According To Plan

Part III

Luke and Mara took turns in the Millennium Falcon's refresher. It was barely big enough to accommodate a regular sized human. Luke always wondered how Chewie managed with such a small space. After Luke cleaned and changed first, Mara took over the refresher. Luke sat in the main area in the booth behind the chess board in silence. The ship was empty save for him and Mara. Leia was still with Fey'lya and Han was with Chewie helping with the rescue efforts on the other side of the city. It was getting dark outside so Luke expected them back soon. Meanwhile, he thought of playing a game of solitaire Holochess. That action was interrupted when Mara came out of the refresher. She changed into a terrycloth tunic but she didn't bother to dry her hair. The wetness of it made her hair look dark red rather than gold red.

She eased into the booth to snuggle beside Luke. She expressed in frustration, "I'll be so glad when I get my own ship. That refresher isn't large enough for a Sullustan to fit inside."

Luke smirked to himself as he thought of the plans for his wedding gift to her.

She crinkled her brow. "What was that? Something about a ship? Oh, sorry. When we get our ship."

Luke sent the thought away and replied, "You're getting good at that."

"You know I won't stop practicing. So, tell me about your meeting with Fey'lya."

"He tried to say Pel'aya was blaming him for the tragedy."

"Typical."

"Then he blamed the Force for the tragedy."

"What? How can you accuse the Force for causing a natural disaster?"

"He tried."

"What did you tell him?"

Luke hesitated to answer. Too long for Mara Jade.

"Luke?"

"I...I didn't say anything," he answered meekly.

Her eyes widened. "You mean you let that Bothan blowhard patronize you and you took it?"

"Han defended me. So did Chewie."

"What about you?"

"I wanted to answer him. I had what I wanted to say in my head. Something stopped me. I just froze."

"You froze? That's not like you."

"That's what Leia said."

"You think it was because of the tragedy?"

"I don't know. I haven't been around this kind of tragedy before. At least, I don't think I have."

"You don't think? Didn't you say you flew through what was left of Alderaan in this very ship?"

"Yes, but we didn't witness any survivors."

"Probably because there weren't any."

"I meant we couldn't see the survivors' pain or misery. Like we can here."

"Luke, you've been around tragedy all your life."

"Not like this."

"What's the difference?"

Luke took a moment and replied, "There was no purpose to the deaths here. I can point to the deaths of my family and friends during the war and say that their sacrifices meant something. They died for a cause whether they knew it or not. The formation of the New Republic is the end result. But here...this was just nature reminding us how small we really are in the galaxy. There was no reason for it."

Mara added, "Fey'lya tried to find a reason."

"Exactly."

"Some people deal with tragedy in different ways. They try to find an answer why it happens and there is no answer. You saw how I reacted at not saving enough survivors. In a small way, I guess I got a taste of what you've experienced since you've been a Jedi."

"The thing is...I'm not even sure that what I wanted to say to him was right. There's something about this disaster that seems so familiar to me. Like a distant memory that I can't find."

"A vision?"

Luke considered and replied, "No. But there was a phrase that kept going through my mind. 'It's all according to plan.'"

"People usually say that when there is no answer."

Before Luke could elaborate, they heard footsteps coming up the entrance ramp. Coming inside the main area was Leia. "Oh. Sorry. Was I interrupting something?"

Mara replied, "Luke was just telling me about his non-confrontation with Fey'lya."

She looked at her brother, exasperated. "You still worried about that? You think too much, brother."

Mara ejected with, "Thank the Maker, someone agrees with me. And it happens to be a member of your immediate family." She nudged him gently.

"Go figure," Luke droned. Leia flopped on the opposite end of the bench looking tired. Luke asked her, "How has the rescue efforts been coming along?"

"I just spoke with Pel'aya. The latest figures hover around twenty thousand saved so far."

Mara uttered, "That's still a small percentage."

Leia countered with, "Not for their families."

When Leia turned her head back, Luke could see a ghost trail of tears. "Have you been crying more?"

Embarrassed, she wiped her cheek and admitted, "Yes. But not why you think. They're tears of parental joy." She was greeted by their looks that told her to explain. "You remember I told Fey'lya to set up a galactic fund for the Bothawui Rescue Effort? He did and in a half day we've already raised eleven million credits."

Mara gasped, "Wow!"

"That's great, Leia. Where did it all come from?"

"Everyone in the galaxy. I told Fey'lya the galaxy can surprise him. Though, it helped that Ithor, Hapes, Tepasi, and Bestine put in two million each. There are corporations making large donations. Seinar Fleet Systems has donated several new load lifters. Hapes is donating their time to help. They'll have a fleet of workers here in a day's time. And get this - the Remnant Empire is donating credits too."

"I'd hate to be Palleon right about now," muttered Mara.

