THE HEART OF THE JEDI

 

EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL

by Martina

 Disclaimer: The people and situations used in this fic are the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. 

This chapter NC-17

 

It was ultimate bliss.

Mara gasped at the wonderful touch of Luke’s hands on her naked skin as he

explored every inch of her body. His naked skin made contact with hers and

they moved together on the waves of passion, as one.

His moans of pleasure became louder with each movement, just as her own.

Luke was beginning to reach his climax and so was Mara. The feeling of him

inside her was the most fabulous one she had ever felt. Nothing else, even

similar experiences, could come close to the feeling of him!

She wrapped her arms and legs even more tightly around him, urging him to go

on, letting him know that she wanted them to remain united all the way. Luke

showed no objection to her wish as it was his own desire, too. They both

wanted to reach the goal together.

Their tongues explored each other hungrily the greater the passion became.

Mara could hear him utter tender words of love for her during the few

seconds their lips did not touch.

They were getting closer now. It was building up. Their passion was slowly

but surely transforming into ecstasy. She was trembling and so was Luke,

more than her even.

He loved her.

Mara sensed it with every touch, with every movement of their lovemaking.

She sensed it in his soul. And she heard him say it.

Almost now.

Almost there.

By the Force, it was so good!

Don’t let it end. Don’t ever let this end!

*************************

Mara’s dream came to an end.

As it had done so many times before, the climax of her erotic dream woke

her.

She sighed at the sensations her body was still experiencing. Her dreams

were never in her mind only. They became part of her body as well. She

always felt the aftermath of them once she woke up.

This early morning, however, she did not wake up alone.

Mara gasped as she realized that Luke was lying right next to her in her

bunk. He even had his left arm around her waist. He slept silently, his head

half resting on her shoulder.

At first she believed she was still dreaming. But she wasn’t. It confused

her. Had they really done it?

For real?

Then reality returned to her. The events of the past night became clear. And

so did Palpatine’s nightmares.

Luke had been so kind. Despite his own horrid nightmare he had come to help

her. He had freed her from her nightmarish connection with Palpatine. And he

had stayed with her all through the night just as she had asked him to.

He always came to her rescue.

He always saved her.

She observed him closely. When Luke was awake she could often tell from his

eyes how hard his life had been on him. He was no longer the same man she

had met ten years ago. Time and most of all the Dark Side had taken its toll

on him. And Luke had begun to reveal his true age. Up until a few years ago,

he had always looked younger than what he was. Slowly but surely, that was

no longer the case.

But right now, as he slept peacefully, he looked so young again. And without

a care in the world. They said that your true self is revealed when you

sleep. Well, Mara liked what Luke revealed to her now. He seemed so much at

peace, finally asleep. He was sleeping so deeply, in fact, that she had not

managed to wake him. Normally it never took much to break his sleep with his

senses constantly on high alert.

But there was no alert in him now. His breathing was regular. He was at

peace. Perfectly calm. Finally receiving the rest he had demanded for days.

He did, however, move about slightly now and then and his closed eyes seemed

to flicker. He was dreaming. But not of anything bad this time, that much

Mara could tell. It rather seemed to be the opposite.

But she could not tell anything more. Even while he slept, his mind was a

brick wall for her. She could not get in.

Mara kept looking at him. This was the first time in many years that she

could study him so closely. The last time she had watched him up close, Luke

had been in a coma. This time he was, thank Goodness, just sleeping. His

spirit was there. She could feel his breath on her face.

She had felt the very same in her last dream, too.

In fact, she had felt his breath in many dreams over the years. For as long

as Mara could remember, her nights had been occupied by this man. In the

beginning it had been the nightmares, showing her how Luke and Vader had

slain the Emperor.

With time, though, they had been replaced with dreams that were quite

different.

Dreams she nowadays had almost every single night.

Until the recent nightmares sent by Palpatine had hit her.

Mara felt relieved that her dreams of Luke had returned and pushed away the

ones generated by her former Master. But she also felt embarrassed. She

always had – especially now that the man of her erotic dreams slept right

next to her, holding her comfortably.

And because she liked it.

