At last, the Luke-Mara/Han-Leia-Lando-Chewie reunion-confrontation-interrogation-revelation episode. The fun starts now!
Oh, and thanks for the reviews on chapter two. To answer a couple of your comments, padawans didn't become knights in the Old Republic until their mid-twenties, so I don't think it was too far-fetched that Luke could be mistaken for a student. Remember how old Obi-Wan was in Ep. I? Also, I find it more interesting that there aren't more people who remember things about the Jedi. And a Jedi was connected to the history of Lorrd, so they have a special reason to keep their memory alive.
A Journey of Discovery ― Book Three: Prism
Chapter Three
The Skywalkers rose early the next morning, as Luke deemed they needed to allow extra time to review the trade agreement material once more before the long-awaited negotiations began after breakfast. Plus, he had rationalized to Mara, it would be much easier to slip back into his own suite before the housekeeping staff began their morning routine.
Mara showered quickly and had just finished dressing when her danger sense flickered. Without thinking she reached out for Luke's presence and found him calm, albeit preoccupied. Still in his own shower, most likely. She picked up her lightsaber and moved to the common room, on alert. Something—no, someone—was approaching. Several someones, in fact, and they all felt familiar.
Mara didn't have long to ponder the mystery, as her door slid open a split second later. She ignited her saber and stood ready, but relaxed her grip when Han Solo, of all people, stepped into her suite, followed by Leia Organa. Confusion flowed through Mara at what they were doing here, followed by annoyance that they had broken into her room, back to confusion as she took note of the blasters sported by the pair, aimed right at her.
"Don't move, Jade," Han ordered, stepping further into the open space, his blaster never wavering. Leia stood next to him, her face a mask of determination.
Mara started to respond when two more beings crept in, moving to flank the other side of her – Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca, both pointing the business ends of their weapons at her.
"What is going on?" Mara growled, automatically falling into a combat stance as she waved her lit saber between the foursome that now had her surrounded.
"We're going to have a little chat," Leia announced. She glanced at Han, and Mara saw him mouth the question 'Luke?' to Leia. The brunette shook her head, eyes darting back to fixate on Mara. "I think he's nearby, but not here. He's all right."
Mara made a move toward Leia when a snarl behind her stopped her cold. She could hear the clicking sound of a bowcaster being cocked.
"Princess ..., Solo ..." Mara's eyes flicked warily between the two, and her grip tightened on her lightsaber. "Are you going to let me in on what's happening, or am I supposed to guess?"
"I think you know, Jade," Han bit out.
Enough was enough, and Mara sent out a mental shout.
―――
Luke was just turning off the water valve when Mara's call came though.
(Luke!)
(Yes?)
(Get over here!)
(Can't decide what to wear again, or just can't get enough of me?) He smiled to himself as he recalled the previous night. This Jedi did 'know passion.' Luke's daydreaming of Mara was cut short as a mixture of frustration and anger flowed to him through their Force bond. He grabbed a towel and began to dry off. What had he done? (Okay, I'll be right—)
(Now, Skywalker!)
The urgency in her tone made Luke pull on his tunic and trousers right over bare, wet skin, nearly tripping in the process. This was no ordinary ranting at him. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
Luke reached out with the Force, and abruptly he could feel other presences surrounding Mara. Leia! Leia was there, and Han, and ... What in blazes? Luke flew out the door, snatching his lightsaber on the way, and burst into Mara's room. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Mara stood defiantly in the center of the room, her ignited lightsaber held two-handed, waving it back and forth at Han and Leia, who had their blasters pointed at Mara.
Han jerked slightly at Luke's sudden entry, but Leia seemed unshaken, her eyes riveted on Mara.
Luke clutched his saber hilt, not ready to ignite it yet. "Mara, what are you doing?" Even as the words left his mouth, he took note that Lando and Chewie, standing behind Mara, also had weapons trained on her.
"Me!" Mara shrieked. "What makes you assume this is my doing?"
