Title: Collide

Author(s): Advent Twilight (Little Author and Seldom Darlin')

Rating: T (just to be safe, it's probably K, but anything can happen…)

Genres: Action/Adventure and Romance (with a side of humor, for taste)

Disclaimer: All characters, places and names you recognize are the mighty George Lucas'. We're just playing with them. All other characters are the property of…us! (trust me, there will be some)

A.N. Hey, what's up? Well, this is our first story together, but not our very first separately. (See profile for other info) This all started because I (Little Author) thought the Mara/Luke section was short, so we decided to add a story for my fellow L/M fans to look forward to. I'm not sure how fast we will update, but hopefully we will be done in a year, less, if possible.Well, this first chappie is by me, LA. Next will be SD (Seldom Darlin') and so on. Well, enough rambling, get on with the show! AT

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Laughter resounded throughout the meeting chamber as the durasteel door retracted quickly with a faint whoosh. Talon Karrde stepped in the doorway, donning a curious, but kindly expression as one smirking and three smiling faces met his eyes. There was a fifth being in the room with the foursome, but he had not participated in remembering a seemingly ludicrous memory or story. The others gathered their composure and stood up to meet him as the unknown man stayed seated. Karrde's calculating gaze moved from one person to another, silently assessing their appearances.

At the head of the table was Leia Organa Solo, regal as ever and wearing a polite smile as she nodded for him and his partner to sit. As Karrde sat with the rest, his gaze moved to Organa Solo's right, where her husband Han Solo sat. Solo looked slightly skeptical, possibly for Karrde's presence, but he nodded nonetheless. To Solo's left was Luke Skywalker, who seemed to have known that Karrde was going to come. He smiled warmly and bowed his head in a fraction of a nod. Directly across Skywalker was his employee, Mara Jade, green eyes hard and unwavering. A slight smirk played on her lips, and Karrde dimly wondered if Mara ever smiled a real, genuine smile. All she ever seemed to do was smirk or twist her lips into a kind of contorted smile. Karrde shook his head slightly and moved on to the last person sitting at the table. The man stood and extended his hand.

"Senator Ralon Wayn," he introduced himself, shaking Karrde's hand heartily.

"Captain Talon Karrde," Karrde said gruffly. The man- Wayn- seemed a tad overenthusiastic, and Karrde noted to keep an eye on the young Senator from planet Whatsitsname. "So," he started after everyone had settled again. "What were you all talking about before I had come in? If it had Ms. Jade over there smirking, it must have been something good." Mara's eyes flashed, and Karrde could see a little flash of irritation flicker in the sea of green. She glanced over at Luke, who raised an eyebrow and shook his head in a nearly imperceptible movement. Mara nodded slightly and the irritation disappeared. Karrde smiled but made a mental note to ask about Mara and Skywalker at a more convenient time.

"Well," Solo said, "I was just telling these guys about a time when Luke last baby sat for me." Solo smiled lopsidedly and nudged Skywalker. "Remember, kid?"

Skywalker looked down at his hands as a flush crept into his cheeks. "I would rather not remember," he mumbled looking anywhere but at the occupants at the table. One time was enough for Skywalker, it seemed.

"The just tell it, Han," Karrde said. He chuckled lightly as Skywalker pointedly looked at the wall, intensely studying a dent that was in the durasteel wall. Apparently, this memory was a humiliating moment for the young Jedi.

"It was a few weeks ago and Leia was on a diplomatic mission or whatever, and I needed to go and make some repairs to the Falcon. Chewie was on Kashyyyk at the time and I didn't trust Lando with the kids. The only person left was dear Luke, the brave and valiant Jedi Knight who had hardly any experience with kids. After I left, I knew when I came back the apartment would be in chaos. What Luke didn't know was that I left the security holorecorder on, just to see what the three kids were up to when I was gone.

"Around the twins' naptime, I checked my datapad for a little update. What I didn't expect was Luke chasing Jacen, who was running around with his lightsaber while Jaina was pulling out all of the kitchen utensils and throwing them on the floor. Luke looked furious as he picked Jacen up and took Jaina's hand. He sat them at the table and told them to behave. The little time bombs said they were hungry and their uncle let them have something to eat. What he didn't want or need was the large food fight which ended in the 'attack Uncle Luke with your food' game. They threw everything and Luke had enough. I finally decided to give the kid a break. Once I went back upstairs, Jacen was jumping on his bed and Jaina was asking where babies came from. And why they sky was blue. And why Darth Vader was a bad man. And why Emperor Palpatine looked like her old milk that she accidentally left in her room once. He said he didn't know and stormed out of the room, saying to me 'Watch out, those two are worse than Sith Lords'. With that, the stew-covered Jedi Knight walked out of my apartment, looking worse than the day that Wampa on Hoth scratched up his face."

Karrde laughed at the expression on Skywalker's face, as he flushed with embarrassment. That must have been one heck of a day. Karrde's smiled died as he remembered why he came to these people. He cleared his throat and looked around the room uncomfortably. Aves, his partner, stirred a little, fidgeting with his blaster.

"I am guessing that you want to know why I came here when I should be in the Hapes Cluster. I came here to inform you about a rumor that I heard three standard days ago and I just wanted to let you know about it." Karrde took a shaky breath. The reaction to this could not be good. "I've been informed that Palpatine has come back."