Mara could still feel his touch upon her body, even now that she was fully

awake. She knew by heart how his hands moved. She knew how he tasted. Every

time Luke embraced her in friendship or when he had suddenly kissed her on

Anargosa, Mara had not been utterly surprised. Surprised that he was giving

her this affection for real, yes. But the touch and taste of him was not new

to her.

She had always known.

For almost ten years she had made love to him numerous times. In her dreams.

But never for real.

With a trembling hand she very carefully touched his face, even if just

barely. She did not want to wake him, not when he was finally receiving his

rest. The desire to touch him for real was overpowering, though.

Yet, she removed her hand again and cast aside her feelings, as she had

always been forced to do.

Yes, she wanted him. And she finally intended to make sure of it now, as

soon as she would find the perfect time to go to Yavin 4 and finish her

training under his tutelage. But Mara was fully aware that her hopes could

be in vain. That her wishes could backfire. And that she had to be very

careful.

For Luke’s sake much more than her own.

Her feelings had to remain secret until she was absolutely sure. If she

revealed herself without her feelings answered, his whole life would turn

upside down. She would not bring him more pain than she already had.

Luke was not allowed to know until it was safe for him to know.

He was never to know of her feelings.

Never!

As carefully and quietly as she could master, she got out of the bunk. Luke

continued to sleep undisturbed. She gently tucked him in and let him sleep.

There were still several hours to go until they would reach Coruscant. She

could use some quiet time for herself.

Especially after this night.

Mara grabbed her clothes to get dressed outside so she would not disturb her

friend. She turned to look at him by the cabin door.

Her heart ached as she pulled away and shut the door.

*************************

Luke observed his own sketch one last time.

It was not much to go on, really. But it was as clearly as he could remember

the looks and features of Palpatine’s apprentice that he had discovered on

the Moon of Endor.

He had drawn this with a mere pencil. It would have to do until he could

colorize it. Luke had needed to draw this now before his image of the man

might become unclear with time. And during the last hour of their journey to

Coruscant, while Mara had handled the Luck’s controls, he had spent his time

doing this sketch.

He had merely seen this man at a distance and he had worn his black hood

over his head to conceal himself further, but the Force had nonetheless

given Luke quite a clear vision of the man’s true features – a lot clearer

than what his eyes alone would have been able to.

He intended to pass on this description to New Republic Intelligence as soon

as possible. Luke’s hopes that they would find anything were not high but

they needed to look into it either way. They might be lucky.

He stared at his own drawing. He had been working on it for over an hour –

it rarely took him so long otherwise. The looks of this mysterious Sith were

indeed different and unique. And haunting.

His sketching talents had always been fairly good since childhood and his

image resembled very much what he had seen. Once colorized, this sketch

would become even clearer. Then the red and black tattoo on the man’s face

would do his features justice and the horns on his head would stand out

clearer.

Not to mention the hideous yellow eyes! So sinister. So menacing.

- “I’m letting down the ramp now, Luke!”

This was not the first time Mara had called for him. She had set the Lady

Luck down in Calrissian’s private hangar five minutes ago. The urge to

complete the sketch had kept Luke from joining her. But his drawing had not

been his only reason.

He had woken up alone this morning, which had not surprised him. Nor had it

surprised him that he and Mara had barely mentioned at all the nightmares

that Palpatine had sent them or what had happened once the haunting dreams

had disappeared last night. None of them seemed to want to comment the night

in the same bunk they had shared.

Still, Luke had kept a knowing distance all through the day. He had had such

a strange dream last night, not the terrible nightmare that Palpatine had

given him.

He had dreamt anew after that. And so very different from the one

previously. This dream had been everything but violent.

And what he had dreamt made him blush and his heart beat faster. The mere

memory of it made him tremble.

In his latest dream, Luke had made passionate love.

With Mara.

- “I’ll be right there,” Luke called back and put his sketch into his bag.

His journey was over, for the time being. Nothing of what he had experienced

on this trip back and forth to Endor had been what he had expected.

Somehow, Luke had the feeling that the journey he now had ended had changed

his life.

Forever.

He merely wasn’t entirely sure in what way.

*************************

Mara was still waiting for him at the entrance of the ship and had not

walked down the ramp yet.

- “It seems we are being expected,” she stated to her Jedi friend and looked

in the direction at the man waiting outside for them. The man that had come

to receive them was Lando’s personal assistant, Lobot, who was patiently

waiting.

