Chapter 5
The two of us sat around the fire for a while. Not so much recalling our days under the Empire as just feeling the presence of its ghost. I thought Durban still had a lot to say, but the words didn't seem to be coming easily. I thought he knew how much trouble we were both still in. I was starting to realize it too…
But soon enough, we heard the distinct whine of a speeder in the distance. It approached at a hasty clip that set Durban on guard. But I gestured for him to take it easy.
"It's Luke," I explained, sensing him clearly. "I think he wants to know what I'm doing out here."
He did, I knew that much. But he could discern enough about my emotions to know I wasn't in any immediate danger. When his bike hovered to a stop at the edge of the clearing, I tossed him a small smile.
"I thought it was a nice day for a hike," I teased, gesturing for him to come sit down next to me. He did, a wordless aura of curiosity and concern.
"Good day, Master Skywalker," Durban greeted calmly.
"Hello, are you…Durban?"
He nodded. "Yes, I once served under your father."
Luke winced, letting go of a slight sigh. To Durban, his record of service still came with some degree of pride, even though he knew the effort was misplaced. But any such pride was lost on Luke, who looked pained just at the mention of his father.
Memories of the past were like tripwires. One wrong move and you were right back in the middle of pain and regret. We were quite the bunch…
"Here, try this," I whispered offering him a piece of whatever poor creature Durban had cooked up. "No clue what it is, but it tastes pretty good."
He seemed anything but hungry, but Luke wasn't one to offend anyone's attempt at hospitality. So he took a reluctant bite, his eyes never leaving Durban.
"So…" he finally mumbled, unable to take the suspense anymore. "What's going on?"
I sighed, a little exhausted by it all. "More bounty hunters, what else? But at least this time they made the mistake of sending an old friend to kill us. You know how it is, Luke, all the people out to get you always have second thoughts."
Luke smiled ever so slightly. "Not always, but sometimes…" His eyes shifted to Durban again. "I'm glad to hear you're a friend."
He returned Luke's smile slowly. "Yes, so am I…"
"So, I'm assuming the Echo Drivers weren't nearly as disbanded as we'd hoped?" Luke guessed.
"No," Durban agreed. "They weren't. The few at the very top were never even close to where the security raids happened. In fact, I doubt security even knows they're involved."
"Do you have details about them you'd be willing to share?" Luke asked carefully.
"I do, but it might not be enough to bring them to justice. The true leader of the Echo Drivers is a Hutt named Guttro. But his whereabouts were always kept secret from anymore except the highest ranked members."
"Not a Hutt… Why is it always a Hutt?" I complained, thinking back to Jabba. I'd had to do a lot of things during undercover assignments, but dancing for that slug had to be one of the worst…
"Hutts have a way with power, it would seem," Durban explained simply.
"Quite," Luke agreed. "They can also be very determined about reaching their goals. Which in this case is…"
"Getting both of us out of the way permanently," I added darkly.
"If I was successful in carrying out my assignment," Durban went on. "I was given a location to meet a contact close to Guttro to collect my reward. A good sum of money, and a rise in the ranks among the gang."
"Can you still go meet with them, and tell them you killed us?" Luke suggested.
"It's not that simple. They said they'd only appear if word of your deaths had already begun to spread. I doubt they'd take my word alone."
An idea seemed to be forming in the back of Luke's mind, I could tell that much. "What if the word did spread and you were given a promotion? Would you be able to find something else out that might help us shut them down for good?"
"Yes, I think so, but…?" Durban looked confused, and so was I for that matter.
"Just one problem, Luke," I said. "We're still alive, and I don't really want to fix that problem."
But he smiled. "We are, but they don't have to know that. An overly public announcement might cause a degree of panic, but don't reports of this magnitude start out in the back channels of Republic intelligence before going public?"
"Yeah, I guess so, but I've never really died before. Not to mention, I'm not the famous one, you are."
"I imagine they do," Luke agreed with himself. "And those back channels are also notorious for leaks, aren't they? Such as…"
"Karrde…" I mumbled, his whole crazy plan clicking together inside my head. He'd have Karrde purposely spread the false report of our death in the underbelly. That would give Durban just enough time to get some intel and disappear with it before they'd expect the report to appear on the public scene.
"It might work…" I said thoughtfully. "But what if it's not enough? They might need more to buy it?"
