Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade stared at each other inside the little hut that had once belonged to Jedi Master Yoda on the swamp planet of Dagobah. When Mara had gotten to the hut, she had been disappointed to hear that he had died. She would have liked to ask the ancient Jedi Master some questions. Now, however, it was just her and Luke Skywalker. The young Jedi sighed and rubbed his temples, the emotions of the past day playing havoc with his mind. "So, one more time, you're telling me that you are the personal assassin for Emperor Palpatine and that you want to defect to the Rebel Alliance. You say that you have a lot of information that you can give Alliance Command and a wealth of valuable skills that you will willingly utilize for the Alliance's cause. You say also that you were trained by the Emperor himself, by the headmaster of the Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr and by numerous other highly skilled, highly decorated instructors in the Imperial Training Command."

Mara leaned back, trying to be patient about this. Crossing her long legs, she replied, "Yes, all accept the part about me being the Emperor's personal assassin. I was his assassin. I'm not anymore."

Luke shook his head. "I'm sure you understand how hard all of this is to believe, Agent..."

"My name is Mara Jade and I'm not an agent. Call me anything you want, just not 'agent'."

Luke nodded. "Okay then, Jade. I can believe that you were trained to be an assassin. There is plenty of visible and physical evidence of that. You'll understand, however, if I find it hard to believe that you are trying to defect. It's too risky for me to just take you at your word and lead you straight back to Alliance Command."

Mara was doing her very best to maintain a calm, patient attitude even though she wanted desperately to share her knowledge with the rebels. "Skywalker, I know that three separate task forces are forming a sizable rebel fleet near Sullust. So does the Emperor and Imperial Intelligence, by the way. If I wanted to go there, I would have just gone."

"They wouldn't have accepted you, especially if you told them that you were an agent and assassin for the Emperor," said Luke a little dryly. Mara winced slightly and sighed. "Okay so leading with the whole 'personal assassin for the Emperor' bit wasn't the brightest move to convince you to help me defect. I get that. What do I need to do to convince you of my sincerity, Skywalker?"

Luke thought about it. The truth was, he did believe her. He believed every word she said but Alliance Command would not. If Luke was going to take her back, she would need to answer every and any question, be willing to give up any information about herself and the Empire. With a sigh and a serious look in his intense blue eyes, Luke said, "Look, Jade. For the record, I believe everything you're telling me but the Alliance won't. I can do my best to help convince them but I will only be able to do so much. My question for you is what are you willing to do to convince them?"

Mara thought about it. She was willing to give up every piece of information she had on herself and the Emperor and anything else. She just needed to get to the Alliance to tell them that. Standing, she unclipped her lighsaber and offered it to Luke. "I'm surrendering. Maybe they'll be more willing to listen if I show up unarmed."

She gave him her blasters as well and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling slightly naked without her weapons. "What else would help?"

Luke thought about it. "Well I think binders are a little unnecessary so how about this: You can use the magnetic clamps on your ship to haul mine back to the Alliance fleet and we can travel together."

Mara stiffened. She wasn't used to people being aboard her ship – or rather, the ships she used. They were all usually the Emperor's personal ships that he allowed her to use for missions. However, she could see the sense in what Skywalker was saying. Finally, she nodded. "That will work."

Luke handed Mara her weapons back. She looked at him and cocked a dark eyebrow. "You can give them back to me before we land. I know how awkward it feels to walk around without my weapon too."

Mara gave a small smile of gratitude and took her weapons back. Luke stood and said, "Well we should get ready to leave. There's really no more reason to stay here."

Mara nodded in agreement and they stepped out into the swamp. Skywalker's R2 unit rolled over the rough terrain, whistling at them. "It's alright, little buddy. Mara Jade is defecting. She wants to help us."

The droid was silent as it's single ocular scanner looked her up and down. With another whistle and a beep, he spun around and headed back to the X-wing fighter. Mara looked at Luke. "I don't think he likes me too much."

Luke chuckled. "In his defense, you were trying to kill me up until fairly recently. For not being a combat unit of any kind, he is a little over-protective sometimes."

