Thanks for all the reviews!
About time to get those negotiations underway, right?
A Journey of Discovery ― Book Three: Prism
Chapter Seven
"Welcome, Jedi Skywalker, Padawan Jade." Regent Ke'lor nodded in greeting to both Luke and Mara as they entered his private office. "I hope you won't mind if Prime Aide Meend is present. I count on him to keep notes of all my official negotiations."
"No, of course not." Luke bowed his head to acknowledge the aide, and Meend took Luke and Mara's cloaks as they removed them.
"I apologize for the delay in conducting this meeting," the Regent began smoothly. "It is our custom on Lorrd to see to it that all guests are comfortable and relaxed before beginning any business negotiations. And even though I know that Jedi Knights are trained to be calm and composed, I took the liberty of assuming that you would appreciate a day to refresh yourselves, especially after the difficulty you encountered with your ship." The Regent smiled warmly at them. "I hope I did not offend you with my procrastination."
Luke cleared his throat and sat up straight, obviously doing his best to affect the bearing of a trained diplomat. "Not at all, Your Excellency. However, Mon Mothma will be expecting an update on our progress, so I would like the use of a comm unit when we conclude today's session."
"Absolutely." The Regent waved toward his aide. "You may use the secure comm in Meend's office."
The slight surprise Mara felt emanating from Luke mirrored her own. If they were free to use Meend's comm, why didn't they have units in their own suites? Perhaps Meend's wasn't really all that secure.
"Now then," Regent Ke'lor said, handing Luke a datapad. "Here is an outline of Lorrd's requirements concerning the norumite crystals."
Luke took the pad, nodding at Mara at the same time. She withdrew a similar datapad from a leather pouch at her waist and passed it to the Regent.
"The New Republic's proposal," Luke said before glancing at the pad he had just received. Mara refrained from looking over his shoulder; she knew Luke would inform her immediately if the outline included any 'you must fight in our war' clause.
"Excellent," Regent Ke'lor responded. "I suggest we discuss each item one by one in order to reach a mutually beneficial consensus." He smiled cordially at his guests. "Don't you agree, Jedi Skywalker?"
―――
Two hours later, the trio of negotiators shut down their respective datapads. Meend had studiously recorded each point of the discussion, and was already duplicating the initial draft of the agreement so that the Jedi would both receive copies.
"Simply inform Meend when you are ready to send a transmission to Mon Mothma," the Regent said, rising to shake Luke's hand. "I am sure she will find our compact most satisfactory."
"I believe we would like to review the contract again ourselves before relaying it to her," Luke replied. Mara knew his unspoken thought was that he'd like Leia to review the document, and she didn't blame him. This was Leia's area of expertise, not hers or Luke's.
"Of course, of course." Regent Ke'lor looked up as his office door opened. "Ah, I see Jayce is here to escort you back to your quarters."
Jayce smiled brightly at Mara and suggested they stop for a light lunch on the way back. To Luke and Mara's surprise, he brought them to a small café just off the palace's main promenade. This was the first time they'd eaten anywhere besides one of the royal dining halls. Any thoughts of freedom to mingle with the other patrons quickly dissolved, however. Jayce ushered them to a secluded dining nook which Mara deduced to be solely reserved for members of the Regent's staff. The gurgling of a small fountain tucked amongst the foliage served to deter eavesdropping from adjacent alcoves.
The Second Aide began to reach toward Mara's shoulders to remove her cloak, then seemed to think better of it. With a mildly amused glance at Luke, Mara removed the garment herself and handed it to the hesitant young man.
(See, the conditioning is working already,) Luke sent silently, not looking Mara's direction as he settled into a comfortable straight-backed chair.
Mara didn't bother to answer her smug-sounding husband. She did breathe a sigh of relief when Jayce took a seat on the opposite side of the table from her. Even though he hadn't physically touched her during the walk to the café, Jayce had let no opportunity pass in bestowing a constant stream of compliments on her.
"I trust you are enjoying your stay on Lorrd," Jayce commented, his gaze fixed appreciatively on Mara.
Mara's eyes flicked up from the holomenu she was studying. "It's a very ..." Gaudy, she thought to herself. "... colorful place. From what little we've seen of it, anyway."
"Ah, perhaps I can give you a personal tour of the city soon, now that the negotiations are nearly concluded."
"My master and I would enjoy that very much." What Mara enjoyed was the sensation of disappointment that coursed through the aide when she included Luke in her acceptance. She winced inwardly when Luke sent a reproof to her through the Force. Like he had any room to chastise her.
"The negotiations are far from being concluded," Luke spoke up. "I expect there will be several more sessions before our two governments come to a mutual agreement."