Luke and Mara put heir bags with their personal belongings over their

shoulders and walked together, side by side, down the ramp of the Lady Luck.

- “Master Skywalker. Trader Jade.”

Lobot bowed slightly as a way of greeting.

- “Welcome back to Coruscant.”

- “Thank you, Lobot,” Luke said. - “Isn’t Lando here with you?”

He was a bit surprised that Calrissian had not come to greet them

personally.

- “Mr. Calrissian apologizes for not being able to greet you both in

person,” Lobot explained. - “He is being held up by important business at

the office that demanded his personal attention. He sent me to greet you in

his absence.”

Luke nodded. His journey had kept Lando away from his work for a long time

and he had naturally a lot of catching up to do. Otherwise, Lando would have

come personally, he knew that. Especially considering his plans to marry

Mara. And also to check out his beloved ship.

- “When did Lando arrive?” he asked. Lando had also had R2 with him, and

within the droid the holo recordings they had taken on Endor. Luke needed to

know if the vital information had been passed on to anyone of importance

yet.

- “He arrived seventeen hours ago, sir.”

Mara smiled. The engines of The Jade’s Fire were indeed much better than

those of the Lady Luck.

- “Mr. Calrissian wishes to know whether your journey has been a pleasant

one.”

Luke smiled at the bald man-turned-cyborg.

- “Aboard the Lady Luck it couldn’t have been any different,” he stated. -

“You can tell Lando that we’re both fine. And we both thank him for his

kindness to borrow us his ship. I will also give him a call later.”

- “I shall inform him, Master Skywalker,” Lobot said and turned to Mara. -

“Trader Jade, I am supposed to give you this.”

He handed back to her the specially coded key card to the Jade’s Fire that

she had lent to Lando.

- “Thank you,” she said and quickly took her belongings, relieved to have it

back. She trusted Lando but she wasn’t really comfortable with others having

her stuff.

- “The Jade’s Fire is docked in your private hangar according to your

instructions. Now, please excuse me.”

Lobot walked past them into the ship. His instructions were to examine it.

And most importantly, retrieve the little jewellery box with the ring inside

from the cockpit.

- “He never stays around for any longer chats, does he?” Mara stated.

- “Lobot merely follows his instructions,” Luke said.

A silence fell over them. So much had happened during the last few days. And

neither of them was sure if they had really understood it all.

- “Well, I better go and check on my ship,” Mara finally said.

- “You think Lando has left any scratches on her?”

- “Considering what I’ve heard he did to the Falcon during the battle at

Endor, I can’t be too careful.”

Both grinned. They still, to this day, heard comments from Han about how

Lando had returned the Falcon without its radar dish. And it always made

them laugh, especially Luke. It could have ended much worse. Neither the

Falcon nor Lando could have returned at all.

- “I must be on my way, too,” Luke said, feeling the urgency to tell

everyone what he had found out. - “I have many senators to convince that the

threat Palpatine represents is real. And then I must head back to the

Academy to seek Master Baas’ council.”

He suddenly noticed that Mara was no longer looking directly at him but

rather past him, behind him.

- “Luke, your sister is here.”

At the far end of the hangar stood Leia Organa Solo, waiting for her

brother’s return. Behind her was her escort of Noghri bodyguards, keeping

their distance and yet a very watchful eye on their Mal’ary’ush, their Lady

Vader.

The former Princess of Alderaan locked gazes with the red-haired woman next

to the Jedi Master. Her dark eyes seemed cold, just as her facial

expression. Mara felt immediately uncomfortable. She could instantly tell

that Leia did not approve of her being so close to Luke. Leia never really

had. And the coldness generating from Luke’s sister felt frightening.

Especially now.

Luke didn’t bother to turn around to see for himself.

- “I know,” he said. - “I sensed her presence when we entered the system.”

He still wondered why Leia was here now, though. She was supposed to be on a

diplomatic tour for yet another week. But he was glad, that she was back. It

saved him the time to locate her. Palpatine’s return was much too important

to not inform her in person.

- “She doesn’t look too happy to see me here with you,” Mara stated and

looked around the hanger. - “I wonder where she hides all the snipers.”