Mara chuckled at that before saying, "My ship is about a klick that way. It's a TL-1800 Suwantek freighter. Oh and by the way..."

And she stopped and looked Luke in the eyes grimly. "I will be piloting."

Luke held his hands up as if to say 'don't shoot, I'm unarmed' and replied, "Of course. I would never demand that I fly someone else's ship while I am a passenger aboard it"

Mara was a little embarrassed but didn't show it. She nodded and said, "Good. Come on, it's this way."

When Luke saw the ship, he gave a low whistle. It was a beauty. He could tell that some heavy modifications had been done to it. The engines were not factory stock, nor were the weapons or the magnetic clamps below. They had all been replaced with superior, quite probably custom built substitutes. "That's a beautiful ship. How much of it is original?"

Mara was smiling proudly. "Not much. The weapons, the armor, the shield generator, the clamps, the nav system, the hyperdrive and the comms unit are all aftermarket. I modified some of them myself. I think the deck plating might be original though I was thinking of changing it."

Luke nodded, very impressed. The ramp lowered and an R3 astro droid rolled down to meet them, whistling and burbling noisily. Mara burst out laughing. "Easy, R3. The mission has changed. We're not trying to kill him anymore. We're going to help him out. Now I need you to get along with him and his R2 unit, alright? They won't mess with anything unless I let them so you don't need to worry about it."

Luke knelt down and looked at the red, black and silver droid. "Hello there. My names Luke."

A shock arm popped out and the astro droid whistled menacingly at him.

"Hey now! Put that away, R3. Luke's a friend." Said Mara sternly. The droid whistled hesitantly and retracted the appendage. Luke stood and gently patted the little droid's dome. Mara chuckled and said, "Are you this friendly to all the new droids you meet, Skywalker?"

Luke shrugged with a smile and she strode up the ramp into the ship and Skywalker followed close behind. The inside of the ship was pretty spacious for one person and a droid. The cargo space had been modified into crew quarters for six plus the captain's main cabin. There was an armory with some of the most high tech and sophisticated weaponry and armor components, a med bay with a full sized bactatank and a large area for hand to hand combat training. Mara followed Luke around, her smug smile growing at every compliment and praise that he gave. After he had thoroughly explored the ship, they made their way to the cockpit where Mara began working over the controls. Skywalker asked mildly, "Need me to do anything?"

Mara shook her head, her red-gold curls bouncing. "No. Sit on your hands Skywalker – no touching unless I tell you."

With a completely straight face, Luke literally sat on his hands. It was a minute or so before Mara looked over at him. She burst out laughing at the ridiculous look of earnestness on his face as he sat there on his hands like a child trying to prove how well he could behave. Luke laughed to and pulled his hands out and rested them on the arms of the co-pilot's chair. They took off and, using the force as her guide, Mara was able to position her ship over Luke's X-wing. Luke lowered the ramp and dropped out. He used the force to raise R2-D2 into the TL-1800 and leapt in after him. Mara engaged the clamps and they picked up the X-wing fighter smoothly, heading for space. "It's going to be a bit of a trip to Sullust. We might as well get comfortable." Said Mara. Luke nodded and headed back towards the large training area. He pulled his lightsaber from his belt and struck a fighting stance. Starting with slow grace, he moved through the drills that first Obi-Wan and then Yoda taught him. He had only gone through the drills a couple times when Mara appeared in the door way. "R3 will warn us when we are near Sullust. You're pretty good with that, Skywalker. Mind crossing blades? I haven't had a decent training duel in some time."

Luke was hesitant at first but reluctantly agreed. Mara pulled the black cloak off her shoulders and dropped the top half of her jump suit, knotting the sleeves around her waist. She wore a black tank top beneath. In a single smooth motion, she drew her own lightsaber and ignited the maroon blade. They readied themselves and Mara attacked. The first flurries of blows were just to test the waters, taking the opportunity to feel one another out. Mara did not block attacks but parried and redirected them or simply avoided them altogether. Her attacks were direct and her movements economical. Luke, by contrast, would use every block as its own attack. He used powerful attacks that utilized his strong arms and shoulders as well as the power generated by the motion of his hips. His style was quite similar to Darth Vader's though Skywalker was faster and could not generate as much raw power in his attacks.