Ignoring Mara's outburst, Luke turned his attention to his sister and friend. "Han, Leia, what's going on? What are you doing here?"
"She's dangerous." Leia's sober voice had the same businesslike tone she used when addressing Rebel troops.
"We're rescuing you, kid." Han gestured in Mara's direction with his head. "From her."
"But I don't need rescu—" He stopped short, pushing wet hair out of his eyes as Leia's statement registered with him. "What are you talking about?" Finally igniting his blade but keeping it pointed down, he moved to stand directly between Leia and his wife. Without prompting, Mara swiveled to face her other two aggressors, her back now pressed against Luke's.
"Luke, please," Leia implored. For the first time, her blaster wavered. "You don't understand."
"No, I don't. Enlighten me."
"She's been lying to you. She's an Imperial. She was before you met her, and she still is."
"Luke, be sensible," Lando called out from behind him. "There are four of us."
"You're the one who needs to come to his senses, Calrissian," Mara grated out, waving her lightsaber threateningly. "You wouldn't stand a chance—"
"Mara!" Luke barked. Abruptly, Mara's weapon snapped off.
"Hey!" she cried indignantly, whirling to glare at her husband.
"This has gone too far," he returned. Luke reached out with one hand and plucked the blaster out of Leia's grasp. "We're going to sit down and discuss this like civilized beings."
"Not till she puts down that lightsaber," Han vowed, staring at the redhead warily.
Luke reached back, pulled the unlit hilt out of Mara's hand, and tossed it on a nearby chair, along with his own. Power cells from Han and Lando's blasters popped out, and the bowcaster's ammo cartridge of quarrels fell to the floor with a dull thud.
"Now, we sit."
―――
(What happened before I got here?) Luke sent silently to Mara as the group reluctantly began settling themselves on and around the room's couch and chairs. Leia's obscure warning over the comm now became ominously clear.
(I walked out here after my shower,) Mara returned, not looking his way as she sank into a conform chair next to his, (the door slid open and they rushed in, blasters raised. I did not provoke them.)
(I didn't say you did.) Luke glanced briefly at Leia, poised regally on the couch between Han and Lando, then directed his next question aloud to Han. "All right, now what's this about?"
"Ask her." Han stared at Mara, meeting her defiant glare.
"I'm asking you," Luke returned, his voice chilling and flat.
"She lied about being a dancer, Luke," Leia answered before Han could reply. "She's an Imperial agent."
"I believe you already mentioned that." Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He mentally cursed the annoying creaking of the furniture's musan-leather covering, which seemed to mock the gravity of the situation. "And it's absurd. What I'm waiting to hear is what gave you such an idea."
"They have vivid imaginations," Mara put in, shrugging her shoulders as she nonchalantly twirled a curl of still-damp hair.
"Luke, we know about her mission on Tatooine," Leia said, her eyes pleading with Luke for understanding. "It wasn't hard to figure out why she came to Jabba's."
Luke could feel Mara's emotions spike with sudden apprehension. It appeared their carefully woven deception had come unraveled. "But she didn't carry through with it," he countered desperately, sitting upright and patting his chest. "I'm still alive, aren't I? She was the most skilled assassin Palpatine had. If she'd truly wanted to kill me, I'd be dead."
Everyone stared at Mara in sudden shock, reaching once more for their weapons.
"Assassin!" Leia exclaimed, echoing her companions' surprise. "She was there to assassinate you!"
Reflexively, Luke waved a hand and the blasters and bowcaster flew to land at his feet. "You said you knew why she was there," he mumbled, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"They just thought they knew," Mara snapped, giving him an exasperated grimace.
"We assumed that she was only a spy," Leia murmured. "That she was there to lead the Empire to us—to watch until we'd all arrived, then call in the stormtroopers to capture us."
"Only a spy? I'm crushed." Mara slouched back in her chair once more, her tone seething with impertinence. "You place more importance on yourselves than you deserve, Your Highness. Didn't Bespin teach you anything? Skywalker was the only threat that Palpatine worried about."
