AND NEVER RETURN
CHAPTER SEVEN
The holographic blue wampa stomped across the gameboard, grabbed the red mynock and squashed it between his massive fists before the flying reptile could sneak to the opposite edge of the board.
"Ha!" Luke cried out triumphantly. "I beat you."
"Cat: twenty-six. Luke Skywalker: one." Luke could hear disappointment and even disbelief in her tone despite her flippant words.
"You didn't see that one coming, did you?" He walked to the kitchen to refill his mug.
"Yeah, well, I let you win. I felt sorry for you."
"Bantha shit." Luke narrowed his eyes. "You just won't admit a mere human beat you at your game! Admit it."
"I won't admit anything that isn't true." Cat crossed her figurative arms.
"You know what, Cat? You're a sore loser."
"Oh yeah? You're a sore winner," she countered.
"Serves you right. Pay you back for all the taunts and condescending remarks."
Cat snorted but abruptly switched the topic. "We're coming up to your system, marked Zero-Five-Two-Seven-El-Em, listed uninhabited. Three minutes to reversion."
Luke grinned but decided not to push the subject. Not yet, anyhow. He walked to the cockpit and took his accustomed place in the pilot's chair. It didn't matter that he wouldn't be flying this bucket. It was habit. Besides, it wasn't like the Luck's current pilot would need the seat. Of course, had he done this in the Fire…
"Excuse me, Jedi-boy. Wrong seat."
"You want me to sit somewhere else?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the pilot, remember? Or have you forgotten in the rush of foolish pride you experienced after mistakenly believing you won a measly game of dejarik by yourself?" Her computerized voice rose a few notches.
"You don't even have a body. Why does it matter where I sit?" It took much of the Jedi Master's vaunted self-control not to laugh at the computer's tirade.
"It…It just does. Move."
"Almost time to pull us out of lightspeed. I better buckle up. Wouldn't want to get slammed into the viewport." He pulled the safety webbing across his chest.
"Are you insinuating that I'll handle this ship badly?" Her anger was easily detected and Luke though the room had gotten a few degrees warmer.
"I didn't say that," he answered, emphasizing the "say". Baiting Cat was so much fun. Almost much as fun as baiting Mara. At least Cat couldn't physically strike at him. Luke had also been careful around an irritated Mara Jade. Leia always saw through his excuses for bruises and black eyes.
Luckily, time ran out on the countdown and instead of responding, Cat eased the Lotta Luck out of hyperspace, a textbook reversion.
"Beautifully done, Cat."
"Of course it was," she snapped.
He didn't answer, opting instead to search for Mara's presence. She was closer, much closer. "That one," he said with certainty, pointing on the map. "Jump to the outer planets."
Mara guessed that she had been in the speeder for over four hours when it pulled to a stop. Daryn had not been talkative, the opposite of his normal attitude, but it gave Mara the opportunity to study the new landscape. Like what she had seen on Kath'alon, the builds she stared at lacked corners, each glowing into the next like some type of organic creature. The weather had been an unanticipated shock—from orbit, she had expected warm, humid air, since, like Daryn mentioned, the planet hadn't looked much different from old holos of Naboo before the Imperial takeover. Daryn grabbed a small satchel that Mara hadn't noticed before and walked up to the door.
"Konner and I found this place a couple of years ago. Shrigan Security tends to overlook the northern and southern poles and we've been careful not to draw their attention. Few humans stay here, so we'll have to be careful. You'll be spending most of your time indoors." He shrugged. "Sorry. But the lack of surveillance gives us room to maneuver, so we just have to make do. You probably won't mind though, it's too blasted cold to stay out here long. And we've got heaters, finally."
Mara nodded and was glad she had not removed her coat—the added warmth prevented her from shivering. So far.
Daryn walked up to the door and pressed his hand against the keypad for a moment and then quickly punched in a seven-digit code. Mara noticed that the keys were not labeled in Basic, but in flowing characters that she guessed were Shrigan letters. The door slid open after a moment's hesitation and Daryn gestured for her to follow him into the dim building.
"Don't worry, your belongings will be taken to your new room," he said conversationally as he led her through an endless labyrinth of grey hallways and nondescript stairwells. By the time Daryn stopped they were four stories below the surface. The door looked just like all the others she had seen in the building, with the exception of a keypad planted in the center. The Imperial winked at her. "Now's the fun part. Stay out here, I'll introduce you."