"I would be glad to take Mistress Jade sightseeing while you are concluding the discussions with His Excellency," Jayce suggested hopefully.
Luke's Force-sense screamed 'Over my dead body!' Outwardly, he remained composed enough to answer, "I'm afraid my padawan must attend all meetings with me, as part of her training."
"Of course, Jedi Skywalker." Jayce smiled apologetically. "I understand completely." He glanced down at the holomenu shimmering in front of him. "May I recommend the braised golnock? It is one of our specialties."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
As Leia studied the proposed agreement between Lorrd and the New Republic, she tried to block out Mara's incessant finger tapping and Luke's equally annoying stare down. Han wasn't much better, alternating between squirming in his seat and making trips to Mara's small refreshment center.
"Sure you don't want something to drink?" Han asked for what seemed like the tenth time.
"No," Leia snapped, rubbing her forehead. "Oh, all right," she relented tiredly, letting out a sigh. "Pour me a glass of wine."
"So?" Luke leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Can you see any flaws?"
Leia looked up at the anxious face of her brother. When she and Han had returned to the ambassadorial annex shortly after lunch, they'd found Luke here in Mara's suite, putting on what Leia had been sure was a charade of being totally engrossed in reviewing the long-awaited treaty.
"Not until I reached the miscellaneous clauses at the end," Leia said, letting her frustration show. "Subsection eleven, paragraph thirty-eight. 'Each party must be willing to cooperate in the defense of the other party against outside aggression by providing any and all resources requested for such defense.'"
Frowning, Mara held out one hand, and the second copy of the agreement lifted off a nearby table into her grasp. Luke moved over to the arm of her chair, peering over her shoulder as she scanned the document.
"Blazing stars, Luke," Mara grated out. "How did I miss this?" She grimaced at him. "You're a resource of the New Republic."
"I am not," he protested, before glancing at Leia. "Am I?"
"The Lorrdians could view you that way," Leia replied, eyeing the pair. "Both of you."
"I'm not a Jedi," Mara asserted. "Yet," she added when Luke gave her a strange look. "Surely they just want farmboy here."
"The way Jayce is trying to curry your favor?" Luke said with a snort. "Maybe they want you more than me."
"Disappointed that no one is drooling over you, Skywalker?"
"Jade is probably the back-up plan, if they can't get you, Luke," Han said. "Maybe they think a half-trained Jedi would be better than nothing."
"I'm glad you have such a high opinion of my abilities, Solo," Mara retorted.
"Enough," Leia ordered, interrupting the bickering as she accepted her wine from Han and set it on the low table in front of her. She speared Luke with an authoritative look. "Luke, you have to convince them to remove that clause. Even if they don't insist on your or Mara's services, the New Republic doesn't have the ships or manpower to spare right now to come to Lorrd's defense."
"They'll never sign the treaty, then," Luke countered. "And you said we needed those crystals." Still perched on the arm of Mara's chair, he pursed his lips in thought. "Maybe I should help them."
"You can't give into them just for the sake of a treaty," Mara said.
"But Jedi are supposed to help defend others."
"Skywalker," Mara said with a growl. "Number one, you don't even know for sure that engulfing you in their war is what the Lorrdians have in mind. Number two, if they do, it would be blackmail. And I'm sure that Jedi are not supposed to succumb to blackmail."
Leia listened to the exchange with interest. Blast it, she wished Mara Jade would give her a solid excuse not to like her. The woman was candid, intelligent, and not afraid of offending Luke or anyone else. She almost reminded Leia of some of Han's better qualities.
"I'm not going to give in to blackmail," Luke insisted. "But as soon as we ask for that section to be deleted, they'll know we've figured out their scheme."
"So what?" Mara said. "We don't have to call them on it; we just let them confess their devious little plot, and then we can decide whether or not they deserve our help."
"Sounds like a good plan to me, kid," Han put in. "Return the smashball to their court, and let them make the next move."
"Hopefully their next move will be to let the treaty slide through," Leia said, absently reaching for her glass. But with half her attention still on the Lorrdian proposal and the other half fixed on the ongoing conversation, there was none left for something so mundane. The glass tilted awkwardly in her grasp, spilling the wine down her front and leaving a large section of her pale blouse tinted dark red.
"Oh, stars." Leia winced, hastily setting down her glass, and looked for something to dab her blouse with. "This is going to stain. I hope I have something clean to put on." She started to rise, intending to return to Luke's suite for a change of clothes. "I should have known to bring in more luggage from the Falcon." She was heading for the door when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Luke mysteriously motioning to Mara.
"Leia," Mara said, standing up hurriedly. "Why don't you rinse your blouse out in my refresher? I can loan you something to wear."
Leia stopped in her tracks, shocked by Mara's unexpected cordiality. "I ... I don't want to be a bother," she stammered.
