The Emerald Price Chapter 29

By Ash Darklighter

Disclaimer:- The characters and situations used in this story are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I am only using them for some entertainment and will not even make one Republican credit from this endeavour. This is set around eight to ten years after Luke and Mara met each other for the first time. This one is for all the girls on the AA list and of course for Mona – what would I do without you? My thanks also to Niqella and Rhea for their encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

Yavin IV

Mara gave a last look around the little room she'd spent the last few months inhabiting as she finished packing her carryall.

She sensed him come and stand at her door, his emotions clouded but she could see right through him now. She understood he was trying to keep his feelings from her, understood how he saw things, but she wished she could change his point of view. She could have wept with frustration. All her plans to make him confess those feelings had fallen into disarray. He'd been weakening - she'd seen it - and now he had a chance to rebuild his defences.

Mara's shoulders slumped. Who was she trying to fool? Only herself. Luke was still clinging to his outdated notion that romantic love was not for him. Of course it was for him. Why shouldn't he have what everyone else had? Mara suspected that the other Jedi on Yavin IV were not ignorant of their feelings for one another but instead of bringing them closer were driving them farther apart. Didn't his friends want him to be happy?

What if he happened to change his mind while she was gone?

She closed her bag and fastened it securely, her mind trying to think of a reason not to go. The fact that she was returning to the Kathol Rift didn't affect her at all. Kam Solusar knew that she'd come to grief on a run for Karrde out there but he wasn't in possession of all the facts – Luke was. That was one of the reasons Mara didn't think that Kam was solely behind this mission.

But Leia and Han's words came back to her. 'You have to get your knighthood, Mara.' They were right. She had no chance with this stubborn son of a Sith until she could meet him head on. At the moment, he was the Master and she, his apprentice. 'He will love you but is the Jedi Master first.'

'Okay…' she told herself. 'I get it.'

'Consider your current position…your current position.'

'Yes, I get it.' Bloody Skywalker and his ethics. Mara clenched her fists and swivelled to face the man still standing silently in the doorway.

"Mara…"

She turned her head away, fearful of what her face might tell him. Her eyes fell on the lightsaber crystal displayed prominently on the set of shelves next to her narrow bed. He said he would take it back when she achieved the rank of a Jedi Knight. What if she never…

No, she had to stop thinking so negatively. Mara couldn't believe that the Force would deny them both the chance of happiness together. She would attain her goal, she vowed firmly, and then she would try her utmost to change his mind. He deserved a home and a family life and Mara was the one woman in the entire galaxy who could give him what he wanted. She could match him in every department. A smile flitted over her lips. Yes, every department. Luke was always quoting that phrase of Yoda's at her. 'Do or do not.' Mara Jade was going to 'do'.

The emerald gem was dull, as if all the life had drained away. Her hand reached out towards it, willing it to show the same mysterious spark it had shown previously. It was as though the crystal knew something she did not. Lightly she brushed its hard surface with the tip of her finger and somewhere deep inside - it began to flicker with a steadfast glow.

Mara understood. This object had somehow, through its connection with them and the Force, tapped into their hearts and minds. It was linked strongly to both Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. Luke had dismantled his Jedi weapon to save her. Did he realise the enormity of what he had done?

"You will take care of yourself?" Mara said, not looking at him, her gaze focused on the lightsaber jewel. She reckoned that the Force had called on her to regain the gem and she remembered the strange compulsion that had come over her. She'd had to return to Tharakan's lair. It was the one little thing that made her sure that the Force approved. "You will take care of yourself," she repeated.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you to do that?" Luke replied, his voice low and a little rough, as if he was fighting to keep back his emotions.

For the first time, she met his gaze squarely, her chin lifting proudly. Luke was dressed in his best Jedi blacks, his knee boots polished and his cloak over his shoulders.

"You look…" Mara wanted to say that he looked wonderful but came out with "…smart." She shrugged but the casual gesture didn't fool Luke. "Thank you," he said. "You actually approve of my clothes."

"I didn't quite go that far, farmboy," she replied dryly. "There's a time and a place. I guess this is one of them. Luke…I aim to do my best to make you proud of me."

Luke could feel the conflicting emotions rolling off Mara but couldn't decipher exactly what she was feeling. There was sadness and regret, frustration and determination. She wanted to prove herself to him.

Luke stepped forward and placed his hand carefully on her slender green-clad shoulder. "You don't have to prove anything to me, Mara," he whispered. "You never have. I've always been proud of anything you have achieved." His voice cracked and he looked away from her, something in the set of his jaw showing how moved he was.