"The irony of all ironies," said Luke. "It's amazing that once you think the people of this galaxy are divided, they all come together in a tragedy."

Leia continued to say, "I know. And the rest of the donations are from common folk around the galaxy giving anything they can. Anywhere from ten credits to a hundred."

"It all adds up," Mara said.

"Yes it does," Leia beamed.

Luke stated, "But that's not why you were crying."

"Nope. I just got off the comm with Jaina back home. She's still mad that I wouldn't let her come along to help because it's too dangerous. I told her about the fund and she said she was going to put all of her savings from her allowance into it."

Luke figured, "Last time Han told me that was near three-thousand credits."

"I managed to convince her to only put in a thousand."

Mara smirked. "Negotiating with a Solo."

"Yes, she's a chip off the old blockhead." Leia paused and glared at Luke. "But she gives like a Skywalker." Luke nodded. Leia stood up and said, "I better take this chance to use the refresher before they get back."

Mara suggested, "Why don't you take turns like Luke and I did?"

Leia eyed her, "A Wookie caked with mud all day? Do you know how long he'll be in there?"

"Say no more."

Leia started to head towards the corridor that led to the refresher but she stopped. She saw Luke and Mara's hands grasped together. She glanced at them and smiled. "You don't know how good it is to see you two finally together."

Mara quipped, "Leia, you've seen us together before."

"You know what I mean," she wryly answered before she disappeared around the corner.

"Guess that teaches me to talk back to my future sister-in-law."

"Hey, saying yes to me means you've inherited my family, too."

She said with a mix of relief and sadness, "Family isn't a concept I've been familiar with all my life. It's going to take some getting used to." She placed her hand on his knee and started to ease it down. Over the past few months since their engagement, Luke no longer considered her seductive action as awkward. It felt so right.

Not at that moment.

He placed his artificial hand over hers to stop the motion. "Please, Mara. Not now."

"Oh, still not used to having my hands in new places on purpose?"

"It's not that. I'm still thinking of all the survivors still out there. And all the dead."

She immediately retracted her hand. "Well, we know how you can sure kill a mood."

"Sorry. Feeling joy after seeing all those bodies makes me feel...," he trailed off in unknown thought.

"Guilty?" she supplied for him.

"Yes. That's it exactly."

She inched closer to his face and uttered softly, "Never feel guilty about being alive, Luke."

"And now I'm getting sage advice from you? When exactly did we switch places?"

"Trust me, you'll never want to walk in my shoes."

He dead-panned, "I don't think I could anyway. They're a few sizes too small for me."

She nudged him again and they laughed. "How are we going to survive as a couple when we're both such smart alecks?"

"We'll manage. Though, I'm not sure I have much of the smart-ass boy left in me. I'm the Jedi Master. I'm supposed to have all the answers. Today, I didn't."

"We've been down this road before, Luke. On Niruan."

"Yes. We have. I know I don't have all the answers. Try telling that to the galaxy. I mean–I can't say for a fact that the Force didn't have anything to do with bringing half a mountain down on top of a city. Nothing I feel in the Force says it did. But does that make it correct? I just don't know. And I don't think I have to."

She took a moment to smile at him and suddenly planted a kiss on his cheek. She released her touch and he asked, "What was that for?"

"That was my reaction to the knowledge that I am about to marry a very wise man."

Luke scoffed. "What's so wise about me? I'm just a farm boy from Tatooine."

"That's what makes you all the more special, Farmboy. And you are wise because you are not afraid to admit ignorance and you don't pretend otherwise. And not even a Tatooine sandstorm couldn't break your wi–" She stopped upon his sudden look of remembrance. "What is it?"

Luke sat straight up and exclaimed, "Sandstorm! That's what's so familiar. 'It's all according to plan.' I remember now when he said it to me."

"Who?"

He looked at her and replied, "Uncle Owen. I couldn't have been more than five or six years old. A huge sandstorm came in from the west. It totally buried the old grandstand in Mos Espa. It hit many farms around Mos Eisley. If my memory serves, I think many of Uncle Owen's vaporators were destroyed." Luke nodded in memory but then his voice turned sad. "It took out a whole family and killed them all. It was one of my school mates. I remember asking Uncle Owen why I could never see him anymore. He told me about death. That it happens for the sake of happening. He didn't go into much detail. He shrugged it off and said 'It's all according to plan.'"

"But you didn't agree with that?"

"I don't exactly know what I was thinking then. But I do know that I didn't like that answer. I didn't like the plan, as it were. I kept wondering, whose plan is it that we're following? The Force? It certainly shows us what path to take. Is that the same as following a plan? Does it have a plan for us? For our marriage? Will one of us perish in a senseless tragedy like the one outside before we can enjoy our lives together?"