Luke was amazed by Mara's skill and grace. She was like a dancer with a lightsaber. Several times, she would come very close to striking him before he would intercept her attack. Both of them were fairly evenly matched despite their differing styles of fighting. Luke disarmed Mara a few times or batted her weapon aside while Mara would come within less than an inch of giving Luke a deadly or debilitating wound before pulling away just in time. After an hour straight of intense lightsaber sparring, they both had to call for a break. Mara went to the galley and brought back two water bottles. Tossing one to Luke, she asked, "So what is your story, Skywalker? Where did you come from exactly?"

Luke chuckled and took a healthy drink of water before replying, "I figured that you knew everything about me, considering you were hunting me down."

Mara swallowed a mouthful of water before saying, "I know everything that the Empire knows about you. You came out of nowhere and destroyed the first Death Star at Yavin. You quickly became the hero of the Rebellion and the commander of Rogue Squadron, one of the biggest thorns in the Imperial Navy's side. I know that you have been training on and off for four years now to be a Jedi Knight. I know what happened to you at Bespin and, thanks to Master Yoda, I now know that Anikan Skywalker, who is now Darth Vader, is your father and that the Princess Leia Organa is your sister. But that's all I know. I don't know where you were raised or who you were raised by. I know about Skywalker the hero and the 'terrorist' and the Jedi but not about Skywalker the man."

Luke chuckled to hide his discomfort. "Skywalker the man isn't really that interesting. In fact, his humble beginnings are a great way to put the children of the galaxy to sleep rather quickly. What about you, Jade?"

Mara resisted the urge to snap at Skywalker to keep his nose out of her business. She had asked him first, after all. A little stiffly, she answered, "I was raised in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. I was educated there, trained there and usually received my assignments there. I also lived there when I wasn't traveling the galaxy. I don't remember anything before being the Emperor's Hand. My earliest memories were either combat training with the royal guard detachment in the palace, learning force techniques or lightsaber combat from the Emperor, learning survival and evasion techniques with the storm commandos, conducting pilot training with the Emperor's personal shuttle or escort fighter pilots or learning the proper court etiquette and dancing from any of the numerous teachers of those arts."

Luke nodded, slightly abashed. He cleared his throat and said, "Well after a life like that, my story seems even less interesting."

Mara chuckled. "Come on, Skywalker. I told my life's story. Now you have to spill yours or else it won't be fair."

Luke reluctantly complied. "I was raised on Tatooine by my Aunt and Uncle until I was nineteen. Then they were killed by Imperial Stormtroopers while I was away from home and I traveled with Obi-wan Kenobi for a very short time until he died on the first Death Star. I joined with the Alliance at Yavin IV."

Mara's jaw dropped slightly. "Wait, you JOINED the Alliance at Yavin? Meaning that the battle that made you famous was also your very first? How did you learn to fly?"

Luke almost looked shy as he said, "I had an old Incom T-16 Skyhopper back home on Tatooine. The controls were remarkably similar to those of an X-wing though the Skyhopper's weren't anywhere near as extensive. They sent me through the simulator for a couple hours before the battle."

Mara was speechless. This man was like no one she had ever met before. She was finally able to sputter out, "But what is it that you and your Uncle and Aunt did? It must have been something for you to get so good at flying before you were even a part of the war - before you were even twenty years old."

Luke didn't answer. In truth, he was a little ashamed of his humble beginnings despite his apparent infamy in the eyes of the Empire. A slow smile spread over Mara Jade's face. She straightened from leaning against the bulkhead. "I forgot to mention one thing I am very good at, Skywalker: interrogation. I know several methods of getting information I need or want."

Luke looked up in alarm but seeing the twinkle in Jade's eyes, he relaxed slightly and grinned. "Is that so? Well I am a pretty resilient person. I can resist most mind probing techniques and devices and have quite a high tolerance for pain. I also don't drink alcohol very often so getting me drunk is out. Exactly how do you think you can convince me to give you this 'vital information'?"

