SPIRIT OF THE SHIFTING SANDS

By Ash Darkligher

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The sand blew over the restless dunes and time was ever unchanging in the hostile environment. Tatooine was and is a place of strange half-truths and illusions. During the time of the storms the natives say if you looked very hard you can see the souls of all the people lost in the vast desert. If you look even harder you could see those that were still alive.

CHAPTER ONE

Tatooine

Mara Jade pulled the skimpy top down over her curvaceous figure as she hid behind the pillar. At nineteen, she had to be one of the most beautiful things ever to grace the chambers of the B'omarr Monastery, lair of the notorious gangster Jabba the Hutt. The combination of face and figure was alluring to most humanoid species and, of course to the Hutt. Then there was her hair, a shade so unusual it instantly made you notice the girl to whom it belonged. Mara couldn't remember where she had come from, but perhaps one of her parents had lustrous thick red-gold hair.

"Greeting Exalted One......"

The holo played itself out and Jabba laughed with his cronies and dismissed it.

Mara shrank into one of the corridors and made for the small cell that doubled as her room. She was supposed to be dancing with the rest of the troupe, but she needed to clear her mind of all distractions and think - really think.

"That was the rebel Skywalker." Her mouth firmed and green eyes narrowed. He was said to be one of the rebel leaders and a traitor to the Empire. She'd read the complete dossier, which the Empire had on the young man and it was sketchy to say the least. He'd come from nowhere, an unimportant rebel traitor, apart from two things. He was said to be the pilot who had blown up the Death Star and he was force strong. She gripped her tiny blaster; he would die. Her master had willed it and Mara was his loyal servant. She was the Emperor's hand.

The following day she stood, head bowed, fuming as events took off without her. Things had suddenly moved beyond her control. This Mara Jade did not like. She was always in control, but there was something else at work here and she definitely didn't like it. First the holo-message from Skywalker, then the arrival of the Wookiee, Chewbacca, and the unmasking of the rebel Princess as she tried to rescue the smuggler. How could the Princess Leia Organa, last survivor of the Royal House of Alderaan, have stooped as low as this? When Jabba had tipped Skywalker into the Rancor pit Mara had expected him to die but somehow, miraculously, he had survived. She knew then that her master had been right. This boy was no ordinary one. The force ran strong in him. Pleading with all the skill she had at her disposal Mara had begged the Hutt to let her travel on the sail barge. She even used the force, but to no avail. Jabba took instead the captive Princess Leia Organa. Skywalker was her friend and Solo, it was rumoured, was her lover. Mara knew then that she had failed and the Hutt had underestimated the young Jedi. Somehow he was controlling all of them and Mara had seen it too late. She knew it and if she did then her master, Emperor Palpatine, knew it for she could hide little from him. She had failed.

Luke Skywalker, blond, blue eyed and aged in his very early twenties had come wide-eyed from this miserable backwater dump it was supposed and he'd become a Jedi. She snorted disdainfully. There were no Jedi left to train him, so how could he have trained himself? Skywalker looked wet behind the ears, a raw unchallenged youth. This looked as if it was going to be easy, but Mara Jade was no fool and took stock of the situation. Promptings from within her made her question her opinion. Something told her that this boy... No. He wasn't a boy now - there was a maturity and strength of purpose behind those clear blue eyes, despite his apparent youth. This young man then, for he was indeed dangerous if he had received Jedi training, could act as a symbol for the traitorous rebels. Mara suspected that Palpatine feared him and that was enough to make anyone stop and take notice. For the first time in her service to her Master, Mara wondered if he had made a mistake and hoped it would not prove too costly. For all of them.

Coruscant - Spaceport

Mara bolted upright in her bed aboard the Jade's Fire. Wiping the perspiration from her very clammy forehead she arose and padded silently to the fresher. Surveying her flushed face in the mirror, she groaned. It had to be the middle of the night. A quick glance at the chrono on her wrist confirmed the fact. Why had it to be Skywalker who'd awoken her? She hadn't thought about the past in a long while. That had been over ten years ago and best forgotten. Perhaps she still held a lingering resentment of him. She didn't know. But her feelings had changed over the years, gone through many different permutations. From scorn and disdain to hate and confusion and now.... She just didn't know what she felt about him, or what she wanted to feel. Mara gazed into her own green eyes, her expression troubled. Why was she remembering a time she longed to forget, one that was dead and buried and especially at this hour in the morning. Why was she thinking of Luke Skywalker at all when she tried to bury his image to the deepest recesses of her mind? The man she'd wanted to kill in service to the only man she'd trusted. She grimaced at her tired reflection in the mirror. She'd surely got it the wrong way round.

Mara turned from the mirror and padded silently to the galley. Perhaps a hot chocolate would help her sleep the rest of the night. How Karrde and the others would laugh if they knew of her predilection for the drink. But it was soothing and it tasted good. Skywalker had introduced her to it. She smiled suddenly. Him again - at least he was good for something other than arguing with. Or trying to ignore as he tried to make her do something she knew she should do, but didn't want anyone telling her she should do. Least of all Skywalker. Did she still hold a lingering resentment of him? She didn't know. Anyway she hadn't seen him for nearly a year.

'Surely not,' she told herself. 'It can't possibly have been all that time.' She stopped, the cup of chocolate almost to her lips. Moving slowly towards her cabin she sipped at the drink and let the warm, rich flavour soothe her troubled mind. She climbed back into bed, suddenly and inexplicably sad.

Mara had been working on some trading project for her smuggler boss, Talon Karrde, when he'd requested her to visit Coruscant to deal with some matters of business. Mara arrived on the city planet and duly set up the trade deals and arranged to visit one of the annual business conferences that were being held. She hadn't planned being anywhere near the centre of power, but it happened that the trade fair was being held in the Imperial Banqueting halls. Karrde had of late been moving his position from that of smuggler to a more legitimate centre of operations. Mara had to give a speech on the way some of his business practices were succeeding. So here she was, her red gold hair artfully arranged around her beautiful face. Her slim dancer's figure encased from head to toe in a dress of clinging black silk. No flesh was visible, but it left you in no doubt that she was a human female and a rather nicely packaged one at that. Mara caused quite a few hearts to speed up as she joined the socialising and business of the evening.

Mara balanced her drink on her plate and secured it with the force. Skywalker would have a Jedi fit if he saw me using the force for such trivial means, but it sure helps if I don't spill this glass down some important personage's outfit. Skywalker. Her mind closed over the word. 'Look Mara,' she told herself. 'You're safe enough. Skywalker hasn't been off his jungle moon in a long time as he broods over the workings of the force.' "Safe!" Why should she need to feel safe from him? They'd made their peace long ago - or had they? Her eyelids flickered momentarily and she stood in the lighted doorway, suddenly feeling restless and on edge.

Mara had often found his unwelcome image before her eyes, but recently he was there in her dreams constantly when she slept and she often thought about him at idle waking moments. The tenor of those dreams did not bear delving into too deeply. Mara Jade did not daydream and this was getting to her.

Imperial Palace - Coruscant

Luke arrived on Coruscant to celebrate the birthday of his twin niece and nephew. He'd missed so many of these. He also wanted to spend time with Leia and Han. For the first time in years he found himself unsure what to do next and he wanted to tell Leia of his decision. Something else drew him to Coruscant, but he hadn't worked out yet what it was. He didn't feel entirely happy there because all the evil committed on that world left an echo in his soul, but he needed to be with his family.

Luke worked at his desk in the old Imperial library. He genuinely loved this room, with its greel wood panels and stacks of real books and holodisks. It had an atmosphere of real reverence for learning. Luke didn't know that Palpatine hadn't liked this room and had never used it, but it wouldn't have surprised him had he known. He switched off the luma at his workstation and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Hidden away in the corner of the library, he was alone. No one ever used this particular desk, possibly because it was so out of the way. He smiled as he pictured Jacen and Jaina earlier at their party. He'd played the fond uncle to perfection and, indeed, it was no part. They were beautiful children and strong in the force. Leia and Han were lucky. He envied them their family life. If only...

He glanced at the documentation in front of him and switched the luma on again, but the words on the holobook danced in front of his eyes. He pushed his hand through his hair and sighed. By the force, he was tired. He got stiffly to his feet and, glancing at his wrist chrono, he winced. It was late - far too late - and he didn't feel so good. Wrapping his Jedi cloak around his shoulders, he switched the light off with the force and noiselessly left the building. As he headed towards the internal palace transport system he passed the main reception rooms. Noise, light and chatter spilled in his direction. The sense of many people involved in dealing and information swapping, of high spirits, gaiety and celebration, all came bursting upon his tired senses. The sudden need for contact with another being, it didn't matter what race or creed, impinged upon him and he started towards the noise and light.

A couple of drunken Nikto traders lurched out of the main hall and Luke eyed them with amusement as they wobbled their merry way. Then he stiffened as his eyes and senses caught the vision and presence of a slim redhead standing alone in the lighted doorway. The phrase 'dressed to kill' ran quickly through his mind. It would be appropriate too, as the stunning woman was none other than Mara Jade. Once she had vowed to kill him, then had become a good friend. They had saved each other's lives on many occasions. Luke hadn't seen her in months; it might even be nearly a year. He stood rooted to the spot for a moment, then turned on his heel and headed towards the shuttle bay away from her all too disturbing presence. He couldn't even remember what they'd argued about. It could have been her refusal to finish her training, his to return to the real world, or her relationship with Lando. It could have been and probably was a combination of all three. They'd said things they shouldn't have and she'd left Yavin before he could apologise. Hell, he'd been sore at Callista deserting him, but not really surprised, and then Mara had deserted him too. It wasn't his entire fault. Mara had said things that she had no right to say and then left him. He hadn't realised that he still bore a grudge. Mara didn't have the monopoly on a fiery temper. All the Jedi training hadn't rid him of imperfections. There was still much anger in him.

He had to get out of there fast. She wouldn't want to see him. She hadn't even tried to contact him in all that time. He'd tried once but she'd been away on a mission for Karrde and it had been with a certain amount of relief that he'd let it be. Almost running he swerved past the drunken Nikto and made it to the small shuttle station. She wouldn't want to see him. Besides, he didn't feel too good or look too good and he didn't want her to see him like that - not when she had looked so beautiful. He'd never thought of her as beautiful before - attractive and highly competent, but not beautiful. He stopped and gazed towards the small two-man shuttles as they hurtled into the bay. The Imperial palace was so vast that these small transport capsules were used by those with the proper clearance permits. Three small shuttles went past before Luke came to himself and climbed in, selecting his destination. Just as he was about to programme in his destination he closed his eyes in pain. Mara. Beautiful deadly Mara Jade. The loss of their comradeship hadn't hit him until now. Something had indeed drawn him to Coruscant and that something was Mara. The force was prompting him to effect reconciliation with Mara, but he hadn't quite prepared himself for the impact she would have upon his senses. The senses that had lain dormant since Callista had left. He'd thought at one time that he'd never feel anything again. He'd been hurt too many times. Callista's betrayal had been the final wire in the circuit.

Mara yawned, for once taking no pleasure in the gathering wheeling and dealing their way to more riches. It suddenly struck her as meaningless. She shifted her force grip on her plate and wineglass and as she did so there was a rushing in her ears, a whispering in her senses that spoke of the force at work around her. Mara reached out and touched power. There was only one man who had that kind of power - trained power. Not even Kyp Durron had that control and strength.

Luke.

Luke was here on Coruscant and he was very close. The presence moved away, almost running. She reached out again and spoke in his mind.

"Luke! What are you doing here?"

She felt the shock, then the hesitation as he answered her. "I could ask you the same question," he replied warily.

"Where are you?"

Again there was the hesitation, the uncertainty, almost as if he didn't want to speak to her. "I'm at shuttle station 5, Level D, Imperial Palace."

So close, she thought "Stay there, I'll meet you."

"Is that a good idea Jade? After all we didn't part too well. I'll see you tomorrow. It will give me a chance to strengthen my hide. It took me a long time to take out all of your barbs. We can arrange a time."

'Like an interview,' she thought, 'between strangers.' "Skywalker!" It was suddenly imperative that she met him now.

"Mara I don't want to argue with you. It's better perhaps if......"

"Skywalker!" she snapped. "Shut up and stay there."

"Leaving so soon Trader Jade?"

"Ah, yes. Something has come up that requires my personal attention," she returned smoothly. "A businesswoman such as myself cannot let opportunities slip away." She winked at the Duro and he nodded, a gleam entering his eye.

"I understand, of course Trader Jade. You have long been a credit to our calling."

Mara wrapped her velvet cloak around her shoulders. Why was Luke avoiding her? She hadn't seen him in ages she realised and she actually missed him. Not since.... Not since they'd had that big bitter argument on Yavin IV. It had started out as something so trivial. She couldn't remember the details clearly - her refusal to finish her training, his obstinacy in burying himself away and her fake relationship with Lando. She would have told him the truth about that if he'd asked, but he'd accused and lectured. She hadn't been aware how much she'd actually missed him. She swore silently to herself. Missed having someone to criticise and lecture her, more like. But that was unfair. He'd never criticised her - really. All he wanted for her was that she achieve her true potential within the force and take her proper place among the Jedi Knights. The place that Palpatine had ultimately denied her.

She saw him standing alone beside an open shuttle. 'He doesn't plan to stay long,' she thought shortly; he looked tired. She studied him carefully for a few moments. He was thinner, looking in need of a shave and a good haircut. His blue eyes were red-rimmed and watery and his face was white under his tan. He didn't look particularly healthy.

"Well Skywalker?" she said, raising a finely shaped eyebrow. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

He glanced down at himself and winced a little. "I didn't think I would meet anyone at this hour who would care what I looked like." He sighed wearily. "Have you finished?"

"Finished what?"

"Analysing my person Mara. Listing my shortcomings. Whatever." Luke's voice sounded flat and cold.

"She surveyed the Jedi coolly. "I might have."

Luke then stared at the former assassin properly for the first time. "You, on the other hand, look good Mistress Jade; very prosperous and elegant."

"Thank you," she returned composedly.

"Is there something you require?" he asked. "I'm tired and as you rightly pointed out. I'm in need of a wash, a shave and a good rest." He lightly touched his words with sarcasm. "So if you've finished with the inspection I can go?"

'Boy,' she thought. 'Was he hostile or what!' "I.... I...." she floundered.

"It's ok. I'm sorry too."

"I wasn't apologising." She hissed back crossly.

This time Luke raised his eyebrows and a derisive expression flitted across his face. "Weren't you?"

Mara turned away, furious at his ability to read her so easily. Turning back towards him, she opened her mouth to goad him with a caustic comment, only to see that he was climbing back into the small shuttle.

"Skywalker!"

"I'm too tired to fight with you tonight Mara Jade and my patience has gone."

"Don't walk away from me while I'm speaking to you, Jedi, and patience has never been one of your virtues."

"Mara!" The word emerged from Luke as a husky plea. "Just leave it. Us being here like this is inevitable, but I'm not up to dealing with it tonight." With that he dragged himself wearily into the shuttle. He'd gone.

"Skywalker!"

The light from the tail end of the tiny transporter winked as it disappeared down the tunnel. Mara stood and watched as it faded from view. He had seemed tired and depressed. An air of loneliness shrouded his compact form. For a moment Mara stood immobile, undecided on what to do; then she came to a decision and opened a channel on her comlink.

"Leia! Mara Jade. What's up with Skywalker? I'm coming round to talk to you right now. He's not right."

Solo Apartment

Leia Organa-Solo stood with her comlink in her hand and stared at it fixedly, a bemused expression crossing her face. Han looked up at his wife from where he sprawled on a repulsor couch.

"What was that about?" he asked, only mildly interested. He hadn't heard the conversation, only watched as his wife opened and shut her mouth like a fish, without uttering a sound.

"Mara. That was Mara. She's coming round."

"Mm."

"Now."

"She never does waste time on unnecessary words. What does she want?"

"She's worried about Luke. Apparently she bumped into him this evening."

"Well," Han drawled. "What a coincidence. Is he to be worried over and since when was it her business?"

"I don't know. I get the feeling that Luke and Mara haven't been communicating much recently, but they've always had this strange relationship." Leia glanced thoughtfully towards her husband. "You know, I did think he was thinner, but he works too hard - he's obsessive about it."

Han opened his mouth to make a smart comment - then thought better of it and muttered lamely. "I think there's more to it than that but he's your brother."

"He could move to Coruscant now that the Academy is firmly established. We could use him here in the Senate."

Han winced slightly, but Leia didn't notice.

"Uh... Sweetheart I don't think he's ready..." His voice tailed off.

"Luke is finally allowing himself to grieve for Callista and it's hard for him. Even when Gaeriel died he found this reserve from somewhere. Grieving is part of the healing process. I, of all people, know that." Her mouth trembled just a little and Han knew she thought of Alderaan.

"Come here Princess." He patted the seat beside him and she allowed herself to relax in his arms. "Luke is a law unto himself, but he is tired and working too hard. Hell, when was the last time he was here?"

The buzzer at the door sounded and Leia cocked a glance at Han. "She is determined," he muttered. "But we knew that."

"I'll go and arrange some refreshment, if you get Threepio to let her in."

"Whew!" Han whistled appreciatively at the glamorous picture Mara presented as she walked into the room. He had always thought her attractive, but hadn't grasped the full impact she could deliver. "They let you out in that dress Jade?"

"Can it Solo." But her green gaze held no overt threat. Mara Jade had mellowed. Oh she was still deadly, but the fire that had served Palpatine had largely been quenched. She worked for the smuggler Talon Karrde as his second in command, but had helped the New Republic out on several missions. She held a fund of useful bits of Imperial information, which had proved to be invaluable over the years. Leia and Mara, although they couldn't be called friends, got on well together; especially since Mara no longer desired Luke's demise.

"Mara!" Leia glided into the room, serene in blue.

"Good evening Senator."

"Mara!" Leia's placid voice held a hint of a mild rebuke. "I thought we'd agreed to drop all this 'Senator' nonsense."

Mara smiled briefly and relaxed. "I do beg your pardon, Leia."

"That's better." Leia gestured to a seat and Mara sat down, smoothing her dress carefully over her hips.

"I've been to a trader's reception, that's why I'm dressed up like this. I'd rather be less formal, but Karrde insisted and as I'm representing the boss, I'd better do what he says."

Leia smiled. "I know the feeling Mara, but you look very beautiful this evening. "

Mara fidgeted in her seat self-consciously. Han smothered a quick grin.

"Successful?"

"Perhaps," she answered guardedly.

Han grinned openly at that. He knew the smuggler's ways.

Mara pushed a tendril of hair from her cheek and sat up straight in her chair. "Now!" she said firmly. "Skywalker; what's up with him?"

Leia blinked at the direct approach and wondered what to say. Why was Mara suddenly so interested in her brother's health?

"Quit stalling Leia. Do you or do you not know what's wrong with that brother of yours?"

"To be honest Mara," Leia said slowly, "I don't really know. I've ideas, theories, but it's just supposition. I've hardly seen him this year - we've both been so busy. We talk weekly oon the holonet, but it's not the same. Han saw him a few weeks back on Yavin." She glanced at Han. "You thought he had a lot on his mind, didn't you." She looked down at the heavy fabric of her tunic. "He came to help celebrate the twins' birthday. He said since he'd missed so many he'd come to this one, but I never thought I'd actually see him here. It really made the day special for Jacen and Jaina."

"He's not still pining?" The scornful tone in Mara's voice drew an angry glare from Han. But Leia ignored the tone and considered the question seriously.

"No," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think he is." The Princess stared Mara straight in the eyes. "He's come home," she said simply. "The real Luke, the one who's been missing for a very long time, has come home. I think he has started the healing process and returned to be with his real family and friends. He'd cut himself off from us all emotionally and that must have been crippling for him, because he has the biggest heart in the galaxy. He's such an emotionally open person. Luke just gives and gives, but he gave too much. It must have been like losing his other hand. It's completely alien to Luke's nature to try not to feel and just get on with the daily business of living and teaching."

Han didn't have the force, but the old smuggler's instinct had served him just as well on many an occasion. "Yeah, he is alone and feels some of his friends have deserted him." He looked pointedly at Mara, who squirmed and flushed a little bit.

"We had a fight." she muttered towards the floor.

The Solo's gave each other a startled look and suddenly Han grinned.

"Ah. About what?" asked Leia inwardly smiling at Mara's discomfiture, but trying not to show it through the force. Mara Jade still had the temper to go with the hair.

"I can't remember," she flared defensively. "Many things. It didn't start as anything, but blew up in our faces. We said too many hurtful things to each other - the kind of things you can't take back when you've said them. We created a tide of dark energy that Streen was still trying to remove from the atmosphere when I left. I was so angry and bitter, I just left. I know I have a temper, but Luke was.... was just.... I don't know, unlike himself. It was awful. The vitriol that came from us both...." she concluded sadly.

"Mara, the woman he loved had walked out on him," Leia instructed gently. "Have you ever loved someone so much that to be without them is to be half alive."

"No, you know I haven't. But I don't think Luke loved Callista in that way. What you're talking about Leia, that depth of feeling belongs to you and Han." She glanced at Leia, her green eyes shadowed and wary. "Callista couldn't have loved him either to leave like that. She must have known what it would do to him."

Leia was speechless and looked towards Han for help. Han too was gazing at Mara trying to fathom out her last comment. Leia knew the woman was smart, but she was proving to be intuitive as well.

"If you think that way," she began a little stiffly. She'd grown genuinely fond of Callista while she'd been with Luke.

"No Leia!" Mara interrupted. "I don't mean that he didn't love her, he just didn't love her enough and in the right way and she didn't love him enough. She should have died with the 'Eye'. She left Luke as an emotional coward."

Leia grimaced and tried to return to her earlier idea. "Mara, Luke is trying to find his way back to all of us and if you meet him half-way, he'll be there for you too. It's time to forget past words and move on."

"He hasn't been there for me in a long time, but I think I see what you mean," Mara replied softly. "I just don't know if I can.... Nothing."

Han gave Mara a perplexed look, then nodded at Leia who continued.

"He's started to open up and to feel real emotions. Perhaps your fight was the catalyst. He's starting to hurt, finally experiencing the loss and the loneliness he should have done two, three years ago."

"But being Skywalker," Mara cut in. "He's still trying to keep going for everyone's sakes and save the whole galaxy." She pulled at a thread on her dress, then looked up at Leia, her eyes bright. "I wanted to make him so mad - throw things, whatever. Anything to get away from that maddening Jedi calm he'd adopted. Leia it was awful - he was awful. He started glacial and if anything got more so, before things got out of hand."

Leia nodded. "And we ended up with the shell of the Luke we know."

"And love," put in Han quietly to himself. He cleared his throat loudly. "We could all have helped him a little more."

Mara hunched her shoulders guiltily. "Would he have listened?" she shot at Han.

"No, probably not. He's a Skywalker for Sith's sake."

Leia intervened, always the diplomat. "We've all had our problems to work through. None of us have had easy lives, but we've survived this far. Luke will work things out in time."

Han rubbed the scar on his chin, as he often did when he was thinking. "Why don't you head to Yavin for a while and make your peace with the Jedi Master, or let him make his peace with you. Perhaps you should be the one to sink your pride. I don't think Luke will stay on Coruscant much longer. He's not overly fond of the place." Han wondered if his wife had remembered that fact about her brother. He was sure Leia was planning things involving Luke and the Senate.

Mara threw them a look, but wisely said nothing.

"Think about it Jade," said Han. "You're force strong too. Go to Luke on Yavin and complete the Jedi training. He's been harping on at you about it for years. He might get such a shock that he'll never mention it again."

"Cute Solo." she bit out.

Leia twirled a cord at her waist; on it hung her lightsaber. "I'm working on finishing mine very soon, if I can get the Senate to give me leave of absence. Luke has worked out a study programme for me on Coruscant, so when I have time I do a little work. What more would convince Luke that we care for him." She fixed Mara with a very direct stare and the former Emperor's Hand could only sit and fume.

Han chuckled quietly. His wife was very astute - she'd got the picture, but had Mara? The force had obviously decided it was time for Mara to train.

"Why don't you stay here for a little while and persuade Luke to give you some training here on Coruscant, then you can be near your business contacts too." Leia suggested evenly

"I don't know if it'll work." Mara shrugged vaguely.

"You won't know unless you try."

Luke's Coruscant Apartment

Luke Skywalker sneezed. He'd known he was coming down with something, but a cold? Wonderful. Just about the only thing bacta wouldn't cure. He peered in the mirror at his red-rimmed eyes and came to the conclusion that he looked hellish. Artoo beeped anxiously. "It's ok Artoo, I just need a couple of days in bed without anybody wanting me to save the universe." He smiled wearily at his own comment and steered his favourite repulsor chair back through to his sleeping chamber. Climbing into bed, he grinned at the thought of actually enjoying an illness in peace and quiet. The local clinic would send round the latest in pills and he would take them and sleep. What a luxury. He settled down and drew the covers up to his chin and resolutely closed his eyes. His last thought was of a slim redhead standing in a lighted doorway, every curve outlined in black silk. He chuckled. Rather an erotic thought for a Jedi Master to be having, even if he was feverish. Were Jedi Masters allowed to have such thoughts?

Luke awoke a few hours later to the feel of a cool slim hand touching his forehead. "Eh! What!" He coughed hoarsely.

"My, my Skywalker. I've seen you look better."

He opened bleary eyes to peer at the sardonic expression on the face of Mara Jade ‘I'm dreaming,’ he thought as he gazed at the vision in black silk, but she glared at him and he had to conclude that this was reality. Mara sat on the edge of his bed and gingerly helped him lift his head.

"Here," her voice softened a little. "Drink this. It's the curative the clinic sent over."

"How did you get in?"

Mara jerked her red-gold head in Artoo's direction.

Luke coughed. "He did?"

The little droid rotated his head and let out a series of high-pitched warblings. Mara shrugged. "I was passing and there was a courier from a medical centre buzzing at your door and no answer. All I could hear was Artoo sounding more and more frantic. What kind of lock did you have on it? Don't answer that, probably some Jedi thing. I still know one or two Imperial tricks round here and with Artoo's help relieved the courier of the package and let myself into your apartment."

Luke swallowed the draft she gave him and sank back on the pillows. "I'll be fine in a day or so. I just need peace. I told you...."

"What you need, Skywalker, is to sleep. Leia will be in to check on you later." She brushed his fair hair back from his forehead with a surprisingly gentle hand and bent awkwardly to kiss him on the cheek.

Luke stared at her amazed at the unexpected contact. "Why?"

"You helped me many years ago. I guess it's my turn and I wanted to say I was sorry."

"It doesn't matter," he rasped.

"Yes it does. But you're in no shape to debate the issue. Now put yourself in a healing trance for a couple of hours and the Senator will come and force feed you your pills then."

"Mara! Will I see you before you leave."

"That depends on how quick you recover farmboy."

He chuckled hoarsely, then laid back his head on the pillow. "Oh by the way Jade...."

"Skywalker!" she threatened warningly.

"I only wanted to say that dress isn't good for my heart." He attempted an admiring whistle, but fell back on his pillows limply.

"Sleep Skywalker, or I may be tempted to dispatch you more permanently." She gazed at him her green eyes troubled as he finally gave in and slept. There wasn't any point in going back to the reception. Why Karrde even wanted her there in the first place was beyond her at this moment. Luke needed her and that was enough. She flicked open her comlink and spoke urgently. "Leia! It's Mara Jade. Your brother is sick. Oh don't worry," she put in testily at his twin's anxious squawkings at the other end. "It's a cold, but he's rather run down, so he's looking and feeling rough. Could you come and do the next feed?" Mara smiled to herself. Skywalker was no baby, but he acted like one when ill. Typical man.

She watched the sleeping Jedi for a while. He was quite handsome in his own way and regretfully she turned to go. Just as she did so her elbow caught a small vial of a golden glittering substance. Suddenly her heart missed a beat. Skywalker hadn't been taking spice had he? Then common sense reasserted itself. It was sand. Sand from Tatooine, his home planet. She itched at the thought and her strange dream of two nights past surfaced briefly in her mind.

It was a full three days later before Luke even felt like getting out of bed and a couple more before he even considered having a proper meal. As a result he was thinner than ever and trailed round his apartment listlessly. Leia had been every day to see him and on occasions brought the children, but Mara hadn't returned. Perhaps he had dreamt her, he'd certainly dreamed of her while he'd slept. The contents of those dreams left him faintly embarrassed - images of Mara in his arms and passion burning between them. They had felt so real, so disturbing. His hands trailing over her smooth supple body, hers pleasuring him and he'd awoken hard and unsatisfied. That dress had done strange things to his equilibrium. The silk had left nothing to his imagination, which had been vivid.

He thought about returning to Yavin, but his students there were to be his no longer. He wasn't a teacher. It hadn't come naturally to him and he'd had his fair share of disasters. There were others better qualified to do the job. Surprisingly, Luke hadn't realised he'd become rather good at what he'd had to do. For one so young and unlearned in the force he had set out to do what Ben and Yoda had commanded him. Luke had learned patience and he'd always been open and honest. He could be a little rough round the edges at times, but the students still preferred his classes to all the others. Something about Luke begged you to listen to him. There was vibrancy in the force when he was there and you believed things could happen.

Luke wasn't quite sure how Leia would take his decision. She'd been hinting about various things quite a lot lately, but they held no appeal for him so he'd tried to ignore her. Even at the twins' birthday celebration there had been politics and politicians at the dinner table. He supposed he had to tell her - she was his only sister. His force strong twin. So far only his first set of trainees still on Yavin knew, for they were to advance the training of the students to come. Kam Solusar was to be the nominal head of the Academy, with Jedi Tionne as chief administrator. Streen, Kyp and Cilgahl would also teach, although Cilgahl would eventually be returning to Mon Calamari to take up Jedi duties on her home planet. Luke himself had agreed to undertake a series of lectures, but not for at least another year. He needed to find himself and regroup in meditation and study. He grinned. How boring that sounded; but Luke knew it would be anything but and he was still eager to learn. He stopped grinning. Leia would be unhappy that he hadn't discussed it with her first, but she had burdens of her own and didn't need his added to hers.

"I need to take a different path and move on. I'll always be involved in training Jedi, but I just want to think through my proposals and formulate a lucid plan before I submit that to the Senate."

Where would he go? Leia was correct - he didn't enjoy Coruscant much. He'd been raised on a rimworld and lived most recently on a planet out on the rim, devoid of much of what civilisation considered necessary for survival and entertainment. I could go somewhere completely anonymous and have a holiday. He coughed a couple of times. Sith! He never usually held on to a cold this long.

A quick glance round his painfully neat apartment told him that he was ready to go. Then he threw a couple more things into his carryall. Perhaps he would take off and go where the force led him. Now that sounded appealing.

A flicker of something caught at his sense and he reached out with the force to discover its origin. It wasn't Leia. It was someone infinitely more disturbing - Mara Jade. He could feel her indecision as she stood outside his door, the turmoil within her churning her emotions.

"Stop dithering Jade," he commanded and slid the door open. They had begun.

"It was a more normally attired and recognisable girl that walked in and stood before him. This time, he studied her. The abundant red-gold hair braided neatly at the nape of her neck and the slim dancer's figure encased in one of her form fitting jump suits, covered with a dark green tunic. His old lightsaber hung at her waist. She looked back at him without saying anything, the green eyes for once open and direct.

"I've come to apologise for Yavin, Skywalker."

"You didn't need to," he returned emotionlessly, pushing the memory of the previous night's dream and the rather disturbing emotions she made him suddenly feel, as far back in his mind as he could.

"Yes I did. I said some hurtful things without thinking. I never was good at considering your feelings."

"Look Mara, I said things I'm not proud of either. You don't have the monopoly on a bad temper,"

"I do not.... have a bad temper." Her sense rose then fell with her emotions. "I'm sorry Skywalker."

"You fall for it every time Jade."

She bristled silently.

"Mara, I'm sorry too. I can't remember what was said. I don't want to remember. What I regret is the distance we've let happen between us. We were good comrades once, you and I." Luke gestured to the seat beside him and Mara sat awkwardly down. He reached out and grasped her hand. "I want our friendship back. It might not be the same as before, but I've missed you and I want to have whatever friendship you grant me." He gazed earnestly into her face, which she tried to turn away from him. Lifting his hand he caught her under the chin and pinned her eyes to his with an intent look. "I'm planning to change some things in my life and I'm going to need all the friendship I can get. You're probably the person who can help me the most. But I have neglected you and for that I'm truly sorry."

Mara stared down at their linked hands, her red gold head bowed. Raising her head she glanced back into his clear blue eyes and stopped, swallowing at his gaze. Something about the way he was looking at her was somehow different. She blinked and firmly concentrated on what she had to say. "I, too, didn't realise how the quarrel had affected us, or how long it was since we'd last been together. I'm sorry I didn't respect your feelings about Callista."

Luke's gaze shuttered silently as if he didn't want Mara picking up on his emotions. He didn't want to make a fool of himself again, especially with her.

"She was a noble Jedi once and I cannot myself envision life without the force but, Luke, she wasn't right for you and the desperate search when she left pulled you apart. She didn't love you enough in the end and I couldn't bear to see you...."

Luke nodded. "I know."

Mara stared at him surprised. "You know?"

"Yes."

Taking his courage in both hands he put his arms round her and embraced her, kissing her on the cheek. Mara took a sharp indrawn breath as electricity coursed through her, just from the simple touch of his lips briefly against her skin. Luke had never been particularly tactile towards her - she didn't allow it. But here she was and he was holding her hand, embracing her and then giving her that gauche salute on the cheek. Something sparked in his blue eyes. Mara then glanced down at his attire. Gone was the Jedi tunic and robes; instead, he was in his flight suit.

"You're going back to Yavin. Are you well enough?"

"No and yes. I don't know where I'm going, but I have the shuttle, Artoo and my X-Wing. I'll go where the force wills it."

"But... But..." she stuttered. "You're running away, giving up the Academy?" Genuine shock swept across her face.

"No, no," he soothed gently, his hands warm on her shoulders. "I'm taking a sabbatical of sorts. They don't need me on Yavin. I wasn't cut out to be a teacher forever - now there are enough who are."

"But you're their figurehead, their inspiration, their hope for the future."

"I shouldn't be Mara. I'm an ordinary man - you've said so often enough. What if I died tomorrow, huh?"

"But Luke!"

"Mara," the firmness in his voice told her he was serious. "I need a break. When I find a place I'll let you know where I am and if I'm needed I can be contacted there. I've some personal training I need to work on. You never stop learning about the force and all it's mysteries."

"You've cut down on your use of the force, haven't you?"

He smiled. "I have it when I need it. I'm working on something and I've ideas about other things. I need to choose a new path. Leia wants to nudge me in a direction I've no wish to go in. I'm not cut out for politics. "

"No Skywalker, I can't see you there. Too tactless."

"Still my biggest fan, eh Jade? What I'd really like to do is find a nice girl and settle down, but I'm beginning to think that's impossible. They don't seem to want to stay around." He favoured Mara with his first real smile and she blinked.

"Luke, I am sorry about what happened between us on Yavin."

"Ssh, it's ok." He stood up pulling her with him, his arms falling naturally around her waist. "I'm sorry too, but we've wasted enough time on past errors. We have to go forward, not continue to dwell on the past. I've said I'll contact you and I will. You know I don't say things I don't mean. When I said I wasn't cut out to be a teacher, I meant on Yavin at the Academy. I would like to do what Yoda did for me and possibly help out with the occasional New Republic mission if they need a Jedi on board." He pulled Mara towards him; her nearness was beginning to affect him. They stood nose to nose staring into each other's eyes. "I should have made you stay on Yavin with me the last time," he gritted. "You have so much potential within the force. Mara Jade, you could be a very powerful Jedi." He took a deep breath. "I would like to complete your training."

She stared at him speechless.

"If you could wait until I've found somewhere to go, then you could join me there to complete your training." He rushed on a little nervously. "It could be secret and private, whatever you want, but you would have completion and everything that would mean. Could Karrde spare you for a time - could it be arranged?" He looked at her with the earnest unsure expression, which used to annoy her and Mara opened and shut her mouth without uttering a sound. "You don't have to be the traditional sort of Jedi. The Jedi should fit in with all types of people and existences. Corran hasn't given up on Rogue Squadron and you could still work with Karrde, nothing has to change that. But you would have all the skills you may need and I think something within you wants that very much."

Mara swallowed nervously, her emotions in a tangle. Luke was offering to teach her again, but this time she would fulfil her potential within the force. She would complete what had started ten years ago. She looked up into his face and found it was closer than expected. His arms still clasped her loosely round the waist. A hot tide of embarrassment ran over her fine features, but she couldn't look away. Something pulled them together. Luke felt his breathing quicken as he gazed into the lovely face of the girl in his arms. The girl who had shared his adventures and haunted his dreams for the past ten years. Oh yes, his dreams. What would happen if he leant in a little closer - touched his lips to hers. Would she...? Mara felt her own heartbeat alter and her lips parted, their breathing loud in the silent apartment. Luke's arms tightened, pulling her towards him and Mara raised hers to encircle his neck. It was just a hug, she told herself - a forgiving embrace between friends. Then Luke dipped his head and brushed his lips lightly across hers.

"Goodbye Mara Jade, till we meet again and many thanks for your nursing care."

"It was nothing, Skywalker," she whispered and closed her eyes. Finally, inevitably, his lips covered hers properly. Luke crushed her into his hard body - their lips parted and his tongue caressed hers. All he could think about was the feel of her, the taste of her kiss on his lips and Mara relished their connection through the force. His hands trailed over her body, touching, caressing, wanting; but they had run out of time. Reluctantly they drew apart and gazed warily at each other.

"What are we doing?" Mara asked incredulously.

Luke swallowed and allowed a shaky grin to emerge. "Now Jade, even though I am the Jedi Master and you don't think of me as a normal man, I would say that it was pretty obvious what we were doing." He turned serious again. "I knew I was being drawn here for a reason and I was right. It was you."

"Luke!"

"But I still have to go." He turned away and gazed silently out of the window. "I don't want to, but I have to and I don't know why." He swivelled to face Mara and blue eyes met sparkling green. Closing together once more Luke caught her in his arms and kissed her fiercely, passionately and Mara had to realise later, possessively.

She subsided onto the repulsor couch and watched as he threw items into a carryall. Then with an intent look at the girl on the couch and at the lightsaber attached at her waist, he left and Mara was alone.

New Republic Administration Block

"Master Skywalker is still on Coruscant - good."

The figure turned to the vid-screen and listened intently.

"What do you mean you haven't put the proposition to him. Do so. I'm sure you can persuade him it's a necessary direction for him to take. He upset quite a few council members with his last speech. No, I understand, but it would make things easier and allay the fears. We wouldn't have to put restrictions on the Jedi and believe me we will take steps if he gets out of control."

Luke Skywalker's Coruscant Apartment

Leia arrived half an hour later, trailing her two oldest children. Mara was secretly glad the Princess had left her youngest son, Anakin, at home. His blue eyes reminded you uncannily of his uncle's and he had the trick of looking through you into your soul. Mara shivered suddenly. How could an eight-year-old child do that to you? The force only knew, but he did. There is more Skywalker in him than Solo.

Leia was at first surprised to see the silent Mara Jade sitting alone in her brother's deserted apartment. Mara held out the message cube, but said nothing.

Leia looked at the strained expression on Mara's face. "Luke's gone," she stated without activating the message stored within.

Mara nodded. "Yes."

Leia motioned the children forward; putting her arms around them as their faces fell. Mara smiled sadly. It was obvious that Jacen and Jaina adored their uncle. Mara stretched out a tentative hand and clasped Jacen's shoulder. "You'll see him soon."

"How do you know?" he demanded with a scowl reminiscent of his father's.

"I just know," she answered. When Mara searched her own feelings, she knew that was what she felt deep inside. Jacen would see his beloved Uncle soon. The boy looked searchingly at her then took his sister's hand.

"You have the force too," Jaina whispered solemnly. "Is Uncle Luke in trouble?"

Mara closed her eyes then gave Leia a speaking look above the children's heads. Although she was upset at her brother's disappearance a flicker of what might be amusement crossed her features. "You obviously know your Uncle Luke well kids, but he's not in trouble yet."

"Not that we know, anyway," put in Leia smoothly. "But we'll see him on Yavin."

"But Mama!"

"Leia!"

"Tell her, Trader Jade," insisted Jaina. "Uncle Luke's not gone to Yavin."

"Your daughter's right. Luke's not gone to Yavin. In fact he's not sure where he's going." How had the child known?

"Dagobah?" Leia whispered and something which resembled irritation crossed the serene features.

"I don't know," answered Mara.

Jacen grabbed hold of Mara's hand, much to her consternation. "Mistress Mara, you'll find him and look after him won't you? He's depending on you to."

Mara shook her head; she was completely bemused with these children. Leia gathered the twins into her arms. "How do you know?"

"We just do," they answered in unison.

Leia made a face at Mara then sent them to play in another room, so the adults could talk in peace. "Mind you, I don't know if privacy is ever completely guaranteed with my children around. They have Han's inquisitiveness."

"Surely Leia, it could be termed your quest for knowledge or Skywalker's nosiness."

"Perhaps."

Mara sensed a shift in Leia's emotions. "What's wrong?"

"Why did he tell you and not his family? Why did he have to go now."

The woman was actually hurt; Mara couldn't quite believe it and stifled the feelings of disquiet she felt at being classed as a stranger. Mara knew she meant more to Luke than that.

"He only told me because I was here. He was standing in his flight suit holding a large carryall -hardly the actions of a man staying around. So being reasonably intelligent I hazarded a guess that he might be leaving and he can't lie convincingly to me. And," she stretched out the last word her voice rising irritably. "He knows it, so he 'fessed up."

"All right Mara I'm sorry. You made up your quarrel then." Leia murmured and was surprised to see Mara's face flush ever so slightly.

The blush deepened. "You could say that." she answered.

Leia stood up to go and at once the twins returned to her side. "I only care about his well-being, but I wish he had trusted me enough to discuss it with me."

"I don't think his intention was to hurt you. Luke's not like that. He wants to make his own decision and it is his to make. If it helps any Leia, you were right. The old Luke is back. He just needs a fraction more time, without the responsibility. Before he realises it, he'll miss what he had previously and will be back, worse than ever."

Leia smiled and extended her hand. "Mara, if you find out where he is could you keep in touch and let me know. I won't interfere, but I need to know that he is safe." She grinned wickedly, suddenly looking like her brother. "Usual terms."

Mara laughed lightly. "Sure. I did put a tracker in his baggage."

"You didn't!"

"I did," she chuckled. "Karrde says 'information is power,' and having an accident prone Jedi Master running round the galaxy does not give me restful sleep. Han's getting too old to pull him out of trouble again."

"I agree with you there, but don't tell my husband I said so."

Mara was finally left alone when the Solo family departed. Luke had left just in time to avoid his sister. She wandered through Luke's empty apartment her mind twisting itself into knots. "Why didn't those women stay with Skywalker if he kisses like that?" Her lips tingled at the memory. Reaching out with the force she searched for him, checking to see if he'd left the system.

"Luke, are you still on Coruscant?"

"Yes," the answer came back. "I'm on the Jade's Fire."

"What!"

"I thought you might want to see me safely off the planet."

"My ship?"

"It's comfortable while I'm waiting for you. Took your time."

She sensed his amusement. "Wait till I get there Jedi."

"Mm hm."

Spirit of the Shifting Sand - Chapter Two

Leia deactivated the cube and looked dumbly at Han.

"I can't say I didn't warn you, sweetheart. Luke doesn't want to be a political figurehead."

"But the Academy is his life, Han. He's turning his back on it and I can't let him do that." Leia paced the length of the room with quick determined strides. "I won't."

"No Leia, the force is his life, followed by his family and then the New Republic. Although I wonder if his family comes first, nonetheless. He's done so much to protect us all. We need to give him the space." Han watched as his strong willed wife struggled to get her feelings under control. She turned to face him and spread her hands wide in a gesture of resignation.

"I guess so. He's done what he was entrusted to do by Yoda and Ben." She sighed softly.

"Yup. He has and will continue to do so. Luke will never stop training Jedi and looking for force strong individuals. He still wants to save all the galaxy - you know that."

"Sometimes I think you know him better than I do and that's without the force." A slight tinge of something crossed the pretty face. Han wondered if it was a hint of jealousy. Despite the closeness of his wife and her twin, Han and Luke had bonded closer than brothers and sometimes, in some things, the two held similar views on life.

"Jedi Tionne is not particularly force strong, but is a good administrator and will keep the others in line. Streen and Solusar have good heads on them and Kyp has that little bit of extra energy. Luke has chosen his staff well."

"Han!" His wife's stare turned penetrating. It was the look that had cowed leaders of nations into stupefied silence. "How do you know so much about this?"

"Ah, well, sweetheart." He shifted uneasily in his seat. He didn't like Leia's 'Former Chief of State' glare.

"I stopped off at Yavin not that long ago and Luke and I sat up all night talking. He hadn't made any decisions, but talked through a lot of the ideas formulating in the Skywalker brain. He's your brother Leia and he'll be fine. Can you imagine the real Luke moldering away forever? He has to be out there in the thick of things."

"I know Han, it's just... I don't want to see have any more pain in his life. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." She sat beside him and put her head on Han's shoulder. "And you."

"Hey.... He'll be fine. He's left instructions for you regarding our little trip."

"Our little trip?" Leia questioned suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Kam and Tionne are expecting the whole Solo family on an all action adventure holiday to...." He paused dramatically. "Yavin IV."

"Nerf." She snuggled back into his arms, then sat up abruptly. "But the Senate, the New Republic!"

"Have agreed to you having a short leave of absence to complete your Jedi training." With a flourish Han produced another data-cube.

"Give the kid a chance to be himself for a while. He needs a break and so do you. So we're going to Yavin. Kam, Kyp and Tionne are expecting us. Yes.... the children too."

"But the Senate, the New Republic...?"

"Will agree to you taking a short leave of absence. Now stop sounding like a malfunctioning data disc."

"Oh Han," was all that Leia could utter helplessly. She picked up the cube and activated it.

"Leia!"

The shimmering, translucent figure of Luke Skywalker stood before her in his Jedi robes, blue eyes serious and normally tousled hair neatly combed.

"I hope I haven't hurt you too much with my decision. I'm not running out on you or the Academy - I just want to find my own path again. For the past few years I've been following the road set out for me by others. It's time for me to make my own way. The Academy is in good hands. Kyp, Kam and the others will be far better instructors than I ever could be."

Leia wondered if Luke had any idea of how good he was at 'passing on what he had learned'. He had learned patience and wisdom despite his years and could be a natural in the Senate. Leia wanted her brother to join her there.

"I will return, whether it is to Coruscant or to Yavin, but I shall be with you all. I'm going to search for more Jedi. Perhaps do some training and research of my own." He seemed to look into the distance. "And dearest Leia I have a potential student to train, one who is as powerful in her way as we are in ours."

"Mara," guessed Han as he paused the holo.

Leia nodded. It made a certain kind of sense. Mara Jade would not fit in with the trainees on Yavin, nor would she want to. She was too knowing, too cynical and was unique among the Jedi community.

"That's why she looked so funny earlier on."

"Mara?"

"Uh huh. She looked as if she had just been trampled by a Ronto."

"That bad? Luke can have that effect on some people. I like Mara, but I'll be the first to admit I don't understand her. She really looked poleaxed?" His voice rose slightly in disbelief.

"I've never seen Mara so bewildered."

Han chuckled lightly and resumed playing the message cube. The figure of the young Jedi Master shimmered back into focus.

"I'll be in touch when I've found somewhere to go that feels right and I promise I will return. The Senate have agreed to you taking a leave of absence. May the force be with you."

He smiled serenely, blue eyes pleading forgiveness. Leia lifted her hand in return knowing that he couldn't see her.

"Take care" she sent swiftly through the force. "I love you."

"I know," he sent back. Then he was gone.

"Oh Han." She turned to her husband for comfort. "I feel as if he's turned into a refugee again, looking for somewhere which feels right."

"Leia. This is the guy who wandered into two Deathstars. Not one - two. He's gonna feel as if he's on holiday. No princesses to rescue, battle stations to blow up, clones and Grand Admirals to outwit. Why he'll be running back to us in no time bored with his own company. Desperate to sit in the senate meetings and mediate between the Bothans and every other race which manages to upset them."

"They're not that bad." Leia giggled.

"No? That's not what you were saying only yesterday if I recall." He waggled his eyebrows comically. "Mara Jade must be more appealing than the Senate. Jabba, frankly, was more appealing than the Senate. Luke has a home wherever we are - you know that."

Leia looked startled. "I wonder...."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"He's been at her to complete her training for years, but she's always resisted before."

"If she is the potential student and if she decides to go."

"Well I think you'll find that your brother has left nothing to chance concerning your training." He waved the data card temptingly just out of reach.

Leia smiled dryly. "I might have guessed."

"He's detailed you a complete study programme - supervised by Kam. Tionne has been researching information on Jedi who acted as mediators - politicians if you like. Luke senses that this is the path you are destined to follow. The one I suppose you have followed since Bail directed your thinking as a child."

"I like it already. Luke certainly has the right idea. Trying to match the person with their calling. You know we did speak of this, but I've been so busy lately. It's been one crisis after another. That's why I took a sabbatical from being Chief of State. Luke must have decided in his own way that it was time for me to finish what I started so long ago." She smiled at Han and he grinned back, his eyes lighting up warmly.

"These Jedi….," she shook her head and laughed.

"As for the exercise programme, that will be an activity for the whole Solo family." Han grimaced slightly.

"Exercise programme! Now I am impressed," Leia murmured, her tongue firmly lodged in her cheek. "I haven't seen you hauling your butt up an exercise rope recently."

Han wrinkled his forehead. "I didn't say we were going to enjoy it."

"Come on, Nerfherder. We can hone those famous reaction times along with your muscles for those 'seat of your pants' flying drills."

"Hey! I thought it was to be famous muscles." He looked faintly miffed. Leia pulled Han to her and kissed him. "Better go pack. Are we taking Threepio?"

Han groaned, then brightened. "The kids have to annoy somebody out there."

Leia laughed. She suddenly felt free.

Coruscant Spaceport

Mara walked casually towards the Jade's Fire. Her nerve ends tingled as she neared her beloved ship. He couldn't possibly have got aboard - could he? She eyed the craft with pride. There wasn't another ship in the galaxy like this one. Of course Luke had got aboard. This was the Jedi Master, not some snivelling farmboy from a backwater planet. She laughed mirthlessly to herself. Her bitterness over Luke had receded over the years and now she didn't know how she felt about him. He was a friend she decided. Yup, that's what he was. A friend. Then why was she feeling so nervous?

Mara brushed a wisp of a red-gold curl out of her eye and keyed in her entrance code. As expected Skywalker sat sleeping in her passenger area. He looked defenseless and younger as he slept. Igniting her saber she crept towards him only to find herself pinned against the bulkhead by a very alert Jedi, who held in his hand her deactivated lightsaber.

"You should never lower your guard, Jade. You know that," he murmured quietly in her ear before stepping backwards indicating with a gesture that she was free to go. But Mara knew that she wasn't free. Luke had already started his tutelage. With a snort of derision she called her saber to her hand and assumed a ready position.

"Good." Luke nodded approvingly.

"Why are you still here, Skywalker?"

"I'm waiting for your decision." He called his own saber to hand. Blue eyes locked with green. Green lightsaber matched with blue. They assumed combat position. Mara circled Luke warily at first, but then relaxed as she knew he wouldn't harm her. Mara lunged forward and there was a loud crack as the sabers met. Sparks flew lighting up the two intent faces.

"You must wield the lightsaber as if it is an extension of your own arm. It must truly become a part of you," Luke instructed gently.

Mara attacked with purpose. They circled each other. Blow and counterblow. Thrust and parry. Finally with a warm smile Luke stepped backwards and shut off the bright beam. Mara slid to the floor, her face flushed and her breathing laboured. The Jedi looked as if he'd hardly broken sweat.

"I thought I was in good shape," she panted.

Luke gave her trim frame a cursory once over. "You are," he retorted and then blushed. "But to be a Jedi you must rise to a different level entirely," Luke rushed on, his words tripping over themselves in order to change the subject.

Mara rose up on one elbow and surveyed Luke with interest. "I think you're running away."

"You do?"

"Mm hm. I do. Although I'm not sure from what."

"Perhaps from you?" he questioned a challenging tilt to his chin.

"No. You can't get away from me. I'm in your past and all your futures." Her green eyes changed, grew cloudy as if she saw something inside herself.

"Yoda told me once that 'always in motion was the future'."

"Perhaps," she responded simply. "We can still shape our own destinies." She sat up abruptly. "What on Bith am I spouting now?" She shook her head at herself in disgust. But Luke ignored her. He had caught the prophetic ring in her voice as she'd declared 'all your futures.' It was something to hold on to. ‘Can I handle a relationship with Mara?’ Luke asked himself.

Her voice echoed in his mind. "Can you, Skywalker? Can you?"

He glanced towards her and found her sparkling green gaze directed at him - a maliciously cheerful expression on her face.

"You didn't hide your thoughts," Mara said insouciantly. "Are you ready for a relationship with me Luke?" she taunted. "An adult relationship? You have to trust."

"As you do?"

Oh he was clever, the Jedi. He knew her weaknesses as she knew his.

"I trust you."

"But you didn't before." The hurt showed briefly on his face. "No, I guess you didn't."

"Luke...." She scrambled to her feet and clutched his arm anxiously. "It wasn't like that. It was just that.... I thought you might.... Oh Sithspawn," she swore. "You changed so much and I've had dealings with one Palpatine. I didn't want to...."

"I don't believe you, Jade." Luke tore his arm from her grasp and stalked over to gaze out of a viewport. His shoulders rose and fell with the effort of keeping his temper under control. Mara quailed inwardly. What had she said? He turned and glared at her.

"You thought I would become like Palpatine? How could you?" He ground out harshly. "It shows how little you know me." Mara saw the tremendous effort it took him to gain control - but he mastered it. She suddenly knew that he always would.

"Luke.... I...."

"Goodbye, Jade. I'd better go before the Son of Vader corrupts the Emperor's Hand." He picked up his carryall and made to leave the ship, but Mara reached the gangway before him and challenged him. The blue blade of her lightsaber - Vader's lightsaber - humming before him, Luke dropped his bag and ignited his own saber. The green blade hissed to life and met Mara's as they struck.

"You didn't tell me about Lando." Luke moved aggressively, his saber flying.

"You didn't ask," she parried smoothly.

They continued their duel, he attacking, she defending. Finally Luke had enough and with consummate ease he hooked Mara's saber from her grasp and sent it spinning to the other side of the ship. Mara subsided to the deck, her shoulders heaving with the effort.

Luke closed his eyes and counted to ten - no twenty. They always came to the same impasse. Why? He reached deep inside himself and within the force for calm and looked at the woman who sat silently watching him. There had never been so much emotion involved before.

"I thought I had. But I'm asking now."

"It was a cover for a job I had to do for Karrde. Honestly Luke, could you really see us together?" she bit out scornfully.

"No. Not really. But it was there in front of me."

"Didn't Obi Wan say that 'our eyes can deceive us’?"

Mara felt the relief wash over Luke in waves. He took a deep breath and the tension eased from his frame. He seemed to be jealous. She coloured as he caught her reading his mind. He hadn't masked his thoughts quickly enough.

"Jealous!" His voice cracked and he coughed. "I still have a touch of that cold."

"Stop trying to change the subject, Skywalker."

She walked closer to him and noted with interest as his face flushed a little just before he resumed his habitual Jedi calm. She would swear on the Emperor’s bones that he was embarrassed.

Mara reached out with her force sense to gauge his reactions as she idly ran a finger over his chest. "I wondered.... why didn't all your women stay with you if you kiss like.... like...." she stopped as what she had been about to say flooded through her flustered mind.

Luke cocked his head to one side as amusement began to seep through his discomfiture. He stepped closer still to the red haired, green-eyed trader. "If I kiss like what.... this?” His head lowered and it was as it had been in his apartment. Her arms wound round his neck and his circled her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

"I can't be doing this with you," Mara gasped. But Luke brought her mouth back to his and kissed her again, his mouth hot against her smooth skin. The force swirled between them and they were aware of each other as they had been of no other. Not even with Leia could Luke say that he'd communicated so deeply through the force and she was his twin. Eventually they drew apart, breathing heavily. Mara looked down at her clothing. The Jedi Master had managed to haul off half of her tunic and she was displaying far more of her curves than she normally did.

"I've seen you in less, Mara. Some of your formal dresses." His eyes gleamed wickedly as he recalled black silk. "That one you had on when you came to nurse me back to health."

"That's different, Skywalker," she snapped. "The black dress is not revealing."

Luke shrugged and tried to untangle his own tunic, which her questing fingers had nearly removed. Pulling it off he twisted it into order again not noticing that Mara was staring at him, her mouth dry. She'd not seen him without a shirt recently. Her hand reached out involuntarily and gently caressed him. Luke closed his eyes.

"Ah Mara, that feels so good."

He sighed and relaxed as Mara traced his body carefully. The Jedi trained body as well as mind and on Luke, without his shirt, it was obvious. Mara didn't think that the general populace saw what lay beneath the flowing robes. Her hand drifted to his belt and hesitated. Luke's eyes snapped open.

"Perhaps not, Jade," he remarked ruefully and a little regretfully.

"No?" She smiled.

"No. It's not the time or the place."

"It's not a normal feeling for us either."

"I'm not so sure, Jade. But we shouldn't. I'm going to teach you and tomorrow you'll probably be hating me again. We've been dancing round each other for ten years now. Surely we can take time to figure out what is happening to our emotions and not make mistakes. I do know one thing though."

"What is that?" she enquired tentatively, amazed at the disappointment she felt at his words.

"I need you in my life."

Relief flowed through Mara. "I guess I'll have to put up with that then," she smiled thankfully. Mara Jade was changing in ways that she hadn't begun to comprehend. "I've never hated you Luke - not really. In the beginning you were just a name. Someone Palpatine considered to be a minor threat, to be got rid of without fuss. You were a rebel, a traitor. Then you assumed greater importance when it was discovered Vader had a son. When Palpatine's lies did make me hate you I still couldn't kill you and I had ample opportunity to do so."

"I know." Luke pulled her into his arms and she rested her red-gold head on his bare shoulder. He turned her face up to his again and regarded it thoughtfully. "When did you become so beautiful, or did I never see what was in front of me?" He unconsciously echoed his words from earlier when he'd enquired about Lando. Mara was unsure whether she was supposed to hear his words or not. She felt uncomfortable at hearing him talk in that manner.

"We just have to take our time. We've kissed and made up after a rather nasty quarrel. I don't want to lose your friendship again which means that I'm uncertain about starting a new type of relationship. It may not be right and I couldn't bear to lose you too."

Mara pulled sharply away from his comforting hold. "A new type of relationship!" She huffed irritably. "Who says I want one with you anyway?"