"No bother," Mara returned in a flippant tone. She sauntered toward her bedchamber, looking over her shoulder as if to say 'Well, are you coming or not?'
Leia glanced at Luke, who had adopted his expressionless façade, then at Han, who shrugged his shoulders and grinned in amusement. Well, no one ever accused Leia Organa of not having courage ...
―――
The first thing Leia noticed as she entered the bedchamber was that the room was considerably neater than it had been the day before. The bed covering was wrinkle-free, and Mara's personal articles were meticulously arranged on the elegant bureau and writing desk. A clear, bell-shaped jar of what looked like colored flower petals sat on a small table next to the bed. Must be a decoration provided by the Lorrdians, Leia thought. Mara didn't seem the flowery type.
"Go ahead and use the 'fresher while I look for something that I think will fit you," Mara invited, nodding toward the open doorway.
"Thank you," Leia answered, still in a daze over this change in Mara's demeanor. While Mara's tone couldn't be called amiable, it didn't carry her usual sarcastic attitude, either.
Leia quickly rinsed the offending liquid from her top and hung it over a rod. Smoothing down her satiny camisole, she returned to the other room to find Mara standing in front of an open wardrobe, holding out a light beige tunic.
"Will this do?" Mara asked.
"Yes, I'm sure it will." Leia accepted the garment, and as she did so, her attention was caught by a long white dress and what looked like a cape hanging in the wardrobe. She couldn't help reaching past Mara to finger the soft material. "What's this?" she asked. "It looks so unusual."
"Oh, it's ... it's nothing," Mara stuttered as she began to close the wardrobe's ornate doors.
Leia hadn't thought until then that it was possible for Mara Jade to look flustered.
"Wait! May I see it? I like to look at clothing from different cultures." Leia kept her outstretched hand firmly holding the full skirt. Even without employing her limited knowledge of the Force, she could sense the nervousness radiating off Mara as the young woman stood frozen, her hand gripping the wardrobe door so hard that her knuckles were beginning to turn white. "It is from a different culture, isn't it?" Leia continued as she boldly began pulling the garment out of the enclosure. She knew her reputation of being persistent wasn't wholly unearned. "I've never seen anything like this on Coruscant. Is it from Lorrd?"
"Hmm, no," Mara muttered, finally stepping aside in apparent defeat. She met Leia's expectant stare, then continued in a resigned voice. "It came from the planet that Skywalker and I were stranded on, when the B-wing broke down."
"You took time out to go clothes shopping?" Leia narrowed her eyes. It was bad enough that Luke and Jade were ten days late getting to Lorrd. The idea that this woman—
"Of course not," Mara replied curtly. "The locals were having some kind of primitive festival, and orange flightsuits didn't exactly blend in. They gave me this to wear."
"I see." Leia's short answer belied the multitude of thoughts that was running through her mind. Mara Jade didn't strike her as the type to care about 'blending in' with a group of technology-free villagers, as Luke had described them – not unless she was going undercover on an assignment. As Leia's gaze swept quickly over Mara's current simple attire, she also realized that she'd never seen Mara in a dress at all, much less anything like the one now freed from the confines of the wardrobe.
Her prize finally in full view, Leia let a small gasp escape. The dress was beautiful, in a quaint, genteel sort of way. She turned over the fur-trimmed hem and examined the stitching closely. "This looks hand-stitched," Leia pronounced in awe. "I haven't seen a hand-sewn garment since I was a little girl, and then only once. One of my aunts had a skirt tucked away in a trunk that her grandmother had sewn by hand."
"Yes, well, didn't Skywalker tell you there was no automation in Zembuhl?" Mara's tone clearly indicated that she wasn't impressed by Leia's nostalgic small talk.
"Zembuhl?" The name tugged at Leia's memory, but she couldn't place where she'd heard it.
"The village we hiked to. We don't really know the name of the planet."
"Yes, he did mention the lack of technology," Leia murmured, now running a careful hand over the long row of tiny buttons along the back of the dress. Did she imagine it, or did Mara noticeably stiffen at her actions? Leia then turned her attention to the velvety soft fur that trimmed the neckline, sleeves, and hem of the dress. "Is this real fur? I don't recognize what animal it could be from."
"It's rishhare," Mara said succinctly, glancing at the door to the common room where Luke and Han waited.
Holding the garment in front of her, Leia crossed to the room's full-length cheval mirror. The dress wasn't anything like the exquisite gowns that she'd worn many times, nor like the fashionable chic dresses currently being touted across the galaxy. Rather, it was elegant in its simplicity; its delicate folds the embodiment of femininity. "This could almost be used as a wedding dress, in a cold climate," Leia commented offhandedly. The sudden chill emanating from Mara made Leia feel like they were in one of those cold climates. "May I try it on?" she asked, as much to see Mara's reaction as her impulsive desire to see how the dress would look on her.
