Chapter 8

We'd already been back on Yavin for a few days. For most of it, I'd kept pretty busy, there was always more to do so it wasn't hard to find something to keep me occupied. But like always, Luke managed to see through whatever I was trying to do. This time he was worried I hadn't given myself time to rest and process what had happened on Migo. To be honest, he wasn't wrong, but there was something about the way I'd felt on that rock that I wanted to bury.

To forget about completely.

I'd brushed death more times than I could count in my time, but this time felt a lot different. Maybe it had something to do with having the life slowly stolen from you, with no real enemy to face head-on? Inside, I knew it had the most to do with Ben…

The kid in question was sitting on the floor in front of me, thrashing his favorite bantha plush in the air wildly. Honestly, just watching someone with so much energy made me feel tired today. I was getting old, I had to smile a little at that…

For what must have been the fifth time this morning he let go of the plush mid-thrash, causing it to fling across the living room of Luke's tiny Yavin quarters.

I sighed. I'd picked it up for him the first few times, but now I was afraid I'd set a bad precedent. "Hey, you can crawl now too, buddy," I joked as I stayed put on the couch.

He gave me a few curious blinks before starting to crawl toward it. But he stopped just short and focused his attention on the plush without reaching out for it. Slowly it bobbed into the air before falling again. I just stared at him in wonder as the plush rose and fell again. Ben threw his head back and laughed, clapping his hands, clearly pleased with his fledgling Force abilities.

Sure I was proud of him, but I was a little distracted by the millions of horribly dangerous scenarios playing out inside my brain. Sinking further into the couch I felt a throb in my forehead. Maybe I really did need a break…?

But those thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sense approaching. Within five minutes the expected door chime sounded.

"Come in, it's open," I shouted without bothering to get up.

As expected, Karrde stood in the doorway, though I hadn't expected the bouquet of Corellian wildflowers I saw in his hand.

"I hope I'm not intruding on anything?" he asked in his typical cool politeness.

I smirked at him. "Just a date with possibly my youngest suiter yet," I joked glancing at Ben.

Talon scooped him up in his arms on the way in. "My have you grown since I saw you last, young man?"

"And how…" I added, feeling playfully weary.

Sitting down in the chair across from me Talon put Ben back on the floor.

"What's with the flora?" I had to ask.

"From Shada, the crew, and I," he explained as he reached them to me. I was just about to ask what the occasion was when I noticed the air sober around us. Apparently, word of my almost dying had reached Karrde, but then what didn't reach him?

"Do you have any idea what happened?" he asked softly.

"The government of Becro 5 issued an investigation into the wreckage, their report is due anytime now. It could have been systems failure, but obviously, we're all thinking the same thing…"

"An explosive of some sort?" he filled in.

I hadn't wanted to dwell on the possibility, but it couldn't be denied. "Sure, it's a valid possibility."

He hesitated before looking at me directly. "Can we trust Becro 5's analysis?"

It was a good question. One I admittedly, hadn't given much thought to before now. Mica's ill will toward me could have even allowed me to dream up all sorts of wild speculation. But I tried to stay grounded as much as possible.

"I think so, but who can say anything for sure."

Karrde shifted in his seat, a frown cutting across his face. "I don't trust Becro…"

I raised a curious eyebrow. "Why, what do you know, Talon?"

"Nothing to prove or disprove anything, Mara. Call it smuggler's intuition, if you will. On the official records, Becro 5 seems very picturesque and respectable, but I've heard things that date back to the war."

"What kind of things?"

"Whispers mostly. From what I can tell, they like to play deceptive games, make their moves from the shadows. I don't have anything definite to tell you, just keep it in mind, won't you?"

I inhaled a deep breath. "Sure, I always keep your advice in mind, Talon, after all, you're seldom wrong."

That much was the truth, but I found this bit of advice particularly disturbing. Was Mica, who wasn't much more than a boy, really caught up in what amounted to an assassination plot? Was it just his father? Was it someone else from Becro, completely unrelated to the royal family? And of course, we could have been wrong about it all. It could have been anyone, or better still, it could have been nothing more than a freak accident.