He quickly tapped in the code and walked into the office before Mara could say anything. The door closed behind him and she impatiently waited, rubbing her arms through the cloak to keep warm. Sith, Daryn said these people had heaters—didn't they use them?
"She's already here." Mara could just barely hear Daryn through the thin door.
"So I take it she's willing to help?"
"Very willing. She's standing outside. I thought you might want to talk to her immediately."
"Thank you. Bring her in and, Daryn, I want you to stay in the room while she's here. She's been with you for a couple of days and probably would be more comfortable with you here."
"I was under the impression you thought she was strong—I mean, she took out a bunch of their Sec guys."
Mara couldn't hear a verbal response, but she was willing to bet all her credits that Konner had given his friend a first-class glare: don't question my decisions.
The door slid open and Daryn fought to keep the grin from spreading across his face. "Well, Miss, he wants you to come in."
A black-haired man sat behind the large desk. Although he had matured in the past twelve years, she could still recognize the man she once knew. His facial expression was one of open welcome with a disarming smile, but his deep brown eyes betrayed him. They were not exactly unfriendly, but certainly cautious. His eyes told more than anything else: he was a veteran. He wore a heavy jacket made of some unknown hide over a white shirt and dark grey pants. He stood when she walked in and came around the desk to shake her hand firmly. His coming to her, taking away the desk from between them was supposed to set her at ease.
"Hi, I'm Konner Donteril," he introduced himself. "The heater should kick in soon, so you can take off the cloak." He resumed his seat but Mara remained standing. According to Konner's orders, Daryn hadn't left the room and leaned against the doorjamb.
Mara ignored her audience and pulled the hood back.
Konner's eyes widened in shock and he stumbled to rise out of his chair. "Stars above—what—what are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a small smile. "I want off this planet."
He shook his head, seeming to have trouble finding the words. "I mean what happened? How did you get stuck here?"
"Navcomputer glitch," she answered simply. She paused uncomfortably. Neither one knew what exactly to do or say. Exercising tact Mara didn't realize he had, Daryn left the room silently, closing the door behind him. "What about you?"
"Blind jump. Sith, it's been what? Ten, eleven years?"
"About." Another long pause. It had been a long while since Mara had felt so ill at ease with another person. What was she supposed to do?
Konner moved towards her, but then halted awkwardly. Mara knew how he felt. Were they supposed to act as though the past decade had never occurred? How things had changed since the last time they saw each other!
"So, uh, how have you been?" Konner asked.
She forced a smile. "Besides getting captured by the purple people? Eh, not too bad."
As soon as the lines outside the cockpit viewport shrank back into their individual stars, Luke leaned forward eagerly, as though this motion would speed the Lotta Luck up.
"Calm down, Jedi-boy. We'll find your girlfriend soon enough."
The stress caused from anxiously waiting in hyperspace for what seemed ages seemed to vanish when he felt her presence, a bright beam in the Force. She wasn't aware of his presence yet, so she was probably pre-occupied with something.
Luke released a breath he hadn't realized he had held. He had worried about her, though he had tried to relieve his concerns. She was a strong Force-user, the former Emperor's Hand. She could take care of herself.
And yet he had felt the Jade's Fire shudder under his/her feet during the attack ten days before. He'd felt Mara's determination when the additional enemy ships arrived. He had reason to worry, he consoled himself. The beautiful red-head would not go without a fight, that was certain. But there were so many ships. She was the best, but she couldn't defeat such grossly unfair numbers. Then he'd sensed nothing from her.
He knew she hadn't died—he constantly reminded himself that someone with as strong a Force presence as Mara's could not just disappear. Her death would cause waves and he would know. So then why was he so relieved?
Because he didn't want to admit that maybe she had just slipped away from life, from him. Like she was not important.
Mara? Mara, can you hear me?
Mara realized that she had missed what Konner last said. Someone had called her name, or so she thought. That's happening quite a bit lately, she thought wryly to herself. Probably just because I'm tired. She hadn't slept well since she woke on the unfamiliar planet.
"What's wrong?" Konner asked, noticing her sudden inattention.
"Nothing, nothing. Sorry," she said quickly. "You were saying?"
