As always, I'd very much appreciate any & all constructive
criticism. Honestly. :D

"The Diversion"

by Angela Jade

Rated - PG

Website - http://www.oocities.org/angelajade/index.html

Setting - some months after "Planet of Twilight"

Disclaimer - it all belongs to Lucas. I am not making any money
from this.

Thanks to my Betas - even tho' they are talented & busy people,
they still find time to read my stuff and point out my mistakes. I'll
always be grateful to them. :)

January 2002



"He's what?" Mara took her foot off the Fire's console and stared
at the holocomm as if it had sprouted wings and was about to fly
out the viewport.

"He's stopped teaching." Leia's voice sounded even more
weighed down with responsibilities than usual and Mara felt an
unexpected pang of anger at Luke for making his sister suffer.
"He doesn't want to see me or Han, and barely acknowledges
the children." A heavy sigh. "He's even asked NRS to come and
take his X-wing away. Claims he doesn't need it any more."

Mara's eyebrows shot up in surprise; Skywalker without his
X-wing was like Lando Calrissian without a flashy cape and a
dazzling smile - totally inconceivable. "And where are all his
friends? Wedge, Lando..."

"They're men, Mara. They think he should be left alone to
meditate or come to terms or whatever." Her voice dropped to a
whisper. "They won't admit it, but I think they're frightened of him.
Of what he might do or become if they try to get involved."

A pensive silence. "Does he still have that astromech of his?"
asked Mara, wondering exactly how much Luke had managed to
purge from his life.

"Artoo? Yes. He's the only thing Luke will talk to. Mara, Streen's
really worried about him..."

"Streen's always worried," interrupted Mara absent-mindedly, her
brain already working through her schedule. "Is Luke still on
Yavin Four?"

"Won't leave the praxium."

Mara winced at the despair in the Alderaanian's voice. "And all
this because that woman left him, Whats-her-name...?"

"Callista."

"Yes, her." Mara couldn't quite bring herself to repeat the
erstwhile Jedi's name.

"He claims her leaving him isn't affecting him in the slightest."

Mara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Right." Tilting the
navigational computer screen towards her, she tapped a few
keys. "Okay, Leia. I'm on my way to Ithor anyway - it won't be
much of a diversion. I'll go see if I can knock some sense into
that brother of yours."

"Could you? That would be great, Mara." Leia's sigh of relief
hissed over the comm. "Only... go easy on him. He's had a
tough time lately..."

"Leia, I'm his friend," replied Mara with a grin. "Of course I'll be
gentle."

*****

The door to his rooms opened with a resounding bang, the
old-fashioned hinged apparatus slamming into the wall and
bouncing off again. "What in all the hells do you think you're
playing at, Skywalker?"

Luke sighed softly and looked up from his cross-legged position
on the floor. "I'm meditating. Or was." He stood up in one fluid
movement, the hood of his Jedi robe still up and casting a
shadow over his face. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this
visit, Captain Jade?"

Mara stood in the doorway, arms crossed as she gave him the
stare she normally reserved for criminals and incompetent
subordinates. "So formal, Master Skywalker?" She took a step
into the room and pushed the door closed behind her with one
booted foot. "Your sister said you were acting like an idiot. I
thought I'd swing by and see if it was true."

He raised his chin but the concealing hood remained in place.
"Leia said what?"

"Well, maybe those weren't her exact words." Slowly, Mara
walked around him in a circle, finally coming to a halt directly in
front of him. She tossed her hair irritably as she glared at his
shadowed face. "You've changed."

"It happens. People change."

Mara snorted in derision. "Usually for the better."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Was that a hint of anger? Inwardly Mara smiled; finally, a
reaction. Her satisfaction vanished the instant he threw back his
hood and she saw his face for the first time in many months.
Pale, tired skin over hollow cheeks; he'd obviously lost weight.
And his eyes ... the sparkle that she normally saw there was
gone. Vanished. It was all she could do to keep her dismay
from showing on her face. "You look like hell."

His eyes never flinched from hers. "I see. You've come to insult
me."