Han edged forward in his seat, and Luke could sense his friend's fingers itching to curl around the familiar handgrip of his blaster. "Vader wasn't able to kill Luke on Bespin, so the Emperor sent you to do the job?"
Leia's eyes narrowed accusingly at her brother. "Luke, how long have you known this?"
"She told me soon after I met her," the Jedi grumbled, his initial embarrassment at inadvertently revealing the truth now dissolving into irritation at his sister and friends. "A few days before I convinced her to escape with me."
"Convinced her?" Han snorted derisively. "Didn't it occur to you it was all a trap? Kid, you are way too trusting."
"They already had me! Why would she help me escape?"
"How about for the same reason Tarkin and Vader let us escape from the first Death Star? So you'd lead her right to the Rebellion's doorstep." Han shook his head. "You never learn, do ya?"
Luke was grateful to Han for giving him something to smile inwardly about, even for a moment. It was a full standard month after Yavin before Han had swallowed his pride and admitted their escape had been a set-up. Chewie's discovery of the homing beacon on the Falcon's hull was a technicality he hadn't been able to ignore. The Wookiee's soft wuffing from his spot behind the couch confirmed that he'd caught the humor in Han's words, too.
"Was it Vader or Palpatine who engineered that whole mock escape attempt?" Leia continued the argument, glaring at Mara. Luke winced at the casual disregard for their father, but Leia didn't seem to be in any mood to sympathize with him.
If it was possible, Mara's eyes turned even colder. "I never took orders from Vader."
"She wasn't pretending to help me," Luke insisted, cutting into the thick tension in the room. "Mara betrayed the Emperor; broke free of his control over her." He gripped the arms of the chair, the knuckles of his left hand turning white. "Do you realize how much willpower that took?"
"Luke, you've already confirmed her to be Imperial. Nobody does that quick of an about face," Leia seethed.
"How can you say that! How can you of all people say that?" Luke nearly catapulted from his chair until he felt Mara overloading his senses with waves of calmness. "Our own father—"
"That was different," Leia retorted, refusing to back down. "He turned because he loved you, and only because he loved you. He couldn't stand by and watch Palpatine murder you." She suddenly eyed both Luke and Mara warily as if the wild rumors about the pair were puzzle pieces that just fell into place. "Are you saying you two became lovers while you were a prisoner, and that's why she helped you?"
"No!" Luke denied the accusation vehemently before the fire drained out of him and he rubbed his temples wearily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lando raise an eyebrow in Chewie's direction. Han's longtime pals knew of the dysfunctional Skywalker family relationship, but they'd rarely witnessed a full-blown spat between his sister and himself.
Mara took up the explanation. "Luke believed in me, and befriended me. Is that so hard to accept, Princess? Surely you realize what exceptional powers of persuasion your brother possesses."
Luke gave Mara a sideways glance, not sure if she was being sarcastic or sincere. He'd been so wrapped up in defending her that he hadn't noticed just when she'd put up nearly impenetrable barriers. Come to think of it, she was being incredibly composed through this whole confrontation.
"Half the Alliance consists of Imperial defectors," Luke continued, much calmer himself now. "General Madine, Tycho Celchu. Even Han used to be an Imperial officer. Why is Mara any different?"
"Madine and Tycho and Han weren't the Emperor's personal assassins," Leia countered. "Have you forgotten Shira Brie so soon?"
"Mara's nothing like Shira!" Luke ignored the chill he felt coming from his wife, remembering Mara's shock and wrath the day one of the Rogues casually mentioned the other Emperor's Hand's name. "You're acting like Mara's a cold-blooded killer who targeted only Jedi." He threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "You don't even know her."
"No, we don't," Han answered for all of them. "And neither do you." He stared hard at the cool redhead, lounging in her chair with her legs crossed in an unconcerned manner, one bare foot swaying up and down. "Maybe Miss Jade would like to tell us about all her meritorious assassinations."
