I know I took a lot of dialogue right out of Zahn's Heir to the Empire last time…this time there will be less of that…this will try to fill in the gaps between the scenes with Luke and Mara. He's going to struggle with knowing her…and not knowing her.
I'm glad you all enjoyed the first part! BIG thanks to my reviewers: you guys make it all worthwhile!
Kayladie, thanks so much for your review! I'm glad you liked Mara's deathscene. It's hard to write the deathscene of a well-loved character, especially since she's my favorite! But I wanted to make sure that he had no options left. I am going to redo the whole thing, the way I think the fans--and Timothy Zahn--wanted it to happen. Ten years is crazy, considering the things that happened on Wayland and the way he left the last scene…it should have happened so much sooner. "Eye of the Beholder" was put on a crazy-long hiatus because there were some serious health problems in the family and I was bouncing back and forth across the country, but it should be updated very, very soon--like within a week or two.
Jedi-2B, I'm glad you liked the opener. They're always the most fun for me. I toyed for a long time with whether or not to have Luke remember Mara, their marriage, and her death, but in the end I thought it would be more intriguing to have him clueless. The 'dream' is his only clue, and he can't remember that. I have another idea along these lines for a second story about how Luke and Mara's childhoods are linked…we'll see how this one goes.
Elwen, I know exactly what you mean when you talk about formatting, ect! Sometimes it's just so hard to plow through stories that are one long paragraph, no matter how well they're written. The concept for this story has been bugging me for a little while…I think since I stumbled across the movie Sliding Doors (pretty good, I recommend it if you haven't seen it). And finally I decided to take it to my keyboard and just let it flow.
Mirwen, I thought the idea was quite intriguing. It took me forever to come up with a way to make it work. Having Callista offer the chance was a strange attempt and symbolism. I'm hoping to make the choices interesting--connect some of those dots I had when I read through the Expanded Universe, and revise it. One thing I won't change (but maybe add to) is the scene on Wayland in the throne room--that was always one of my favorites.
Luvinna, I hope I live up to your expectations! Keep nagging me and I'll keep writing. )
Sithspawn-13, the beginning is the most important part in my opinion. Like I told Luvinna, keep nagging me and I'll keep writing.
Terri, thank you! And YES! I totally wanted a much more in depth scene about Luke locating Mara in the wreckage of the Katana Battle--and more on her reaction when she wakes up and finds out it was him who found her. And YES--I can't WAIT to do Luke after Mara's knocked out by C'boath's death blast thing. So rest assured, those scenes will be in there and be huge! Nag me!
MaraJadeSkywalkerJedi, thank you! I'll try to keep my updates relatively speedy, but my work schedule changes weekly and I'm about to start grading papers again on top of school…I usually write at night, though, so…keep nagging me and I'll type away!
The Ties that Bond
chapter two
He'd drifted in and out of his drug-induced sleep for a long time, vaguely aware that Karrde had drugged him after stunning him and that, for some reason, his Jedi techniques for nullifying toxins weren't helping him. Finally, finally, Luke managed to cling to consciousness and his mind began to clear. Blinking his sun-dazzled eyes, he lifted his head to take in his unfamiliar surroundings.
He was still wearing his flight suit, on a bed, in a small room. It didn't look like any kind of cell he'd ever seen. An open window allowed in a fragrant breeze, but that did little to ease his disquiet. Something was out of place…
The sun was low in the sky, but he couldn't determine yet if it was dusk or dawn, and he caught sight of the leafy top of a forest. A vast forest, not too far from his room, in fact, and--
"Finally awake, are you?"
In his search for the comlink, his eyes caught a flash of brilliant red-gold and he stared in astonishment at the woman he'd glimpsed on the bridge of Karrde's ship. How was it that he couldn't sense her?
A chilly smile crept across her face as he began to realize what was happening to him. "That's right. Welcome back to the world of the mere mortals."
He couldn't sense anything--anything--through the Force, and for the first time in a long time, he felt half-blinded and helpless.
"Don't like it, do you?" she was continuing, mockingly. "It's not easy to suddenly lose everything that once made you special, is it?"
Still reeling from shock and feeling the lingering effects of whatever drug he'd been ejected with, Luke carefully eased his legs over the side of the bed and levered himself into a seated position. His muscles tingled in response to the activity and he paused to give his body time to adjust. As he maneuvered himself around, the woman's hand dropped to her lap, and her fingers traced the lines of the formidable looking blaster resting there.
"If the purpose of all this activity is to impress me with your remarkable powers of recuperation," she offered coolly, one red-gold brow arched, "you don't need to bother."
Luke doubted very seriously that there was much that could impress her.