- “Mara, please.”

Mara’s discomfort in his sister’s presence was nothing new to him. But that

did not mean that Luke supported either woman’s feeling for the other and he

had never quite understood their silent hostility. Luke hated to admit that

Leia was the one strongest to blame for this situation. Mara simply never

felt comfortable in the presence of the Chief of State and that was because

Leia had little trust in the former Emperor’s Hand. Despite all the help and

assistance the New Republic had received from Mara during the years, nothing

ever seemed to matter to Leia. She simply refused to change her opinion of

Mara Jade.

Leia and Mara did respect each other but it was clouded by suspicion. Just

like right now.

- “Like I said, you can never be too careful,” Mara repeated. - “If I was

her I would certainly keep you under protection. And the Noghri would not be

enough.”

Mara was trying to make him look upon her difficulties with Leia in a more

relaxed way. But no comments could ever make Luke ignore the tension between

the two women. He only wished he knew why Leia refused to accept his

friendship with Mara despite all the years gone by. He could certainly not

blame Mara for feeling targeted for something she had not done. It always

hurt him that his sister treated his friend like this, it was not fair. And

it was uncalled for.

Leia’s suspicion of Mara had no reason to exist. But every time he reminded

Leia of that it always ended with an argument. Usually, there was very

little he and Leia ended up in a dispute over. But Mara Jade was one of the

things to set them off.

To this day.

After all this time.

- “You better go to her,” Mara stated. - “You have a lot to tell her.”

She could clearly see the urgency in the other woman’s face to be reunited

with her brother. At the same time, it felt very bittersweet for herself to

say goodbye to her friend, even if it was just for a little while.

- “Yes, I do.”

Luke sighed. Despite all the work that lay ahead of him, he felt sad to be

separated from Mara again.

- “You promise me to see a med centre soon?”

Mara nodded.

- “I will only check on the Fire and then I’m off,” she promised. She kept

looking at him, feeling more and more anxious of walking away. She did not

want to leave him. Yet she knew that his sister would probably send the

Noghri on her at any moment if she did not create a distance from him.

- “Will I hear from you soon?”

The surprising despair in her voice touched him.

- “I will not leave Coruscant until I’ve confirmed that you are all right.”

He meant that.

He had numerous things to do and also needed to return to the Academy as

soon as possible. But Luke would never leave his friend behind without

knowing that she was safe.

- “Good luck today, Luke,” Mara said. - “Let the government know that this

is serious! And don’t take no for an answer!”

- “I can not force any issue against the New Republic’s will,” Luke stated.

- “But I will do what I must, Mara.”

She smiled.

- “That’s good enough for me.”

He gave her a small nod and prepared to go to his sister. It was time to go.

- “Luke…”

The urgency in her voice made him stop. Mara dropped her bag to the ground.

She seemed to hesitate. Yet she stepped closer. And embraced him.

- “Thank you,” she whispered. Luke dropped his own bag and put his arms

around her too. Yes, they needed a proper goodbye after all this.

Feeling his arms around her made Mara pull even closer to him. His care

always made her bolder. She was fully aware that Leia was watching them; she

could literary feel the other woman’s eyes burning into her. But Mara didn’t

care. All she cared about in this moment was this man. Her best friend. The

dear friend that once more had saved her yesterday.

Twice.

She would not leave him without at least a thank you.

Still in his arms, she raised her eyes to his and gently put one hand on

each side of his face.

- “Thank you so much,” she repeated.

Her heart was pounding. She longed to do this. But should she? His sister

was watching. And would Luke understand?

But Mara’s yearning became too strong. For once, she could not hold back her

feelings. It no longer mattered if it was right or wrong. And how could it

be wrong? Her hesitation drew away.

And then she kissed him.

She took him entirely by surprise.

When Mara pressed her lips to his, all in Luke’s world came to a halt. Yet

it moved along as if nothing happened. But something was happening.

Everything seemed different. The Force became even clearer to him;

everything around him seemed even more luminous. All seemed well in the

Universe.

He seemed paralyzed but in truth he wasn’t. He kept holding her. In fact,

his hold on her increased. He closed his eyes, feeling the wonderful contact

with her lips upon his. And he kissed her back.

She tasted so good!