"Thank you," Mara murmured.

Luke pasted a smile on his face and inspected his apprentice. "I like it," he pronounced of her dark green tunic styled similar to his black one. "I didn't know if you would accept this. I still don't." He handed her a soft, tissue-wrapped parcel and watched indulgently as she ripped it open with the eagerness of a small child.

It was a Jedi cloak in the same shade of dark green as her tunic.

"How did you…?" Mara began.

"I don't know. It was a lucky guess. I hope you will accept it."

"Lucky guess, my hairy Wookiee." Mara grinned, her fingers stroking the soft material reverently. "Thank you, Master Skywalker." She shook it out from its folds and placed it about her shoulders. Then, lifting her hand, she called her lightsaber to her and fastened it to the belt at her waist.

"You look perfect," Luke said gruffly, his emotions threatening to get the better of him at the sight of her. She was a Jedi Knight in everything but name.

The air between them was pregnant with all the things they wanted to say to one another but thought that the other would never be ready to hear. Mara wanted to fling away all her caution and just tell him but the time wasn't right and she knew it. Leia and Han's advice had been simple. She had to wait.

"I will monitor you through the Force for as long as I can," Luke said.

"This bond between us," Mara said quietly. "It's unlike anything I've ever known. Not even the Emperor was so attuned to me."

Luke's blue eyes widened. "Do you think so?"

"Yes. Palpatine could call to me from anywhere in the galaxy but he never really thought about me as a person. I think in time the connection we have will be more immediate and of greater depth." Mara couldn't tell Luke that the sketchy research she had done on such things indicated that she and Luke had started forging something that could be construed as a mating bond. Had she had such a thing with the Emperor? Mara shuddered. She'd certainly been married to her job but the Emperor had never touched her sexually and she hadn't felt for him what she now felt for Luke.

Her observations of the Solusars – the only married Jedi pair she'd ever known - had given her much food for thought. There had not been a wealth of information on mated Jedi. Tionne Solusar's Force potential was weak. Therefore, she and Kam functioned almost like Han and Leia did. The Solos were closer than any couple she had ever seen but Mara wondered if Leia ever missed the true closeness that mating with another Jedi would bring? Of course, Leia had never known that to start with so why would she miss something that she had never had.

Mara wondered what it would be like when she and Luke finally made love. They would do so - she had no doubt that they must - because she was aching for the closeness such an experience would bring. All she had to do was convince Skywalker that it was the right thing to do. Easier said than done. He had sounded resigned to his fate when he'd talked with Solo.

Looking at him made her remember the disquiet written across his handsome face when she'd brought the idea of sexual passion into the Jedi code. She'd sown the seeds and would just have to nurture them to ensure that they grew. Luke Skywalker belonged to her; she was going to make sure that he knew it. But then she remembered that she was going away on a mission – for the Jedi.

"Mara…Are you all right?" Anxiety coloured the Jedi Master's voice. She seemed in a strange mood - almost distant. Was it the return to the Outer Rim where she'd nearly died in a slaver's prison? She was staring at him again, he thought. It was almost as if she were trying to get inside his head. She was already in his heart and sometimes he wondered what he would do if she found out how he really felt. Would she leave him?

Mara picked up her small carryall and then dropped it.

"Mara…"

"Luke…I…" She stepped forward and threw her arms around Luke.

He could feel her shaking. Luke almost gasped aloud in surprise. Mara was nervous. He stretched out a little and probed her shields. She wasn't worried about her ability to function as a Jedi – it was more the responsibility of representing the Jedi.

She could feel his heart beating as she pressed against him, smelling the masculine aroma of the cleaning solution he favoured mingled with the essence of Luke himself.

He stood stiffly in shock as Mara threw herself against him, her body flush against his, the fragrance of her perfume wrapping around him. He couldn't help but think of the curvaceous body beneath her clothes. Mara Jade was all woman. Then with a strangled groan which seemed to come from deep inside him, Luke's hands moved and came up to pull her against him even tighter. "You'll be fine," he said, his voice muffled against her hair. She tried to maintain this cold, hard front but Luke could see through it more and more to the real woman beneath. Hostility and anger could hide so many things but not from him – never from him. But then he'd always been able to see Mara differently from everyone else. "Come on," he said, patting her shoulder. "I'd better get you to the shuttle before Kirana Ti sends out a search party."

