For the people who asked about '1138' ― George Lucas's first movie was "THX-1138." Then the number 1138 was inserted into A New Hope -- Luke, in stormtrooper disguise, says that Chewie is a prisoner transfer from cell block 1138. (I believe Mark Hamill claims he spontaneously used it, and George let it slide.) After that, it became kind of a game for fans to find if and where that number was hidden in the other movies. (In Phantom Menace, it's imprinted on the back of a battle droid.) A lot of fanfic authors stick it in their stories just for fun.
Jedi-Saber: Thanks! Glad you think I got everyone in character, in line with the AU aspects of this story. And sorry, I haven't written anything new that's not at my site.
Saber Girl Leia: Um, does catching the 1138 after you mentioned it count? ― Sure, I'm not picky! My guess is I was talking about their relationship in the story overall, a different chapter, or maybe getting confused with another story of yours I read (the SW Star Trek crossover). ― Yes, Leia was rather nasty in that ST crossover! In this one, it's Han who nearly takes a swing at … well, read on to find out.
Nerca Beyul: Hmm... The chapter was rather boring, until the end. ― 'Boring' is not a word I'd use to describe your reviews. Congrats for catching '1138.'
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And welcome, Classic Cowboy.
A fairly long chapter this time. The complications for Luke continue to pile up.
A Journey of Discovery ― Book Three: Prism
Chapter Eight
Hands clasped tightly behind his back, Luke stood looking out through a large oval window at the rooftops surrounding the royal administrative building. He was alone in the vestibule of Prime Aide Meend's office, and had been for the better part of the afternoon. His request for an audience with Regent Ke'lor had brought a flurry of excuses for the lengthy delay – the Regent was apparently a very busy man.
Luke was not by nature a patient person. Yoda had tried to teach him patience, Luke thought with a smile. And perhaps his old master had succeeded, to a point. After all, Luke had barely twitched a muscle since Meend's last appearance, nearly a half standard hour ago. No pacing, no hand clenching, no urges to simply barge into the Regent's inner sanctum and track down the errant monarch himself. In truth, Luke didn't mind the wait. It gave him time to reflect on the conversation he'd had earlier with Mara, shortly after Han and Leia's departure.
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"What is wrong with you, Luke?
"Look, I admit that I overreacted." Luke raked his fingers through his slightly too-long hair. "But why did you have the dress hanging out where she could see it? I thought it was still packed in your satchel."
Mara groaned in exasperation. "The cleaning droid offered to take my dirty laundry to be cleaned, and I decided to send the dress, too. I guess when it brought my clothes back, it hung everything in the wardrobe. I didn't even realize it was in there until Leia spied it." She glared at Luke in frustration. "What did you want me to do? Break her arm for daring to touch my wedding dress?"
"You didn't have to invite her to put on a fashion show with it."
"Luke!" Mara threw up her hands, then let them fall on top of his shoulders. "How long have you known your sister? I've known her three months, and already I've got her pegged as the most stubborn person I've ever met, and that includes you. She was bound and determined to try that dress on, and nothing I said would dissuade her. Anyway, there's no rule against one woman putting on another's wedding gown, and Leia doesn't even know that's what it is."
"All right, all right. I know how Leia can get. She pestered me every day for a month until I would give her lessons piloting my X-wing." Luke sighed in resignation. "I just don't like the idea of anyone but you wearing your wedding dress. I have ... well, certain memories attached to it, and ..."
Mara's demeanor softened and she kissed him gently. "I know, sweetheart. It was all I could do to keep from shaking while undoing the buttons down the back."
Luke gave her a strained smile. "Maybe you should have let Han do that."
"She was wearing clothes underneath, farmboy." Mara swatted him lightly. "You'd better be purging all thoughts that don't focus on me."
Luke grinned and nodded in agreement. "Nightmares like that I don't need."
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Luke exhaled quietly. He missed Mara. He'd just left her a few short hours ago, and already he missed her. Luke dragged his thoughts away from the night he'd undone the fastenings on that soft white dress and instead did his best to focus on the reason he was rooted to this spot – the proposed trade negotiation. He only hoped Mara hadn't killed Han yet.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"What else?" Mara grated out between clenched teeth. She was jotting down Han's menu requests on a piece of flimsiplast, while simultaneously plotting her revenge against a handsome, blue-eyed Jedi for relegating her to the role of waitress. She understood Luke's concern that if they both left to seek out the Regent, they might not return in time to order Han's special dinner. And she knew that it would be inappropriate if a padawan was the one to challenge passages in the treaty, leaving her master behind. But that didn't mean she had to like the arrangement. Luke was the one who'd promised his cooperation in this scheme of Han's, not her.
