Grr. That was the only thing Mara could think of to adequatly express her feelings. Sure, her week spent on Yavin IV hadn't been a total bust, and in fact had some of the most memorable events in recent history. The problem was the fact that Luke Skywalker simply wouldn't stay out of her mind.

Oh, not in the literal fact. The distance seperating her from the Jedi Master was so great that not even he could casually contact her, and that's what annoyed her most of all. Skywalker himself had nothing to do with her problem. It was entierly in her own head.

First she'd just dismissed it as continued enjoyment of the look on his face as she took off the day before, watching him bury his face in his hands. The mere thought alone brought a smile to her lips. She could easily imagine the groan he was sure to have uttered as she slinked away. She'd planned it like that.

However, what she didn't plan was how her heart had been hammering in her chest, and every time she thought of stealing a glance over her shoulder to see just how badly Luke was staring at her, it beat faster. By the time she'd reached the landing ramp of the Jade's Fire her hands were shaking badly from adrenaline and the restrained emotions flooding her system.

And now, well over a full day afterwords, she was still thinking about what had happened and how Luke had reacted. She knew she got looks from many people, from strangers met on the street all the way up to ambassadors and the highest political echelons, but none of them had ever affected as Luke's had. She usually got angry at all the attention. In fact, she hated it... usually. But this time something was different.

Mara leaned down and whacked her head on the display screen in front of her, trying desperatly to drive such thoughts out of her mind. Sighing, she struggled to bring her mind back to the business at hand. To ease her back into her job after her "vacation" (Karrde's exact words), her boss had given her an easy assignment, pick up and deliver a new ship driver to the Wild Karrde. Mara wanted to hurt Karrde for treating her like some delicate piece of jewlery, since he of all people should know better. But no, Karrde was certain that is what he wanted, and since he was the one that signed her credit statement on payday, that's what he was going to get.

Much to Mara's surprise, the captain that Karrde had recruited was another woman, named Faughn. Mara found herself liking the new captain. If she could discount the fact that Faughn was a chatter, that is. The woman just never seemed to shut up about anything. First it was about the ride and how long it would take. Then it was about Karrde and what he was like to work for. Then about Mara's personal life, which didn't last long as a topic of conversation. Finally, the other woman had to leave for a moment and Mara could revel in the silence that finally descended upon the small command deck of her own ship. A moment that didn't last long enough.

"So where were we? Oh, yeah, we were talking about your schedule and how you got me," Faughn breezily called out as she sat down at the co-pilot station. Mara raised her head from the panel and looked at her, had half a mind to tell the other woman to go space herself and leave her alone. But that would've been unprofessional and unbecoming of the second-in-command of Karrde's organization.

"I just came from Yavin IV," Mara said instead, forcing herself to practice being a good hostess. She cursed Karrde silently for teaching her the proper manners of a employer. So much easier and quicker to get her point violently across. More satisfying, too.

"The Jedi Academy? Ooooh, what's it like?" If she were to gush any more, Mara thought, she'd cause a flood.

"Boring, stupifying, and small," Mara answered, then thought about a Jedi Master in particular. "Also, it's ingrating, irritating, and just plain annoying," she growled.

Faughn must have missed it or misread it, because she then asked, "Did you happen to see the Jedi Master while there? Luke Skywalker?"

"Sadly, yes, I did," Mara answered.

"Isn't he just the cutest thing?"

"What?" Mara focused on the other woman, suddenly hating her with a passion.

"I think he's totally cute and so do my friends. We all watch the Holonet reports and every year, he's number one," Faughn gushed again, though Mara was a bit too occupied to catch it.

"Number one what?"

"What do you mean, number one what? Number one on the Holonet Societies pages list, of course."

"What list would that be? I don't read the Societies pages."

"You... don't read them?" Faughn echoed, as if she simply couldn't believe there was a woman who didn't read them. Which wasn't exactly true, since Mara did occasionally grace the fashion pages, but that was just to pick up on what fashions were in every year so she could plan ahead and blend in easier. "Well... er... in that case, what it is is a section of the Holonet devoted to the important things. You know, clothes, hairstyles, etcetera. Every year, they have a list of the galaxy's most eligable bachellors, and Luke Skywalker has always topped that list at the number one spot."

Mara could feel her eyes narrowing at Faughn. "Has he, now?"she asked, voice deceptivly calm, though her knuckles were turning white as they gripped the armrests of her chair. Mara wondered if Faughn had even been to Yavin IV or met Skywalker in person.

"Oh, yeah. And he deserves that spot, too. Just imagine being married to him, imagine what it would be like."


"I'd rather not. I want to keep my appitite for breakfast," Mara responded, certain that such thoughts would ruin any desire for food.

"Breakfast? Don't you mean dinner?"

"Nope, you talked all the way through dinner and it's almost midnight now."

"Really? Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun! But on that note, I really should be going to bed," Faughn said and got up to leave. Mara said nothing to stop or slow the other woman down, only wanting her gone. As soon as the hatch door had closed, Mara groaned aloud. Why could she never escape mention of Luke Skywalker?

Though she glanced at the appropriate station, Mara didn't log onto the Holonet to find out for herself if what Faughn had said was true. She was the ship's captain and had more important duties to attend to. But... but... she found herself always glancing over at the screen, as if the dead picture was somehow mocking her. No matter what she tried to do, she found herself always gazing at it. Finally, Mara gave up in disgust and logged onto the Holonet.

It took a few minutes of reading, but she eventually found her way to the appropriate page after bypassing some useless ads for cosmetics that threatened to pull her away from her mission. Societies pages. Home of the fashion nuts, makeover mavens, and other sundry types that refused to get proper employment. Mara sighed. That was a little over the top, given how she knew that Leia Organa Solo was known to read publications like that on occasion, Winter Celchu adored them and Mirax Horn was almost addicted to them, and all of those women had "proper employment".

Mara finally found what she was looking for, and sure enough, Faughn was right. The number one eligible bachellor of the year was none other than Luke Skywalker. The reasons submitted from readers ranged from "exotic" to "powerful" all the way to "so darn gorgeous it's not funny". Checking back on previous years, she saw that Faughn was still right and that Skywalker did indeed top the list each year, going back as far as the first anniversary of Endor.

Mara was so absorbed by what she was reading, she never noticed the hatch door opening again until Faughn softly called out, "Hey, Jade?" Mara jumped and spun around, a small cry escaping her lips at getting caught. Faughn raised an eyebrow at the small blush creeping across Mara's face, but didn't comment on it. "In case you were wondering, no, I've never met the man personally," Faughn said and then walked out again.

Grr, Mara thought. Somehow this was all Skywalker's fault. It had to be. Somehow.