Mara shot a questioning glance at Luke. His eyes flickered briefly at her before he answered with a soft "Go ahead."
"My targets were mainly traitors to the Empire – treasonous officers, crooked crimelords, renegade moffs. I rarely was sent after the few Jedi still alive, or any Rebels entrenched in your ranks. Lord Vader was given those assignments." Mara looked pointedly at Leia.
"And I suppose Luke was just an exception to the rule?" Leia shot back.
"Yes, he was," Mara answered smoothly. "After Bespin, the Emperor didn't trust Vader. He knew of Lord Vader's attempt to entice Skywalker into collaboration."
"How did he find out about that?" Luke asked, frowning. No one but his father and him had been present on that gantry on Cloud City, and Luke had never mentioned the exchange to anyone. He sincerely doubted that his father would have confessed his mutinous plans to the Emperor, either.
"He had his sources, Jedi," Mara replied.
Han glanced at Leia questioningly, and she shrugged. "Hold on," he interrupted, looking at Luke. "What attempt?"
Luke shifted in his chair, the chafing of his clothes against his wet skin not the only reason he was growing more and more uncomfortable. "Vader ... He wanted me to join with him in overthrowing Palpatine, and ruling—"
"Ruling the galaxy?" Han finished. "I hope you realized it was just another trick to lure you in."
"It wasn't a trick," Luke insisted. "He didn't approve of Palpatine's methods."
Han shook his head in resignation. "Were all Jedi this naive?" he asked no one in particular.
"All this aside," Leia began, "she tried to kill you at Jabba's. She should be taken into custody on that charge alone."
"She never got near me," Luke pointed out heatedly.
"She just admitted that her only purpose there was to assassinate you."
"You can't charge her without my consent." Luke crossed his arms in defiance. He was glad Leia was not sitting next to him. She had this habit of tenderly clasping his hands in hers when attempting—usually successfully—to 'change his stubborn mind,' as she put it. Looking at his sister's frustrated expression, he could well imagine her to be wishing that he was sitting within grasping range. This, though, was one subject in which he'd never think differently. "You can no more prosecute her than you could a TIE pilot for shooting down an X-wing, or a stormtrooper for killing a Rebel soldier. Mara was only following the orders given her by a superior, and her superior was Palpatine."
"The same could be said of Darth Vader," Leia rejoined. "Are you saying he was not responsible for the atrocities he committed?"
"Vader ... Father ... made the choice to carry out his actions. Mara was never allowed to have a choice. She was kidnapped as a child; all memory of her family was stolen from her. She was raised by Palpatine for the sole purpose of doing his bidding."
"Just remember all those arguments when Mon Mothma asks why you lied to protect an Imperial assassin," Han put in, to Luke's discomfort.
"Luke ..." Leia closed her eyes a moment, as if trying to come up with a new tactic. "Can we talk to you privately?"
"I have no secrets from Mara," he returned, wondering what his sister was up to now. His shameless attempt to convince the others to feel sorry for Mara seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Leia let a small sigh escape. "Do you discuss Alliance business with her? Confide in her regarding your missions?"
Luke narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply. His silence was enough of an answer.
"Does she try to draw out classified information from you? Does she have access to eyes-only documents you receive?"
"Just what are you implying here, Princess?" Mara bit out.
"Leia, she's not spying for anyone!" Luke's eyes blazed a deadly cobalt blue.
"Luke, we know you think Mara's your friend, but try to look at this objectively," Leia said, almost pleading. "She gains your confidence, worms her way into a position within the Alliance where she can study your files. She gets all chummy with you," Leia hesitated briefly, "maybe even seduces you so you'll let your guard down around her—"
"Now wait a minute!" Luke objected.
(She's got you there, lover,) Mara sent silently with a hint of strained humor. (I do enjoy seducing you, though I could use more practice.)