A slight moan, very similar to the one she had made on Anargosa when he had

kissed her, escaped her now, too. The touch of her, the taste of her, the

way she sounded… Mara had been the very same way in the dream.

She was just the same.

Except that reality was even better!

Luke didn’t want this moment to end. Don’t ever let it end!

Slowly, Mara pulled away from his lips. She could not keep this up any

longer. If she did, all her barriers would fall. With trembling hands she

removed her hands from his face. Luke was not ready for this. He did not

understand. For his sake, she must remain patient.

Not yet.

Not yet.

They looked into each other’s eyes. Mara was still trembling and so was

Luke.

For ten years he had known this woman. He had believed he knew her pretty

well by now. He still did.

Yet, it was as if it was a completely new Mara that he held in his arms now.

One he had had no idea existed. But one he liked very, very much.

More than he could utter in mere words.

She was the same. She looked the same. Yet, this was not the same Mara he

used to know. And this scared him utterly.

It also delighted him.

When Mara pulled away further, stepping away from his embrace, it felt as if

his heart were being torn in two. He had just found her! She could not

leave!

- “May the Force be with you,” Mara said and smiled. Her smile spread on to

him, making him happier than he had been in a very long time. Luke would see

her again. Soon.

- “And with you, Mara.”

She reached for her bag, looked at him one last time, and then turned on her

heel, walking towards the other exit. Mara did not want to pass Leia on the

way out. More than ever she felt Luke’s sister’s eyes burn into her back,

stunned, confused and with contempt. If she had never upset Leia Organa Solo

before, she had done so now.

But that didn’t matter. Mara held high respect for the Chief of State. But

the one who truly mattered to her was the Jedi Master. As soon as she had

been at the med centre she would go home and look over her schedule. She

could hardly wait to begin her training now.

She had to return to him as soon as possible!

Each step she took from him was another painful stab to her heart. It hurt

so badly it brought tears to her eyes.

And that was the greatest reason why she chose the other exit. Mara didn’t

want Luke to see her crying.

It wasn’t merely tears of pain, though.

More than ever, it was tears of joy.

Luke kept looking after her as she walked away until he could no longer see

his friend. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed heavily. Never had

he dared believe that Mara Jade would make him feel this way.

But she did.

Would she again?

The essence of Leia touching his through the Force made him wake up from his

almost dream-like state. Much was to be done and he longed to hold his

sister again, too.

Mara would still be there. Luke was confident of that.

Luke picked up his bag and turned to his sister. Her outfit was quite

simple, mere pants and a jacket in light green and grey. Her hair was tied

up as usual. This was surely no official visit. And Luke preferred it that

way.

The sight of her almost brought tears to his eyes. The last threats that

Palpatine had given him in his nightmare were not forgotten.

How was Leia going to react to all this?

He began walking towards her. Out of the corner of his eyes, as well as

through his Jedi senses, Luke sensed how the Noghri circled him as he came

closer, creating a protective shield around him as well. The alien’s old

loyalty to Darth Vader was still very much alive through his children. The

Noghri would gladly give their lives to save the Skywalker siblings. It

would be their greatest honour.

Luke only hoped that would never be needed. The Noghri had suffered enough.

Whatever coldness Leia had had earlier from seeing Mara Jade in the presence

of her brother, it vanished as Luke approached her. She smiled warmly, so

happy to see him again. Not a day had passed that she had not thought of

him. And through their bond she had sensed such a strange stream of

different emotions originating from him during the last couple of days. Leia

could not help but worry for him.

- “Welcome back, Luke.”

Luke dropped his bag and embraced his sister, increasing his hold on her

each passing moment. His last nightmare had scared him so much. He knew that

Palpatine did not joke, his threats were real. To see Leia safe and well was

all that mattered. And Luke realized that he had missed her more than he had

consciously been aware of.

He loved his sister so much.

- “Leia…”

His enormous care surprised even Leia. Luke had kept a small but clear

emotional distance from her for years. But the way he held her now and how

his mind opened up to her, the love he sent to her, reminded so much more of

how he had used to be.

Before Palpatine had managed to transform him through the Dark Side on Byss

all those years ago. Luke had never been quite the same after that. He had

no longer been the same brother she knew.