"Why change the habit of a lifetime?"

He sighed, his eyes closing briefly. "Mara, just say what you've
come here to say, and then go. I'm busy."

"What, no `stay to train and become a Jedi' speech?! That must
be a first."

"If I thought there was even the remotest possibility that you
would, I'd say it," he snapped. "But you've made it perfectly clear
that you're not interested, so why bother?"

Mara was silent for a long moment, refusing to flinch from his
gaze. Finally she spoke. "Luke, have you talked to anyone?"

"Talked? About what?"

"Hmm, thought not." Grabbing his arm, she tugged him towards
the door. "You're coming with me."

Luke snatched his arm back. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Mara slowly turned to face him, a sweet smile pulling up the
corners of her mouth as she carefully blinked twice. "Please?"

"What are you up to, Mara Jade?" he asked, his eyes narrowing
with suspicion.

"Nothing at all," she replied, her smile now revealing teeth.
"There's something on my ship I want to show you, that's all."

"And you couldn't show it to me here?"

"No." Her teeth clenched through her grin. "I couldn't."

He shrugged and stepped towards the door. "Fine. Whatever.
It's not like I'm busy, or anything..."

"Such enthusiasm!" murmured Mara, propelling him to the exit
with a gentle push.

*****

"THIS is what you wanted to show me?" Luke's gaze flicked
from a triumphant Mara back to the object he held in his hands -
a bottle made of old-fashioned, dark brown glass. Turning it
over, he peered at the symbols etched in its surface. "Tatooine
Spirit. Pre-Empire vintage."

"Yup, and it's a pain in the rear to get hold of." Reaching back
into the cockpit storage locker, she pulled out two small shot
glasses and set them on the console. "It's Freedom Day on
Tatooine." She squinted at the chrono above her. "Well, it will be
in a few hours."

"And you're telling me this because...?"

Mara heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Your father and
grandmother were slaves on Tatooine. I think it only right that
you should celebrate Freedom Day with their spirits, like the
good child of Tatooine you are."

"Someone's been doing their homework," muttered Luke.

She snatched the bottle from his hands and yanked out the
stopper, smiling at the satisfying `pop'. "Besides, we're friends,
and drinking together is what friends do."

"Then bring me a glass of water."

"Don't be such a baby," she grumbled, carefully pouring out two
generous measures of spirit and handing him one. "Anyway, it's
not that strong."

Luke accepted the drink and eyed it dubiously as Mara drained
her glass in one gulp. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive. Now, drink."

Sipping cautiously at the clear liquid, he watched as Mara refilled
her own glass. "Are you trying to get me intoxicated?"

"Of course not. Why would I do something like that?" She
clinked her glass against his in salute and threw it back, before
raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

His expression mirrored hers as he carefully drained his glass,
the smooth liquor sliding softly down his throat. "Not bad," he
croaked.

"That's the idea," replied Mara, tipping another shot into each
glass. Turning her back on him, she raised her glass to the sky
beyond the viewport in the traditional flyer's tribute. "To the free
peoples of Tatooine."

"And to the freedom of beings everywhere."

They drank simultaneously, their eyes filled with the hazy light of
Yavin's early dusk.

"Y'know," said Luke, "this stuff's actually quite good." Silently he
hoped he could hold his liquor better than when he was in
Rogue Squadron. Brief memories of Han and Wedge carrying
him back to his room on Hoth, along with the reproachful lecture
Leia gave him the following morning, flitted across his brain. But
that was a long time ago...

*****

"Of course I'm not drunk! I'm just ... tired. Yes, tired." Luke
smiled as he tried to focus on Mara. "Are you drunk?"

"A little." She fought back a grin as her eyes met his. "Why are
you tired?"

"Not sleeping, I guess."

They sat side by side on the cockpit floor, their legs stretched
out, the half-finished bottle of Tatooine Spirit between them.
Yellow and green standby lights blinked a staccato rhythm all
around them, and Mara suddenly realized it was dark outside.