Luke shot Mara a warning frown, but she was already fixing Leia with a hard stare, her chin lifted defiantly.
"What Luke and I do or don't do in private is none of your business, Your Highness."
"When Mon Mothma questions us about whether you're really Luke's Jedi apprentice or just his lover, it becomes our business," Leia declared.
"Mon Mothma thinks we're ..." Luke groaned, leaning his head against the back of his chair and curling his bare toes in the fuzzy worl-weave carpet. What a mess! How could a morning that started out so pleasant go downhill so fast?
"I can't believe you, Luke," Han drawled. "Tell me, is this a Jedi-thing or a farmkid-thing, bedding your would-be killer?"
"What!" Luke croaked.
"C'mon, quit denying it. You've been sleeping with her since you first met her."
"I have not!"
"Only a depraved mind like yours would believe rumors, Solo," Mara dismissed with a smirk. "Besides, Skywalker here is practically virginal."
Luke's jaw dropped down in shock. How could she say such a thing?
"She's just using you, kid," Han continued. "I'm telling you, you're too trusting. You're so delighted to have someone to practice your hocus-pocus with, that you'll believe anything she tells you."
"And just what am I doing with these secrets that I'm supposedly prying out of him?" Mara said with a snort, as Luke was still too shell-shocked to reply. "The Empire's dead."
"No," Leia answered her. "Palpatine and Vader are dead, but the Empire's still kicking. We just need to figure out who you're working for."
"Look," Luke said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him. He stood up, his steely gaze meeting the eyes of each of Mara's accusers in turn. "Mara is not going to kill me, she hasn't brainwashed me, and she's not stealing classified information for the Empire or anyone else. If you all would knock off the high and mighty attitude and give her a chance, you'd see that for yourselves." He glanced over his shoulder at Mara, then turned back. "I trust her," he continued softly. "I trust her with my life." He sat back down on the edge of his chair. (I trust her with my love,) he added silently so only the woman he'd pledged his devotion to could hear.
Mara sent a returning swell of love, but the next words she spoke were a caustic retort to his audience. "Save your breath, Skywalker. Apparently your assurances mean nothing to them."
It was Chewbacca who first voiced a reply to Luke's plea, coming from behind the couch to wrap one hairy arm around Luke's shoulders. /I trust the cub's judgment/ he rumbled. /We should give his friend the benefit of the doubt, until proof surfaces to show otherwise./
"The benefit of the doubt?" Han protested. "Aw, Chewie, you're as gullible as he is." He turned to Mara, raising a finger in warning. "Listen, Jade. Just cause Chewie's given you his stamp of approval, doesn't mean the rest of us automatically go along with it. The big guy's been wrong before."
"Han ..." Leia took a deep breath, her intense scrutiny fixed on her brother and the stone-faced woman before her. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps Chewbacca is right. We have no proof that she's corroborating with any of the Imperial remnants, or that she's a danger to Luke. I guess I have a share of that Skywalker over-protectiveness in me, too. But, just to be safe, we will stay on Lorrd until the negotiations are completed, then accompany them back to Coruscant." Leia then focused her attention solely on Mara. "I expect you to make a full disclosure to Mon Mothma of your past Imperial ties. Do I make myself clear?"
"As transparisteel, Your Highness," Mara said coolly. "I assume you'll be revealing to Mothma your own blood ties to the Empire, hmm?"
"I ... I ..." Leia sputtered.
"That's none of your concern!" Han jumped to her defense.
"No, Han, she's right." Leia laid a hand on Han's arm, halting his outburst. She gazed across at her brother as he anxiously awaited her reaction. "Luke and I need to discuss that very subject. I can't expect everyone else to reveal all their secrets to High Command if I'm unwilling to do so as well."
Privately Luke felt relieved. Leia did need to unburden herself of the undeserved guilt she was bottling up inside herself.