There was a hushed silence as Karrde spoke. His friends blinked dumbly, shocked into silence. Some had their mouths hanging wide open, others looked as if they were about to faint. The only one who remained surprisingly impassive was Mara. The Emperor's ex-Hand; his assassin. The one who had willingly done anything for him. Had she known he was going to come back?

"Are you sure the rumor is not some prank?" Mara asked calmly. Although Mara spoke calmly, Karrde could hear a faint tremor of…something in her voice. Fear? Anger? Or was it some other emotion? Karrde looked at her directly, rubbing his chin in thought.

"I am pretty sure," he said at last. "Nobody around Byss would joke about such things, would they?"

Mara looked away. "No, perhaps not." Skywalker looked across the table at Jade. She held his gaze for a split second then looked away. Palpatine's rise from the dead probably affected their lives the most, Karrde realized. The only Jedi in the galaxy and the Emperor's own hand. The man's closest servant and worst nemesis. Karrde suddenly felt guilty about telling these good people about some far-fetched rumor that seemed to come from some drunken spice smuggler telling yarns at the local bar. He didn't need to scare these people. He didn't want to. Yet he had a strange feeling that he had to tell them, especially Jade and Skywalker. Especially them. Whether good old Palpatine was back or not was still a question that someone needed to answer; Karrde was just that someone.

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Palpatine might be back. The dark lord might be back from a death that he himself had seen. It just was not possible! Luke had seen his father throw the Sith down the reactor shaft…he died, right? With the explosion, he had certainly been dead; then again, it was just a rumor…right?

Luke Skywalker was a Jedi, he wasn't allowed to be afraid, yet there he was, standing in the corridor, fretting about a Sith Lord that might not even be back from the dead. He guessed it was worse for Mara Jade; his…what was she to him? A friend was too close, but acquaintance was too far away. He always considered her a friend, even if she didn't. He had been through too much with her.

"Luke?" Leia's voice shook him out of his musings. There was no need to dwell on the future.

"Yeah, what?" Luke asked, aware of how impolite and undignified he sounded. That was fine with him. Manners and powerful auras didn't matter when there was a possibility that the worst man in the galaxy was back.

"Do you think the rumors are true? I'm sure they were just some tale to scare a person, but what do you think?" Leia's eyes searched Luke's face as they walked toward the turbolift. Han had to go to Bespin for "something with Lando" and Luke, Leia and Mara with Wayn would be returning to Coruscant. Or that was Luke hoped. Mara didn't seem to want company at this time, so he thought she might go to some uninhabited planet and brood.

"I'm not entirely sure, Leia, but I just have a feeling that it may be true. I'm just hoping beyond hope that it isn't. For the galaxy's sake." Luke looked over at Mara. "For Mara's sake."

"Skywalker, you know I don't need any do-gooder junk from you. I can take care of myself, thanks."

Luke never changed his expression, but behind his barriers, he was stung. Just a little, but it still hurt. "I was only saying that maybe Palpatine might go after you, since you were his assassin and all. I'm not saying that I'm going to protect you. If you want, I could just let you go, leave safety behind, along with any chance of being alive. You know and I know that Palpatine will kill you if you do not join him again. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it. You don't need anyone."

"You got it, Skywalker, and it's going to stay that way." Mara glanced away, but Luke caught a flicker of fear in her eyes. Luke looked over at Leia, who got the point that he needed to be alone with Mara for a few moments. Leia left the corridor silently, leaving the two in the sterile-white hallway.

"Mara…I-" Luke began, but Mara cut him off.

"Look, Skywalker, I'm fine. If you could just cut the fake 'I'm sorry attitude' and leave me alone, I would be more than fine."

"But I'm not faking it, Mara. This rumor has gotten you as unsettled as me. What I need you to stop is to not pretend you're not worried. I thought we were friends; friends tell each other the truth. Plus, I can't bear to see you get hurt by Palpatine. I won't let you go back to him."

Mara snorted. "Who said I was going back to him? I'm just nervous, that's all. If he is alive, and I mean if, I'm just afraid…I'm afraid that I'll go back. Okay, I said it. Happy now, Skywalker?"

Luke looked at Mara, ice blue eyes softening a bit. "Mara, I'm afraid too. I know that if one of us turns, then the other will never live. I will be with you, even if you don't want it. I will not let you or me turn to him. I promise."

Mara sighed. "Skywalker, it's appreciated. If you get too overwhelming, I am going to leave."

Luke smiled crookedly. "Friends?"

Mara smirked. "Friends, Skywalker. Now lets blast off this planet so we can have something to do."

Luke laughed lightly and patted Mara on the shoulder. Yes, this was going to be an interesting friendship with Mara. Though Luke had found his officially declared friendship, he was still worried about Palpatine, hours later as his X-Wing traveled through hyperspace. Somewhere, deep in his gut, he knew Palpatine was alive. Luke also knew that trusting his gut wasn't always the best way to go. Palpatine was the future, it was the present. The best thing to do was to wait until the future got there, and then he would deal with it. It was just a rumor, no big deal…right?

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Well? Like it? Hate it? We NEED to know! Thanks for reading (maybe reviewing? JK)! AT