"Let's see, for dessert, about some serjeez fruit tidbits with sweet nectar sauce."
"We had that for lunch," Mara stated in exasperation. "We wouldn't order the same thing for dinner."
"Well, maybe you liked it so well that you want it again," Han returned testily.
Mara shot the man her best glare and scribbled down the choice.
"Oh, and a bottle of Alderaanian wine," Han concluded. "Gotta have the finest for this occasion."
"Solo, do you know how expensive that is?" Mara couldn't believe the nerve of the man. "They're not going to give us Alderaanian wine!"
"Bet if you asked your admirer – what's his name? Jayce? – he'd get a bottle for you."
Mara had been wrong. It hadn't been her best glare earlier. Though this time she was sure her expression had 'death threat' written all over it. Her hand itched for the feel of her hold-out blaster.
"You can drink whatever's here," Mara bit out, waving a hand toward the refreshment bar.
"There's not much left," Han said with a frown.
"And whose fault is that?" Mara stalked to the intercom, clearly indicating to Han that there would be no more adding to his wish list. A low-level aide answered in Meend's office, and promised that every item that Mara had requested would be delivered within the hour.
"Hey, that was twice as much as I asked for," Han commented, puzzled.
"Farmboy and I have to eat, too," Mara returned. "Don't worry, we won't intrude on your romantic interlude."
A crooked grin crept onto Han's face. "Since when does an assassin use pet nicknames for a Jedi?"
"Since when does a spice smuggler get away with calling a princess 'Her Worshipfulness'?"
"Since she knows I only call her that because I love her." Han's shrewd hazel eyes narrowed, apparently waiting for a response he should have known wouldn't be coming.
Mara pressed her lips into a grim line, then spun on her heel. "I'll be back when the food arrives," she muttered before disappearing out the door.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Luke turned around in anticipation, even though Meend hadn't made a sound as he entered the room.
"I apologize, Sir Knight," Meend said, ignoring Luke's earlier request to simply call him 'Luke.' "His Excellency was called into an emergency meeting, and it is impossible to say when he will be available." The aide wrung his hands nervously. "Are you sure that I cannot help you? I am most familiar with all aspects of your negotiations."
Luke paused, considering. Perhaps he would get more answers out of the genial aide than he would from the Regent. "Well, I would like clarification on subsection eleven, paragraph thirty-eight."
"Of course, of course." Meend hurriedly retrieved his copy of the document and scanned for that section. "Each party must be willing ..." he began reading, then looked up in confusion. "But that is a standard clause in all treaties with allies, Jedi Skywalker."
Luke shook his head. "It's too vague, too open for misinterpretation."
Meend rubbed a hand across his chin. "I'm sorry, I do not have the authority to alter that section."
"I did not expect that you would." Luke smiled in understanding. "Perhaps I could make use of your comm station to call Mon Mothma?"
"Oh, yes, absolutely, sir." Meend's face lit up at receiving a request that he could fulfill. "Please follow me. And then I shall be happy to escort you back to your quarters, if His Excellency is still not available."
Luke paused his forward motion and kept his expression carefully shuttered. "I found my way here by myself, and I'm sure I can find my way back. If all this is so that we don't escape—" He stopped, regretting his brusque words as he saw the dismayed slump of the aide's shoulders. He remembered the panic in the older man's expression when Luke had appeared in his office unannounced, and unescorted. "Meend, I know you are only following orders, but you must realize that we could slip away from the palace grounds anytime we wanted." At the moment, however, all Luke wanted to do was get back into the ambassadorial wing. He smiled wanly at Meend. "However, I would be honored to have you keep me company on the walk back to my rooms."
"Thank you, Jedi Skywalker." The lines at the corners of Meend's dark eyes crinkled in relief. "Your kindness is a credit to your Order."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Carefully making sure she would not be spotted, Leia made her way down the long corridor to Luke's suite. She had informed Mon Mothma of Luke's progress on the negotiations, and her fear that the Lorrdians had ulterior motives on their agenda. Mon Mothma promised she would have the recently formed New Republic Intelligence gather any information it could on the war situation on Lorrd. Leia signed off when Mon Mothma informed her that she had a transmission coming in from Luke. There was too much chance that Luke's call was being monitored to risk Leia joining that conversation.