"I ... It ... I don't think it would fit you," Mara stammered. "No, it wouldn't fit."
Leia shrewdly glanced at Mara's trim figure. "It may be a little longer on me than on you," she said, "but I'm sure it would fit."
Mara's anxiety returned full-force. "Uh ... Don't you think we need to be getting back to the other room?" She held out the top that she'd originally offered to Leia. "Here, I thought you wanted to borrow a tunic." Mara started to reach out to snatch back her dress, but Leia twirled out of reach.
"I'll just slip the dress on quickly," Leia insisted. "It won't take but a moment." Without waiting for a response, she stepped out of her own skirt and into the alluring dress, pulling it up over her hips. "Can you fasten a few of the buttons, so I can get a better idea of how it looks?" Leia called over her shoulder. As she saw Mara's reflection behind her, Leia swore the woman looked positively stricken.
―――
"What do you think they're doing in there?" Han muttered. A worried frown suddenly creased his forehead, and he looked sharply at Luke. "Jade wouldn't—"
"No," Luke answered emphatically. "Mara would not harm Leia." He narrowed his gaze at the bedchamber door, as if trying to sense what was going on within the room. "But I can't imagine what is taking so long, either."
"Ah, well, you never know with women." Han took a drink from his glass. "Probably comparing notes on the latest fashions."
Luke gave a doubtful-sounding laugh, but didn't take his eyes off the doorway.
"Hey, kid," Han whispered, leaning forward in his seat. "We still on for tonight?"
Luke turned his attention back to Han. "Tonight? What's tonight?"
"You're gonna order a fancy room service meal, then make yourself scarce." Han frowned at Luke's blank expression. "So I can ... you know." He nodded his head toward the bedroom and mouthed the word 'propose.'
"Oh, yeah, right." Luke fidgeted in his chair. "This isn't a hotel, Han. I don't know if there is room service."
"Have they told you you're expected at any bigwig dinner?"
"Well, no. Not tonight."
"I'm sure they're not gonna let the two of you go wandering around the city on your own." Han grinned smugly. "So they gotta let you eat in your room if you want."
"I suppose," Luke answered slowly. "But wouldn't it be better for you to wait until you got back to Coruscant? Then you could take Leia out to some nice restaurant."
"The minute we get back to Coruscant, Leia'll be busy every night with meetings again." Han leaned back again, crossing his legs. "Tonight's the night, kid." He tipped his glass in Luke's direction, as if in salute, then looked around at the sound of footsteps exiting the bedchamber.
―――
"Han, look at the beautiful dress—" Leia stopped short as soon as she caught sight of Luke. She didn't think she had ever seen such a horrified look on her brother's face as when she walked into the common room.
"What ... What in blazes are you doing, wearing that!" Luke rose quickly to his feet, shifting his shocked gaze from Leia to Mara. "Why did you let her put that on?"
"You asked me to be nice to her," Mara growled. Her expression was a mixture of frustration and irritation.
"Not that nice!"
Leia could tell by the way Luke was clenching and unclenching his fists that he was fighting to control his emotions. Han stood up also, looking as puzzled as Leia felt.
"Hey, Luke," Han said. "Settle down, kid."
Mara moved close enough to Luke to touch his arm lightly. "Skywalker, it's only the dress I wore to the festival in the village. It's not a big deal."
Some sort of wordless communication passed between the two Force-users, of that Leia was sure. An epiphany of realization seemed to come over Luke – whether the result of Mara's verbal statement or silent one, there was no way of telling. But he visibly relaxed, his hands now hanging limply by his sides.
"I'm sorry, Leia," Luke apologized, regret and embarrassment shining in his penitent blue eyes. "I just thought that no one else was ever supposed to wear a woman's ... uh, festival dress."
"That's all right, Luke," Leia murmured. She didn't believe his explanation for one moment. Why in the galaxy would he care if she tried on one of Mara's dresses? Something strange was going on, and Leia was determined to find out what. "I'll go change." She backed into the bedchamber, still holding the matching cloak that she hadn't even had a chance to model.
Mara followed Leia in and immediately began undoing the long row of buttons.
"What was that all about?" Leia asked.
"How should I know?" Mara returned testily. "You ought to know your brother better than I would. Maybe he has some fixation with women's clothing."
Leia glanced over her shoulder, not amused by Mara's supposed attempt at humor, and Mara looked up to meet her gaze. "I'm beginning to think I don't know him at all."
Don't bother saying that Luke overreacted. He already knows it. And did everyone catch the infamous '1138' in this chapter?