Chapter 13: The Morning's Light

Mara woke up the next morning slightly surprised to find herself alone in her bed. She didn't know why she expected to have company. Surely, Luke had simply stayed in the room until she fell asleep and then returned to his own quarters. Mara shook her head. The thought that she would have woken up to find anyone in her bed, much less Luke, was ridiculous. However, she was unable to completely quench the subconscious desire that had come out. Mara didn't want to wake up alone this morning. Shaking her head once more, Mara cleared her mind and rose from the bed and made her way to the small fresher in her quarters.

Now clean and dressed, Mara made her way out of her quarters and into the main cabin of the ship. She stepped into the room to find Luke sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with his legs crossed under him. Mara found him in such a state quite often. Apparently, Luke had a penchant for meditation among his many other quirks. Mara soon found herself wondering if all the strange things she had seen him done were somehow related. The floating objects that first morning, the strange weapon he carried instead of a blaster, his unnatural reflexes and even his simple ability to read people told Mara that there was much more to Luke Skywalker than met the eye. Of course, Mara knew Luke could say the same thing about her.

Mara made her way over to the small table at the side of the room and sat down on the bench built into the wall of the cabin. Her eyes never left Luke as she crossed the room and she continued to watch him while Luke remained seemingly unaware of Mara's presence. This was not the first time she had watched Luke while he was meditating, and it would likely not be the last. Whenever she was in the same room as Luke while he lost himself in something Mara couldn't place, she felt at peace. Mara felt as if whatever Luke was reaching for was coming to her too and trying to put her at ease.

As she continued to watch Luke with a small smile on her face, a memory of the night before came unbidden into Mara's mind. Her smile faded as the image of Luke's dossier came to her. According to her dreams, Luke was a killer, a traitor, a terrorist and a Jedi, whatever that was. Mara continued to watch Luke as the information that had to her in a dream swirled through her mind. She knew that Luke was a soldier. Luke was commander in the Rebel Alliance so, in the opinion of some, he was a killer, a traitor and even a terrorist. But Mara knew that Luke was only doing what he thought was best. He had never told her of his time as a soldier, but Mara had gotten to know Luke well enough to know he was a man of conviction. He was not a cold-blooded killer.

Mara found herself still wondering just what a Jedi was, however. In her dreams, the word alone seemed vile and bitter. A Jedi was out to cause chaos and destruction, or so her memories wanted her to believe. Mara looked at Luke and knew that he was the last person to want to create chaos and destruction. But if that was true, was Luke a Jedi? And if he was, why would her dreams lead her to believe that Luke was something he obviously wasn't?

Mara was unable to question her thoughts further, however, because she soon found that she was no longer alone at the table. No longer lost in thought, Mara snapped her gaze up to find Luke taking a seat on the opposite side of the table from her. Mara tried not to display any outward signs of surprise at his presence, hoping he wouldn't ask what she was thinking about. In an effort to stem any worry that may come from Luke, she gave him a small smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning." As he returned Mara's greeting, Luke gave her a small smile in return. She had seemed distracted, but thankfully not angry when Luke had felt Mara's presence and had come out of his meditation to find her sitting against the wall lost in thought. Luke was thankful that he had been the first one to wake that morning since he didn't know how Mara would have reacted to finding him in her bed. He knew that neither of them had done anything wrong, but it still would have been an awkward situation considering Mara's state the day before.

Of course, Luke couldn't be sure that Mara didn't realize what had occurred. She may very well remember asking him to stay with her until she fell asleep. For all Luke knew, Mara had noticed him fall asleep in her bed before sleep had overcome her as well. He hoped it wasn't the case since it could possibly lead to discomfort now that they both had all their wits about them. Luke decided it was best to tread lightly and see if Mara showed any signs that she was uncomfortable. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes." Mara's voice was soft but even when she responded. She knew Luke was worried about her after awaking her from the nightmares the evening before. Mara even remembered him agreeing to stay in the room until she had fallen asleep, but that was the last thing that came to mind from before she had fallen into a restful sleep. For some reason, Luke simply being there while she had fallen asleep had been enough to keep her troubled dreams at bay for the rest of the night. Another mystery in the series of secrets that was Luke Skywalker. Mara hoped she would be able to understand someday, but first she had another puzzle to solve: herself.

Not sensing any apparent discomfort from Mara, Luke decided not to pursue any further questions. The last thing he wanted to do was draw suspicion. Luke didn't know how Mara would respond to the idea of him being in bed with her the previous night, but he was afraid of her reaction. It would be best to avoid any possible rejection. That was the safest route. He had enough problems to deal with without giving himself more. "Mara, we're going to be heading off planet today."

"We are?"

Luke nodded in response to the curious look on Mara's face. "Yes. I've done what I came here to do. Unless there's something I'm not aware of."

Mara bit her lip and shook her head. For some reason, she didn't want to leave, but there wasn't a reason to stay. Mara couldn't help but wonder why she would want to remain on such a barren planet. "No. I can't see any reason to stay."

"Good. It's long past time for me to be rejoining the Alliance…I mean New Republic. I've been gone far too long and I'm sure they're looking for me. If I didn't know better, I'd be expecting to be court-martialed upon my return."

Mara let out a small, uncomfortable laugh at Luke's remark. For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable accompanying Luke back to his old life. She didn't believe for a minute that he would abandon her once they returned, but Mara liked having him to herself. She had gotten used to it just being the two of them. And for some reason, she was afraid that she wouldn't fit in with the Rebellion or whatever they were calling themselves now. But with her only other option being to remain on Tatooine alone, Mara didn't really see much of a choice. She was heading out with Luke whether she liked it or not.

Luke rose from his seat and started to walk toward the cockpit with a small smile on his face. Even though he couldn't complain about his current company, he had been away from his friends and especially his sister for far too long. "I'm going to get the ship warmed up. We'll be out of here within the hour."