Luke was examining his depleted glass. "S'empty."

"Why're you not sleeping?"

His gaze wobbled back to meet hers as his hand reached for the
bottle. "Dunno. Thinking, I guess."

Snatching up the bottle, Mara tipped a measure into his glass,
wincing when it splashed over the side and onto his robes.
"Thinking `bout what?"

The Jedi Master stared at the expanding dark spots where the
liquid had landed on his clothes. "Lots of things. The Academy.
My life." His voice hitched and threatened to break altogether.
"Callista."

"Oh." Mara had no idea how she managed to keep her voice a
monotone when her insides had clenched instantly at the name,
squeezing the breath from her body.

"I love her, Mara." He sniffed.

"You... you do?" Why did hearing those words coming from him
seem to hurt so much? She'd known how he'd felt, had seen
how he'd acted around the woman - hell, they'd been living
together for months - but it wasn't until she heard those three
little words coming from his lips that she realized exactly how
much he'd fallen for the former Jedi.

"Yes, I do. I love her."

"Loved. Past tense, Luke." Surely, after all she'd put him
through...

Another sniff. "Nope. Still love her."

"But, she's gone..."

"I know that! Do you think I don't know that?!" The anger in his
voice vanished as quickly as it had come. "Doesn't make me
feel any better."

Mara stared mesmerized at the reflection of the cockpit lights in
the clear alcohol in her glass, before throwing it back in one
gulp. If only she could remember why Luke's relationship with
Callista had always bugged her. Oh, yes... "She's not good
enough for you, anyway."

"Whaddaya mean, `not good enough'? She's a kriffin' Jedi!"

Yeah, thought Mara, like you need another
the-Force-is-everything Jedi to keep you sane. "Was a Jedi. Not
any more."

Sighing heavily, Luke glared at his friend and tried to put on his
best teaching voice. He hiccuped. "Once a Jedi, always a Jedi."

"Not very Jedi-like, leaving you by letter."

"Sith! Does everyone know everything about my private life?!"
exclaimed Luke, before draining his own glass. "Doesn't matter.
S'not important. She's gone an' she's not coming back."

"Have you looked for her?"

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes burning into hers.
"Yes."

"Oh."

"Looked and looked and looked..."

"Oh."

"Searched the `nets, asked Intel ... hell, I've logged up more
hours in the X-wing than when I commanded the Rogues."

"And?"

"No sign of her, not since Nam Chorios. She doesn't want to be
found. Not by me, at least." His gaze dropped to his glass once
more. "What's wrong with me, Mara? Why does no one want to
be around me?"

"'Course they do."

"Women don't. Run light-years to get away from me."

"M'here."

"Yeah, `cos Leia told you to come," he grumbled.

"She ASKED me to come. Big diff'rence."

"Well, you're gonna go away again, aren't you?" He held his
breath, his tongue clenched between his teeth in concentration
as he attempted to refill his glass.

Mara glared at him. "I have a job to do. Can't just give it all up to
come stay on Yavin."

"You could give it up tempra... temporor... for a while."

"Could you give this up, Skywalker?" Mara waved a casual hand
around her; Luke ducked. "The Academy, your students, all that?
Even for a few weeks?"

"No."

"Well, I can't give up my job, either. So quit nagging." Her
expression softened at the hurt look on his face. "I'll stay `till
tomorrow. But I've got a drop to make at Ithor, and if I'm more
than a day late Karrde'll have my head for a vornskr chew-toy."

"You have to stay `till tomorrow anyway," said Luke with a giggle.
"You're too drunk to fly."

"Why didn't you ask Leia to stay?"

"Huh?" Luke's mind spun with the effort of changing subject.
"Leia's too busy to visit. And what could she do, anyway?"

"She could listen, like I am."

"She wouldn't just listen, she'd talk, too. Just like you are." He
smiled smugly.

Mara raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Fine. Talk.
Tell me why you're so depressed."