"Nothing so devious," he assured her aloud, struggling not to wheeze as he sucked in air. "The purpose of all this activity is to get me back on my feet." He stared her hard in the eye, hoping to make her pull back, wondering if she'd flinch away from his gaze. To his trepidation, she didn't even twitch. "Don't tell me; let me guess. You're Mara Jade."
"That doesn't impress me either. Karrde already told me he'd mentioned my name to you."
But even Karrde can't explain our bond…or why you feel so familiar to me. Even when you're stare is colder than a breeze on Hoth.
Wisely, Luke kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he nodded amiably. "He also told me that you were the one who found my X-Wing. Thank you."
Her eyes flashed. "Save your gratitude," she advised him, every word as sharp as a slap. "As far as I'm concerned, the only question left is whether we turn you over to the Imperials or kill you ourselves."
Geez, Mara, why don't you tell me how you really feel? he thought sarcastically. Before he could even finish the thought, Mara was getting to her feet, the blaster ready in her hand. "On your feet," she ordered, "Karrde wants to see you."
Awkwardly, Luke managed to get off of the bed. His eyes caught a flash of silver and a jolt ran through him at the sight of his lightsaber on her belt. It looked oddly…right hanging there, as if he'd seen a lightsaber at her hip many times. But that was absurd, wasn't it? He was quite sure he'd remember running into her in the past--she wasn't the type that was easily forgotten.
More prevalent…was she a Jedi? And if so, was she powerful enough to smother Luke's abilities? To sever his link with the Force?
"I can't say that either of those options sounds appealing," he commented, trying to sound offhanded. Mara looked almost thoughtful for a moment.
"There's one other one." She took a long step toward him, putting herself within arm's length of him. Without any hesitation, she pointed the blaster directly at his face, eyes cool and detached. "You try to escape…and I kill you right here and now."
A chill went down his spine. Without the Force, he couldn't sense their bond…and this woman truly, deeply hated him. Loathed his very existence. Whatever he'd done to her, it had been devastating. He didn't need the Force to all but feel her bitterness--it rolled off of her in almost palpable waves, crashing into him and effectively holding him in place, staring into her eyes past the barrel of the blaster. Equally paralyzing was what was behind that hatred--a deep and lingering pain, unaffected by the passage of time. What was it? What had he done to her to hurt her this deeply?
And why in all the worlds did he feel such a strong urge to take her in his arms and comfort her?
Whatever it is that's effecting me is wrecking havoc on my rational thought process, he told himself, struggling with his confused reaction to her and her bitter hatred of him.
When he didn't move for an eternity of a moment, Mara slowly dropped the blaster and jerked her head toward the door. "Move," she said simply. "Karrde's waiting."
---
It had been a busy few days, between being suddenly moved into a small storage facility, finding Artoo and managing to get to him, and attempting a risky escape right out from under the nose of an Imperial Star Destroyer--and more formidably, Mara Jade--which had unfortunately resulted in a rather harrowing chase and a nasty little Skipray crash. He'd heard all about the planet's unusual inhabitants from Karrde--the ysalamiri, for example, and their strange ability to push back the Force; or the vornskrs who seemed naturally disposed to thirst for his blood, and though he hadn't liked what he'd heard, he had no choice but to take his chances with the native predators now.
All of that left him here, lying on the ground fifteen or sixteen meters away from the wreckage of two Skiprays, with Imperials poking around the surrounding area and Mara's body pressed tightly against his side. Her arm was flung securely over his shoulders and her blaster's muzzle firmly--and more than a little uncomfortably--shoved into the hinge of his jaw. Her eyes were locked on the Imperials.
He had the oddest sense of déjà vu at the feel of her tucked against him. Less familiar was the blaster pressed against his neck. And more puzzling--Mara wasn't turning him over to the Imperials. Which had him thinking two things; either she had changed her mind about turning him into them, or she was planning on killing him when they were alone. And if the later was in fact the case--it seemed the more likely of the two, considering--then he had one choice: to surrender himself to the Imperials, move out of range of the ysalamiri, and trust a hope that, with the Force behind him once more, he could manage an escape. A risk, but maybe worth a shot.
Mara's arm tightened around his shoulders, and the blaster tip dug a little harder into his skin--with their bodies so close, she must have felt his muscles tense. "Whatever you're thinking of trying, don't." Her breath whispered across his ear, and he had to repress the urge to shiver at the strange sensation. "I can easily claim you were holding me prisoner out here and that I managed to snatch the blaster away from you."
Set and match. Fine, we'll do it your way, he thought.
It wasn't too much longer and the Imperials were gone, but Mara pushed them well out of range of their sensor before stopping to assess their situation. Sharply, she'd explained to him that they were three days from any kind of civilization. And then, quite suddenly their argument about whether Artoo would be making the trip turned much more personal.