It was when Leia had announced that she was exiting the Falcon that the trouble had begun. She'd found the ramp doorway blocked by a two-and-a-quarter-meter-tall walking carpet. Then Lando had appeared from the cockpit, insisting that he had more information on the Lorrdians that she needed to hear. After listening to him embellish all of his escapades at various nightspots the evening before, Leia had had more than she could take. Even Chewbacca's long string of grunts and growls, which Lando interpreted as saying it wasn't safe for her to leave the ship alone, wasn't enough to deter her. Leia swore they were delaying her on purpose, but she couldn't figure out why. Only after Lando's comlink beeped twice, then fell mysteriously silent, did Chewie and Lando agree to accompany her to the back entrance of Luke's building.
As Leia peered around the last corner of the hallway, she caught sight of Mara Jade coming out of Luke's room, pushing a hovercart laden with meal containers. The red-haired woman looked up, squarely meeting Leia's stare.
"Dinnertime," Mara stated evenly, punching in the code to her own suite. "Han's in there," she added, nodding back in the direction from which she'd come before disappearing into her room.
Expecting to also see Luke inside, Leia was instead greeted by Han alone as she entered the darkened room through the still-open doorway. A dressed-up, immaculately groomed Han.
"Welcome, Your Highness," Han said, holding out an elbow. "May I escort you to dinner?"
Leia's eyes widened in surprise. In the middle of the room was a small table covered with a pure white tablecloth. Covered plates sat at two places, and a bottle of what looked like wine rested in an adjacent cooling vessel. A pair of candles, in tall jeweled candlesticks, cast warm flickering light across the room. Soft music played in the background, adding to the romantic ambiance.
"Han, what's going on?"
"Just like Red said," Han grinned roguishly as he closed the door behind them, "it's dinnertime."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
As Luke glided silently down the main corridor of the ambassadorial quarters, he sensed that Leia was already in his suite, with Han, and that Mara was waiting in her own suite. Waiting for him.
The door slid open just as he reached it, and Mara stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips, her slim figure dressed in loose pants and a sleeveless exercise tunic. Luke could tell that she was fighting to keep a smile from gracing her lovely face. She looked beautiful and sophisticated no matter what she was wearing, while Luke still felt like a second-rate farmer from a third-rate planet. She and I are exactly alike in so many ways, he reflected, yet we're completely opposite in so many others.
"Hi," he said shyly, stepping inside. I'm ordinary; she's refined.
"About time," Mara scolded, but there was no malice in her voice. Luke looks so noble in his Jedi uniform, she thought. He is everything that is good and virtuous, while I'm tarnished and flawed. Every aspect of our relationship is a contradiction. She gazed into the warmth of his ice blue eyes. He is pure; I am tainted.
"Colonel Pima-Archa cornered me on the way back, wanting to discuss battle strategy," Luke answered, his eyes following the contours of her lips. Firm; soft. "What could I do?"
"You could say 'Sorry, I don't have time right now. Can I discuss it with you tomorrow?'" Mara moved closer and began undoing the clasp of his cloak. Dominant; submissive.
"You know I'm terrible at saying no," Luke murmured, letting his cloak fall to the floor. Willful; considerate.
"Pushover." Accepting; defiant.
Luke shrugged in resignation. "I'm here now." He threaded his fingers through her silky hair. "And I suspect Han and Leia won't miss me until morning." Passionate; gentle.
Mara reached up, brushing a stray lock from his forehead. "I'd say you'd probably be in big trouble if you showed your face over there." Provocative; appeasing.
Luke's warm smile faded quickly. "If things go well, that is. From what Leia said last night ..." Confident; doubtful.
"With the romantic mood Han was engineering, I don't see how she could turn him down." Mara let her hands trail across Luke's shoulders and down his chest. "And Leia did comment that my dress would make a good wedding dress." Pessimistic; hopeful.
"Is that so?" A frown appeared on Luke's face. "You don't think she suspects ...?" Optimistic; discouraged.
"No." Mara shook her head slightly. "I don't think so, unless you were going to say that she suspects you've turned into some kind of deviant who gets attached to women's clothing." Teasing; sincere.
Luke's infectious grin returned, lighting up the room. "I've got a lot of salvage work to do on my reputation, don't I?" Lively; grave.
"I don't envy you that task." A tingle ran through Mara as Luke caught her fingers, entwining them with his own. "I ordered extra food," she said, momentarily wondering why she had forgotten to chastise him for having to cater to Han's dining whims. "So we can eat in here." Distracted; attentive.