Mara laughed. "All I want to know is what you did before you became the vaunted Rebel hero. Is that really such a terrible bit of information? Is it something you're embarrassed about? Why won't you tell me, Skywalker?"

In truth, Luke would have eventually told her but he wanted them to get more comfortable with each other before they reached the fleet. That way it would be easier to convince Alliance Command that Mara was trustworthy. A game like this could only help - unless she actually started to torture him. Mara stalked toward him, a playful yet determined gleam in her emerald green eyes. "Come on, Skywalker. Don't make me..."

Luke straightened, a cocky grin on his face. "Do your worst, Jade. I'll never tell – unless you make me."

Mara clipped her lightsaber to her belt. "How to, how to." She said as if in indecision. "I could break a few bones but I doubt that pain would do much for someone who lost their hand to a lightsaber. I would deprive you of food but the trip to the Alliance fleet isn't going to be that long. Hmmm..." She began to circle him, eyeing him like a puzzle she wanted to solve. "What is Luke Skywalker's weakness?"

Luke was doing his damnedest to keep a straight face as Mara circled him. She still ware her jump suit with the top half tied around her waist by the sleeves and tapped a bottle of water against her chin thoughtfully. Luke couldn't help it. He chuckled and said, "Well one thing I have learned is that it is best to restrain someone you want to interrogate."

Mara suddenly stepped right up to him and looked him in the eyes, whispering, "I don't need to restrain you, Skywalker. When you tell me, and you will, you'll do it willingly because you want to."

Their noses were just centimeters apart and Luke had to resist the urge to lean or step back . A beautiful woman being in his personal space was something he wasn't used to. Beautiful? Did he really just think that? But she was, with her red-golden hair, her brilliant green eyes, her dancers figure and, apparently, a playful attitude he never would have expected. Even now, the smirk on her face was widening to something akin to an evil smile. "I can read your mind, Skywalker. Did you know that?"

Luke frowned and checked the barriers around his mind. They were still firmly in place. "If you can read my mind, Jade, why don't you already know the answers to the questions you are asking?"

Mara chuckled. "I can't delve into a mind like a mine and find the thoughts deep inside. I can, however, pluck the thoughts off the surface – kind of like bobbing for fruit in a basin actually."

Luke tried to stifle his embarrassment. Mara simply played on it. "Aren't you going to ask me what I think you were thinking?"

Luke shook his head. "I was thinking what any man would think in this situation."

"Please don't let the scary woman hurt me?" Mara teased. She hadn't moved yet and neither had he.

Luke laughed and took a step back as casually as he could. "No. That wasn't it, Jade."

Mara just stepped right back into his space, managing to get even closer this time. Instinctively, Luke took another step back and Mara just followed. Finally, Luke stopped. They were almost nose to nose now and she was still smirking at him. A bead of sweat rolled down her face to her upper lip and her tongue slipped out of her mouth to sweep it away. Luke became aware of a twisting in his gut. "Well?" Mara whispered. Luke blinked. "Well what, Jade?"

"You had something you wanted to tell me, right?" Luke almost fell for it. He almost told her but then he remembered. With his own smirk, he said, "Did I? Hmmm... ah yes I did. What I wanted to tell you was 'nice try, you almost had me'."

Mara sighed, a slightly melodramatic sound and stepped away from him. Luke suddenly felt a sense of loss as though he had something and it had been taken away from him. What was that all about? Mara turned back to him and began to stretch out. Luke felt himself blushing as she dropped to a split with a sigh and leaned forward. The tank top she wore revealed every bit as much as it covered at that angle. Quickly, he turned away. Mara chuckled huskily and said, "Something bothering you, Skywalker?"

Luke shook his head, chuckling at his own embarrassment. Mara spoke behind him. "Well whatever you did, your Uncle and Aunt raised you to be a good old-fashioned gentleman. You said you were raised on Tatooine right?"

