
"I have a perfectly good apartment of my own to go to."
"Yes you have, but you came here instead of being on your own and you must ask yourself why. In any case, Leia and I want to get to know you better. If you're still planning on killing the kid, then we get to find out what your weaknesses are." Han smiled wryly.
"He can still drive me down the Death Star's trench and back up again. But no," her head dipped a little. "I don't want to kill him." She grinned suddenly and the sight of it sent Han retreating a couple of steps. "Well, not at the precise moment I don't."
"Hey, Jade, you should smile more often. You look quite pretty when you do."
"Han!" Leia's tone went up an octave in embarrassment. "What a thing to say to the girl. Thank you, Mr Charm. Ignore him, Mara. In fact, kill him instead."
"I only meant…. Girls - be nice…." Han backed away even further, his hands in front of his body to ward off any imminent attack.
Leia laughed and Mara, surprised at how free she felt to join in - did so.
Han took a step forward and wrapped a fond arm around his wife, dropping a careless kiss on her forehead. "As I said… If Luke loves you, then you're family and you belong with us."
"Family!" Mara's face stiffened. "Family! What do I know of family?"
Leia took a step closer to Mara and clasped her hands gently. "There are no rules in a family. If you don't know what to do, you make it up as you go along. This is not the Jedi Code."
Mara's face crumpled and her shoulders shook as she fought to contain her distress.
"Let it out, Mara. There's no shame in crying."
"But I never cry, and I've done so more times since I got entangled with your family, than I ever did in the whole of the rest of my life."
But she submitted to the almost motherly feelings of Leia's arms as they wrapped themselves around her in the age-old gesture of comfort. The wave of pain she couldn't stifle rippled from her very core, and she clung to Leia as one would to a lifeline. Leia's dark eyes met the serious lighter hazel gaze of her husband and nodded. Mara had a lot of issues to deal with and still needed time to assimilate things properly, and for that she needed Luke.
Luke felt the sudden wave of feeling and it nearly knocked him sideways. There was only one person in the entire galactic universe who could have that kind of effect on him. It was Mara and she was hurting. The wave of muffled pain caught him completely unawares. It was as if Mara was trying to spare him her pain. As if she were hiding from him.
Luke stopped abruptly and turned around in a circle. The air around him was charged with the Force. Faces merged into things and he was left in a psychedelic swirl of chaos, colours and sounds. It was as if time itself had stopped in a kind of expressionist nightmare. Through it all he could feel Mara's pain.
'Mara! Where are you?'
No answer. So he tried something else.
'Leia!'
'I hear you, Luke. Mara's here. She's with us and she's fine, but she needs you.'
The world righted itself and he knew. Beginning to run, Luke ignored the startled expressions of passers by. He had to get to Mara now that he knew where she was. She was on Coruscant and she needed him.
Mara lifted her head and stared intently into space, before tearing herself away and running towards the door.
"After her!" Han yelled.
"No! It's okay," Leia murmured as she watched Mara run to the entrance and jabbing furiously at the keypad. With a violent hiss, the door slid aside revealing the Jedi Master himself and if appearances were anything to go by - he was not happy.
"You've been here all the time, you've been hiding from me." His voice stiff.
Mara flushed a little, her head lowering.
"Five days I've been back and you've been here all that time. Didn't you trust me, Mara? Couldn't you have said I'll see you on Coruscant - forget about the month." Luke didn't accuse but the hurt in his voice was so palpable you could touch it.
Mara lifted her chin, her anger with him returning. "Yeah, I've been here. Why not? This is a free planet - you don't own or control it. You didn't ask me if I wanted time, did you?"
Luke's mouth opened in shock.
"No, you just assumed you knew the best for me, as always. What if I told you I would have gone with you at that moment? I would have gone anywhere, but no. Master Skywalker, Jedi Knight had to decide what I needed. No one makes decisions like that for me. Not any more."
Luke took a step forward, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What mynock put that idea into your head? Since when have you ever opened up enough to admit you want to be with me." His voice grew louder. "You say you love me, but when do I get what everyone else has? When do I see proof."
"I came after you, didn't I?"
"You always come after me. I'm beginning to wonder if you're not checking that someone's finally managed to finish me off."
Mara's face tightened with anger. "Someone should have a long time ago. But no, Skywalker always seems to come through it. Why?" she screamed inches from his face. "Because I'm there to pull the big krayt dragon out of trouble."
"I would have managed fine on my own. You didn't have to come after me."