Crossing his own arms, Luke met her stare, unable to say
anything for a long moment. "I fell in love. I thought she loved
me, too. She didn't. The end." His breath left him in a rush and
his eyes dropped back down to the small glass he clutched in
his hands.

"And she's the only person in the galaxy you care about?"

Her voice was a whisper but the words penetrated his heart like
a vibroblade.

"No! Of course not - I care about a lot of people..."

"And you are hurting every single one of them with this
self-pitying torment, Skywalker!"

"Are you saying I'm being selfish?"

Slipping her arm around him, she brought her forehead to rest
on his shoulder in an attempt to stop the sudden dizziness that
overcame her. "You're allowed to be selfish. You've been
through a big emotional... umm... thing, and you've got to put
yourself first so that you can heal." Her chin came to rest on his
shoulder when she lifted her head. "But that doesn't mean you
have to cut everyone else out of your life while you do it."

"Maybe I don't want anyone else to see me being... selfish,"
mumbled Luke.

"Why the hell not? You're not a droid - you're allowed to have
feelings."

He turned his head to look at her, his face within whispering
distance. "Am I?" Green and unwavering, her eyes drew his
gaze. He didn't have to touch her mind to know she would
always tell him the truth. Always. "Am I?"

"Of course you are. A little bit of self-pity isn't going to turn you to
the dark side."

His face filled her vision, a face she'd seen so often yet still it
seemed to portray something different every time they met. It
was his eyes, she decided, as she struggled to keep him in
focus. In those blue depths, she'd seen strength and loyalty and
intelligence and optimism. Once or twice, she'd even seen
anger. But all she could see now was vulnerability and
hopelessness...

Her eyes drifted closed as he leaned in to kiss her, his lips
gentle on hers as her heart attempted to pound its way out of her
chest. Twisting toward her, he pulled her into his arms; the
rough texture of his robes gave way to the softness of skin and
hair as her hand strayed to his neck, drawing him closer. Her
mind spiraled higher as a wave of desire threatened to engulf
her completely, to irredeemably possess her body and her spirit.

"Oh, Force! Mara, I'm sorry," he mumbled, pulling away from her
as if he'd been stung. "I didn't mean to... I hope you're not angry
with me."

Her heart screamed `No!' as her body craved his touch, but her
mind knew the truth of the situation. Mara Jade could happily
take advantage of most circumstances, but not this. She took a
deep, steadying breath. "It's okay, Luke. I'm sorry, too."

"I think I've had too much alcohol," he said, toying with his empty
glass and unable to meet her gaze. "We should stop drinking
now."

Mara watched his expression as guilt now warred with despair,
his lips red and trembling. Great; she'd made him feel worse,
not better. Only one thing to do to salvage the situation. "Y'know,
I think that would be a really bad idea." She picked up the bottle
and resolutely filled both of their glasses to the brim.

*****

Pain. Pain and thirst. But not hunger; definitely not hunger.
Mara opened her eyes and the world swam into focus. Panicky
disorientation quickly gave way to recognition - she was in one of
the Academy's guest rooms, her carryall on a chair by the door.

Her memory returned slowly as she rose, washed, and dressed.
Luke Skywalker, as depressed as she'd ever seen him. Her
decision to get him drunk, to try to make him talk to her. A bottle
of Tatooine Spirit that seemed to empty faster than she'd
planned. His lips on hers... She stopped suddenly, half-way
through climbing into her flightsuit, her mouth a round `O' of
shock. No, it couldn't be, she thought. They'd kissed? Pain
lanced through her head once more - she squeezed her eyes
closed and clamped a hand over her face. Had to be a dream,
she concluded. She peeped through her fingers. Didn't it?

The headache still hadn't gone by the time she found herself
outside Luke's room, her pack slung high on one shoulder. The
doubts hadn't gone, either. Mara remembered walking back to
the Temple from her ship, remembered saying `goodnight' to
Luke - she just could not remember for sure if she'd kissed her
friend or not. She knocked gently on the door, wincing as the
sound echoed around the stone corridor.