Mara glanced at the decorative chrono hanging on one wall. "Skywalker, our escort to breakfast will be here soon," she reminded him. "And you look even less ready to go than I do." She glowered at the others. "So if everyone has run out of groundless accusations to throw at me, perhaps the Jedi and I can attend to the business we were sent here to conduct."
"All right, we get the hint," Han said gruffly. "But we're staying on Lorrd, got it?" He glanced at Luke. "Know any place we can bed down tonight?"
"Skywalker has a spare bedchamber in his suite," Mara spoke up quickly, eliciting a wave of annoyance from Luke. (If you want to pretend we're not married, you can go back to rooming with your sister,) she sent silently.
"You can't stay with me," Luke said, turning his attention to the others. "I'm supposed to be here alone."
"Yeah," Han said with a snort. "You followed that order real well, didn't ya?" He waved a hand dismissively. "Nobody'll notice us. We'll be real quiet."
"But ... but ..."
Chewie growled out a low mumble to Lando.
"So will I," he answered the Wookiee, then stood, looking at the others. "Chewie and I will stay on the Falcon. Han and Leia can have Luke's extra room."
"Wait a minute," Luke protested.
"It's settled then. Great." Han slapped his knees. "We'll just—"
A melodic chime interrupted Han's sentence, freezing everyone in their places.
"Sithspit! They're early," Mara bit out in a hushed tone. She drilled the unwanted visitors with a well-practiced glare. "Go hide in the bedroom."
Scooping up their weapons, the Falcon's crew quickly disappeared into the adjoining room. Luke slipped out of sight as well, listening silently as Mara answered the door.
"Good morning, Padawan Jade," a silky voice filtered in from the corridor. "I am Second Aide Serl-and-Jeem Vazan-Jayce. Prime Aide Meend has sent me to escort you and Jedi Skywalker to morning meal, but I did not receive a reply at Jedi Skywalker's quarters."
"Well, he's not over here," Mara was heard answering rather indignantly before softening her tone. "Perhaps he's meditating, or still in the shower." There was a pause, then she continued. "I'm not quite ready, either. If you could come back in, say, a quarter standard hour, I'm sure my master and I will both be ready."
"Of course, madam," the voice replied. "I apologize for my early arrival, and shall return as you wish."
The sound of the door sliding shut punctuated the end of the conversation. Mara didn't even look for Luke as she approached the bedchamber's doorway. "All right, out, all of you."
"You call Luke your master?" Leia asked, arching an eyebrow curiously. "Where did he go?" she added as she stepped back into the common room.
"He is training me in the ways of the Jedi," Mara returned, impatiently waving them toward the door. "And don't you think he's proficient enough in their skills that he can slip out unseen?"
Han bent and picked up a pillow from the bedchamber's floor, tossing it onto the bed. "Restless sleeper, Jade?" he said sarcastically, casting a suspicious glance at the rumpled bedcovers on both sides of the bed.
"Out," Mara repeated, forcefully tamping down the urge to throttle the man.
Lando and Chewbacca checked the outer corridor and signaled to their companions that the coast was clear. Trailing behind the others, Leia had just reached the door when Mara suddenly spoke up.
"I'm not going to kill your brother," Mara said quietly, not sure what possessed her to say the words. Guilt, perhaps, that Luke had been the one making all the entreaties on her behalf.
"So you say." Leia half-turned, her face a paragon of diplomatically-trained impassiveness. "But then, I wouldn't expect you to go around announcing your murder plans in advance. Especially to the victim's family." Leia gave her one last cool stare, then swept out the door after the others.
Mara sighed heavily as the door closed behind the troupe, a mixture of relief and frustration flowing through her. She unconsciously swept a worried gaze around her bedchamber, hoping that Luke hadn't left any personal articles lying about, then mentally chastised herself. Blazing stars, he was her husband.
Her husband who would soon be getting a piece of her mind.
You weren't really expecting to see Leia's reaction at Luke telling her that he's married, were you? Sorry, I can't reveal in which chapter that takes place. (And keep your lips sealed, too, GreatOne.)