"Sure I did."
"Yeah, then you run away. Scared of feeling too much emotion. Scared of letting go, letting someone in. Scared of what I make you feel…" he finished on a whisper. His shoulders heaved and his head dropped a little.
"Luke…." Mara whispered. "Why are we shouting at each other like this? You've not even set foot inside the door."
"Are we shouting?" he questioned huskily.
"No."
She took a careful step forward and so did Luke and he bent his head and covered her mouth with his own. Their arms wound round each other's bodies, so close that nothing could have squeezed between them. Luke parted Mara's lips as they continued to kiss.
"Is it okay to come out now?" Han stuck his head up from behind the sofa, where he'd taken refuge as soon as Luke and Mara had started shouting at one another. He saw the couple in the doorway. "Is that the way the Jedi always greet guests?" he asked whimsically. "I could get used to that part. No wonder hokey religions always last a long time."
"I'm not sure, haven't tried it quite like that."
"You could on me, Councillor Organa Solo," his voice deepened. "But just on me."
"I'll try it out…." She gave her husband a sly wink. "Later, when the courageous Corellian I married comes back."
"Oh, he's still here but sharing quarters with the one who's rather keen on self-preservation."
"I think well preserved is more accurate," Leia vamped quietly. "Crisis over, I think." She indicated Luke and Mara and their passionate reunion.
Luke pulled Mara into his inflamed body as he continued to taste the sweetness of her kiss. She was in his arms and she was warm and real. He hadn't wanted to let her go, he'd genuinely thought that she would need time to think things over. His temperature began to rise, and he knew if he didn't pull away from Mara soon there might be an embarrassing situation.
"Mara," he pulled himself away from her willing mouth and seeking hands. "Mara, we need to stop this."
She pulled away a little, her mouth with the ripe appearance of someone who'd been thoroughly kissed, her eyes a dark stormy jade under heavy lids, summoning him to a feast he'd already tasted, and it was food from the gods. A feast he wanted to experience again soon. Luke felt a tightening in his groin, but closed his eyes and took a mental breather, willing his body to relax.
"We're in the open hallway of Han and Leia's apartment. I don't know how many people we've given a free show to."
"Just the security staff and a couple of Noghri," Leia quipped with a warm smile. "Come on." She pulled Luke and Mara carefully back into the lounge. "Well? Sit down, before you fall down. You look shell-shocked."
Luke sat in a well-stuffed armchair and watched, as Mara stood bewildered for an instant. Luke grinned and gave the hand he still held a little tug. Mara ended sprawled in a heap on his lap. Before she could leap up and find her own seat, Luke wrapped his arms around her and brought her close. With any luck, this would hide the erection he was threatening to display. With a big effort he again willed his body to return to normal and the thought that Han and Leia were sitting opposite helped a great deal.
"I found something," Luke said quietly.
"We know," answered Leia. "Mara and I felt your reaction."
"The disks are ready to read."
Mara twisted in his grasp and turned to face him. "You didn't read them?"
"No, I felt you should be there when I did."
"Oh."
"There's more."
"More?" Leia and Han chorused together.
"The pieces of glass…. They formed into a holocron."
"A holocron." Mara murmured.
"This is the repeating show, with Han Solo in his lounge reporting for…"
"Shut up, Solo," Mara growled.
"You know how rare they are. To find another intact is miraculous. It's beautiful." He gazed steadily into Mara's face. 'Like you', he thought, appreciating her creamy skin, fiery tresses and the amazing green of her eyes. A colour which changed with her mood. 'Beautiful.'
"You didn't access the contents of it either, did you Luke?" Mara asked.
"No, because I wanted to wait for you. At first I was going to find out everything I could for you, then I realised I wanted you with me. We make a good team, you and I." He traced a gentle finger across Mara's parted lips and Leia turned her head away, feeling she was intruding on an intensely private moment.
Han got up and left the lounge, momentarily returning with Mara's bag. "Go on, go home. Be together. You've spent too much time apart. I think you still have some squaring up to do. One or two issues have to be sorted out between you. Before the Councillor here sends out the wedding invites." He grinned at his wife.
"Now wait a minute, Han." Leia and Han had discussed such a possibility, but it was better to wait until Luke and Mara decided what they were going to do. She had the feeling Han had just pushed them all to the edge of a dangerous precipice.
Luke and Mara gave each other quick embarrassed glances and then stared at the Solos.