"Let me tell you something, Skywalker," she said softly, dangerously, cutting him off. "I've wanted to kill you for a long time. I dreamed about your death every night for most of that first year. Dreamed it, plotted it--I must have run through a thousand scenarios, trying to find exactly the right way to do it. You can call it a cloud on my judgment if you want to; I'm used to it by now. It's the closest thing I've got to a permanent companion."
Luke stared into her emerald green eyes, shaken to the very core of his soul. "What did I do to you?" he whispered hoarsely, his heart aching.
"You destroyed my life," she replied bitterly, spitting out the words as if they carried with them a vile taste. "It's only fair that I destroy yours."
In the corner of his mind, he was aware that he was shaking--physically shaking--from the effect her words were having on him. His voice was weak when he spoke again. "Will killing me bring your old life back?"
"You know better than that," she said, her voice trembling just noticeably. "But it's still something I have to do. For myself and for--"
But she never finished. When he realized she wasn't going to finish, Luke dragged Karrde into it, aware that he could very well be debating for his life. She almost pulled the trigger then and there--but somehow he'd talked her out of it--and managed to save the skins of both himself and Artoo. Fast, half-thought-through reasoning, but it had been enough. For now, he'd convinced her of his worth--and learned a very interesting fact about her--she knew how to wield a lightsaber. Which didn't bode well for him at all.
Somehow he managed to sleep that night. It was hard, considering the fact that the vornskrs, Mara, and the Imperials were out for his blood, but eventually he let his body's needs win out over his mind. And without the aid of the Force to block them out, he found himself swept into a dream.
A dream of Mara. But not the cold, bitter Mara he was with now--she was different somehow. Older, less bitter, more accessible.
They were in a spacious room that he recognized--one in the gym in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. They both had lightsabers, and with a jolt Luke realized he recognized hers. He should, it had been his once, the one he'd lost along with his right hand on Bespin, his father's lightsaber. His first reaction to that realization was anger, and he almost demanded that she give it back to him--it was all he had of his father--when he noticed something else.
She was smiling at him. Really smiling. Her emerald eyes were no longer icy cold, but warm with mirth. They were both breathing hard, but not because they'd been locked in battle--they'd merely been sparring.
"Giving up already, Jade?" he heard himself say, laughter in his voice.
"You just want to quit while you're ahead, Skywalker," she retorted good-naturedly. He laughed out loud.
"Maybe," he agreed without compunction. "You've gotten better."
"Someone's got to keep you on your toes between visits to the bacta tank."
He winced at her friendly--and oh-so-true--jab. "I seem to recall several bacta dips in your recent past, too, Mara."
She snorted. "Only when I have to pull your unlucky ass out of trouble."
He laughed again and looped an arm around her shoulders, his grin infectious. "Shower, then lunch?" he asked. She made a face at him and shrugged his arm off.
"Do you always think with your stomach, Skywalker?"
He pouted boyishly. "I need nourishment after a sparring session with you. It takes a lot out of me."
"Maybe I should come around more often, just to keep you in shape," she commented as they headed for the door. Luke's heart soared at the suggestion--she wasn't around nearly as much as he wanted her to be, and maybe she missed him when she was gone, too.
"Maybe," he agreed easily, striving for a breezy-casual tone and failing. She glanced his way and smirked, catching his elation.
"Shower," she ordered, pointing a firm finger in the direction of the locker rooms. "I'll meet you in the topcaf in twenty minutes."
"You're the boss," he agreed, and snapped off a sharp salute before heading toward the showers.
---
He woke then, heart pounding steadily against his ribs, shock rippling through him at what his unconscious mind had shown him
What in all the stars was that? he thought, regaining a hold on reality. It had almost felt like a memory, as if he was recalling the event from another life…but that was crazy. But without access to the Force, Luke knew he couldn't possibly have been having a vision of the future. Suddenly he felt as if he was in a tailspin. He and Mara had teased each other like old friends in his dream…and the elation he'd felt when she'd mentioned coming around more often…
He turned his head to look at her in shock and wonder. Whatever had caused that dream had thrown him through a loop. Was it even possible for them to become friends? Or would she kill him like she kept promising him she would?
He caught sight of her at the edge of the camp, eyes skimming the treeline for any sign of vornskrs. She was wide awake but unaware that he was awake as well, and a sudden thought struck him.
By the stars, she's beautiful.
The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, in fact, with brilliant red-gold hair and eyes so strikingly emerald they took his breath away. When she wasn't wrapped in her hatred of him, those eyes were truly breathtaking. With her slender body and unconscious grace, long limbs and creamy skin, she was absolutely enchanting.
He quickly shook himself out of that line of thought--she'd kill him for sure if she ever found out what he'd been thinking, and he had no business thinking it in the first place. If anything, the only thing he should be thinking about was how to survive this forest and her.
With a deep breath, Luke rolled on his back and somehow managed to sleep again--this time, much to his relief, without dreams.