"Why are you still in my arms then? And why did you return my kiss so willingly?"

"I did not," she grouched. "Typical Jedi defective reasoning."

"Mara!" Luke took hold of her chin and tried to get her to meet his blue gaze. She had the grace to look a little ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry, Luke." She wrapped her arms around him again and pulled him to a seat. Mara faced him and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes

"You've had a difficult time recently. But you always try and solve things the hard way. Never give up on relationships or people. One thing I always admired about you was the way you embraced every living thing and wanted to save them. It also annoyed the hell out of me," she added a touch darkly. "You were so damn idealistic and I suppose I thought it was a weakness. But seeing you all closed up made me realise it was part of your strength. Luke - you're healing now. If you can't move forward you might as well give up and become one with the force." Now it was the Jedi's turn to grimace at her words.

"Let's see how we go. Look at us." Mara slumped back in her chair. "I don't open up to people easily and here I am babbling on at you. If you want to avoid danger Skywalker, you're in the wrong profession and I'm definitely the wrong girl." She leant forward, her hands sketching shapes in the air.

"Luke. You can't avoid it. In fact you actively seek it or it seeks you. Whether you mean to or not."

"Thanks Jade."

"Now go and put on that tunic," she scolded. "Remember you've been ill. Leia was right - you have been overdoing it."

Luke's sense grew momentarily frosty. "You've been discussing me with Leia?"

"She's your sister and strange though it may seem, she's concerned about you. We all were."

"Excuse me." He stood up. "I can take care of myself."

"Luke! Will you calm down and stop behaving like a spoilt child. She loves you."

"And what was your excuse?" he enquired nastily.

Mara raised her eyes skywards. "I thought I was your friend. Give me strength. I don't think any girl would want a relationship with you. Temperamental...., moody..., Jedi.... Oh, Go and jump in the Sarlacc!"

The last word was hurled in Luke's direction like a proton torpedo.

"Thanks Jade. I never knew you cared." He bellowed back at her and turned abruptly towards the door. There he had to stop and rest as a hacking cough erupted from his throat.

Mara rushed for water, all enmity forgotten and pounded him solidly on the back.

"Hey! Ouch," he coughed.

"Skywalker, should you be out of bed?"

"Mara, I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

She took a few paces away from him. "Ok farmboy - have it your own way. You know where to leave."

Neither Luke nor Mara budged. They stood glaring at each other until Luke's shoulders slumped and he rubbed a weary hand over his forehead. Mara returned immediately to his side.

"I'm sorry, but you do bring out the worst in me."

"Ditto."

"Luke you can't do it all, so don't even try. Should you be flying out tonight?"

"I have to Mara. Don't ask me why because I don't know."

"Ok. I'll trust you on this. But I want you to report to me when you find a place to go. I need to know you're all right." Mara had a fairly good idea where he would go. There were a couple of places he might head towards - as long as it wasn't Chad. He could stilll be predictable at times, but she didn't want to let him have all the sabacc cards programmed in his favour. Luke felt her questing force sense try to read what he was thinking. With a sense of heading off into the unknown Luke welcomed her into part of his mind and taught her how to retrieve some images. It was easier showing Mara how he'd felt when they'd quarreled than putting it into words.

"I'm so sorry Luke, I hadn't realised." She spoke in his mind, the words as clear as if she'd shouted them.

He smiled gratefully at her and she tossed him his tunic which he pulled in a haphazard fashion over his head. Mara smoothed his rumpled hair and involuntarily they moved together for a final kiss, which turned into a series of kisses.

"Now go, Skywalker, and may the force be with you."

"Hey Jade! I guess I have your decision."

"I guess you have."

Mara dreamed again that night. But it wasn't about sand obscured planets. It was on one of the grains of sand that had left the world. A man with laughing blue eyes wielding a shining sword. This man didn't have the weight of his heritage heavy on his shoulders. Restless she moved uneasily in her sleep. No. She couldn't love this man, whatever she felt about him now. He was too dangerous and he'd ruined her life once before. He could do it again.

Mara awoke in the morning as if she'd drunk far too much, even though she hadn't touched a drop. Her head ached and the startlingly beautiful green eyes were cloudy with pain.

"That's what I get for consorting with the Jedi," she remarked fractiously and winced as the sound rebounded against her throbbing head. "Where's Skywalker and his self-healing when you need him?"

The com beeped. Mara cursed petulantly. "Sith, I don't need him."

"Mara - Talon Karrde here. I'll be docked in ten minutes. Hangar Bay 48. I need to see you - now."

She frowned. Talon hadn't sounded any different but she felt his unrest as clearly as if he'd shouted it out loud. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

Grabbing something to ease the pain in her head she dressed quickly, then pulled on a dark forest green cloak, drawing the hood over her bright hair. The Jade's Fire was a well enough known ship, but Mara didn't want to advertise her presence too openly. Nor would Karrde want her to. She would have been rather disconcerted to find out that in her mode of dress she echoed those she had long debated in joining.

Karrde watched as the hooded figure approached the ship. By all the Ysalamiri on Myrkyr - it was Skywalker! Then his common sense reasserted itself. The figure was shorter and the walk was more feminine. Not the rangy stride of a Tatooine farmer or the measured pace of a Jedi Master. It was Mara. The door slid open and the hooded figure raised her head. Karrde found himself looking into the green eyes of his second in command.

Mara didn't realise the significance of her clothing, but Karrde did. The form fitting jump-suit in her favourite green was topped by a short overtunic which was belted and came to mid-thigh. The tiny blaster, he knew, would be in its usual wrist holster and the lightsaber hung prominently at her waist. With the black polished boots and covered by the cloak, it was almost identical to the outfit the Jedi Master had worn for years. Hers was green - Luke usually wore black.

"You took your time," Karrde said in his precise clipped tone.

Mara raised a surly eyebrow. "I just woke up."

"I take it you saw him." It was not a question.

"Saw who?" She asked brusquely.

"The one person in the galaxy you've been avoiding, at my count, for the past year."

Mara grimaced inwardly. Karrde was far too shrewd to be fobbed off for long. The trick was to keep your reactions hidden. Karrde could spot a minute flicker of an eyelash and would have you telling all in seconds and if he wanted to know - he would find out. She had no idea how hee did it. Chances were he knew already, but he did like these little games to keep you mentally on your toes.

She shrugged and raised an arched brow, daring him to say anything more. But Karrde was smarter than that and headed towards his office.

Karrde adjusted the brown leather waistcoat he wore and seated himself behind his carved greel wood desk.

"We have problems," he muttered. Mara's danger sense reared its head again. Reaching out with her largely untutored force skills, she again felt his unease and his general disquiet.

"Something's wrong."

"Yes."

"Skywalker...."

A brief sardonic grin twisted itself over his features. "So.... you did see him." He stretched out a calming hand as she half rose from her chair. "He's fine - last I heard. But he only left here last night and we don't know where he was headed."

A flicker of resignation flashed over her face, but being Mara she continued to play dumb.

"I'm sorry?" she queried frostily.

"Come now, Mara. You're probably keeping tabs on him too. How else would you have avoided him so successfully over the past year? When did you see him?"

"Sith! Persistent aren't you?"

"I'll find out anyway. This just saves me a little time."

"What's wrong, Karrde? Stop playing these games. I can see through them as easily as a sheet of transparisteel. What's happened - what are you hiding? Tell me, Karrde."

Mara knew sure as the spice on Kessel that something was hideously wrong. Karrde's teasing held a false note. Something cold settled in her gut.

Karrde's pale blue eyes went even paler if it was possible and he surged to his feet. "We've a meeting set up in the boardroom - come on." He stopped, took a deep breath and continued in an undertone. Mara had to strain to hear him.

"The entire crew of one of our freighters was butchered seven days ago. They left a single survivor and he was so badly beaten he can barely speak."

"What!"

Mara's face whitened and her expression turned grim. "It's a message of sorts. One life to tell the tale. The survivor can let us know the deal for the next time. What has he said?"

"Nothing so far. I've had him brought here. Dankin went to Piroket to pick him up."

She pulled the hood over her bright hair and followed the smuggler chief to the Wild Karrde's boardroom. A collection of Karrde's closest and most trusted associates were present. Mara blinked in surprise. Ghent, the naive computer genius sat in a corner attached to a terminal. Aves sat with Suz Faughan and Dankin, the pilot, with a frail older man of mixed human and alien descent.

Dankin raised steely grey eyes and gave Mara one of those 'this isn't going to be pleasant’ looks. She swallowed, her throat dry, but took her place behind her boss and waited.

"Aves crossed to the older man and clapped him reassuringly on the back. "This is Calas Hinden, the pilot of the Prada Predator."

The pilot lifted watery blue eyes and then lowered them without meeting the gaze of a single person in the room. "I was...." he whispered.

Karrde leaned forward in his chair. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Hinden shuffled his feet nervously, his eyes glued to the table. "I don't know if I can."

The little mottled spikes on his temples stood up and he trembled. "We were on a usual supply run in the Arkanis Sector when the ship was attacked and boarded." He rubbed a shaky hand over his face. Mara felt the agony as Hinden's pain and anguish hit her. This was a down side of being strong in the force.

"I can't remember much more but....but....the blood. It was so red and there was so much and the cries of my comrades..." He put his head into his hands and wept. They killed them in....in.... fro......."

They all jumped as he started to scream.

Mara's voice cut through the noise. "Get him out of here. What were you thinking about? He's not ready to deliver his story. He's still in shock."

Dankin administered a sedative to the older man and two of Karrde's crewers carried him to the Wild Karrde's sickbay.

Karrde's face had gone grey. Mara's was white, her green eyes glittering with suppressed fury. No one touched their people. No one.

"Aves - Report!" she barked.

"What we have pieced together from what Hinden has managed to tell us is that the ship was attacked, the cargo stolen and the crew killed in front of him. They tortured and beat him until he was nearly dead himself then dropped him off on Piroket. He was found lying unconscious in a back alley. The ship was apparently destroyed. Pieces of it were found floating not far from Ryloth."

"Five good men were slaughtered for no apparent reason." Karrde gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles white. "They will pay for what they have done."

"That's all very well chief," retorted Dankin. "But we have no idea who 'they' are."

"I could find out," said Mara moving towards Aves. "I could try and access some of his memories. It might help him. He can't see past the block in his mind - he's too traumatised. It wouldn't be good for him to dredge up this. It's too dangerous. Luke...." She cleared her throat. "Skywalker has been teaching me how to retrieve images from the mind. If Hinden is willing, I'll do what I can."

"What he is - is unconscious," muttered Aves. "He needs proper medical help."

"I can do it," she entreated her colleagues. "I used to do similar things when I worked for the empire and Luke showed me. I'm not as strong as Skywalker is but let me try. No, let me 'do', there is no try."

Karrde ground his teeth. "That's not what he needs right now. Dankin - get on to our nearest medical facility."

"But Karrde...."

"No Mara it's too dangerous."

"It is not. I won't harm him I promise. I can ease some of his pain while we wait to get him to a proper medical facility

"He spent time in a bacta tank on Piroket." said Dankin

"It's not Bacta he needs right now. It's ease of mind. You cannot rest when the images torture your brain. When the sights and sounds filling your head press into your skull and oppress your very soul. All you do is die inside." The words emerged low and bitter.

The slicer, Ghent, fidgeted in his chair.

"What is it, Ghent?"

"That place where they fixed you. When you had your neural reconstruction done. Could it help him?"

Mara gave the slicer an angry look.

"Well we are on Coruscant and they sorted you out pretty well."

She scowled. It was not a time she cared to be reminded about.

Karrde stood up decisively. "Good idea, Ghent. Get me Organa-Solo before she leaves for Yavin. Mara...." He sighed heavily. "Ok. Go and see what you can find out from Hinden. He's a good man and I want the best for him. I owe that much to my people. I won't be long. Don't start until I get there. Just see if you can give him a little peace, and us a little information."

Mara moved cautiously towards the unconscious pilot. Even sedated and confined to the bed, he muttered and shook. She surveyed his form and took in the curious mottled spikes just forming at his temple. A combination of human, fayrian and possibly something else, she guessed. The Fayrians made for good pilots. Still keeping a wary eye on the sleeping man Mara edged nearer. "I can do this," she urged herself. "I'm ready to do this."

"You ready Mara?" Karrde strode into the room and nodded in the direction of the resident medic on board the Wild Karrde. Mara took a deep breath and picked up Hinden's hand. Reaching out with her feelings, just as Luke had taught her, she entered Hinden's mind. All at once, an avalanche of memories, sounds and images assailed her. She nearly lost contact, so terrible were the sights and sounds in her brain. "No!" she screamed. "No! Please," Mara's voice begged. "We've done no harm." It was her voice, but the words were Hinden's.

Karrde shot to his feet. "Mara, snap out of it." He glanced towards the medic who was looking tense. Dankin eye's had been fixed on the joined hands of his two associates. Hinden’s grip on Mara's hand was so tight that it was possible bones might break.

"Leave them alone. They've done nothing. Can't you see that? No-o-o-o!.....Uhgh!" With what looked like a phantom drop kick to the jaw Mara dropped in a senseless heap to the medicentre floor.

"She's out cold!" Dankin exclaimed.

Karrde bent over the unconscious figure of the girl and checked her pulse. "It's ok," he remarked quietly. "She's coming round. Whoa! Careful, Jade. You took a bit of a knock there." He put his arm around Mara and with Dankin's help pulled her to a sitting position.

Mara shuddered and allowed herself for once to be helped. She felt as if she'd just gone ten rounds with a trandoshan, and her hand.... Ouch! She glanced at the unfortunate appendage and found to her horror that it was crushed and bruised.

"It's ok, Jade," Karrde soothed again. "I'll see you and Dankin in my office as soon as Medic Elegin is finished with you."

Karrde sat with his hands folded in front of him, while Aves paced up and down. "Will you cease this wandering."

"Sorry."

"I didn't think that I could be compromising Mara's well-being over this."

"She did offer, Karrde."

"I know, but her studies with Skywalker have been sketchy at best and as far as I know this never happened to him. I shouldn't have let her do it. She's not a Jedi yet."

The door chimed and Dankin entered.

"Where's Mara?"

"Putting Hinden into a healing trance and trying to remove some of the worst memories from his mind."

"What!" Aves exploded.

"She says she knows what she's doing and will be all right this time. Now she's aware what she's dealing with."

Karrde relaxed, but a muscle twitched in his jaw. "If she thinks that, then it is as she says."

The door chimed and Mara entered, still pale, but the fire had returned to her green eyes. With her customary grace she stalked in and sat down. "Will you stop staring at me like that?" she demanded. "I'm fine and Hinden is sleeping."

Aves turned his head irritably and stared through the viewport

"We've had no such incidents of this kind since Jabba the Hutt reigned supreme from his stronghold," stated Karrde.

"The Arkanis Sector is way out on the rim isn't it?" asked Mara. "And I mean way out."

"It's an important hyperspace route and very comfortable for us smuggling types." Aves shuffled his feet and coughed. "Can you tell us any more?"

"I can tell you little more. The images were so jumbled and full of terror I'm not sure whether I caught everything clearly. I should have gone to.... long ago." She looked up. "If you'll let me?"

"Go on," Karrde motioned, his face impassive as Mara fell silent, her head bowed.

Mara took a deep breath. "Hinden was piloting the ship along the Perlemion Trade route. They'd just picked up a cargo of valuables from Esseles." She raised her eyebrows at Karrde who supplied smoothly, "Components for a new hyperdrive system. The Esselians are way ahead of everyone in hypernautic technology. Someone owed me a favour."

"They continued on to Brentaal where they stopped for refueling and supplies. They were making for the Pii system, to pick up a load of greel wood when an unidentified ship attacked and disabled the Prada Predator. They were caught in a tractor beam and boarded." Mara swallowed. "This is where it gets difficult. In Hinden's mind this is just a chaotic blur, but from what we already know I've tried to make sense of it. They were relieved of their cargo and then attacked. The crew resisted, but were outnumbered and slaughtered. They.... They... held Hinden down and forced him to watch, then when the rest of the crew were dead they beat him to a pulp. The next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed in Piroket's main spaceport. He discharged himself and contacted Dankin. He was too frightened to stay where he was. His injuries haven't healed properly because he didn't spend enough time in a Bacta tank and the scars in his mind.... I did what I could, but these might never heal."

Her head bowed again, hands shaking slightly, Mara missed the grim looks exchanged by the three men.

"What about the identity of the attackers?" Aves asked.

Mara looked up at Karrde and shook her head. "Again it's not clear because they were masked, but there were two Twileki. They cannot disguise their Lekku after all. A couple of humanoids and what might be a Devaronian and a Weequay."

Karrde twitched. By the force, it was as if Jabba the Hutt were still alive. A Weequay!

"Go and rest Mara, I'll speak to you later. We have to find out what's happened. Aves," he spoke briskly to cover his unease. "See that the families of the crew are covered and prepare the ship to leave for the Outer Rim territories. We'll pick up the new hyperdrive ourselves. Make sure, Dankin, that all our weapons systems are operational. The expected ones and the unexpected." He sighed. He didn't like this at all.

"Mara!" Karrde put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She hadn't moved. "You know I can't send you to Skywalker just now. In the light of what happened I wish I could. After we find out what happened here and who's responsible I promise to let you go."

"It's ok, Karrde. Luke will understand."

So it was 'Luke' was it? Karrde wondered and not for the first time, what it was between these two that drew them together and yet kept them apart.

"Unless...." Karrde mused aloud. "You could get Luke to help us. We've helped him in the past, perhaps he could help us."

"I don't know where he is. Not yet. That's why I was going to Dagobah."

"Dagobah?" Karrde uttered, bewildered. Where the hell was that? He'd been around the galaxy and back a few times and he'd never heard of it.

"It was the logical choice if I'm to find Luke, I mean, Skywalker. That's where he trained. It's not on any star chart. No, Karrde - this is more important just now. I'll make plans to go and skirt around the Arkanis Sector." She stood up and turned to go, but something teased the back of her mind. There was something vital just hovering out of reach. Sith! What was it? She switched on her comlink. "Ghent. I need you to give me a run down of the planets and trade routes in the Arkanis sector." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Call it a Jedi hunch if you like, but something there will give us the answer."

Karrde came to a decision. "I'll get in contact with Mazzic and the others to see if they've had similar problems. Now, Jade, go and rest and that's an order. Give your hand time to heal. You'll need it if you are to wield that lightsaber properly."

He watched as she finally agreed to do as he asked and wearily moved to the door of the office, her shoulders slumped. Turning back towards her employer she opened her mouth to say something, but Karrde cut her off. "If Ghent turns up anything, I'll let you know." Mara nodded, exhaustion etched on her fine features and left.

Karrde contacted Leia who was horrified to hear of the attack on the Prada Predator and gladly cleared the way for Calas Hinden to receive treatment in the Imperial Palace Medicentre. She also agreed to send warnings out to all New Republic ships travelling the busy hyperspace routes out in the far reaches of space.

"You'll understand this is an unofficial warning Leia, since I cannot be seen to be aiding the New Republic against my own interests."

"I understand." Leia's disembodied voice echoed over the link.

"I considered this to be too important to leave to chance. Whoever it is will start on legitimate shipping next. My smuggling operations have been scaled down of late I assure you. I have few ships engaged in such covert activity - I deal more in information. But to me, it sounds as if Jabba the Hutt has been reincarnated."

The only other sound at the other end of the secure frequency channel Karrde had employed to the Millennium Falcon was a sharply indrawn breath.

"Leia, someone is using his methods. I've been in contact with Mazzic and Clyngunn and they have also suffered losses, but not as brutal as the murder of the Prada's crew. Yet."

“What about Calas?" Han's voice asked. "I used to know him well in the old days. He's a fine pilot."

"Mara thinks he'll never recover properly from the trauma. She's seen the inside of his head."

Leia's voice came back on. "Keep me informed. I'll give you a priority link to me on Yavin"

"Will do. Oh and by the way, you don't know Luke's whereabouts do you?"

There was a startled silence. "No I don't," Leia said slowly. "Doesn't Mara?"

"No. I think she's a little anxious. She was going to go and train with him, but I need her to investigate what's happening. She's still one of the best at these undercover operations. I'm not sure what kind of arrangement they came to, but she wants to let him know about the delay."

"Luke will know." Leia's voice sounded strong and sure.

"I hope so. Mara will be leaving in two days."

"If she's heading to the Outer Rim, there's a New Republic training facility on Pii 3 and 4. Kayson will let her use it. I'll send clearance codes to the Jade's Fire."

"Thank you, Leia. Karrde out."

The door burst open. Karrde glanced up coolly a hint of annoyance fading away. "I thought I told you to rest, Mara."

"I've just remembered something else. It may be important, it may not. "

"Well?"

"The lead Twilek had purple eyes."

"Purple eyes eh!"

"Yes Karrde. Don't just repeat what I'm telling you. Does it ring any bells?"

"You know something, Jade, it just might. It just might. But please stop overriding my door controls. I may just shoot you one of these days."

"Do you think you're that quick Karrde?"

"There's life in the old smuggler yet."

"Hah!" she snorted disdainfully.

Karrde tossed her a datapad from the top of the desk. "This is from Ghent. The information you required on the Arkanis Sector. I'm surprised that you actually needed this information. You used to spend quite a lot of time out on the Rim."

Mara's face stiffened. The colour seeped away and left her even whiter than she had been earlier. She wasn't normally so obtuse. "Why didn't I think of that place? I've been there. Closing my mind to the inevitable won't make it go away. This is all starting to make some weird kind of sense and I've got an awfully bad feeling...."

"Mara," Karrde's voice broke into her angry self-denigration. "The last time you were in the Arkanis Sector was when you went to kill Luke, wasn't it?"

She slumped to her knees on the floor and sighed. "I never learn, do I? My greatest failure and I just ignore one of the most important hyperspace route's going. Something tells me that we will find out what we want to know on…. on.... Tatooine."

"Why do you think that Mara?"

"Jedi hunch?" she screwed up her eyes and tried to see inwards to touch the force she knew was so strong within her. "After I failed my master, I swore I'd never return and now it looks as if I'm going to have to.

"I've got the Wild Karrde prepped and ready. The Jade's Fire is being prepared as we speak. I've arranged for you to head to a New Republic base on Pii 3. Merson Kaysen Jr. is expecting you. He'll see the Jade's Fire weapons are in order. I'll meet you on Tatooine in fourteen standard days. It will take several days in hyperspace to just reach the edge of the sector."

"I know," she groused. You had already thought about Tatooine, Karrde, hadn't you?" Mara asked curiously. "When I was mentally kicking myself about being so moronic, you'd already worked it out - without the benefit of a Jedi hunch."

"It was what was said earlier. This incident was almost as if Jabba the Hutt was still alive. It has Hutt prints all over it. But the Hutts moved out of Tatooine a long time ago. Only Jabba liked it there."

"A former associate of the Hutt?"

"That's my guess, Mara; someone who was totally familiar with his ways. I've already got Ghent and the others tracking down the whereabouts of his former employees."

"It doesn't make sense." She wrinkled her forehead. "Most of Jabba's cronies were killed. I was there. I saw who went on that desert skiff and I saw who returned. It wasn't many, but it's so long ago. Why would someone wait all this time?"

"There must have been some sort of power struggle."

"There was, I think, but I left as soon as I could. I had to go to my Master and confess my failure. He knew anyway. So I left the planet and I've never returned. I had other things to do and places to go."

Karrde leaned back in his chair thinking heavily. "Lady Valarian," he said thoughtfully.

"The ugliest Whiphid I've ever seen and most of them have been ugly." Mara sniped nastily.

"She took over many of Jabba's business interests. The rest went to his father."

"Did he take them up?"

"I'll have to check. I'm sure the palace was abandoned the last time Luke and Han visited. Apart from the B'Omarr monks, that is. Much of it had fallen into disrepair."

Mara shivered suddenly. "Someone just crawled on my grave. The B'Omarr were there when I worked for Jabba as a dancer, but the scum Jabba ruled at the palace had driven them deep into layers underground. They ventured up occasionally. They study to gain a state of total enlightenment, using thought alone and when they do...." She shuddered again. "They dispose of their bodies."

Karrde shuddered in sympathy. "I know. I've seen their brains walking around in some sort of mechanical spider. Remind me never to become too enlightened. I like my brain where it is."

Mara smiled tiredly.

"According to Ghent - some of Jabba's financial accounts are still in good working order."

"What?"

"They are continuing to prosper, despite the death of Jabba. But they've been added to and worked on recently. We know it cannot be Jabba."

"So we are looking for a former associate."

"I think so. All the clues are there, but not the key to the puzzle."

"I'll find it." Mara declared. "Then...." She moaned softly. "I'll have to go to Tatooine." The memory of the Emperor's anger at her failure still had the power to haunt her. But Luke's earnest gaze surfaced in her mind and the terrible yellow eyes faded.

Karrde watched with interest as Mara drifted away in some memory.

"Mara!" He called quietly. "Mara."

She came to with a start. "Sorry, Karrde. I was thinking about my last sojourn on Tatooine."

"You're to go to Pii 3 first, for supplies. Leia Organa-Solo has sent clearance codes to the ‘Fire'."

"Speaking of enlightenment," Karrde referred back to the earlier part of their conversation. "What will you do when you complete the training?"

"I don't know if I want to."

"Luke said that you did," remarked Karrde.

The silence in the room turned chilly. A sense of absolute mortification swept over Mara and she raised stricken eyes and fiery cheeks towards him.

"I'll kill him," she vowed.

Karrde raised a supercilious eyebrow. "I thought you'd gone beyond wanting to kill him to a nice mature friendship."

Her lashes quivered and fell over smooth burning cheeks. Had she understood the little dig on the current state of their relationship?

"Don't push it, Karrde," she growled.

"What else can I do, Mara? I said I'd send you to him if I could."

"So it was a set up. The two of you in collusion."

"No." He shrugged casually. "Luke had the idea that you wouldn't want to see him, that he wouldn't be a welcome sight in your green eyes. I asked what you'd fought about this time."

Mara turned her head away. She couldn't face Karrde on this. Luke and her - it was too personal. Mara Jade kept things like that to herself; in fact, she kept them from herself. The emotions closest to her heart she kept from her mind as well.

Karrde continued softly, every word clear, his calm voice louder than any shout. "Luke is a complex man, but I surprised him that night and he's not an easy man to read. Where you are concerned he says very little but he reacts. If you know where to look for it, even the Jedi show little mannerisms. I'm a good judge of character and I know how to read people - part of what makes me a good businessman. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he fed me a load of nonsense. If you want my honest opinion, Mara Jade, the man missed you and was actually hurt that I'd turned up instead of you."

"Oh."

"I said I'd send you, then it was up to you. Did you want to see him?" Karrde asked gently as if he knew that this unusually vulnerable Mara couldn't take much more. She'd had a difficult couple of days.

"I.… I suppose I did." She looked down at the lightsaber attached to her waist. Luke's saber - the one he'd given her as a promise.

"Did he ask to see me?"

"No. He didn't have to. I knew. Call it the old smuggler's hunch if you like. I said I'd send you and he nodded."

"That's all!" Her voice rose in disbelief. "But how can this be. He didn't want to talk to me when our paths crossed. A Jedi Master that runs away!"

"He has a healthy dose of self preservation Jade. All I can say is - it must have been some argument." He got to his feet and moved round the desk to sit on its edge. He knew better than to offer a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't pretend to understand the Jedi. I just accept that they exist and around them, things will happen. You and Skywalker haven't proved me wrong yet."

"What did he say?"

"Luke said 'she wants to complete her training, she always has'."

To himself Karrde added the second part of Luke's words. "And you'll have to let her go. You know it and she knows it."

Mara buried her head in her hands. Luke had known. He'd known before she had herself. Maybe he'd always been aware that deep down inside her very core Mara craved the completeness in the force that Palpatine had ultimately denied her - Jedi to Jedi, the link in the force nurturing, teaching and healing her inner pain. She turned bewildered green eyes towards Karrde's elegant figure. Mara was breaking up inside and she'd always been strong. Palpatine had seen to it that she was as tough as durasteel but even durasteel has a melting point.

Karrde cleared his throat briskly. "Go and rest, Jade. Take time to think. You have two days before you leave. The Jade's Fire will be equipped for the journey. I'd like you to spend the time on the Wild Karrde in the Medibay, just in case your mental activities have any repercussions."

He pressed his com. "Croy. Escort Mara Jade to the medibay." He picked up his datapad, then smiled at his second in command. "I'll speak with you tomorrow." It was a dismissal.

Tatooine

The sands blew around the cloaked figure. Sands as old as time, ceaselessly shifting, never changing but ever changing. The figure enjoyed the sensation of the tiny grit particles as they stung his body. Still he continued to walk, the dunes parted and he walked and walked. The power of enlightenment, that was his and soon he would have it all. Soon.

Pii System

The sunlight streamed through the trees. Little patches of light waved and danced - dappled kaleidoscopes of shifting colours. Strange brightly coloured birds cried and sang above the canopy of greens and reds but below all was peaceful.

The blue eyed man closed his eyes and smiled sleepily. He lay hidden in a hollow in the shelter of the beautiful crimson wooded trees. Small prisms of light crossed his face and he smiled once more. Opening his eyes he focused his concentration and the rainbows assumed form in the air. They became birds, animals, even faces of people he knew and loved before they disappeared. This was the everlasting forest and truly he felt at one with nature and the force. These trees had been here for an eternity. He yawned and settled down to doze. The tree trunks stretched into the infinite sky. He'd found a temporary sanctuary here for a few days and no one would give him away. He was among friends. He closed his eyes again and slept.

Coruscant Spaceport

Preparations aboard the Wilde Karrde continued late into the night. Talon Karrde moved quietly into the medibay. "How is she?" he questioned the Medic quietly.

"Finally asleep, Sir." He indicated to the bed in the corner where Mara lay curled into a foetal position, her red-gold hair tumbling free over the pillow. Karrde sighed. Luke was right. Her force sensitivity was growing in strength and like others of her kind she needed to seek out someone to teach and mould her in the true path of a Jedi knight.

When Karrde had first met Mara he had known that she was special. Her uncanny abilities had originally made him suspicious until he'd realised it was something beyond her control. Then Luke Skywalker had landed in their laps and Mara had reacted to him with a hatred so strong it had defied explanation. Mara's reaction to Skywalker had always been extreme, but she roused something too in the placid Jedi that had simmered dangerously over the years.

At their last meeting Luke had been concerned about Mara. He'd felt the sudden increase in her abilities through the force, while Karrde had found her tense and restless. He knew she wasn't sleeping properly and in the last week she'd been oddly quiet, with such a strange look in her eyes.

Emotionally she hadn't been ready to deal with Hinden's pain. Now she was having to deal with some of her own. Mara was finding out as Luke had that you could never unlearn what you knew. Karrde left the medicentre and made for his own quarters. They had two days to prepare and then they would find the slashaks that had murdered his people. At that point, he would let her go. Luke was right. Mara needed Skywalker like the desert needed water, but he had a hunch that there was more between them than just the force.

Mara gradually relaxed into sleep. It had been a long time before the shivering had stopped. Reaching into herself once more she had yearned for her inner core and found calm. Mara Jade the Emperor's hand had to deal with this or Mara the Jedi would be a complete non-starter. She shifted and dreamed.

The trees were tall and sunlight streamed through casting dancing patterns on the ground. Mara stood up and walked between the tall trunks. The sunlight shone on her red-gold head turning it to living fire. It was alive. For the first time in ages she felt happiness flow over her and she turned to find a blue eyed man watching her.

"You're in my dream."

"Maybe. But you're also in mine."

He came towards her and placed his hands on her temple, smoothing an errant lock of shining hair as he did so. "This will take away some of the pain."

"How did you know?"

"We are connected, you and I, by something very strong."

"The force," she whispered.

"Yes."

"You did the right thing, Mara. You put away your fear and you took Calas Hinden's pain to relieve him. He'll survive thanks to you. Now let's deal with you. Be strong Mara because you are." His callused hands stroked her hair and the tension eased. Then he kissed her forehead and returned to sit beneath one of the tall redwoods.

"Where can I find you?"

"I'm here just now. But I won't always be."

"Where is 'here'."

Her only answer was a soft chuckle as the vision, for it could only have been that, faded from view. She awoke, blinking. "Luke...."

But she was alone.

"Luke...." She meant to be annoyed. "Sithspit. Where are you? I need you." But it came out sounding slightly desperate. Gradually she fell back into slumber and this time her rest was dreamless - the healing power of sleep.

In the solitude of the forest the blue-eyed man resumed his own slumbers and his, too, were dreamless.

Chapter 3

Three weeks later - Tatooine

Mos Eisley, on the surface was unchanged. It was dirty, gritty and dangerous, especially in the hours when the twin suns descended into oblivion. Luke had never been a frequent visitor to the sun-baked sand blasted den of scum and villainy. It wasn't the kind of place his folks had business in, particularly when Owen and Beru had Luke to think of. He'd been there with Obi Wan, but they'd not ventured far. A tourist’s guide to the city had not been one of their chief concerns at the time.

It was time he got to know it a little better, but he would wait until it got dark. Luke smiled with a mixture of pleasure and pain. Ben had taken him here in their attempt to escape the Imperial forces. So many points of reference in his life came back to Tatooine - back to this world.

He'd grown up here - taken his first faltering steps towards manhood. Born and bred in a bantha patch. That's what the natives said of each other. He pulled his cloak further around his body. He'd forgotten how cold it could get at night. He'd left his world, the only life he'd ever known and his family. The picture of the charred remains of Beru and Owen Lars would never leave him. He didn't want it to. It was part of what made him what he was. He'd eventually come back when they'd lost Han - he'd had to. He owed it to him for all the times he'd saved Luke's skin. He also owed Leia big time. She had always been the shining light in his universe, even though his love for her had changed. She'd belonged to Han after Bespin.

That had been a dark time in his life. All the things he'd believed in had come crashing about his ears. Who he was, what he was and why. His hand, his innocence and his identity had all been lost.

Luke had always felt that it was his fault. Han might never have been taken unless Vader hadn't wanted Luke so badly, although Leia maintained that Han would have hit rock bottom without them. He'd been heading that way fast when Ben and Luke had hired him. They had redeemed him in a way. But deep down Luke had remained unconvinced until Han had taken him aside the night before his wedding.

The two of them had been sitting up late in Han's quarters nursing measures of Corellian brandy.

"Meeting you and the old man changed my life, kid," Han remarked softly. "And I don't regret any of it."

Luke lifted his chin abruptly.

"No!" Han cut off his words before he'd spoken. He gently swirled the drink in his glass. "I would be dead otherwise. My fabled luck had run out. I was going downhill fast. There would have been another disaster and Jabba would have finally run out of patience." He raised the glass and swallowed, letting the rich dark liquid trickle down his throat. Sharing confidences was always better with a good brandy, although Han was the only one doing any sharing. Luke was as closed in as he ever was.

"Ah, forget the guilt, kid. A few months in carbonite - a holiday." Han felt his emotions swell and unaccustomed tears formed in his eyes. He blinked rapidly. There was no way his future brother-in-law would see him cry on the eve of his wedding.

"Meeting you on Tatooine was the key to my future. That Sandball, in the end, gave me a reason to keep fighting, a family and the greatest of all - Leia. And for that I will always be in your debt." He snorted in disgust at himself. "I've drunk too much. Corellian brandy, even if it is in a Tatooine crystal glass, will be my undoing." Han grinned stupidly. "Wedding present."

Luke raised his eyebrows and watched Han. He sat lost in contemplation of his life to be. Something lightened in Luke's soul. It was still his fault, but he knew now that Han didn't blame him for any of it. All part of their glorious lifetime adventure. Luke picked up his glass to swallow the last of the brandy. Shock turned his features still. The glass in his hand no longer held the famous Corellian spirit, but instead a fine powdery substance. It was sand - Tatooine sand. Then in the blink of an eye the liquid sloshed awkwardly in his suddenly shaky grip.

Mos Eisley, Tatooine

Mos Eisley was the opening to the strange, fabulous desert world of Tatooine. Luke had made his peace with it long ago when they'd saved Han from Jabba. He had come to know that it would always be his home - no matter where he was or what he was doing. This time he would establish himself a small base where he could return when he needed to know whom he finally was. Ben had given him his own small home on the edge of the Dune Sea. Luke hadn't been there since the search for a solution to Callista's lack of the force and it had fallen largely into disrepair. He glanced at his black gloved hands. They were strong and capable farmer's hands. They were the hands of a fighter. He would rebuild his new home on Tatooine. The honest manual toil would cleanse him and ready him for whatever came ahead. The Jedi trained mind and body in their quest to know the force.

Luke suddenly became aware of his surroundings. Darkness had fallen while Luke had been dreaming. It must be something about Tatooine. He'd been such a dreamer when he'd been younger. Uncle Owen had often shaken his head in despair over his nephew's head in the clouds attitude. He chuckled silently to himself. "Luke head-in-the-clouds Skywalker. That was me all right."

People and things brushed past him in the dark. The city had come alive. This was no place for him to be. There were still too many members of the underworld floating about and although Luke was not as active publicly as he once was, there were still remnants of the Imperial Empire or the occasional crime lord with a desire for vengeance. Luke could still look after himself, but after his short bout of illness he knew he wasn't completely recovered and needed a few early nights. The medical droid had been quite insistent on a holiday. Luke had almost laughed. Him - a holiday. He'd never had one of those in his life and couldn't see himself on a resort world lying on a beach. So he'd decided to go home. Not even Leia knew where he was. Though she would probably guess eventually. The only person who would know would be Mara. Thinking of her gave him a funny tingling sensation. She would have gotten his little clue round about now if his courier had done his work.

Melting back into the shadows he watched a small detachment of stormtroopers march past. He knew they were clones by the buzzing sensation he felt as they passed. The Empire still had access to such technology, but it was beginning to break down. Things had come to an impasse. The Empire had a very shaky hold on Tatooine. Stretching out with the force he felt the fear and unrest in the air. It wasn't palpable, but something unpleasant just simmered slowly out of sight. Luke carefully released the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Something felt wrong here and he hadn't much time to work out what it was. The Empire's control on Tatooine was shaky but someone else's hold was getting stronger every day.

Luke had left his X-wing in an anonymous lockup. The beauty of Tatooine was in its individual landing bays. No one knew who came in or out. With a fake transponder code your anonymity was assured. The bay Luke was using had belonged to Biggs Darklighter. His family had been wealthy enough to own several and this one had belonged solely to Biggs. For some reason Huff Darklighter hadn't sold this one. Luke gazed at the X-wing in the gloom. He would move it out tomorrow.

Leaving the landing bay he quickened his steps, suddenly anxious to be out of these dark, sinister twisting alleyways. The night pressed in upon his consciousness and he turned in the direction of one of the many underground hotels.

The bored female at the desk hadn't looked too closely at the hooded man as he'd requested a room. She'd been too busy glued to a holodrama on the vision screen.

"Name?"

Luke's mind went blank. Name?

"Uh.... um... oh.... It's Luke S.... It's Luke S."

He made up his mind quickly. "The name's Lukas."

"What?" The female ran a vacant gaze over him.

Something he'd said earlier came to him. "Yeah, the name's Lukas. Lukas Cloudrunner." He smiled.

The female hadn't batted an eyelid and he handed over his credit chip.

Kicking off his boots he lay on the bed and idly poked his big toe through a hole in his sock. By the force he was tired. He wasn't home yet but he could feel it calling to him. Then Mara would come if she weren't already on her way. He'd come to the conclusion that just because you're a Jedi Master it didn't mean that you did everything correctly and in his case Luke knew that to be true. Why on earth when faced with the most beautiful woman in his galaxy had Luke run in the opposite direction? "And she is beautiful...." he murmured sleepily. Their destinies were intricately interwoven. They both knew it yet they resisted. This time he would give her the completeness she had always craved - as she would him. Then he forgot about the Jedi, his task and the force and contemplated the fire in her green eyes and the way her mouth felt under his. He shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Smiling at a memory, he relaxed into sleep.

Pii 3

Mara sat in a dimly lit booth in the pilot's recreation room in the small spaceport on Pii 3. Opposite her sat the 'official representative' from the New Republic. Or in the Arkanis sector he might still be termed a rebel. It was a wonder the Empire hadn't moved in on Pii 3 and 4 long ago. Someone or something must have had enough clout to keep them out, or perhaps they underestimated its use to the Alliance. By now it was doubtful if the Empire had the military strength to do anything anyway. Not in this sector - not anymore. She assessed her companion thoughtfully.

It was unclear the exact species of the being in front of her. Pale orange eyes squinted from beneath thick leathery eyelids. There was a reptilian look to his skin, yet he breathed and functioned like a human.

"I am Cawdor. I have the pleasure - yes? Of being your contact."

Mara smiled dryly. "Jade," she announced herself gruffly. "The pleasure. No? Is all mine." She inclined her head.

"I have heard much of you over the years."

Mara's keen gaze sharpened. "Then you have the advantage."

The verbal fencing continued carefully for a matter of minutes until Mara tired of it. She concentrated her force sense on him, but discerned nothing but genuineness. "Cawdor - I'm here for information."

"I know - but as of this moment in the history of us all, I can tell you little. I'm sorry. The best advice I can give you, Jade, is to listen to what is happening around you here. This is a private planet. The spacers are here to collect cargo - nothing else. There are no gaming tables, no sabacc games. They are here, ordinary men and women to do their jobs. This is only a simple relaxation lounge. No one here has an agenda. If there is trouble they are told to leave. Perhaps some are smugglers, but in this place that is not an issue."

Mara widened her sweep of the room and focused on the many small groups of drably dressed spacers. This small cantina wasn't a den of thieves like you'd find in Ord Mantell or Mos Eisley, but there was just something.

Mara smiled serenely. "Him?" she questioned pointing towards a heavy set man in scarred battle fatigues "Him?" she fixed her gaze on an innocuous looking man in a shapeless gray tunic. "Or…." Her eyes widened as she glanced round to focus on....

"All right, all right. We have some operatives here. I should have guessed you would recognise a trained...." He took a swig at his drink. " You have been cleared by the Preybirds Mate."

"You mean Organa Solo, I take it?" she lifted inquiring brows. "I do know about the training facilities on Pii 4."

"Look, girl!"

Mara bristled, but remained silent. If there was one thing she hated it was being referred to as 'girl'.

"How long have you been a New Republic Operative? What have you been told? Surely you must sense that something is going on here. They're fearful of someone or something and it takes a lot to scare some of these guys."

Mara narrowed her eyes.

"I can feel it." She opened herself once more to the force and the feelings - the emotions - pressed in towards her. Then something he'd said penetrated her trance.

Snapping green eyes impaled the watchful limpid orange gaze of the humanoid. "What do you mean 'New Republic Operative'?" she hissed.

A wry smile twisted its way across the leathery features. "Why else would you be here, Jade? You've been cleared by the very top." He jerked his head in the direction of the third man in the room she'd noticed previously.

"Perhaps they're here to keep an eye on me," she mused aloud.

"Possibly, Jade, but they keep an eye on everything. You, for example, know of the training bases. Therefore, you must also be good at keeping an eye on things."

"Yes, I've been there."

"Strange, I don't remember you."

Mara's face hardened. "Perhaps not. I was different then. I've changed. Much have I learned and much still to learn." ‘Sith!’ she swore softly to herself. ‘I'm sounding like Luke's Jedi Master. The green one.’

"Maybe. To have been working with contacts such as yours you would have to be adaptable. But even so, I would have thought I'd have recognised you. Another thing," he shrewdly appraised her. "You talk like the Jedi and most of them are long gone from this world."

Mara went absolutely still. Her heartbeat hammering almost in her throat. Her mouth dry and her hands damp with perspiration. Clearing her throat Mara managed a careless laugh and leant towards Cawdor.

"Tell me what you know."

"The general consensus is that someone has resurrected Jabba the Hutt, only more vicious."

It was as they'd feared. Recovering quickly Mara nodded to confirm her own findings. "That I can attest to," she muttered thinking of the Prada Predator's pilot.

Cawdor shushed a wary finger across his lips as a tall human in combat fatigues handed him a data pad.

"Thank you, Tipperty. Yes."

Cawdor's eyes widened and a puzzled look crossed his face. He passed the pad to Mara.

"You've been cleared by the New Republic hierarchy in duplicate. You must be important to them. They have never done this before to my knowledge."

"The White Bird bids the Fire's Hand welcome." Mara read aloud. She knew it had something to do with herself. "The White Bird?"

"Princess Leia of Alderaan."

"Oh!"

"I had clearance about you coming over two weeks ago."

"But.... but.... I didn't know I was coming until a week ago." Suddenly uneasy about this, Mara shifted closer to the table. "Who is the Preybirds Mate?"

Cawdor gave Mara a direct stare. One that plainly said 'who do you think you're fooling?' Digging into one of the pockets on his mottled red and green tunic he handed her a package. "He said to give you this."

She took it and watched as Cawdor rose to his feet, bowed and left her alone. Carefully she unwrapped the object. Inside the wrapping lay a small glass vial of shimmering golden....sand.

"Skywalker!"

Mos Eisley, Tatooine

Luke sat up rubbing the sand from his eyes. The artificial light harsh against the white walls of his hotel room was too bright. Luke reached over and pressed the switch for the air-conditioning. With an audible clunk it noisily started to work.

"Oh boy, I knew I switched it off for a reason. It was too noisy and too cold. Now I'm too hot." The light gleamed off his smoothly muscled chest. Reaching for his robe he pulled out the small holocube of his family and said a small hello to each one. They wouldn't hear it, of course. They were too far away and he was on his own, but it made him feel better. Leia, Han and the children smiled up at him from the holos. Frozen moments in time. The grainy holo of Beru and Owen had them standing just inside the courtyard of their farm near Anchorhead. Beru looked small and vulnerable somehow and Owen looked large and............vulnerable. Something in his eyes told of an ever-present dread. 'Strange', Luke thought, 'I never realised that before.'

Wandering to the refresher he entered the shower and let his tensions wash away making plans in his head. ‘Must stop for supplies, move the X-Wing to Ben's house. Then I can rebuild.’

Luke was good with his hands and would do the manual labour on his own. No help from the force. Just Luke Skywalker, the man. Or Lukas Cloudrunner. Whichever was needed at the time.

"Skywalker!"

Luke quickly created barriers in his mind. He felt the irritation and the frustration across the miles. She had been given his message. Mara would join him soon.

Three days later Luke reached his new home on the very edge of the Western Dune Sea. It looked worse than he remembered and he remembered it being pretty bad. "I should have come home long ago, Artoo." The little droid whistled mournfully.

"Ben left this place to me. I couldn't go anywhere else. I just couldn't." He shook his head to banish the lingering feeling of unease. "Come on," he nodded at the little droid. "Let's see what's salvageable about this place after we set up camp. It's not good to be out during the hottest part of the day."

For the next few days Luke toiled in hot suns and freezing starry nights until he had a place to rest his weary head. It wasn't luxurious, but at least it was some form of protection from Tatooine's hostile environment. He'd been so tired that he'd fallen asleep at the table, head resting on his forearms, his uneaten meal congealing by his side. Artoo rolled over beside him and beeped gently, but the Jedi didn't stir. He slept on, his newly tanned face covered in dust and sand particles. Honest, manual toil brought it's own rewards. Luke slept on in his uncomfortable position and enjoyed the first dream free rest for a long time.

Artoo rotated his little domed head and whirred indecisively. Cautiously he extended his little mechanical arm and zapped the somnolent Jedi with a weak electrical charge.

"Sith!!" Luke came to, lurching from his position. "Artoo!" he complained. "What was that for?"

A series of whistled and beeps interjected firmly into the cross mutterings of a partially awakened man.

"You just woke me up from a really good sleep.... No.... No dreams. Not even a flicker.

Artoo jiggled on his wheels fussing.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry Artoo. All right, I would have been stiff in the morning. First thing tomorrow we'll go into Anchorhead for supplies. I need something to sleep on. Perhaps the table wasn't the best idea. Yes, and I didn't eat my dinner. I wasn't hungry anyway."

Nothing stirred. The dunes piled against the sandstone buildings almost burying them. The endless desert rolled ceaselessly over the planet broken only by sheer cliffs and rocky valleys. No hint of green was visible in this arid world and yet the settlers managed somehow to eke out an existence. High overhead the twin suns reached their zenith - baking any life from the scattered pile of buildings known as Anchorhead.

A strange wind sprang up from somewhere, but all it did was rearrange the sand particles in other patterns against the faded walls.

Tosche Station - Anchorhead

Camie peered round the doorway into a haze of blowing sand. "Anni! Marn!" No answers greeted her. "Anni!" Her voice rose becoming one with the moaning wind. She squinted warily into the swirling motes.

"Aw! Gravel maggots!" she swore as a speck of grit jumped painfully into her eye. Blinking furiously to clear the tears she thought she saw two small shapes detach themselves from a hooded figure and hurtle towards the dwelling. When her eye cleared all she saw was her two children running out of the storm.

"Where's your father?" she demanded irritably as her daughter bolted for shelter. "And who was that?"

The little girl pulled the protective scarf she wore away from her mouth and eyes and beamed into her mother's face.

"He has the bluest eyes ever, Mama. Like the sky."

"Who has?" Camie asked bewildered.

"Him.... Oh!.... He's gone."

Camie sighed frustratedly. "Come on. Inside - supper's ready."

She peered worriedly outside again. "Fixer.... Fixer!" The sand rose and fell, swirled, twisted, curled and surged, dancing merrily in front of her reddened eyes.

"Fixer!" she shouted. Where was the lazy.… But the only sound was the wind and the sand and the strange howling of the bantha herd far out in the dune wilderness.

"Marn!" Camie caught hold of her son. "Go get your father. I'm sick and tired of waiting for him." She watched as her son ran off, her mouth thinning bitterly as she turned to go back inside. "He promised me a better life than this." Her shoulders slumped. She wasn't being fair and she knew it. "I could be a better wife to him. I should be more supportive. It's not all his fault. But we're being bled dry. We all are."

Marn raced past her into the house, a cloth wound turban-like around his head and a pair of protective goggles covering his eyes. He looked like a small droid. A small grease covered droid she amended with a small smile.

"Go and clean up, Marn. You've been in the workshop again. Haven't you?"

"Aw Mum," the boy moaned.

Camie pulled the turban off his head and stared down at him mock sternly. "Marn Windrider!" she threatened.

"Oh all right," he grumbled, then, his face anxious, "You won't tell papa will you?"

"What do you think? Papa's got a lot to think about just now," she chided. "Now, son. Go and clean up.... And take off those goggles."

Marn took to his heels and raced to the 'fresher.

Camie grinned involuntarily. It lit up her tired face and made you see why she'd once been the most sought after girl in Anchorhead. Before the troubles had started.

None of them had smiled much of late.

New Republic Base - Pii 3

The solitary girl jogged steadily on the running machine. Red-gold hair caught into a ponytail bobbed behind her straight back. Damp strands of copper curled onto her neck and over her flushed cheek. It had been unusually warm on Pii3 but the figure dressed in the gray cropped top and leggings seemed unaware of the general discomfort. A ribbon of sweat snaked its way down her taut torso. Mara Jade kept working with nary an expression on her beautiful face. The repetitive exercise left her mind free to wander. She'd gleaned some bits of information from the spacers in the rec room - more than enough to confirm her feelings of unease. It all pointed to Tatooine.

An hour later she switched off the machine and draped a towel around her neck. Wiping down her sweaty face she made her way slowly to the door. By the Emperor's bones, she was tired. The constant upgrading of her fitness had left her drained and she had fallen dead to the world into her bunk on the ship each night. A frown crossed her forehead. Mara suddenly sensed the presence of several people beyond the door of the gym. They were waiting for her.

Tatooine - Anchorhead

"Mama!"

Marn sidled into the dining room keeping his hands firmly inside his tunic pockets. Camie closed her eyes briefly. That boy had an aversion to cleaning solution.

"I saw the Twilek today. He was here in Anchorhead."

Her work roughened hands clenched into fists, but she said nothing.

"Did you hear me, Mama? I saw the Twilek."

"I heard you, Marn. Did he hurt you? Did you speak to him? Was that who I saw you talking to earlier?"

"Mama, you're hurting me."

Camie looked down to find her hands gripping her son's bony shoulders.

"Sorry, Marn," she released him gently and patted him to show she hadn't meant it.

"He didn't see us, Mama. I don't like him."

Anni crept in behind her older brother - her little face anxious. "The Twilek," she whimpered. The other children in the settlement had been telling her stories and the Twilek had grown to terrifying proportions in her imagination. He frightened the wits out of her with his funny coloured eyes and jagged teeth. Other species didn't upset her, but this one did.

"He's mean," she said. "But I liked the man with the eyes."

Marn nodded vigorously. "A stranger, Mama. Wanted to know if HiCar Wildstorm still ran the station."

Camie blinked in shock. HiCar hadn't owned the station in.... say, ten years. He'd retired to some resort planet after selling the place to Fixer.

"He wanted supplies so I told him to go to Huffs' store."

Camie nodded mechanically, then looked up. "Supplies?"

"Yeah. He said he had a place not far from here, but it needed tidying up a bit."

Camie pursed her mouth thoughtfully. Something hovered at the edge of her tongue, but the children, bored with the conversation, had decided to quarrel. It was only when the children had gone to bed and Fixer had slammed out sullenly to the local cantina that Camie realised something.

There were no habitable dwellings in the area. They would know if someone had arrived. Anchorhead was like that. There were no strangers in town.

New Republic Base - Pii 3

The presences that awaited Mara weren't hostile, she thought, but they were adept at hiding their emotions. There were three - no, she amended quickly - four individuals ahead. Grabbing her lightsaber she walked cautiously down the corridor. The light had steadily faded as the evening had progressed and in the gloaming strange shapes danced on the walls.

As she neared the end of the passageway there was a small alcove behind an arch. Mara flattened herself against the wall and moved with all the grace and stealth that the former assassin still possessed. Something moved in the shadows and before the eye could blink Mara had pinned a figure to the wall, lightsaber shining in the gloom.

"All right, Gentlemen," she bit out. "What do you want?"

"Easy, Jade," remarked the man in gray softly as he circled the furious girl.

"Forget it, Lieutenant-Commander. I'm wise to any move you might make - orthodox or unorthodox." She waved her lightsaber dangerously just inches from the white head of the thickset man.

"Jade!" Cawdor entreated. "That's a dangerous weapon if you don't know how to use it." His orange eyes widened. "Surely you know these men; they are colleagues. Yes?"

"No!" she snapped. "But yes, I do know them."

The man in gray moved nearer to Mara but she spun round in a carefully executed move which saw her foot extend and connect with his shin, never taking her eyes off the older man.

Until now the fourth member of the group had stood silently waiting. "Mara!" He pulled from his face the fake cybernetic prosthetic which covered the entire half of his face, rendering him unrecognisable to all - apart from someone strongly gifted in the force. Black hair flopped over his forehead and dark eyes surveyed her coolly. It was Wedge Antilles.

"Wedge." Mara nodded warily at him, but felt the hostility. 'He thinks I ran out on Skywalker!'

"Course she knows how to use it, Cawdor. She's been training with Luke over the years. She's one of his pet projects." He raised a taunting eyebrow.

"Yes, of course, yes," Cawdor nodded.

Mara stepped back from her victim and shut down the saber with an audible snap. All four men stared at her silently, trying to size up the situation.

"Well?" She cocked her head to one side and glared back at them.

"How soon did you spot us, Jade?"

"Within the first five minutes. You make lousy undercover agents."

The thickset man laughed. "That's put us in our places, Cawdor, and I thought that as head of the Alliance Intelligence agency I would have some aptitude for the role." He held out his hand. "Good to see you again, Jade. Glad to have you on board."

Reluctantly she grasped his firm handshake. "Hold on! I'm not on board anything you're involved with. I've had enough of the New Republic, Cracken. That haircut, for a start, screams military."

General Airen Cracken brushed a hand over his white hair. "It used to be redder than yours, Jade."

"My hair is not red."

"No," said Wedge "It's not."

The General put his hand underneath Mara's elbow and ushered her from the alcove. "I suggest we go somewhere we can talk."

"I've nothing to say to you. Until you treat me as an ordinary human being and not...."

"As the former Emperor's hand, Imperial agent and assassin turned smuggler and trader."

Mara glowered at the speaker.

"Cullen...." Wedge broke in hurriedly. He could feel Mara's irritation growing.

They moved to a small house well away from the complex of buildings. This was obviously someone's home. Probably Cawdor's she guessed. They sat round a low table in a shabby but comfortable lounge. Mara gazed at the men wondering why they wanted to speak to her. General Airen Cracken, Commander Wedge Antilles and Lieutenant-Commander Cullen Page. They did not trust her. So why was she here?

"What's the point of this gentlemen? You don't trust me and I certainly do not trust you."

"That's not true, Mara," Wedge spoke up. "You're grafting the opinions of Fey'lya and others like him onto us. We're well aware of what you've done for the New Republic these days."

"Leia and Han certainly know your worth," put in Cracken.

Mara snorted. "This won't work."

Cullen Page appraised her thoughtfully, a glint in his gray eyes. "Luke speaks very highly of you. He would trust you with his life. And by all accounts, on many occasions, he has."

Mara's eyes darted suspiciously to meet Page's then fell and she toyed with the edge of her overtunic.

"I know and it works both ways. He's gotten me out of some interesting situations over the years. But before you ask, I don't know where he is."

"Is he missing?" Wedge sat up in alarm.

"No.... no," she reassured him. "He's gone off to do some Jedi thing. I don't know where he is. Leia doesn't know either."

Page gave her a strange look.

"I don't," she muttered crossly.

Cracken shrugged. "That's a pity. But it's you we want."

"What?" Mara was beginning to be intrigued about this. She didn't understand why they wanted her of all people.

Wedge stood up. "This has nothing to with me at the moment. I'm expecting a message from General Bel Iblis, so I'll take my leave of you."

"Goodbye, Wedge. We'll see you next month in Coruscant." A flicker of something like some sort of unspoken signal passed between the men before Wedge, with a dip of his head in Mara's direction, disappeared.

Page noticed the unspoken question in Mara's face.

"Wedge recognised you, even under the hooded cloak. It suddenly gave us an idea."

Instantly wary, the red haired trader narrowed her green eyes. "Ok. Spill it."

Page gestured towards Cracken. "General - this might be better coming from you."

Mara grimaced inwardly. Whatever they wanted her to do she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like it very much and she didn't need the force and Jedi hunches to tell her that. She sighed. Where was Luke? Did he know about this? She needed him so much. He could make everything seem all right.

Mara's mind seized up for a fraction. When had she gone from hating Luke to needing him? She'd never needed anyone. Not even Palpatine. When had things changed?

"Jade.... Jade.... Mara! Are you listening?"

"What! Oh sorry. I was a couple of star systems away there. Carry on, General. Better get this over with."

Cracken surveyed her shrewdly. She had the skills if they could talk her into it.