She nudged him again gently. "Hey, Luke. Stop it! You're going to make yourself crazy thinking like that. Take it from someone who did follow a plan blindly to the last detail. After the Emperor died, I no longer had a plan. I didn't know what to do. Then I met you. You didn't stick to one plan. You did whatever felt right to you. I don't know if it's destiny or what. But you wrecked whatever plan there was. You made a choice. The galaxy has been affected by that choice. That's the only plan that matters. Your choices form your own plan."

She paused for a moment and shifted in her seat. "The thousands of Bothans and others who died out there didn't chose to die. Your uncle was right about death happening for no reason. But I'll never agree that death has a set plan for each of us. And I'm rambling too deep in thought, which means I'm tired. How about I get our bunk ready for the night? You should come to bed too. After all, you're the one who told me to rest."

"I want to get something to eat first."

"Ugh. Be my guest. I'm not hungry enough to eat anything in Han's fridge."

"I've got it covered. Trust me."

"I do, you know. Trust you. And tomorrow we'll find more survivors." She gave him a peck on his cheek. "I'll be waiting for you," she whispered seductively. She scooted herself out of the booth and she disappeared around the corridor.

Luke was left in silence once again. He got up and headed to the small area that Han called a kitchen. It consisted of a heat processor and a small fridge. Luke opened the fridge and bypassed what Han deemed as food to reach for his own ration kit. Luke always left one in there in case of emergencies. He brought the metal tray over to the chessboard and opened it. Luke took out a piece of dried ronto and started chewing on it. As he ate, he enjoyed the silence again.

Until he heard a faint call.

"Hello?" cried the voice.

Luke deduced it was Bothan and figured it was Pel'aya. He quickly chewed the bit of ronto already in his mouth and got up towards the entrance ramp. "Coming," he finally called out.

When he got to the open ramp, he found a Bothan standing on its edge. He seemed almost afraid of stepping any further. It wasn't Pel'aya. This Bothan male wore clothes that were tattered and caked with mud. There were several bacta patches placed on his arm and leg. Luke eased down the ramp with folded arms close to his body. The Bothawui air was still cool from the rains they had for a standard week. He watched the Bothan spot him. "Yes?" Luke greeted.

"Luke...Skywalker?" he said in deep broken Basic.

"Last time I checked," Luke replied and then winced at the smart-ass answer.

The Bothan didn't seem to notice. "I were told you are here. I am Mey'lya. I work at Bank Of Ltkim. Or...I did." He breathed out. "This is awkward. I was one of the people you and your woman friend saved today. I want to thank you for saving my life."

Luke smiled, remembering Mara's words about choices. "From what I understand, you have yourselves to thank. Three days with no food or water. That was very brave."

"More luck than bravery. A female human came into the bank today for business. She happened to stop at the market before she came in to the bank. When...it happened, she was part of the group who managed to take cover in the basement, just as I was. She had water and a loaf of sayfri bread. We each took liberal amounts over the time."

"Sounds like I'm still not the one you should be thanking. Where is the woman now?"

Mey'lya's head went down. "She...died...on the surgery table after she was brought out. She was injured badly and lost too much blood." He paused and said stoically, "We shall honor her memory properly when the time is right. As well as others who perished."

"I'm sorry."

"But it was you and your female friend who allowed us to escape."

"We only did what needed to be done."

Mey'lya chuckled. "I heard of the Jedi Master being humble. Your modesty lives up to your character."

"I don't believe those who boast about their heroics can be called heroes. They're only calling attention to themselves, not the victims."

"Very wise."

It was Luke's turn to chuckle. "Been hearing that a lot today."

"And so you shall continue to hear it until the end of your days."

Luke nodded and mentioned, "Do you have family here?"

"Yes. On outskirts of Ltkim. A good twenty kilometers away. Very far from danger. I contacted them as soon as I was treated." He gave an emotional sigh and said, "No sound in the galaxy can compare to hearing their voices again."

Luke frowned, suddenly worried at what he would do if he could never hear Leia's, Han's, Chewie's...or Mara's voice ever again.

Mey'lya interrupted his thought and said, "Despite your modesty, I still do not know how to thank you."

Luke thought of a reply automatically, wondering where his voice was earlier that day. This time, he knew he was right. "Go to your family. Love them as long as you can. And make your own choices. That's how you can thank me."

Mey'lya bowed to him. "As I said, very wise. Good luck to you, Master Jedi."

"And to you, Mey'lya."

The Bothan backed away and turned to leave.

He was alone again. Yet–he wasn't entirely alone. For whatever reason, he looked upward at the dark Bothawui sky. There were several clouds still obscuring the stars but, occasionally, there were a few hints at the universe beyond the planet.

He whispered softly to a ghost of his past. "And to you, Uncle Owen. You will always be in my heart. But to Hell with the plan."

THE END

Dedicated to the victims of Haiti