"Good." Luke stroked her fingers softly, not looking at the meal cart. "I may be hungry, afterwards." Impetuous; rational.
"Afterwards?" Cunning; innocent.
"Um-hmm." Intense; mellow.
Mara's practical side battled for her attention. "Were you able to get anywhere with the Regent?" Realistic; idealistic.
"Couldn't even get in to see him." Luke leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "Not much we can do about it tonight." Casual; ordered.
"Luke, we do need to talk about the negotiations." Authoritative; yielding.
"Sorry, I don't have time right now." Luke moved forward slowly, forcing Mara to back up. "Can I discuss it with you tomorrow?" Absolute; incomplete.
"I suppose we can put it off that long." She moaned lightly as Luke trailed light kisses down her neck. Practicality could wait. Tough; vulnerable.
"Pushover," he breathed, kneading her back with his fingertips. Rigid; flexible. She excited him in a way he'd never dreamed possible.
Mara slid one hand across the fasteners to Luke's sleeveless outer tunic. "Shall I divest you of your vest?" Transparent; opaque.
Luke's face dimpled once more in a warm smile. "Oh, what a silver tongue we have tonight." Tart; sweet.
Mara made a very unladylike snort. "Right. I've been waiting here for hours thinking up witty remarks to dazzle you with." Genial; cynical.
"Words are not what I'm expecting you to dazzle me with." He pulled her tighter against him. Blunt; tactful.
"Why do you always wear so many layers of clothes?" Mara teased, pushing Luke's vest off his shoulders. Harmonious; chafing.
"Hmm... To prolong the pleasure of having you remove them?" He ran one finger across the waistband of her pants. Bashful; bold.
Habitual; spontaneous. "Maybe we should adjourn to the bedchamber," Mara whispered, her throat going dry. Cautious; carefree. At any given time, any word could describe either of them.
"Too far." Luke pushed her down beneath him on the couch. The roles that defined them were constantly shifting. "We'll save it for round two." Awkward; graceful.
"Round—" Anxious ...
The rest of Mara's reply was muffled as Luke cut her off with a fierce kiss, fanning the flames of passion between lovers newly wed. Their bodies pressed deeper into the musan-leather cushions – the creaking of the expensive upholstery went completely unnoticed. Content.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Dodging furniture and ornamental plants, Leia hurried across the common room, but she was having a hard time catching up with Han's long strides. Han hadn't been disappointed when Leia turned down his proposal of marriage.
He'd been furious.
"Han, wait!"
"I'm gonna kill him," the Corellian bellowed, not slowing his pace in the least. "I'm gonna strangle him, and then I'm gonna kill him."
"Han, he didn't—"
Han paused in the middle of the hallway, pointing his finger into Leia's face. "You said you asked him for advice, and then you said you wouldn't marry me." He turned and snapped off the cover to Mara's door control, effortlessly twisting the wires necessary to open the door. "What am I supposed to think?" he growled, sweeping into the suite before Leia could stop him.
The sight that met Leia's gaze inside the room stopped both her and Han in their tracks, however. From a reclining position on the couch, Mara was pushing Luke off the top of her, and he landed on the floor with a resounding thud. Most of him, anyway. His right hand was hidden beneath her tunic, and Luke was struggling to pull it out.
"Move it or lose it ... again, Skywalker." Mara's face was flushed red as she glared at her obviously-more-than-a-friend companion.
"My fingers are caught in your ... The material's ... twisted ..." With a grunt, Luke managed to extricate his hand before Mara made good on her threat. It was only then that he embarrassedly faced his audience.
"What in blazes is going on here!" Han exclaimed.
Leia gave Han a sideways glance before turning back to see Mara straightening her tunic and Luke, still half-lying on the floor, haphazardly trying to fasten his own tunic closed. She thought it was pretty obvious what was going on.
"Uh, I can explain—" Luke began before Mara interrupted.
"We're not the ones who need to be giving explanations," Mara said tersely. "Don't we have any privacy? What are you doing over here?"
"I'm here to throttle him." Kicking the Jedi cloak out of the way, Han lunged forward to loom over Luke's sprawled-out body.
"Me? What'd I do?"
Han's immediate reply was to grab Luke by the upper arms and haul him up against the wall. "Don't you act so blasted innocent. The first mistake I made was listening to Chewie and Winter. The second was thinking I could trust you." Han's livid face was mere centimeters from Luke's calm one. "I confide in you that I'm going to propose," he continued, undaunted by Luke's lack of reaction, "I even swallow my pride and ask your permission, and you ... you go right behind my back and tell her to turn me down!"