Tosche Station - Anchorhead

"Fixer..."

Camie snaked her way through the regulars in the dimly lit cantina. Tosche station was still the meeting place for the local youth, but after Fixer had bought the place it had turned into an assembly point for the locals. It served Tatooine's version of ale and other such beverages. Nothing fancy, mind. Fixer was still one for putting everyone in their places...as long as he ruled, of course. But lately things had been so bad. The locals slunk in to mutter darkly in groups and Fixer grew more sullen by the day. Camie was almost at the end of her patience with him, but she couldn't leave. The twilek had threatened them all - including the children.

"Fixer..."

"Leave me be, woman." he growled at her.

"I can't. Anni and Marn saw the Twilek in Anchorhead today. They also saw a stranger."

"Must be one of his men." Fixer wiped the sweat from his forehead with a grimy hand."

"I don't think so. Wanted to know if HiCar was still around."

Fixer lifted his glass of ale and swallowed a draught. "That means nuthin, Camie. I still say it's one of the Twilek's toadies."

"I don't like it, Fixer. I don't feel safe anymore." Her voice rose as she desperately tried to make him share her fears. "Oh I don't know why I bother. You don't care. Why don't you just curl up and die? That's what he wants us to do. You're halfway there already. I'm working my fingers to the bone for nothing." She held up her work-roughened hands, tears in her eyes threatening to fall. But Fixer just turned away and ignored her, burying his nose in his glass of ale. Camie took one last look at her unresponsive spouse, before running from the suddenly quiet bar.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry."

"Will you watch where you're going?" she demanded nearly in tears.

Gentle hands pulled her away from the wall she'd collided with as a stranger entered the station.

"I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

"No," she managed tersely.

"Can I buy you something?" the gentle voice asked. "You seem distressed."

"It's nothing - a disagreement with my husband."

"Ah." There was a wealth of understanding in the one short word.

Camie looked up into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. A young bearded man of medium height with sky blue eyes stood patiently waiting, his hand solicitously on her arm. Camie pulled away abruptly.

"He doesn't mean it, you know."

"Who doesn't?" She looked at him without interest.

"Fixer."

The stranger gave a little nod in her direction then disappeared through the door into the dimly lit interior. Camie stood watching in amazement. She didn't know who he was, but he reminded her of someone.

Luke made his way carefully into the bar. Not a lot had changed since he'd been a boy. The local youths still met through in the back section near the workshop. The holotable games were a little more modern but, in essence, things were still the same. A few grizzled patrons leant on the bar all drinking some sort of cloudy lum. One or two others were chatting up a few pretty girls, but the touch of unease and fear was thick in the air. Luke could almost reach out and take it into his hands. So many thoughts and sensations clamoured to be absorbed. Something was wrong here.

When the Empire had been at its height Tatooine had been run efficiently, but distantly. The local prefect had ruled from Bestine and informers had been present in most places, but the presence hadn't been obvious. Now that Imperial power was waning, things should have been easier for the people, these hardy Tatooine moisture farmers. But something was eating at their spirits. Some of the men were little more than skin and bone. Even the pretty girls laughed too loud with an edge of panic in their clear voices. Luke eased his way into the bar and took a seat at the dimmest table. The bartender brought him over a glass of the local brew. It was obviously the only thing served. Luke paid him, then sat back to wait.

It wasn't until Camie had reached the dwelling that she realised something strange. The man with the blue eyes had known who she was. In fact, he'd specifically mentioned Fixer by name. She curled herself into a ball on the bed and began to cry quietly, but her tears never came. The sobs she uttered were dry.

Fixer took another mouthful of the bitter tasting lum, his shoulders slumping in defeat. 'Even this stuff was off,' he thought. He gazed round his domain, but found no satisfaction in it. Once he'd been proud of his own mini-empire, but the struggle was bleaching him of strength and optimism as surely as the suns faded everything on the planet. A couple of his friends sat arguing over a holo game and the stranger in the corner sat and watched them all. Camie was right. This one was different, but infinitely more dangerous. He was of medium height, bearded and with the blue eyes his wife and children had spoken of. He seemed familiar somehow.

"Arnek." Fixer spoke in a low voice. It was the first time in days that he'd shown a spark of interest in anything. "Go and find out what you can from the stranger."

"The old barman turned shrewd eyes on his boss. "You think he's with...."

"He's a stranger. There's been few here lately. They all come with the Twilek to threaten and to maim and take from us what is ours."

Arnek shook his head. "I'm not doing it, Fixer. Do your own finding out."

"I could find myself another bartender."

"You could, but you won't. Folks won't work out here because of what's happening and you don't pay decent wages and never have."

Fixer turned away, his face wrinkled into its perpetual scowl. "I don't like strangers."

"You don't like anyone and that's your problem, not mine." Arnek wiped a few glasses with the crystalline sand granules they used to spare on water. "But he's no stranger."

"Eh! You know him?"

"No."

"But you said, Arnek...."

"I only said, boss," the older man emphasized Fixer's title a trifle mockingly, "that he's not a stranger - well not to here. At some point in his life he's lived on Tatooine."

"Well I don't know him and that's good enough for me."

"Look boss, we've been here a long time, seen people and things come and go. But don't tell me I can't recognise a native even when they've been away a while. I spoke to him earlier on today. He was in Huffs store buying supplies. His accent is pure core - almost."

"Almost?" Fixer was becoming interested in his amateur analysis despite himself.

"It's not so much the accent as, when he moves, he walks like a desert man. But there's something about the way he says certain words and I noticed the more he spoke to Malay in Huffs the more he sounded like a rimworlder."

Fixer snorted derisively. "Anyone with a good ear can pick up an accent. That proves nothing."

"I know his face, but I can't place a name. It's his eyes, there's something about the eyes. Like he's seen too much. He must be a bit younger than you, boss. Perhaps you knew him?"

"Empire's most wanted, probably."

"He's been core a long time, but I still say he's rim."

Luke stared quietly into his cloudy drink. It had been quite a shock to find Fixer sitting in the position where the Tosche Service Station's owner used to sit. Seeing Camie again also hadn't been easy. These people had been in his past. They'd been his friends and enemies. Luke sighed wistfully - he'd never really fit in. He'd been the butt of Fixer's taunts. The scapegoat. Until that very last race when he'd broken Biggs' record. After that the gloves had been off and Fixer had been downright malicious. He'd never forgiven Luke for making him look small in front of those he elected to lead. Luke had then stopped wanting his approbation because he knew he wasn't going to get it. But seeing Camie again.....she'd been crying. He'd had a crush on Camie too in those days before he'd discovered the holo of Leia, but Camie had never had eyes for anyone but Fixer. He'd been the leader in their limited world so she'd chosen him. She'd treated Luke with a casual disinterest, like a troublesome younger brother. He'd been there, but of no real importance. He'd longed for her to notice him, but she hadn't and eventually he'd got over her. Still, he didn't want to see her cry.

Nor did he want to see Fixer like this. The man had his troubles; that was obvious. These people were the ones Luke had left behind when he'd been catapulted to his new life - the ordinary man in the desert. Luke had been just like them once. He'd been more ordinary than they were. He still felt ordinary. Fixer sat in his position of ownership, suspicious of all. Luke recognised what lay behind the mask his former friend wore. It was fear.

Luke had wanted to come back to see them if he'd ever made it to 'The Academy'. All the taunts they'd made had still smarted. He'd felt the justifiable emotion of wanting to prove to them that he'd made it. Now it seemed petty somehow and he had left it too long. They probably thought he had died a long time ago. His mood darkened. He still had to visit the site of his former home. He hadn't been there in many a long year.

'It's because I still felt guilty. I should have died with them and I didn't.'

But Luke knew that he'd had to live. He'd been the only hope of the Rebel Alliance and of the Jedi. 'At least there are others now to carry on what I started,' he thought.

"You're not from around here." A harsh voice intruded into Luke's melancholia.

He looked up into the eyes of the old bartender. "Maybe not, but I used to be."

The old man nodded as if Luke had said exactly what he expected to hear. "You with the Twilek?"

"The Twilek?"

"That murderous conniving, blackmailing scum."

"No."

"Don't say much do you?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Depends on what people want you to say." Something in Luke's dry answer seemed to satisfy the old man. They shared a small smile.

"I'm Arnek."

"I know." Luke didn't volunteer his own identity. "I used to come here as a boy, but you probably wouldn't remember me. A lot of people used to pass through."

"Aye. Passing through was about all they did. That would have been in Jabba's day. There's not much around here."

Luke's smile hardened. The old man leaned forward and whispered furtively. "Folks are sayin' Jabba's returned."

Luke's eyes widened, startled. "No." He said with a definite finality.

"You seem so sure."

"I saw him die. I was there."

It was Arnek's turn to be surprised. This was still a young man. Surely he couldn't have been old enough. If he was telling the truth, he'd have been little more than a boy. Something in the stranger's watchful gaze kept Arnek from pursuing that line of inquiry.

"So the Twilek comes on his own."

Luke frowned. "The Twilek?" He repeated. That was the second time Arnek had mentioned him. Luke sensed fear and anger from the old man, which seemed to mirror the general sense coming from everyone in the room.

"It's a long story, son and I've got work to do. Speak to the boss. He'll tell what's happening around here. I'm only the hired hand."

Luke chuckled and faced the old man squarely. "Oh, I think Fixer regards you as more than that, Arnek."

Arnek looked momentarily surprised, then nodded sagely. "You may be right at that, son," and caught the credit Luke tossed in his direction.

"However, it's late and I'm tired. I'll maybe do that tomorrow." Luke wasn't ready to talk to Fixer about anything. All the memories he'd buried deep inside of himself were there to be brought back, but Luke wondered if he'd ever be ready to experience them. He moved from the building, a lonely figure wearing the aura of calm he'd assumed over the years. He was ready to relive his past. All he'd experienced had made him what he was and, yes, it was time. He'd done his grieving for Callista, but not for Beru, Owen and his previous life here on this planet. Perhaps it wasn't grieving he had to do, but to give thanks and remember the good things.

Arnek pocketed the coin and watched Luke as he left the building. "He walks like a native man born, that one, and he's beginning to talk like one too." he mumbled.

"Well?" Fixer questioned. "Did he give you a name?"

"No - he didn't. But he seems to know you." Arnek replied.

Luke sat hunched in his hired speeder. These were his people. He was still one of them, wasn't he? There was something going on here and they were suffering. I mustn't get involved he told himself. But not getting involved.....it would be the first time ever in his life. Luke knew that as soon as he'd stepped out of his x-wing he'd been caught up again in the lives of the people he'd once known. 'It's not the same for me as it was for Ben. He was hiding the offspring of a darkside sith-lord. I'm just hiding myself. Tatooine is still under Imperial control - if I don't upset anyone I should be left alone. But I don't want to be left alone. I want to fit in.'

Luke stopped for breath as a myriad of jumbled thoughts righted themselves in his mind. He shook his head and smiled. 'Trust in the force and your new path will become clear. Perhaps you are not meant to stay here forever, so use the time for that holiday. Or whatever this Tatooine experience may prove to be - even if Tatooine is not everyone's idea of an exotic location.' He shut his eyes and reached for the sense of oneness in the force.

The vision came almost immediately. A lone figure stood in what had been Jabba's audience chamber, sharp teeth bared in an almost maniacal grin. Other characters appeared through a haze around him one by one. The noise grew, the jeering and the shouting and the hysterical demented laughter. Finally, the figure of a dancing girl chained at the neck to the main throne became visible. Dressed in a skimpy costume she cowered fearfully, her green eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying and the red-gold hair devoid of spirit.

"No!" he felt himself protest. "No! Not Mara. Please, not Mara."

The noise, if it was possible, grew even louder. They laughed and pointed at something on the far wall. Luke's blood turned cold. "Not again. Why the dark side had to attack his family. Oh Han, I'm sorry." It was the frozen slab of a man encased in carbonite. But this time it wasn't Han - it was Luke, himself.

He threw himself from the vision gasping and shaking to find himself still in the landspeeder and still in front of Tosche Station. Being back here had opened all his old wounds and he was just going to have to let them bleed a little longer. His dreams over the last few evenings had all featured Owen and Beru and his failure to save them. It also wasn't the first time Mara had featured in a dream of Luke's. He had seen the alternative scenario when she'd gained his saber from Artoo. But dreaming of Mara Jade lately had been much more disturbing to Luke's equilibrium and his body. Wishful thinking and erotic pretty much summed them up. There was nothing visionary about those. He set his mind to the task in hand and made his way to Ben's house. No - Luke's home. One thing was now clear. The Tatooine experience, or holiday - was out.

Climbing wearily from the vehicle he entered the dwelling. Already it felt peaceful. As the power hummed to life he tiredly made his way to his bedchamber. Pulling off his tunic and pants he slipped into the bed, the cool sheets calming his heated skin. Mara. When had she become so important to him? She would laugh in his face. No, he corrected, she'd never do that. She was his friend and his cheeks grew warm at the memory of her response to his kiss. She'd returned it willingly, but had seemed shocked afterwards. His body shifted restlessly. The Mara in his vision had been subservient and weak. The figure in control of it all had been a Twilek with purple eyes. He'd never seen him before in his life, but there was something oddly familiar about the mind. Luke rolled over and finally let sleep's oblivion claim him.

Rising early the next morning and after a light workout and lightsaber drill, Luke drove to Anchorhead on the pretext of buying more things for his home. It was about time that he had a little talk with Arnek. Luke figured the garrulous old barman would be easier to get information from without compromising his own identity. The tousled haired Jedi wandered casually towards the station. In the bright glare of the mid-day suns Tosche Station was oppressively silent. Far off in the distance Luke noted several vehicles approaching very fast and flattened himself against the buildings' rough hewn exterior, just out of sight of the entrance. The vehicles stopped and several alien species jumped out and began measured strides towards the building.

"Uh - oh!"

He quickly developed an awfully funny feeling about this. He could feel the hostile intent as it closed on the buildings.

A Devaronian and a Weequay moved to the front of the group and another Weequay and a Twilek moved to the back. In the centre was a taller Twilek, barking out commands. They laughed jeeringly and proceeded to enter.

"Uh oh!" Luke muttered again to himself. "I don't like this."

"Stranger!" The hissed communication caught Luke's attention. He turned his head to see Arnek's grizzled features peering anxiously out of another doorway. "Over here."

Keeping low, Luke quickly made his way over to the old man, but with a wary hand on the hilt of his lightsaber.

"What you doing here, son?"

Luke glanced into faded gray eyes. "I needed some things?"

Arnek snorted. "Bantha dung."

"Ok. I felt something was wrong and I came to find some answers and to help if I could."

"Oh yeah!"

Luke smiled calmly. "Believe what you want to."

"I will."

"Good." The Jedi relaxed slightly, but kept an ever vigilant gaze on the building across the street, his Jedi senses scanning for any trouble.

Arnek assessed the young man. 'He's not what he appears to be,' he thought. 'But I'm not sure I trust him either.'

"Just trust me, Arnek. It will be quicker in the long run."

Arnek's mouth dropped open in surprise. How had he done that? The man must be a mindreader. It was then that he noticed the cylinder hanging from Luke's belt. Or a Jedi. It had been a long time since he'd seen one of those antiques. The man could probably use it too. So who and what was he? "Why don't you introduce yourself, son," he remarked pointedly.

Luke grinned, white teeth showing in his newly tanned face. "The name's Cloudrunner - Lukas Cloudrunner. Call me Lukas. Come on. We'd better get moving. Fixer's in trouble."

Arnek was left pondering the mysteries of blue eyed daredevils as his new companion took to his heels and ran towards the cantina.

The Twilek's second-in-command sneered at the sullen cantina owner. Fixer was terrified but was damned if he was going to show it in front of this murdering scum. Bendu'Tal's blaster moved inches away from the side of Fixer's head.

"I suggest you provide a better service or I might be forced to close you down - permanently."

"You don't own this place," bit out Fixer trembling. "Nor does your boss."

"No. Not yet. He's decided you're not paying enough insurance. Either pay up or sell. Either way we'll get the money. It all hinges on the question 'How badly do you want to live?'"

Camie breathed in sharply, horrified. "But we've nothing left to pay. You can't do this."

"Can't I? Silence the bitch," he remarked conversationally and the Devaronian backhanded Camie across the side of her face.

"I suggest you keep her in order, Fixer, or I might forget that I like you."

Fixer fumed, but could do nothing. Tal turned to the thugs on either side of him. "Show the man and his good lady what we can do if we so choose - and no one will stop us. Not you, or your miserable excuse for a law enforcement agency or the Empire. No one."

"Noooo......!" Camie's scream echoed off the walls as two of Firith Olan's thugs laid into her husband.

"Look son, it might be better to wait till they come out, then check for damage...." But Arnek found he was talking to thin air.

Luke charged into the building and stopped, assessing the situation at a glance. The pair of Weequay were so intent on rearranging Fixer's facial features that Luke took them by surprise as he moved into a fighting stance. He threw a force-enhanced elbow to the face of one while landing a sharp kick on the other's jaw. Both went down hard, knocking over tables and cracking their heads against the floor with audible thuds.

Satisfied that he had drawn their attention away from Fixer, Luke pulled his lightsaber and flicked on the glowing green blade. He swept the saber in an arc catching the robes of the twilek thug who had abandoned Camie to join the fray. The stench of smouldering cloth filled the air. A back sweep cut through the Devaronian's cloak as he advanced towards the action coming dangerously close to removing his right arm. Meanwhile the Weequay brothers had managed to regain consciousness and were struggling to their feet intending to renew their attack.

As the four enforcers started towards Luke again, he felt a shimmer of intent in the force, pivoted and his saber blocked the blaster shot from Bendu'Tal's weapon. His steely gaze stared into the twilek's blood-red eyes. It was over. All four gang members stopped and began to move away from him slowly, unwilling to take further chances against this unexpected and unfamiliar weapon and the blond man wielding it. There were no casualties. With his skill, Luke had managed to let everyone retain all of their appendages. There was a stunned silence, then Luke spoke quietly.

"If you want to deal with the owner of this place, you'll have to speak to me." He silenced the Windriders with the stare that had kept Jedi trainees in place for years. "And I'm not doing business today. Come back next week. I might consider something then. Now leave," he said, infusing his voice with force overtones. Fixer made a strangled noise from his prone position on the floor. Luke glared at him - blue eyes cold. The Twileks' entourage got up and left. Some were limping and all were bleeding. But all had the requisite number of limbs.

"My boss is not going to like this," Tal snarled viciously.

"Perhaps not." Luke's voice was glacial. "But I get the feeling that this was a spur of the moment thing, an impetuous move. Your boss would be wise not to upset the local populace." Luke waved his saber a little closer to Bendu'Tal's lekku. "This place will be a good source of credits for me. Especially if your boss is setting up shop at the monastery." Luke blinked at the words coming out of his own mouth. Things were beginning to take shape. "Your boss and I had a deal," he lied. "But he keeps altering the conditions. I don't like it and you can tell him that. Now, I told the rest of your.... friends.... to leave. I suggest you do the same." Luke stood his ground, his saber humming.

"I'm going, but this is not finished. Keep this worthless heap of sandstone.... for the moment." Then he leant forward and hissed softly into Luke's ear. "I didn't know the Jedi were into property development."

"Who says I'm Jedi?"

"The lightsaber."

Luke laughed mockingly, his features hardening. "I picked this old thing up - it's quite impressive," and then remembering an old expression of Han's, "Nothing is really a match for a good blaster." With amazing sleight of hand Luke palmed Bendu'Tal's own blaster and pointed it at him.

Tal knew when he was beaten. With a malevolent snarl at Luke, he swung his lekku to lie over his shoulder, pulled his cloak around his shoulders and left.

The bearded stranger with the sky blue eyes stood in front of the totally bewildered couple. Arnek, who had seen and heard most of it from a safe place at the back, couldn't believe his ears and eyes. This was the first time anyone had taken on the Twilek's men and won. But did he do this for them, or for himself? Suppose what he'd told the Twilek was what he was going to put into operation himself. He could be worse than Olan. He shakily brought his blaster up to bear on Luke.

Without turning his head Luke called back to the old bartender. "Whatever you're hatching, old man, forget it. I'm on your side. Put down your weapon."

And Arnek found himself doing exactly that.

Luke surveyed the Windriders. Camie, after a frightened glance in his direction, had begun to tend to Fixer. His eye was swelling rapidly and he groaned every time he breathed. Broken ribs guessed Luke. "I guess you got off lightly this time Fixer." Luke knelt by Camie and pulled her hair away from her face. She, too, had a rapidly swelling eye and bruising to her cheek.

"Arnek!" he motioned him over. Take Camie back to the homestead and see to her face. Ssh, it's all right. Nothing will harm you or your husband. The children will be home from school shortly. You need to get that seen to before they see you. I'll deal with Fixer. Now go." It was said calmly and gently, but it was an order nonetheless.

"We don't need your help. If you think...."

"Fixer.... shut up and let me deal with those ribs."

"I said.... Aargh! That hurt."

"Still the same old Fixer. If you'd kept still it wouldn't have hurt so much."

"Do I know you?"

"You used to. The name's Cloudrunner, Lukas Cloudrunner."

"I don't remember anyone by that name. Who are you?"

"That's the name I'm going by at the moment. Can we leave it at that?"

For some reason Fixer couldn't fathom he let the matter drop. The stranger - Lukas Cloudrunner, calmly procured bandages from the medikit and bound his ribcage. With an ease that seemed out of place in one so young Cloudrunner placed his hands gently on the injured man's body and willed something to happen. Almost immediately Fixer felt the pain lessen.

"What did you do?" he demanded belligerently, ashamed at being seen like this.

"I know some rudimentary healing techniques. It should accelerate the process, but I would try and see one of the local healers. Is medic Stivra still in the area?"

"Yes....."

"Sometime soon you and I are going to have a little chat. This has obviously been going on for some time. Rest assured I have no interest in taking over your business. I only said it to confuse those idiots. My line of work means I have a lot of travelling to do. Settling down in one place has been difficult, nay impossible over the last few years. I've rarely stayed longer than a few months at a time.... " He looked up. "Just ignore me. It's still nice to be home. I think."

Luke helped Fixer to his feet and guided him back to the family dwelling. Arnek sat with a shaken Camie. There was something familiar about the stranger but Camie's mind refused to obey her commands to recall him.

"Come on." He'd returned and stood quietly by her side, blue eyes clear and concerned. "Let me have a look at that bruise. Ouch! .... nasty." he trailed fingers over the skin and the bruise faded away to nothing. "It might be sore for a day or two, but leaving it there would upset the children."

The Tatooine Wastes

A lone vehicle traveled surely in the direction of Anchorhead from Mos Eisley. She knew where he was. She knew her own ability in the force had been increasing at a great rate and she felt his presence. He'd never been subtle in his life. She'd found the tracker on the Jade's Fire after she'd left for the Arkanis sector. He wasn't going to make it that easy for her. Skywalker knew she would try and keep tabs on him - she usually did. Even though they hadn't spoken for a year she'd been ninety-five percent aware of his location at all times until he'd turned up on Coruscant.

Tosche Station - Anchorhead

Luke and Arnek assessed the damage in the Cantina. "Can you get this tidied up in time for this evening - ready for business as usual?"

Arnek nodded and watched as Luke made his way towards the machine shop. Fixer had done well over the years. He'd managed the place for a long time before eventually buying it. He'd added one or two things, but apart from the small bar area it was as it had been when Luke was a boy. He picked up a hydrospanner and started to fiddle with an old R-5 droid.

"That old thing hasn't worked for months. Even Fixer couldn't get it working, and if he couldn't, Deak doesn't have a hope."

Luke fiddled some more and with a whirr the machine came to life. "I'm good with things like this. Even the R-5 can be sorted, although it's not the most reliable of droids. I've an old R-2 with it's own personality, but I've left it at home doing a self diagnostic." He patted a GNK power droid fondly. "I'm not sure if we could have survived without these old fellows either."

Arnek smiled wearily. "I'm going back to see how they are. If you can sort any more, Fixer might not be grateful, but it would help until Deak comes back."

Luke glanced quizzically at Arnek. "I didn't know Deak worked here."

So the stranger knew Deak. "He's worked here for quite a number of years. Never will amount to much. But some of the Twilek's men got him on his way home one night. So he's been in the medicentre in Bestine for a while. Might be out, but I've not heard anything. Can't afford to employ anyone to cover and still be paying wages."

Luke got the message. "I'll have a look and see what I can do." He sorted through some of the tools on the work surface, then looked up at Arnek. "Em... What about Windy?"

"Windy.... You mean Favin Windwater?"

"I guess so. None of us ever called him Favin. He hated it."

"Windy married and left Anchorhead years ago. I think he's in Mos Eisley now. So if you knew Deak, Fixer, Camie and Windy - you must have known Biggs and Owen Lars' boy."

A flicker of pain ran across Luke's face. "I knew them." He busied himself with some mechanical part. Arnek paused at the door. "How come you know so much about all this?"

Luke lifted his head. "I told you. I grew up around here. I know moisture farmers and the equipment they use. Some things never change."

Camie turned to her husband worriedly. "This is getting dangerous, Fixer. If I didn't know you better I'd suggest you sell and we get the hell out of here, before we're all killed. If it wasn't for that stranger we...."

"He knows us."

"That's quite obvious. But we don't know him."

"Says he's called Cloudrunner - Lukas Cloudrunner." Arnek grinned showing uneven teeth.

"Lukas...." Camie repeated. "It doesn't quite fit him somehow and I don't know why." She frowned - again something elusive hovered.

"I feel as if I should know him. He's so calm it's unnatural. He turns up out of nowhere and fights off five armed men with a buzzing sword thing. I ain't ever seen no weapon like that," Fixer muttered, still brooding on his failure to stop the Twilek's men from harming him and his family.

"I have," announced Arnek into the stillness, "But not in years. It's called a lightsaber. It's the traditional weapon of a Jedi Knight."

"A Jedi Knight!" scoffed Fixer. "They don't exist - they're a myth."

"Not according to recent travelers," murmured Arnek. "They're rising again. There's a school somewhere."

"Oh spare us," griped Fixer nastily. "I've a Jedi imitator running about in my business."

"Last I looked boss, he'd fixed the R-5."

"Will you two stop it," Camie raised her voice. "We've got far more serious things to consider at the moment. The children will have to go to my parents. I don't care what you say about it, Fixer. It's too dangerous for them here. I'm going to contact them now."

"Maybe she should go with them, boss."

"Maybe she should, but she won't."

"He did save your life, boss."

"I know, but I still don't like it."

"You don't say," commented Arnek.

"Why?"

"Why indeed," grumbled Arnek sourly under his breath. "Why are the Jedi interested in us...if that's what he is?"

Several hours later the suns were setting, the children had been removed to their grandparents and there were a fair number of locals in the bar. Fixer served drinks with his usual disgruntled expression.

Luke remained in the machine shop working on a recalcitrant R-4 droid. His force sense sharpened like the static heralding an encroaching storm. 'Something's gonna blow tonight. I can feel it'.

Fixer looked up as the door slid open and in walked a woman in a dark green hooded cloak.

"I'm looking for someone," she stated softly, her eyes hidden.

"A local?"

"He used to be."

"The name?"

"Skywalker. Luke Skywalker." And she lifted her chin, revealing the beautiful face of Mara Jade.

Startled, Camie dropped the glass of lum she'd been holding and the whole room fell eerily silent. The only sound was the crashing of broken glass. She fell to her knees and started to pick up the pieces. "Ouch!" a long sliver of glass pierced her finger and, immobilised, she watched the red droplet spill.

Luke heard his name and the breaking of glass. Inwardly he groaned. "There goes my anonymity."

The woman with the greenest eyes Arnek had ever seen sighed impatiently. "Have you seen him? You do know him, don't you?" Mara raised her eyes in annoyance. Were they all imbeciles in this backwater miserable sandpile? She knew she hated it.

Camie gulped. Things were almost unreal. Luke Skywalker. Now that was a name she hadn't heard in a long time. He'd been a strange, awkward boy with the bluest eyes.... this side of Anchorhead. He'd disappeared one day when the Imperial troops had torched his home. They'd all assumed he'd been killed or taken away by the Stormtroopers. But this woman was asking for him.... Strands of information began to weave together, but it was as if something was deliberately blocking her ability to remember.

Before any one could answer the door slid open again and in burst a crowd of what looked to be the lowest scum in the galaxy. The whole place stayed silent until in walked Bendu'Tal. Mara stiffened and moved behind a pillar. This was one of the creatures in Calas Hinden's head. The leader eye's had been purple, not red, but this one had been there too.

"I want to see your boss."

"He's not here." Arnek cut in.

The old man was lying, she could tell. It whispered at her through the force.

"We don't believe you. Search the place."

Someone screamed. "Get out of here." There was a stampede for any exit.

Having felt a disturbance ripple through the force, Luke was moving towards the bar and heard Bendu'Tal's order. This, then, was what he had been waiting for - what the force had been warning him about all evening. However, the gang's intent, this time, was far more deliberate.

All hell broke loose as the enforcers fanned out throughout the bar. Bellowing threats and obscenities, each of them grabbed a chair or table and smashed his prize against the floor, wall or any unfortunate patron still remaining. Locals shrank away and tried to melt into the corners. A few weren't fast enough and found themselves being pummeled against the stone walls. Blaster shots accurately exploded the bottled beverages lined up behind the bar as various thugs began their own version of target practice.

Fixer, Camie and Arnek sought shelter behind the bar as the shooting began. Mara crouched down beside them. "Are you hit?" she asked. Seeing a quick shake of Camie's head, she ordered, "Stay here and stay down."

"Who does she think she is..."

"Fixer!" bit out Camie.

"I take orders from one person. Me."

"Will you shut up and stay down? Just what I need - the Han Solo school of self-preservation. I won't tell you again." With that a shower of broken glass rained down upon them.

Luke felt the terror of the bar patrons as he ignited his lightsaber and ran into the bar. "Ah," Mara murmured dryly. "The cavalry." Instantly, the goons changed targets. Dozens of shots were deflected as Luke twisted and parried, intent on blocking the deadly bolts. It seemed that the more shots he blocked, the more were fired at him. So far he was keeping up but he knew he couldn't last indefinitely against this many opponents - not alone. Something that Callista had once said jumped into his mind. 'The more that hit you, the more that will'. He had no choice - he would just have to keep them from hitting him.

"Skywalker - behind you!" he heard Mara's voice. Luke ducked reflexively and Tal's shot whizzed past his head and thumped into the stone wall. Mara began deflecting shots from the relative safety behind the bar. Luke moved to his left to block the Twilek's shot angle and sidled behind the bar to join her. Arnek located the old blaster that Fixer kept behind the bar and began carefully firing into the melee.

Mara glanced at Luke. "Ready?" she asked him.

"On three," he replied. "One, two........ Three!"

They leapt over the bar and began to cut down the enemy. Luke arced his saber to the left and cut off the blaster hand of an unfortunate Devaronian, swinging it back up to block a shot aimed at Mara's back. She returned the favour, her saber glowing blue fire and a Weequay screamed in pain. Arnek fired at his compatriot, hitting him in the belly and sending him crashing to the floor. As more opponents went down, Mara grinned. She was actually enjoying herself. Then she saw Luke stumble and the fun evaporated. He'd been hit. She could see smoking cloth and burned skin on his left shoulder. He turned, swiped his blade sideways and Bendu'Tal fell in two meaty chunks to the floor. The surprise on the Twilek's face was almost comical. Determined to end what was rapidly becoming a rout, she took down the last man remaining in the bar and edged stealthily around the door to see how many remained outside.

"Get inside, Jade." Luke elbowed her out of the way and eased himself into position. But all he saw was several speeders heading off into the dark desert night. "I think have a good idea where they are going."

The next thing he felt was a strong feminine arm grasping his and wrestling round his back and the feel of a blaster next to his head.

"Come on, Skywalker. You need to get that flesh wound looked at."

"It's nothing."

"Farmboy," she threatened

"Ok, Jade. Easy on the armlock."

"You could break it any time, Skywalker, if you hadn't been hurt."

"Are you going to kiss it better... ow!"

"In your dreams, farmboy," she growled.

Mara drew Luke back inside and oblivious to the curious looks of the Windriders and any other staff remaining, she proceeded to peel off Luke's tunic top and try to do something with his cuts, bruises and the rather nasty blaster burn on his shoulder.

"Hold it, Jade." Luke surveyed the scene - the fleeing customers, the casualties and the remaining thugs. Arnek shuffled up towards them.

"I've called the law agency; not that it'll do much good, mind. They all seem to be in the pay of the criminals. The healer is coming too. I would get that shoulder looked at, Cloudrunner."

"Luke?" Mara drawled.

Luke ignored her. "Good," he replied.

Eventually all the injured had gone and Luke was still pacing around shirtless, trying to sort things out. Mara's lips firmed in annoyance. He needed a keeper, did that one...someone to look after him. She remembered Jacen and Jaina's request on Coruscant. It looked as if they were right. He did need someone to look after him. "Luke," her voice rose threateningly. "If you don't come and let me sort that shoulder I may just have to kill you."

Luke stopped what he was doing and a tender smile crossed his face. "I'm all yours, Jade." Mara closed her eyes in exasperation and a hiss left her mouth. He kept doing things like that to her these days. "Luke....!"

For the second time in a day, Camie, Fixer and Arnek were left to tidy up the general mess. "Let's leave it tonight, Fixer," sighed Camie. "We have to let the agency know. Not that they'll do anything." She turned to watch the couple in the corner as the redheaded girl proceeded to try and help the man who had identified himself as Lukas Cloudrunner. Except she called him - Luke. Camie looked strangely at the girl who was dressing Cloudrunner's wounds. "She knows him." Something began to worm its way through her tired brain.

"Skywalker!" Mara threatened. "Will you keep still?"

Camie couldn't believe her ears. She glanced at Fixer to see if he'd caught the significance of the exchange. He was staring at the couple, a strange expression on his face.

Luke glanced up and rolled his eyes. "Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble, Jade."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," she thought back sarcastically.

"I've been using a pseudonym."

"Big words, Jedi. Your nephew said I'd to look after you. Do I start now?"

"Hah! Funny, Jade."

"They thought you might be in trouble - again. Is that why you grew that fuzzy beard? I think I prefer you without it."

"Then for you, it'll come off, Mistress Jade."

"Since when did you become so accommodating, Master Skywalker?"

Green eyes sparkled into blue. It seemed to Camie that the pair of them were communicating without words. The girl lifted a hand up towards the man's face as if she was about to touch him. Then she dropped her hand awkwardly. Fixer stepped forward his fist clenched. No one got the better of him. Camie quickly grabbed his arm.

"Wormie?" she questioned hesitantly. The game was up. Green eyes narrowed and glanced towards blue.

"Luke," he corrected firmly. He hadn't planned to have his cover blown so soon, but perhaps it was for the best, though the way Fixer was glaring at him... Time for a formal introduction - it might take the heat off things a little. " Sorry," he apologised. "I'm Luke Skywalker as you've probably guessed and this is Mara Jade, a friend.... and student of mine." He looked sideways at the woman by his side.

"We thought you were dead. You just disappeared after...."

"My folks were killed. It's a very long story. Sufficient to say I've been looking for a change, so I came back here to pay my respects and revisit my past."

"Why use a false name?" Camie asked.

Luke flushed slightly and Mara grinned maliciously.

"He's quite well known these days and there are quite a few people who would like to get rid of him or ransom him to the highest bidder. Although I don't think he's worth that much."

"Unfair, Jade," he sent to her.

"Oh, I don't know. I wanted to get rid of you myself at one time."

"Just once, Jade? I'm touched."

"What do you mean by 'well known'?"

Luke glanced a look at Mara. "Help me out here. I don't want to tell the story of the rebellion. They don't need to know."

"I fought against the Empire during the war. It could be a high profile job sometimes."

Mara sniggered silently at him. He sent her a glare.

"What have you been doing for all these years?" Fixer's voice came out sounding rusty. "Did you ever think about us at all?"

"Yes, I did - of course I did. You've always been part of what I am, but I did have other things to think about. I went into the alliance as a pilot and for the past few years I've been teaching."

"Jedi?" queried Arnek softly and Mara nodded. He motioned with his head towards Mara's saber also hanging from her belt. She nodded again.

"Look it's late and I can tell you're not interested in a grand reunion, but we do need to talk. Remember, I can help and without being too proud. You need the help." He winced a little and turned to leave. "I'll be along to see you in a couple of days. The Twilek won't try anything for a while. I think Bendu'Tal's been behind most of your recent problems. You coming, Jade?"

Mara nodded and followed him slowly out towards his landspeeder which lay abandoned in a corner. She flashed the Windriders a warning glare and climbed into the speeder.

Fixer watched the vehicle until it vanished into the darkness. "Where did he hook up with a girl like that?" Mara Jade must be the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. But she was more than just decorative - that much was clear. Luke had exuded a quiet power from the moment they had met him. He wasn't the outsider anymore and they were going to need his help.

….if it really was Skywalker. A slow burning anger filled him. People like Skywalker had no business being better than they ought. This wasn't the guy who'd been the butt of their fun. He'd been a friend, yet inconsequential. The last one to be picked for any team game.

Camie sat down on the comfortable chair she favoured in her lounge. That had been Wormie - Luke. Why hadn't she seen that before? The beard hid the shape of his face right enough, but the eyes were still that steadfast blue.

"How dare he come and make a fool out of us." Fixer grumbled. Camie crossed to his side and mindful of his ribcage put her arms around him.

"You were always a bit jealous of him, weren't you darling? Whatever you said to him, he had his dreams and he never looked up to you the way he did Biggs. But you're wrong about him, Fixer. He didn't come here to make a fool of us. He saved our lives."

Fixer huffed a little. "He's changed, Camie - if he's who he says he is."

"Oh I think so. We have no choice but to accept any help we've been given and...." she chuckled lightly. "He did fix that R-5."

Firith Olan sat in his speeder just outside Anchorhead. A cold satisfaction had turned to rage when he'd heard about the death of Bendu'Tal. Even so, Tal wasn't important and could be replaced. In fact, they'd probably done Olan a favour. Tal had been getting a little too ambitious of late and there was room for only one man at the top. The Windriders had proven their ability to cope. He'd other things to deal with first. Something struck him. Geqwrass had told of a man with a glowing sword. He hadn't seen anything like that for years. But Jedi? Impossible. There was one particular Jedi he'd come across in his lifetime, but it couldn't be him. Could it? He headed the speeder away from the settlement. Things could wait.

Chapter 4

The lone landspeeder travelled swiftly over the desert’s sandy and rocky terrain. The suns had completely set and the darkness was only relieved by moonlight. Like its twin suns, Tatooine had two moons. Crescent shaped, they shed silvery light over curved dunes and carved rock. The golden land had turned to silver. Little pinpricks of light dotted over the heavens. The stars seemed more vivid here where they could be seen without interference.

Silver light kissed the two silent individuals in the speeder, both busy with their own thoughts. The silence wasn’t comfortable - exactly.

Mara roused herself finally to break the silence. The desert around them emitted strange unearthly sounds, but between the man and the woman there was nothing. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Where are we going?"

Luke took his time replying. "Home. I guess."

The wordlessness stretched again betwixt them.

Mara sighed. "And where is that exactly?" She drawled.

"Alpha - 1733 - Mu - 90033 - 1st Quadrant."

"I suppose that’s exact."

"Pretty much." He glanced at her quickly then looked away. "Ben left me his home here on Tatooine if I ever needed somewhere to hide.... I’ve been here for several weeks now. It’s habitable."

"Habitable?"

"Not perhaps by your standards, Jade, but we have a roof over our heads." He didn’t add that the dwelling had only been with a roof for a week.

"You don’t know everything about me, Skywalker."

"No, I don’t." His teeth shone white as he threw a smile in her direction. "But that’s what makes life interesting." Luke concentrated on piloting the speeder. There was a tricky portion just... about... now.

All Mara could see were black shapes and what seemed to be an impenetrable wall of rock ahead. The occasional touches of moonlight lit up something.

"There it is," Luke muttered. He was piloting them through a narrow rock channel without any navigational aids as though it was broad daylight. Mara was secretly impressed, although she too could do similar tricks. It was part of being force strong. She felt the man beside her relax and until he did, Mara hadn’t realised how tense he’d been. His level of concentration and control these days was phenomenal.

The speeder gradually slowed as Luke maneuvered into some sort of underground tunnel. Mara deduced that they were in a cave of some kind. Luke pulled a caller from his tunic and activated a forcefield.

"Just in case the sandpeople decide to visit. They’re superstitious actually, but I don’t want to take too many chances."

Mara looked confused. Her bewildered face turned to him in the gloom.

"They used to think Ben was some kind of magician and that really spooked them so they kept away." He cut the engine on the speeder and jumped out. Diving into the back of the vehicle he pulled out a couple of glow rods and handed one to Mara. It gave her a chance to gauge her surroundings. But all she saw were the irregular walls of a natural cave. Luke helped her out of the speeder and motioned with the luma to a handful of narrow steps cut into the wall of the cave disappearing upwards.

"My.... home...." he said hesitantly. "Is up there."

Mara gave him one of her indecipherable looks and began, carefully, to climb. The first level contained a spacious cellar. But it was empty apart from some crates and obviously newly installed water storage tanks.

"I just put that in - it’s very efficient. It’s really good to have a supply of real water and hey.... I’m still a moisture farmer at heart." He waved the glow rod with enthusiasm and Mara rolled her eyes. "This place was already here when we came to get Han, but it hasn’t been used much since then. I used this place as a kind of haven. You know – licked a few sores, waited till my artificial hand settled down and I could control it properly." Luke scuffed the dusty floor with his desert boots. "It took me all of three days solid work to clear all the rubble and debris from in here. I think it must have been at least ten years worth." He waved the glow rod again. "I’ve not gotten the lighting working down here yet, but I plan to shortly. The vaporator has to work first. It’s still getting settled in."

He turned to the back of the cavern and climbed another set of stairs cut into the rock and they emerged into Luke’s home properly. He flicked a switch and the power hummed into awareness.

Mara didn’t think she would have been quite so curious to see what Luke considered home. She’d been in his anonymous apartment on Coruscant many times, but it wasn’t home. His small set of rooms on Yavin had been the nearest thing he’d had to a home in a long time, but something had always been missing. Mara knew how he felt. Her home had been the Empire and now it was gone.

Luke shrugged lightly. "Home, they say, is where the heart is. It’s not a building or even possessions. You and I both know that. Up until now it’s where Leia and Han have been. This is maybe not my real home either, but I’m making sure that it is there for me to come back to whenever I need. I’ll always be part of this tenth rate dustball."

"Come on then," she spoke briskly. "Give us the grand tour."

Luke smiled boyishly and swept his arm out in an exaggerated gesture. "As you can see, Madame, the walls are a tasteful.... er....stone roughly appointed to give that uneven look."

"Skywalker!" she warned.

Luke’s abode was in fact, a typical desert home. The walls were thick enough to keep it cool even in the hottest part of the day, but would also keep in any heat on the cold clear nights.

"I’ve not had time to decorate or put in any dividing walls yet, there were things that were more important - like a roof."

Mara arched a graceful eyebrow.

"There were holes in the roof - big ones. The power and lighting didn’t work and the plumbing came out of the Clone Wars. As I said, it’s habitable. But I don’t need much."

Mara sighed. "You never do."

The inside of the house consisted of one main large room divided into a kitchen area, a sleeping area and a working area. The other smaller room was the ‘fresher. Mara stood wrapped in her cloak in the middle of the general living area. Artoo beeped from a portable power source in the corner and Mara whirled round to see where the noise came from.

Luke suddenly remembered his rules of hospitality. "You must be tired."

"I.... yes...." The awkwardness flared between them.

Mara pulled the hood from over her bright hair and Luke watched mesmerized as it curled round her face and shone in the artificial light source.

"Here.... you can use this area.” Luke pushed aside a curtain to reveal a sleeping pallet. "’Scuse me a second." He grabbed a few things and pulled some blankets from a chest in the corner.

"Skywalker! This is your room."

"Jade! If you’d look around here properly there only is one room. My Aunt Beru would have my hide for not treating a lady rightly. Calling it a room is a bit ambitious anyway."

"I’m not a lady," Mara muttered, embarrassed.

Luke’s voice lowered and he fixed his stare on the ground. "In my view you are - and a guest."

"But you’re hurt." She referred to the various burns he’d got from the earlier blaster fire.

"I’ve healed," he replied brusquely. "Now Mara..." he moderated his voice. "I insist."

"Spare me the Jedi routine, farmboy. But thanks." She glanced up. "Luke.... We have to talk."

"I know. We’ll do it tomorrow. Goodnight."

Again the awkwardness. "Night then."

Luke had crossed to Artoo and deliberately busied himself with the little droid. Mara stood for a second more, her gaze filled with a longing she herself didn’t understand, before pulling the curtain aside and slipping behind it.

Once she’d gone Luke let his own gaze travel to the spot where she’d stood. His face unknowingly held the same expression Mara’s had. Artoo twittered, beeped and rotated his little head.

"I’m fine. Yes... I’ll tell you tomorrow. Did the diagnostic go ok? Good... Have you run figures with the x-wing yet? Yeah! I’m sure Threepio is fine.... and missing you."

Mara lay in the darkness listening to Luke’s gentle tones as he fussed over Artoo before she drifted off to sleep.

"That man and his droids.…"

Luke tossed some remotes into the air and Artoo let out a stream of electronic gibberish.

"Ok Artoo.... You have control." He grinned and activated the green blade of his lightsaber.

Mara struggled to consciousness with the sound of a saber. Where was she? She hadn’t slept this well for a long time. Showering and dressing quickly she moved towards the sound. The main door was open and through it she glimpsed Luke’s faithful droid.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Shut it, Skywalker," she growled.

"Uh oh. Not a morning person, eh, Jade?" Artoo twittered a laugh.

Luke spun and parried as the remotes shot multiple bolts at him. Luke let the force guide him and blocked each shot with ease.

Mara gaped, her temper forgotten. He wasn’t even breathing heavily and why did he persist in parading about in front of her without his shirt on. Not that she didn’t like to look. She did and that was the problem. She shouldn’t be finding Skywalker attractive after all these years. At least the beard had gone. He must have taken her at her word and shaved it off.

It was a beautiful morning. The kind of day on which even non-desert dwellers saw its true beauty. Tatooine’s two suns were still low in the sky and the horizon stretched clear into the blue. The panoramic desert vista caught Mara’s eyes and for an instant distracted her away from Skywalker and his morning drill.

Luke deflected some more shots but watched his new student carefully. With satisfaction he noted the lightsaber at her hip.

The warning to her danger sense was immediate as Luke’s remote turned and started firing at Mara.

"Not fair, Skywalker."

Her saber flew from belt to hand and she activated the blue blade to block the barrage of bolts now aiming in her direction. The thick mass of her hair glowed like swirling fire as she rotated swiftly, the blade of her saber flying in the stillness of the morning.

Luke scrutinised the slender, compact figure as vivid as a flame. He had never seen anything more beautiful. Moving to sit on a boulder beside Artoo, Luke rested his hand comfortably on the droid’s head. He sent one or two technical ideas to her through the force and nodded with satisfaction as she took them on board. But with her natural dancer’s grace and athleticism, little adaptation was needed.

"Correct your position there, Jade," he cautioned as one of the blasts singed the tail end of her overtunic. "You have to react before it happens."

"What! I’m already too late." She swivelled and poked her saber at the remote.

"Yup!” He sent another seeker ball into the air.

"Skywalker!" Mara’s voice rose in indignation.

"Come on, Jade, let the force flow."

"Ow!!"

"We don’t need anger or frustration. Remember... the dark side.... Free your ability. Let go, Mara." He remembered that piece of advice very well. It was fitting that he pass it on to Mara. She was certainly fitter than she’d been three months ago. The guys on Pii 3 had certainly aided him in that department. Although Mara was the kind of person who would keep herself in good condition. "You’ve been working out, Jade - that’s good."

"Among other things," she panted as her blade flashed to intercept the seeker balls.

"Well done." Luke called the remotes to his hand and threw her a rough towel.

Wiping the sweat from her face and neck, oblivious to Luke’s steady regard, she gazed at the view from the top of the bluff where the simple house was situated. She could see for miles. Cliffs and canyons gave way to rocky mesas and finally to the impenetrable desert itself.

Luke handed her some bread, fruit and a glass of water. He came and sat beside her.

"My first lightsaber lesson took place on the Millennium Falcon on the way to rescue Leia. I remember being sore from the stun bolts because they kept hitting me. Ben kept telling me to feel the force and let go my conscious thought."

Mara pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I can’t remember my first lesson clearly. But I know I was very small. I had training in all aspects of weaponry, martial arts, piloting. Everything I needed to become the Emperor’s hand, I suppose."

Luke put out his hand and carefully covered Mara’s.

"I don’t need your pity, Skywalker," she shot at him defensively. But she didn’t remove her hand from under his.

Yavin 4

"Someone’s coming." the small boy announced composedly.

"Eh! What?" Han blearily opened his eyes and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. The figure in the bed next to Han rolled over and squinted at her son through the gloom. Shifting the covers Leia shuffled to a sitting position and Han did likewise. The solemn small face stared at his parents. Leia reached out with the force and switched on low-level lights. As her eyes adjusted she gazed at Anakin in disbelief. "What?" She squinted at the bedside chrono. "It’s the middle of the night."

"Someone’s coming. Now." Anakin replied resolutely.

Han groaned quietly and fell back on his pillow. At times his youngest son looked more like his Uncle Luke than anyone else in the family. The blue eyes had the same clarity as Luke’s and that uncanny effect Luke had developed of seemingly seeing inside of you. But his son’s resemblance to his best friend was not appreciated at this point in time.

Han swung his feet on to the stone floor and gradually got himself out of bed. "No - you stay here." He said to his wife. Leia was shattered after extra gruelling training runs through the Yavin jungle. "I’ll go and see what’s happening." He knew Anakin would be right. For such a small person he was amazingly accurate in his predictions. He grabbed his robe and held out his hand to his son. "Come on, Junior. Let’s go see."

The communications centre at the Jedi School was unusually busy for the middle of the night. Kyp rubbed his eyes wearily. An incoming ship was broadcasting to land.

"It’s an x-wing!" the little voice exclaimed.

Kyp didn’t need the disturbance in the force to tell him that Anakin had found out about the ship. He glanced down at the small wide-awake person. Then looked into the bleary eyes of his father.

"Don’t ask. We found him at the bottom of the bed. It’s very disconcerting at three in the morning. He looks like Skywalker at that time."

Kyp laughed. "I hate to point this out to you Han, but he looks like Skywalker most of the time, apart from the hair."

"Is it an x-wing?"

"I don’t know yet. It’s not Luke." He jerked his head towards Anakin who was gazing at the view screen. "We would know if it was."

The pilot transmitted his clearance codes and his permission to land.

"Hey.... It’s Wedge. Anakin.... back to bed."

"But!"

Han’s hazel eyes twinkled for a second then his voice warned. "Anakin. You’ll see Wedge tomorrow."

Wedge Antilles was tired. He felt as if he’d flown from one end of the galaxy to another. Waiting for him at the end of the ramp were two figures. One in a dressing gown and the other in a Jedi robe.

"Well, well, Commander Antilles. "

"Han... Kyp."

"I don’t suppose you’re here on a pleasure trip."

"No, I’m not. Han I need your particular skills. Where’s Chewbacca?"

"Kashyyyk."

"How soon can you get him here."

"Where do want me to go?"

Wedge glanced at Kyp, who bowed slightly and left.

"Did you have to do that? He could get the information from you if he really wanted to."

Wedge had the grace to look a little shamefaced. "General Cracken said to tell only you and Leia. Oh... and I don’t suppose you know where Luke is?"

"No," Han drawled slowly.

"That’s funny. Because nobody does."

Han felt he was going through a bad time loop. "What do you mean ‘Nobody does.’"

"Last time I saw him was in Coruscant about three four months ago. I’ve not heard from him since, so I thought he was here. But Mara told me he was off doing some Jedi thing and she didn’t know where he was."

"Oh no. I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

"Mara seemed a little uneasy about the whole thing."

Han sat up a little at this. "Well she was supposed to be going to train with him." He grinned wickedly. "He’s finally worn her down."

"I’m just glad I wasn’t there when that was happening. Mara can be.... fiery. But I’m not totally convinced that she is completely unaware of his whereabouts. There was just something...."

Han shrugged. "Mara can be funny about Luke. I’ve never totally understood their relationship, but one thing I do know. If either one of them is in trouble the other will help. They may moan about it - a lot - but they’ll help. Where did you run into Mara?"

Wedge hesitated. "Pii 3."

They made their way to the suite the Solos used on Yavin 4. Leia had given up on sleep and was waiting for the two men with mugs of hot caf.

"Wedge, it’s good to see you, but it’s business, isn’t it?"

"I’m sorry, Leia, to interrupt your sabbatical like this, but I need to borrow your husband. You don’t fit into the territory we’re visiting.

"Where?"

"The Arkanis Sector."

Leia nodded sagely. "Is there still trouble out there?"

Wedge blinked. The former Chief of State was remarkably well informed. "Did Cracken inform you of this already."

Leia shook her head, glancing at Han as she did so. "No. It was Karrde."

Han scratched his chin. "Of course," he muttered.

Wedge sat down and grabbed his drink. "I don’t want to know how Karrde knows about this. But seeing as I’m here I suppose I’d better find out."

Leia pushed her hair back over her shoulders, plumped herself down on the sofa and pulled Han down beside her.

"Karrde contacted me just before we left for Yavin asking if one of his men could be transferred to the Coruscant Imperial Medicentre. He’d been involved in an incident out in the Arkanis sector." Leia could see Wedge turning the space wheels in his brain and his eyes widened slightly.

"Go on."

"One of his freighters was attacked, boarded, the cargo stolen and the crew butchered apart from one man who was left for dead on Piroket. Karrde thinks it was some sort of warning."

Han continued. "I know the old guy who survived. Karrde says he may never recover unless his memory is wiped. Something’s wrong out there."

Wedge’s mouth firmed slightly. "You have no idea. General Cracken would like for you to return to Coruscant if possible. I know he said you could have this time away, but Gavrisom is not coping well with this and he respects your council – say, from a Jedi perspective. Bel Iblis will send a shuttle for you. His flagship is in this area. I know we’re asking a lot but I would like Han and the Falcon."

"Will you be with the Rogues?"

"Eventually, but we have Cracken, Page and his commandos already in that sector."

Leia sat up, her face perplexed. "You’re saying that you want Han to go.... where.... Tatooine?" she guessed sagely. "But Arkanis Sector is still under Imperial control."

"Barely. There are major difficulties out there. In fact, that area of space is in great danger of descending into complete lawlessness."

"It was bad enough before," muttered Han. He had fond memories of the Mos Eisley and Ryloth spaceports.

Wedge spoke quickly. "We’ve been contacted by intelligence from the Empire...."

Leia’s jaw dropped.

".... they don’t think they can hold the area for much longer."

Leia swallowed. "And we don’t have the resources to fight for it at the moment or do very much about it," she whispered. "We’re almost in a worse shape than we were after the battle of Endor."

Wedge sighed. "Here’s the difficult bit. New Republic intelligence would rather that the Empire held on to the Arkanis sector and Imperial Intelligence have asked for our help to do just that."

"Stars of Alderaan," murmured Leia. "Is there to be a truce?"

Wedge grew a little uncomfortable at this. "No. Not according to Bel Iblis. This is a very quiet operation. It’s in the interest of the New Republic that the Empire stays strong for a lot longer. They’re not interested in fighting us any more but we haven’t the resources to do so anyway."

"Why Tatooine?" asked Han.

"All the trouble in the area is being controlled from there. Rumour has it a new crime lord has arisen. In fact some of the more superstitious say Jabba the Hutt has been reincarnated. Someone on Tatooine is undermining the stability of the whole sector. It’s worse than when the Hutts ruled. All the petty gangsters are stockpiling weapons and spoiling for a fight. We could have a really powerful warlord, someone worse than Zsinj. The NR doesn’t need that kind of problems just now."

"It hasn’t the resources to handle it." Leia closed her eyes. "I don’t like it."

"None of us do. Can you get to Pii 3? There is the base there."

"Yeah, I’ll go to Kashyyyk and pick up Chewie. Is Mara still there?"

"She was when I left. I can send a subspace message to find out. The General and Page were going to ask her to help. She knows the situation. She’s done it before."

"But she was going to Luke."

"Maybe," voiced Leia thoughtfully. "I think she was going to do some scouting around for Karrde first. I’ll send a message to Karrde and then we’ll see. Come on, hotshot. Go and get some sleep. Wedge, there’s a room for you just down the corridor and I suggest you get some rest too."

Wedge nodded, his pale face indicating how tired he really was.

Leia tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited for her call to be put through to the New Republic base on Pii 3. When connection was finally established she found herself facing a humanoid creature with leathery skin and pale orange eyes.

"Cawdor. It is good to speak with you."

"And you, Princess. It has been a long time. I received your earlier communication about the Fire’s Hand. An interesting female – yes, I think."

"Is she still there?"

"I’m afraid not. She left only a few days ago. She’s gone to Tatooine."

Leia mouthed a rude word under her breath.

"But may I say it was a pleasure, yes, to finally meet Jedi Skywalker."

"What! Luke’s on Pii 3."

The alien sighed. "I’m also regretful that he is not present. After he cleared the arrival of the Fire’s Hand, he left. But I do not know where."

"Oh, I think I do," Leia muttered grimly. Luke was just the living end. "Did he and Mara leave together?"

Cawdor looked surprised. "Oh no, Princess. Jedi Skywalker has not been in our presence for at least two months."

"Then how did he know about Mara..... Forget that. He knew." She cleared her throat. "My husband, General Solo, and his first mate, Chewbacca of Kashyyyk, will be arriving shortly. Tell General Cracken they will meet him there."

Cawdor smiled. "I will do as you ask, Princess."

Leia leant back in her chair in the communications centre. She’d given up on sleep but it was still the depth of the night, so the place was quiet. Well, Mara may have put her training with Luke on hold, but his twin had few illusions about what was going to happen. Mara was going to Luke whether she liked it or not. It was inevitable. In fact it was their destiny. They’d always been linked by something. Not as strong as the bond Leia shared with her twin, but something had always been present. There was an emotion. One thing had been cleared up. She now could roughly give the population of a planet where Luke was hiding himself.

Han clattered into the room. "I take it you’re finished there, sweetheart." She lifted her eyebrows. "Wedge? Oh, he’s out for the count in one of the guest suites. I don’t think he took in the decor. These guys are still napping where and when they can. I don’t think I could do that for very long these days.

"We’ve cleared up one mystery. Well, we think we have."

"We have - great. What?"

"Luke."

"Where is he?" relief evident in his voice.

"We think he’s on Tatooine and Mara’s headed off there too."

"I think there’s gonna be quite a party out there. I would bet that Karrde will be in the area too. I might have known that the kid would be where the trouble was. He attracts it."