"At any rate…" Talon finally breathed. "I don't mean to add to your concerns. I was just worried about you and Luke. You're both much too important to lose. Not just to the galaxy, but to your friends."

For a second, our eyes just lingered on each other, a thousand old bittersweet memories passing between us. Finally, he smiled, not the charming smile he laced with cunning, but one so completely sincere.

"After all," he reached down to ruffle Ben's red hair. "Your future looks bright, you must safeguard it at all costs."

I relaxed a bit. "I know, and we'll do our best."

"That's all I ask."

It wasn't a surprise to me, because I could sense him coming a lightyear away, but Luke suddenly appeared at the front door.

"Talon, it's wonderful to see you!" he beamed as he strode in. I knew the slightly heavy tenor wasn't lost on him, but he seemed to ignore it for the time being.

"Likewise, Luke," Karrde added as he rose to shake Luke's hand.

"How long can you stay?"

"I'm already late, I'm afraid. This was just a brief stopover." Then he smiled playfully, an attempt to leave on a lighter note. "I hope you don't mind I brought your wife flowers?"

Luke grinned. "You're showing me up, I'm afraid. The students keep me so busy, it's hard to find time for anything."

Karrde smiled again as he headed toward the door. "Well, Shada, along with the rest of the crew send their love, as do I, to the three of you."

Almost as quickly as he came he left, and the heavy cloud of worry around him never fully dissipated. "What was bothering him…?" Luke finally asked as he turned to me, an honest frown on his face.

"It might be nothing, he was just telling us to be careful, careful with whom we trust. He…has his doubts about Becro 5."

Any lightheartedness seemed to vanish from Luke's bearing. "Interesting you mention them now, I was just coming to tell you their report came in."

I waited breathlessly for him to finish his thought.

He hesitated before looking at me directly. "They found no trace of foul play, they're deeming it an accident…"

The report should have been a relief, instead, it incited a whole new set of worries. Worries of the worst kind, the ones based solely on a feeling.

Between Ben and the students I should have been too busy to worry, but I always found time. Be it staring up at the ceiling at night or zoning out while I oversaw a training exercise. But each lapse in attention was like a beckon that Mica never failed to notice. Was he just looking for weakness, or was it something more?

I hated to suspect him, but I was, sometimes a little more each day.

"You've been very quiet lately, Master Mara," Ranjer said as he walked away from the levitation drill he had been running with Mica and a few other students. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, Ranjer," I answered with the best smile I could muster.

"I can only imagine how difficult the last few weeks have been for you and Master Leia. I was very worried…"

As always, Ranjer's spirit was a refreshing breath of fresh air. Maybe it was just nice to have a student that didn't hate me. So I took the time to really notice him, and when I did, I realized that something was wrong.

"Ranjer, speaking of being quiet, did something happen while I was away?"

I felt his emotions shift and contract until an undercurrent of grief, at last, revealed itself.

"My grandmother…" he whispered, the note of finality in his tone leaving no question as to the rest of what he could have said.

"Ranjer, I'm so sorry…" I breathed. My own guilt at not noticing sooner surfaced, along with the memories I had of the woman. She had insisted he not wait for her to die to begin his Jedi training. She'd selflessly gone without his help in her final days in order to give him a larger future.

"It's alright, Master… The time we shared is something that death can not, will not, erase. I am only grateful that she was so proud of me before the end."

I put a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't much more than a few weeks over fourteen, and when I looked at him I saw Ben, and I saw myself. Saw the kid I had been and dreamed of a past that I still wished could have been different.

"Her being proud of you doesn't have anything to do with your Jedi training, Ranjer," I assured him. "It has everything to do with you just being yourself."

He smiled faintly, and past the pain, I felt the sense of comfort my words, and presence had given him. He was all alone in the galaxy now… Or at least he would have been.

"We're all here for you, don't ever forget that, okay, kiddo?"

He nodded slowly before returning to the other students. I watched him go, my line of sight drifting slowly to Mica. Where I felt Ranjer's softness and open grief, Mica had locked all his pain behind dangerous walls. Walls of hate and blame that had no place in a Jedi's heart. And yet…suddenly, I could relate to the angry young man. Foolish or not, some of my suspicions melted into compassion. I just wasn't sure what I could do to help…

"You're relieved, Jade," I heard Corran suddenly say from behind me.