"It wasn't like that!" Mara and Leia shouted simultaneously, then stared at each other. There was no mistaking the fiercely protective expression on Mara's face as she tugged Han's arm away from Luke, ignoring the 'I can defend myself' look in Luke's flashing blue eyes.
"Luke told you about this?" Leia asked incredulously.
"He tells me everything," Mara snapped. "He relayed the whole conversation to me immediately after he talked to you." She stepped between Luke and Han, forcing Han to relinquish his hold on Luke completely. "If Leia turned you down, it wasn't because of anything Luke said."
"Mara—" Luke tried to get a word in, but Han's retort to Mara cut him off.
"And why should I believe you?" he scoffed. "You haven't been truthful since the day we met you."
"Wait a minute." Leia laid a hand on Han's arm to silence him, but her attention was focused on Mara. To her surprise, she felt no indignation that Luke had betrayed her confidence by divulging their discussion. Instead, it was the wording of Mara's declaration that had caught her notice. "What do you mean, immediately after he talked to me? It was the middle of the night. Luke went back to bed." Her gaze shifted to her brother, who had moved out from Mara's shadow. "You got back up and came over here for a midnight chat?"
"No," he muttered, so softly that Leia had to strain to hear his answer.
"But ..." Leia trailed off as comprehension dawned. Her gaze shifted between Luke and Mara. "You were sleeping with Luke," she said. It was more of a statement than an accusation. In light of what she'd just witnessed, Leia knew she shouldn't be surprised.
"Every chance I get." Mara's chin tilted upward, as if daring anyone to disapprove.
Han momentarily forgot his own anger as this new drama began unfolding. "So we were right all along?" His eyes narrowed at Luke. "Why the big charade? You sat right here," he pointed to a nearby chair, "and denied any involvement with her. Your conscience burdened that heavily that you couldn't admit to what you've been up to?"
"I didn't lie. Not exactly." Luke slipped one arm around Mara's tense shoulders, but Leia couldn't perceive that the woman relaxed any. "At least, from a certain point of view," he added in a whispered voice.
Han slapped one hand to his forehead and plopped into the same chair to which he'd just pointed. "He's your crazy brother," he said to Leia. "You figure it out."
Leia let a discerning eye fall on her brother and his ... his what? Girlfriend? Lover? Had Luke fallen in love with her? Did she love him? Was she capable of love? Leia gently laid a hand on Luke's arm. "Luke, can you explain to us what's going on?"
"It's complicated," Luke muttered, his posture stiff.
"You've already ruined this whole evening," Han proclaimed in frustration. "Why not continue your streak by confusing the hell out of us?"
Leia shot Han a 'Be quiet' look, then turned back to Luke. "You asked us to trust you, and trust her. Yet you couldn't trust us to handle the fact that you have an intimate relationship with her. Luke, we would've understood."
Luke stood his ground. "Would you have? You came busting in here, ready to drag Mara off to prison before you even heard her side."
"You're right." Leia's voice faltered slightly. "I was just so worried that she would hurt you. But Luke, why didn't you think you could tell us back on Coruscant that you and Mara were involved? We didn't know her background then."
"Because nothing was going on between us on Coruscant."
Leia frowned, feeling puzzled. "Are you saying you started sleeping together only after arriving on Lorrd?"
"No, I didn't say that."
Leia's mind was racing. Luke was proficient at talking in circles, but this was getting ridiculous. After Coruscant, but before Lorrd? That only left ... Leia's eyes widened in disbelief. "You just elected to stop off on the way to a very important treaty negotiation, and start having a love affair?" She gave him a hard look. "Did you really have trouble with the B-wing, or did you lie about that, too?"
"We don't have to answer that!" Mara bit out.
"Yes, we do," Luke interjected. He rubbed his eyes wearily, still clasping Mara's hand. "The B-wing did break down, and it did take us ten days to get it fixed."
"So to kill time waiting on repair parts, you decided to hop into bed together." Han shook his head and emitted a deep guttural laugh. "I gotta admit, kid, I didn't think you had it in you."
Luke's somber eyes flicked toward Han. Then taking a deep breath, he gazed unflinchingly at Leia. She got the distinct impression that he was imploring her for forgiveness. But forgiveness for what? "Actually, first we decided to—"
A loud, all-too-recognizable explosion cut off Luke's last words, violently shaking the room.
They were under attack.