"Come on, flyboy. You better get some sleep. I get a feeling it will be in short supply on Tatooine. I’ll stand guard just in case Anakin decides to visit." Her voice sounded bright, but her face held a troubled expression that Han did not see.

Tatooine

Mara’s fingers tightened round the glass of water and she gulped at it gratefully. It gave her an excuse to remove her hand from under Luke’s. Strange - she still felt it tingle where he’d touched her.

"What is it, Mara?"

"Luke.... I... can’t stay. I have to go." She felt the disappointment, regret and..... hurt emanating from him before it all disappeared behind a wall of impenetrable Jedi calm. Emperor’s bones - she hated him when he went all emotionless Jedi Master on her. Especially now she knew him so well. Luke’s problem, or his strength, was his emotion - his caring for others.

His face a mask, Luke enunciated clearly. "Any particular reason?"

Mara’s temper began to bubble at his lack of faith in her. "Mistress Mara," the little voice in her head said. "You’ll find him and look after him. He’s depending on you." Jacen’s serious face in the apartment on Coruscant swam into her mind, followed by Leia’s anxious face. "Be kind to him, Mara". Then a voice she didn’t recognise - deeper, more serious. "I’m depending on you, Mara Jade. Don’t let your anger stand between you. Don’t let him down." Mara wasn’t sure how she knew but she was certain. It was Obi Wan.

"Mara! I thought you were finally going to stop being a coward about your heritage and face up to reality here."

Wham! The next thing Luke knew was the hard wall of his home behind his back and furious green eyes glared at him, a blaster at his throat.

"I could kill you, Skywalker. I don’t take that from anyone - even you."

"What - coward?"

Luke waited for Mara to answer as part of him began to die inside. He’d begun to hope, to dream, to really feel that life was something you participated in to the maximum. "Mara?" his voice cold. Luke heard it and his heart and soul cried out to stop.

Mara stood rigid as if in a trance - her green eyes wide and staring. Luke fidgeted in her grasp. He could have gotten out of it if he’d wanted to. Then suddenly, she let him go and fled into the dwelling.

‘Go after her’ his mind prompted him. ‘Don’t be a fool. Listen to what she says. If you listen, she’ll explain’.

Luke subsided onto his boulder. "Damn!" he swore. He could feel her distress from here and it had to be him that did it. Mara Jade didn’t upset easily.

Slowly, feeling as if he’d aged ten years in the past few minutes Luke made his way into the house. Mara sat on the sleeping pallet with her face to the wall. He could see her shoulders give a tiny tremor.

"Mara...."

"Go away."

"I’m sorry. We should know by now that we hear out what the other person says before we, or rather, I jump to too many conclusions. Why is it that with you I descend into the kind of juvenile behaviour a ten-year-old wouldn’t be proud of? Don’t you know you’re one of my best friends? Apart from Han and Leia you’re about the only one I can truly be myself with - nasty temper and all. Mara…. please don’t shut me out. Look, I’m sorry for calling you a coward." His voice quickened anxiously as she continued to shut him out and face the wall. "I was just disappointed. I’d hoped to…..ah hell, you know what I’ve hoped. For ten years I’ve hoped. Please Jade, tell me why you can’t stay. Is it me? Do you think I can’t train you properly...."

She came back into the present and turned to face him. Her green eyes were luminous with the gleam of unshed tears.

"Aw, Sith." He pulled her roughly into his arms and she sobbed into his shoulder. When the storm of weeping had finished he tilted up her chin and gazed into her face, his blue eyes just inches from her own. Lifting his hand he shakily chased a tear from her cheek with a gentle finger. He’d never seen her cry before - hadn’t thought she could.

He opened his mouth to apologise yet again when she forestalled him by placing her finger in front of his lips. "Ssh," she whispered. "It’s me who’s sorry. I pick the worst times and I tell you in the worst way...."

Luke felt the touch of her hand and, succumbing to temptation, kissed it softly. He was rewarded when she pulled it away. Her head buried back in his shoulder.

"Mara! You know that I’d hoped from the moment we met that eventually I could be granted the privilege and the honour of training you to knighthood."

"I don’t want to go." The admission seemed to surprise her. "I want to stay here and complete my training." She looked him in the eyes again. "But I’ve things to do. Promises I want to keep.... I need...."

"What do you need?" It struck Luke that it wasn’t something Mara Jade said very often. To hear her say it now sent some feeling to his frozen heart.

"I need your help, Luke."

Luke squeezed her shoulders in what he hoped was a reassuring, friendly, Jedi Master type of squeeze. "Then you have it."

A quick hint of her old asperity crept over the suddenly expressive face. "Skywalker!" she drawled. "Hadn’t you better consider it first?"

He appeared confused for an instant. "Why?"

Mara rolled her eyes. "Oh, never mind." Reckless, that’s what he was - reckless. She disentangled herself self-consciously from his embrace.

"I get the feeling I’m involved anyway. You will tell me what it is. As long as it doesn’t involve me breaking any of my bones..."

"Skywalker," Mara managed a genuine smile. "Shut up." And kissed him.

Something sizzled through the force. Mara stared at Luke, aghast at what she’d done. Luke sat stunned, his mouth open in complete stupefaction. Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t that. Eyes met, faces flushed, breathing quickened and hearts pounded loud in their ears. They both glanced away nervously. On Coruscant, it had been a game. I dare you. The game had been to push each other to a reaction. How far would they go before they backed down. In the desert wilderness there was no place for these false emotions and pseudo-sophisticated games. Everything had been stripped bare. One wrong move and the emotions would bruise and hearts would bleed.

"Oh Sith!" Mara whispered. "I shouldn’t have done that.”

"Maybe not," Luke answered quietly. "But you did."

It had been such a simple open kiss - direct and to the heart. Their previous encounters had been more involved but shallower in nature.

"Why, Mara?"

"I don’t know - it was an impulse."

Luke’s gaze fell as he turned away from her. "Don’t play with my feelings, Jade. They’re kinda fragile."

"I’m sorry, Luke." Mara put a tentative hand on his ‘still’ bare shoulder. The skin was warm and smooth. Mara closed her eyes and a storm of ‘something’ slammed into her gut. Luke, as attuned to Mara as he unknowingly was, groaned. Her hand moved, caressed, stroked....

"Mara...." Luke pleaded. "You have to stop this now.... ahh....!" He tried to visualise in his mind’s eye all the things that would dampen the ardour of any man. But the idea of Threepio, all the snow on Hoth and the Death Star’s garbage compactor, failed miserably to have any effect on his now out-of-control libido.

Mara paid him no heed, caught up in the hedonistic spell of his flesh. He still faced away from her so she continued her exploration of his shoulders and back.

When she replaced her stroking fingers with her lips, Luke shuddered. Abruptly he turned to face her and fiercely covered her lips with his own. Then he pulled himself away and stood at the open door, his shoulders heaving with the effort.

"Luke..." She watched as he struggled for control. Finally he turned to face her, his blue eyes shuttered, his expression remote.

"I have to be sure this time, Mara. I…." his voice cracked. "You have power over me Callista never, ever could have."

Mara closed her green eyes and when she opened them the seriousness of the knowledge was there in her expression for him to see. "I know, Luke - I know."

Yavin IV

"Mistress Leia!" Threepio’s stilted metallic tones rang down the corridor.

"Ssh! Threepio. People are sleeping."

"Oh, I do beg your pardon. But I wanted to know. Is General Solo to be in contact with Artoo Detoo?"

"I don’t know. It depends if they locate Luke."

"Master Luke!" Threepio’s voice rose in panic. "Is he missing?"

"Not exactly," Leia hedged carefully. "He’s just keeping out of sight for a while." ‘I would know if anything was wrong,’ she told herself. ‘I would know’.

"Can I give General Solo a message to take with him to give to Artoo?"

"I think that will be fine, Threepio." Leia smiled. She never stopped to marvel at Threepio’s affection for his counterpart, when everyone said that droids could not have feelings. Leia, in the case of Threepio and Artoo, begged to differ.

She watched from the door of the chamber as Han kissed each of his three sleeping children. Anakin had finally given up on seeing Wedge properly as the pilot had either been sleeping or in contact with Coruscant. Anakin had remarked to his mother in a lofty tone that he would see Wedge when he came back. And to tell Mistress Jade to look after Uncle Luke. "’Cause he never does it for himself and it wasn’t good for mummy to worry so much and he was a terrible one for getting into trouble." Leia had blinked back a quick tear at that. Anakin was definitely more like his Uncle Luke than anyone else in the family. The sense of obligation must run in the genes.

Han came to his wife and engulfed her in his arms. "I love you."

"I know."

Their standard method of farewell they’d perfected over the years. It didn’t make the parting any easier, but it sustained them over vast distances.

"When do you leave for Coruscant?" Han asked as they waited for Wedge to arrive

"The ship should arrive in Yavin’s orbit in five days time. But I think I’ll leave the children here. It’s probably the best place for them. Winter will come and supervise. After all, Tycho will be flying out to join Wedge. So Winter and small Corran will come and stay on Yavin." Winter had finally married Rogue Squadron’s second-in-command, Tycho Celchu, and two years ago had borne him a son known affectionately as small Corran. Not that Corran Horn, his namesake from the Rogues, was particularly large.

The orange garbed figure of Wedge Antilles wandered slowly along the hall. "My x-wing has been secured to the Falcon. Next stop - Kashyyyk."

"Give my love to Chewie and Malla, Han. Apologise for the interruption. I don’t think Chewie’s ever had solo free time on his break with his family."

"Chewie won’t mind. He’ll have itchy feet by now. Malla loves to have him home, but is kinda relieved when he takes off again. That’s why they’ve been together for…. must be about a hundred years."

"Don’t even think about adding a comment to that Nerfherder, because I would know," Leia warned darkly while Wedge smothered a laugh.

Han embraced his wife one more time then turned to go up the Falcon’s ramp.

"General Solo, General Solo," Threepio’s voice called out urgently. "Could you take this message cube and data disk to Master Luke and Artoo?"

Han rolled his eyes. "If I must, Goldenrod."

"Dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Threepio huffed as if he was out of breath.

Han grabbed the messages from the droid and disappeared from sight. Leia watched until the Falcon vanished into space. "Come on, Threepio. It’s time to get the children up for lessons."

Tatooine

"Tell me," Luke stared at the floor. "Why do you need my help?"

Mara grimaced. She’d almost gotten a reaction from him. One that she wasn’t sure she could handle, but it had felt wonderful. She’d never felt like that in her life before. She steadied her breathing, reaching for calm where she could. "One of Karrde’s ships was attacked not far away from this system. The whole crew was killed, apart from the pilot who was practically beaten to death." Her voice darkened as she relived the horror. Luke came back inside and sat beside her again. Unconsciously his arm went back around her shoulders, offering comfort. The pilot, Calas Hinden - a good man. They butchered his friends in front of his eyes. All good men."

"You tried to help, didn’t you."

"Yes," she whispered. "I can’t understand why I was so sickened by the whole thing. You know I haven’t exactly had a spotless career. I’ve killed my fair share, but never..."

"So cruelly without feeling. You were merely carrying out orders for Palpatine. You were what he made you. It was never really you."

"Thanks, Luke. It doesn’t absolve me, but this was so repugnant. I did what I was commanded to do, but I never revelled in it. These creatures were glorying in their evilness. And all around them was the darkness. That’s one of the reasons I needed you so badly. I tried to help him reach some light and I failed. I wasn’t strong enough."

The green eyes fell guiltily. Luke tightened his left arm round her shoulders and picked up her hand with his right hand. "Karrde wants to find the people who did this and make them pay."

"Yes," she whispered.

"But Mara, revenge is of the dark side."

"This isn’t about revenge. These people must be stopped before they do the same to others. Before they harm your friends at Tosche station and other innocent people like them."

"What?"

"Yes, Luke. Some of the thugs we encountered there were also on the Prada. I saw them in Hinden’s mind. But something feels wrong about it all. Something in the force... I don’t know what it is."

Luke stretched out his feelings towards Mara. "I agree, " he said faintly. "I’ve felt something just shimmering out of sight ever since I arrived here. " He turned her more fully to face him and drew her into him. "We’ll sort it out. Tomorrow we work on some exercises; then we go to Tosche station. We need as much information as possible. I know where we will have to go, Mara." He looked her square in the face. "Do you?"

"Yes. Funnily enough I was going there anyway. The force moves in mysterious ways and all that. I had a little chat with General Cracken while I was on Pii 3. They have a little undercover investigation for me to carry out. I’ve done it before."

Luke blanched. "And you agreed. You didn’t have to."

"But I won’t be alone, Master Skywalker. You’ll be there with me, and I know I can’t do it without you."

"Too damn right. You’re not going there without me." His blue eyes blazed fiercely into hers. "Aw Sith..." Luke was fighting a losing battle, one which didn’t involve the dark side or any imperials. It was one with himself. He leant forward towards Mara and kissed her.

Mara drew back from Luke, green eyes wary. "Don’t play with my feelings either, Jedi Master. Fragile ain’t the half of it."

Luke’s eyes blazed as if something inside them had just ignited. "Who said anything about playing, Jade? Playtime’s over - this is serious."

There was a moment of silence as a question was asked and answered. This time there was no stopping, there was no going back. This time they would take the consequences. It was their destiny. Mara traced Luke’s freshly shaven jaw with one fingertip. "Are we being foolish?"

"I don’t know, Mara. If this is foolishness then I want to be the fool." He kissed the sensitive point at her throat, then pulled the tunic carefully over her head. Mara clutched at his shoulders as he bent his blond head once more and his mouth covered hers. He parted her lips with such hunger she was shaken to her heart’s centre. When did he acquire the power to do this to her? She had no defense left against this onslaught. Luke gathered her slender body closer and began to peel away the remainder of her clothing. Green eyes flashed into blue, skin cleaved to skin. Mara knew Luke wanted her. The sensation of his desire was a physical certainty. The surge of her own response bathed them both as their bodies joined. Neither noticed Artoo rotate his head in something which resembled satisfaction and very quietly close the outside door, leaving them in their own private world.

The escalating hunger between them drove them to seek that final fulfillment. Luke’s breathing grew hoarse and laboured as his fingers learned every curving contour of Mara’s body. She gave herself over to him. The power of the force added sensation and true joining to the lovers who already were closer than they knew. Their rhythm rose until it was too much to bear and, finally, it tipped them over the edge and ultimately into sleep.

Mara opened one eye. Had she just done what she thought she had? Pulling the cover over her naked body she regarded the still sleeping man. Luke in repose wouldn’t strike anyone as powerful. His handsome, tanned face - relaxed. His zest for life, which was reawakening - calmed. Placing her head on his shoulder she curved herself into his body. The son of Vader and the Emperor’s hand. Yet they fit like two halves of an Elgorian clamshell. Luke muttered something and turned to face her. She made her own vow there and then. She would protect him with her life, for without him, she was empty.

Mos Eisley

"Where the hell is she?" Karrde demanded quietly to Aves. "She should have contacted me two days ago." The two men quickly dodged out of the way of a passing dewback. Karrde’s face had been stained a dark brown and with rough homespun clothing blended in with the natives. The smuggler chief wanted no one to know that he was on the planet.

"When did she leave Pii 3?"

"A week ago according to Cawdor, but he didn’t tell us that certain members of NR Intelligence were there and spoke with her."

"How did you find out about that?"

"Contacts, Aves."

"You don’t suppose," he lowered his tone even further. "She’s managed to find Skywalker."

Karrde froze. "You may have hit the nail with the vibrohammer. But the system Mara mentioned containing Skywalker’s whereabouts was not in this sector. Nowhere near this sector in fact."

A light flashed on his communicator. "Someone’s trying to contact me. Back to the ship." They two men covered their heads and fused with the mass of citizens rushing through the rapidly darkening streets of the city. For once, Tatooine’s network of spies had failed to recognise Talon Karrde. Mos Eisley was still a place where, at times, you could be truly anonymous.

Pulling the cloth bindings from his head Karrde moved with purpose into the fully mobile communications centre aboard the Wild Karrde.

"Anything from Mara, Ghent?"

"No. But I’ve managed to locate her ship. It’s well hidden."

Karrde breathed a small sigh of relief. "Good. But she should have contacted me by now."

"There’s an incoming message for you. Heavily encrypted, but I got through it easily enough. New Republic codes... Here it is. Should have visuals in a second.... There."

The beautiful calm face of High Councillor Leia Organa Solo filled the viewscreen. "Greetings, Talon."

"Leia. It is good to hear from you."

"The pilot Calas Hinden has been installed in the Imperial Medicentre. They are going to do what they can for him."

"Many thanks. Now what can I do for you?"

The face on the viewscreen smiled. "I sometimes think, Talon, that you have a certain amount of ability in the force."

"No. Just a very wide network of people who owe me favours and keep me informed." He smiled at the thought.

"I wanted to know if you would keep an eye out for my brother. I believe he is a resident of those parts. I don’t doubt that he will get himself involved in something or other. If you find him, could you let General Cracken know? Luke’s never been out of touch for so long before without checking in. We must know where he is."

"Ahh!" Karrde glanced at Aves in satisfaction. "We wondered if he might be around."

Leia shook her head. "Can I give you a little piece of information as a bargaining credit?”

"That would be very useful. I take it this is in complete confidence."

"I’m alone here, yes. I’m returning to Coruscant tomorrow. There are problems in the sector you now find yourself in. The New Republic is sending a squad in. Wedge came for Han. Can you find and contact my brother if he’s there? He might be able to help. He’s part of Tatooine. He can pick up nuances, which would pass by anyone else, even other Jedi. Luke is part Tusken Raider, I think. If you find him - tell him to be careful. And to get in contact."

"I will, Leia. Thanks for the tip. I spotted one of Cracken’s people on Pii 3. But I mistakenly assumed it was because of the training base."

Leia terminated the transmission and returned to spend the last evening for a while with her children. Meanwhile Karrde turned to Aves and Ghent. "Do we have many informants left in the area?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Pity. But sooner or later Skywalker will show himself. He can’t help it. When we find him - we find Mara. I hope."

In a hut on the Edge of the Dune Sea

Luke shifted slightly in his bed. There didn’t seem to be as much room as there normally was. And he was all tangled up with something. Then he recalled what he’d spent most of the day doing. Mara really was going to kill him this time. But it would have been worth it.

"Stop thinking so loudly, Skywalker," the voice murmured gently in his ear. He swivelled into position facing a beautiful woman with eyes the colour of the new leaves and hair the colour of the sunset on Tatooine. Mara chuckled as the Jedi Master actually blushed.

"This isn’t a morning after the night before, Luke. So there’s no point in getting embarrassed." Then she spoiled the effect and coloured herself. All of a sudden it was difficult to meet his steady regard. Luke lifted his hand and trailed it down her cheek. "Thanks, Jade. That was.... special," he finished quietly.

"I know - it was," and she laid her bright head on his chest. Luke drew her close and just for a short time they lay in total peace.

The suns were moving into position for their gradual descent into darkness when Luke and Mara decided it was time to move. After Luke cooked something to eat, they sat and talked late into the night. Luke told her tales of Jedi long gone and of what his own research had found out about their training. They discussed what Mara required for her training, but didn’t talk about the passionate hours spent in Luke’s bed. When they felt the urge to sleep the two of them, by mutual consent, climbed into the bed and fell asleep again in each other’s arms.

Chapter 5

Luke threw the bar into the air and Mara swiftly cut it into three equal pieces.

"Good," he smiled approvingly.

Mara let his approbation sink into her soul and flashed him a cheeky grin. "But...." she drawled mockingly.

"It should have been in at least seven pieces."

"Oh come on..."

"Watch!" Luke launched another bar into the air, then ignited his saber. "See."

"Show off," she muttered sourly, her mood evaporating.

"It's all a matter of control."

"Yeah, yeah."

Luke had spent most of the day tutoring Mara. She was bright and quick and had a strength in the force that he'd rarely seen. The Emperor had trained her in many things as she'd learned to be his Hand. How she'd remained grounded in the light side of the force he knew not, but for that blessing he gave thanks. She'd also picked up things from Luke over the years. Mara already had a lifetime of accumulated knowledge. This was no raw beginner that he was dealing with.

He watched critically as she spun and parried the remote. Her fitness level was extremely high, her saber skill was graceful and her place in the force grew daily. As for her place in Luke's heart, that was something that the young Jedi Master hadn't dealt with yet. He felt her presence with him so strongly it was almost as if Mara herself was joined with him.

Memories of her origins hadn't resurfaced through their brief explorations of meditation techniques and there was a strong possibility that they wouldn't. The probability of Palpatine even leaving anyone alive to tell was unlikely. Luke had told her there were ways of accessing suppressed memories and he could try if she so wished but it was not something to be undertaken quickly or lightly.

"It's all right, Luke. Now is not the time. Whatever past life there was is most likely gone forever. I can live with it. I have to move beyond what Palpatine did to me and make a new life for myself." She looked him hard in the eyes. "And so do you."

Luke lifted his hand dismissively, but he knew she was right and slowly the frozen memories he held in the deepest part of him began to thaw and trickle into his conscious thought.

"I'm going to check on the x-wing," he muttered abruptly indicating the large object covered with a camo-net. "I suggest you work on some fitness in conjunction with the living force". He pointed to the floor of the canyon, far below the place where they stood. "Why don't you climb down? Then we'll work on getting you back up."

Down below them was the entrance to a cave. The way they had come in last night, she realised and now he wanted her to go down the hard way. "There are stairs," she muttered under her breath.

Mara threw him a look of thinly veiled dislike and lowered herself carefully over the edge. When she finally reached the bottom of the cliff she was tired, hot, thirsty and gritty. That sand got absolutely everywhere. She swore it had migrated into places in her underwear.

Luke wandered out from the cave the speeder had been parked in. His mood had partially been restored until he saw the look on the trader's face. 'Uh-oh!' he grimaced inwardly. He recognised that face she was sporting. 'Jedi-trainee Jade is looking distinctly irritable.' He proffered a water bottle and was rewarded by a thin smile.

"I might forgive you. It's cold..... I forgive you." She took a grateful swig from the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist. Putting the lid on the bottle she assessed the Jedi Master carefully. They still hadn't spoken about what had happened between them the previous day. Her own mind shied away from even thinking about it. Something was bothering him, but she didn't think it was.... that.

"What is it?" she asked.

A flicker of something crossed his face and Mara felt a little ache of something approaching pain.

"Skywalker!"

Luke smiled a little forlornly, but didn't answer her. The flushed face Mara presented him with darkened a little.

'Uh-oh,' he thought again. 'The lady is looking somewhat impatient.'

"Look Skywalker - I know you better than you think. Whatever is worming around in your sun-frazzled brain is affecting me. So spit it out."

"It's just.... I've got to......."

"Are you always this incoherent around women or am I the sole person picked for the honour."

Annoyance loosened his tongue. "This is my business, Mara," he snapped then softened his voice a little. "Look - it's just something I have to do and it's hard for me. I've put it off a long time."

Mara crossed to him and put a gentle hand on his cheek. "But you don't have to do it alone. I can help you. I want to help."

Luke closed his eyes and lifted his hand to cover hers. Something shifted in the force and Luke let Mara in to share one of his most painful memories.

The Lars’ Moisture Farm

The boy's face blanched under his tan as he faced the awful truth in the sad, wise gaze of the old man.

"Home..." he gulped and leapt into the speeder.

"Luke, wait ... wait, Luke! It's too dangerous! You'd never...!"

But the boy heard none of the older man's cries. The pounding of his heart and the panic in his brain meant that the all too short journey passed in a blur. "Let them be alright, let them still be there." he prayed.

The vehicle stopped and the boy ran towards the dwelling. Black, acrid smoke billowed out from the dwelling and then....

Mara felt the terror, bewilderment and the anguish as if it was her own. The emotions threatened to choke them both. The burning skeletons didn't look like people anymore.

"I didn't have time to mourn them properly. I never grieved for them. I sorrowed more for Ben when he died on the Death Star. They were the only family I had ever known and the Empire had destroyed the only home I'd ever had. I wasn't there when they needed me most. I failed them. I failed my family."

Mara felt as if she really was there. The hurt, the agony was so immediate and so.... raw. The wound had opened and Luke Skywalker's soul bled.

Nothing had prepared the boy Luke for what fate or destiny - call it what you will - had dealt him. Beru and Owen had kept him safe from the real world. He'd had to grow up in an instant and each subsequent blow had immured these memories deeper into the most hidden part of his psyche. Ben, then Biggs, then finding out the people he'd trusted in his life had lied to him about who he was. Trying to rebuild an ancient order. On his own. Luke had had no time to cleanse himself from his past. It had been there - just waiting. Waiting for when he was at his most vulnerable.

"Luke," Mara whispered softly intruding into his private pain. "Come and sit for a moment - please," she entreated and led him to sit on an outcropping of rock near the entrance to the cave. Luke stumbled in her direction like a sleepwalker.

"Obi Wan was right. If you'd been there you would have been dead too, or in some Imperial prison. Leia wouldn't have made it off the Death Star and there would have been more Alderaans. Beru and Owen Lars must have known the risks when they accepted you. They weren't stupid. Owen did everything he could to keep you safe - even to the extent of overprotecting you."

"Yes." The hurt in the blue eyes tore at Mara's heart.

"It wasn't your destiny to die with them, with Obi Wan or even at my hand. If you survived that - well, what can I say - you can survive anything. Luke, you don't want to know what might have happened had you died. I, too, would be dead. Dead to the light side of the force." She withdrew carefully from the visions in his mind and sat gazing up into his face. "Pay your respects to your family now, Luke. I'm here to help you through it."

A spark of awareness lit the depths of his blue eyes. "I'm going back to the homestead. I'm going to visit my old home. I've never been back since...."

"I'm coming with you."

"Thanks." He gripped her hands gratefully.

The Former Skywalker Moisture Farm

Mara remained in the speeder as Luke walked towards the small clump of buildings he'd once called home. This truly was in the middle of nowhere. The horizon stretched for hundreds of miles in any direction she turned. Flat - just sand and sky. He'd given the land to an alien called Throgg, but Tatooine had become an Imperial stronghold and many alien species found themselves unwelcome. Gavin Darklighter's father, Jula, had purchased the property and the family had run the farm ever since. She sighed. Being strong in the force had brought them many hardships, but what did they know of anything else?

Luke pulled the hood of his jedi cloak further over his head and descended into the courtyard. Jula Darklighter waited expectantly beside the techdome.

"Commander Skywalker."

"Citizen Darklighter," he bowed his head. "But it's just Citizen Skywalker now, or Jedi if you prefer. I resigned my commission a good few years ago."

"Gavin tells me you still fly with them occasionally."

Luke smiled. "If I'm needed. It's nice to be asked. Gavin is well, I believe."

"Yes, we saw him not too long ago."

Luke coughed slightly. "I'm glad to see you, I've not been back here since the...."

"I understand," Jula's dark eyes gleamed sympathetically. "Any time you want to come here to pay respects you're very welcome."

"It's time,"

"I appreciate that it's hard for you."

"I've been so caught up in other things that I pushed this aside." He gazed at the immaculate courtyard. "It's still a working farm?"

"One of my sons and his wife manage it, but they are away at present. When I received your message I decided to honour your visit myself. You are welcome to stay."

"No. I don't need to do that. Too many memories, but now not all of them are painful. I just wanted to pay my respects. I was brought up here, after all. The sand gets to you after a while."

Darklighter grinned until the light footstep behind him had the older man going for his blaster.

"It's a friend of mine, sir." Luke inserted quickly "Mara, this is Jula Darklighter. Sir - Mara Jade."

Mara nodded to the older man then recognition lit her features. "Gavin's father?"

Darklighter inclined his head. "That is correct."

Mara relaxed. "I can see the resemblance."

"Gavin has mentioned you, but didn't say how pretty you were."

Luke laughed. "Gavin thinks of two things. Flying and Asyr."

There was a momentary silence. Then Jula led the couple towards a small stone in the corner of the courtyard. "I'll leave you now." He shook Luke's hand and quickly departed, leaving them alone.

"I can go and wait if you'd rather...." Mara offered.

"No," he replied quickly. "Please stay." He stood looking down at the stone, which bore the names of his aunt and uncle. Mara remained back for a second and then moved forward, her arms going around him. She had sensed his sorrow and pain. It had flowed into her as she sat waiting in the speeder. A single tear hovered at the corner of Luke's eye before he buried himself in Mara's embrace. Mara was surprised to find it was so natural to offer comfort. She felt Luke trembling and through the force she absorbed his grief and gave her warmth to heal his loneliness. She'd never found it easy to be close to people, but all she wanted to do was to be there for Luke.

"Come on, Jedi Master. It's getting late and time we were getting out of here. I have enough problems with you without adding desert scavengers to the list."

Luke disentangled himself from Mara and took a last look at his folks' memorial.

"Come on. Let's go home."

He nodded wordlessly and taking her hand in his they trailed towards the speeder and returned to the house on the edge of the Dune Sea.

As Luke switched on the power he glanced apologetically at Mara who was in the process of tiredly removing her cloak. "I said we'd go to Anchorhead tonight, but I don't think I'm up to it."

"It doesn't matter Luke. Let's sleep on it. It's been a very long and emotionally draining day for us both. All our problems will wait for us. They always do. But it's good to hear you say that. Before you would have gone no matter how tired you were and then mistakes might be made."

"Mara." The seriousness in his voice made her stop what she was doing, her face turned to the wall. "We never talked about..."

She turned swiftly and placed her hand over his mouth. "Don't," she whispered.

He grasped her wrist and turned it until he could place a kiss in her palm. Letting out a long unsteady breath Luke began to let his mouth travel slowly up the soft inner flesh of her arm. All of a sudden they were locked mouth to mouth and she felt him stir against her. Breathless, she moved in his arms feeling the tension in his body. Gazing up into his intent, possessive face Mara sighed in agreement before the urgency began. Her body was on fire. Luke raised his hands and slowly circled his palms on the peaks of her breasts. She leant against him as they divested themselves of tunics and jumpsuits and they were lying, limbs tangled round limbs. Someone moaned softly. Mara couldn't be sure which of them it was. Luke was caught up in a storm of feeling he'd never experienced in his life. He kissed her mouth, her eyelids, her cheeks, her throat, frantically trying to keep pace with the excitement which flooded both their bodies and, with it, the very essence of the force. They surely had merged both mind and spirit, body and soul. Luke cried out hoarsely and listened, elated, as Mara's cry joined his.

Mos Eisley

Han landed the Falcon carefully into docking bay 620. "Chewie, switch off all power. It's a good job Leia doesn't know about the new fake transponder codes."

The Wookiee snuffled a barking laugh.

"What do you mean she knows? Not about this one, pal. I only got it yesterday."

Han and Wedge had flown to Pii 3, met with Cracken, had picked up a couple of the Rogues and one or two of Page's Commandos.

Wedge had again placed the cybernetic prosthetic across half of his face, giving him a distinctly inhuman appearance.

"Half man, half droid, that's me," he joked. "Just call me Lowry Brance. Ex-Imperial, now turned mercenary, smuggler, whatever will pay."

"I know the type," Han said "I think I was that man once."

Chewbacca growled an agreement. He had dyed part of his fur white just to throw any suspicious minds off the scent. Han had started a beard and stained his face a dark colour. Surface Inserts had changed his eye colour and with the all-enveloping robes of a type worn on Tatooine he also looked most unlike himself.

Tycho Celchu and Corran Horn, being fairly anonymous in this part of the galaxy, had worn desert dwellers garb and stained their faces to look as if they'd been on the dry world for a long time. Then there was Page. He looked as he usually did, but somehow without changing much about himself he was as anonymous as ever.

"What are we looking for?" asked Han.

Page sighed. "We're not too sure. Something funny is happening. I've to meet with a representative from Imperial intelligence. They are very worried about the activities of a Twilek who goes by the name of Firith Olan."

Han sat upright in shock. "I know him - or I used to. I thought he was dead. Most of these guys met a grizzly end when Jabba met his. I haven't seen any of them since. Mind, I'm not knocking around the cesspits of the galaxy quite as frequently as I used to."

"According to reports he's set up in the B'Omarr monastery on the edge of the Dune Sea. I believe, General Solo, it's a place you are not unfamiliar with."

Han paled under his disguise.

"The Empire are concerned because he is stockpiling weapons and supplies. He is attacking all independent shipping unfortunate enough to cross his path. The Imperial Governor in the area was murdered last week, but no one can produce any evidence to pin it on Olan. And for some reason they are reluctant to arrest him without proof."

"I don't like it. I've got a bad feeling about this," Corran whispered in an aside to Tycho.

"You and me both, buddy." answered the Alderaanian pilot.

"Can't they just arrest him and take him out of the game altogether?" wondered Wedge.

"Unfortunately not. The Empire doesn't have the forces or resources in this area any more and the populace are getting very restless. In some ways Olan's been good for the area. The economy has picked up. Smuggling can be profitable."

Han guffawed loudly. "How come no-one told me that."

Chewie snickered and growled a wisecrack.

"I was just unlucky pal."

"We're hoping to have one or two agents undercover in the Twilek's stronghold, but we're still waiting for them to make contact. In fact, we are hoping that Master Skywalker is still in the area."

"So you knew he was around too, eh Page?"

"Your wife kindly passed the message onto General Cracken. But I do try to keep informed."

Wedge spoke up, his voice sounding tinny behind the vocabulator. "I can't understand why Mara denied knowing Luke's whereabouts."

Corran glanced at Tycho. Mara Jade was in this too. That meant Karrde wouldn't be far behind or, in his usual case, ahead of them.

Han shrugged. "He'd got her to agree to stay for training, then Karrde's people were killed. She had to divert her attentions to whatever she was needed to do. She's still Karrde's second in command. I don't think she did know where Luke was. Stars, none of us knew. He just took off. We still don't know if he's in this system, but Leia seems to think he's here."

Corran shrugged. "It's home," he murmured simply.

Page grinned, which suddenly made his forgettable face recognisable. "Actually - I only began to suspect his whereabouts when our contact on Pii 3 gave us the nod. He's got rather good at avoiding even us these days. It could be a problem."

Wedge looked at Page. "We've asked Mara to help us and she agreed, but so far there has been no word from her."

Han thought hard for a second. "I vote we try and find Luke. Corran's right. Tatooine was the only home he'd ever known and he's not been himself lately."

Corran stood up, a strange expression on his face. "Find Luke and we find Jade. They're together I think. General Solo - you know where they are likely to be."

"No, I don't."

Corran shook his head. "You do. I have this feeling...."

"No.... wait...." he said as Chewbacca uttered a series of short barks. "You forget, pal, I never ended up there. A small matter of being frozen in carbonite at the time. You think Anchorhead might be a good place to start. Why?"

Page smiled in satisfaction and Wedge voiced what he was thinking. "That's near where Luke was brought up and it's not too far from the Western Dune Sea which is as close as we can safely get to our target."

Page took control. "General Solo, you and Wedge go to Anchorhead and try and find out anything you can about Luke. Corran and Tycho, I'd like you to start staking out some of the less salubrious dives in Mos Eisley. I'm going to see if the Twilek needs any smugglers for hire and Chewbacca will remain with the Falcon and co-ordinate efforts. He's also back up in case any of the teams get into trouble. There are others around and Chewbacca knows about them too."

Tycho grinned. "Guess you and I, Horn, get all the best jobs."

Tosche Station

The power station was quiet as Luke and Mara entered. It was early in the day so the drinking crowd hadn't arrived. Camie and a cleaning droid moved calmly round the room.

"You wouldn't have known there was an all out fight yesterday," Mara spoke in his mind.

"Oh, I don't know, Jade. That chunk of stone where a blaster bolt just missed me looks pretty obvious." He pulled the hood from over his head and Mara did the same.

"Camie," he called softly.

She turned and faced the two silent Jedi.

"We need to talk. We," he indicated himself and Mara, "need information."

Camie assessed Luke carefully. He'd shaved off that beard and now looked little different as to how she remembered him. Something had changed though. It was in his eyes. He looked as if he'd all the worries of the world on his shoulders. Camie felt a little uncomfortable as she met the sharp green eyes of the woman by his side. She seemed to know what Camie was thinking and it was unsettling. But Fixer and herself owed these people. They'd probably saved their lives two days ago.

"Come on. Fixer and Arnek are in the workshop through the back."

"I spent some of my youth in the back here," Luke murmured to Mara. "There used to be a pool table and a holo-game."

She raised skeptical eyebrows. "Were you old enough, Farmboy?"

He grinned. All of a sudden he was the boy he'd been back then and Mara felt the glow of his smile in her heart.

"Just. I was rather impetuous in my younger days."

"You don't say," Mara muttered dryly.

Camie listened to the good-natured banter between the two and cautiously ventured a comment of her own. "He was full speed ahead, Ma'am."

Mara pulled a face. Camie was older than Luke and herself and was addressing Mara as if she were her maiden aunt."

"Jade will do," she growled, then brightened to ask, "You mean he acted first and thought later?"

"I suppose so - yes. He was rather reckless when his uncle let him off his leash. He was always being grounded because he'd banged up his skyhopper in some stupid race or other."

"Will you stop talking about me as if I wasn't there," Luke roared. "And it wasn't a stupid race."

"Did someone say something?" asked Mara of Camie.

"That's it, Jade. I'm not cooking for you again. Tonight you can function on New Republic rations and they don't qualify as food."

"I think we've hurt his feelings." Mara eyed the simmering Jedi Master.

Camie gulped. Whatever game these two were involved with she didn't really want to be a part of it. She felt unsure of this new Luke Skywalker who wore an aura of calm power with comfort.

As they turned to enter Fixer's office, Camie was startled to notice that both Luke and his companion had raised their hoods again. Luke wore a dark brown cloak over a black tunic and pants. The woman, Mara Jade, wore a bottle green cloak over a green jumpsuit and tunic. Black knee boots completed their attire. What was with these people?

Arnek shuffled over to Luke and clasped his hand warmly. "Lukas, my boy."

"Luke will do. It's what I'm used to."

"That's possibly because it's your proper name," Mara inserted crossly.

Luke pulled back his hood angrily and turned to face her, his finger raised at a lecturing angle. "Right, Jade, and you didn't have the occasional name change. You're not the one with a price on your head."

"My, my, Jedi Master," she bit out scornfully. "You don't..." She pulled her hood down and they faced each other nose to nose.

Camie raised her voice. She was used to dealing with children. "Will you two leave it?"

The two jedi broke off the heated exchange. "I told you it would work, Skywalker - you owe me."

"Alright Jade, I'll think of something."

Fixer moved out from his desk, his face sullen in the half-light. "Why are you here?"

Luke stared Fixer in the face. "I was brought up here; why shouldn't I return."

"You haven't before."

"Oh, but I have, on several occasions. It's not much over nearly twenty years. I have the right."

"But not here."

Camie put a calming hand on Fixer's arm. "Wormie...Luke. You didn't come and see us before. I know we weren't always very nice to you, but..." she trailed off limply.

"It wasn't my right. I would have put you and your family in danger. I couldn't do that to you."

Luke glanced quickly at Mara and they sat on a couple of misshapen chairs. "I don't want to go over the complete story of my life after I left Tatooine. It's not always very pretty and is far too long and complicated. I joined the Alliance as a pilot and fought in the war. When I joined the rebellion I became an enemy of the Empire and I couldn't risk your safety, besides I had a price on my head."

"A big one too. The price, and perhaps his head." Mara threw in for good measure.

"In some ways we're still fighting. I discovered family I didn't know I had and also that I had skills that were different." He hesitated. "I'm a Jedi Knight."

Fixer snorted. This was too much. Wormie and those silly dreams of his. There was no way he was going to be taken in by that two bit....

Luke smiled. "I can sense everything you're thinking, Fixer. It is true. You can believe or disbelieve. It makes no odds to me anymore. At one time it might have made me feel more accepted, but I don't need your approval. Oh don't worry, I can't read your mind - not unless you give me free access. I wouldn't do that anyway. It's not ethical."

"And a bit too near the darkside, farmboy." Mara sent the comment to Luke via the force.

Mara spoke up. "That silly game we played as we came in was to make you feel more at ease with us." She looked at Camie and grinned. "It stopped you ma'aming me every two seconds. The Jedi are rising again and Luke is head of the order. Strange for you to adjust to that, I think. But Luke isn't there for you to boss around anymore."

"Then why do you do it Jade?" Luke sent to her through the force."

"Skywalker!" she warned.

The Windriders looked confused at hearing only half a conversation.

Luke gave Mara one of his special glares, but it only worked on his other Jedi trainees. Mara was different.

"I couldn't contact you before now. I would have been stupid to do so. I would have put all your lives at risk. Beru and Owen Lars paid for raising me with their lives. You would have met a similar fate. My.... father was very high up in the Imperial government. He didn't know I existed for years. If he had done I would have been dead."

"Luke is a modest man most of the time," Mara couldn't resist the little dig. "And unusually so for a pilot. But he is one of the New Republic's most revered and decorated war heroes. Though you might not know it to look at him."

"You?" Fixer shook his head with incredulity. Was the woman as deluded as Skywalker?

"What Mara should really say is that I have a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time. Trouble finds me or I locate it. I'm a good pilot. You should know that, Fixer."

"I suppose you want to know what's happening round here," Arnek said quietly.

"We have our suspicions. Things have been happening throughout the sector. I've unwittingly dragged Luke into this." Mara didn't look at him.

"I said I'd help, Jade, and I meant it. Danger is our sphere of choice. I'm not letting you go through it alone. I can't."

"What about all that rubbish about being calm and at peace?"

"I am at peace, Jade, or hadn't you noticed."

Camie brushed a stray wisp of hair from the side of her cheek. "Please come and share a meal with us. Arnek is our talebearer around here.

Mara and Luke followed her out of the office and made their way across to the dwelling. Fixer caught Arnek by the arm. "Do you believe him?" he asked curiously.

"He's got no reason to lie. He hasn't said much about what he's done. If anything, it's the girl who's done the boasting. But I don't think it was that. She just stated the facts. Owen Lars was mighty protective of that boy. He never had the freedom the rest of you had."

"Are they.... Jedi?"

Arnek considered the question carefully. "I've not seen the Jedi in our part of the galaxy in many years. Not since the clone wars have there been Jedi in any number. But I had heard they were rising. They were considered to be good, wise and just. Look at the facts. They both carry lightsabers. I was impressed by their usage of them when they came to our aid the other night. The clothing they wear is remarkably similar in style and if you notice they communicate without speaking. It's as if they can talk to each other without anything. Cloudrunner...I mean Skywalker...healed Camie's face just by touching it and suppressed the pain when those barbarians kicked in your ribs. But, most of all, can't you sense it?"

"Sense what?" he muttered peevishly.

"The aura of power he has. It's just ...there."

"I hadn't noticed," he grumbled as he made his way home. But he had. Luke's power covered him like a mantle. The redheaded female had it too. Fixer followed them to his dwelling, resentful and mistrustful. Skywalker turns up and everyone follows him. He didn't have to stay here on this miserable world and scratch out a living.

"Camie anxiously surveyed her table. "The children are still at my parents. I thought it might be safer."

"A good idea," approved Mara.

"Do they still sell hydroponic plants?"

She stopped ladling steaming hot food into bowls. "Yes, but my father will retire soon. Hurry up" She chided Fixer and Arnek as they wandered into the dining area.

For a while there was desultory conversation and the consumption of Camie's excellent food. Luke pushed his bowl away and sighed with satisfaction. Grabbing his glass of lum he looked at Mara.

"We want to know anything you can tell us about the Twilek. I think he'll leave you alone for a while, but it would be better to be prepared. There are people who can help. I think even the government may get involved."

Camie's brown eyes clouded. "Things were really good for a while. A lot of folks passed through. After you.....left, there were a lot of Imperial types asking questions, but business was good."

"Then," Luke prompted.

"We got married and Fixer bought over the station from HiCar."

Arnek picked up his glass and took a long gulp at the liquid. "I'd worked for HiCar, but I retired and moved to stay with my daughter in Mos Elras. It was boring so I moved back and Fixer gave me my old job again."

"I let him back, the interfering old...." Fixer grumbled.

"You couldn't get anyone else to work for what you pay."

"I think we're moving off the subject." Mara's voice was sharp.

"Then Jabba died."

"Sorry," murmured Luke.

"You had a hand in that," sneered Fixer. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Mara growled. "I was there."

"She was trying to kill me at the time," put in Luke helpfully.

"Don't remind me, Skywalker. There's still time."

Fixer glared at the Jedi before grudgingly continuing with the story. "When Jabba died business slowed down - real slow. No strangers travelling to do the Hutts' business. Folks didn't want to come out this far for nuthin'. I mean it wasn't bad - just not as good as it had been."

"We made a living, like anyone on Tatooine," put in Camie quietly.

Arnek glanced at Camie and sensed she was getting upset. "About a year after Jabba died, there was some sort of incident. Trouble somewhere. There were imperials everywhere and various rough types from Mos Eisley."

"Like a power struggle?" asked Luke. He thought for a second and then nodded. "That would be about right. Check with the Rogues."

"The Rogues?" asked Fixer curiously.

"Luke's ex-squadron." Mara explained.

"After that there was nothing until last year. Oh, there might have been something going on. It was strange how the properties were all bought up and some folks had a new landlord who increased the rent. We started getting these aliens again travelling through. Low-lifes generally, but they stopped for a drink and a meal before heading off somewhere.

Then one day this Twilek arrived with his back-up crew. Threats were made. We paid protection money. It's not unusual - but things got worse."

Fixer slammed his fists on the wooden table. "Then one of the locals was found bludgeoned almost to death in the middle of the street. He'd fallen behind with his rent. They made an example of him. He died three days later."

Camie's eyes filled with tears. "Then they came more often, they threatened me and the children, demanded more money or the station. One of the townspeople stood up to them. He disappeared. We've been so scared. Life is hard enough out here..." She covered her face with her hands. Fixer, for once, looked helplessly at Luke.

"What can we do? We don't know that standing up for ourselves the other night may bring some catastrophe down on our heads. I'm not cut out for this," he admitted honestly. It was probably the first time in years he'd admitted anything like that. "The customers are scared - heck, we're scared. Deak was attacked on his way home from work. He's still in the medicentre and I'm losing business because my mechanic is unable to work."

"Do you know this Twilek's name?" wondered Mara.

"He goes by the name of Firith Olan."

Both Luke and Mara jerked their heads up at that. Something crawled up their backs. "It's not right," he whispered, blue eyes wide and staring.

Mara put out a shaky hand and grabbed Luke's. "I agree."

Arnek and the Windriders shivered despite the heat. Finally - Fixer did believe.

Mos Eisley

Karrde paced the length of his cabin on the Wild Karrde. He was getting really worried. Mara had never been this late checking in before. What in Vader's name was she doing? The door chimed suddenly, intruding into his anxious thoughts. Wiping away any trace of an expression he called. "Come."

Aves stood grim-faced in the doorway. "We've just picked up someone paying a little too much interest in the ship. He is demanding to see you personally."

"He is, eh!"

"How can I put this boss? He looks very familiar. In fact I would say he might even be…."

"Han Solo?"

Aves blinked, surprise etched on his features.

"Bring him in. This is becoming a regular party. Oh, and Aves - have a look for his back-up."

"Now look here, Karrde..."

"Welcome aboard, General Solo."

Han sighed. "Han will do, I don't hold much to the General part these days. In fact, in this part of the galaxy I don't even recognise such a person."

Karrde nodded; he understood. "Have a seat, Han. Leia did say you were in the vicinity, I didn't expect you to discover us quite so soon."

"It was a piece of luck, Karrde. We're in the docking bay just along the street and I recognised Dankin. He has this way of moving that is peculiarly his own. I'm sorry about your people on the Prada. They were good men."

Talon rubbed his hand wearily over his face and winced in disgust as some of the staining smeared itself over his palm. "They were good men. Whoever did this will pay. Nobody harms my people."

"Talking about your people...you haven't heard from...."

"Mara? No. I'm admitting to being a little anxious. She was supposed to meet me here four days ago."

Han shrugged. "Did Leia mention that Luke..."

"Was possibly in the area? Yes." Karrde sighed heavily. "There's been no sign of him either and that is unusual. Luke can't keep hidden for long - it's not in his nature."

A light flashed on the console. "Yes?"

"Commander Antilles will be joining you."

"Ah, the back up."

"Come on Karrde, you didn't think we'd be here alone."

"No. How many people are here?"

"I'm afraid that's classified." Han's hazel eyes twinkled.

Karrde twisted his lips in a thin lipped smile of satisfaction. "So if I was to make a few speculative guesses I wouldn't be upsetting state secrets because they would be merely guesses."

"Of course. If I was to show a little reaction now and then it doesn't mean to say that I'm agreeing or disagreeing with you."

The look the two shared was grim.

Luke and Mara drove into Mos Eisley under cover of darkness, but as usual the city spaceport was alive. "I sometimes think this place is busier in the dark of night than during broad daylight," Mara mused thoughtfully.

"We need to get to the rooms I've booked for us. I don't like the idea of what you're doing, Jade."

"I told you it would be alright if you're there too."

Luke felt the flicker of unease, but knew there was nothing he could do about it for the moment. Eventually they reached the boarding house Luke had used. The bored female still sat glued to the vid-screen and paid the two Jedi not a scrap of attention.

"I didn't even have to use the force to disguise our presence," he showed white teeth in his tanned face. "Pity about the beard. I'll have to use a false one tomorrow."

Mara wandered to the bed and threw herself across it. Leaning on her chin she gave him a dry look. "I didn't like it. It made you look.... different."

Luke gave her an equally dry glance. "That was the general idea, Jade - to look different. I didn't want to use the force as much. I just wanted to be myself for a while, like I was before I became a Jedi. I realise now that I can't escape from who I am, nor do I want to." He pulled off his cloak. "Shove up." Mara moved aside a little on the bed.

"Have we got a cover story for tomorrow?"

"Mm-hm." She lay back on the bed, her eyes closed. "I'm a dancer and I've fallen on hard times, running from creditors. Everyone is around here. Or they were when I worked for Jabba. You are my...agent...for want of a better word."

"Lover," inserted Luke thoughtfully.

"Oh no, Skywalker. We're not going down that route."

He turned his head towards her on the pillow. "We're on that route, Jade, or hadn't you noticed?" Something flashed in her eyes and there was an answering flare in his.

"It makes sense. It will explain why I'm there with you, jealously watching your every move. We could have some spectacular fights. And you have a fatal fascination for me." He propped himself up on his elbow, hand outlining the idea, blue eyes shining with enthusiasm. Mara gave a strangled groan of horror, screwed her face up and started to disagree - violently. "Come on Mara, " he leant over her and grinned down at her disgruntled expression. "It'll be fun. I'll be a has-been smuggler."

"Well that'll be right enough," she gibed nastily, still rather unsettled by his words.

Luke ignored the taunt, blue eyes alive. "I've fallen on hard times and I'm using you to get money."

Mara couldn't help it; she laughed. "I'm sorry, Luke. You're so noble and damned idealistic. To think of you as such a character is....." She giggled lightly. "Funny."

Luke tried to appear offended, but failed miserably and soon he was laughing as much as Mara was. "It'll work," he promised. Mara reached up and ran a hand down the side of his face. Mirth forgotten, his head lowered closer. Mara almost stopped breathing as her lips parted and eyes fluttered closed.

"Sithspit!" Mara jerked upright and dislodged Luke from his position.

"What is it?"

"I was supposed to contact Karrde four days ago. He'll be livid." Rolling off the bed she grabbed her cloak. Luke sighed deeply and reached out for his. "Come on then. Where do we go?"

The two of them wandered the twisted alleyways until they reached a peculiarly shaped small courtyard. It was completely empty apart from a couple of stone benches and what might be market stalls during the daytime. Burning sconces gave off a feeble light. Mara sat awkwardly on one of the benches, glanced at her chrono and pressed some sort of button. "Now we wait."

"If Karrde is still here this should get someone from the organisation to meet us as soon as possible."

"Someone's coming, but it's not Karrde. Stormtroopers!"

Swift panic flared through their senses before Luke acted. Leaping from his bench he grabbed Mara round the waist and pushed her against the wall, just under the burning sconce. She looked up into his shadowed eyes and felt him lightly probe her senses. ‘A jedi feels peace; well, this jedi isn't feeling peace!’

"Got you," he muttered and his mouth covered hers. She didn't even struggle. The few days and nights they had spent together had wrought in them both a powerful chemistry.

A jawa scuttled by in the dark and another detachment of stormtroopers, but Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker forgot time and where they were. Mouths clung, hands touched.

To anyone coming round the corner they were just another male and female. Suddenly Mara pounced and tickled.

"Ow, Mara! Cut that out."

"Now Jedi Master, I thought we were working on our split level concentration."

"I was until you started that caper. Jade!" his voice rose. Then he tried a couple of sneaky moves, pinned her hands behind her back and resumed kissing her with enjoyment.

The Wild Karrde

Ghent looked up, startled. We have a signal. Sir, we have Mara's signal."

Karrde gave Han a grim look and they raced to the communications centre.

"No doubt about it. She's in Mos Eisley."

"Come on, Solo. Let's go and find her."

Han gave Karrde a puzzled look. He hadn't thought that Karrde was so fond of Mara, but they'd worked together a long time and she was his second in command and running a good deal of his operation. So he supposed he was wrong.

"She's a good girl, Solo. Deep down." Karrde muttered gruffly. "But she'll kill you if you ever suggest that to her. And so might I."

The two men crept carefully round some of Mos Eisley's seamier back alleys and that was saying something. Han pulled a scarf over his mouth and nose. Some of the smells he was experiencing just didn't bear thinking about. Something slipped past making for the lighted doorway of a dodgy looking cantina.

"Solo!" Karrde whispered urgently. They backed into a shadowed alcove as a group of stormtroopers went by.

"Whew!" Han exclaimed. "I think I must be allergic to all that white armour. I always think they're looking for me."

"Usually they are, I would expect." Karrde added dryly. "There is a small courtyard up ahead. She should be waiting there. If she runs into trouble there are seven alleyways leading from it, but it's normally deserted this time of night. This is not a good area for a female alone."

"But then this is Mara Jade we are talking about."

"Exactly," Karrde stated with satisfaction.

Cautiously the two men approached and eased themselves round into the appointed place and.... Han and Karrde both went for their blasters until they realised that the female being kissed wasn't protesting. Mara Jade was in the arms of a fair-haired man. Luke stopped and moved away from her while still keeping both arms around her. "We've got company, Jade. I told you to be more aware of what was happening around you."

"Skywalker!" the anger in her voice died as she turned slightly in Luke's arms to meet the completely shocked expressions on the faces on Talon Karrde and Han Solo.

Mara sent several descriptive threats through the force to Luke, before turning to face the two men. "You look like a couple of nerfs standing there with your jaws scraping the ground."

"We're rehearsing our cover story," Luke added quickly moving his hand strategically away from parts of Mara's anatomy. "If we fooled you, we can fool the newest crime lord in the galaxy. Or - I think it's Lady Valarian first."

"The whiphid!" Han's voice rose to a squeak.

"The ugliest one I ever saw," answered Luke "and most of them were unattractive. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all."

Talon Karrde gave Luke and Mara a narrowed glance. "Come on. We'd better get out of here." Then he stared fully at Luke before saying quietly. "There are an awful lot of people interested in your exact whereabouts Master Skywalker."

"We've rooms at one of the underground hotels, but I wouldn't suggest it for a meeting." Mara said, still unable to properly meet the eyes of any of the men. "Luke Skywalker, I may kill you yet."

Luke stopped and caught Mara's hand unseen by either Han or Karrde. "Promise?"

He felt her smile in his mind and a swift caress of her fingers over his before they separated.

Han shook his head to clear it from the shock. Coming round the corner he'd seen the embracing couple and then he had realised that the woman was Mara. It had taken a second longer for the credit to drop on the man's identity. Mara and..... Luke engaged in what could only be described as a hot, passionate clinch. He'd never seen his brother-in-law so involved. Luke was no monk, but a relationship with Jade? The idea was ludicrous and Leia would go ballistic.

The pair of them separated and stood waiting for him and Karrde to approach. They didn't seem perturbed about being caught in such a compromising position. Luke gave him a self-satisfied smirk as he explained it was part of their cover story for getting inside the B'Omarr Monastery. Mara's expression at that point was harder to read, but she hadn't throttled Luke. She explained how she was auditioning to dance at the Lucky Despot Hotel and Casino. Luke was going as her back-up and minder.

Luke grinned at Jade. "She's not too fond of the idea, but it makes perfect sense. She may want to kill me afterwards though."

"May want to, Skywalker?" she sent to him. "There's no 'may' about it."

"Well, what do you want me to say? I'm sleeping with Jade and we've had scorching, passionate se....."

"Don't think about it."

"Trying not to. It won't stay that way for ever. We will have to discuss it sooner or later. We can't pretend it didn't happen. I, for one, don't want to."

"It was a stupid idea. Self-destructive."

"It didn't seem stupid at the time."

Her voice and sense in his mind gentled. "No, I guess not."

"We have to move forward as you reminded me the other day. No looking back. We've done it now." Luke gave her a quick glance from the corner of his eye. Mara walked beside him and it seemed right that she was there. They had always dealt well together. This was just unexpected.

Han shot a look at the two jedi over his shoulder but there was no sign on either of their faces that some internal struggle was taking place. Their story was plausible after all. They walked quietly without looking or speaking to one another. Of course, he couldn't hear their silent conversation, but there was no evidence of it in their impassive expressions. Han was almost disappointed. But Leia would not have approved.

Karrde was not as convinced as Solo was. He'd seen more of them together than Han had recently and something had continually drawn them together. Their explanations were a little too glib and Mara had seemed genuinely disoriented while Luke covered for her. It wouldn't have surprised Karrde in the least, but he wasn't sure if it was a good combination - or if he approved.

Karrde sat at the head of the long table in the boardroom of the Wild Karrde. Han, Mara, Luke and Aves seated themselves wherever there was room. Wedge had gone, still sporting his half-cybernetic face, to check some of the cantinas to see if he could find Corran and Tycho.

"What have you found out so far?" Karrde went straight to the point.

"Probably not much more than you," answered Mara shortly.

Luke put the tips of his fingers together in praying motion and closed his eyes. "Mara! What can you remember about Jabba's court when you were there?"

She frowned and reached into her mind for memories she knew were there. "It was always dark and smelly. The beings there were among some of the worst in the galaxy. I danced for hours at a time, without a break, trying to please the Hutt, but he had a favourite. Oola, then Leia. I pleaded to go on the skiff, but I was not allowed."

Luke smiled, his eyes still closed. "Mara, who didn't go on the skiff? Anyone really important? Most of the people who went on the skiff died. So we need to know who survived."

Karrde dipped his head in satisfaction. He now saw where Luke was going with his questioning. Mara was the only one, after all, who had worked at the court of the Hutt for any length of time. Han had been a key employee, while in favour, but not for nearly three or four years before he ended up as a slab of carbonite. Luke had been there only briefly. Karrde had visited the place once or twice, but it offended every sense he possessed and he'd decided to do business without using any Hutt if he could help it and he'd managed just fine.