Mara looked up into his face, searching for some kind of reassurance. She must have found it because she nodded. "And we don't want to get a Dathomirian witch mad."

"Exactly."

"Luke…"

"You've done far scarier things than this, Jade."

"I know." Her eyes darkened. "But they never mattered as much as this does."

"Go." He dropped a light kiss on her forehead. "I'll escort you to the shuttle."

A lump formed in the back of Mara's throat. She wasn't normally this sentimental. She swallowed, blinking rapidly. The Jedi had done this to her. But she couldn't dig up her usual invective. No, she, Mara Jade, was one of them – a Jedi. She couldn't go back to what she had been and she didn't want to. "When I return things will be different."

Luke opened his mouth.

"And don't give me all that 'future in motion' stuff." She managed to give him one of her old glares. There was still part of the assassin there hidden beneath the new Jedi. "I know things will be different."

Luke shrugged, the smile picking up at the corner of his lips. "Who me?"

"Yeah, you," she sighed. "You know it too."

"Yes."

Luke held out his arm and, with a last look at her room, she turned and headed out of the apartment. They walked in silence through the trees until they reached the landing pad. The Jedi shuttle sat there, durable and dependable, its ramp lowered and the sound of the engines a low hum into the fading light of Yavin's dusk.

"The others are on board. Are you ready?" Luke asked.

Mara gave a smile. "As I'll ever be." She glanced at the ship and muttered, "I'll try not to maim anyone seriously while we're away."

"Thanks, I would appreciate that. We're short of Jedi as it is."

"Don't mention it. I've kinda got used to having them around." She flipped him a jaunty little salute and then hesitated at the foot of the landing ramp. "Luke…"

The Jedi Master approached and stared down into her green eyes. "Yes?"

"I just wanted…" Taking a deep breath, she reached up and brought his head down to hers, her lips covering his. Her lips were soft and as they pleasingly parted under his, Luke could only groan deep in his throat. How could he live without experiencing this sweet heaven time and time again? His arms wound around her slender body and gathered her closer. She was confusing his mind, teasing his senses but he couldn't stop this kiss.

Eventually they had to separate. They had not so lost themselves that they were unable to finish but it would have been so easy just to continue their kiss into another level of intimacy. But this wasn't their time. Luke swallowed as he took in her, flushed face with her swollen lips and the slumberous, unsuppressed look of passion filling her green gaze. "Gods, Mara. We shouldn't…"

"We should," she affirmed, her voice husky. "I just wanted to say goodbye, Luke. You cannot deny me a parting kiss – can you?" She touched her lips with her fingers and then picked up her carryall which lay at her feet. Turning, she took a step up the landing ramp and stopped. She looked back at him – her hand holding steady to the ship and there was a look in her eyes that held as much promise as her words. "I will return. After all, I still have your lightsaber crystal."

"So you do," he murmured.

With a last lingering glance at the man who encompassed her whole world, Mara slipped up the ramp and minutes later the shuttle was airborne.

Luke stayed and watched the ship vanish from sight, his lips still tingling and his heart hammering. What was she doing to him and more importantly, how was he to withstand the power of her sensual onslaught? What did she really feel for him? For the first time, Luke began to think like a man and not a Jedi. Mara wasn't the kind of woman to lead someone on. Her 'arrangement' with Lando Calrissian aside, she did not pursue indiscriminate affairs. In fact apart from that unnecessary episode, Luke hadn't seen her with any man in the entire length of time he had known her. Could she be…? He squashed the unexpected shoot of hope that sprang from the shell encasing his heart. Yes, he loved her but he wasn't planning on having that love returned. He had the Jedi.

But somewhere and somehow, the little shoot squeezed through its barriers and began to grow.

Kam Solusar glanced at his wife as Mara and Luke continued their embrace. "So?"

"It's happened then."

"No, I don't think it has." He could see the couple reluctantly separate, an air of confusion hanging around them.

"Yes, it has. He kissed her."

"I believe she kissed him."

"Oh!" his wife muttered. "…didn't look one-sided to me."

"You think so?"

"I was one of the people who did not approve of Mara Jade being on Yavin IV," "Tionne admitted, watching Mara run into the shuttle. "But she surprised even me."

"You are a sensible, broad-minded being, my love," Kam said. "You think only of the welfare of the Jedi Order but can be persuaded to most things if they are reasonable. I suspect that the only one not surprised about how well Mara has fitted in is the Master himself. He has always believed in her."

"Yes, but he loves her. It's quite clear to anyone who knows him well."