Luke unclipped his lightsaber and smiled down at it.
"What are you thinking?" I asked, a little worried.
"I could make mock replicas of our sabers, something to look the part but be so damaged that they wouldn't expect them to function. That combined with the report might be enough to convince them. It's obvious Guttro underestimated our ability or he wouldn't have sent one man to do the job. So he might just buy it."
"He has a point," Durban agreed. "I don't think he knows much about Jedi."
"Maybe, but I don't like it… Where are we supposed to be for however long we're dead?" I asked, thinking it was a fair question.
"We'll have to work that part out, but I know we can think of something, Mara."
I sighed, half-playfully. "I always knew dealing with you was going to get me killed. And sure enough, here we are…"
Our ill-advised plan was underway soon enough. Durban disappeared after one final goodbye, which left Luke and me to play dead.
It was unexpected, but I hated to leave Yavin so soon. I promised Rena I'd be back before too long. It wasn't like she was my official padawan or anything, but I still…thought I'd miss her. I felt a little responsible. She and the other students were looking up to Luke and me as examples. That both felt like a lot of pressure but also…a pretty big honor.
But I figured I should get used to it, that was all part of being a Skywalker. Pretending to be dead, not so much. But here we were. I felt a little weary of the whole thing, but we had to put an end to this whole bounty hunter situation one way or another. They'd mostly been underpowered clowns so far, but for Ben's sake, I didn't want to take any chances.
Our plan didn't sit all that well with Karrde though. He stared back at us from the encrypted channel, a worried frown on his face.
"Every measure can result in countermeasures. We don't know how the galaxy will respond to your deaths. Frankly, it could lead to even more trouble…"
"I don't like it either, Talon," I tried to justify. "But we're a little low on options at the moment. We want this gang off our back for good, no matter what it stirs up."
Luke seemed to like the idea less and less with each passing hour, but we'd already come too far to back out. "I admit it's risky," Luke confessed. "But I think it's the best option we have. Besides, it's only for a little while, and only in the back channels. Most people aren't even going to know."
Karrde sighed. "No, just the dangerous ones will know… I can do it if you really want me to, but I expect this to be discussed with the New Republic beforehand. I don't want them tracing this back to me and putting my credibility on the line."
"Understandable," Luke assured him. "I'll let Leia know what's going on, she can cover any trail that might connect you to this leak."
"Good, but it's not just my reputation I'm worried about." He glanced between us both. "Be careful, won't you?"
"It'll be fine, Karrde," I said with more confidence than I really felt. "With us dead, it means we can, at last, have an uninterrupted vacation. In fact, I might prefer being dead after I try it."
He smiled weakly, his face still layered in worry and doubt. "Give Ben my best."
I grinned, the sound of Ben screaming in the background highlighting the point. "I think he just said hello."
Karrde smiled one last time. "Take care…"
With that, the channel cut and we were on our own again. Luke rose to check on Ben, walking back into the Sabre's cockpit with him in his arms. "I'm dreading explaining this to Leia…" Luke admitted as he tried to quiet Ben's fretting.
"It won't be the first time she's disagreed with one of your crazy schemes. Or the first time I have either, for that matter."
"You disagree?" he asked, seeming a little surprised.
I shrugged. "I don't like how many ways this could go, it's too unpredictable for my taste. But just like I told Karrde, we're out of options. So, let's get this over with, shall we?"
I gestured toward the comm, and with a reluctant sigh, he sat down and placed the call. It went about as well as I'd been expecting. For all her own hot-headedness, Leia had the presence of an older, sister. And honestly, I didn't blame her for worrying…
"Wouldn't it be better to come back to Coruscant, where you'll have more protection?"
"Nothing stays hidden on Coruscant, Leia," I said. "We'd blow the whole thing if we showed up there."
She sighed. "I know. But I don't like this… What repercussions would something of this magnitude have on the stability of the entire galaxy?"
"I don't think I'm that important," Luke modestly whispered.
"You're that important to me," Leia said softly. "You all are…"
"Well, we don't plan on making the rumor official," I reassured her with a little smile. "We'll be sure to make a big public appearance once this is over. Dispell any lingering doubt about our crocked status. We'll just make this an extension of our interrupted vacation."
Han had been mostly quiet while we explained the whole thing, but I could tell something was on his mind. Finally, the Skywalkers having said their peace, he broke the silence.