"The dance director, Melina Carniss."

Karrde's face tightened grimly. "Hasn't the brains for such an operation." She'd briefly worked for Karrde, but was found to be less than trustworthy.

"I would agree," remarked Mara pithily.

Han frowned. "But we know who's in charge - Firith Olan."

"It's not right, somehow." Mara cast her mind back. "He was never there in Jabba's day. Not on Tatooine."

"Funny you should mention that. I can't ever recall him being there when I was still running spice for Jabba. But that was a long time ago. I couldn't tell who was there when I came out of the carbonite."

Karrde called up a holo of the alien in question. Mara stiffened. "This is the leader of the group which massacred the Prada's crew. So we have him right enough."

"He was involved in a little incident about a year after Jabba's death, then he very much went to ground. It's only in the last few years that he's begun to move."

"Why?" asked Han. "I knew Olan and he didn't deal with Jabba. He was a small time crook working out of Ryloth. Jabba would have nothing to do with him apart from Rancor bait and Olan knew this. He wasn't too bright either. Mean, vicious, whatever, but he could not have masterminded a project to take over a planet under Imperial control. I'm sure he wasn't there."

Aves cleared his throat. "So what you're saying is - we have the right man, but he shouldn't have the ability. Nor was he present at Jabba's court."

Han sighed. "I'll have to check with Leia, to confirm if Olan was present when Jabba died. I'll need up-to-date holo footage. But I'm sure Olan was never near Jabba; therefore, he shouldn't be re-creating Hutt methods."

Karrde nodded "I'll send a coded sub-space message to Leia. I ran a check on any of Jabba's former employees still in operation, but I haven't all the results yet. Aves, go and see if Ghent has finished with that...oh... and ask Ghent if he can unearth any of the financial accounts. Ones which are not being accessed and ones which are - even though they shouldn't be. Also, check on Olan's current financial holdings."

"Yes, boss."

"There is something telling me that things are not as clear as they seem." Luke jumped to his feet and the chair fell backwards to lie on the floor. He paced back and fore, eyes shut, brow furrowed in concentration. Mara too closed her eyes to see if she could see what Luke was trying to, but there was nothing she could grasp. Luke stopped and caught his breath. There was something elusive, but no matter how he tried he couldn't see any further. Han picked up the chair. "Come on, Junior. I suggest you and Jade go get some rest."

"You can stay here if you want or, Mara, perhaps you would prefer to go to the 'Fire'."

"No. I want to go from the boarding house. I don't want to be seen leaving here in the morning just in case there is anyone watching us. And I have to do something with my hair."

The men shook their heads in disbelief, apart from Han; as the only married one among them, he thought he knew what she meant.

"No Solo, on this occasion you're wrong. The last time I went undercover on Tatooine no one had a clue about my identity. But now, I'm Mara Jade, trader, the second-in-command in Talon Karrde's business operation. I'm not quite so anonymous and my hair makes it hard for people to forget me."

"I wouldn't want to, Jade."

"Skywalker!" She didn't bother with the force link. "Shut up."

Chapter 6

Luke stood at the door between his room and hers and watched as Mara dug into the canvas carryall she'd lugged from Mos Eisley to Anchorhead and back again. Pulling out what looked to be a brush and a comb, she laid them on the bed beside her and began to unravel her hair.

The Jedi Master watched, fascinated, as it came out of its intricate coils and plaits. Thick, shining and the colour of a Tatooine sunset. He involuntarily stepped forward as, finally, it fell about her shoulders and curled to below her waist.

Mara ignored Luke, although she felt his steady regard and pulled the sturdy brush firmly through the red-gold mass. Grabbing the comb, she selected a lock of hair and raised her hand.

Panic galvanised Luke into speech. "No!" He'd suddenly realised that it wasn't a comb but some sort of cutting implement.

Mara stopped, her hand arrested in mid-air. "What?"

"Don't. Please."

"Don't what! Skywalker?"

"Don't cut your hair. Please."

"But...but I have to change my appearance and cutting my hair is the most obvious solution. My hair is one very obvious thing about me."

"Won't a wig do instead?"

She held up a hank. "In case you haven't noticed," she drawled dryly, "I have a lot of hair. A wig would have to fit over this lot. I'd look ridiculous and, as it probably wouldn't fit correctly, it might fall off while I was dancing."

"Extensions then." He babbled feverishly. "Do it differently."

Mara looked into his face, astonishment written large all over hers. "Skywalker. Jedi are not supposed to be interested in cosmetic touches and certainly not in hair styling."

He opened and shut his mouth. "I know - but.... it would be a crime."

"Luke," she stressed gently. "It will grow."

"No!" he burst out again. "Don't do it. There must be another way. Can you not add locks of a different colour? Like Boba Fett and his Wookiee scalps?"

"Fett had those hanging from his armour, not stuck on his head!!!" Her eyes closed in disbelief. She hadn't realised this was so important to him but he wasn't taking time to think.

"It's not practical," she raised her voice in exasperation. Now she remembered one of the reasons why her relationship with Luke was so volatile. She was the practical one and he was the idealist. "I have to be able to dance tomorrow. Not scour Mos Eisley for...for ...Hair Pieces," she spat.

Luke took another pace forward. "Please, Mara, don't cut it." A little of the farm boy which crept out occasionally showed. "It's beautiful." He reached a gentle hand and caught a red-gold shining curl and slipped it rhythmically through his fingers. "The colour - I've never seen that shade on anyone else but I've seen it in the sky during a Tatooine sunset.

Mara's impatience with Luke suddenly faded away. "I tell you what, Jedi Master. I'll think about it. I could dye it, I suppose." She shook her head bemused at the Jedi Master's uncharacteristic behaviour.

"I don't want to be Mara Jade tomorrow. Somebody may know me. I need to be Arica, the down on her luck 'artiste' returning to the scene of her greatest triumphs accompanied by her 'agent and minder'.

"Gorez Melosh,"

"Who?"

"Gorez Melosh. My character's name. He's not a Tatooine man. No one knows where he comes from. Not even his protegee and mistress."

"Skywalker!" Mara's temper began to heat up again. She wasn't sure about the 'mistress' part.

"What about a force illusion?"

"Eh?"

"What about a force illusion? So that you will leave your hair as it is."

"I'm not strong enough and you know it. I can't keep up a force illusion for long enough," but she put the cutter back into the carryall. Luke breathed a sigh of relief.

Several hours later Luke sat up in his bed and switched on the light at a low illumination. He wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. Pulling his robe on over his underwear, (he'd just stripped off and fallen into bed earlier - bone weary or so he'd thought, but he'd not been able to close his eyes) he stood at the same position he'd been in earlier. At the door connecting his room with Mara's.

She lay fast asleep, but it wasn't peaceful. She tossed and turned, muttering restlessly. Something bothered her. Luke felt the same unease. It was all to do with what lay ahead. Luke decided he didn't want to know, but he'd looked into as many possible scenarios as he could. Something was eluding him. There was a factor he wasn't taking into consideration and he hoped it wasn't a fatal mistake for both of them. He'd tried meditating - going back into his memories of the brief time he'd spent at Jabba's palace. Nothing. Luke cleared his mind. The force would let him know when he was ready.

Closing Mara's door he pulled on his clothes, grabbed his cloak and wandered past a different receptionist. But this one paid no more attention to him than the last one had. 'It's nice to think that I'm this imposing figure, that people sit up when I pass.' He chuckled lightly.

Arriving at docking bay 620 he keyed the Falcon's entrance hatch.

"Wha....! What….!" Han stumbled from his cabin, half-dressed and blaster in hand.

"It's me, Han - Luke." He remarked gently, hoping not to startle Han into discharging his blaster. "I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. I ended up here. I didn't know you were here," He shrugged, blue eyes oddly veiled. "Sorry if I woke you."

Han eyed the younger man carefully, yawned, then headed towards the Falcon's inadequate galley facility. "Chewie's still sleeping so keep it quiet, will ya? I don't want to have to deal with several tonnes of too-tired furball tomorrow."

Luke smiled. "Thanks pal."

"What's up?"

"I wish I knew. Something's wrong."

"In this blasted sandball? Luke.... Luke, when did anything ever go right with us?"

"Maybe when you married my sister and got yourself a bunch of children."

'Oh ho', Han thought. 'Luke's in that frame of mind. Wonder what brought this on?' "This hasn't anything to do with the little scene you and Jade put on for the benefit of any passing Mos Eisley citizen, would it?"

Luke flushed. "No. 'Course not," he answered a little too quickly and Han was instantly suspicious. Leia wouldn't like this at all. If Luke was having fantasies about Mara Jade, of all people... Oh boy!

Han pushed the mug of hot chocolate in Luke's direction. "This may help you sleep, kid."

"Maybe.... Han, what do you remember about that last time at Jabba's?"

Han took a sip of his caf. "I remember the pain and all the rush of feelings, the overload of memories flooding into my brain. It was weird. Leia had held me all too briefly and I couldn't see. I was blind, but somehow I was glad to be out of the living hell that being frozen in carbonite was. I heard the sounds of all the dregs of the galaxy - all congregated in that one place. I never much thought about it. I didn't want to, I guess."

"What did you feel when we came for you?"

"Relief that you hadn't given up on me, that Leia still loved me and this overall surge of anger. But it was mainly the relief of finally being free of the carbonite. If I was going to die I would go down living till the last possible minute. I always knew if I was alive there was always the chance I could escape....somehow. I'd been out of things so long I didn't comprehend the change in you. I didn't believe you could get us out of there. Sure, you'd pulled miracles out of nothing before, but I thought that was luck."

"What do you know of Firith Olan?" asked Luke. "There's something not right about his place in all of this. According to Ghent's figures, Olan wasn't at Jabba's. He wasn't on Tatooine until after Jabba's death. So how could he have all of the codes for the Hutt's personal accounts?"

Han crossed to the computer terminal and punched in a series of commands. He grinned the famous lop-sided smile that had lit up numerous holovids over the years. "One good thing about being hitched to the former chief of state is.... everyone rushes to fix your hunk of junk and improve the specs on her communication arrays."

"Ah…. They've upgraded the computer."

"Yup. Karrde had Ghent send these to me, but I was too tired to look at them tonight. I'll copy them - maybe Artoo can do something with them. You have brought Artoo - haven't you?"

"'Course I have. He's at home - in Anchorhead. I didn't want to drag him with us. General Cracken has rigged up a very tiny monitor, which can communicate with Artoo. Not at vast distances, but if I leave him at the house it'll be fine. We're not going to be that far away. Just across the Jundland Wastes. I think it might be a tad suspicious if I sent a droid ahead of me."

Han yawned.

"I'm sorry, old friend, for waking you up like that. But it's good to know you'll be with us when crunch time comes."

Han gave his brother-in-law one of those looks. "Oh goody."

Mara awoke, rose and headed for the shower. There was no sound from Luke's room. 'He's probably still asleep. I won't disturb him.' She considered sending through a light probe to see if he was awake, but decided against it.

'I really should cut my hair, it's the best solution despite what old gloomy socks through there thinks. I've never seen anyone else with hair like mine. It is too distinctive. I've never met Olan, but there will be others there who do know who I am. I've got to make myself seem different enough so they don't make a connection.' But her hand went instead to a bottle of dark brown hair colorant. Mara put a quick call through to Ghent, made her decision and started on her hair.

There was a gentle tap at the door and she didn't need to probe the identity to know that it was Luke. He hadn't been asleep at all. He sauntered in carrying a package and a bag that smelled like breakfast.

"I got you a present."

She took the package tentatively. The last thing he'd given her was his father's lightsaber. Inside were several coiled hairpieces in varying shades. Mara was inexplicably touched by his thoughtfulness. She hadn't really wanted to cut her hair, but had felt it necessary. She wanted to remain alive at the end of this after all.

"I was unsure what to get, so I just got a selection," he stammered.

Mara smiled her thanks and Luke grinned back at her with relief.

"This also came for you, from the Wild Karrde. What is it?"

"Just an idea I had to add to my disguise," and held up some little mottled objects. "A set of false Fayrian spikes for my forehead."

Luke laughed, then stared as she removed the towel wound round her head. The red-gold hair now tumbled darkly round her face.

"Go away, Skywalker, and let me get dressed but leave my half of the food."

"It's all for you, Jade. I breakfasted with Han and Chewie on the Falcon. I ended up there last night. I couldn't sleep."

Mara stopped rubbing her hair and looked exasperatedly at him. "Luke, you should get some rest. I'm not going into a place like the B'Omarr monastery with you if you've not had a decent night's sleep. Besides it makes you as cranky as hell."

"It does not!" he exclaimed indignantly.

She eyed him with amusement. "I've spent enough time tramping through forests and the like. Don't argue."

"But..."

She stood up and slowly advanced towards him. "Skywalker - your feeble skills are no match for mine if you haven't had a decent rest."

"What skills are those? No - maybe I don't want to know. But Jade, you know I can survive for a long period of time without sleep. I can always go into a Jedi hibernation trance. I'm fine."

Mara surveyed him. She had come to know this man very well over the last ten or so years and funnily enough even more in the last few weeks and she could tell he was tired. 'Probably worrying about me,' she thought. Putting her arms around him, she kissed him gently on the cheek. Luke wrapped his own arms round her waist and they stayed like that in silence just drawing comfort from the other's nearness.

"Got to keep up the practice for our masquerade, Jade." He kissed her firmly before stepping away from her.

"Now, Jedi," Mara instructed. "Go and sleep for an hour. I've to turn myself into Arica."

"Ok," he yawned. "Bring me out of it in an hour. Remember, I'm coming with you."

"I hadn't forgotten. Now go."

He wandered into his room and subsided onto the bed leaving the door wide open, but within seconds his breathing had slowed and his eyes were shut. He was asleep. Mara brushed his hair back from his forehead and covered him with a blanket. Shaking her head at her own foolishness she hurried to get ready.

The exercise suit covered her from ankle to neck to wrist. It was skin tight, but the material was flexible enough that it allowed you to move. It was the material used in the best dance schools on several worlds as it stretched and breathed like skin. She assessed her appearance. It made her look as if she had a blue body. Winding several pieces of black gauze around her breasts and adding a skirt made of a multitude of diaphanous, black veiling, her outfit was almost complete. Soft black ankle boots slipped securely on her feet. In the limited area of her room she tried a few simple warming up exercises and was satisfied with the way the ensemble felt. Yes. This worked well. The outfit was seductive, but showed no flesh. She didn't want to admit that she had absolutely no fayrian blood in her veins. Looking at her creamy smooth skin would have given the game away. Fayrians had little mottled patches all over their bodies.

Luke had chosen well, she thought as she pulled the hairpieces out for inspection. Plaiting and coiling her now darkened locks, she added several coloured skeins. It gave her quite an exotic appearance. The only problem was that the hairpieces were quite heavy, but she could put up with that. Now to affix the temple spikes and make sure they were attached securely to her forehead. I can't seem to be shedding them as I dance. She glanced into the mirror. 'Eyebrows!' They were still red. She added a form of beading in blue and silver to go with the heavy eye make-up she sported. A fascinating beauty faced her - the face mysteriously unfamiliar. Sounds from next door made her smile, it looked like the Jedi Master was stirring.

"Mara.... I...." Luke stopped speechless, blue eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Will I do?"

He swallowed nervously, at a loss for words, but suddenly, vitally aware of the change in the woman he desired. He'd never been comfortable dealing with sophisticated beauties.

"I...," he backed off.

"Skywalker!" she growled. "It's still me. You won't convince anyone that you're my 'lover' if you act like this. No one will believe you could ever have a hold over me," she muttered darkly.

Luke swallowed again looking trapped, his throat very dry. Mara looked like the kind of woman Leia steered him towards at diplomatic functions and usually after a few seconds of nervous mumbling Han would take pity on him and risk Leia's wrath by kindly steering him away again.

A hint of an amused smile slid slowly across lips, which had been painted a pale blue. Mara moved sensuously towards him, trying to smoulder in Luke's direction and not laugh hysterically at his panic. Blue tipped nails ruffled his hair and ran down his face. Luke was now pressed flat against the doorframe. There was nowhere for him to go.

"Skywalker - you've faced two death stars, umpteen enemies and you're panicking at the sight of me with my warpaint on."

Luke wryly acknowledged her hit, but a twinkle returned to his blue eyes. "Ahem. Mara." He held out an opaque jar of some brown sludge-like liquid and a pair of plastigloves. "Could you do my face and hair, since you made a fairly reasonable job of your own?" He was lying. Mara looked stunning.

She batted a pair of enormous blue eyelashes in his direction. "Sure," she husked throatily. The beleaguered Jedi Master felt his body temperature rise dramatically. When she'd finished, Luke had a swarthy complexion and dark hair. A wicked scar slashed up his left cheek and gave him just that extra edge of danger. He too had changed his clothes - tight black pants and a brown tunic, old brown desert boots, topped by a long brown coat. Mara had to admit he looked good. Strapped to what Mara noticed as strong, powerful thighs was a very dangerous blaster. Mara put hers in its usual place in its wrist holster.

As they surveyed themselves in the reflector Luke gave a satisfied smile. "You had me worried there for a while, Jade. I'm not used to dealing with fast ladies."

"I know, farmboy. It showed."

"Oh, and Jade!"

"Mm."

"I like the hair."

The Lucky Despot Hotel and Casino

Luke’s beard itched. With a little help from the force his new one had grown in just under a week and he was finally able to ditch the false one. This brought its own problems because not even the force could make Luke Skywalker grow a beard to match his dyed hair, so the beard had to be darkened also and whatever Mara had used wasn't reacting well with his skin.

"It's just your baby face, farmboy," she'd mocked cheerfully.

It hadn't gone down well. They'd not gotten on particularly well since. Also the fake scars he'd been so proud of when Mara had felt creative, now had to be fitted in under part of the beard. Luke was sure they were different every single day and hoped nobody inspected his facial lacerations too closely. So with fake scars and a face rash he wasn't a happy boy. He supposed it added to the general air of surliness he was trying to cultivate, but he just felt out of sorts and Mara needled him unnecessarily.

Mara had gotten a job as part of a cabaret group of six dancers and had been training daily and dancing nightly for over a week. It was a drag on their time but he hoped it would get them where they wanted to be. In Luke's unbiased opinion Mara was far superior to the other dancers. She drew the eye when she moved. "I had the best training, Skywalker. In everything," she'd growled.

Luke leant against one of the ornate pillars. The lucky despot hotel tried to cultivate a more up-market air. It only partially succeeded. It was still full of gambling smugglers and unsavoury citizens. But this was Mos Eisley after all. What did you expect? Assessing the room, he swept it with his jedi senses but never took his eyes off the slender figure on the stage.

"She yours?" the gruff voice spoke in his ear.

"Yeah, I own her. What is it to you?"

"Nuthin', just wondered. She's very ... flexible."

"She's that all right." Luke risked a glance away from Mara and glared at a heavily disguised Han Solo carrying two glasses of Lomin-ale.

They headed towards a deserted corner table. Luke swept it for listening devices, but there were none.

"Anything?"

Luke shook his head. "Not yet, but someone approached Mara during her last break. So.... could be. She'll refer them to me if anything happens. She's due another break shortly."

Han looked furtively around. "Jabba's files make interesting reading. They were frozen before Jabba took his last outing on his desert skiff."

"Before!" Luke echoed. "So we weren't the only people interested in finishing him off."

"Not by a long shot. I would say that every single man in his employ thought about it regularly. All that talk of honour among thieves in most cases tends to be that. Talk. Honour is not something I would ever associate with any Hutt or his cronies."

"I suppose he wouldn't have frozen his own accounts.... I guess not. He was hoping to finish us off."

A blue tipped nail ran teasingly around the collar of Luke's brown coat. "Are you going to introduce me?"

For an answer Luke pulled her head down and kissed her long and brutally hard on the lips. "Sorry."

Arica pouted and sat at the chair her 'minder' drew out next to him.

Han gaped for a split second. Mara looked fabulous. Luke looked good too - very rakish - but the behaviour the two were exhibiting was so unlike themselves he could only marvel at their acting ability. The game the two of them had cooked up was obviously working well, but he had slight misgivings about the amount of physical contact and the sexual chemistry that sizzled between them. You could almost touch it. He comforted himself with the thought that it was all an act - or was it?

"We may be on the move, flyboy. I was approached with members of the troupe with regards to a very lucrative engagement at a private residence outside Mos Eisley."

"Good." He turned to Han. "Rhan here is telling me some interesting business opportunities. Please continue."

The waitress deposited a drink for Mara on the table. Han lowered his voice and bent his head. "Other accounts were also frozen. Those that we definitely know died - their accounts haven't moved since. There are others we know did survive and their accounts have fluctuated over the years, but not in a spectacular fashion. Max Rebo, Hermi Oodle and Ephant Mon, for example."

"Max joined the rebellion. Hermi died several years ago, but well after Jabba met his end. Ephant Mon returned to Vinsoth to finance a religious sect."

"How does he do that?" asked Mara.

Luke grinned. "Gun running," he answered succinctly.

Mara let out a low husky laugh and leant over and nuzzled Luke's ear.

Han sighed. "I know it doesn't mean anything, but I wish you two would cut that out."

"Someone may be watching us and we don't want to appear suspicious. What kind of things did you get up to with a beautiful girl on shore leave before you hooked up with us." It wasn't a question.

Under the table Luke ran his hand over Mara's shapely thigh. He hadn't quite forgiven her for her earlier comments but he knew that it was a dangerous game they were playing between themselves. There was far too much unresolved emotion between them and the sexual tension was rising. This little charade hadn't got Mara and Luke out of each other's systems. In fact it was achieving quite the opposite effect. At the back of their minds was the time they'd spent in Luke's bed in the hut on the edge of the Dune Sea. They were losing sight of what was real in their game and what wasn't. The urge to touch the other was becoming overwhelming.

"We had a good public fight yesterday. He grabbed me and I slapped him."

Luke glowered. "Yeah, you enjoyed that didn't you? She packs quite a wallop."

Han grinned. "I bet you did.... Arica."

Luke drew Mara close into his side and whispered something in her ear and she let out a vapid trill of laughter. His hand traced a sensuous pattern on her inner thigh and she felt her body react immediately.

"I'll kill him," she hissed in Solo's direction jerking her head to indicate Luke.

"Go ahead, don't mind me. But his sister funnily enough is fond of him and then I might have to retaliate on her behalf."

Luke was getting fed up with this. He turned and muttered that there would be two fights two days running. Mara gave him a malicious look, eyes gleaming in the half-light.

Luke sighed. "Oh no!" He was in trouble; he knew it.

"Ephant Mon is not our guy. He was pretty loyal to Jabba, more than some. But there was something odd...."

Luke leaned forward and as he did so Mara moved her hand onto his thigh.

"The accounts which made the most progress...."

Mara's hand shifted higher.

"Belonged to...."

And higher still. Luke had completely lost what Han was saying. He looked as if he followed, but all he could feel was Mara's hand rubbing ever so gently. "Come on Luke. You're a Jedi Master. Keep Han's voice in focus.... come on."

Mara leaned forward. To any casual observer it looked as if she was trying to catch more of the conversation. But it brought her closer to Luke. Her hand began to stroke his upper thigh, her fingers locating the muscles which bunched under her ministrations. Luke's hand moved to trap hers under his and for an instant their fingers entwined, but Mara was still mad at him and her fingers wriggled from his grasp.

"Bib Fortuna." Han's voice seemed to come from a great distance as, suddenly, Mara's hand gained its objective and closed round Luke's crotch.

He went white, then red under his tan and his disguise. It was difficult to tell, but his pupils dilated in shock. Han stopped. He hadn't thought the mention of Bib Fortuna's name was that earth-shattering. He'd assumed he was dead.

Mara gazed calmly at Han. "That is odd. I thought he was dead too. He certainly left on the skiff with Jabba and the rest of the party."

"According to Ghent, financial holdings in the name of Fortuna are certainly not dead and have been accessed recently."

"Could Olan be accessing Fortuna's wealth?"

"It's possible."

Mara got to her feet and kissed Luke. "Gotta go. I'm in the next set."

Han noticed his brother-in-laws strained expression. "You ok, Luke.... er...Gorez?"

"I think so. I'll be fine. I just got a bit of a surprise." He felt Mara's chuckle as she sent it through to him. "You don't say."

Luke grimaced and paid the proper attention to Han as his body cooled down. "I don't like her doing this."

"It's not as if she isn't used to risk, Luke."

"Yeah." His mouth took on a downward slant. "I guess. Run that bit about Fortuna past me again. You're telling me his financial holdings are extremely buoyant for someone who hasn't been seen since Jabba died. I'd assumed he died on the skiff. Mara says he was there. Unless...."

Han stopped, his head tilting to one side. "It does appear strange." He narrowed his eyes and squinted across the casino. "I've just spotted an old acquaintance. I'll just run this bit of information past him." Han pushed the nugget of information to the part of his brain where he allowed Luke access. "One of Cracken's guys with Corran and Tycho."

"Could Olan be working for Fortuna or with him?" wondered Luke. "And that's only if Fortuna is alive. Up until now I would say that he wasn't."

"I'll see what I can find out."

Luke stood up and shook hands with Han as if they were sealing some sort of business deal. Then Han slouched across to the bar where the New Republic operatives fell into casual conversation with him. Luke had to marvel at that. Han was in his element. This was much more his style than Jedi training on Yavin with Leia, even if he didn't complain and went with her willingly.

"Is this seat taken?"

Luke gave the speaker a distrustful glare. "Why?"

"I believe I have a business proposition for you."

"I ain't smuggling spice for no one along the Esselian and Darpa routes. Not for anyone. It's too dangerous. Nearly got caught by some stupid New Republic patrol and...."

"I'm not interested in that part of your enterprise. Citizen....?"

"What's it to you?"

"I'm merely interested in finding out the identity of whom I do business with."

"Who says I'll do business or give you my real name?" Luke tried to keep his voice gruff and his manner as surly and uncooperative as he could. The man standing across from Luke was wrapped in a cloak, which obscured most of his features. Humanoid in appearance for all that. Luke probed the being gently. He felt suspicion certainly, but no more than usual in a place like the Lucky Despot.

"My name is Geqwrass Hjarn. I work for a very rich Lord in his home on the edge of the Dune Sea. I've been asked to procure entertainment for an event he is holding."

"How nice. Goodbye." He turned back to his drink. Next thing he knew he was standing with his coat lapels firmly in the hands of the humanoid.

"I have a blaster trained on you right now," hissed Geqwrass. "I've come to offer you a deal."

"And if I don't accept?"

"I kill you."

"Ohh!" Luke stepped back and dusted the front of his coat. "You might be interested to know. I have a blaster trained on you too - but on another part of your anatomy. But I'm reasonable. Talk - I'll listen and if it suits me I may even oblige."

The humanoid looked down and with a shock noticed the rather effective looking blaster which had suddenly appeared in Luke's hand.

Geqwrass seated himself in the chair Han had just vacated with a sarcastic nod.

"I would like to buy your female."

"No."

"How about I tell you I am buying your female?"

"The answer is still no. She's profitable for me and provides useful services when she is so inclined. You can hire her to dance only."

"It might work."

"And if you hire her, you get me too."

"You dance too?"

Luke gave Geqwrass a pitying look. How anyone could be so dense? "I don't, as you well know. She does, but she belongs to me and I look after what is mine. No deal." Luke turned in his chair and faced away from the figure still enveloped in his thick cloak, despite the heat in the casino.

"We could maybe use you."

"If I want to be used, perhaps you could." Luke hunched down and refused to face Geqwrass. "But that's my call. I work when I like and for whom I like. That's why the female is profitable."

"I'll get back to you."

"Better hurry. I don't like the whiphid much, but she does pay good. She might want Arica for another week or even a month. She's very pleased with what she's seen so far."

Geqwrass pursed his lips. Luke could see he was making decisions.

"Alright. I'll have a contract by tomorrow and I might have work for you to do too."

"I'll wait to hear from you."

From the other side of the room Han, Tycho and Corran watched discreetly.

"I think we've got something," murmured Corran quietly. "Luke just sent me the thumbs up message. He'll meet us at the Falcon's docking bay shortly.

"Come on then," said Tycho. "Let's go. Which one is it?"

"620" murmured Corran quietly. "What is it?"

Han's face tightened at the Jedi's question, pushed his chair back and straightened his knees. He stood up, then thought for a second. "You guys go. I'll wait for a few more minutes. Just in case the Imperials do make contact tonight, I'll hang on a bit." He clicked on the comlink he held in his palm. "Two on their way out. Prepare to meet Jawa one."

"All right, Master Skywalker," Corran sent to the Jedi.

"On my way, Corran," Luke sent back.

Luke rose from his seat and left the casino. Mara's shift had finished and he would be there to collect her. Han met Luke's oblique glance with an equally obscure one of his own.

The man who approached Han's table and pulled a seat out was obviously one of the Imperial military personnel stationed on Tatooine. Reaching into his coat pocket he drew out a packet of thin cheroots. He never spoke to Han or Han to him and kept his eye on the jizz-wailing band on the stage. After about half an hour he left, leaving the cheroot packet on the table. With studied unconcern Han picked up the packet and peered inside. A thin strip belonging to a data-wafer was fixed to the inner lining. Han smiled. "Time to get out of here."

Luke heard the almost inaudible click on his comlink. "Good," he thought with satisfaction. The Imperial faction had just made contact. Time to go. He glanced towards the stage. Mara moved in a series of spins across the stage, before lining up with the rest of the dancers for a final bow of the evening.

"Mara," he sent to her. "We're in business. Imperial intelligence has just left something and Han has picked it up."

"Excellent. I've had enough of this place. The pay is lousy. I'll meet you 'round the back."

"Okay Jade. Tradesman's entrance.'"

Chapter 7

Docking Bay 620

The inside of the Millennium Falcon was blessedly cool after being in the hot glare of the noonday suns. Chewie barked a question at Han.

"I don't know pal. I'm waiting for some of the others to turn up. From the look I got from the kid I'm assuming he will be along at some point or other."

The Wookiee shook his head vigorously from side to side. "Yeah, the Imperial agent made contact." He waved a thin strip of duraplast in Chewie's face. I'm hoping Cracken has something that reads this material."

Chewie snarled something incomprehensible.

"Slow down pal. Run that past me again."

Chewie growled slowly as if speaking to an idiot. "We don't need Cracken. We do have something which reads that."

"What do you mean we do? We don't!"

Chewbacca waved a macrospanner.

"We do? Since when? Ah.... Since the computer was upgraded for the use of the Chief of State, since she travels in this bucket of bolts rather than more upmarket transport." Han's tones sounded aggrieved. No one messed about with his ship. Chewie growled happily.

"What do you mean, you agreed to it? I was too busy. Now look here, pal. Just 'cause you've been with me more years than you care to remember."

The Wookiee laughed and pointed to a slot on the console.

"Ok, ok. But we'll wait till whoever is supposed to join us - joins us."

Han peered through the cockpit window. A group of people moved purposefully into the docking bay. Han breathed a sigh of relief. He managed to recognise most of them. Luke - bearded and intense. Mara Jade - exotic in heavy makeup. Wedge in his metal prosthetic, with Tycho and Corran taking up the rear, hands on blasters. He activated the door.

"Welcome aboard, lady and gentlemen." He bowed mockingly.

The Falcon's cramped passenger area seemed even more so as they all found seats.

"We're waiting for someone higher up, either Page, Cracken or maybe both." said Wedge.

"It'll be Cracken," answered Luke.

"I would agree," Mara chimed in. "He was sitting just along from Luke in the casino. Didn't you see him, Wedge? You were just to his right."

"No Jade, I'm wearing this stupid thing." He eased it carefully off his face. "It cuts off a good deal of peripheral vision."

A lone man with white hair and eyes, only slightly less green than Mara's walked casually up the Falcon's ramp.

"General." Han waved him to the only seat remaining. Luke shifted to sit on the floor next to Mara and, unnoticed by any of the others, placed a careful arm around her. He felt the tiredness rolling off her in waves. She'd been literally dancing all night and without sleep wasn't going to be much use. Dancing in any of the dubious venues in Mos Eisley was no sinecure and fit as she was, Mara wasn't used to it any more. Luke sent her a little Jedi strength and support through the force. But it was a real effort for her to keep her eyes from closing.

"Shall we begin?" Cracken took the proffered strip of duraplast from Han and inserted it into the machine. A series of encoded figures scrolled down the vid-screen. Wedge looked at Cracken and nodded. It was the data they were looking for all right. Corran squeezed out from his seat at the Falcon's gaming table and tapped a few digits into the command panel.

"Here it is. They suggest that we meet the aide to the Imperial prefect here on Tatooine. I've worked at that position and believe me it can be 'fun'."

"The main Imperial base is at Bestine Township which is nearer to Anchorhead than Mos Eisley. However the Mos Eisley one is bigger than I remembered."

Chewie barked something into the conversation.

"He thinks Mos Eisley might be better, more anonymous."

"Possible," put in Tycho. "But I get the impression the Imperials don't want to meet here."

"Mos Eisley has that effect on people," Han threw in for good measure.

"Bestine is smaller and far more remote."

"Therefore you might be more noticeable there."

"I don't suppose any of you degenerates realise you're maligning my home planet?" Luke sat up a little straighter, which was difficult to do as Mara had finally given in and had fallen asleep, her head neatly tucked onto Luke's shoulder.

Chewie guffawed and pointed out Luke's difficulty.

Luke stiffened. He felt oddly defensive on Mara's behalf. "She's been constantly awake for most of the past week - investigating for Karrde and the New Republic during the day," he threw an accusing look at Cracken, "and dancing in the evening at the Lucky Despot. Wouldn't you be tired? I won't let her take any more of those stimulant pills. She pops them far too often and she doesn't eat properly half the time."

Han gave his brother-in-law a very direct stare.

Corran smiled inwardly while keeping his mental barriers up. The Jedi Master sat propped up against the bulkhead with Mara fast asleep, her head on his shoulder. They looked so right somehow. He remembered when Mara had told him to 'keep an eye on Luke'. Even though Mara Jade could take care of herself Luke was beginning to sound rather protective of her. She'll kill him when she realises he's let her fall asleep on his shoulder. But that was Luke Skywalker in a nutshell. He was protective, caring and wanted to do his best for everyone. It had only taken him until recently to realise that he couldn't do it all but he still tried and Mara would find that out - if she hadn't already. She must also trust the Jedi Master. No matter how tired Mara was - how little sleep she'd had - if there was danger of any sort, Mara wouuld not have let down her guard.

Cracken chuckled. He had a lot of time for Mara Jade - she was beautiful, resourceful, intelligent and deadly. A perfect combination, which he was quite happy to use when it suited him. But at the moment she was fast asleep. Luke eased her into a healing trance and stood up carefully with Mara now in his arms.

"If you'll excuse me for a second. Han, I'll put her into the spare cabin."

Han waved a careless hand and watched as Luke carried the sleeping girl out of the Falcon's passenger area. Luke returned almost immediately and thought for a second. "Can we arrange a meeting at Tosche Station?"

"Where?" asked Han.

"Tosche Station. A power and distribution outlet. It used to be my haunt when I was a bit younger than I am now."

"Where's that?" Cracken perked up.

"It's on the outskirts of Anchorhead. Not too far from Bestine, but on the edge of the Dune Sea."

"Sounds just what we need. Is it safe?" Wedge asked.

"As safe as any place round here at the moment. It was hit not too long ago. It should be ok. The owner is a... friend of mine."

Han looked a bit perplexed. Luke had never mentioned this before.

"I grew up not far from there."

Han suddenly realised he had heard this before - but from Leia, not Luke. For someone who'd seemed so direct and open when he first met him, Luke had actually been rather close mouthed. Of course he knew Luke's history. He was the one who had got him off this dustball in the first place, but somehow knowing and connecting were two different things. He'd just never mentioned still knowing people in Tosche. Still, it made sense to Han. He'd done the same thing himself - countless times - leaving the past behindd you when you moved on. Luke's life on Tatooine had been so ordinary until the day he'd found his family murdered and himself with a lifelong mission.

"General. Get in contact with Prefect Talmont's Aide and give him the co-ordinates. Han, I'm going to collect our things from the boarding house and I'll be with you in half an hour."

Chewie barked a question at Luke.

"No, Mara is finished at the casino. She starts in three days at the B'Omarr monastery."

"First objective gained," murmured Wedge to Tycho quietly.

Luke's keen hearing had caught the softly voiced comment. "Maybe, Wedge, but first hint of any trouble, I'm getting her out of there."

Corran gave Luke a cryptic stare. "She won't thank you for your protection."

"I know - but she has it nonetheless. She told you to keep an eye on me, didn't she?"

"How did you...?"

"She did, eh?" Luke grinned. "I didn't know that. Thanks."

General Cracken handed Luke a data chip. "That will give you and Mara all the info you need for the moment. We'll see you at Tosche."

"Thanks General. Han, I'll be back shortly. Wait for me."

"Why should I do that, kid?"

"I know where we're going, just in case this heap of junk has any problems. Can I leave Mara here?"

"No, you have to carry her.... Of course you can leave her here, Junior." He looked at the ceiling. Chewie snickered. He was enjoying himself. It was just like old times, especially having Luke with them.

Keeping an eye out for anybody watching him. Luke slipped from the docking bay and, melting into the crowds, returned to the boarding house and collected his and Mara's paltry belongings. The female at the desk gave him a single glance as he passed. When he exited she moved to a comlink clipped to her belt. "General Cracken. Jedi Skywalker has just left. No problems this end. I was getting fed up with the holo-vid. Do you know how brainless they are?"

"Thanks Toryn. Get yourself to Anchorhead please."

"Excuse me?"

The receptionist glanced up in shock. Luke grinned and handed her a data card. "Give this to the General for me and, Toryn, it took a while to recognise you - nice disguise."

Docking Bay 620

Luke rushed up the Falcon's ramp. "Ok Han, get us out of here."

"Problems?"

"No. Just Cracken thinking he's one up on me and he's not."

"Prepare to take off. Chewie?"

Luke threw a data card to the large Wookiee. "Here's the co-ordinates."

"Where?"

"I have a place out there. You've been once, but it was in a real state."

"Ben Kenobi's house."

"Yes. I've set up camp there."

Chewbacca gave Luke a quizzical stare and let out a string of barks and growls.

"Sure Chewie. I know you've been there loads of times, but that was years ago while Han was masquerading as a block of carbonite."

Han gave Chewie one of those sideways glances and Luke pretended not to notice.

"Trust me. It's habitable. I've been here for quite a few months after all. More or less since I left Coruscant."

Han winced silently. He was getting too old to rough it. Even if the Jedi Master wasn't.

"You can help me, in fact. I need to put up a dividing wall."

'I won't ask.' Han told himself. 'I'm beginning to prefer Luke when he was morose. This is too much like old times.'

"Han?"

"Yeah!"

"It'll be alright."

"Ohhh. I feel better now." Chewie snickered softly and Luke just smiled.

A Hut on the Edge of the Dune Sea

Mara awoke to the feel of someone carrying her. She couldn't remember dropping off, but she felt much better. Wait-a-minute. She was being carried? "Skywalker! Put me down. Skywalker...." she warned. "Now."

"In a second or two Jade. Just keep still. I can't carry you down these stairs unless you stop wriggling and if you keep wriggling I won't put you down gently. I'll drop you."

She opened her eyes just a fraction and gave him her best assassin's stare.

"Doesn't work on me, Jade. So don't get worked up. You're probably contravening some Jedi Code."

She gave him a fulminating glare as he placed her gently on her feet. She was still in a bad mood with him. How dare he keep up such a convincing act as her 'lover'. He'd been doing it all week. Putting his arm around her, kissing her with passion. Jealously glaring at any other man who went near her. It was almost as if it was real. 'It's because.... No.... No! I don't want it to be real. What am I doing? What have I done? I should never have gone to bed with him in the first place.' Mara shied away from the term 'making love'. It wasn't convenient. 'I don't fall in love. I can't. I'm not.'

Luke felt the shift in her mood. "What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

She gave him a look of pure dislike. "Nothing's wrong. Leave me alone."

"Leave you.... Mara, what is with you? You've been acting damn unreasonable for the past few days. Am I not paying you enough attention? I told you we couldn't go back."

"This is not about that!" she shouted furiously.

"No? I think it is."

"What do you know, Jedi Master? You're stuck on that silly planet away from real life.... and…."

"I'm more in touch with myself than you are, Jade. I know what I want."

"And you think I don't. Well let me tell you, you…. you."

Luke yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his own. Mara struggled for just a moment then caved in. All her defences fled and Luke was assailed with a maelstrom of emotions, most of which were too complicated for him to fathom there and then. Not when his own were so involved. He stopped thinking and just felt.

Han grabbed his stuff from the Falcon and headed towards the little adobe hut. Luke had carried a still sleeping Mara into the building, while Han and Chewbacca had secured the Falcon and disguised it with a larger version of the camo-net Luke had over his x-wing.

"Hey, Chewie! This looks bigger than I remember and it has a roof." Well, well. The kid had been doing more than Jedi meditations and exercises in the force. The Wookiee barked softly. Chewbacca had to admit he was impressed. They had all lost sight of the fact that Luke had been a hardworking boy off the moisture farm. He was no stranger to hard work. In fact, if what Kyp and Tionne told him was true, Luke worked harder than any Jedi trainee did at the Academy. No wonder he'd taken time out. The problem was, time out in Luke's mind only meant hard work of a different kind and here they were again. He wandered past a clump of medium sized boulders. It was only then that the sound of raised voices reached him. The large Wookiee looked at Han and made a gesture with his head.

"Yeah, I think we do need some more things from the Falcon. If this gets any worse we may all be sleeping there, providing those two don't kill each other first." Han was amazed. Mara must be good for Luke. He couldn't remember the last time Luke had actually raised his voice, let alone shouted at another person. Leia may not be quite so annoyed after all. The anesthetized Luke was becoming a flesh and blood man again. "'Bout time too." he muttered under his breath.

The sound of a slap and something hitting a pile of something else changed Han's mind. Shouting at each other was one thing, but violence. That had to be dark side. "I bet I know who is doing the violence. Come on, Chewie." He took off at a run.

Luke lay sprawled in the corner where he'd ended up. Slowly he shifted his legs and tried to clear the sense of slight shock he felt. Mara stood, her hand over her mouth, wide green eyes filled with horror. "Sithspawn!" She exhaled and dropped to her knees in front of him. "Oh Luke, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I've been overdoing it."

"No!" She interjected anxiously.

Luke took both of her hands with his. "Yes," he insisted firmly, sitting up. "I've been going at you a little too hard. You have so much potential, Mara Jade." He leant his head forward, his lips parted as did hers, their breathing quickened.... Mara jerked to her feet and retreated to the far side of the room.

"Don't start that again Skywalker... I...."

"Hey Luke. You alright....?" Han clattered to a standstill. Chewbacca, following his friend, crashed into Han and nearly sent him flying. "Will ya watch it, ya big furry oaf?" The Corellian took in the scene in front of him. Luke was sitting in a corner surrounded by cooking utensils. Metal ones. That must have been the main source of the noise. Mara stood as far away from Luke as it was possible to be. Their faces were red and Mara's eyes shone pure green fury. Luke's face had an obvious red slap mark and an enigmatic expression. If Han had been a split second later, he might have interrupted something. The cover story? Maybe it was becoming a fact. The tension in the room was so thick, even Chewie could feel it. Two startled expressions turned and Mara flushed scarlet. Luke's blue eyes watched Han carefully gauging his mood.

"I tripped. Mara was just about to give me a hand up," he offered smoothly.

"Yeah." she muttered and pulled Luke awkwardly to his feet. "I'm.... going to have a shower," she said and fled.

"Hey kid!" Han remarked conversationally, as Luke moved to prepare food. "I thought Jedi didn't lie."

Luke steadfastly continued putting things into the airtight container. "This is an old recipe my Aunt used to make here on Tatooine."

Mara finally returned looking more like herself, apart from the dyed hair, but the tension between her and Luke was strong. Neither would catch the other's eye and the pair of them spoke only in monosyllables. Han sighed. Maybe Luke was right and Han was imagining things. These two could be the moodiest pair on Tatooine. Mara had a reputation for being feisty, which Han knew was deserved. She was as hard on herself as she was on others. Very much like Luke. He was harder on himself than he was on others. Mara excused herself on the pretext of being tired and lay wide eyed in the darkness behind the curtain. Luke, Chewie and Han sat swapping stories until the Wookiee left to sleep in the ship and she heard Luke foraging for extra blankets and pillows for Han.

"Chewbacca could have stayed here, you know."

"Don't worry about him. There isn't really the room and he wants to sleep there because he wants to keep an eye on the ship. Chewie doesn't trust a pint-sized Jawa not to come creeping up the ramp and take off. He loves that ship almost as much as I do."

"I wonder why he went off with my fusion welder." Luke remarked with a warm smile then glanced around at his spartan living arrangements. "I'm sorry about the lack of sleeping facilities, but I haven't gotten round to doing anything about that yet. I've more than enough room in the downstairs chamber where the water tanks are. But up here it's only partitioned off with this old curtain and Mara has that while she is on this mission."

Han lowered his voice. "About you and Jade. What's happening, Luke?"

"At the moment. Nothing," That was technically true. Mara was on one side of the curtain and Luke was on the other side, with Han present. And Luke wasn't suicidal enough to say 'Yeah, old friend. Mara Jade and I are engaged in this passionate sexual affair and it's getting to the stage that I can't keep my hands off her and she is finding the same. Although in Mara's case the urge to do me some bodily damage has been the stronger of late. The fact that she is lying inches away from us here and she's still wide-awake may also influence my decision to say nothing.'

"In fact, we haven't been getting on very well at all this week. She may renew her contract to kill me."

"That bad, huh?"

Luke stretched out with the force and probed Mara's sense lightly. She slammed down her mental barriers and, feeling the Jedi wince, smiled grimly in the dark.

Han remained unconvinced. "I don't want to accuse a high up member of the Jedi order of telling little white lies, kid, but I do have eyes in my head."

"Han, we're on an undercover mission. We have to be convincing. That's one of the reasons Mara's so ticked off at me. I've been overdoing it and it's driving her mad. Every time she turns round her old archenemy Skywalker is there. Would you be as happy in the same situation with.... with.... Boba Fett?"

Han took a quick sudden breath in surprise. Giving his brother-in-law a shrewd look he rubbed his hand thoughtfully over his chin.

"Eh? Luke I don't think that's the same at all. Boba Fett is the wrong sex and is not too pretty under the armour, not with the Sarlacc scars. If you haven't noticed by now, hurry up. Mara is quite a stunner. Fierce and scary, but a real knockout."

"Yeah," Luke agreed softly. "Beautiful."

"Anyway," Han continued. "I'm married. I couldn't look at anyone else after being with Leia, even with her Skywalker stubbornness."

"I like that."

"Luke, I don't know what kind of game you and Mara are playing underneath all that playacting, but it's dangerous."

"Not for us. Mara would never harm me." Luke's voice rang sure and strong, so that even Mara in her self-imposed little exile behind the curtain heard him as clear as a Tatooine morning. "She knows I would trust her with my life. As I do you, Leia and Chewie. I know how Mara thinks in some ways better than I do Leia." Luke's demeanour changed and appeared sad in the light of the single lamp he'd lit. "I'm not exactly a good investment to take on, am I? You and Leia will carry on the Skywalker line, except it'll be a better strain. It'll have some good Corellian blood in there too. With regards to Mara and I..." he shrugged. "It's not a game. We're friends and friends look out for each other."

Han shook his head. "I don't believe it, kid." He yawned. "You and I always end up having these talks in the middle of the night and I'm getting too old to cope with them. I need my sleep." He grabbed the blankets and retreated to the far corner of the hut and within minutes was sleeping.

"Skywalker!" the hushed whisper alerted Luke. He slithered out of his bedroll and crept behind the curtain. The glitter of Mara's eyes was visible in the dark. "I heard what you said about us.... I mean, about me. I only wanted to say that I was sorry."

"What again?" he teased.

She sat up and pulled back the bedclothes. "It's cold."

"Mara, I can't. Han's out there and only a few feet away. He could awaken at any time. He's already suspicious about us."

"He knows you too well," she whispered. "You could never be this successful in this kind of operation unless you felt something.... for...."

"Ssh, Mara." He eased in beside her and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "We always seem to fall out over trivial things," he murmured in an undertone. "But I'm never going to let you get as far away as you did."

"I won't let you." She kissed him and to Luke it was sweet and somehow purifying. "Luke?" she asked, her voice a thread of sound in the night. "I'm scared of what's to come. I've never felt like this...it's the going back."

"I'll be there. You have to face your destiny, we both know it and accept it. But it doesn't make it easier. Fear is of the dark side and you will conquer it. You've admitted your fear to me. It doesn't make you any less of a person." There was silence as they both considered what was said and unsaid.

"Luke," Mara said in hushed tones. "Do you regret what we did?"

He didn't have to ask what she meant.

"Do you?"

"I asked first," she countered.

"Then my answer is... No. I don't regret it at all. Both times were special. I've never been so moved as by what happened between us. You're an extraordinary lady with an inner soul that's unique and beautiful. You just hide it well."

He felt her unwilling laughter as she shook silently in his arms. "A beautiful compliment like that and then you have to spoil it, Skywalker."

"Hey, I'm a simple farmboy at heart."

"Yeah! That would be right, Jedi. Simple's the word."

"If my brother-in-law were not sound asleep a matter of feet away from us I would..."

"Would what, Luke?" He felt her sense shift into something deeper than the teasing and although he knew it was risky he found her mouth in the darkness and covered her lips with his own. Parting her lips she let Luke's tongue drift in and caress her own. Drinking in her sweetness they kissed until Luke felt his body begin to react with her closeness. Mara too, was being aroused. The flimsy shift had ridden up her body and Luke found his hands touching her breasts, the nipples hardened as his questing fingers made contact. Mara closed her eyes and revelled in the temperature increase. "Yes, Luke oh yes," she breathed throatily completely caught in the spell Luke was weaving with his fingers and his mouth

"Mara!" he finally managed to get out between kisses. "We have to stop... We... have... to... ahh...!" Mara's hand had closed round his manhood. "Mara, we have to... please... Stop!"

"Why?"

"Han..."

"Sithspit!" The feeling of horror acted like a cold day on Hoth and they jerked apart, both breathing fast.

"I'll have to keep my distance from you, Mara Jade. My thinking processes vanish like the mist over the salt flats when you kiss me."

"Hormones, huh?" She gave his groin a fleeting caress. Luke stopped breathing.

"Yeah, Jade. Hormones." His voice strained. He crawled out of the bed while he was still able to.

"'Night Jade. Sleep well."

The Imperial Garrison - Mos Eisley

Deep in the habitation sector of the Imperial Garrison the atmosphere in the small lounge was solemn. The Commander turned to the older man sitting slumped in the corner shadows. "Do you think contact was made, Sir?"

"I don't know." The lined and careworn face of Admiral Gilad Pellaeon hardened.

"We know that there are members of Alliance Intelligence on Tatooine at this moment. But we don't know if they are taking our overtures and concerns seriously or not."

"It has to be. We're not ready for a truce yet, though by the stars in any galaxy, I'm sick of war and I don't know how long we can go on fighting."

"But we're not ready for another fight either, Sir."

"Captain Ardiff," the Admiral nodded, the resignation easily audible in his voice. "According to our friends in Imperial Intelligence, neither are the New Republic. It's in both our interests to keep things under control here."

"With due respect, sir, is this place actually worth holding on to?"

"I don't know," Pellaeon admitted honestly. "This planet has a special place in the history of the New Republic. It hid one of the rebellion’s greatest secrets and one of the Old Republic's former heroes."

"You mean Skywalker and Kenobi, sir. Is that really true?"

"Oh yes. Somewhere in a vault there is reputed to be holofootage of an old man and a boy leaving on board a starship which is certainly the Millennium Falcon. I saw it once."

Vash Ardiff's eyes widened. Even an Imperial soldier dreamed of emulating escapades reputed to surround the legendary ship - from an Imperial perspective, of course.

"I could call up Skywalker's school records if I wanted to, Ardiff," Pellaeon stated, his voice laced with dry amusement.

"And have you?" asked Ardiff his own voice touched with answering humour.

"Oh yes. It does make interesting reading. He was bright, but a dreamer. Did nothing for eighteen years, then woke up in time for his final exams and posted marks that were almost off the scale. Ones that could get you into the first school on Raithal."

"They were that good?"

"According to files, Imperial recruitment agents were sent to his home, but were not allowed to see the boy. They left application disks and there are records of an application, which was cancelled a few months later. Something about family difficulties."

"Somebody didn't want the Empire to gain control of Vader's son."

"Exactly. This planet was put under Imperial control due to extreme lawlessness after the first Death Star was destroyed."

"By Skywalker?"

"Yes Captain. Tatooine had become a focus for the rebellion. The Emperor got Lord Vader to deal with that - immediately. They recruited many from these dusty wastes. Being so far out on the rim it was difficult to get to and there was, and still is unfortunately, a thriving underworld presence. We've been in control ever since - although of late, I would say nominally."

Pellaeon rubbed a weary hand over his eyes. "If we lose Tatooine it's a real blow to morale. It would save on men and resources in the short term. But over a longer period, I shudder to think. I personally couldn't care less who has it. It's the wider implications. The ensuing anarchy would cost far more in lives and resources than the struggle to keep it. Tatooine is on an important hyperspace route - one of the reasons it is so beloved by petty criminals and other filth." He turned to face Ardiff. "We don't need the rise of another homicidal maniac like Zsinj. Our people want peace - they're just not ready to admit it. We need to be able to build up our defences, define our territories and be ready to negotiate a truce on an equal footing with the New Republic if that ever happens. The New Republic are here to stay. There are still Moffs skulking in the background with a greedy lust for power. They might see problems in this sector as an excuse and they would lose. I have no doubt on that score. They would lose and we would lose.

The New Republic are trying hard to stabilise their government. They've gone from a terrorist organisation into legitimate government. What they are trying to do is a good thing. I don't believe that the senate wants to continue the fight. They've a different kind of war to wage now."

Ardiff looked at his superior officer with a measure of sympathy in his gaze. Pellaeon had been at war all his life. He just wanted peace. He didn't want power; he never had. "This new crime organisation, sir." He cleared his throat. "We've managed to get hold of some figures. In the last six months, they've increased in size by about three hundred percent and that's only in legal terms. That's what we can see. Just shipping and cargo profits. However.... according to our sources...." Ardiff peered at the data pad in his hand. "Attacks on shipping in the area have increased, so they're using the 'Tatooine Shipping Company's Security force' to escort freighters."

Pellaeon sighed heavily. "It reminds me of Black Sun."

"That's what I thought. I agree we must smash it before it gets as dangerous - if it hasn't already. None of the Moffs are bankrolling this?"

"No. I can assure you they have their beady little eyes on what's happening. But that's all they'll get." Pellaeon spoke grimly.

A light blinked on the console. Ardiff crossed to the desk and pressed a button. "Yes?"

"Major Venner to see you, Sir."

"Good. Send him in." Ardiff turned to Pellaeon. "Venner's one of our best operatives in this sector. He's been here for years and knows the territory well."

The door slid aside and a tall tanned man strode with military precision into the darkened room. "Major Venner reporting, Sir."

Venner squinted towards the single light on the desk. He recognised Captain Ardiff, but the other man sat hugging the shadows against the wall.

"At ease, Venner. This is Admiral Gilad Pellaeon."

"Admiral Pellaeon," stuttered Venner. "The leader of the imperial forces - that Admiral?" He drew himself stiffly back to attention.

"Relax, Major," Pellaeon's gravelly voice interrupted. He waved a lazy arm towards the other sofa in the room. "Please sit down. No-one knows I'm here."

Venner recovered his equilibrium. "I've made contact with one of the New Republic operatives." He produced a small holo-recorder.

"Proceed," instructed Ardiff.

Venner took a small disk from his pocket and placed it into a slot on the recorder. A few seconds later, a small image hovered in mid air. The interior of the Lucky Despot hotel hovered in miniature in front of their eyes.

Venner coughed nervously before speaking. "The contact spent time talking to an apparent small-time operator who has been identified as one, Gorez Melosh. I found little information about him on file, save that he's fairly unsuccessful. He could be anyone working for anyone. On Tatooine and in Mos Eisley that's not unremarkable.

The contact was in his late forties, spoke with a Corellian accent and definitely looked familiar, but I couldn't place him at first. He cleans up better in the files."

"It's Solo," stated Pellaeon.

"Yes," agreed Venner, surprised. "The descriptions fit exactly. The contact then crossed to a group of men engaged in conversation at the bar and joined them for a lomin-ale. We've definitely identified one of them as Tycho Celchu, former Imperial TIE pilot and now with Rogue Squadron. We assumed there might be more of the Rogues around and the smaller man to his left could be Lieutenant Corran Horn, former Corellian Security officer, also with Rogue Squadron."

Ardiff squinted at a face at a table in the corner. "I've just spotted Commander Wedge Antilles. I think they've sent in some of the big guns."

"They wouldn't have sent that calibre of people if they'd not been taking it seriously. Solo likes these one off missions, apparently, even though he's not technically with the Intelligence group."

"His wife is on Yavin IV with her brother at his Jedi School. Or she was until last week. Our most recent reports have her back on Coruscant."

Pellaeon rose to his feet slowly and crossed to shake Major Venner's hand. "Thank you, Major. Your reports have been invaluable to us. Please return to your current duties. You will be briefed on your next assignment shortly."

The two senior officers waited until Venner had swiftly exited.

"He's a good man - Venner. Thinks on what he does. Very capable."

Pellaeon paced stiffly across the gray carpet trying to ease movement into his legs. 'One of the problems with the Empire. Everything is gray.' he thought soberly. "Who do we have then, Ardiff?"

"Antilles, Horn and Celchu from Rogue Squadron - possibly more. Then we have the New Republic Royalty - Solo. Well, he married into it."

"Mm.... The three Rogues have more than just being good in an X-wing in their favour and then we have General Solo. What he is capable of is exactly what you'd expect from the hype. Some reputations have been exaggerated over the years. In Solo's case.... most of it is true. And if we have Solo then I would bet that Chewbacca of Kashyyyk is somewhere around too."

"The Wookiee?"

"Yes."

"We are assuming there are other members of the New Republic intelligence around. Just not how many of them there are."

"Run the holo-vid past me again," instructed the Admiral slowly. "I'm sure Imperial intelligence will have scrutinised it thoroughly. But there might just be something they've missed."

Ardiff started the recording and the flickering images again came to life. Venner had made a good sweep around the entire casino. Most of the people held no interest for the Admiral and he recognised few. He was looking for those who seemed even slightly familiar in the crowd. A profile, here - a turn of the head, there.

"Stop! Now rewind.... there."