"Love doesn't always constitute blindness," Kam rebuked gently. "Luke is as aware of Mara's faults as she is."

"I suppose so…" Tionne's mouth curved, her smile mischievous. "I am aware of your faults."

"You are cruel, my love."

"I am honest," she replied.

"I married a woman without faults," he said gallantly.

"Your good qualities far exceed your deficiencies. That's why I'm keeping you." Her arm snaked around his waist.

Kam chuckled. "Luke has always known what lies deep in Mara Jade's soul and has always had faith in her innate goodness."

"Mara Jade is a good person." Tionne's smile was wistful. "Yes, I've seen evidence of her kindness. She doesn't like to have it pointed out or made much of. She tries to hide her better nature behind a wall of sarcasm and hostility."

"I think it's a form of insecurity. There is also pride, uncertainty and perhaps a fear of failure. These things are not excluded from the ranks of the Jedi. Mara has been alone for a long time – probably for most of her life. Her hostility is a defence mechanism; never let anyone get close and you won't get hurt."

"That could apply to someone else we know and love."

"Yes, Luke is still fighting his attraction to Mara. Hell, it's far more than that. I hope he suffers a defeat this time because I think Mara is out to win more than just her knighthood. She is aware of her feelings and possibly even his."

"You could be right. What's holding him back?"

Kam's grey eyes grew reflective. "Mmm…" he mused thoughtfully. "At a guess, I would say - the Jedi."

"The Jedi?" Tionne echoed softly.

"Yes, the very thing that brought them together is also keeping them apart. He has dedicated his life to the Jedi."

"But he needs her," Tionne protested. "Our beloved Master is not someone designed to live his life alone."

"Ah, the kiss."

"They both enjoyed it," Tionne murmured. "I could feel it through the Force. I know how I feel when…"

"A kiss." He smiled. "A good idea." Kam brought his own head down and brushed his lips across hers.

"Kam!"

"Yes?"

Tionne smiled, her silvery eyes mysterious, and pulled his head down to hers. "Nothing."

They drew apart and Kam smiled at his wife in the deepening gloom. "You take my breath away every single time, my love."

Tionne nestled against her husband. "Can Luke not see our happiness? Can he not understand that he could have something like this?"

"I think he could and did but now… well…" Kam sighed, his gaze trained on the man standing gazing up into the sky after the departing ship as if he could follow its progress all the way to the Outer Rim. "He's been hurt too many times by people he thought he could trust…"

"Don't you mean women?" Tionne interrupted.

"Yes, I do. Mara is the most important of all the women he's loved but this time the risk to his heart is too great. Luke Skywalker's love for Mara Jade is as strong as his passion for the Jedi. And don't quote the code at me," he said as Tionne opened her mouth to do exactly that. "I'm not convinced the Old Republic Jedi had everything so right." He trailed a finger across his wife's cheek. "Come on, let us go and talk to Luke. He's had enough time to get himself together." His smile was just visible in the darkness. "Luke!"

The Jedi Master lifted his head and turned towards the voice and presences in the Force. "How long have you been there?" Had they seen his exchange with Mara, he wondered, bridling. He hadn't sensed them but he'd been too involved with his wonderful red-head. How he felt about the beautiful woman was his business.

"Oh, not long," Kam answered, deliberately vague. He linked his arm with Tionne's and strolled towards the other man. "We decided to come and see you off."

"Thanks," Luke said, relaxing. "I appreciate it."

Tionne frowned. "Kirana Ti still does not know that you are also bound for Elrood?"

Luke grimaced. "Yes, she knows now. It was on the data card from the commission dealing with Elrood's application to join the New Republic. 'Master Skywalker will be present in an advisory capacity only.' I don't think she was too happy about it. I think she felt I was undermining her chance to head the mission. I had to tell her what I could. But she is not the problem."

Kam raised an eyebrow.

"I am there primarily to observe Mara and Ix Io. Mara…she can sense when I'm near. We have this…bond – this powerful connection."

"A master-apprentice bond like the one I had with my father," Kam concluded lightly but a quick glance at his wife's face showed that she was thinking along different lines. She gave a miniscule shake of her head which Kam guessed meant 'not now'. He had his suspicions too. A full Jedi mating bond hadn't been seen amongst the Jedi for many years. In fact it had been rare in his father's time. It figured that Luke would be the one to experience it and not realise what he had.

Luke's face brightened. "I considered that. You must tell me exactly how that worked but not right now. I really should get going although I will arrive long before they do. I need to spend the time working on my shields and I have one or two things to check when I get there."