"If you're looking for a place to disappear, I might know a guy."
"Color me surprised, Solo…" I mumbled.
"You both know him too, in fact…"
With that ominous outro, Han left to make a few connections before getting back to us. It was a less-than-reassuring turn of events, but I was almost used to how Han operated at this point.
Almost.
As events would turn out, the guy was none other than Lando himself. He just so happened to have a vacation condo on a moon in the middle of absolute nowhere. But not just any nowhere, no, it was a frosty ice world that would have put Hoth to shame. I was smart enough to figure out this was likely a cover front for some business deal he'd run in the past, but also smart enough not to ask any questions.
All that mattered is he'd loan us the place without the burden of a data trail. It was admittedly perfect. Well, at least as perfect as a mostly barren ice rock could possibly be. Could it ever be a planet with beaches?
When we made our approach, scans showed little more population than a few scattered settlements of livestock breeders. Apparently, there was some sort of woolly animal prized for its mane trimming that was native to this world.
Speaking of woolly animals, Ben looked like a juvenile wampa bundled up in so much snow wear, but at least he seemed snug enough. After the Sabre's ramp lowered we took in our new frosty home. It welcomed us with a frigid gust that threatened to make my teeth chatter.
Pulling Ben a little closer, I sighed. "Luke, next time we die, I'm picking a better location for the afterlife…"
He smiled slightly. "I won't mind if there's no next time."
"You and me both, Farmboy…" I muttered as I followed him out into the falling snow. "You and me both…"
The stone path led us up the side of a hill, twisting and turning through the snowy landscape. Sitting at the top was the fair-sized condo waiting for us.
I whistled slightly. "Quite the spread Lando has here, huh?"
Luke nodded. "Yes, it is, isn't it? It was very considerate of him to let us use it though."
He tapped on the keypad beside the entry, entering the right code to make the doors slide open.
"Well, it isn't every day you get to provide the final resting place for old friends."
Stepping inside we both gawked at the high ceilings and luxury decor. "Just think…" I teased. "If I'd played my hand right, all of this could have been mine."
"Mara…" he grumbled, finding the old joke less than funny.
But I couldn't help but laugh. Both at the ridiculousness of it and the way that Luke, all wise Jedi, could still wrinkle with jealousy after all this time. He tried to look annoyed, but couldn't keep up the act for long. Putting an arm around his shoulder I smiled up into his handsome face.
"We're dead, and I've never been happier, Luke."
"Then we should do it more often…" he whispered.
"What, die?"
He chuckled, before shaking his head. "No, just get away. Like this, to somewhere no one can find us…"
It was stupid, I guess, or maybe just irresponsible, but it felt good to forget about the worries outside. In the larger galaxy, a million problems were constantly brewing, but for just a moment I forgot about most of them.
After we'd settled our meager belonging in, I tossed a few dried logs into the fireplace. It wasn't the most efficient means of heating and wasn't needed at all given the environmental controls, but it did an atmosphere. I imagined that was why Lando had gone to the trouble of having one installed. He was certainly the type to do things in a less than strictly practical way. Judging by this place, his latest business dealing must have been going pretty well.
Ben stared into the dancing flaming from where he sat safely on my lap. He seemed mostly transfixed by the strange tangible form of energy. But soon enough his gaze shifted upward, to where he was staring at my face. A curious sense at first, before he simply smiled, as if to say hello.
"Hi…" I whispered, leaning my chin softly atop his head.
It wasn't the norm, to have a moment to truly relax. But I relished it all the same. Out the window, the blankets of neverending snow stretched far into the distance. Covering the landscape as far as the eye could see. Small dot-like herds of animals could just barely be noticed toward the darkening horizon. I assumed they were the creatures this moon was known for. And I used the term known very loosely.
It was strictly unknown to almost everyone in the galaxy. Because there wasn't much to know about this place. At first, I thought it a strange place for Lando to want to escape to, but I sort of got it now. Maybe it was strictly a retreat and nothing more? From a cozy heated interior, the snow looked beautiful.
"Here," Luke mumbled as he reached me a mug of hot chocolate.
"You always have this stuff on hand don't you?" I teased. "Are you materializing it? Is that a new Jedi technique or something?"
He sat down beside Ben and me, staring into the fire. "No, I just pack ahead. It's sort of my trademark by now, isn't it?"