The camera had crossed the stage and something about one of the dancers jogged on his memory. He couldn't quite place her.... but he had a hunch she might be one of Cracken's people too.

The door com sounded.

"Enter."

One of Ardiff's junior officers quietly entered with a couple of data pads and, with a quick salute, smiled and exited.

Ardiff ran the info and grinned triumphantly. "We have a time and a place."

"Where?"

"It's on the outskirts of Anchorhead. We've been given the co-ordinates for a small water and power distribution outlet known as Tosche Station. It's on the edge of the Dune sea. Right on the limits of the planet's Temperate Zone."

Pellaeon smiled. "Not too far from Olan's base of operation. This is good. See that no one else knows about this. Go yourself, Ardiff, and report back directly to me."

"Yes Sir. Oh.... and Admiral..." Ardiff tossed a data cube lightly into the air.

"Yes, Captain."

"This is a new report from intelligence. It may be important. Skywalker was supposedly seen on Pii 3 at the NR training base recently, but this is only a rumour."

Pellaeon raised his eyebrows. "Find out if it is rumour or fact. I want to know. He's supposed to be tucked away safe on Yavin. If he's not we need to contact him somehow."

The B'Omarr Monastery

The silence of the lower chambers was deafening to Bib Fortuna's ears. Once he'd relished its quietness away from the filth Jabba entertained above. Once he'd truly been enlightened. He'd even sensed the thoughts and the emotions of others around him. It had saved his life. But enlightenment had come to him at a price. One that he wasn't ready to pay - would never have been ready to pay. He dug a long fingered talon into his own flesh and watched the bubble of ruby blood spill. Pain - he could feel it. Flesh - he could enjoy. He could experience his own pleasure and his own pain. All the pleasures were his once more. His sandalled feet made only a faint swishing sound as he stepped lightly over the mini sand dunes, which had piled against the stone walls of the dark corridor. The subtle click of a muffled brain-walker was heard ahead. Fortuna opened his senses to the truly enlightened subject before him. He raised his blaster and levelled it at the object in front of him. He felt the begging and the pleading from the pitiful object but a dark cloud obscured his mind and vision. When the haze cleared, the dying brain lay in a mass of nutrient, metal and glass.

"Now you've truly reached enlightenment, Olan. Enjoy it if you can." The sharp teeth bared in a satisfied grin and the purple eyes glowed - almost red.

A small hut on the edge of the Dune Sea

Mara propped up the pillow and pulled the blanket over her knees. She'd actually enjoyed herself today. It was the last thing she might have admitted. But the evening especially had been fun. Mara Jade wasn't used to the idea of having fun.

It was late. The two suns had long been down and the sunset had been, as usual, a spectacular stream of colours across the sky. Chewie, Han and Luke had spent the day alternately fiddling with something on the Falcon and helping Luke add interior walls to the house. They'd also increased the security field around the perimeter of the property. Mara had been dispatched to work on her Jedi studies in one of the new downstairs rooms. There was room for saber practice and a temporary home for Luke's extensive library of disks. She had her head deep in an article on using the force to increase strength when Luke persuaded her to help him with the evening meal. Han produced a very good wine from Borleias and talk and mood had mellowed. Mara had never expected to feel so relaxed with Luke and his family. At one point during the meal, she had caught Luke's eye while Han had outlined some nefarious scheme he'd entertained during his smuggling days to get rich. Blue eyes shining with laughter had met sparkling green and again, as always, something sizzled in the force.

"I'm actually tired tonight, Skywalker." Mara admitted, leaning her elbows on her knees.

Luke was perched on the bottom of the bed. The curtain had been pulled back and Han and Chewie sat sprawled in a couple of form fitting chairs Luke had procured from somewhere.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"We go to Tosche Station.... You did contact your friends - right?"

Luke nodded.

"And we wait for someone to contact us. I just hope this is genuine."

"I think it is. I've not felt anything anomalous with this part of the proceedings." Luke gave Mara a speaking glance and she immediately understood.

Han did too. It wasn't what Luke was saying - it was what he left out.

Chewie barked an inquiry.

"According to General Cracken, Imperial Intelligence will pass on to us what they already know and it will be a joint operation clearing them out. Now I may be overly suspicious, but I'm presuming they'll have people there they won't be telling us about."

Chewie growled indignantly, his fur ruffled.

"You got it, Pal. I remember the backstabbing at Bakura too. We helped them out defeating the Ssi-Ruuk and as soon as we'd done that, they immediately turned on us. Luke was going to be handed over to those aliens as a one-off payment and nearly died as a result."

Luke nodded slowly and gave Mara a quick glance. She was thinking the same as he was. The New Republic also had unexpected backup. Two Jedi with Karrde and his people. Luke retreated from their shared link in surprise. For the first time ever, Mara had allied herself with him - not Karrde - and she'd called herself a Jedi. It gave him - hope. The feeling he held deep in his heart, the hope that never went away, no matter how many knocks he took, unfurled and began to come to life. It was young and green, but with hope it could grow. He turned his vivid blue gaze on Mara again. She sat relaxed, leaning forward and her eyes focused suddenly on him. He didn't look away.

Chewie was the first to notice that the Jedi were no longer paying attention. Han was still telling an old smuggling story.

The Wookiee barked softly and interrupted the Corellian's wild tale.

"This is a good bit...I know you've heard it......." His voice trailed off. Chewie wuffed a few more pithy comments and Han also noticed the man and woman's eyes locked on each other.

"Yeah Pal, I do feel a little.... in the way. Guys! Kid, Chewie and me'll go check the Falcon for the night."

Two faces acknowledged him, but the departure didn't really register.

"What do you mean they've been staring at each other all evening like that? I never noticed." Han muttered indignantly as he made his way towards the Falcon.

"How could you not notice?" grumbled Chewie. "I thought you were good at reading signs, even Jedi masters."

"Leia isn't going to like this."

"It's got nothing to do with her. Luke is a man, not a boy. Are you really surprised, friend? Are you?"

Han plopped himself tiredly into the pilot's chair. "No. I'm not."

"The Princess is an astute woman. Do you think Leia will really be surprised either?"

"I don't know, Chewie. She kinda gave up for a while after Callista left. Oh, she liked her very much, but there was a nagging feeling that Callista shouldn't have been there at all and then when she left Luke. We all understood why, but it didn't make it any easier on the kid. He just wants a home and a family. We're the nearest he has, but he's always looking in. Jacen, Jaina and Anakin are my children, not his. Leia's obligation is first to me and he knows it, no matter how close they are. He's been so distant from us all - even Leia. But Mara must be doing something. I've never seen him like this."

"Honestly, Han. When did you suspect there might be something?"

"You remember the twins' birthday? Luke was there for the first time in ages, but was tired and thin. We didn't know he'd been overworking, not sleeping and was coming down with an infection. He just looked wiped out. Mara also turned up on Coruscant at the same time and the pair of them talked for the first time in over a year. They'd had this big fight. I mean, they always did have a strange relationship, but they work well together and they trust each other with their lives. You can't get closer than that. Luke trusts Mara with our lives too which, to me, says a lot more. Luke became ill and Mara rushed to his bedside and Leia was rather put out about it. I thought it was funny at the time. Leia wasn't so sure but she urged Mara to make her peace with Luke and go for training. So I suppose Leia did guess something was between them, but I don't know if she will be so happy with this scenario. I hate to be disloyal about my own wife but she's trying to get Luke to become an adviser to the Senate and it's not his scene. Sure he's learned politics but his heart isn't in it. He wants to be out there, like I do. Not stuck in endless meetings."

"What about you? What do you think about them being together?"

Han blinked with some semblance of dawn breaking over his rugged features. "Do you know something? I've been thinking about how Leia would react and not what I think." He smiled the familiar lop-sided grin and his eyes lit up. "She's very attractive. Stunning in fact. Is force strong, intelligent. Can take care of herself in a fight and will put up with no nonsense from Luke either. He can be very Skywalker about a lot of things. As can his sister. Now that you put it in that way........ I'm delighted. But it's not going to be easy for them. Mara is decidedly strong willed and Luke, although you wouldn't think to look at him, is just as bad. Did you see his face yesterday?"

"You mean the one with the hand print on it?"

"Yup. Also the lip paint. Which I think he's not into wearing. It happened to be the same colour as Jade's. She's good for him. He has this energy back."

Chewbacca chuckled wisely. He knew Han would come 'round eventually, as would Luke if the force willed it.

"Remember old friend - you might have to convince Leia. That's if Luke decides he really wants Mara Jade. Because the problems you and Leia had getting together will be miniscule in comparison to what these two will have to go through."

"You may well be right. But I think they're already experiencing the difficulties. Any couple that takes ten years to even be comfortable in the same sector together are gonna have some obstacles to overcome. Plus the individuals in question are Luke and Mara. What more can I say?"

The Wookiee nodded his head vigorously in agreement. "Somehow my friend, I get the feeling your wife won't be averse to the idea. Not when you point out all the benefits to her beloved brother."

"We'd better give them some time alone. Now that you've drawn it to my attention, I don't know how I could have missed the feeling of being surplus to requirements."

The two remaining occupants sat and continued to stare at each other. Mara's defences were completely down. The whole evening, plus her continued proximity to Luke over the last few weeks, had contributed to the heightened emotional resonance between them.

"Mara!" It was the only word Luke got out before he moved into her outstretched arms and fastened his mouth onto hers.

Chapter 8

Tosche Station

"Busy tonight, Boss." Arnek grunted as he dipped the glasses into the cleaning granules.

"Mm...," Fixer nodded absently, his eye roaming the crowded room.

It had been almost a fortnight since the attack on his life and property. Then there was the reappearance of Luke Skywalker - if it really was him. Fixer, finally, was coming to believe that after an absence of so many years the boy, who'd always incurred a feeling of inadequacy in the older man, had returned. The funny thing was - that feeling remained. Fixer had been the leader in their little group after Biggs had gone. Luke had followed Biggs with a hero worship, which somehow Biggs had reciprocated and he'd known that Luke hadn't regarded himself in the same light. The knowledge had rankled. Fixer had made sure that Luke was considered the outsider in their world. It had been easy enough, for his Aunt and Uncle had protected him and kept him away from the local populace generally. Luke had worked harder on his Uncle's moisture farm than any farmhand. It was Skywalker, all right. The man knew too much about them.

There had been a lot of strange faces in Anchorhead recently. Some of them came to the machine shop, others to the cantina. Mostly however, only the locals patronised Fixer's small no-frills establishment. Off-worlders went to the Flying Bantha. It purported to be much more upmarket, but in the harsh light of the twin suns it just looked tacky.

Camie moved past his vision, dragging Marn by the hand. That boy - not only had he an aversion to cleaning solution, he also disliked bedtime. He'd been hiding in the workshop again, but his Mother was wise to all his tricks. Anni had been asleep for hours already, but Marn... No.

Fixer sighed bitterly. He wasn't proving to be much of a husband and father - unable to protect his own. It was the mere fact that Luke Skywalker had arrived like some sort of avenging superman, fulfilling the promise they had always known was there. Luke had got off this miserable rock and by all accounts had become this hero type. Fixer sipped at his lum. He'd always been the leader before and now he was taking orders like a hired hand. But deep down in his gut he was scared and reacted the only way he knew how - with resentment and anger.

A tall sun-tanned man stumbled into the room and made for a table in the corner. Fixer had privately dubbed it 'Skywalker's table'. No one had sat there since the night of the raid. This was another stranger.

Arnek shuffled over with the inevitable glass of cloudy lum and the man twitched him a lop-sided grin.

"Fixer!" Camie hissed from the back door, her face flushed from Marn's routine struggle at bedtime. "It's Luke..." she mouthed. "And Mara."

With a quick jerk of the head, Fixer summoned Arnek back behind the bar and followed his wife into the machine workshop, which doubled as the main office.

"Well, well. I thought it might be another ten or so years till I saw you again, Skywalker. What do you want this time?"

Luke sat calmly while Mara paced behind him. Fixer took a good look at the beautiful trader and literally gawked.

"Cut the staring barkeep," she growled angrily. "Have you never seen brown hair before?"

Luke chuckled inwardly. Mara could be as irritable as Fixer was, probably more so. Fixer satisfied himself with scowling at them both as Camie entered bearing drinks on a tray. She quickly glanced at Luke and Mara, her expression wary.

"We're not expecting any trouble. Honestly, Camie, I don't only come with misfortune dogging my heels." He stated softly.

Mara snorted and rolled her eyes. "Great, Skywalker. Just cover things up, why don't you."

"Mara. There won't be trouble here. Not tonight or any other in the near future that I can foresee." The implied rebuke made the trader flush and bite her lip. Luke's gentle censure made her feel about two feet tall. He was right and she knew it. She gave him a narrow glare, but remained silent and Camie ducked from the room not comforted in the least.

"Not fair, Jade. She's frightened enough as it is." Luke spoke in her mind.

"I'm sorry, Luke. It was Fixer I was trying to get at, not Camie."

"Fixer's just as afraid as Camie is. He hides behind all that bluster and hostility. I thought you were better at reading emotions than that. Remember I've told you that seeing with the eyes alone can blind you to the truth."

"As I've also said to you, Master Skywalker."

"So you have, Jade. So you have."

Luke turned his attention to Fixer. The heavy jawed man waited impatiently. "Well?"

"You don't have a surveillance system in place, I suppose?"

Fixer uttered a disbelieving bark of laughter. "You're joking. Right? You've been core for too long, Wormie," he sneered.

Luke opened his mouth to correct him, but before he could do so, Mara had launched herself at the taller man and had him pinned up against the wall, his feet several inches off the floor. If Luke hadn't been cross at Mara for losing her patience, he might have found it funny, because that's what it looked. The diminutive trader, holding the surly Fixer in place with the minimum of ease.

"His name is Luke, not Wormie or anything else your little mind can come up with. It's Luke to you, or Master Skywalker. That's a title he has earned," she growled fiercely.

"Mara!" Luke intervened. "Let him go." "He's frightened and completely out of his depth." "Mara!"

Mara gave Fixer her best assassin's stare, but unwillingly she did release him. Mara was reacting purely on her emotions. It was quite acceptable for her to taunt and goad Skywalker, but let anyone else try it. Luke knew what was in her heart and he cut loose the grip on his anger with Mara. They always looked out for each other. They always would.

Fixer huffed. The female, what was her name again - Jade, had picked him up as if he weighed nothing. "I gotta go serve..." he mumbled. "Arnek can't do it all tonight - too busy."

"We'll stay here. But there are things we need to discuss later," stated Luke. "No getting out of them."

Fixer slammed the tray on the bar. "Who does he think he is?"

"He is who he's always been. Just older and more mature. Like I wish my husband could be man enough to be. You're acting like a jealous child, Fixer." She said softly. "By the looks of those two something's up. But we can't talk here. No knowing who's listening. It's a pity we don't have a surveillance system."

"Fixer threw her a dark stare. Just what he needed - another female giving him advice he didn't want.

Luke and Mara sat alone in the workshop surrounded by bits and pieces of broken droid parts and speeder innards. Luke had picked up some part and was already tinkering with it. Finally he raised his head and gave a still defiant Mara a cautious glance.

He raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

Her mouth firmed. "I don't like his attitude. You helped him and he treats you...."

"Like he always has, Mara." Luke finished her sentence. "What about you," he threw at her accusingly. "You've insulted me far worse than he ever has and he never threatened to kill me."

Mara suddenly grinned, embarrassment creeping into her eyes. "I'm not nice to you sometimes - am I?"

"I guess I can live with it. Look Mara," He put down the piece of scrap metal he'd been inspecting. "I decided a long time ago that it didn't matter. Part of me wanted to come back a hero, medals gleaming and prove to them that I wasn't a washout. But after Yavin, time passed so quickly. I was fighting a war for my life and the lives of my friends. At the risk of sounding bigheaded I was too important to the rebellion. The folks here might have thought about me once in a while, but in reality, they assumed I was dead and got on with their lives. Nothing I did would ever make me truly fit in here. I was different from the others. Only Biggs knew how I felt and he'd already gone. Looking back on it now. I could have come back earlier, although I might have put them in danger. I mean, I have been back to Tatooine, but I've never come to see those I left behind. My reception has been ambiguous at best since I've returned. They don't know how to treat me. Am I really an alliance hero or a delusional fake?"

Mara moved to sit next to him and curled into his side. "You've never been back because this part of your life still caused you pain. These people weren't ready to accept you as you were then and perhaps as you are now. No-o...." She cut Luke off as he opened his mouth to argue. "Admit it."

He put his arm around her waist and leaned into her warmth. "Admit you want me, Jade," he countered huskily.

"I do not," she retorted. But her words lacked fire.

"Come on Mara - admit it." He trailed a gentle finger over the swell of her breasts, feeling her reaction and hearing her breath catch in her throat. "Admit..." He leant forward and kissed her warmly, parting her lips. "...it."

"Skywalker!" She pulled her lips from his. "This is not the time, or the place."

"There's no-one else here. All we have to do is wait for the others to arrive. We might as well pass the time doing something." Mara baiting, he had discovered, could be fun. Dangerous, but fun.

"Someone could come through at any moment. We've a job to do. We cannot be side-tracked by trivialities.

"Trivialities!" Luke echoed, his voice rising in pitch. "Jade, Jade." He tutted mock disapprovingly. Suddenly something shifted in the force. He felt it and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them his blue eyes shone into Mara's brilliant green ones. The look he gave her was oddly intent and his voice sounded strange in his own ears. Mara found she couldn't look away.

"Will our children be this contrary, Mara, do you think?"

"If they take after your side of the family I wouldn't be .......... Children!!" She wrenched from his grasp abruptly and moved to the far side of the shop. Picking up something from a shelf, she turned and Luke got ready to duck.

"Luke Skywalker…. Any qualms about ending your miserable life have just been quietened. Children!" she sputtered. "With you!"

Luke shrugged. "Why not?"

"Why not!"

"If you're going to have them it might as well be with me. Think of the possibilities..."

"I'm not thinking. I'm not. I..."

The door slid open and Arnek came in with Han. "Not again," remarked Han conversationally.

"He convinced me he knew you," the bartender murmured dryly. "I've a Blaster trained on him just in case he's lying."

The Jedi shifted his gaze to Han.

"Nah. He's my brother-in-law. Han Solo meet Arnek." Luke waved a languid hand in Han's direction, but something in his eyes belied his apparently relaxed pose.

Mara on the other hand stood, shoulder's tense, green eyes shuttered.

The atmosphere in the small room was stifling. 'It's the sexual tension,' Han thought to himself. 'How could I possibly have missed this. It's been there for years. I wish they'd just give in. I don't care what my wife thinks about this. She's not had to put up with them and their moods over the past few days. Luke's not celibate. He's not particularly sexually active, but I'll swear on the Millennium Falcon that sex has reared its ugly head between these two and they don't know what to do about it. Maybe I should offer my services as adviser to sexually frustrated Jedi.' Then again, he took another quick glance in Mara's direction and decided against it. He'd rather take his chances against the whole Imperial fleet, than point out what was becoming painfully apparent to anyone who knew Luke and Mara. Their interesting and unique relationship had taken a somewhat inevitable turn.

Han, of course, didn't know that the Jedi had given in and it only made the craving, the wanting and the needing more desperate. Luke and Mara hadn't yet realised their dependency upon one another. Both of them still thought they could walk away from this with ease.

Han focused on the object in Mara's hands. By all the asteroids between here and Hoth - a set of Alluvial Dampers. His eyes lit up. "How much?"

Mara groaned and rolled her eyes. She'd picked up the dampers to use as a missile against Luke. He'd made her so mad. He made her mad - constantly. Just a bantha's breath away from doing something she'd later regret. Like throwing a set of perfectly good alluvial dampers in his direction. He also made her feel good but.... children - with him!! No - she was not heading down that path.

Han approached her warily and almost snatched the set of dampers from her hands. Pulling out a pile of credits he thrust them into the grip of an astonished Fixer who'd followed Han and Arnek into the workshop. Han stuffed the part into his backpack, then something made him stop and twist his head towards the silent Jedi. They were at opposite ends of the room. This didn't bode well for any covert operation. He thought they'd sorted things out last night, when Han and Chewie had left them alone. But it was obvious that the feud or something else was still simmering. Well Mara was simmering, Luke was.... Luke was calm and very Jedi. That would be why Mara was simmering.

'Some poor fool is going to have to have words with them. Why do I get the feeling it's gonna be me,' he thought.

"Don't worry Han," Luke murmured quietly, eyeing Mara. "Everything's fine."

"I hate it when you do that, Luke. You know I do."

"Any force sensitive within a good hundred miles radius could pick up on your churning emotions."

"I'm not worried about the mission - much. It's you and Jade that are giving me stomach problems and I'm not force sensitive."

Luke frowned and again eyed Mara carefully. "I don't see why."

"I'll explain it later flyboy," Mara inserted caustically. "Much later."

Han sighed and set his mind back to recall the previous evening. Chewie and Han had left the tense pair of Jedi alone. When Han had returned cautiously, Luke had been huddled under blankets on his mattress on the floor. Mara had been on the other side of the curtain presumably sound asleep.

Han had hoped they'd have both been behind the curtain. It would certainly have relieved something - Han's anxious nerve endings for one thing. But he supposed Luke and Mara were two rational people and he was just wishing for a little craziness. Some folks thought too much and didn't act. Still, he couldn't normally say that about his impetuous brother-in-law. As for Mara - no one knew what she really thought. Han sighed again. At one time Luke had been the impetuous, reckless boy, but that had all changed and he'd been replaced by a measured, watchful man with the strain of his heritage firmly weighing him down.

The pair had done some anxious embracing, but embarrassment and the knowledge of Han able to walk in on them at any time, held them back. Caution had won and Han had been left wondering if he'd been imagining it all. Was he conjuring something up between the two Jedi because he desperately wanted his almost brother to find happiness? And Mara Jade could bring Luke happiness - of that Han was increasingly optimistic.

Chewie had rigged up a small surveillance system to use in the bar-room. He wanted someone to be able to discreetly monitor events. That Imperials were already in the area was without question - but how many? Han and Chewie had got through many a rough scrape. Han wanted to go home to his family, so he wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Task number one was to locate any of the Imperial operatives in the vicinity. They too might have secreted a few hidden holocamms. Jedi had their uses after all. Luke and Mara could find and temporarily neutralise them while Alliance agents installed their own. When Fixer closed the bar tonight - that's when they'd do it.

He roused himself from his musings and stared at his surroundings with awe. Now this was the kind of place that brought joy to his heart.

"This is fantastic," he enthused.

Luke hid a smile behind a brown-gloved hand and Fixer almost cracked a smile.

Luke held up a finger. "Ssh! They're here." A minuscule click could be heard over his comlink.

Fixer gaped stupidly his mouth dropping open.

"Close it up, barkeep," murmured Mara mockingly. She stretched out with the force.

"Who is it, Mara?" asked Luke quietly.

"I can sense six identities. One of them is especially strong in the force." She smiled smugly. "It's Corran."

"Good."

"If we have Corran, then we should have..." She closed her eyes reaching for that elusive presence. "Wedge." The Corellian couldn't use the force but he registered a vital life-force sign. "Oh, and I've just caught Tycho's presence. But once I identified Corran the others were easier. This is nothing spectacular Master Skywalker, so don't get your hopes up."

"What about the others?" Han asked curiously.

Mara furrowed her brow in concentration. "Three of Page's men. They go by the working aliases of Zav, Rillit and Senno."

Luke moved to her side. "Well done," he congratulated softly.

The door slid ajar and the three Rogue Officers slipped through.

"This place... is..." murmured Tycho.

"Back in the dark ages?" queried Mara nastily.

"The word I was thinking about was 'incredible'. We just got caught up in a mini sandstorm."

"They happen all the time without warning," put in Luke. "The wind whips up as it travels across the Dune Sea and swirls into these little twists of gold."

"What do you think, Corran?"

"He's an x-wing pilot. He doesn't think," shot back Mara. "Almost poetic farmboy. I didn't know you had it in you."

"I beg to differ Jade," he suggested in her mind. "This is my world."

Luke placed his hand across his heart and the other Rogues assumed tragic expressions.

Han raised his eyes to the ceiling in disbelief. "Oh, the ego of an x-wing pilot. Mara, you realise this lot'll sulk about this for ages and bring it up during inappropriate moments."

She snorted. "Hah!"

"Enough, Guys. We do have a mission to plan." Han tried to put a little command into his voice.

"Yes, General Solo, Sir," they chorused mock cheerfully.

Han turned his gaze in Fixer's direction. "Is it okay to talk here?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, we can trust him. We have to. Fixer is an old friend of mine. He won't say anything. Will you?" He phrased it as a question, but there was an implied threat and the man could only nod dumbly. This wasn't the Luke Skywalker he'd grown up with. He had changed. Boy had he changed. Fixer frowned slightly as the others all gave their undivided attention to the Jedi Knight, but a pleasant feeling lingered for a moment at being in such a position of trust. Luke took his eyes from his childhood companion and set bright blue eyes on Mara's slim figure. He leant casually against the wall, his off-white desert tunic contrasting with the shadowed interior, his gloved hand resting thoughtfully on his chin.

Wedge slid a data-pad across the desk to Mara. "It's a message from Karrde," he explained.

She read it swiftly. Karrde's in place as are Mazzic and Gillespee."

Han smiled grimly. "Excellent. I didn't know Karrde had the others involved."

"It's their livelihood as well, Solo," put in Mara.

"Page's men should be there too. What about you, Luke?"

"I'm with Mara. She's the one recruited by you guys. I'm just a simple Jedi Master on sabbatical."

Wedge hooted. "Believe that if you can. This guy has not rescued anyone or anything for at least three months."

"Try a week or so," murmured Mara dryly. She was getting used to Skywalker's 'save the galaxy' mentality.

Wedge directed his next comments to Fixer. "You know him from way back. Luke walks into an Imperial stronghold, rescues a rebel Princess, then destroys a battle station."

"Wedge," Luke broke in, a light flush staining his face.

"Then he...." You could really tell that Wedge was warming up to his theme. "...converts a Sith lord and rebuilds an ancient order and..."

"Cut the chatter, Red Two," Luke threw in. "I was in the wrong place at the right time."

"Same as always," grinned Han.

"So..." Wedge continued. "What was he really like?"

Fixer opened and shut his mouth helplessly. 'Wormie?' This was too much.

"Leave it, Wedge. This is Mara's mission. The Imperials should think I'm still on Coruscant or back on Yavin." But his gaze said that he doubted that. "I'm going as a personal favour to Mara. If I'm needed, of course I'll help. Will I be needed?"

Coruscant - Fixer had heard of it. Who hadn't? The galactic capital. He'd heard it was covered entirely by buildings and to someone from Tatooine that concept was strange, yet wonderful. If he ever were to travel Fixer would have liked to see Coruscant. But Yavin he'd never heard of.

He watched as the people crammed into his workshop planned some sort of infiltration mission as if it were an every day thing and a meeting of importance taking place in his bar. They talked of other places and things he'd never heard of and didn't understand.

"Don't worry about it."

He almost missed the quietly spoken comment in his ear. Luke smiled wisely and retreated back to his corner. The woman - Jade - moved from her chair and walked around, her hands moving deftly in the air to illustrate some point or other. She was very beautiful, that one, not that his own wife Camie wasn't. But Mara Jade had class and Wormie - never took his eyes from her. Fixer lifted his shoulders. So that was the way the bantha tracked.

"Can you three neutralise any Imp holocams?" Han directed his question at the three Jedi. Corran, after a glance at Luke and Mara, nodded.

"Good. When the bar closes do it then. It has to be quick. We have to make it seem like a minor malfunction. Only seconds or they'll suspect."

"No problem," grinned Corran. Light green eyes shining. "I set these things up all the time when I worked in Corsec. I can dismantle them in an instant."

Fixer moved to help Arnek close the bar, but it wasn't an onerous task. Since the raid on the place, the locals had tended to leave early and make for their own homes where they felt safer.

Luke, Mara and Corran entered the now deserted bar. Dust hung in the air, mingled with smoke and the vanished presence of those just gone home. Closing their eyes they identified the cams, disabled them and restarted them. Han watched keenly. This was the heritage his children had been born to. Surely they would have an easier time than Luke or Mara. Even Corran had had it easier than these two. Jacen, Jaina and Anakin would follow their own destiny no matter what. But he hoped it wouldn't be as tragic as their mother's and uncle's had been.

The three Jedi had finished the task in a matter of seconds and with a quick nod in Corran's direction Mara headed outside. Luke followed her with his eyes then turned to Corran. "That's it. May the force be with you."

Corran stiffened. His danger sense had begun to ring big alarm bells. "Where's Mara?"

"She's gone to start the speeder. We're getting out of here."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Force hunch, I guess."

"Stormtroopers!" muttered Corran.

"Here?" questioned Tycho. "You're kidding, Horn. It's a trap?"

Luke shut his eyes and sent a rapid message through the force to Mara. "Wait just round the corner. Have the engine running."

"Why -Ah! I see. I copy Master Skywalker. Just get out of there. Don't do anything foolish."

"Who me?" He felt her smile.

"No - it's not a trap. They're looking for me, not you." Luke stated firmly after a careful probe. "They don't know where I am, but have heard rumours to the effect that I might be around this system. So if one set of Imperials want to talk peace, the other set doesn't and wants me out of the way. Nothing unusual about that." He cast his mind back when he'd become a sort of tug-of-war between his father and the head of the criminal organisation Black Sun.

"I did suggest to Mara a few minutes ago we should leave, but I didn't realise it might have to be quite so precipitous."

"But you can't go outside. They'll recognise you." Said Arnek worriedly.

Fixer grimaced sourly. His barman had obviously swallowed everything Luke had said. But who was he to judge? Luke had helped them and all these people seemed to look towards him and respect him. Even the woman - Jade, sarcastic and impatient as she was, always checked with Luke first.

"It's not a problem." He stretched out with the force. "Well done, Corran. Your skills are improving. What brought this on?"

Corran shrugged "I decided to fully accept the talent I was born with. If I didn't, I would be betraying everything my father held dear. Then there's Valin. I want to be able to guide him and any other children Mirax and I may have." He pulled a small cube from his pocket, touched a panel on it and held out his hand. Valin Horn's serious little face peeked out at the world. Luke stared at the picture, a lump in his throat.

"He's grown, Corran. Is he...?"

"We suspect so but, like you suggested, we're not doing anything about it. Just bringing him up the best way we can and stopping Booster from having too much influence."

Tycho smirked at the mention of Corran's strong-willed father-in-law.

"I'll get you to test him when he's older."

"It should be time enough," agreed Luke.

Mara waiting in the speeder felt Luke's change of feelings. She didn't know what had upset him, but she would tackle him about it later. She'd felt pain and longing and a sense of urgency.

"Luke," Han approached him and steered him to the back door. "I think you should think about getting out of here. Mara should have the speeder warmed up by now. We'll see you there. Goodness knows what we'll find. I'll send an encrypted summary of the meeting to Artoo."

"Thanks Han. We'll be fine if the force wills it."

They gave each other a serious stare then Luke peered round the edge of the door. Sure enough, there was a squad of desert stormtroopers. He closed his eyes and from somewhere a quiet wind began to blow. It whipped his cloak about his shoulders and from no-where little puffs of sand began to rise into the air. The wind grew in intensity and the sand formed strange shapes and suddenly funnelled into spirals. For a moment the whirling specks obscured the dark shapes of Tosche Station's buildings. When the haze cleared the stormtroopers stood bewildered and Luke... He had gone.

The Commander of the trooper squad marched up to the building.

"We're closed," announced Arnek.

"Have you seen this man?" He showed Arnek a small holo.

"He seems familiar, but I don't know. Could be anybody. He's not a local. I would know him if he were. I'll call the boss. He might remember him. We've had a lot of people through here lately including some strange alien types, but they never stay."

The trooper grunted in agreement. He'd been posted here. It didn't mean he had to like it.

"Boss! You busy?" Arnek called to Fixer who had come through carrying some chipped glassware.

"'Course I'm busy. What do you take me for, old man?" Fixer watched from the corner of his eye as Han and the others slipped into the cellar. There was an underground passage there that ran for several miles.

"The Captain here wants to know if we've seen this guy."

Fixer gave the holo a cursory once over. "He looks familiar, but I can't say I've seen him in here. No.... He could be anybody - he's got that average sort of look about him. Did Arnek tell you? We've had a lot of funny beings in here, but I serve them all. Business is business and I can't afford to turn anyone away. I'll be glad to open for you fellows if you want? On the house, of course."

The Captain regretfully declined. He knew they were on a wild goose chase. What the head of the Jedi Order would be doing in a worthless place like this was anyone's guess.

A room in a building just across the street.

Jarl Venner scratched his neck. That damn sand got everywhere. He would have thought he'd been used to it by now, but it still managed to get places he didn't believe it could. He and his men had been in Anchorhead since the location of this epoch making meeting had been finalised. He paced round the tiny office they were using for surveillance purposes. Why suggest such an out of the way place such as here? Some local knowledge must have been available - it was perfect for their purposes. He didn't think the Windriders were Alliance spies. He'd observed them before, but only as part of his usual duties. There were rumours to the effect that they'd known Skywalker once, but he didn't know if that was fact or fiction. It was possible, but there had been no reports of the Jedi Master in a long time. If he was here, he was keeping quiet and well out of the way. But then again - a meeting in such an out of the way place made sense and it wasn't too far away from the source of their worries. He groaned inwardly. His worries mainly came in the shape of his immediate superior, the Imperial Prefect Eugene Talmont. Jedi would only add to that. He wasn't sure if he believed in the myth of the Jedi and the force, but it was a big galaxy and these days there were men of sound judgement who swore they'd seen things. He sighed again. He'd had to invent a heck of a lot of excuses these past few weeks just to keep Talmont off his back and he had the feeling the man might be on to him. Normally Talmont was as sharp as a Bothan spy and just as devious, secretive and self-absorbed. Add to that a healthy sense of suspicion and paranoia. Talmont was clever and manipulative. Why he'd been left in charge of Tatooine Venner had no clue, but one thing none of them had taken into consideration - the man was sick. He was wasting away from some disease in front of their eyes and Venner could tell he was getting desperate. Desperate men were dangerous.

Kapass and Leggin manned the viewscreens for any sight of anything unusual. But all they could see were a few run down buildings and in the bar the old man, Arnek, and his boss were clearing up and urging patrons to their feet. Venner didn't have strong feelings about Tatooine - he considered it part of his job. It may be a backwater planet but it was an important one and some people had forgotten that. If this planet was lost to the criminal elements in the galaxy other planets would surely follow and neither the Empire nor the Alliance could do a thing about it.

"Anything?" he asked.

"No, Sir," answered Leggin. "Although this place is a lot busier than it usually is. There's been a lot of coming and goings over the last few hours. But everyone going in has also left. The viewscreens flickered for an instant and cut out completely. The imperials stared in horror.

"Try and get the picture back - Now!" Venner ordered without letting the panic build up in his voice. But as suddenly as it had disappeared, the picture crackled to life again. It couldn't have been blank for more than a couple of seconds. But according to the tech in charge of the equipment, it had been doing that all day.

"Sir! Could you take a look at this?" Leggin asked quietly. "There's folks hanging round the doorway. Someone's just leaving.

"Hello...! This one came in with a friend." He pointed to a lone hooded figure leaving and moving to a speeder parked just outside. "I can't remember this one in the bar."

"What on Bastion.... Sir! Sir! I don't like the look of this." Kapass interrupted

Venner moved quickly to the monitor. A platoon of white armoured desert stormtroopers had just drawn up in a transport. The hooded figure in the speeder ducked behind the corner of the building. Venner knew that didn't mean anything. The locals were still hostile to the Empire. They considered them an occupation force. But what were stormtroopers doing here? This meeting was top secret. Ardiff had pressed on him that no one else in the Empire was to know of this - especially not the local Imperial Prefect. He was supposed to be under suspicion of working with the new crime lord. Venner closed his eyes briefly. The Imperial Prefect was working with the new crime lord. There was nothing supposed about it - only Venner didn't have enough proof.

'Damn'. Venner bit off the curse that rose to his lips. He moved to a communicator behind him where a red light flashed and flicked a switch. "Damn." The word escaped this time. Talmont must be monitoring closer than he'd thought and yet he'd been so careful.

"Janks to Venner. We have a problem." The disembodied voice came clearly over his comlink.

"I know. I can see it on the monitor. Can you tell me anything else?"

The monitors flickered again and Venner heard Kapass swear quietly. The wind picked up and blowing sand twisted and swirled obscuring everything from view. Even though desert stormtroopers were equipped to survive Tatooine's conditions, Venner could hear muffled grunts of annoyance as the troopers took shelter. Then, as suddenly as it had arrived, the wind died and the view across the street showed the run down buildings clearly. In the distance the lights of a speeder could be seen heading out into the desert.

"My audio monitor is picking up the occasional word, but it's not working properly. Too much sand. They're hunting..." The voice of Nils Janks rose in astonishment. "... Jedi!"

"There's no Jedi here. We would surely have heard something. Wouldn't we?" 'Talmont was on a completely different track, but one which had surfaced at the same place as the other one.'

Kapass gave his superior officer a direct stare. "I'm not sure, Sir. There's more of them than there used to be and we have no way of tracking them unless it's with someone gifted with the same magic powers." His lip curled disdainfully. "I personally don't believe all the hype, Sir."

"Believe It Kapass, believe it. This can only complicate matters. If we have Jedi here then...." He let his voice trail off, then briskly cleared his throat and reached for his comlink.

"Captain Ardiff. This is Major Venner. Sir, we have a problem."

Chapter 9

Mos Eisley Garrison - Tatooine

Ardiff slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. "Damn!"

He reached forward and pressed a switch on his console. Sighing, he sat himself down and waited for anyone to reply,

"Yes, Captain," the tinny voice answered from the speaker.

"Open a secure channel to Admiral Pellaeon. Now - this is urgent. And I mean a secure channel."

Tosche Station

Fixer watched gloomily as the men who'd been working with Luke made his office into a kind of operations room. They kept pulling bits of wiring and electronic components and arranging them into circuits. He thought he was pretty good with stuff like that, but most of the equipment was unfamiliar to him. It began to seem more and more as if Skywalker had been telling the truth. But why would he lie? To impress them? That was possible - but the calm man of now was light years away from the dreamy boy Fixer had known. He was simply someone special and he'd taken time to help Fixer and his family without expecting thanks. He shifted restlessly. Who was he trying to kid? Luke didn't need to try and impress anyone - you just were impressed.

Arnek wandered in and gave Fixer a dirty look, then wandered slowly back out again clutching a few empty glasses. Fixer's gaze strayed curiously to an older man with rugged good-looking features, greying hair and a charming lop-sided grin. Arnek had pointed him out as Luke's brother-in-law. Strange - Luke hadn't said he was married. Luke had called the man 'General Solo' with an air of mocking amusement, but there was affection and great respect there too - on both sides.

The rest of the men were obviously friends and close colleagues, but obviously were military types. They hid it well, but there was something about their straight-backed awareness of their surroundings. Luke had it too. He had said he'd gone directly into the alliance as a pilot, so it would make sense. Fixer snorted in disgust. They'd always taunted Luke about his dreams. Seems like he'd achieved what he wanted. But at what cost? The little voice rang in Fixer's head.

Camie ducked into the room carrying a loaded tray. "Oh man, real food." Tycho and Corran grinned cheekily at her. "Thanks Ma'am," they chorused like small boys. Camie blushed and pushed a plate towards Fixer and Han. Solo gave her his famous smile and she blushed again.

"Pretty girl," remarked Han ignoring the tired lines around Camie's eyes and the air of perpetual worry lining her forehead.

Fixer regarded him suspiciously.

"She's your ... wife?"

Fixer looked up at the Corellian. "Yup."

"Kids?"

"Two." Fixer waited a second then grudgingly added. "A boy and a girl - you?"

"Three." Han took a mouthful of food. "Twin boy and girl and a younger son." He pulled out a holo picture of his smiling family.

Fixer nodded, then pointed to Anakin who stood curled into Leia's side, his dark hair slightly ruffled by an invisible wind, blue eyes steady in his small face. "He looks like..."

"Luke. Yeah. He's like him in a lot of ways. All the annoying ones too. It's the way he single mindedly zeroes in on you."

Fixer felt a little confused. If Han was Skywalker's brother-in-law, what exactly was the relationship if the youngest son resembled him so strongly? And where did the woman Jade fit into this?

"Luke's married then?" he asked casually.

Han laughed. "No. Leia parades all these glamorous women past him but he's extremely wary. I can understand that. He was in a relationship a while back. Didn't work out well for him. He took time to get over it. Besides it's difficult for him. He's so high profile that any woman would have to put up with the media circus plus his Jedi responsibilities and he takes them very seriously. It's his thing, you see."

"Leia?"

"My wife. Luke's sister."

Fixer chewed slowly. "But he doesn't have a sister. I knew him all his life here - went to school with him. His aunt and uncle brought him up on his own."

Han eyed Fixer carefully. Luke said he could be trusted and that was enough for Han, even though Luke could still display a lot of naïve faith in people. But as Luke had said ' We can't tell them the complete story of the rebellion'. Han added one word in his mind - yet. "Long story. But it involves the Jedi and the powerful and...." Oh what am I saying? It would just take too long, Luke was right. "They were twins separated at birth to hide them from some people who might destroy them."

"Destroy whom?"

"Luke and Leia. They're Jedi, you see. Put all that power in the wrong hands and...." Han shuddered.

"Power?" Fixer looked confused, but obviously decided to let it slide. "Oh! He watches her."

It was Han's turn to look perplexed. "Who watches?"

"Wormie, I mean Luke. Watches Mara Jade - never takes his eyes off her."

Han's face tightened for a second, and then a fleeting expression of amusement crossed it. "He does, eh?"

Camie came in to collect their empty plates and caught the tail end of the conversation. "She watches him too. When she thinks he's not looking."

Han chuckled softly. "Now there's a thing." He smiled again. 'Well, Chewie, you were definitely right. This could get interesting.’ He lifted his glass of lum. "Here's to tomorrow."

Luke's home on the edge of the Dune Sea

The lights and power buzzed to life as Luke and Mara stood blinking, tense and awkward in the main living chamber. Gradually they relaxed without looking at one another.

"It's good to be home," Mara breathed in relief. The cool desert house had somehow taken on Luke's wonderful air of calm and Mara craved that serenity. She hadn't realised until now, how much she did so.

"Damn!" she muttered. It wasn't just the peace of mind she yearned for. Mara craved Luke full stop. Still refusing to face a puzzled Luke, she prowled edgily around the room.

"What is it?" he asked gently.

"Nothing." She bit out suddenly uneasy with her feelings.

"Something's wrong, Jade. Tell me." He probed cautiously.

"I told you it's nothing, Skywalker. Keep out of my mind for Sith's sake."

"Mara," he entreated. "Please tell me. I want to help - if I can." He threw his brown cloak over a chair and crossed to where she had finished her pacing. Mara stood eyes fixed on the floor in front of her - shoulders tense.

"I would never intrude." He shrugged expressively. "Not intentionally, I assure you. I just thought you were upset about something and just in case it was my fault... I didn't pick up on your thoughts - I didn't have to. You're betraying your mood for any half-way sentient species between here and Mos Eisley."

"I'm fine," she ground out defensively between clenched teeth.

"Mara!" He moved to stand behind her and placed a careful hand on her shoulder, waiting to see if she would reject him. He paused, opening his mind to her, letting her see he was no threat and finally felt her stretch out and enter his mind slowly.

"Oh, Luke..." Her eyes lifted and shone pure green fire into his.

"Mara - It's gonna be fine. Honestly. Whatever happens we'll face it together." He still had no real idea what had upset her so much.

"I suppose it will have to be. Think of the children..." She gave a strangled giggle. "I nearly decked you with that one. I thought you were serious."

"But Mara..." he stepped closer his hands moving deftly to untie her cloak, fingertips brushing her hair from her neck. They stood chest to chest, their eyes wide and locked upon one another. "I was," and just before his arms slid round her slender form and his lips descended on hers - he whispered softly. "I am."

Luke released Mara and stepped back slightly. Mara stared at him her pupils dilated in shock. Up until this very moment Mara had thought that Luke could walk away from her and thought that she could let him. She now knew that she could not let him go - ever. But how did he feel? How did she want him to feel?

Luke picked up her hands and carefully threaded his fingers through her own. They stood silently each searching the other for the truth. The truth of who and what they were with or without the other. Suddenly it was clear to both. Luke opened his mind to Mara and she revealed herself to him. Mara glanced at their linked hands and Luke brought her hands to his mouth and kissed them reverently he then bowed his head against them. Mara looked at the tousled darkened head as he continued just to stand there, his hands gripping hers.

"Luke," the whisper loud in the silence as Mara found her voice. "Please."

He stripped her slowly, savouring the moment, then guided her down onto the bed. When he joined her there Mara sensed the barely suppressed passion beneath the control and the gentleness Luke mastered so well. Mara closed her eyes and without consciously making the decision, set out to make him lose that control in her arms. Luke felt Mara's breathing change - felt his own heartbeat accelerate. He kissed her as if he'd been starving for her touch and in a way he had. All through those long and lonely years Luke Skywalker had desired Mara's touch. He had craved her like a drop of water on Tatooine but he'd been unaware of that fact. He hadn't realised that his needs could be met by the passion of the girl in his arms. His much-vaunted control began to fray at the edges. Breathing ragged, desire-mounting, Mara felt the need to merge with Luke utterly. She could feel his arousal against her, strong and male. They had no notion of their surroundings. They could only see and touch the other. It was as if they had developed an extra sense through the force. Mara for an instant tried to regain her sanity and opened green eyes, dark and sultry as they met Luke's bright blue gaze. Cheeks flushed she averted her eyes and focused on his strongly muscled chest, but a light finger underneath her chin brought her head up and again Luke's steady regard exposed her innermost needs. Luke braced himself above her, kissing her soft mouth and worked his way down to her breast.

"Ohh..." Mara gasped as he started to suckle and her nipple peaked. The sensations shot to every part of her body and her thighs parted. Luke settled as he felt her move beneath him. He knew he would never experience anything this profound with anyone else but Mara.

"I.... want.... need... now." Mara's plea to Luke was totally incoherent, but he knew what she wanted. The heated bodies undulated, slick as the excitement rose. Force sensations added to the heightened experience and Mara finally did get her wish and she watched Luke lose control in her arms, but she couldn't glory in that victory. In making him lose that which he prized, she was also ceding the victory to him. Her own control had also gone. Every part of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade was totally focused on the other.

Imperial Base - Bestine Township, Tatooine

Prefect Eugene Talmont coughed weakly, the sound a dry rattle in his weakening body. He gave a wry smile at the figure standing on the other side of his desk.

"My men have searched every cantina in the vicinity and interviewed many of the locals. We have to be careful and cannot alienate everyone, although I'm beginning to think that is what you wish.

"You lie."

"I'm telling you. The stormtroopers found nothing."

"The Jedi are here." The long nailed talons dug viciously into the grey desk.

"I've better things to do with my time than sit here and listen to this." Talmont gestured in disgust.

"They are here and it could be your ticket off Tatooine if you found them."

For the first time during the interview the prefect's watery blue eyes showed some spark of interest but it faded rapidly and he turned his head wearily. "No - they're not here and I'm stuck on this backwater world with no reprieve."

"Believe me, they are." The figure leant forward, scarred lekku curled over his shoulder. "Enlightenment comes at a price and I've paid it. This time I mean to win."

"But the Jedi can't be interested in you." Talmont dismissed abruptly.

"Oh but they are. I can't decide whether to kill them or thank them for finishing Jabba the Hutt and ultimately paving the way for my triumphant return to power."

"But Olan..."

Firith Olan is dead," snarled the Twilek. "He's dead and if you don't do what I say you will be too."

The prefect lifted his despairing, faded eyes. "You don't frighten me, Olan. I'm dying anyway. There's nothing can stop that. I'm dying, the Empire is dying. If you don't curtail your activities it's you that will be in trouble. No one is too important Olan. Remember that. No one. I've had it with your threats and anti-Imperial ways and I don't believe you can help the Empire build a stronger power base on this god-forsaken world. I've grown soft," he bit out angrily. "I deserve to be here and the Empire will not give up Tatooine without a fight. Not even to you. There is no way they would leave you in ultimate control. Jabba the Hutt is dead and you haven't the mind he had."

The Twilek stepped back stung, fury rising swiftly. Leaning over the grey standard Imperial desk he hissed at Talmont viciously. "You'll regret that insult, human. If you were not expiring I would finish you off." He jabbed a vengeful talon into the prefect's chest. "As for control of Tatooine - I have it. I've had it for several years now. In fact I've been running the sector for years and you never even noticed. Jabba the Hutt, Firith Olan, all the Jedi on Yavin - all underestimated me. I will be a crime lord like no other - more than Prince Xisor ever was. Black Sun's efforts will look puny in comparison to mine. I will make the name of Bib Fortuna live long throughout the galaxy and it will terrify those who dare to oppose me. You pathetic excuse of a man. The Empire hasn't the resources to hold Tatooine and you know it. Control..." He barked a bitter laugh of exultation. Leaning forward, purple eyes glowing madly, he hissed malevolently in the fading man's face. "Control. The Empire has never had it here. They only thought they did." With a swirl of his black cloak he stormed from the room leaving Talmont sitting almost indifferent to the threat.

Talmont's body sagged as the Twilek left. There was no escape for him now. If he was honest, which he wasn't usually, there never was any escape for him once he'd reached Tatooine. He only hoped that the disease ravaging his body took him before the Twilek exercised some form of revenge because Talmont knew that Olan would do so and he would fail. No - it wasn't Olan. He'd said Olan was dead and he was Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt's second in command. He was dead too - wasn't he? The Twilek must be suffering from some sort of madness. He pulled up the file he had on Olan. The profiles fit the character he'd had in his office, apart from the scarred lekku. He updated the holo-image; then something occurred to him. It couldn't happen - could it? Perhaps there was a way.

A light on his desk console began to flash urgently and he stared at it in confusion for a moment. Then a sense of panic seeped into his thin frame. "Emperor's bones!" This was a priority signal.

"What the hell are you playing at, Prefect?" The gravelly voice boomed through the receiver.

Talmont went whiter than he already was if that was humanly possible. "Admiral Pellaeon," he stuttered. "This is not a good time to contact me."

"Expect my aide, Captain Ardiff, to be with you in a couple of days. You have questions to answer."

The connection was severed suddenly leaving Prefect Eugene Talmont wondering if things could get any worse. The Jedi had been seen on Tatooine but there were two of them. The reports from the attack on Tosche Station had come to his attention. The contact had spoken of two humans wielding glowing swords - lightsabers. That meant only one thing. There were Jedi here on Tatooine and given the history of the planet it could only mean one thing. The head of the Jedi Order himself had returned to the place of his upbringing. Tthe identity of the other still remained a mystery, but by all accounts she was beautiful with hair the colour of the sunset and eyes which shone with emerald green fire. He had to find out. This could help him out of the mess he was in.

Luke Skywalker's home on the edge of the Dune Sea

In the little house a small tempest rocked the very walls. The blue-eyed man and the slender brown-haired girl in his arms were oblivious to all but each other. The man and woman in the throes of their passion had ceased to be aware of anything belonging to the world about them. Naked flesh brushed sensuously against naked flesh. Mara and Luke had never known such rapture, not in anyone else's bed. Luke had assumed he'd found his other self with Callista, but he knew now that that had been a preparation - a testing of his emotions. Mara had always been there for him, but he hadn't been ready to accept the total commitment he would have to give her. There were no half-measures with Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker knew that too.

"Mara..." he said softly, his voice sounding rough and unused. "Mara, I..." he stopped tongue-tied. Could he say it? His gaze covered the beautiful face of the girl he held so tightly against him. His body reacted at the thought as he continued to press her slim form to his more muscular one.

Mara turned to face him, her sharp green gaze quizzical. The tips of her breasts brushed against Luke's chest and hardened in response. Luke's indrawn gasp of breath showed his tenuous grip on his control and he couldn't help but recall the moment Mara had turned into a column of fire in his arms.

"Mara.... I..."

"What, Luke - what is it?"

"I... " He closed his eyes and muttered something unintelligible. Then, gathering his courage together he fixed his clear blue eyes on her and let the words out in a rush of air. "Mara, I love you." There - he'd finally said it. Finally after all those years he'd said what really was in his heart. Fastening his eyes tight shut Luke erected his barriers and waited for the fall-out. He didn't want to feel her laughing at him or, even worse, her pity. She was beautiful and intelligent. She could have any man in the galaxy after all.

The emerald glance widened and then closed briefly as she breathed a prayer in thanks to whatever deity in the force looked after them. Suddenly Mara realised the Jedi Master had emotionally locked himself up waiting for the rejection and the heartache that in Luke's world had inevitably followed such an admission.

The little shoot of hope began to wither as still Mara said nothing and Luke mutely eased his way from her embrace, his eyes resolutely shut. The hard outer casing from Mara's heart broke away as she witnessed this phenomenon and brought graceful hands up to clutch at Luke's shoulders.

"Luke..."

But he didn't hear her. He'd put up his strongest barriers and cut himself off from Mara through the force. She shook her head. She was going to have to convince him that rejection wasn't what she wanted to do to him. It would hurt her as much as it would him. Luke's heart was bruised from the long lonely years but Mara, too, had lived a solitary existence by cutting herself off from others, refusing to trust and relishing her independence. It wasn't independence - it was cowardice. Mara had been afraid too love, but with Luke - it was different.

She reached up and pressed a light kiss to his throat and the Jedi stiffened. Something cracked in his barrier. She planted another soft kiss along his jawline and finally gently kissed his lips and a wall in Luke's mind began to collapse.

"Mara?"

"Let me in, Luke." Her fingers trailed across his lips and over the contours of his face as if she'd been blind and was learning his features by touch alone. "Listen with your heart, Skywalker. You're hiding from emotion again and I told you never to do that. It's your openness that's drawn me to you. It's annoyed the hell out of me too, but... let me in, Luke. The eyes may deceive, the heart can be false, but I never am. Not to you."

Luke regarded her warily from half-closed eyes and Mara could have cried at the expression in them. This was the unimaginable depth of pain that she'd felt before when he'd been ill and vulnerable on Coruscant.

"Luke," she whispered again. "Trust me. Listen to me - look into my heart. What do you see?"

He opened blurry blue orbs and squinted into her face. As his vision cleared Luke saw her beautiful face, the strength and the courage, but mostly he saw her love for him mingling with the very essence of her life force.

"I see..." he began, then stopped, blue eyes at last clear.

"Yes..." she urged. He had to believe her - he just had to. Mara didn't know if there had been a more important decision made anywhere in her life.

"I see... I see... myself."

Mara leant her head against his chest and sighed with relief. "Thank the force."

Luke gazed at her in wonder. What he felt for her, amazingly, was reciprocated.

"Believe it, Luke. Please, for both our sakes." Mara propped herself up on her elbow and pinned him to the mattress with the fierceness of her expression - green eyes blazing. "I may not say it or show it often Luke, but believe in it and me."

"Oh I do." Luke reached up, his confidence returning in full force and placed a gentle hand on the nape of her neck propelling her downwards until her lips met his and all talking ceased.

The B'Omarr Monastery

Talon Karrde retreated into a dank corner and shuddered. Aves, catching his look, grimaced in sympathy. Karrde was fastidious so this place went against everything he believed in. The names he put to faces scurrying down vermin infested corridors would fill every cell on Kessel with extras to spare.

"Well?" he hissed.

Karrde shook his head. They're not here yet, but should be shortly. The big meeting is supposed to be tomorrow. I saw Page carousing with one of the murderers. It's funny but every time I see that man he's different. He gave me a level grey look and then switched back into character. I've not seen Olan yet."

"You're sure this guy was involved?"

"Oh yes. Mara described them in great detail. We were able to identify quite a few from Imperial data bases and my own extensive knowledge of people you don't do business with."

Aves took a nervous glance round behind him. "I checked with the skiff guards. They were involved in quite a few hit and kill exercises. In fact one of them had the brass neck to show off his trophy room. He's got a macabre collection of little objects taken from every ship he's plundered."

Karrde suddenly got a sick feeling in his stomach. "What?"

Aves held out a data pad. It was battered and bloodstained but Karrde recognised it. It was one of his detailing the cargo manifest from the Prada Predator. A chilling rage filled his soul and the pale eyes grew icier. Aves took a step back from his boss.

"I know exactly how you feel. Let's say he won't be adding to his collection."

Tosche Station

Fixer watched carefully as a heavy set white haired man addressed the assembled company of new Republic Operatives squashed into his back office. Each man, woman or alien was in charge of their own small group, but it was impossible to fit them into the office too. It would also draw attention to the fact that they were on Tatooine in greater numbers than the Empire originally supposed. Fixer noted that the time for laughing and joking had vanished and the people in front of him had turned into the dedicated military officers Luke had indicated they were. This was no delusion or fake scenario to get back at Fixer. He supposed he was mad even to consider it. After all, he knew Luke - or thought he did.

"I want to come along."

Han gave Fixer a calculating stare. "No dice, pal. I'm afraid we cannot allow that. We don't want to jeopardise you or your family. The Imperials will arrive here for the meeting. It's risky enough having it here, but we'll explain you are in no way involved in this."

"But I am involved. I became involved as soon as Wormie stuck himself back into our lives with his high ideals and his dreams. I became involved as soon as I sat back and let that bastard take from me what was mine and threaten what was mine."

Corran spoke quietly, but it cut through the room. "You are doing something, just by letting us be here. You let Luke get out of here by buying time with the Imperials. We need you to act as if nothing is happening. Life must continue as near normal as it can."

Camie took a relieved breath. "Fixer!" she entreated. "Please. You know they are right."

Fixer opened his mouth to protest then glanced at his wife. She was begging him. He smiled sadly at Camie. "I know." 'But it would be nice to be a hero too.'

Fixer glanced up and caught Corran's narrowed green gaze. The jedi smiled without humour. "Being a hero is all very well, but often they're dead men and that doesn't feed and protect your loved ones."

She put her arms around him her grey eyes shining with relief. "I don't think any less of you if you don't go. I'd feel safer if you didn't. We have the old blaster and Luke left us a newer one. Arnek's quite good with these things." She held up a blastech rifle dubiously. "Mara's been giving me one or two tips. She said I should be able to hold off a several Tusken Raiders with this thing." Camie pulled back her tunic sleeve to reveal a wickedly effective blaster strapped into a sheath.

Corran surveyed the Windriders and just caught the last part of the conversation. 'Well, well,' he thought. 'Mara's given Camie her blaster. Now that's a turn up. She'll be relying on her lightsaber alone. Luke will be proud of her. Prouder than he already is. I wonder if the pair of them has realised yet...'

"Lieutenant Horn! Are you with us on this mission?"

Corran blushed. "Aw Sith. Sorry General. I was nerfgathering for a second. It won't happen again."