"Do you expect trouble?"

"Actually, no. That's why I sent Kirana Ti. To give her some experience outside of Yavin IV and Dathomir, and to let her see Mara as she really is. Ix Io needs a chance to spread his wings. He will make an excellent Jedi and he already knows that to do so means you have to make sacrifices."

"Is your ship prepped?" asked Tionne, staring at the X-wing illuminated by the lights around the landing pad.

"Yes." Luke made a face. "I'm borrowing Vart. He should have it ready to fly by now. I've given him enough time. Artoo is much more efficient."

"Vart?" Kam shuddered. "You're brave. That has to be the most useless droid…"

"There wasn't anything else. Artoo's on Coruscant with Threepio."

"May the Force be with you," Kam said. "You are going to need it. Vart!" The last word was muttered under his breath. "That droid needs a personality transplant. You might have been better flying without an astromech."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Perhaps Vart needs a chance to prove himself like any other droid."

"Possibly but I doubt it," Kam muttered.

"I warned Kirana Ti to expect me on Elrood but that I would try not to interfere too much with what was going on. I did not, however, warn her about the shuttle modifications I…er…performed."

"We both agreed, Luke," Kam said. "Kirana Ti has to learn to co-operate more. She is a teacher and has to set a good example to the students. Both Mara and Ix Io are far more experienced in shuttle maintenance than Kirana Ti."

"You've mapped yourself a route?" Tionne asked quietly.

"Of course," Luke tapped the side of his head. "All in here."

"Clear skies, Luke, and may the Force be with you," Kam said solemnly.

Luke mounted the ladder and slipped inside the cockpit of his x-wing. "Thanks."

Somewhere in Hyperspace – three days later

The atmosphere in the shuttle for most of the journey had been a little strained. Mara got on well enough with the Nazzar but neither she nor Ix Io had much in common with Kirana Ti. Ix Io had set the course decided upon by Kam Solusar into the navicomp and after that had spent the time he wasn't sleeping or eating deep in a Jedi or possibly an Ulizra text. He may have been banished by his home world but he wasn't about to forget the religious beliefs that had sustained him for most of his life. Kirana Ti, after spending much of the first two days meditating, had picked up a remote and her lightsaber and had headed to the largest space on the ship – the cargo hold.

It left Mara with too much time on her hands to think. She would have liked nothing better than to spend an hour batting shots back and forth with a training remote. This was a very small ship to be confined in for a week. She was trying not to think too much about Luke but he kept slipping into her mind when she least expected him to.

Perhaps she could work on her seduction plans. It was as good as meditation. She closed her eyes and focused on bringing Luke's image into her mind. She gave a smile of satisfaction – all too easy. He stood before her, a look in his clear blue eyes that told her all she needed to know about his feelings for her. She tried to get him to remove the black shirt he was wearing but her vision remained obdurate. Her dream Luke was behaving exactly like the real one – stubborn.

The engine missed a beat.

The first time it happened, Mara ignored it. The second and third time she did not. "Kirana Ti," Mara shouted. "We're coming out of hyperspace. Ix Io, I need you to check the navacomp data. Find out exactly where we are and whether we need to hide or not." With complete confidence, Mara assumed control.

The Nazzar uncoiled his tall body from the chair he'd been strapped into and moved to the co-pilot's chair with remarkable swiftness to do her bidding. Mara's fingers danced across the controls as she caught the ship's fluctuations.

"The Force is with us," he breathed as the star lines reverted into real space. "We are, in truth, in the middle of nowhere."

Mara didn't think she was unduly suspicious but this had all the hallmarks of a set up. "I want you to check the calibrations on all these instruments."

Kirana Ti moved swiftly into the cockpit. "The shuttle was completely checked over before we left."

"By you?" Mara's voice was dry as she slid from the pilot's seat.

Kirana Ti frowned. There was just something in the other woman's voice. "No, I'm not very good with hyperdrive engines."

"Ah, but I am." Mara's lips curled. "That damn…"

"Mara?" Ix Io said quietly. "Everything I looked at is just slightly out of synch with itself. This is what has caused the ship to revert to real space."

"Just as I thought. Typical son-of-a-sith tactic." Luke was up to something and she should have guessed that he was. Her smile was merely a baring of her teeth. She had felt his unease but had passed it off as something else. "I need a hydrospanner," she said to the Dathomirian witch. "Where are they kept on this bucket of bolts?"