I smiled down into the whisps of steam emanating from the cup. "Yeah… It says a lot about you actually. It's simple and sweet, like something a little kid might drink."
He frowned playfully. "Is that a good thing?"
"Yeah," I whispered with a small smile. "I think so…"
The quiet lingered between us for a bit, our conversing emotions not altogether silent. But finally, I spoke up again, with a slightly more serious tone to my voice.
"So…at what point do we start worrying about all this?"
He seemed thoughtful before giving way to a sigh. "I thought we already were? In the back of my mind, I haven't stopped."
I nodded, knowing that made sense. But I couldn't really say the same, I had tried hard to forget about it all, even for just a few hours. Yet the reality of the danger Durban was putting himself in couldn't stray from my mind for too long.
"I guess I was trying to block it all out for a while…" Looking down, I noticed Ben falling asleep in my arms. So lowering my voice by a notch or two, I went on. "How much trouble do you think we're in this time?"
"That's hard to say…" Luke mumbled honestly, his eyes trailing to the falling snow out the window. "We don't know the kind of person Guttro really is. How far he'll go or what he's truly capable of."
"Well, I doubt he's a great guy at heart. Hutt crime lords aren't typically high on my favorite person list. But when it comes to ability, that's the big question here. Those bounty hunters they sent were a joke."
"I know… I can't help but feel like it was purposely too easy."
I looked at him askance. "What are you thinking, Luke?"
"I don't know…" He shook his head. "It's just a feeling I have. We kept assuming they were simply underestimating Jedi, but what if it's more than that? What if they wanted us to lower our guard? What if they know full well what we're doing?"
"How would they know…?" I asked. "Not liking the places my mind was going. "Do you not trust Durban…?"
"I want to," Luke admitted. "But it's because of that that I worry." He looked at me earnestly. "What if my emotions are blinding me to the truth about him?"
It was certainly something the Jedi of old would have said. To Luke and I judging basic character through the force had become trivial. I never considered that I could have judged incorrectly. But my emotions were involved when it came to Durban. How could they not be…?
I saw myself when I looked at him. My past and my hope for atonement…
"Atonement isn't something you need to keep searching for…" He whispered, softly sensing my feelings.
I tensed slightly, feeling unusually exposed. "Oh no…? I wish the woman in my reflection knew that…"
His eyes narrowed in some mix of compassion and hurt. "Is that what you're afraid of, Mara? Of Durban betraying us? Not only because you care about him, but because he represents something important?"
I fell silent, letting him spell out the rest clearly. "Because he represents you, Mara? Your journey to the light?"
"Well, it's a little similar, isn't it? I mean, the war is over, and there are lots of old Imperials on our side now, but…none exactly like me. The only person possibly closer to the Emperor was…well your father." I winced. "Maybe I'm nothing like Durban… He was just a soldier following orders, but I'm…"
"A very wise and caring Jedi…" he added in all certainty. "And what's more…" he added softly. "You never needed my endorsement, you stand on your own character, Mara. Never forget that…"
Endorsement…
It was a funny concept, wasn't it? For so many years, I'd clung to Palpatine's endorsement. I thought it gave my life purpose, myself worth. Had I been looking to Luke for the same thing? Someone's name and legacy to validate me?
Even so, that didn't have anything to do with the real reason I was here with him. "Our marriage, it isn't about an endorsement, Luke… I'm not here because I wanted to ride on your legacy."
He nodded, with an almost drowsy smile. "Oh, I know that. But do you?"
"What do you mean, do I? I just said it,didn't I…?"
He looked at me honestly. "I mean, do you realize why I'm here?"
"To save a wayward soul…?" I mumbled, giving in to the joke.
A soft smirk played across his lips as he turned back to the flickering flames. "To be honest, I know there are a lot of people across the galaxy that look at our marriage as a sort of symbol. A bridging of the gap between the Empire and New Republic. Almost like a sign of good faith, that the war is really over. And while I think that's a noble concept, I always sort of hated that it was perceived that way…"
I watched him closely, hanging on to his every word.
"I would have rathered they know the truth. That I just love you, that it's no more complicated than that…"
His words had the simple bearing of a child. His tone was a little sleepy from just how obvious it should have been. But I was amazed…
I always was, no matter how many times he'd said it.
It still got me, each and every time…