The ops slipped from the back room, silently and in-groups of twos or threes. Finally all that was left were the three Rogue pilots, General Solo and the white haired man.

"Windrider - This is General Airen Cracken, head of New Republic intelligence."

Fixer gaped. "Please to meet you, eh... Sir."

"The pleasure's all mine. We're very grateful for the use of your facility as a place for our meeting. It's perfect."

"Who are we meeting exactly?" asked Corran.

Cracken sighed. "Unfortunately the Imps are up on us in this respect, but we think it is a representative of Admiral Pellaeon."

"The Admiral!" murmured Tycho thoughtfully raising an arched eyebrow towards Wedge. "Interesting."

Fixer excused himself to go and clear up. These names meant nothing to him. Corran watched him go a frown forming on his forehead.

"Fixer!"

The man stopped, turned round and looked pointedly at the pilot.

"Don't mention Luke and Mara please - to anyone."

"I won't."

"Thanks and may the force be with you. "

'Bantha dung! The Force.' Fixer scowled.

Luke's home

Luke lay wide-awake watching Mara as she slept in his arms. She muttered something and moved restlessly. He carefully twirled a lock of hair around his finger. The brown dye was holding and Luke knew she couldn't return to her own colour of living fire until all of this was over. There was something about all of this that bothered him. ‘Wheels within wheels,’ he mused idly. He'd tried stretching out with the force, but the kaleidoscopic images gave him no clue whatsoever. This was Mara's fight after all, not his. He wanted to assist her in every way possible, yet leave her to make that final important step in the force on her own.

"Luke..." The muttered word came from Mara as she moved again. "Be careful. Luke..." She was sound asleep. "Don't leave me, Luke. Not here in the dark on my own..."

"Ssh, it's okay, Mara. I won't leave you," he whispered. "Ssh…." he soothed.

"Luke..." She began to move again.

The Jedi frowned and reached into Mara's mind to see if he could gauge what bothered her. Luke entered her mind carefully touching on her sense lightly, shifting against her unconsciousness. A picture began to form in his mind and Luke knew he was seeing what Mara was experiencing. She was back in Jabba's palace and she was dancing for Jabba, but the carbonite block was no longer Han Solo. It was Luke himself. All around her faces jeered and laughed and lusted. She was powerless to control what was happening. She could do nothing. He felt her fear, her hatred and her anger. It was locked so deep within her soul that he wondered if she realised it was still there. But this wasn't a vision of the future. It was a vision from Mara's past - almost.

Mara in her dream gave a final spin and ended, her red-gold head bowed before the carbonite Luke. But as she raised her eyes to the statue and reached to release him from captivity a figure interposed itself between Mara and Luke, lightsaber drawn, grey eyes serious.

"Callista!" Luke heard the despair in Mara's voice.

"Mara..." Luke reached out to her. "She has no power to hurt me any more. I gave you that power the first time we made love. Mara... she's not important to me any more, but you are." Still, he had to watch as the dream unfolded. Callista stood ready to bar Mara from reaching Luke. Mara also drew her lightsaber and struck and Callista ... vanished. Jabba's laugh boomed in his ears, but Mara reached up and activated the statue. Luke watched as he tumbled barely breathing to the floor and Mara took him in her arms. "It will be all right, Luke. I promised I'd look after you and I will." She kissed him and activated the lightsaber once more."

He felt her resolve and her determination and when she put herself between Luke and one of Jabba's henchmen, he felt his muscles stiffen, even though he knew this was a dream.

Mara blocked shot after shot, the blue blade flying until tiring one shot managed to get past her guard. "No!" she screamed. "No," she whimpered. "I promised I'd look after him."

Luke watched as she turned to him and cradled him again in her arms. The dream Luke opened blue eyes and smiled. "I'm fine Mara...."

"Luke!" She pleaded.

Luke suddenly became aware that the dream Mara wore a choke collar on the end of a long chain. He watched as his other self tried to sit and overcome the weakness that he felt. But Mara was being pulled from him and he couldn't let that happen. He could see her hair as it framed her lovely face. Then a chill settled in his gut - it wasn't hair. Mara had somehow acquired lekku like the Twilek dancer, Oola, and she sat chained to another Twilek with glowing purple eyes. Then the Twilek's visage transformed and the Emperor's yellow eyes gleamed maniacally out of sunken folds of skin.

Mara threw herself gasping from the vision. Luke, still entwined with her mind, felt as if a knife had penetrated his brain. "Aargh!" he yelled and slipped out of the bed to land with a thump on the floor. Green eyes pierced blue as Mara jack-knifed to an upright position, her expression terrified.

"What's wrong?" She gasped.

"Nothing..." Luke panted. "You were dreaming and I got caught in it. Are you okay?"

Mara rubbed her eyes wearily. "I think so."

"I don't think it was a premonition of anything. It seemed to be a whole lot of issues from your past mixed up with an awful lot of fear." Luke rubbed his elbow ruefully. "Ouch, that hurt." Then he tried to penetrate the darkness as he stared at her. "We've both been held back by something. Me - by my need to re-establish the Jedi and you by your service to the Empire. Callista perhaps stood between us from becoming one whole, but maybe we weren't ready for it. Fear is of the dark side, Mara Jade. Don't let fear back into your soul." Luke got slowly to his feet and climbed back into bed. Mara sat tensely, her whole body rigid.

"Come on, relax. Ssh, Mara," he soothed taking her into his arms. Mara's eyes shut briefly then opened and fixed him with a penetrating stare.

"I feel safe in your arms," she murmured. "I really do. It's as if you'll do your best to keep the bad guys away."

"I will, Mara. You know I will. There was one thing though."

"The Twileki thing?"

"Yeah. It could be significant, but I don't know. It was the guy who killed Karrde's people, wasn't it?"

"I've never met him, Luke. I only glimpsed him through Hinden's eyes."

Luke gave her a diffident glance and Mara sensed curiosity coming from his sense in the force. "In your dream you said..." he hesitated.

Mara rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You said…." Luke stopped.

Mara sat up again. "Look, farmboy. I'm tired, stressed out. I'm going to a place I've no desire to go to. To be able to join an order of monkish individuals who have a strange urge to save everything and everybody. Well, maybe not monkish..." she drawled.

Luke blushed. She had a point. She couldn't label him that in a million years, not after the night they'd just had.

"Out with it."

"You promised you'd look after me. Who did you promise?"

Mara smiled gently and closed her arms round him. "I promised Jacen and Jaina. They were most concerned about your propensity for getting into trouble. That way their mother wouldn't worry so much." ‘I also promised myself that I'd keep you safe.

"Sith…. Leia!"

But that was the last word the Jedi Master was going to say, as Mara took the initiative and kissed him again. It was easier in some ways to involve themselves with each other. There were the children to consider after all. And one thing was clear if that ever in a million years she was to even consider it - Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade would have sspectacular children. The last coherent thought Mara had before Luke's skilful fingers and mouth brought her to a peak of wanting him, was that a son with his looks and her spirit might not be a bad thing after all.

Chapter 10

Coruscant

Leia paced anxiously in the private Solo docking bay as she waited for the Yavin shuttle to arrive. She was alone apart from two discreetly hovering bodyguards and an unusually silent Threepio. Leia hardly noticed them, her brow furrowed, her expression tense. It had been over a month since she had seen her children and it was too long. Longer since she'd been with her husband and the ache of separation gnawed at her spirit and longer still since she'd talked to her brother. Where was Luke? Had Mara Jade found him? Had Han seen him? They'd never been apart for so long - not since they'd discovered each other on the first Death Star.

A flurry of activity and the Yavin ship docked. Leia stretched out with the force and the comforting presence of her three children greeted her. With a hiss and a sharp jet of steam the hatch opened and three small figures rushed down the ramp. The twins were well in the lead and threw their arms around their mother and squeezed until Leia laughingly protested. Then she looked up and caught the serious blue eyes of Anakin fixed upon her with his usual unwavering scrutiny. She raised her arms and the sober child hurtled into her embrace. Leia's eyes watered slightly. It was so good to have them home. Her fingers stroked Jaina's shining hair and ran reassuringly over Jacen's soft cheek.

"We're glad too, Mama. It has been too long," Jacen muttered a little self-consciously.

Threepio clanked awkwardly over the metal flooring. "May I say it is good to see you all home and in such good health. I only wish your father and Master Luke were also here."

The droid hesitated and Leia knew it was as if he waited for Artoo's irreverent whistle.

The tall regal form of the Lady Winter of Alderaan glided serenely down the ramp clutching her small son to her breast.

"Your Highness." She greeted Leia formally by her old title then she smiled and glanced ruefully at the sleeping child.

"He was supposed to sleep earlier on the journey, but no. Not Corran Celchu. He has to do it now when it's least convenient."

"Ah! Takes after his namesake."

"Well... There's quite a bit of his father in there too. Her eyes twinkled briefly. "Tycho has his moments. But this young man was too interested in what the twins were up to and not in getting some sleep."

They made their way to the internal palace shuttle with Leia monitoring her excited children. Threepio was occasionally heard to offer some sort of advice but eventually it was a tired party that arrived in their quarters.

An aide entered and handed Leia a data pad. "This just came for you. It's a high priority communication."

Leia stiffened. This was from the Arkanis sector. She nodded and dismissed the aide before activating the pad on her reader. A slight tensing of her facial muscles was all the sign that she gave before switching off the machine. Leia turned a concerned eye on her friend. "You look tired."

Winter sighed wearily. "I am. This young man has far too much energy for his mother." She brushed a fair curl on small Corran's sleeping head. She hesitated. "Any news?"

Leia nodded guardedly and motioned to her now flagging brood. "Let's get the children to their beds and then I'll tell you what's happening, or as much as I can tell you. It's not a lot I'm afraid." A strange expression flitted across her face to be replaced by the famous Organa calm.

"Come on Jacen. Get Anakin and you and Jaina can put him to bed. You can have half an hour to read and then it's lights out. Threepio will see that's what you do."

"But Mama!"

"No buts. Look at you. You're asleep on your feet. Well, Anakin is. So off you go. I'll be in to see you before you go to sleep."

Jaina opened her mouth to argue the point once more, but spotted Anakin slumped in his mother's chair, the blue eyes almost closed.

Jacen answered for them both. "Okay Mama." He escorted his brother and sister from the room in an oddly adult manner.

Winter excused herself with small Corran. "I'll just hand him over to his nanny droid and be back immediately."

Leia's office door chimed.

"Enter," she called quietly. Winter moved smoothly into the room.

"Well?"

Leia looked uncomfortable. "The communication I received when we came in earlier was from intelligence."

"And....?"

"Everyone's in place."

"Everyone….?"

"Including Luke."

"Luke! Oh stars of Alderaan."

"And Mara Jade."

Winter relaxed a little. "Good - that makes sense. She works for Karrde after all and knows her way around the target. How did they get Luke to agree?"

Leia fidgeted again. "According to the report Luke is there in an unofficial capacity only. He is working with Trader Jade and Karrde's people."

"I thought Luke and Mara weren't communicating."

"They are now. They talked last time he was on Coruscant. I think she's to go to Yavin for training."

Winter shook her head. How aware was Leia about Luke and Mara and their on-off friendship?

"The Empire doesn't want Jedi involved?" Winter asked cautiously.

"I don't want Jedi involved. Luke needs a break."

"This is the Master you're talking about. I've never known him to do that...." Winter frowned as her perfect memory sifted through the data. "….ever. He's like you. You're both stubborn workaholics with a sense of duty and obligation so huge it may swamp you in the end."

Leia picked up the data pad. "We agreed. The Empire doesn't want Jedi involved. Luke should be here on Coruscant. He's given up the Academy on Yavin in order to join us as adviser to the Senate."

Leia..." Winter began with a warning note in her voice.

"He has to return to full fitness and undergo the training necessary."

"Diplomatic coaching," Winter said flatly.

"Yes. He has so much to do."

"Leia... " Winter sighed heavily. "Luke doesn't want this."

"He does. He just hasn't realised it yet," she maintained resolutely. "He'll do it when we appoint him. It will be a fait-accompli."

Winter shook her white head. "You've not talked to him for three months. He came to see you and your family to ask for counsel. All you did was try to talk him into a direction he has no desire to follow. He left the party at the exact moment you tried to introduce him to the political advisors."

Leia's expression paled. "How do you know?"

"I saw his face, Leia. He had been watching Jacen open some present. Luke's face closed and became the mask he uses when he's tired, hurt or being at his most Jedi. He then made his excuses and left. You didn't see him again until he got sick and it was Mara Jade who contacted you about his illness."

Leia stood still in shock as realisation dawned.

"Did he say goodbye personally?"

"No," she whispered. "He sent a holocube. He gave it to Mara in fact. I haven't heard from him since. I know he's okay because I would feel it if anything happened to him."

"Leia, he loves you, but he won't do what you ask. Not this time. You were bred for the political life - Luke wasn't. More than anyone else, he has laid down his life time and time again for what he believes in."

"Did he tell you this?"

"We do not converse much, but he didn't have to tell me anything. I'm sure he's said something to Han. Analyse his behaviour and you can see that he doesn't want to upset you but will not be stampeded into anything this time. The Jedi Master has reached full maturity - perhaps he is not entirely certain what he wants but he is willing to trust in the force. There was another thing..." Winter hesitated. "Anakin mumbled something yesterday, but I only caught a portion of what he said. 'Mama's not going to like it, but Uncle Luke's turned stubborn.' Anakin is very percipient."

Leia moved stiffly and sank into her chair. "He did say things in his holomessage but I brushed them aside and sent Mara Jade after him like he was a criminal with a bounty on his head."

"I wouldn't think that was too much of a hardship for her and she found him."

"Yes I know. Oh, he let himself be found. Luke wants to train her and she was going to him exactly for that purpose. But Cracken met up with her on Pii 3 and decided she was exactly the right person to do a spot of undercover work for the New Republic."

"It makes sense."

Leia stood up again and banged her fist on the desk. "Luke shouldn't be there - not on Tatooine."

"But it is his home, Your Highness. Where else would he run to? Princess! What's really going on?"

Leia suddenly looked uncomfortable and defensive.

"Nothing."

The B'Omarr Monastery - Tatooine

Night had crept late into the far reaches of the monastery where the denizens of that vast edifice had finally finished their revels. Mara picked her way carefully along the twisting passages trying to avoid slumbering guests of the Twilek in whatever shape or form they existed.

"Sith!" She angrily bit off a curse as a trandoshan slid into a heap and lay staring up at her, his glazed eyes unfocused from the glitterstim spice he'd been sampling. She glanced behind her to see if anyone was within range then levitated herself carefully over the alien. Ducking down a side passage and then easing her way carefully down a flight of stairs she came to the room she was sharing with Luke. This much they had agreed on and she reached out with the force for his comforting presence before opening the door and slipping through.

"Hi," he murmured sleepily, favouring her with a warm, lazy smile as he rose up on one elbow. The sheet covering his naked chest slipped to his waist as he sat up.

Mara smiled wearily and let her eyes drift over his bearded features. The beard would have to go when they got out of here.

"I agree," yawned Luke. "It itches"

Mara opened her mouth to protest but Luke merely stretched out his hand and touched her lips with a gentle finger. "Have you seen Karrde?" he asked.

"Yes - briefly and I gave him the message. He knows where we're hiding out and will be along shortly when all the activity dies down. I can't remember the partying being so intense the last time I was here."

"Ah, but you were younger then. Although I'm not suggesting you're past it."

"I'm beginning to think I am." She sent him a weary smile. "I need to sleep first. Emperor's bones - I'm so tired." She subsided onto the bed beside Luke. "Any word from Han and the others?"

Luke's brow furrowed worriedly. "No - I'll try and see Page tomorrow. He might know something."

"What's going on, Luke? There's something very wrong here."

His eyes clouded briefly. "I don't know, Mara, but it's as if there is a hole in the force - a dark nothingness."

Mara shivered and recalled the day they arrived at the fortress. Only a week ago, it seemed like a lot longer.

The Dune Sea - 8 days earlier

The speeder travelled steadily across the unchanging landscape of golden dunes. Gentle crescent shapes undulated in front of their eyes. It was early in the morning and already it was hot. Luke and Mara rode in silence each busy with their own private thoughts, but now and again there would be a quick glance of the eye and a faint flush of the cheek. Luke marvelled again at the transformation Mara had engendered in herself. She had again adopted the exotic face paint and complicated hairstyle of the Fayrian dancer Arica.

Mara wondered at how Luke appeared to be the same and yet so different. He slouched low in his seat and pulled the wide brim of his hat further over his eyes. He'd acquired a dangerous aura about him and Mara shivered in the heat with excitement. What was she thinking about - this was Skywalker after all - but Mara admitted that she loved him and strange as it seemed she wouldn't have him any other way.

Artoo had not been happy being left at home, but Luke had insisted and had gone as far as fitting the hated restraining bolt. He didn't trust Artoo in this matter one little bit. The rotund little droid had treated his master to a stream of angry electronic invective before rolling away to sulk in the corner with a defiant final beep.

Their lightsabers had been hidden among Mara's things disguised as hairstyling equipment. As Luke had said, they couldn't smuggle them inside Artoo. It had been done before.

"That threw me you know, farmboy. You arrived so quietly and stole right into the heart of Jabba's kingdom."

Luke grinned, his teeth white against his darkened beard. "The only heart I'm interested in is yours," he murmured suggestively with a glint in his eye.

"Oh please," Mara groaned. "Spare me."

"I'll cloak the sabers if we're scanned, but after that I've rigged up false cylindrical water bottles which will fit on our utility belts. The sabers fit inside them."

Something shimmered on the far horizon. "Stop!" Mara uttered abruptly. Luke hurriedly applied the brakes and the speeder ground to a halt hovering in mid-air like a live thing. They both stared at the faint outline of a large structure and felt a chill run up their spines. Luke took a sharp breath and his hand groped awkwardly into Mara's.

"It's dark," he muttered hoarsely.

"What is?" asked Mara worriedly.

"The monastery. It's cold... dark... I can't explain it."

"Like Wayland? Is it Ysalamiri?"

Luke shook his head. "No - not that kind of dark. The force is there but it's as if there is a hole in it." He knew he'd come across such a feeling before, but not with the darkness attached to it.

Mara frowned and stretched out with the force to probe the gloomy edifice. Even with Luke's tutelage and her increasing force skills as she grew and developed she couldn't sense what he was experiencing, but a sick feeling settled in her stomach. Luke was closely attuned to the planet Tatooine in a way that Mara couldn't yet understand. He was aware of the smallest grain of sand, the direction of the wind over the dunes and drew life and hope from the strength of the two suns.

Mara could only feel her own disquiet and a fear she couldn't quite banish.

"'Fear is...'" Luke quoted softly.

"I know," she growled and he hit the accelerator.

The B'Omarr Monastery

Mara peeled off her bodysuit and climbed into the bed beside Luke. The Jedi's eyes widened perceptibly as the faint light of the glow rod hit her naked body.

"Hey!"

"Hey nothing, Skywalker. I've kinda gotten used to you being in my bed."

"I thought I'd gotten used to you in mine."

"Whatever, farmboy, whatever."

"Jade?" he queried huskily. "Are you greeting Karrde dressed in er... well, not in... er...? I've kinda got used to you being naked next to me mentally, but my body has other ideas."

"Oh Sithspit," she grumped and pulled her sleeping shift from below the pillow. "You know I hate this thing."

Luke ran a teasing finger over her flat stomach and lazily drew circles on the smooth skin. "I prefer you without it, myself."

"Lech," she put in as she drew the shift over her head. "Wake me up in four hours."

Luke pulled her into his arms. "Will do," and willed his body to behave.

Talon Karrde exited the cargo ship on which he'd been serving. So far he hadn't been asked to do anything he would balk at. In fact he was reliving part of his early career in the smuggling trade, but something foul tainted what he was doing. The excitement had gone. 'I'm too old for this game.' He laughed without humour. Mara had the right idea going legitimate, although he didn't think she'd caught on to that.

He turned and there she was just finishing a graceful spin. He noted the hand signals, which to anyone else would be meaningless. Aves wandered casually up to his boss. "Do you want me to come too?"

"No. Get some sleep. Mara won't be finished for a while and then she'll need to rest. I'll drop in past her quarters in a few hours. How was your trip?"

"Usual stuff - running some goods past officialdom. I think we haven't been here long enough to be in on the real stuff."

Karrde smiled but it was merely a stretching of his lips. "I would think that is a good thing. I'm already seeing things and people I've no desire to. I'm going to get some shut-eye myself. Be careful."

A few hours later Karrde made his way through the main hall on the lower level. He kept his gait unsteady and his eyes unfocused. At this late hour the stench of sweat, spice and alcohol hung heavy in the air. A few collapsed beings lay where they had fallen and Karrde stepped over a particularly large trandoshan, which blocked one of the corridors. Luke and Mara had found rooms on a lower level near one of the back entrances. Pulling out a bottle of Corellian whisky he'd borrowed from his last cargo he adopted the stagger of an inebriated man and bashed his way through the door of Luke and Mara's room

"My friends..." he boomed theatrically, then stopped as the door swung shut behind him.

Luke and Mara lay sound asleep wrapped in each other's arms. No - not asleep. Luke opened one eye, "Ssh! Karrde. By the force, you smell like a brewery," and eased from Mara's embrace. Leaning over he kissed her gently on the lips and finally faced the smuggler chief. "Why not?" Luke muttered defensively. "We're both adult and free agents."

Karrde stifled an amused smile. "I wasn't going to say anything, but I can't say I'm surprised. How long has this been going on?"

"Not long, just since Coruscant."

"I think it's been longer than that Luke. Perhaps not in this form, but you've been heading in the direction ever since you met. You both affect each other in ways you don't realise."

"Maybe you're right Karrde, but Leia doesn't know and I'm not sure how she'll react. She doesn't trust Mara like I do."

"I won't tell. This is your business, not mine."

"Thanks," Luke grinned and grabbed his tunic.

Mara rolled over in the bed to where, by rights, Luke should have been. "Damn!" Karrde must have arrived. She opened her eyes to find Luke's bright eyes and Karrde's paler ones fixed on her intently. Mara coloured, but in the faint light it was difficult to tell. Embarrassment crept through her senses. It was one thing to be sleeping with the Jedi Master but another thing altogether to be caught doing it.

"What's going on, Karrde?" she blurted out shortly. "I sure as hell would like to know."

Droid Pool, B'Omarr Monastery

Page moved quickly to the droid pool to check if his surveillance devices were still intact. The droids used in this place came in for some rough handling. With a weary sigh he watched as several astromech droids and a couple of heavy squat power droids offered themselves for repair. With a hissing and clanging the smell of molten metal and burned circuitry attacked his nostrils. As several of the droids exited he fitted several of them with the implants they needed if he was to gather all his data and no one saw him do it. He had learned to become one with the shadows and it was time he got some sleep. He had a feeling it might be in short supply later on.

"You are not the one we seek." It wasn't a question.

Page jumped. The voice was hushed, almost non-existent. Cullen Page thought that no one could surprise him like that anymore. He'd been wrong. He was the ultimate intelligence machine and his thoughts scrambled in momentary and unaccustomed panic. They'd been betrayed!

"But you are with him are you not?"

"What!" Page glanced swiftly around him for the source of the voice - all his senses on full alert. In front off him in the deserted passage was a mechanical brain walker and next to it a small wizened figure in a monks cowl and hood.

"Stars of Alderaan," he breathed softly.

"Yes - the B'Omarr. We are not unaware of what goes on. This is not a game you are involved in, young man."

"No - it never is," answered Page deliberately.

A series of lights flashed on the front of the walker. "People may die," translated the monk.

"Probably," sighed Page. "I've seen more deaths than you ever will."

"You may be correct in this matter, young man. But we need to know. Where are the Jedi?"

"Jedi! There are none here."

"Ah! We see."

"See what?"

"The deception. It is part of your art - your skill. But deception has little place among us."

"I take it you just mean the B'Omarr and not the..."

"Others who currently reside here."

"Well... Yeah."

"You will see in time. This being..." The monk indicated to the brain in the jar. "He is truly enlightened. I wish you were also."

"No thanks. I like my brain where it is."

The monk widened cracked lips to show yellowing teeth. "You make the joke - it is amusing," and the lights on the brainwalker's jar flashed in agreement. Page rolled his eyes, but felt oddly reassured.

Tosche Station

Han Solo paced the floor of the cantina angrily. The meeting had been strangely unsatisfying. Something was going on in the background. He would bet his old smugglers instinct on it - the one that knew when things were going wrong. They'd met with three Imperials and fenced round in circles not saying anything. But Han was sure Cracken and the head of the Imperial faction, what was his name - Captain Ardiff - had signals and ways of talking about things that were coded and he didn't like it. The door opened and Chewbacca stuck his head around it.

"Yeah pal, come on in. They've gone. I don't like them either. They're not soldiers, they're politicians and I really don't like them."

Chewbacca sat on a table and uttered a series of pithy barks.

"The General's coming. Now I want answers and he'd better give me some."

General Cracken returned to the empty bar followed by a silent Wedge, Corran and Tycho and met Han's level gaze with an oblique green one of his own.

"What's going on, General?"

Cracken sat stony faced. "I can't tell you any more than you need to know and you've reached your limit on this one, trust me."

'How come when someone says 'trust me' you immediately don't,' Han thought sourly. "I was brought in to negotiate in good faith, although I would have thought Leia was better at this sort of thing."

"You were brought in because of who you are."

"Bait," Han sneered. "Not for my skills round a negotiating table. Did you want these talks to fail, General? It certainly seems as if you do."

"Your wife decided this was for the best."

"Leia!" Han's face drained of colour and Chewbacca suddenly snarled at his friend's distress. 'Leia wouldn't do that to him. Would she?'

"It's because of Leia we're pulling you out now."

"No way, pal."

"Look, Solo!"

"No! You look. I want to know what's going on - every little last bit. My friend's gone in there in good faith."

"I'm sorry, Solo, it was his choice. I can't tell you any more. Every effort is being made to get Luke out of there." Cracken avoided Han's eyes.

Han stopped pacing as something unpleasant slithered around in his stomach. "And Jade - her too?"

The General stayed silent and Wedge looked awkward. Corran frowned suddenly.

"What about Karrde and his people or even some of our people? You getting them all out?" Han made a lunge. "Why you..." But he was held fast in a pair of shaggy arms. The wookiee growled something menacing in Cracken's direction.

"Come on, Chewie. Let's get out of here," Han gritted. "Before I say something 'undiplomatic'."

Cracken turned to the Rogues. They sat tight-lipped.

"Return to the base on Pii4 and stay there till you're called."

Corran spoke up. "Look, General, I don't know what's going on, but what I'm sensing isn't good."

Wedge stared at the floor. He knew some of what was happening - probably as much as Han did - and he didn't like it either. That's what you got once the politicians took over from the soldiers - all these wheels within wheels. The general would be given orders by a faceless beaurocrat on Coruscant. He nodded to his comrades and exited the room, his eyes never meeting the General's. Corran opened his mouth to say something, but Tycho shook his head and with a shared gesture of disgust they followed their commanding officer.

Cracken rubbed a weary hand over his white hair. "Arnek - I'll need access to the subspace holo."

Arnek looked at him blankly. "It's through the back."

"I have to send a message to Coruscant."

'How do I tell Leia that I might have incited several of our greatest war heroes to mutiny, one of them possibly her own husband? And how do I tell her that her brother has gone willingly into a situation from which he may never return? Apart from that - things went well.''

Han strode to the speeder he'd hired and climbed in like an old man. Chewie growled softly. "Cracken knows us too well. He's just waiting for us to go racing after Luke ourselves. Remember Leia just about skinned the both of us the last time we did that. Stars, we've coped with situations that were far worse during the war and never expected to get out alive. Luke came out more dead than alive in many an escapade. But he got out and more often than not without our help, much as we like to think otherwise. You know how secretive he's become."

Chewbacca cocked his head to one side and looked at Han thoughtfully. "He's protecting you and has been for quite a while now. You have a family - the children and Leia. Luke will do his uutmost to protect you. So are you going to do something for him? My friend - let's discount the General. What do you want to do?"

Han looked at his friend and partner, his eyes bleak and empty. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm not leaving him there. I'm going to try to get him out. He won't go without Jade."

Han nodded. He knew Luke would never desert a friend in danger, which was what Cracken was telling him to do.

"There must be something we're overlooking and there have been clues, but to what? I'm not even sure the General knows what's happening or if he is getting Luke out. What will we be getting them out of?"

"I don't know, Chewie. That's what's so weird. Everyone is circling round something and I'm not sure it's so big. They've made it into ... I just don't know."

"Well, Han - what are you going to do? Are you with me? I think I know what your choice will be. Leia will understand - she married you."

"Then why won't she let me be what I am?"

"She'll have to. Leia loves you, Han. She's just got other things on her mind and doesn't realise how far Luke has got himself into trouble...if he's got himself into trouble."

"Knowing the kid, if he hasn't found it yet, it'll find him soon."

"Mara's there. She'll keep an eye on him."

"Hmm."

The speeder stopped and Chewie leapt out and made for the Falcon. Han wandered to the door of Luke's home and pressed his palm to the entrance. It slid open smoothly. The cool darkness of the shuttered building eased his bruised senses and the now familiar peace, which Han had come to associate with his brother-in-law, surrounded him.

Chewie appeared in the doorway. "There's a message for you on the Falcon. It's Leia - she wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to her just now. She's not my wife - she's the politician and frankly I've had enough of them."

Leia waited by the console for Han to appear, but only Chewbacca returned and shook his shaggy head.

"He's alright isn't he?"

Chewie nodded. "He's mad about one or two things and would rather not talk just now."

"Why? What's wrong? Tell him to talk to me. It'll be fine. I love him and the children miss him."

"That's not what he needs right now. He needs straight answers from people he thought he could trust. The meeting with the Imperials turned out to be nothing but a sham; there are things going on that Han knows nothing about. He feels betrayed..." Chewbacca pinned Leia in place with a fierce glare. "And what about Luke and Mara?"

"Luke's not out of there yet?"

"He just went in. Nothing's happening, Leia - not yet. We just met with the Imperials and that seemed to be a waste of time."

"He has to get out of there."

"He won't go without Mara. They're..." he hesitated. "…very close. In fact..." Chewbacca drew the sentence out so it was clear enough for Leia to understand the Shyriiwook. "They're lovers."

Leia gulped as surprise crossed her face. "You're not seriously considering that Luke would want to sleep with the woman who once tried to kill him?" She shook her head. "Forget I said that - this is Luke, after all. I suppose he would. I should have known."

"He wouldn't go without her even if they weren't lovers. They're more than that. They are friends. Luke and Mara are very good friends and she is a prospective pupil as well."

"But..."

"Why should you know everything about Luke? He's a grown man and can make his own decisions without you." Han's voice was flat.

Chewbacca turned his head and looked at his long-time partner.

"Yeah Chewie, I'd better say something."

"Han!"

He stood in front of the monitor, his face serious. Leia stretched out with the force to try and gauge some clue to his mood, but she was not as powerful as Luke was and the distance between them was too great. Emotionally and spatially.

"So Madam Senator, High Councillor Organa Solo, suppose you fill me in a little." He emphasised her title in the mocking way he'd once done when trying to rile her.

Leia opened her mouth helplessly, for once her fluent tongue letting her down.

"I can't, Han. I don't know what's going on."

"Liar." His voice was quietly cold and his face was suddenly that of the sabacc-playing smuggler he used to be, giving away nothing of the emotions churning inside him.

Leia blinked back tears. Han had never talked so harshly to her in all their time together.

"Start talking, sweetheart, or I'll go back for Luke unprepared. Why am I now barred from these things when I never was before? It can't be because you don't trust me. No…." he drawled. "It's because you don't really agree with what your doing, but you're doing it anyway."

Leia's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Okay, Han, I'll tell you what I know."

Chapter 11

Imperial Headquarters - Bestine, Tatooine - 5 days later

The harsh mid-morning sunlight fought its way through windows so dusty it was a wonder that light got through at all. Prefect Eugene Talmont coughed weakly and reached for the carafe of clear water that Jarl Venner brought to his desk.

"Sir, you should really be in the medicentre. You're not fit to be up."

Talmont waved a shaky hand dismissively. "I'm as well as I'm going to be. What have you to report?"

"Nothing concrete for now, Sir. The people are restless but cowed and generally fearful."

"Good. That's how it should be."

"But Sir, it's not us they're afraid of. It's the Twilek and his thugs."

"Unfortunate, but true. He was useful before when the High Command ignored our requests for extra resources to quell the natives but now he is getting annoying and his methods more aggressive. I suppose we'll have to deal with him eventually, before High Command become suspicious and send someone to deal with us. Don't look so sanctimonious, Venner. You've known for some time that I've been," he paused thoughtfully, "co-operating with some of the local businessmen. It has been most profitable politically and economically."

Venner coughed in acute nervousness. 'He hadn't guessed. Had he?'

He turned away his lip curling in disgust. Talmont sickened him but if something happened to Olan they didn't have the resources or the manpower to deal with the chaos that would undoubtedly ensue. 'There's too much at stake - this could be the beginning of the end of the empire as we know it and I can't let that happen. I've fought all my life to serve my Emperor and his successors in the best way I can. I could kill the prefect.' His blood ran cold at actually committing murder but he stepped back mentally from the idea. Someone would find out if he committed such a deed and Talmont still amazingly commanded loyalty. He was the official head of the Imperial faction on Tatooine and that spoke for a lot - sort of.

He schooled his face back to an expression of worried concern and turned back to face his superior.

"I read over reports of the Twilek's most recent activities." He frowned. "There was something in one of the accounts."

Venner tried to appear casual. If he could find out why stormtroopers had been sent to Tosche Station this would help the intelligence gatherers no end. He cleared his throat quickly. "I read in one of the reports about a raid on a power and water distribution service station in Anchorhead. There was talk of two beings with glowing swords that came to the help of the owner and the people in the bar. In this instance, Olan's men came off rather the worse in this contest. In fact his current second in command, a Twilek by the name of Bendu'Tal, was killed. The owner and his wife were injured, but claim not to know their rescuers." Venner paused thoughtfully.

"I sent a division of Stormtroopers out there, but they saw nothing of any note."

"Yes, Sir. That was several days after the event and any of the criminals were long gone."

"It wasn't the criminals I was after."

Venner's heart skipped a beat. He did know something. "There have been many witness accounts of this incident. One man told us that the blade could cut through anything and another said that it repelled blaster bolts back to whoever fired them." He looked at Talmont. "Rather much don't you think?"

"Oh no, Major. It confirms exactly what I think and that's why I sent the Stormtroopers. That's the kind of damage a lightsaber can do."

"A lightsaber!" Venner knew what that was. He knew Skywalker was from Tatooine but it was unlikely that he'd been raised around here. He'd check up on this too. In his present position he had access to a lot of classified documentation.

"Yes - the traditional weapon of a Jedi Knight. The Jedi have returned to Tatooine and if so it can be none other than the head of the Jedi Order himself - Luke Skywalker. His companion could be anyone of a number of people. Since he set up that confounded school there are quite a few of them. What I would like to know, Major, is why he has returned to Tatooine - if it is indeed Skywalker. If we could somehow capture him and his companion...." His voice trailed off and Talmont gazed listlessly into the distance.

So the Prefect knew this too. Venner berated himself silently. Of course he would know about the greatest enemy of the Empire. But surely Skywalker was a good man. He'd heard that too. These Jedi - were they holy men or something more mystic? Since the Emperor had tried to wipe out the Jedi and virtually succeeded their practices had evolved into tall tales to frighten children and old rimworlders.

"Venner - I need you to clear some files. It wouldn't look good for either of us if they were found and I'm expecting a visit from a Captain Ardiff - personal aide to Admiral Pellaeon. You arre my most trusted officer, after all?"

Venner stiffened. "Sir?"

"Oh, don't go rancor-faced on me now. Just do it. I'm going to lie down. I have to meet with a local guild representative later on."

Venner fumed silently as Talmont moved his repulsor chair out of the office. 'The bastard'. He bit his tongue with frustration and found the unwelcome taste of his own blood. "Ouch!" That hurt - but he wouldn't destroy the files. He would just move them someplace different.

"Jedi on Tatooine - definitely possible. Skywalker had been seen on Pii 3 very briefly several months ago, but nothing had been heard about him since. Only this one sighting of a man with a lightsaber if the eyewitness account was true. Venner grinned smugly. He could get access to the reports on Bendu'Tal's body. He turned to his data screen and touched it. "Yes," he breathed with anticipation. It was all there and the injuries were consistent with lightsaber cuts. The prefect was probably correct - Luke Skywalker was the only Jedi fool enough to come to this arid place. He grabbed a drinking utensil and filled it with caf. Switching on his computer he searched for any Intel on Skywalker - including descriptions. The holo shimmered in front of him. It showed what the galaxy had known - a man of medium height with tousled fair hair and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. Something about him looked familiar." I've seen holos of him before, but I get the feeling I've seen him recently."

He accessed his files and came across the one that Admiral Pellaeon and Captain Ardiff had seen from The Lucky Despot. He scanned the footage looking for anything that could be a disguised Jedi Master. He was lucky to get this. Ardiff would probably have obliged, but it was useful to have friends in other divisions. He smiled - friends. That's not exactly what Flin was to him, but if she hadn't passed him the information someone else would have.

"Aah!" He breathed in satisfaction. "There's our man."

So Skywalker had been on Tatooine about a month ago. He could have gone back to Yavin or on to Coruscant as his sister was there. But Han Solo was on Tatooine. He put down his mug of caf. He'd actually met Han Solo - faced him across a table. Well, he felt he'd been there. Actually he'd been across the street in a run down sandstone structure trying to get a clear picture on his viewscreen. 'Ah! What the hell.' He'd been in disguise in the cantina and Solo had been there the next day. As good as ... He froze as the moment of amusement left him.

If the Jedi was still on Tatooine the NR had broken the terms of the agreement. Admiral Pellaeon had been very specific about the Jedi thing. Jarl Venner picked up his mug and took a long reflective slug of the bitter brew. The war was over. He knew that - sith, they all knew that. But some people couldn't admit it and there were others too ready to cause more chaos and suffering. They had to stop that happening at all costs.

Talmont waited until the tall, strong, healthy Major Jarl Venner had left to do his assigned tasks and closed his fist in an angry impotent gesture. He activated his private line.

"This is the prefect. I'll meet you in three hours."

Now to convince anyone here that he was going to his rooms to rest for the duration of today. Yes he was ailing, but not quite as badly as everyone thought he was. There was life in him yet. The Twilek had to be caught in his web. 'I still have more power than they realise. The admiral himself has come at my bidding and the Jedi Master as well. They were too swift to write me off. I will prove it to them.' His eyes took on a strange feverish glow.

"There's an incoming call for you from Admiral Pellaeon, Sir." The com bleeped rawly at him. The mad glitter faded from his eyes to be replaced by a wary cunning expression.

"All right, I'll take the call. Thank you, Derf." He leaned back in his chair and waited for the Admiral's gravelly voice to sound.

"Prefect Talmont!"

"Admiral."

"Captain Ardiff will be arriving tomorrow to see you."

"Captain Ardiff. Your Captain Ardiff?"

Pellaeon's voice sounded tired and irritable. "Yes. Don't be smart, Eugene. I'm not in the mood. I did tell you to expect him."

"Things not going well, Admiral?" Talmont's voice sounded oily.

"What can you mean?" The Admiral's voice was dry.

"You've had me under observation of late. I wondered why. Oh, I know it's discreet and distant, but I've been checked out thoroughly."

"Perhaps you might care to tell me why you think you may have been checked out."

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Perhaps you've been interfering in things you shouldn't have been?"

"Now look here, Admiral. I resent the inference. I've been a loyal servant of the Empire and it's ideals for over thirty years. Tatooine is still Imperial isn't it?"

There was a grudging silence at the other end of the line. "I grant you that much, Eugene. What information do you have for me? I take it you do have something?"

Talmont smiled. "There are Jedi on Tatooine."

"Yes, I know." The admission came as a surprise to Talmont, but he knew Pellaeon was a thorough soldier.

"Do we know who it is?"

"I can't confirm anything but I have my suspicions."

"Yes. It can only be one man. Youngish with blue eyes."

"That's the general description."

"Well then, it must be the Jedi Master himself. It can only be Luke Skywalker. Of the Jedi on file that's the best match. As for his companion..."

"Companion?"

"He wasn't alone. There were two with lightsabers."

"Description."

"It was a woman."

"The Princess - his sister."

"No. This female was apparently outstandingly beautiful with hair of a shade rarely seen anywhere. Not that Leia Organa Solo isn't impressive in her facial features."

"What shade exactly?" The Admiral's voice had altered subtly and taken on a strange tone.

"It was a reddish gold."

There was a strange silence on the other end of the line before Admiral Pellaeon sighed. "It must be one of the newer Jedi. I can find no record of any with that colouring."

"He will be destroyed Admiral. I will see to it."

"No!" The admiral's voice thundered sternly over the com line. "No, I don't want him destroyed - not yet. He's extremely resourceful and we might lose that which we prize. Besides..." his voice softened. "He might not be in on this. I get the feeling the New Republic might not want the moralising of the Jedi. He may also not be in the area now. Reports on him indicate that unless he's on Yavin he never stays very long in one place."

"But his sister is the former chief of state and is still high up in the government."

"Something tells me she wasn't too happy about all of this and she was very quick to agree to non-jedi involvement. Keep the Twilek occupied for a little while longer, Prefect.

The com clicked off with a disdainful snap and Talmont glared broodingly at it. "Oh yes, Admiral. I'll keep the Twilek occupied as I've done for the past five years, but I make no promises about the Jedi - if they are here. And I wonder why you lied to me. You know exactly who Skywalker's companion is."

Outside the Imperial HQ, Bestine on Tatooine

"Anything?" Venner spoke swiftly into the comlink pinned to the collar of his uniform. He glanced warily round but he was alone in the Speeder Park.

The voice of Kapass echoed over the comlink. "Not even a sand borer. They all packed up and left. I suppose it's not one of the galaxy's bright spots."

"No."

"I saw the Wookiee," his voice quickened, excited despite long years of Imperial training. "I saw Chewbacca of Kashyyyk."

"He's still an alien and a wanted one at that." Venner murmured dryly.

"Oh, come on, boss. It's - well."

"I know. I envy you. I'd have liked to have seen him too." He sighed. "Where did they go?"

"It's difficult to say, but some headed in the general direction of Mos Eisley and some, by their bearing, were heading towards Mos Elras or Mos Espa. Solo and the Wook headed out into the Dune Sea."

"Towards B'Omarr?"

"Possibly. Did Ardiff say who was heading out there?"

"No, not yet. I may be going but I've to await his prefectness. He's up to something."

"When isn't he?"

"True."

"Leggin and I expect to hear when we can go."

"Who says you nerfs will go?"

"You will."

"Hah." Venner pulled his cloak round his shoulders and eyed the Imperial offices carefully. It wouldn't do to sit here too long. "Where is Leggin?"

"He's headed across to the cantina to see if any Jedi are lurking under tables in sandy corners."

"Funny."

"Nah, he fancied a lomin ale. It's his break. So, to kill two Calamarians with a sojourn on Tatooine, he went across to get his ale and do a little checking."

"Jawa. I'll be along after I've nannydroided the Prefect to bed."

"Lovely."

"He's falling apart physically, but something's keeping him going and I don't know what it is. Venner out."

He clicked off his comlink. Kapass and Leggin had been the year behind him at the Academy. None of them could afford to go to the best schools. That and they didn't have the marks. But the one they'd attended had turned out a lot of good reliable men and, to Venner, they were the fixative in any of the Imperial problems. They kept things together. He cast his mind back to when they'd all been cadets. Once - just once - they'd met Grand Admiral Thrawn. He'd been the guest of honour at their graduation ceremony. They'd sworn that day to serve the Empire with their lives and he took that vow with a seriousness he hadn't known he possessed. Venner had realised early on in his posting on Tatooine that the prefect wasn't serving the Empire. He wasn't looking out for his people and didn't care what he did as long as it served his own ends. Venner hadn't any idea what Talmont's ends were. Greed and lust for power and money. A drive to achieve what he'd never be able to attain - respect. Possibly. Right now Venner didn't care what he wanted.

His original aim had been to get a posting as a member of the Grand Admiral's staff to work for him in his drive to create order and stability in the galaxy. But only the cadets who had gained the top marks from the best places ever got the chance to serve with the likes of the Admiral. It hadn't put Venner off one little bit. He'd work as hard as he could - he was strong, dedicated and intelligent. He would do his utmost and perhaps if he were very lucky he would be rewarded. Unfortunately, the grand Admiral had died before he could realise his dream and the Empire had drifted through one military campaign after another, through one inept Admiral after another and through various Warlords thinking they could replace the Empire with something else. Things had stabilised now that Admiral Pellaeon had reluctantly taken charge. Venner had heard a lot of good things about him. He'd been a career soldier, just like Venner wanted to be and was considered, if not brilliant like Thrawn, a just and good man.

In Venner's measured opinion Pellaeon wanted what was best. He wanted order and stability just like Thrawn had wanted and he had worked directly with the legendary blue-skinned leader. Nothing he'd seen had made him change his opinion. If all the high brass had been of the Prefect's calibre Venner and the boys might seriously have thought about joining the rebels. ‘No,’ he told himself with a pained grin. ‘Not rebels. They were the New Republic now.’ Sure they had the problems of Government but most of the rebels he'd come across had been firm believers in their cause and many had died for that cause. Would he die for his? Yes he would.

Talmont had been cheating the Empire for years and the citizens of Tatooine had suffered under his harsh and often quixotic rule. That was without his barely held control on certain aspects of planetary life - specifically, the criminal parts.

He shifted in the speeder aware that the suns were beginning to descend and thought about Flin. He'd met her in the middle of a big project a few years back where there had been rumours of a secret Hutt weapons cache. She worked for Intel and when he'd wondered what to do about the Prefect he'd spoken to her first. She'd recommended that he contact some of her Intel superiors. He'd ended up eventually speaking to a Captain Vash Ardiff. Flin's grey eyes had widened at the name, which was when he'd known this was important. The Captain had been surprisingly receptive and had continued over the past couple of years to ask for reports. Things had heated up recently and Venner had been taking secret off planet trips investigating Talmont's activities and reporting on them to Ardiff. It wasn't just Tatooine that he'd managed to screw up - he was doing very nicely with the whole Arkanis sector. He sighed regretfully. He still hadn't made it aboard the Chimaera, but one day.... Flin was on a mission somewhere on the other side of the galaxy - probably mid-rim - but they had arranged time together on their next leave. He regretfully dismissed her from his mind. He normally didn't think of her when he was on duty; he'd conditioned himself to concentrate on the job in hand. To dwell on other thoughts was too dangerous.

He got wearily out of the speeder he'd been huddled in and made his way back to his office. When Talmont contacted him saying he was off to meet his guild representative before taking an early night the Major had his head deep in the contents of several data-pads. When he'd discovered the extent of Talmont's duplicity he'd found that a hefty cut of all shipping profits went to the Prefect and that several of the local crime barons sent him the choicest takings from stolen cargo vessels. Then there had been a particularly brutal murder where a local freighter had been had attacked, the crew butchered and the cargo stolen. Venner was convinced that a particular statuette in Talmont's office had been on the cargo manifest of that ship. The man was immoral. Perhaps that was what was hastening his physical decline. He'd heard it said that evil eats at you from the inside. But Talmont didn't consider himself evil. He was totally self-absorbed and nothing short of death or imprisonment would change that.

Venner was totally matter of fact about his duties. His commanders had placed him on Tatooine - a tenth rate world - without realising how important it could become in their fight for survival. Venner knew that his lucky break had just turned up.

He returned to his office and cleared one or two things before getting ready to leave. He was going to meet Kapass and Leggin at Anchorhead to get as much data as he could. Putting his head into the Prefect's office, he noticed it was deserted. Wandering round the desk he noticed the data pad hadn't been cleared. It was still hooked into the system and there was no sign of the prefect. Venner leant forward and what he saw made his eyes widen. "Oh, damn!"

Coruscant - 5 days earlier

"Incoming transmission for High Councillor Organa Solo." The aide directed his voice to Lady Winter Celchu.

"I'll take it Mnartynn. The High Councillor isn't feeling well and has gone to her bed. There are cases of Darpan Fever about and I wondered..." Winter let her voice trail off a little - enough for the tech's eyes to widen in fear at the possible infection.

"Have you been inoculated against this? You should have. The High Councillor missed it last time. I'm probably wrong. She's been under a lot of strain - we all have." She raised her voice again just enough to make it sound confiding to any one in the office within hearing. "I suggest we close up early tonight. Any incoming transmissions for the High Councillor can be handled by me and I'll see you in the morning."

The Princess's staff smiled thankfully and started to clear their things. A short while later only Winter remained at her desk, her silvery white hair shining in the light of the single lamp. Winter smiled lovingly at a holo of Tycho holding small Corran, before putting away her work. Rising gracefully she cast a careful eye about her before knocking lightly on the door of Leia's office. The white face with the puffy red eyes that met her at the door gave Winter pause for thought. She'd very rarely seen Leia like this.

"Your Highness. Are you feeling any better?"

Leia lifted her dark eyes and sighed wearily. "No."

"There's a message for you."

"Is it from Han?"

Winter shook her head. "No, Leia, it's from General Cracken - audio only."

"Let's hear it. And Winter - stay. You'll need to know as much as I do because you are going to be me for a few days."

Winter acquiesced and the General's voice rang out bringing with it the sound of the sand blowing over the dunes... or it might have been static.

"Leia, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we have hit a hitch with the plans. Life here is pretty much as you would expect under an Imperial Prefect who has been left to his own devices for far too long. We're not sure where the Empire starts and where the Criminal fraternity begin. On Tatooine, it seems to be a symbiotic relationship. The people are generally pretty pathetic looking, but are not complaining. I cannot frankly see the point in wasting any more of our thinly stretched resources and are recommending we pull out of the deal. We have gained valuable insight into Imperial manoeuvres in this sector. We will not help them keep order here at this present time. The general feeling amongst the people that I spoke to is that we are not ready to negotiate in this manner with the Empire. There's been no word from Master Skywalker. He was in the area, but hasn't been seen recently. Cracken out."

The message had come heavily encrypted but Winter had the feeling that the words had been grafted upon Airen Cracken by someone else.

"Oh, if only Ghent were here."

"Ghent?" Leia looked up in surprise. She'd listlessly been following the stiffly worded communiqué.

Winter nodded. "He could sort this out, but I think this has been tampered with. The quality of this is much poorer than the other messages we've received. There is also something about the patterns of speech, if it is actually Cracken and this message is on the level. I think I'm listening to Bothan speech patterns."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? This could be an exercise between the NR military Intelligence divisions and a few Bothan political machinations."

"I knew this didn't feel right. Luke is there - I know it and the General knows it. But there's something we're missing. Maybe I'll find out what it is when I get there."

Winter narrowed her eyes. "Leia?"

"I'm definitely going. You knew I would. I want to create that holo of me with Darpan Fever, like we discussed, and get to Tatooine but I don't want anyone on Coruscant to know that I've gone. We can programme it with my voice like we did with Threepio once before and I have to be in isolation. So even my children wouldn't know."

"They'd know, Leia. They are force sensitive."

"You're right. I'll have to tell them something but it won't seem strange to them. What kind of Mother leaves her children so often to rush off?"

"A mother who loves her children, but wants them to live in a better world, perhaps?"

"Yes," she smiled sadly. They will understand. But when do they start resenting what I am, what they are?"

"I don't know Leia. Still, if you have to go to Han - you have to go. In the unlikely event that he returns home without going back for your brother, I'll let him into our little ruse."

"Luke and Mara Jade are lovers. Did you know that?"

"No, but its not surprising is it? I've seen the way he's looked at her recently. He probably didn't realise it himself and neither would she. They are alike in ways you and Luke will never be."

Leia stiffened at this, but she knew her long time friend and confidante was right. "It just seems wrong that he's sleeping with a woman who wanted to kill him."

"She's not wanted that for a very long time. In fact, she's saved his life many times and he hers. Mara is not the Emperor's hand anymore, Leia. She's much more than that and I think she'll be good for Luke. He needs someone, Leia. You've got Han and the children. Who has Luke got?"

"It may not last... In fact, Han and Chewbacca could be completely wrong about this. I know Luke and Mara are close, they've been through a lot together over the years. Mara has saved me and the children too, but I just don't know if I could accept her with Luke."

"I don't know, but it's Luke's business. If he shares it with you, be thankful. If not - then it is none of your affair. Does Han expect you?"

Leia's face stilled and her eyes watered a little, but she wasn't going to come apart. She'd faced terrors so bad that she still couldn't talk about them and here she was breaking up into little pieces because her husband didn't want to talk to her. Put like that it seemed trivial - stupid even. But theirs had been such a happy partnership. When had things gone so wrong?

"Han was so angry with me. I thought originally the idea was to negotiate in good faith, but then it became an exercise. I was to go then they decided that Han would go in my place because he wasn't a trained diplomat. Then it began to make some sort of twisted logic. We go in, find out what they are up to. Get troop figures and deployments in the area and if possible bump off a few of the scum that make people's lives such a misery. When Talon Karrde became involved it fitted in so well. We even used the poor pilot who had watched his friends and colleagues die in front of his eyes. I had to watch my home die many years ago, but I didn't wake up smelling their blood and seeing them slaughtered. It was a good excuse, nothing more. Then Cracken recruited Mara Jade and Luke disappeared. Mara is a valuable commodity in many ways."

Winter's face paled to the colour of her hair. "She is valuable especially with Luke!"

"What?"

"There are people who watch Luke and speculate on what he does. From holo-reporters to Imperial and New Republic Intel officers. If we've observed his interest in Mara, then there are others who will also have noticed. Some may want to prevent such a union.

Leia went white. "No!"

Winter moved to her desk pad and began to tap in some instructions. "Come on. We've got a lot to do if you're going."

"I'm going."

Chapter 12

In the depths of a Freighter - destination - outer rim territories

Leia pulled her cloak further about her shoulders and tried to sink desperately into anonymity. How Winter had done it Leia was uncertain, but through her old contacts and a perfect memory in how to avoid Imperials, Leia was now trying to avoid her own side. This wasn't something she'd thought she'd ever have to do.

The Imperial Palace, Coruscant

They'd created the holo programme themselves and by the time that the fake Leia was in place looking suitably wan, the children had been told and with adult manners had given their mother the assurance she'd wanted. They hadn't been able to see her off and her last view of them had been of Jacen with his arms round Jaina and Anakin. The latter's eyes had fixed on her with a peculiar intensity.

"May the force be with you," was all he'd said. Leia had bit her lip and fled to her own room. She'd emerged half an hour later with red-rimmed eyes.

Winter had given Leia the necessary documents.

"Where?"

"Don't ask. I still have access to places you never would have dreamt about back in the days when I worked for supply and procurement. You'll have to go down one of the tunnel shafts."

"The secret passages, you mean. I thought they'd all been found when the twins were small."

"No, not all of them." Winter smiled. "It's good to have one or two pieces of information at my disposal. Mara can be very helpful. She wanted to make sure that if we ever had to get out of the palace again we could do so."

"Mara did?"

"Yes. Without anyone knowing. But I know and Luke knows where they are located. I'll open the nearest one for you. It will take you on to one of the mid-level traverseways."

Winter returned to her serene visage and handed Leia several items, including a holdout blaster, money - Imperial credits, food and false documentation. She also handed Leia a bundle of clothing. "I suggest you change out of the Senatorial robes."

"Where on Coruscant did you dig those up from?"

It was Leia's old combat tunic and boots, plus a heavy black cloak.

"You'll need to change your hair and face but that won't be too difficult." Leia grimaced, but pulled her hair from it's ornamental coronet and braided it back from her face as severely as she could.

"I have an idea," murmured Winter. "We can dirty your face a little and add fake prosthetics..."

"No. Keep it simple. Yes, grime me up a little. I take it I'm not travelling Diplomatic class. Who would think that High Councillor Leia Organa Solo would be travelling alone across the galaxy?"

"Yes. That did cross my mind. Simpler is best. Your clothes still fit?"

"They do actually. Tighter here and there, but I'm not looking to be a fashion plate. The black cloak hides most of me."

Winter looked troubled. "You are sure you want to do this?"

Leia stared her long-time friend and companion straight in the eye. "I have to. It's what I must do - for Han and for my brother. If I don't do this, it will take a very long time to repair the damage I've caused."

For Winter it was like seeing the young Princess again…. the fire in her brown eyes and the rebellious tilt to her chin.

"Han loves you, Leia. All you've done was try to do the best for the New Republic like you always have. He'll understand. He's not always been whiter than white himself. You do what you have to do to survive." Winter moved to the desk console and entered a sequence of digits into the panel. There was a slight grating sound and a panel behind a tall set of shelves slid sideways.

"You'll have to use the force to move that, Leia. I can't do it."

Leia nodded and closed her eyes. "Do or do not, there is no try," she whispered The piece of furniture moved a fraction and Winter surveyed it with satisfaction

With a nervous smile Leia moved to the opened passageway and disappeared from sight. The only sound was the shelves moving back into position and the patter of Leia's disappearing footsteps.

Winter pulled a comlink from her flowing blue gown. "Khask'hitorr, she's on her way. Look after her."

"I will, Mistress Winter," the Noghri's growly voice rasped.

Winter closed her eyes and sent a brief prayer once heard in Alderaanian temples into the air.

The Hsuberry Stealer

The ancient freighter rattled as it took off and Leia huddled into her cloak shivered - not with cold but with apprehension and excitement. It hadn't taken her long to mix with the ordinary concoction of life found on Coruscant. She made her way to the spaceport, Jedi senses on full alert, but no one noticed her. She couldn't afford to relax, but wasn't questioned when she boarded the freighter. It was going to be a long and uncomfortable trip. Leia was unaware of her silent follower as she settled into a disused space in the cargo hold. Winter had gotten her transport to the Outer-Rim territories but it wasn't luxury class. With a sigh she relaxed tense and cramping muscles and drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.

A deserted corridor, B'Omarr Monastery, Tatooine

Cullen Page was troubled as he sat in the deserted corridor. The encounter with the B'Omarr monks had disturbed him in ways he hadn't yet examined. If they knew he was here and why he was here, who had betrayed them and why was he still able to move unhindered around the palace? Perhaps they didn't know everything and he was worrying about nothing, but still that nagging uncomfortable feeling in his gut remained. Page had learned over the long and turbulent years to trust that feeling. He pulled the datapad from its hiding place in his tunic and noted down a few figures. There were way too many people here. Too many people he had to get out, one of whom was the Jedi Master. Page had the feeling that the normally compliant Jedi would be difficult to move this time. He closed tired grey eyes. Who was he fooling - Luke Skywalker did exactly as he wanted to; you just had the impression of complicity.

'Someone was coming!'

Page melted into the shadows and waited - his breathing quiet and steady. But the soft footfalls slowed and he could sense the other person. Not with the force. Cullen didn't have that skill, but he knew just the same.