Luke nodded, still trying to pull his mind out of the gutter it had slipped into. "Yup. I was." He said. Mara hmmm'd and was quiet. Luke peaked over his shoulder just in time to see that she was standing again before she bent down, grabbed her ankles and rested her head on her knees while her legs were still straight. "Well there isn't much that can be done there. Were you a scavenger?"

She was standing with her back to him and, given the view, he forced himself to turn back around and pretend to examine something on the wall as he answered, "Nope. Well – sometimes if we found a good wreck out in the dunes, we would take parts from it if we couldn't identify who's it was."

"Okay. Were you a family of smugglers? That would explain your piloting skills."

"No. No such thing."

"Hmmm... were you land speeder or air speeder mechanics?"

"Only our own when necessary."

"I see. Well you had at least one speeder. You had a Skyhopper. You usually fixed your own vehicles. Were you merchants of some kind?"

"Nope. Not even warm by the way."

Mara chuckled. Luke took a deep breath and peaked again over his shoulder before turning right back around and letting out a very quiet groan. She was stretching her arms out behind her now, gripping one wrist in the other and lifting her arms as high as she could. The motioned pressed her chest towards him. Suddenly, she stopped and shook out her arms and hands before saying, "You know, after a sparring match like that, you should really stretch, Skywalker. Here, let me help you."

Luke turned around and back-peddled holding his hands up. "That won't be necessary, thanks. I can stretch out on my own."

"You sure? I was always taught that you get a more thorough stretch when you do it with a partner."

Luke bent down himself and stretched his hamstrings. He was flexible enough to grab his ankles and pull gently for a good stretch. "I heard that too but this should be fine."

Mara crossed her arms again. Whatever Skywalker was before he was a Rebel hero, he seemed to be embarrassed by it – which of course only made her want to find out even more. "Were you droid mechanics?"

Luke straightened with a sigh. He was pondering telling her just so she would stop asking, but what fun would that be? "Nope though we used droids in our daily work. In fact that's how I got R2-D2. My Uncle and I bought him off a bunch of Jawas.

Mara threw her hands up in mock exasperation. "Well there goes my next guess. I was going to ask if you and your uncle and aunt were Jawas."

Luke chuckled, "Careful, Jade. Among moisture farmers, being called a Jawa can be a pretty serious insult."

He clamped his mouth shut in horror at what he had just done as a smile of triumph and a peel of laughter came from Mara Jade. "YES! Told you I would get it out of you sooner or later. I didn't even have to pull nails or force-feed you fire-whiskey."

Then, her jaw suddenly dropped at the realization of what he had just told her. He was a moisture farmer?

She simply stared at him, open mouthed. Luke lowered his head with a sigh and braced himself for all the jokes in the galaxy. He had faced them from Han and the Rogues and so many others so this would be no different. To his surprised, she sputtered for several seconds before managing to say, "But you destroyed the first Death Star! You brought down Moff Kohl Seerdon and the 128th TIE Intercepter Squadron! You, TWICE, rescued rebel prisoners from Kessel! And you, YOU..."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You are a Tatooine FARM BOY!"

And there it was. Luke groaned. "I'm going to go use the crew's refresher."

Mara was still shaking her head. "The force really must be strong with you, Skywalker. Not only that, but you must have something a little extra in your make up to have survived as long as you have."

Luke blushed, embarrassed as what she said. He turned away and went to the 'fresher. Inside was also a clothes washing unit. Luke stripped down and tossed his clothes in the washer unit before turning on the shower. It felt good to shower after the muck of Dagobah and the sweat from the lightsaber sparring session. With a grateful sigh, Luke allowed the water to run over his body for a minute or so before quickly scrubbing himself off and shutting the shower down. He didn't want to be that kind of guest who took all the hot water out of the ship's reservoirs. He wrapped a rough towel around his waist and leaned against the wall waiting for his clothes to dry. "Probably would have been a good idea to get a change of clothes out of my fighter's hold before took off." He muttered to himself. Suddenly, he felt a presence brush his mind. At first, Luke slammed his shields in place but, after a couple seconds of gentle caresses, he let them down. Mara spoke to him with her telepathic ability. There are a couple sets of fatigues in the crew quarters. I think some of them should fit you reasonably well.