Although he eyed her dubiously, he repeated himself. "We've got a multispecies group together, about forty people. I believe the Emperor would be pleased with this system; although the planets are dominated by Shrigan, they are advanced in a few areas of science. Our scientists would like to examine the technology the Shrigan have discovered. If those damned Rebels ever get to Thyferra, artificial bacta would be real useful."
Emperor? Rebels? Mara's insides turned to ice. "Uh, Konner?" she interrupted weakly. "I guess it's been a while since you've gotten any info from the rest of the galaxy, huh?"
Konner took the seat behind his desk. "Is the Rebellion gone already? Of course," he answered himself. "It's impossible for those bastards to have lasted so long."
Mara decided to go with her nature: blunt. "Emperor Palpatine is dead, and so is to Empire."
He stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before speaking. "The Emperor…? What happened?"
"Darth Vader killed him onboard the second Death Star."
"Second Death Star," he whispered. He had disappeared shortly after the destruction of the original planet-killer. His eyes hardened. "And Vader—he is dead as well?"
"Yes."
He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"The Rebellion is now in power, as the New Republic."
"The New Republic? They made a New Republic? The Republic was useless before—why create a new one? Those Sith-spawned lunatics! I knew we should have crushed them when the first signs of dissent began," he said in a near-shout, then his voice quieted, though it remained heated. "Those blasted Rebels will destroy everything we worked to create." The former Intel agent put his palms on the desktop, visibly calming himself, taking deep breaths. "You have no idea what it feels like to hear this," he said.
"I know," she answered. "It's different from living it—"
Mara!
Mara, where are you?
"Oh, no," she breathed, recognizing the voice now. How could she have missed it? Missed him? He was near, too near. The Shrigan would find him.
Skywalker, no! she sent back to him. You have to leave!
I'm in the system, Mara. Which planet are you on?
Skywalker, you have to leave the system! she ordered, as strong across the Force as she could. She hadn't imagined that Luke Skywalker would come looking for her. To tell the truth, she hadn't really expected anyone to come looking for her.
Mara, are you alright? I saw the attack.
They will attack and board your ship, like they did mine! You have to leave, now!
Skywalker!
Luke jolted in his seat. Mara was responding to his calls. He had finally succeeded in getting through her walls.
Mara, are you alright? I saw the attack. He had promised himself that he would not show his concern to her. She would only be annoyed, but as soon as he heard her "voice" he failed.
They will attack and board your ship, like they did mine! You have to leave, now!
Luke jolted out of his telepathic conversation when Cat spoke. "Jedi-boy, we've got a call over the open frequency."
"Put it on," he ordered, sure of what he would hear, courtesy of Mara's warning.
"Unidentified ship, power down immediately or else we will be forced to fire on you."
"Oh. Oops." Luke leaned towards the comm station and touched the transmit button. "Starfighter, this is the Lotta Luck. What seems to be the trouble?"
"You have trespassed into our star system. Please power down or we will be forced to fire on you."
So that was what Mara was talking about. He turned off the comm. "Shut off the engines, Cat, you heard the man. Power us down."
"What, aren't you going to kill them all? Just whip out your fancy lightsaber and hack them to pieces?" She sounded surprised. Luke guessed that as a smuggler's ship and droid, she was not accustomed to giving up, instead running away or fighting to protect her contraband. That and the sludgenews she was addicted to gave Cat a very different idea of what he would do.
"I am not here for violence, Cat," he said sternly. "Now do as you're ordered."
"Yes, sir." Her response was like that of a petulant—and yet sarcastic—child.
"Power down immediately or we will fire on you," the starfighter pilot announced again.
Luke pressed the button again so that he would heard over the comm. "Powering down as ordered. Repeat: powering down as ordered."
"Mara, what's wrong?" Konner asked again, exasperated.
She blinked a few times, trying to remember what Konner had just said. "Huh?"
"What's wrong? You spaced out. Again." He now sat on the edge of the desk in front of her, hands clasped loosely. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah. Yes. Would you be able to send me back to Kath'alon?"
"No. The Shrigan have alerts out for you. They don't like it when 'Newcomers' disappear."
"Someone was just captured, though."
"Who?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Luke Skywalker." She tried not to grimace as he obviously recognized the Rebel hero's name.
(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do no use without permission of the writer.