"Page? It's Luke Skywalker."

The words formed and coalesced behind his eyes and he stepped forward. It was indeed the Jedi Master, but not a Luke Skywalker he'd ever seen before. He was dressed in tight pants and a long tunic covered by a long coat. On his head, over longish, brown hair was a wide-brimmed hat and a beard covered the determined chin. Only his eyes gleamed recognisably in the half-gloom.

'I should have made more use of him for intelligence' he thought ruefully.

"It's clear here. We can talk." Luke brushed a hand over the beard smoothing it a little. He eyed Page with a hint of self-mockery. "It itches."

Page grinned, his teeth white in his tanned face. "I know the feeling." He rubbed his own stubble. "But it's nice to slob for a while."

Luke slid to the floor and sat carefully, his back against the wall. "The security here is incredibly lax. It was never so in Jabba's day."

Page grimaced. "Yes - I can't decide whether I'm delighted or annoyed. Is it to trap us or what?"

"It's given us the freedom to move undetected about the palace."

"I'm not so sure," muttered Page and recounted the strange tale of the monk and the brainwalker, but left out the bit about the monks seeking the Jedi.

Luke closed his eyes and concentrated on the security chief. "I cannot detect that he is aware of our presence. These monks are seeking enlightenment. The writings of the B'Omarr are long lost. Perhaps they have talents we are unaware of."

"Like the force?"

"Yes, very possibly. Like the force, but... there's something missing here. It's as if there's a hole in it."

Page looked puzzled. "A hole in the force?"

"I can't quite describe it, but I've come across it before and I can't think where." He pushed his hands into the pockets of his coat. "It'll come to me. It will."

They sat for a few seconds in the gloom, each busy with thoughts they were unprepared to divulge to the other.

"What next, Page?" Luke glanced at the other man.

"You get out. Now."

"And.... What do you mean? Get out."

"We want you out of B'Omarr. Orders have changed."

"But I'm not here, officially."

"Exactly." Page hit on the idea. "Official personnel only."

"Forget it."

"Your sister and the General don't want Jedi involvement. That's why Han was sent to negotiate and not Leia."

"Don't feed me that pile of Bantha excrement. It won't do. I don't believe you. Your control of your mind is good, but I can sense the evasion without even trying. There's Corran for a start."

"No-one knows about his abilities."

"Karrde does and Booster. Then..." His eyes narrowed and Page felt a chill run through him. "There's Mara and don't tell me her abilities are unknown."

"In a general sense they aren't. She has never formally registered as a pupil at the Yavin school."

"No and she never will. But there are people out there who know what she is capable of."

"The General recruited her to help because of her Imperial past. She is used to dealing with these people and she was the easiest to insert as an undercover operative. She's been far closer to the Twilek than we've managed so far."

"Yeah, security may be lax, but not around the leader. Mara hasn't even seen him yet. So I don't call that much closer."

"I don't think he's been around much of late but we're not really interested in him. He's just a crime lord with delusions of grandeur."

Luke sighed. "There's more to this than you think. I have a hunch that our Crime Lord has big ideas and we cannot discount him."

"Maybe, but we have operatives in place to keep an eye on him. As for the Imperial situation, we're not doing anything about it for the moment."

"So the meeting that was to have happened...?"

"Stalemate. Nothing happened, nothing was settled and we have decided for the moment to leave."

Luke considered his long-time colleague. "Forget it, Page, I'm not going. I think you're wrong about this. When are you going?"

Page was silent for a moment. "Very soon."

"Clever, but vague - deliberately so, I would guess. It's going to be difficult to remove so many of the ops from here. When was Mara to go?"

"Soon."

Luke stiffened. "General Cracken is partly behind this, but I sense the mind and hand of someone else. It will come to me."

"Luke, we really want you out of here for your own safety."

"That'll be the first time anyone in the New Republic has thought about my safety. I'm usually the one they put in when there is no one left to insert. It doesn't add up and I'm not going. I'm not leaving Mara and the others on their own. They can't know for certain that I'm here."

"It's been reported by some sources that Jedi have been seen recently on Tatooine."

"Just once - helping old friends and I've not been around before or since. The Empire can't prove I'm here. When is Han arriving?"

"He's not. I told you the High Council have ordered us out."

Luke felt his anger rise. They were being set up, he was sure of it. But anger was of the dark side and slowly he felt it subside. In its place was a determination not to let them get away with it. "No." he stated an icy calm stealing over him. "Leia wants me out and so does Cracken but there are others who need me more and I gave them a promise. I'll be here when you need me, Page, but I'm not leaving until we see this through. I'm not your back up; I'm Mara's. What do you really want from her?"

"She's infiltrated very close to the Twilek. She's to record who he's with, who his closest people are, who he does business with and has been working on checking out the Twilek's security."

"Mara stays - I stay."

"Luke, I'm asking you to leave for your own good. None of us are entirely sure what's happening. You have a responsibility to the New Republic."

Luke's eyes went cold. "No, I don't. I have a responsibility to my friends and family, the Jedi and to the force. The New Republic doesn't own me."

He got to his feet and seared Page in place with a look. "I'll be here if I'm needed, but don't presume to give me orders."

"That went as expected," Page muttered. "And I never told him that last bit about the B'Omarr." He swore under his breath. It was not turning out to be a good day. He looked up to find that Luke stood over him.

"What about the B'Omarr?"

"Gorez!" The breathless female voice echoed down the corridor. Luke turned and Mara came running down towards him, followed by Karrde.

"What is it?"

"Ask me again later," he whispered.

She turned to Page and handed him a datapad. "That's the specs you wanted. He's built up more hardware and weaponry than we'd presumed. The Twilek is due back today. From what his people are saying it's apparent that he's very restless and there's something about him that doesn't add up. Some of the men closest to him are quite frankly talking mutiny. He's trying to become Jabba the Hutt in that he's trying to become what Jabba was. The only thing is..."

Karrde grimaced. "He's not as good at it as Jabba was. He's obviously cunning and full of guile, but there is a weakness there too. There are emotions. You can't just become a Hutt."

Mara looked at Page and handed him a pad. "I've done what you asked for but I'm not an assassin any more or..." she glanced sideways at Karrde, "…a smuggler either. I'm training to be a Jedi," she whispered and Luke smiled. The choice had been made long ago if indeed she'd had any.

Karrde nodded, unsurprised. "Luke said as much. But it's my place to take down this individual. He killed my people and no one does that without regretting it." He faced Luke squarely without apology. "This is not about revenge, Luke. This is justice in our world."

Luke sighed but dipped his head. "I know, Karrde. I just wish there was another way."

Mara placed her hand on Karrde's shoulder. "There isn't and he knows that too. It doesn't mean he has to like it, but that's Skywalker for you."

Mara gave her chrono a cursory inspection. "Emperor's bones, I have to go. We're rehearsing again!" Turning she kissed Luke a little self-consciously on the cheek and sped off in the direction of the main audience chambers. Karrde smirked slightly behind his straggly beard.

Luke flushed a little but immediately turned to Page. "Where does the New Republic fit into this? I can't say I understand."

Page looked troubled as if he was fighting some sort of inner battle. Then he gave Luke a steady stare and nodded a little unwillingly. "I'll tell you what I know, but this must go no further - understand?"

Luke returned the stare and Page began to talk.

Mos Eisley Spaceport

"We can't just leave them there." Corran objected, somewhat loudly in Wedge's opinion.

"Ssh!" muttered Tycho.

"We've been given orders by General Cracken," growled Wedge. "Tycho's right. This is way too public for the discussion you've got in mind, Horn."

"But we can't just..."

"Corran's right," argued Tycho.

"We don't know enough."

The two rogues looked at their commanding officer. "Wedge!"

"We'd better get back to Pii3 and wait for orders."

"But it's not what you want to do. Is it?" said Corran.

"Just because you've done some training with Luke doesn't mean you go Jedi on me, Horn," bit out Wedge fiercely.

"That has nothing to do with it. We've trained too long with this weird guy who goes by the name of Antilles."

"Yeah, weird guy," added Tycho mockingly.

"Look, will you... What's wrong?" Wedge asked urgently as Corran suddenly spun round and started walking back the way they had come. "The shuttle's that way."

Corran stopped, closed his eyes and reached out with the force. Then took to his heels and ran down the street.

"After him!" hissed Wedge.

The cloaked figure stood warily beset on all sides by a throng of people. She was lost - no question about it. Someone grabbed hold of her elbow and she reacted without thinking by jabbing her fist into her unknown assailants midsection.

"Oof!" His breath escaped with a surprised grunt. But he kept hold of her.

"Madam Senator, it's Corran Horn."

Leia stopped struggling and turned to face him. "Corran?"

"It's not safe for you out here. Did you get separated from the rest of your party?"

"I... " she muttered, embarrassed, and let the pilot steer her into a deserted side street.

The running feet of Wedge and Tycho brought them into the alley and somewhere just behind them the noghri warrior put away his hunting knife as he recognised the scent of the three men.

"Leia?" Wedge uttered in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to find Han." Leia's voice was shaky and her face white under it's dirt. It had been a long time since Leia had traipsed the galaxy on her own. Even in her early days with the rebellion she'd always been escorted and when she'd met Luke, Han and Chewbacca, one of them had always been with her. It was a very long time since she'd been so alone.

"The rest of your group? Surely there are others with you, Your Highness?" questioned Tycho worriedly. To the Alderaanian, Leia Organa Solo was still his princess.

Leia glanced down at her shaking hands. "I'm on my own."

Corran frowned then turned to Wedge. "I felt her presence amidst the confusion. She was lost and for an instant she panicked."

"That's not like Leia."

"No, but Mos Eisley is a strange and violent place and she was on her own. I think we'll find she recovers quickly. She's quite a lady," he commented softly.

"That I know."

Tycho offered her a drink of water. "Does Han know you're here, Your Highness?"

Leia took a swig of the canteen and wiped her mouth using the back of her hand leaving streaky black marks across her face. Wedge hid a smile.

"No, he doesn't know I'm here. But Luke might. He can feel my presence when I'm near."

"That's how I found you," admitted Corran. "The feeling is so strange. It's like you called to me and were in the same room."

"It's the force," said Leia simply.

Wedge surveyed the street ahead and decided it was safe enough to move. "I suggest we go to our shuttle, Leia. We can discuss what you want to do and try to contact Han."

Leia nodded decisively. "Just one thing, Wedge. Don't let anyone know I'm here. Not even General Cracken. I've left a holographic double in Coruscant with Darpan Fever in an isolation unit. Only Winter knows I'm not actually there."

Tycho jerked his head towards Leia, his face suddenly anxious.

"Yes, she's fine. Missing you and small Corran is growing so fast. But you'll see him when you get home. Come on, we need to move."

Wedge raised amused eyebrows and gestured to Tycho and Corran. "Well, you heard the lady. She seems to have recovered."

"Nice," Leia muttered. "I have to find Han." She gave Wedge one of those looks that showed she was well aware of what her husband might or might not do. "I have to find him before he does something stupid."

"Uh... Your Highness," muttered Tycho. "Han might not be here any more. We've been ordered out."

"He's still here." She turned and faced the three men. "Do you think he'd leave Luke?"

The Rogues were left with their mouths open feeling slightly foolish. They knew she was right. There was no way Han would leave Luke.

Luke's Home on the Edge of the Dune Sea

"I can't believe I almost considered going back to base. I must be getting old, Chewie." Han sighed softly.

Chewie barked and shook his head.

"I just got the feeling that there was something else on the agenda. I still have that feeling. But Leia would have told us if she'd known any more."

Chewie waved the bit of circuitry he was fiddling with. Sparks trailed over Luke's table.

"Don't set the place on fire. The kid put a lot of work into this place. You'd almost think he wanted to stay here."

Chewbacca picked up the fuser and poked into the piece of metal. "Han, my friend, let's go over what we know. Then see if we can work out anything else."

Han gave the giant Wookiee a speaking glance. "Sure, but watch what you're doing with that."

He stretched back in his chair and grabbed the mug of Caf he'd made. "We were brought in to meet with the Empire. No one is supposed to know about this apart from the high Council, but there seems to be an awful lot of people involved. The Empire want to keep hold of Tatooine and for the moment it suits the New Republic to let them do so." Han shrugged. "It seems funny to be co-operating with the Imperials without benefit of a truce."

"Shades of Bakura."

"No, not really. Bakura could come into the New Republic easier than Tatooine. It was also further out on the rim if that's possible. We are supposedly keeping Tatooine Imperial."

Chewie barked a pithy retort. "Tatooine's never been Imperial and never will be."

Han laughed suddenly, his face lighting up. "It will never belong to the New Republic either. It's fitting that Luke was brought up here. These rimworlders are stubborn, independent and just plain troublesome."

"What about Karrde?"

"Karrde comes into things when his ship is attacked. He just wants justice for his people and Mara is his second in command. She goes to investigate what happened."

"Which brings Luke into the equation."

"No one expected that for some reason. Luke either was supposed to go back to Yavin like the good little Jedi Master where he can be kept an eye on or..."

"Stay on Coruscant and be controlled by the Senate," Chewie finished grimly.

"Leia has been put under pressure to keep her brother where he can be managed for the good of the New Republic. She was unhappy about it but bowed to political pressure. I have felt she's been strained about things recently, but didn't want to talk, not even to me. Things haven't been quite as good between us lately and Luke's been avoiding her. All right, so he's had issues to deal with too, but..."

"That's why she was unhappy when she found out about his location. Right where he could be the most trouble."

"The kid will never let you down in that respect. He attracts it. I miss her, Chewie. We've never fallen out like this, not since we married."

"Why don't you contact her? The holonet is working again after you hit it and destroyed the link. You've had time to think, sort out things in your mind. Leia couldn't have realised she was playing into certain factions hands by trying to direct Luke's thinking."

"The connection was bad. It went all crackly. I did not do it wrong, you big furry..." Han stopped speaking and the naked hurt in his eyes became visible."

"Go and contact her. Say you're sorry."

Han nodded and made his way into the Falcon. After keying in his commands the screen sprang to life and Winter's serenely beautiful face greeted him with a distant smile.

"General Solo. What can I do for you?"

"Could I speak to my wife, please?"

Winter nodded, but avoided his eyes. "You can but I'm sorry, General Solo. Your wife is suffering from a case of Darpan Fever and is in isolation. You can see her and speak to her, but not for long. She's coming through the bout but tires easily."

Han closed his eyes. She was sick and needed him. "She's going to be fine, isn't she?" he asked anxiously. "How did she get it?"

"It was doing the rounds and she missed the inoculation. But, yes, she's going to be fine. Do you want to speak to the children first?"

"Sure. Are they okay? I mean..."

"Probably better than you," murmured Winter.

Han grinned painfully and waited as Winter whispered something to someone behind her. The next instant his children were before him and all shouting excitedly.

"Mama's sick," announced Jaina solemnly. "But will be better soon."

Anakin mumbled something and the twins threw him a warning glare. "When are you coming home?" he finally asked.

Han swallowed. "When I see what Uncle Luke is up to, I'll be home."

"But Trader Jade will see to Uncle Luke. She promised she'd look after him. She likes him."

Han grinned again. "Is she up to that? It strikes me that Uncle Luke gets himself in much more bother than most folks."

"She's very strong in the force, Papa," said Jaina. "I think she'll see he's fine."

"Uncle Luke likes her a lot," muttered Jacen. "Awful lot."

‘So even the kids had noticed Luke's fascination for the beautiful trader. Out of the mouths of babes.’

Winter appeared and shooed the children off to bed. "I'll put you through to Leia's room. I'm warning you, she's on the mend but very tired."

The picture changed to one of the small guest suites in their apartment and a white faced Leia lay sleeping on the bed.

"Sweetheart," Han called softly.

Leia stirred and flickered her eyelids slightly.

"How are you?" He asked anxiously.

Leia blinked a couple of times and raised herself carefully to a more upright position.

"Han. Is it you?" Winter spoke hoping Han wouldn't question the fake Leia for too long.

"Yes, Sweetheart. I'm sorry."

"So am I. Oh Han, find Luke. Please find him."

"Sure sweetheart. You get some rest. I love you."

Leia's eyes flickered closed. "I know."

The screen switched back to Winter. "I'll look after her for you and the children."

"As always, Winter. We rely on you."

"Tell Tycho... Corran and I miss him."

"I will. So long."

Han sat looking at the blank holo-imager with a morose expression on his face. "I'd better find the kid. Who knows what will happen? Guess Cracken ain't gonna be happy with me." He stepped off the Falcon and adjusted the camo-netting.

"Chewie!" he bellowed. "Get off yer furry behind - we gotta get movin'. Before Cracken and others clue on to what we're up to.'"

"Where we going then, Han?" barked the Wookiee.

"Anchorhead. We need to see Fixer."

Mos Eisley

Corran grinned. Something zinged in the force. It was these Skywalkers for you. "Come on, come on."

He hurried Leia into the speeder.

"Where are we going?"

Corran looked towards his boss who nodded and smiled.

"Anchorhead," answered Wedge, brown eyes gleaming.

Chapter 13

Tatooine, B'Omarr Monastery

Talmont bent over and gave a hacking cough. "Damn this sith spawned planet." Every time he breathed the fine particles of sand travelled into his weakened lungs. He reached into the back of the speeder and pulled out his water bottle and slugged a mouthful of the life giving fluid. Up ahead the monastery could be seen, a darkened shape against the night sky. He shivered despite the warmth of the temperature. Time was running out and he'd things to do and people to see. Then there was the Twilek. But it was time to go. He hit the accelerator and gently moved towards the unwelcoming building that loomed above him.

Deserted Passage inside the Monastery

Luke frowned and glanced quickly around him. "Excuse me," he muttered and jumped to his feet. "I gotta go."

They followed his compact form as he vanished from view. Page looked startled and caught Karrde's enquiring expression.

"I don't know Karrde. He might just need the 'fresher."

Karrde stifled a quick laugh. "I doubt that, Page."

"Yeah, so do I but since he didn't enlighten us, I can only speculate."

"He'll let you know soon enough," Karrde asserted.

"Probably. I should go find out what he's up to."

"Leave it just now. We've got other things to think about."

"True - how many people have you in place here?"

Karrde smoothed his tangled beard thoughtfully. "Can I say that I have enough?" He bared his teeth in something resembling a smile. "Could I ask you the same question?"

Page gave the smuggler chief a wry look. "Touché."

Luke wandered casually down to the back entrance. The speeder he'd been working on lay in bits, the parts scattered like pieces of flotsam in the sand. The vehicle bay reminded him of the rebel alliance hangars he'd seen over the years. It was always busy but by all accounts the leader was expected back that evening and things would have to be humming, including this piece of junk he had taken to pieces and was attempting fairly successfully, in his own opinion, to rebuild. This baby would have an extra bit of zip and this could come in handy if they ever had to effect a quick getaway.

Luke nearly missed the small cowled figure standing at the mouth of a previously unseen corridor. It stepped from the shadows unnoticed in all the activity. Luke felt a tingling in his senses. "This is important." they whispered to him. "Important - Why?"

He edged closer trying to keep inconspicuous but without using the force. Somehow he knew that.

"Hey! Melosh. You gonna stand there all day or are you gonna lube this speeder? Mind, it looks as if it needs more 'n that."

"I'm coming. Can't a man have a breather," he whined irritably.

A wiry tentacle wrapped itself around Luke's shoulder and began to tighten.

"Okay, okay. I'm on it. I'm on it."

But when the owner of the tentacle moved away Luke cautiously peered above the broken vehicle. Closing his eyes he stretched out with the force and caught the presence he sought. It did not have the force but was tinted with duplicity and a faint aura of darkness. This being stood alone in the crowd. A military posture, but with shoulders slightly bent. The figure's sense in the force was flickering. Luke knew that the force drew strength to and from all living things but there was no doubt in the Jedi's mind that this human was failing and that he knew it. It accounted for the faint air of desperation about him. Luke opened his eyes and inched as near the figure as he could without attracting any more attention. His container of lubricant lay at his feet so picking it up he strolled casually even closer.

The man was wrapped in the all enveloping cloak favoured by all Tatooine's human dwellers and a large percentage of the alien population as protection from the elements. As he straightened his bent shoulders Luke caught a glimpse of sharp grey eyes in a worn and sunken face. He knew that face - Luke searched his memory. The man's hood slipped a little more and with a silent gasp of surprise Luke saw the military haircut and a hint of Imperial grey at the collar. Was this man stupid or just desperate? Luke knew who the man was. It was the Imperial Prefect Eugene Talmont, but this wasn't the man Luke remembered from holovids when he was a child, nor from any of the Imperial files he'd accessed over the years anxious for any news from home. Talmont was ill, probably dying. Already his presence in the force was diminishing.

He was about to step forward when he saw the overseer of the maintenance facility face his direction and wave a macrofuser in what could only be described as a threatening manner. Luke began to work on the speeder but stopped again when the small B'Omarr bowed ceremoniously to the hooded prefect. Talmont inclined his head in return and turned to walk down the passageway. As he did so the small monk seemed to look directly at the Jedi Master before ushering the head of the Imperial troops on Tatooine from sight.

Luke knew he had to follow them but just as he started to do so the tentacle wriggled it's way firmly round his shoulders and clutched him fast by the upper arm. "Melosh, I've covered far too many times for you today. Anymore skiving and you'll be sand on the floor. Understand?"

Luke forced irritation into his voice, which wasn't hard to do. "Yeah, yeah I heard you. I done my share today. Bantha spit - I ain't gonna work myself to death. The pay here ain't worth it."

"No danger of that. You listen here, you worthless piece of sand scum. You better put more effort into what you're doing or you won't be working yourself to your death because that's exactly what you'll be. Get my meaning?"

Luke hunched his shoulders and remembered how Han had faced up to authority mixed with a moan from his younger and more naïve self. "You tryin' to be funny? I been in more situations than you got wriggly things coming out of yer shoulders." He squinted past the many tentacled alien (it wasn't a species he was familiar with) and watched as the Imperial prefect disappeared from view. Luke had a really bad feeling about something. It was to be the last time Talmont was seen alive. Luke could have used the force and the alien would have let him follow the prefect, without question, but it was important to Luke that he did this on his own. Perhaps this was an instance of the force using the alien to prevent Luke from following.

With a toss of his head Luke settled back to the speeder and finally was left alone. "Mara!" he sent softly. "You busy just now?"

"Course I am, farmboy. The lord and master is arriving from goodness knows where this very night and I am sweating my way into dancing with a precision you've never seen."

"Grace and beauty combined as always." Luke let a little emotion colour his words.

"Cut that out, Skywalker! I take it there's been a development."

"I think so."

"Okay, I'll be with you as soon as I can. Where are you?"

"Vehicle maintenance bay three - speeder area. Near the back."

"Got you."

"If you spot Page - bring him with you."

"Will do. Oh and Luke..."

"Yeah!"

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Who me?"

"Just be careful."

Mara settled into the back row of the dancers, as she didn't want to get too conspicuous and draw attention to herself. A little use of the force now and again would ensure that it would remain that way. Luke hadn't been allowed into the upper audience chamber. Being very low in the hierarchy of the speeder maintenance crew had that effect. But over the past few days as Mara had rehearsed with the others, she knew there was something eerily familiar about the whole set up.

"All right. Take a break."

The troupe director's voice cut into her thoughts. Mara jogged over to the refresher station and grabbed a container of water. Nothing was too good for Jabba's dancers she decided, then froze as she realised what she'd been thinking. Mara took stock of the situation and wandered over to where a tall humanoid male was directing a team of decorators.

'I wonder if I could see his plans,'

"Hi," she murmured throatily. "My name is Arica - I'm one of the dancers here. I've never seen you before."

The humanoid gave her an appreciative once over and Mara refrained from doing him grievous bodily harm.

"Tannik Deck'ho."

"So pleased to meet you. You're in charge of the decorations. You must be so clever," she cooed, hating herself. The fluff piece persona was one thing she really disliked, but it worked every time. She was lucky that Luke didn't think like this piece of Bantha crap. He'd be one dead Jedi Master if he did.

The decorator preened and issued several orders to his team of willing workers. They were obviously being well paid for their duties.

A small platform had been erected for the band. Right alongside where Jabba's rancor grille had been. The throne area - Mara could think of it as nothing else, was exactly in the same position Jabba's had been in. So Karrde was right. ‘I don't like this,’ she thought to herself.

"This is so-o original," she simpered. ‘Sith, I'm going to be sick if I keep this up.’

"Original!" The decorator intoned. "It may well be, but I'm working from highly detailed blueprints. The Lord was most insistent that things be done this way. He designed it himself." He looked a little sulky for a moment. "I wanted the colour schemes to be much bolder, but I'm being paid extremely well to do it this way."

Mara batted her eyelashes. "Could I get a teeny peek. I promise not to tell anyone."

"I don't know..." He sounded doubtful.

"You will give me a look at those plans." She waved her hand in a circular motion.

"I will give you a look at the plans," he repeated trancelike.

The layout of the audience chamber was an exact copy of how it had been all those years ago. Even down to the drawings of the characters who would inhabit this picture. However in Jabba's place was a Twilek, but not Firith Olan. The Twilek in the picture was one she recognised from a long time ago. Mara nearly dropped the decorators large data pad but something caught her eye. There was a signature at the bottom of the drawing and her eyes widened in shock. Time stood still as Mara Jade tried to assimilate what she had learned and what she now suspected was true. But it couldn't possibly - could it?"

Imperial HQ, Bestine Township - Early next morning

Venner cursed as he sent a priority signal to Vash Ardiff. Forget about security, forget about secrecy - it was probably too late. He slammed his hand down on the desktop and watched as a fine mist of sand lifted into the air. Snarling with frustration Venner leapt to his feet and paced back and fore as he waited for some response to his signal. He had tried contacting the Prefect, but he had received no reply - only static.

All he had to go on was cryptic notes jotted down on the data pad - and a report on the practices of the B'Omarr. What Venner was seeing wasn't something he wanted to even contemplate. But was Talmont contemplating it? It was not a comforting thought.

‘Sithspit!’ he swore inwardly. "Damn it, Ardiff, contact me."

Should he have followed the prefect? At first it was his immediate instinct, but he'd arranged to meet his friends in Anchorhead and decided that he needed to see what they thought, without divulging too much. They were subordinate officers after all and didn't need to know. After all, the Prefect was a grown man and would surely return to base after a couple of hours. That's what usually happened.

He'd saved the info on Talmont's data pad and perused it on the journey there. What he'd read had made him cancel the meeting and return to base. He'd tried to contact the Prefect but after six hours he knew he had to contact Ardiff.

The com-line crackled and the signal formed on the screen. It was time they had decent holo-imagers but Talmont had never seen the need. Ardiff's intelligent face appeared, slightly sleepy, but parade ground neat.

"Yes, Major."

"It's the prefect, Sir. He's gone!"

"Gone," he echoed. "Gone where?"

He took a deep breath. "I think he's gone to the B'Omarr Monastery."

"What!"

"I've been tracking most of his incoming messages, but he's been quiet over the past few days and very weak. It's just... the things that he's been investigating were on his pad and it's to do with the B'Omarr."

"So you think..."

"That he's gone..."

"To see the Twilek," finished Ardiff with a groan.

"I presume so, Sir. But I'm not sure."

"Did he still have sandfly in his hat over Jedi on Tatooine?" Ardiff asked casually.

"You could say that. He was most insistent on it. Even though the evidence is sketchy to say the least. But he's right - there are Jedi on Tatooine."

"I know. Blast those rebels."

"They're not rebels now. It's the New Republic - remember."

"Yes, I remember. I'll have to tell Admiral Pellaeon - he's also convinced there are Jedi on Tatooine." Ardiff brought his steady regard on Venner. "How do you know there are Jedi on Tatooine?"

"There was a raid on the power station at Anchorhead by some of the Twilek's heavies. The station owner, his wife and an old man fought them off with the help of two strangers with glowing swords. Deaths and injuries were in line with lightsaber marks. The wounds were..."

"Yes, I know what they look like."

Ardiff turned his head as a signal sounded behind him.

"I hope you're ready to talk to the Admiral again, Jarl. He is grateful for soldiers such as yourself who put reason and intellect before greed."

Venner gulped. That was twice he'd actually talked to the great man.

Admiral Pellaeon's face appeared on the vid-screen, tired and lined, but with his character shining in the marks time and experience had placed there.

"What I have to say to you is strictly confidential."

"I understand, Sir."

"The Empire as it once was is finished. The Emperor is dead. Thrawn is dead and I cannot.…" He stopped and dared Venner to open his mouth to argue. But Venner knew the Admiral was right.

"We need to establish our boundaries and secure our forces. We have done enough fighting - our people are tired of war. But if we are to have an equal stab at a treaty we must be able to look the New Republic in the face, with pride. Tatooine is important in that respect. What was once an outer rim backwater is now in the neutral zone of our proposals."

Venner widened his eyes as some of what the Admiral was saying filtered in to his numbed brain. "What kind of a treaty? You're really considering what I think you're considering?"

Ardiff grinned briefly at Pellaeon. "I told you he actually thought about what went on in the galaxy, Sir."

Pellaeon didn't smile. "Tatooine is important because it could be a transitional world between Imperial and New Republic territory. It has the nexus for the hyperspace routes and Mos Eisley is a big enough spaceport to provide trade. The facilities are in place here, but with the Twilek running the show I cannot see it happening. He does not want to see peace because while it might mean prosperity for the New Republic and us, it will be a threat against his plans. These types of individuals feed on people's misery. Our people have faced enough of that misery - we cannot be drawn into another conflict which we cannot afford."

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" Venner asked respectfully and the Admiral nodded. "Tatooine has this amazing significance as a place for the rebels, I mean the New Republic, as we know. They don't want to lose it to another organisation like Black Sun or some megalomaniac like Zsinj."

"We can't afford another fight - period!" said Ardiff. "We need to hold Tatooine to have an equal chance round a negotiating table if we were ever to hope for..."

"For what, Sir?" asked Venner as he sensed the emotions coming from Ardiff and Pellaeon.

"Peace," answered Pellaeon softly.

Venner hardly dared blink; he was so caught up in the sheer impossibility of such a thing. But suddenly it seemed so clear and so right. Prefect Talmont and Firith Olan didn't want peace. The ordinary citizen on numerous worlds just wanted better lives for their families because they were the ones who suffered in these conflicts.

"What about the Jedi?"

"What about them?" Pellaeon sighed wearily. "They want peace too. They are supposed to be an order dedicated to peace and justice in the galaxy. But there has been little enough peace and justice lately for them to defend."

"They are on the planet."

"Yes - at least two of them are if we're right and what reports you saw were accurate. Luke Skywalker is on Tatooine along with a woman known as Mara Jade. She has used other names over the years but that is how she's known in Imperial and now New Republic circles."

Venner shivered. The name meant nothing to him, but sounded mysterious and exciting.

"Mara Jade is one of the brightest and most beautiful women I've ever met and one of the most deadly. She worked specifically for the Emperor himself."

"So she's one of us. Maybe she could..."

"Was one of us. She was his Hand, his personal servant who went all over the galaxy carrying out his orders. When he died she had nothing and very few knew of her existence. We thought she was dead, but eventually she hooked up with the rebels. She's force strong, but I'm not sure if she was ever fully trained. The Emperor undertook most of her previous training personally."

"It was said that she could contact him anywhere at any time without the use of a holonet. She could hear him in her mind," broke in Ardiff.

"We suspect she has been training with Skywalker although we have no actual proof. She hasn't been seen on Yavin in a long time. Nor in Skywalker's company recently."

"They don't always get on apparently," murmured Ardiff. "Reputedly she's a very strong character."

"Mara Jade disappeared at about the same time the Jedi Master did."

"Disappeared!" exclaimed Venner quietly.

"Relax," reassured Ardiff. "There hasn't been any worry in NR circles about Skywalker's disappearance or Jade's. Some interest - yes, but not much in the way of actual worry."

"So someone knows where they are," mused Venner. "I suppose we do," he said in surprise.

Pellaeon smiled slightly. "And if we do..." he let his words trail out slowly, "…the NR Intel people will too."

"We can't let the Twilek or the Prefect get to the Jedi. We need their particular skills in the galaxy as much as the New Republic does," offered Ardiff thoughtfully.

"Even though Skywalker is reputed to be the destroyer of the first Death Star and a Rebel Alliance leader?"

"By all accounts Skywalker is a just and honourable man, if a little serious and intense. I still remember a time when things were different, but I was a young man then. Skywalker is not the monster you think he is. He's just a man."

"Yes, but when you read the dossier there is about him, he must be a truly remarkable one."

"That he is. Our generation is full of such people on both sides and there will be more in the future. I hope."

Ardiff glanced at his chrono. "Time is moving on. It would be wise to establish the Prefect's exact whereabouts before morning."

"I agree. Major Venner, can you transfer the data the Prefect had on his data pad?"

Venner nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Then I suggest you get yourself and your back up crew as near the monastery as possible. The strike force should not have been required until three days hence. We'll have to call forward the attack. And hopefully before then we’ll manage to contact Skywalker."

Venner's jaw dropped. "Attack!" and then he registered the second part of the sentence. "Contact Skywalker?"

Tosche Power Station, Anchorhead

Wedge stopped the speeder and turned a level brown stare on his passengers. "You know we've gone and done it now. We could be court-martialled."

"I'll see to it you're not, Wedge." Leia returned evenly, the Organa calm in full evidence. Corran tried to gauge her sense but could get nothing. 'Her control is good, but then I should have expected that.'

Leia moved the veil over her face to keep out the sand and surveyed the ramshackle cluster of buildings on the edge of the town. But that was too ambitious a term for this part of Anchorhead. It was just a few sun bleached stone shapes half buried in the desert.

"I don't think I've ever been here before and I've been to quite a few 'places' in my time," she murmured. "It's not exactly the centre of the universe is it? It reminds me of Luke's descriptions of the place he grew up. 'If there's a bright centre to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from.'" She jumped from the speeder and waited impatiently for the three Rogues. "Wait, did you say we were going to Anchorhead?" The Rogues gave the affirmative. "So we are where Luke grew up. I've been to Tatooine before, but not to Anchorhead. He always wanted to avoid coming here for some reason."

Tycho grinned, his teeth white against his unnaturally tanned face. "Well - this is it."

"It's not much of a place - is it, Princess?"

"That depends on what you're looking for," answered Leia who was stretching out with the force trying to locate her brother's reassuring presence. There was nothing.

"Luke had friends here, you know."

"Yes I remember him talking about them - Fixer and Camie."

"They are still here. He wanted to protect them, not risk their lives by consorting with a known rebel."

"Come on," urged Corran. "I'm thirsty and could do with something to eat." He strode briskly towards the stone structure and banged on the durasteel door.

"We're closed!" the voice bellowed.

"Come on, Arnek. It's Corran Horn with Tycho and Wedge Antilles. Luke's friends."

There was a muffled grunt and the grizzled face of the old barman peered round the door as it slid aside. Corran also noted the muzzle of the powerful blast rifle.

Wedge pulled down his hood and pulled off protective goggles and smiled at Arnek. "We've brought a friend and she needs to rest."

"She?"

"Yes."

Leia felt Tycho clap a warning hand on her shoulder and wisely said nothing for the moment.

"She's travelled a long way and needs sustenance, then a wash and a rest."

Leia opened her mouth, but when she saw the expression on the faces of her companions she nodded gracefully.

"I am tired, thank you."

"I'm Arnek."

"I'm..." she hesitated, but only for an instant. "Leia."

A woman with tired eyes smiled. "Come with me, Leia. I'll show you where you can rest. I'm Camie."

Leia looked at the woman curiosity in her countenance. "I've heard of you. Luke spoke about you a few times but he never says very much."

Camie tried to peer through the protective veil to the woman beneath. 'This was another friend of Luke's?'

She smiled wistfully. "He used to at one time. In fact he never shut up. Luke Skywalker was one big noise when he got let out by his uncle, which wasn't often."

Leia was shown to a small room and Camie left her for an instant. Leia pulled off the veil and hood and gazed with interest at her surroundings. The place was small and pin-neat. A tap at the door returned Camie with a small covered tray.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as recognition set in.

"What is it?"

"You're Luke's sister. We never knew he had a sister."

"Neither did he until he left Tatooine, but we're close now. Have you seen him?"

"Not for a couple of weeks. He was with Mara Jade."

"I know." Then her face paled and Camie could have sworn she saw the calm façade slip. "I don't suppose my husband has been around recently?"

'Husband!' "Oh, you mean General Solo. He was here only two days ago, but he was ordered to leave, I don't know more than that. They said it was best we didn't know too much. I mean, we could get into trouble. So they decided..." She stopped nervously. 'Was this woman really a Princess?'

"It's okay, I understand. They were quite right to try and keep you out of this. We're unsure what's really happening."

"Cruelty, hardship and murder. Honest people trying to go about their ordinary lives on this planet but who are being kept from succeeding by power games and greed for wealth." Camie's voice was low and bitter. Leia had to strain to hear what she said.

"I'm sorry. I do understand - you may think I don't, but I do."

"How could you? You're a Princess and a leader in this New Republic they all keep talking about. How could you understand about scraping an existence and then having it slowly taken from you bit by bit until you have nothing? You worry that you may not have enough food to feed your children, that the man you love and depend on has lost his will and his self-respect. How could you know?"

Leia stretched out a hand, compassion evident in her dark eyes. "I do understand. I saw horrors being perpetrated on the innocents of many worlds in the name of Imperial order and I couldn't do enough to save them all. I watched my whole world disappear in front of my eyes. I lived my life on the run for ten years. I moved from base to base to keep from being arrested and executed by the Empire. Sometimes I worried about having enough food or another place to run to - whether the people I loved would still bee alive after the next mission."

"Luke too?"

Leia's eyes grew sad. "Yes - Luke too. He flew in combat as a pilot for the rebellion. He had lost his family, his best friend and his mentor, yet he never lost sight of where he wanted to go. But often I didn't know where he and Han were for months at a time. My brother and the man I loved - sometimes I didn't even know if they were alive. "

"I'm sorry. Sometimes our troubles rise up and overwhelm me. Fixer doesn't know how to reassure me."

"Perhaps because he can't. Perhaps the only way he can deal with problems is to push them as far from his mind as possible. People deal with their problems in different ways. Han retreats to his beloved ship and tears it apart before rebuilding it. Luke shuts himself off so that he won't worry us. I throw myself into my work and my family have to cope with a mother and a wife who isn't there for them."

Camie picked up the pot of caf and filled an earthenware mug. "What's happening?"

"Luke's in danger as usual. He wasn't supposed to be involved in this. He's supposed to be on Yavin teaching his Jedi trainees or on Coruscant advising the Senate. Not in the middle of conflicts that could get him killed."

Camie gave a mirthless chuckle. "Keeping out of things, staying safe? That doesn't sound like the boy I remember." Her eyes misted over as she recalled Luke from before Leia had known him. "He was ... sweet, impulsive, young."

"Reckless?" asked his sister dryly.

Camie's eyes met Leia's. "Yeah, I guess so." She remembered banged heads and crashed skyhoppers.

"Luke will always rush headlong into trouble. I have to be there to get him out."

Camie sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Look, princess," she offered in a way that was oddly reminiscent of Luke when they'd first met. "I don't have the education you have. I'm not even particularly bright, but it strikes me that you're treating Luke like a child. He makes his own decisions. If he gets himself into trouble let him get out of it. You said you sometimes couldn't be there for your family. Luke wouldn't want that. Remember he lost his, he wouldn't want the same to happen to you"

"Camie!" the irate voice bellowed. "Camie! We got company."

"Stay here." Camie hissed and gave Leia a grim look.

"No! I'm coming too. I'm not sitting here if there's trouble."

"Now I know you're Wormie's sister."

"Thanks - I think."

Chapter 14

Tatooine

Camie rushed to the main bar and peered anxiously out of the window.

"I can't see anything. Fixer are you sure?"

"Something landed just to the left and it was bigger than a speeder. Then it took off again."

Fixer pulled out a rifle Leia could only remember seeing in very old holodramas. If there was a problem it wouldn't help much. Arnek on the other hand held a much more up-to-date weapon and Camie had pulled from her sleeve a rather familiar wickedly effective little holdout blaster.

Leia had her saber in her hand and a blaster in the other, as did Corran. The Rogues immediately went into a fighting stance as running footsteps pounded outside.

Suddenly Leia stood up. "Don't, it's okay." She ran to the door and threw it open, tears starting to fall down her face.

"Leia!"

Wedge leapt to his feet and was after her in an instant, but Corran closed his eyes, smiled and relaxed. "It's okay guys. It's Han."

Han's reflexes were fast but not so fast that a madwoman attacking him left him passive. He struggled as the figure clung to him.

"Han, it's me!"

The Corellian stopped dead in his tracks as his ears registered the sound of the voice.

"Leia?" he stammered disbelievingly. "But I spoke to you only yesterday on Coruscant. You're sick with Darpan fever."

"No," she whispered. "That was a ruse to get me out of the palace without anyone knowing I'm here…anyone in the Government that is. You actually spoke to Winter."

"Han - get inside. This place may still be under observation."

"Wedge?"

"Get inside, Solo."

The door shut behind them and Camie watched these people who had entered her miserable little life and made it more dangerous but somehow exciting. She looked pointedly at Arnek who was still waving the blaster he'd begun to favour as a constant companion and he shuffled out of the room with ill-concealed grace to put it away.

"Would somebody like to explain a few things to me?" Han demanded belligerently, hands on hips, blaster worn low.

"Han, I..." Leia looked around the assembled company and closed her mouth.

Corran spoke up. "It's like this, General - we were none too happy about returning to Pii4 as ordered but orders are orders and we are still employed on a regular basis by the New Republic. We just delayed a little just in case we were ordered back in again to get you out."

"Hey guys what can I say? Chewie dropped me off in the Falcon and he's gone back to Luke's place." Han looked a little embarrassed, then thought suddenly and turned an accusing stare on his colleagues. "So how come you're still here?"

"Corran discovered your wife in Mos Eisley and we thought we'd better stay with her since she's on her own. By the time we'd made that decision we reckoned that the General might expect us to rebel in any case so it didn't matter what we did."

"I'd better let Cracken know you're here, Leia," muttered Han.

"No!" Leia interrupted. "I went to a lot of trouble so that people would still think I was on Coruscant. Luke's bound to be in trouble by now and he's pulled through for us so many times..."

"Luke will be fine, Leia. He doesn't let on half the things he gets up to these days and besides, he's got Mara. She'll keep an eye on him."

Leia's face flushed with annoyance. "But we're his family and he needs us. He hasn't 'got' Mara. He's gone in because he's hoping to train another Jedi, that's all."

Tycho looked at Wedge. Corran narrowed green eyes and stared hard at Leia. The woman almost sounded jealous.

"I think you've got it wrong, Councillor. Mara is my friend and if Luke wants to help her, it's none of your business, even if he is your brother. Of course he wants to train her now that she's actually agreed to the training. He's no fool and she's exceptionally force strong. He's a Jedi Master, for sith's sake and don't forget it was him who got you out of the first Death Star."

"I'm not forgetting anything and you're way out of line on this one, Lieutenant Horn." Leia's voice rose militantly.

"Leia!" Han's voice raised in anger towards his wife wasn't something anyone had heard in years. "That's enough!"

She turned white with frustration for a second and opened her mouth to splutter a reply, but Han forestalled her.

"Luke and Mara are..."

"Involved. Yes, we know." Camie's soft voice interrupted as she came forward and gently moved Leia away from Han towards a seat where a plate of food was steaming gently.

"What!" exclaimed Wedge. "We thought it was just a cover story. You mean involved involved?"

Corran gave the ceiling one of those 'and I thought these guys were bright’ looks.

"Wedge, those two have been involved for years but haven't done anything about it."

"I know that," exhaled Wedge.

"Well, now they have," grinned Corran with satisfaction.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Wedge demanded.

"It wasn't my business to," he replied with a careful look at Leia.

"You can't be sure." Leia dropped her spoon with a clatter.

"Leia!" Han's warning tone brought his wife to her senses. "I was only going to say that they're friends and they'll help each other out."

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "I don't mean anything against Mara, or Luke, but..."

"Leia, you can't run his life for him. Now this is not the time or place for such a discussion. The Solos and the Skywalkers do not normally air their differences so publicly."

"But Han..." She put her hand to her mouth and carefully weighed up the expressions of every person there.

Arnek chose that moment to return to the room with Anni fearfully clutching his hand.

"Marn's in the workshop again, boss and I would say that the R5 Skywalker fixed might need him to sort it again."

"Gravel maggots!" Fixer took off for the workshop at a run. "That boy needs a good..."

"We got a couple of those at home too," observed Han with a dry look towards Leia. She watched with something akin to pain as Fixer came back dragging a sullen Marn and dispatched him in the direction of the family living quarters.

Leia dropped to her knees in front of the little girl. "Hello."

"Lo,"

"I've a little girl at home."

Anni clutched at Arnek's tunic and stuck a finger in her mouth, then in the way of small children gabbled something very fast.

Leia looked towards Camie for interpretation.

"What is it Anni? Get your finger out of your mouth. It's not nice to talk to visitors that way. Where are your manners?"

"Sorry Mama," she whispered, still shy. "But the men are coming."

"Which men?"

"The ones that lived in the house across the street."

"Show us, sweetheart," instructed Arnek gently. "Where did they stay?"

"Over there." Anni pointed to one of the squat sandstone buildings half buried by the shifting dunes. "They move just like the soldiers do."

"What else do they do, sweetheart?" coaxed Leia softly.

Anni raised eyes almost as blue as Luke's and whispered. "They just watch."

"Imp surveillance team," gritted Han softly.

"I don't like it," murmured Wedge.

"I got an awfully bad feeling about this."

Tycho groaned. "You just had to say that, Horn. Didn't you?"

Han turned to Arnek. "Get Camie and the kids outta here now. You too, Leia, and don't argue for once. We'll talk later." He motioned to Wedge but the Rogues already had moved into position and Corran had slid out of the front door, lightsaber and macro-binoculars in hand.

"Fixer! Haven't you anything better than that blast rifle?"

"No I don't. We've had this one in the family since Skywalker left twenty years ago and it's done us just fine."

Tycho pulled a modern standard New Republic issue one from a case and threw it towards him. "I trust you can shoot straight?"

"Taught Skywalker everything he knows."

"I doubt that but there's hope for you yet, Fix," Han grunted approvingly.

Arnek came back into the room wheezing slightly and took his usual position behind the bar. Tycho and Wedge lay flat along side him and Han pressed back behind the wall just at the entrance.

"Rogue leader." The tinny sound of Corran's voice disturbed the tense atmosphere that had filled the room.

Wedge clipped his comlink to the collar of his shirt. "Yes, Rogue 9."

"Believe me when I say there are some major big Imps heading our way. Some sort of craft has just landed. According to my macro-binoculars it's an imp shuttlecraft."

"How long until they arrive in Anchorhead?"

"I estimate fifteen minutes."

"Get back inside, Nine."

"Copy, Rogue leader."

Wedge got up from behind the bar. "With any luck they won't be coming here."

"Come on Antilles, since when did that kind of luck fall into our grateful laps?" questioned Han sarcastically.

"We have to appear as if everything is normal, but be ready to act." Tycho had also decided that lying under the bar was also a pointless exercise.

Han pursed his lips and tapped his chin. "Do you have any more of these cloak things with hoods that Arnek is wearing?"

"Yeah, I got several but they're kinda past it."

"Get them and we'll set up a scene. These things could have any species underneath them, let alone some of the Empire's most wanted."

"Camie!" Fixer bellowed. "Quick!"

Camie stuck a nervous head round the door and when it was explained what was needed came back with several old brown desert cloaks. Leia walked back in and sat down next to Han.

"I'm sorry flyboy, but I've never been the little woman in this relationship and I'm not going to start now. If we're in trouble we deal with it together."

Han grinned and his eyes lit up with the familiar twinkle she loved so much.

"I love you."

"I know."

Wedge's comlink crackled slightly. "Go ahead, Nine."

"The little girl was right. Seems to be an observation post right across the street. Three coming over."

"Maybe they just want a glass of lum?"

"Since when would things be that easy? Hold on..." Corran's voice had a strange tone to it.

Leia could feel the unease from his sense in the force.

"I'm coming in."

An instant later Corran's compact frame edged through the back entrance. Leia could tell he was agitated.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure because I've only seen him on Imperial holo-footage but the man being transported into Anchorhead this very moment is Admiral Gilad Pellaeon."

Leia's mouth opened in shock.

"It's just as well your Noghri guard is keeping well out of the way."

"Noghri!" Leia shut her mouth then opened it again, but no sound came out. 'Winter Celchu, I'm going to have words with you about this when I get home.’

Han chuckled silently. 'I owe you one, Lady Winter.'

The door to the machine shop slid open and three men entered. All were wearing desert cloaks but the military posture gave it away. Fixer recognised them as they'd often came in for a glass of lum especially over the last few weeks.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" Fixer grunted irritably. He'd never been pleasant before and he wasn't going to start now. Camie walked past with a cloth and a tray.

'They'd all told her to go to the cellar with the kids.' She shot him an 'if you think I'm going to do that, you've another thing coming and then you can sleep with Marn' type of look.

The men inspected the bar. It was shabby, but clean. A couple of beings in hooded cloaks sat drinking glasses of lum and a man was charming a female in the corner if the soft giggles were anything to go by.

"What are we waiting for?" muttered Kapass in an undertone. "All the New Republic guys moved out." Venner shook his head.

"No they didn't. We're going to wait till they show up again. But we're waiting for someone else too."

"Luke Skywalker," snickered Leggin caustically.

"Leggin, that's enough. Could you forget you're in a military backwater and turn into a professional soldier because that kind of attitude just won't cut."

"Whoa, boss!" Leggin held up his hands in mock horror. Venner rarely lost his cool.

"It so happens that we think Skywalker is on the planet, but the person we're waiting for could be much more important in our careers and I'm not passing up on the opportunity." He paid for three glasses of lum but none of them touched it.

"Well?" asked Kapass.

The door slid aside and two men walked in. Venner stood, his stomach tightening. "We waited till you arrived, Sir."

"Well, it's a good thing that you're not going to have to wait too long isn't it?" The blaster covered them quite effectively.

They looked up into the grimly smiling face of Han Solo.

Pii 3, New Republic Base

The sunlight streamed through the trees, casting shadows on the ground. General Airen Cracken kicked a rotting branch at his feet. The low building up ahead looked like a holiday home. Attractive, it nestled on the edge of one of the logging corporation's boundaries. One of the more pleasant spots in the galaxy to be posted to, if a little off the beaten track. He held out his ID chip to the guard at the gate.

"General."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

"There's a message for you in your office, Sir."

Cracken nodded and increased his speed towards the front door. 'At last. Word from Antilles.' He'd never doubted that they would obey orders, not really. The entrance hall of the old house had been turned into a completely up-to-date operations room and com centre. He appreciated the order and yet the chaos produced by grey suited NR operatives. He threaded his way past a couple of monitors and made his way to his temporary office. Cracken removed his cap and smoothed his thick white hair into accustomed neatness.

Pulling his data pad from his pocket he plugged it into the console and waited for any messages to download. But the one he wanted didn't please him the way he had hoped. All it said was

'Sorry - Antilles'

"Damn!" Cracken slapped his hand on the desk making it rattle. There was no word from Han Solo and if he'd been really honest with himself he didn't expect one either.

He switched on his comlink. "Get Cawdor in here now and put me through to High Councillor Leia Organa Solo."

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "We have to talk, Leia. Then I have to speak to Pellaeon. Time's running out."

B'Omarr Monastery

Luke glanced up from the speeder he was still working on and gazed into Mara's green eyes. "Hi," he murmured huskily.

Mara actually blushed. The sexual undertones in his lowered voice had been unmistakable.

"What kept you?"

"I had to change." Mara indicated the all encompassing desert robe and hood. "Page is just coming. He's checking one of his spy cams."

"Fine by me. But if he doesn't appear in the next couple of moments we're going without him." He picked up her hand and pulled her slowly towards the mouth of one of the tunnels. As they moved out of view Luke pulled Mara into his arms and covered her mouth with his own.

"Luke..." Mara moaned his name as his lips left hers. "This isn't the time to do that."

"I disagree. It's been too long since we really were together. This Jedi craves you." He bent his head and nuzzled her neck. "Now that we've begun to - you know."

"Page is coming. I don't think he needs to know we're together."

"No, but I'd like everyone to know eventually."

"Are we really together, Luke? Are we?"

"I'm counting on it, Jade. You me and a Jedi praxeum full of those kids." His lips found the pulse in her neck and kissed it. Mara stretched to accommodate him and moaned quietly.

"We'd better stop - Luke!" She pulled her hood over her head. "I didn't think I was so far gone that I'd be having kids with you."

"No-one else will have you, Jade."

"Skywalker. If you think that after a crack like that I'd even consider..."

"You two still arguing," Page's quiet voice made Mara jump.

"Tsk, Tsk Jade. We will have to work on that split level concentration, won't we!"

"Skywalker - shut up," she gritted.

Page rolled his eyes. He'd never understand Skywalker and Jade. Part of him still kept the blaster not too far away. She'd threatened to kill the Jedi Master once before long ago, but it had never seemed to bother Luke. Page would trust the beautiful trader before a lot of people. She'd helped him out on the quiet a few times over the years. Mara always expected some form of payment but usually it was information she wanted. She'd never taken a credit from the New Republic despite what some people thought. Luke should be worrying about people closer to home.

"What's the news?"

Luke's face turned grave. "The Prefect is here - alone."

Page went still and his face took on a blank shuttered expression. Mara had seen Luke do something similar, but Page didn't have the force. Probing the intel chief gave little away apart from the fact that the news had disturbed him a great deal. "No sign of the Twilek?"

"No, not yet," Mara answered quietly.

"The Prefect has been working with Olan for at least a year."

"That's about the length of time the shipments have been attacked, but they've been growing in viciousness until this time. The Prada's was only one in a long line of stolen cargo. Somehow what happened to it was more evil than any of the others."

"So did the Twilek arrive with the Prefect?"

"No," Luke replied. "It's as Mara says, there's been no sign of him. But it's strange - he came in the back door, caped and hooded. But he was met by one of the B'Omarr."

Something flickered in Page's grey eyes. It was minuscule but Luke caught it.

Mara shivered. "These little guys give me the creeps. I don't care what anyone says."

"Page…." Luke drawled.

"Nothing. Mara's right. These little guys give me the creeps too. If you want to lead on, Skywalker, we'd better go see what they're up to."

"I haven't got long, " Mara whispered. "The Twilek is supposed to be attending the big bash that's being laid on tonight. I'm supposed to be in the cabaret."

"Stay, then. Luke and I will go on our own."

Mara gave Luke a glare which, to the Jedi, spoke volumes. "I'm not letting you out of my sight farmboy. I don't trust you not to go and do something silly on your own. Page doesn't know how to cope with you."

"Unfair, Jade. I worked with him before I worked with you. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you to get into some sort of trouble without me to look after you."

"Hah!" Luke snorted disdainfully. "And I thought Solo had a mothering complex. Looks like we'll have to get started on those kids sometime soon, Jade." He couldn't help baiting her. She responded so beautifully.

"Nerf," She hissed explosively between perfect teeth.

Page knew there was some sort of conversation going on, but hesitated to get involved and continued to inch his way along the dark passage, stepping over fallen masonry and debris. Mara stretched out her fingers in the dark and curled them into Luke's. They continued down the passageway in silence until Luke stopped.

"What is it?" asked Page.

"I get the feeling we're being watched. I think you'd better turn back."

Mara shivered and tightened her grip on Luke's hand. He squeezed her fingers, then disengaged and Mara sensed him grasp the hilt of his saber. Page pulled out his blaster, but it was so dark it was impossible to see anything.

"Come on," Page insisted. "If you think I'm turning back now, you can forget it, Skywalker. I'm as experienced as Jade or you. If I have to get out I know the drill, better than most I think. In the Intel operatives' guidebook, I wrote the drill."

"He has you there, Luke," put in Mara mockingly.

Luke felt the darkness all around him, but with the force it was as if daylight shone in his heart. Every rock and uneven step in his path seemed to be smooth and easy as he led the way.

"Ouch!" Luke tripped on something and crashed clumsily to the floor.

"Luke!" Mara was on her knees beside him in a flash. "You okay?" She reached out with the force, but sensed no presence, only the vague shimmering hint of danger she'd felt for months.

But the Jedi Master was running his hands across his unseen and unsensed obstacle. Why hadn't he seen it?

Mara felt his confusion as the force had let him down. Then she sensed his growing horror and a dawning realisation, which flooded, into his mind. His mental barriers slammed down before Mara had a chance to discover anything. She put her hand out to feel what had brought him to his feet.

"Mara - Run!"

"What!"

"Get out of here. You too, Page. Now!" The gentle tones of the Jedi had gone and in their place was the battle hardened Commander from the worst times of the war.

Her hand touched cloth then Luke's hands were on her pushing her roughly towards Page "Go on. This is no time for doubt. Mara, get the hell out of here! That's an order!"

Page took a step neared then something shimmered out of the darkness and caught Luke full in the centre of his back. With a cry he collapsed and lay still.

"No!"

Mara looked at Page in something close to panic. "I didn't feel anything in the force. I have a well-preserved danger sense. I..." She turned back to the Jedi Master. "Luke, Luke...!"

"Come on Mara." Page grabbed her by the arm and tugged but with a deft twist she was free and had his arm locked.

"Never try anything like that on me again. Or I'll..." She looked up as something scratched in the corridor in the dark. "Go find Karrde…. I...."

Suddenly a bolt of light shot out of the darkness and Mara went down without a sound.

Page wondered if it was worth trying to pull the Jedi to safety but he couldn't manage two of them. He pulled a tracker from his pocket in the shape of a jewelled pin and placed it securely in Mara's hair. Then he ran back towards the way they had come in. He had to find Karrde.

They'd beaten him severely and then threw him in the cell. Luke closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. It was easier than trying to hold on to the pain. "Callista," he murmured as he fell into the blessed darkness waiting to receive him.

Mara crawled over to where he lay on the floor and pulled his head into her lap. How many times had she watched him while he lay in some sort of coma? She just hoped it was a healing one. He was in great pain - she could feel it.

"Why oh why, Skywalker, do you choose to be so noble and not use the force when it matters? I wouldn't have said preventing being beaten to death counted as unnecessary usage."

He moaned and a wave of pain swept through them both. I wish I'd stayed to hear the lesson on healing then I could have helped you. I didn't help Calas Hinden much either and now you. If we don't get you to a medicentre soon you might die. I don't want you deserting me because of a silly reason, do I farmboy? I really need someone to annoy me. Her lips trembled and tears pooled in the green eyes that were brighter than anyone had ever seen on another.

Luke shifted in her grip and moaned again. She bent her head to hear what he said then came upright, her face stricken, and the tears spilled over. The one audible word Luke had spoken.

"Callista!"