Luke nodded and thought, what was this transport used for? I never noticed any Imperial markings. In fact, it looks like it could be a diplomat's personal transport.

Mara's thoughts reached him as he exited the refresher, holding the towel securely around his waist. This was a ship designed for me at the order of the Emperor himself. There were a couple times I would bring specialized units on certain missions. When I requisitioned it the last time, it looked like it had been made ready to infiltrate a rebel cell – hence the fatigues.

Luke went into the first set of quarters. To his surprise her found several sets of Alliance gear – the uniforms of rebel guards, armored suites used by their marines, fatigues used in jungles and forests and just plain tan fatigues. He pulled one of the latter of and examined it. Quickly, he dressed himself and was pleased to find that the clothes, while a little tight across the chest and in the arms, were long enough and fit just fine otherwise. Still whistling, Luke made his way to the cockpit where Mara sat, dressed in a red shirt and pants with a blue jacket over it. Her red-gold hair was tightly braided. "Feel better, Farmboy?" She asked with a wicked little grin. Luke sighed and resigned himself to her teasing with good grace. "Much, thank you, Jade. I hope it's not too much to ask if there is anything to eat. My last meal was on Dagobah and when Yoda cooked, you ate as little as you possibly could."

Jade chuckled. "There are ration bars and such in the galley. I'm not sure about actually food though. I'm really don't cook much so I didn't take the time to inventory the perishable supplies."

Luke stood up again and headed back to the galley. Mara's voice in his head called after him. Bring me back a ration bar too, would you, Farmboy? Luke could feel the glee in her thoughts. She was enjoying this entirely too much. Depends. If there is any real food, I might throw an actual meal together.

You can cook? Where did you learn to do that?

On a moisture farm, of course. What, they didn't include culinary skills in your assassin training?

Luke felt her amusement in his mind. The galley was very well stocked with anything and everything he could want. The more mischievous part of his mind wanted Luke to make some his Aunt's stew. It smelled horrible and was most definitely an acquired taste. However, he would rather that Mara had a good impression of his cooking. He pulled a sealed container of ground nerf meat from the refrigeration unit and put it into a dish with different vegetables and spices, arranging it so that all the flavors would mix most thoroughly and popped it into the oven. He also sliced up some different fruits and arranged them on a dish before pulling a container of sweet cream and whipping it into fluff. Relishing such a normal activity of cooking, Luke hummed happily to himself as he prepped the meal. Hey, Farmboy! You really need to learn to contain your thoughts. All that cheerfulness is beginning to chafe my mind. Luke could sense the good-natured emotions behind Mara's jibes and sent her an image of him belting out an obnoxiously cheerful children's song. Don't make me come back there, Skywalker. You wouldn't like the result.

All empty threats, Jade. You don't scare me. Well, not anymore at any rate.

Oh, now you're gonna get it.

Luke chuckled and kept humming to himself as he cooked, thinking that the force would alert him when Mara got close. He was shocked when an arm wrapped around his neck and he felt warm breath on his left ear. "Scared of me now, Skywalker?" She whispered smugly. She pulled him back and just slightly off balance and Luke couldn't help but go, "Woah!" As he thought he was about to fall. He was completely at her mercy. Even so, he chuckled and immediately felt her tense ever so slightly. "I guess that's a no. What ever should I do with you, Skywalker?"

"Well that was a neat trick. I never even felt you coming. Any chance I can convince you to teach me how to do that?"

Mara didn't answer for a moment and when she did, her voice was a little more serious. "I'm not really a teacher, Skywalker. Let's just see how this whole thing with the Alliance goes before we start sharing trade secrets, okay?"

Luke nodded. "Of course. Can you let me up now? I need to check on the food."

The playfulness was all back in Mara's voice as she said, "Hold on. You still don't sound very scared, Farmboy. That needs to change before I let you go."

Luke couldn't help it. He chuckled again. "And how exactly are you going to scare me, Jade?"

"I dunno. I seemed to be scarring you earlier while I was interrogating you. Why was that so scary, Luke?"