"Supply locker in the crew quarters," she replied quickly. "I'll check the scopes and then help you with repairs. We don't have time to sit around here for long."

"If you could." Mara's smile held little humour. "I smell a large womp-rat in all of this. A large, male, native Tatooine, Jedi Master womp-rat."

"This has been done deliberately?" Ix Io asked.

"Probably," Mara replied airily. "It's a test and exactly the kind of thing Skywalker might spring on us unexpectedly - isn't it?"

Kirana Ti gave a resigned nod. "I should have guessed something like this might happen. You are not the only ones being tested."

"Luke always says that we continue to learn," Mara offered quietly, seeing that the other woman was actually nervous. This was her first mission as leader of a Jedi delegation and she wanted to do her duty to the best of her ability. They all wanted to make Luke proud of them. It was an interesting thought.

"He is right." Kirana Ti's amber eyes glowed. "I wonder when I began to forget that fact. I should not have done so."

Mara's smile was wry. "I'm only suspicious because Karrde did this to me once and I know Luke better than any of you. He can be very sneaky because he's had to fight to survive. I too, have had to fight and I know most of his tricks…nerf!" she muttered. "After the death of the Emperor I had a number of different jobs – some better than others."

"I think we've all experienced those," said Ix Io in a rare display of humour.

Mara looked at her two companions and felt the need to share. "I was working as a hyperdrive mechanic on Varonat when Karrde arrived on an observation trip..."

"Observation trip?" queried Ix Io.

Mara's smile was wicked. "Some low-life scum was making a lot of credits running Morodin-hunting safaris. Karrde wanted to know if there was a piece of the action for him."

"And was there?"

Mara shook his head. "No. The morodin were actually sentient life forms that that piece of filth was killing. And he lost a friend." Her mood dimmed. She'd only known Quelev Tapper briefly but she'd sensed that he'd been a good man. "His second-in-command was killed during that operation.

Karrde reported his ship's hyperdrive as having a problem. I found the fault almost immediately but then my training was thorough. I could appreciate the cunning of Karrde and his associates as I had the best teachers. I was also trained to be cunning."

"Master Skywalker is extremely gifted with things mechanical," Ix Io murmured.

"You have no idea how good he is," Mara grumbled. "Or how cunning."

"Kam Solusar is quite competent in that area too. Oh, not brilliant like the Master but enough to help him do some damage." Kirana Ti grinned at her two companions. "Shall we see if we can fix the problem quickly?"

Mara grinned at Ix Io. "I think we have solved the first challenge."

"The first…oh!" Ix Io stared around at the three of them, ready to work together in perfect harmony. "Yes, I think we have. Do you think that was their intention?"

"Undoubtedly," Kirana Ti muttered.

Mara stuck her head into the open access panel in the shuttle's aft compartment. "It all looks fine," she muttered. "But my instincts are on 'Skywalker mischief' alert." She grabbed one of the flux connectors and sighed. "Death Star exhaust port strike," she said. "Surely he knew that I'd pick up on this?"

"Perhaps he did not want to delay us for too long," Kirana Ti said slowly.

"See what you think?" Mara said to Ix Io, who crawled into the space to check.

Ten minutes later he uncoiled his lanky frame and stood up. "Yes, they're only off by a few degrees. It should only take us a few hours to fix them."

"Good," muttered Kirana Ti in relief as she handed the Nazzar the hydrospanner.

"What exactly are we to do on Elrood?" Mara asked.

"We are to be present at some discussions between the New Republic, the ruling party on Elrood and an independent vigilante group on the outlawing of slavery. It's part of Elrood's application to become part of the New Republic."

"Oh," Mara mumbled, an uncomfortable feeling creeping through her.

"Is something wrong, Mara?" Kirana Ti picked up on the sense of disquiet the other woman was experiencing.

"I haven't good memories of Elrood."

"Ah." Kirana Ti pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment. "Are your feelings a warning or just the remnants of what you went through there?"

"I…don't know," Mara replied looking a little startled.

"Then stretch out with your feelings – connect with the Force. It may tell you more." The Dathomirian witch's voice lowered. "When you are calm and at peace…"

Mara took a deep cleansing breath and let all her worries float away and tapped into the bright, shining light Luke Skywalker had opened up to her. The connection was instantaneous and she gasped.

"What is it?"

Mara opened her eyes. "Nothing," she replied, her face serene. "I just felt the Force stronger than anything else in my entire life. We have nothing to worry about."