"You're right, Leia. We have things to discuss." Luke's face had shuttered at Han's words. He placed Mara on to her feet and rose to join her.
Leia tried to probe her brother's feeling through the Force but found he was locked up tighter than Jabba's safe deposit box.
Han crossed to Luke and handed him Mara's belongings. "Mara was ready to go with you that last time and you blew it. Listen to her this time, kid."
"She was… You were? Stars, I'm sorry." Luke's earnest face paled a little. "But you usually… I'm sorry," he muttered again.
"You will be," Mara warned darkly.
"She's planning revenge, kid. So beware."
"The Jedi don't do revenge." Luke insisted.
"This one does." Green eyes locked defiantly with blue.
"Now, Mara," he muttered warningly.
"Don't you 'Now Mara' me, farmboy. Perhaps revenge isn't the right term. We could think of it more as payback."
Luke squirmed. He was in trouble. He could feel it.
"Kids!" Han remarked loftily to his wife. "You never saw us behaving like that."
Luke took a threatening step towards his brother-in-law, which Mara, after a sign from Leia headed off. He shifted Mara's belongings into his left hand and held out his right. Mara, with a nervous expression, placed her hand within the clasp of his. Then she looked at his clothing. Luke was wearing his Jedi blacks, but just at his collar she caught a hint of blue. His hand tightened reassuringly in hers.
"Mara," he whispered hoarsely. "Let's go home."
"Yes," she answered, her eyes darkening to sage. "Let's."
For a moment they stood outside the door to the Solos' apartment as it closed behind them and then they began to walk. They said nothing, but felt the connection grow between them because the simple touch of their clasped hands transmitted comfort and security. They reached the first shuttle station and Luke helped Mara carefully into the small craft before it hurtled the five-minute journey along to the nearest point for the short stroll to Luke's apartment. Climbing out, he again held out his hand and Mara took it, wondering all the time what was happening to them. They felt as if they were in some sort of a daze, almost protected from reality, if only for a moment.
Luke's apartment was dark when they arrived there. Luke reached for the light controls, but Mara shook her head, her eyes glittering at him in the darkness. Still saying nothing, Luke pulled her into his arms and devoured her mouth with his own, crushing her slim body to his harder, more masculine one. Breathing hard, they broke apart and Luke ran his hand over the softness of her cheek.
"Come," he murmured, as if afraid to speak aloud.
The lovers carefully climbed down the spiral staircase, Luke leading and Mara following. It wouldn't always be that way because they were an equal partnership. When they reached the bottom, Luke dropped Mara's things on the floor and lifted her into his arms.
Mara's heart soared as he swept her off her feet, and she placed soft lips against the sensitive spot on his neck as he carried her into his bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.
"Payback time," she whispered throatily and pulled him down to her.
"Payback?" Luke moaned, as she began to torment him in ways he'd only dreamt of. Mara removed her clothing until she was left in her thin undergarments. Luke's eyes traced the outline of her feminine shape as she began to tease him. Mara's hands tugged at the collar of his tunic and stripped it carefully from him, revealing the blue shirt underneath. Luke opened passion-glazed eyes and smiled at her. Mara began to remove it, searching for the naked flesh beneath and when her lips met tanned skin, Luke shuddered. His hands rose of their own accord and slowly pulled the thin straps from her shoulders and the camisole slipped to her waist, revealing Mara's body in all of its perfection. Slim waist, curved hips and soft rounded, taunting breasts…. The picture swam before Luke's tortured gaze. His hands reached for her taut pink tipped nipples and Mara laughed low in her throat.
"Not yet, just wait."
Luke's head pressed back into the pillow and his cheeks flushed feverishly as her hands trailed lower and began to unwrap his lower half from his remaining clothes. She did it so slowly that Luke's already fragile grasp of his body's attributes vanished.
"Mara!" His eyes glittered wildly in his burning face. "Mara!" His voice rose in the strangled groan of a man very close to the end of his tether.
"Oh yes, farmboy - payback. Now ssh! Don't talk." Mara slid her supple body completely over his and began to rotate gentle hips.
"This is payback?" Luke's voice cracked.
Through the long night, they spoke little verbally, but communicated with hands, lips and senses. Flesh to flesh, skin to skin and soul to soul. Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker were weaving spells of desire that they could never break. The tempo of their loving rose and fell and rose again as Mara took Luke deep within her until they both reached the completion they needed. When the passion stilled, there were tears in their eyes.