I grinned slightly. "By whose orders, Horn?"

He crossed his arms, that typical playfully indifferent look plastered on his face. "Apparently, the head man himself."

I rolled my eyes playfully as I watched the unassuming Skywalker he was referring to. Luke walked up with a polite smile on his face and a tiny Ben harnessed to his back. The baby in question peered over his father's shoulder like some small Jedi master ready to whip his new student into shape.

I smiled at them. "How did your morning training go?"

Luke ran a hand through his hair. "Well, Ben was sure to show me how he can move pebbles now."

"So he hasn't given up that trick? Honestly, I was hoping he'd give it a few years before he started the Jedi stuff."

"It'll only get worse from here…" Corran teased ominously, before heading to oversee the group of students.

"Thanks…" I mumbled as I watched him go.

But Luke only laughed before he took my hand and pulled me down one of the many jungle paths. "Come on, I want to show you something."

"Like what?"

"You'll see."

It wasn't entirely like Luke to be so mysterious, but I played along for the next ten minutes or so. After that, he detoured off the path, pushing back branches and shrubs as he went. Finally, he knelt down next to what looked like a green flower, an odd choice for blossoms seeing as it blended perfectly with the surrounding foliage. But Luke seemed smitten by it for some reason. He carefully plucked it off the stem. The strange thing was it turned black as soon as his gloved hand touched it. Then without explanation, he gently tucked the blossom into my hair. Within seconds it had shifted to a bright red.

"Isn't that amazing?" Luke asked with a big smile on his face. "All the time I've been here and I've never noticed it before today."

For a second, I just looked at him. His simple innocence never ceased to amaze me. Move me…

"It's beautiful, Luke."

He gave a shy smile. "It has to be, it's trying to look like you."

"Have you been listening to Han's advice on smooth lines again?" I asked, chuckling to myself.

"No, it's just the simple truth," he added in all sincerity.

For a while, I could have let myself forget anything else happening in the larger galaxy. Even the worries inside my own head. But beneath the surface, I knew we could both still feel them.

He sat down on a fallen log and gestured for me to join him. In the small little clearing, it was cozy. It almost felt like we were hiding, which, wasn't a bad feeling, honestly. He closed his eyes, seeming to breathe in the life around us, savoring every sense. Through our bond, I could discern every nuance of what he was feeling. Thinking back to Migo and how far away I had been, made me savor that.

Finally, he opened his eyes and put an arm around my shoulders, as if bracing me for what he was going to say next. But I felt the dark currents of worry long before he said a word.

"What is it, Luke?"

"Talon contacted me this morning, he investigated the crash remains himself…"

"And…?"

"He found traces of a very specific type of detonator."

I sat in silence, letting the reality of my fears sink in.

"And Becro?"

I heard him inhale a breath only to expel it just as quickly. "They could have simply missed it within their analysis. Talon says that's possible, but of course, he doesn't believe it himself."

"And Mica…?" I asked, hating the question.

"I don't know…" he whispered softly. "I don't sense deception from him, but with Force abilities as strong as his, we can't know for certain. For the time being, I've informed the instructors to keep a special watch on him. Secretly, of course."

"He's preceptive, Luke, I don't know how secretive anyone can be around him."

He nodded sadly. "I know… But under the circumstances, I'm afraid it's the best we can do."

"What about us?" I asked, sensing there was more.

"The Wild Karrde is picking us up in the morning. Talon thinks he knows the man who sold those detonators, a dealer on the lower levels of Coruscant. Needless to say, we need to investigate."

"Of course…" I quickly agreed. I needed to see this through, to finally get some answers. But at the same time, some foolish, yet undeniable part of me, wanted to stay tucked away in this shaded little cove for the rest of our lives. It was a feeling Luke both felt and understood.

Pulling me closer, he smiled comfortingly. "When all this is over, we're taking a vacation. Just the three of us, I promise."

I squeezed his hand, letting some rare glimpse of my vulnerability show. "I'm holding you to that, Skywalker. I really am…"