Mara rested her forehead against the side of his neck and breathed, allowing the tiniest sigh to escape. Luke's heart suddenly began to pound as if he had just finished a heavy work out. The feeling of her breath against the side of his neck while her right arm held them so close together was beginning to play hell with Luke's libido. Taking a couple deep breaths, Luke managed to say with a perfectly steady voice, "Now you're just threatening me with a good time, Jade."

It didn't quite have the desired effect. Jade froze and Luke could sense her shock. She must really think of him as an innocent, naïve little farm boy. With a quick move, Luke pulled himself forward, slipped his hands between her arm and his neck and managed to slip her arm over his head before ducking behind her, still holding onto her arm and placing her against the refrigerator unit with her arm locked behind her. "Impressive. You've had some training in hand to hand combat then."

Luke didn't relax his hold just yet but replied, "I trained with Alliance Special Forces whenever I had the chance. Unfortunately, the chances have been rather few and far between recently. They teach Teras Kasi and Ichanni."

Mara nodded and, with the agility of a feline, was able to free herself from the lock. Spinning around to face Luke, Mara had an excited gleam in her eye and her hands up in a combat stance. Luke had stepped back against the hot oven and held his hands placating. "Woah now! Is the galley really the best place for a sparring match, Jade?"

Mara remembered where they were and dropped her hands. Luke chuckled and pulled the food out of the oven. He set everything out: the fruit, the nerf and vegetable casserole, the bowl of whipped sweat cream and also a loaf of bread that had been well sealed and he had slipped into the oven to warm before Mara's sneak attack. "Well, well, Skywalker – I might just forget taking you back to the Alliance and keep you all to myself. This all looks fantastic."

Luke handed her a plate, utensils and a glass of water before piling the food on for her. "Stars, Skywalker! Do I look like I eat that much?"

He laughed at the look of false shock on her face. "No you do not." She narrowed her eyes and pointed her fork accusingly at him. "Wait a minute, you've never even seen me eat. How would you know how much is a lot if you have nothing to compare it to?"

Luke nearly choked on his food as he struggled not to laugh. When he could clear his throat, he answered, "I haven't a clue, Jade. I just felt like the right answer was no in that case. What did you expect me to say? 'Why yes Jade. In fact, you look like you could eat two or three plates full of food like that.'"

Jade swatted at him playfully. They ate in a companionable silence for several minutes. Luke wasn't surprised when Mara pushed her plate away and said, "There is no way I can eat that much, Skywalker."

Luke shrugged and tipped the remainder of the contents of her plate onto his, murmuring around a mouth full, "No sense in it going to waste, right?"

Mara's eyes lit and she could barely restrain a huge grin as she said, "Wow, Skywalker. With manners like that, people are going to think you were raised on a farm."

She couldn't hold it in anymore, laughing long and hard at her own joke. Luke laughed too, even if it was at his expense. They cleaned the dishes, needling each other cheerfully as they did before heading back up to the cockpit. R2 and R3 were studiously ignoring one another – the former sitting in the corner silently while the latter was doing her regular duties. Mara sighed and said, "It's still seven hours before we reach Sullust, Skywalker. We should probably get some rest. The droids will wake us before we reach our destination."

Luke was stifling a yawn even as she suggested it. It was a good idea. He headed back to the crew quarters where he had found the fatigues and shrugged them off. The clothes washing unit had finished washing and drying his black tunic and pants and he laid them out for after he woke. He plopped down on the bunk and sighed contentedly. Just before he drifted off, he felt Mara's thoughts brush against his mind. Sleep well, Farmboy.

He smiled sleepily. You too, Jade.

He felt a tiny feeling of nervousness just before she retreated from his mind and woke up just enough to send reassurance over their mental communication. Hey, don't worry about it. Considering your skills and what you know, Alliance Command will practically be salivating when they meet you and if they aren't, I'll convince them. Being the only remaining Jedi and the 'hero' who blew up the Death Star does come with its perks.

Luke felt her amusement brush against him, mingled with gratitude. He smiled and closed his eyes again, allowing himself to drift into a restful sleep.

Updated May 23, 2015