After a long pause during which Mara considered just turning
around and leaving, the door finally swung open. A disheveled
Luke Skywalker hung on to the door frame as if his survival
depended on it. "Oh, hi, Mara. Come on in," he croaked.

"I just came to say goodbye..." She looked him up and down, her
nose wrinkling in distaste at his crumpled robes. "Did you sleep
in your clothes? You look worse than I feel."

He waved her into the room and closed the door as gently as he
could. "Mara, what in the name of the Force were you pouring
down my neck last night? I feel like I've been trampled by a herd
of banthas."

"It was Tatooine Spirit, and you were doing most of the pouring,
Skywalker." She looked sidelong at him, trying to gauge his
expression. "Are you feeling any less depressed?"

"Ask me after I've spent a couple of hours in a healing trance."

"I'll be gone by then," she replied. "I've got a run to make,
remember?"

"Don't remember much, to be honest." He smiled hopefully.
"I'm sure it'll all come back to me eventually."

Mara nodded. "Sure." She wondered briefly if he'd had the
same kind of alcohol-induced dream that she'd experienced.
Unlikely. He was still besotted with Whats-her-face - he probably
only dreamed about kissing her.

She watched as he gingerly made his way over to a nearby chair
and sat down heavily, cradling his head in one hand. The
thought of kissing him was so bizarre - so why was she still
thinking about it? "I'd better go, Luke."

He gazed up at her, a tentative smile creeping across his face.
"Thanks for coming by, Mara." He flinched and covered his eyes
with one hand. "I think."

"You're welcome," she replied. "I think."

"Come again, any time. Just don't bring any of that brain
dissolver with you."

She patted his shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Skywalker."

He nodded, very slowly.

"And call your sister," she added. "Leia gives the rest of the
galaxy a hard time when you shut her out."

Nodding again, he raised a shaky hand in farewell. "Bye, Mara."

"Bye."


The painkillers were in the medkit, and the medkit was in the
cockpit of the Jade's Fire. Mara popped one of the tiny
analgesics under her tongue, sighing with relief when it took
effect. Finally the incessant pounding in her head stopped.

The engines warmed to a soft thrum as Mara checked the
navigation computer, one hand dancing on the tiny keys with
practiced ease. "Let's just hope the Ithorians have improved that
sludge they call ale," she muttered to herself. Her eyes caught
their reflection in the viewport, and she winced. "Actually, let's
hope they've banned the stuff altogether."

Her hand gripped the stick lightly as the ship rose gracefully on
its repulsors, the immaculate hull gleaming faintly in the
morning light. "Bye, Yavin."

As the blue of Yavin Four's atmosphere gave way to the
star-speckled blackness of space, Mara blew out a deep breath
she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. Her headache had
retreated, her memory had returned, and she was now certain
that she and Luke had kissed the previous evening. It felt
strange, surreal even, to think that she'd shared such a personal
act with him - when had they gotten so close? Didn't matter.
They'd been drunk, he'd been depressed... the list of excuses for
their admittedly insignificant moment of intimacy ran as long as
her arm.

She reached for the hyperspace levers, then paused, her hand
hovering in mid-air. Slowly she reorientated the craft so she
could have one last look at the blue-green moon before she left.
One hand stole to her lips, touching them softly. "Bye, Luke," she
whispered.

*****

He'd been staring at the flickering holo-image for a long time,
ever since Mara had left his room. `Callista' smiled back at him,
her hair and dress blowing softly in a virtual breeze. Callista...

She was gone. It had taken him weeks to convince himself that
she wouldn't be back, that she'd left him forever. That was when
he'd resigned himself to a life alone - if someone who'd
professed to love him so much could abandon him so easily,
what chance did he stand with anyone else?

A soft sigh escaped his lips; at least he still had his friends. One
person in particular had reminded him that life was worth living...

His eyes narrowed and he lifted his head, his gaze drawn to the
sky outside his window. A smile tugged incessantly at his
mouth and blue eyes finally twinkled. "Bye, Mara," he murmured.
"And thanks."

Without looking back down, he switched off the holo.

~FIN~

AJ