But the way he held her now, so lovingly and protectively, it reminded Leia

of the young man that had walked through her prison door on the first Death

Star and that later had turned out to be her twin brother.

A wall was still there between them, she could sense it. But this was still

more than she had received in years. And this only increased her happiness

to have him back with her again.

- “You’re back early,” Luke stated, still holding her close.

- “I cut the tour as short as I could,” Leia explained. - “I wanted to be

back on Coruscant when you returned.”

The siblings locked gazes for a moment. Leia could not put her finger on it,

but Luke was different. Once again, he had changed. Mostly, that seldom

meant anything good. Every change he went through, even to the better,

always removed something that was already good in him. So, she could not

help to feel a bit scared. The Dark Side had already taken most of the

brother she loved; she did not want to lose the little that was left.

At least he had come straight back home this time. They hadn’t needed to go

look for him and to find him standing on the edge of the Dark Side.

Like last time.

- “I’m so happy to see you,” Luke said quietly and gave her a gentle kiss on

her temple. Leia trembled. Luke had always remained loving, even after Byss.

Still, she could instantly sense some kind of change within him. He was

scared. Something, or someone, had frightened him to his very soul and quite

intensely so.

What could possibly frighten her brother, who had already seen most that

could frighten you, so badly?

Who could have done this to him?

What had he found on the Moon of Endor?

- “Are you all right?” she asked. Luke nodded.

- “I’m fine,” he said. - “Has Lando spoken with you?”

He was hiding his feelings behind his duties again, trying to change the

topic so quickly.

Was he never going to change?

- “Just partly,” Leia answered, letting her brother have his way for now. -

“He has told me what happened on Anargosa and why you returned in separate

ships.”

- “Did he send R2 to you?”

- “Yes, and I’ve seen the recordings you made. But I admit that I don’t

quite understand what it is I’m seeing. I have waited for you to tell me

what’s happening over there ever since.”

- “Lando hasn’t told you?”

- “Only that we are in very deep trouble from the Dark Side and that he

wanted you to be the one to tell me. He seemed pretty worried.”

Luke was surprised that Leia didn’t already know more than this. But in a

way, he was also relieved. And Lando was right. It was up to him to tell

Leia about this. Lando did not understand all that was going on anyway.

Above all else, this was a Jedi matter.

- “He has reason to worry,” Luke said. - “But we should not discuss this

here.”

Leia agreed with him.

- “I have my speeder outside,” she said. - “We can talk at my office.”

- “That will do.”

The Jedi siblings turned towards the exit, leaving the hangar side by side.

Luke made a small nod of honour towards the Noghri, forever grateful at

their dedication to himself, his sister and their family.

The winds of Coruscant swept at them once they got out into the open, still

very high up above the ground level. The winds usually were becoming quite

warm this time of year. But what struck them now was a chilly breeze. It was

almost as if the Force was giving them another sign of the winds of change

that were approaching.

Leia led the way. And when they reached their means of transportation she

had to turn to look at her brother’s face. She longed to see his expression.

He did not disappoint her.

- “Is it new?” he asked with enthusiasm.

- “Yes,” Leia confirmed, enjoying the boyish, happy look on her brother’s

face. - “Brand new, got it two days ago. The latest model.”

She waited a few seconds before she continued.

- “You may drive it if you wish.”

Luke’s blue eyes shined up like the stars themselves. He had been kept away

from the driver’s seat far too long, that Leia could tell.

He gave her a quick hug of gratitude and with a huge smile on his face he

got behind the controls of the two seated speeder. Leia joined him, taking

the passenger seat.

She had been right; Luke had not yet been given the opportunity to drive the

latest model. And Leia knew how much her brother loved to try out the latest

speeders and fighters. He would never have forgiven her if she had taken the

controls back to the Imperial Palace, even if he had never said it out loud.

Besides, he was a much better driver than her anyway. It was very heavy

traffic this time of the day, she felt safer with Luke behind the controls.

Luke enjoyed the sound of the engines, sweet music to his ears.

Since the wind had gotten so chilly he let the descended top of the speeder

come back up again, enclosing the cockpit in full. Then he left the platform

behind, with the Noghri following closely in their own two separate speeders

as escorts.

For quite some time, none of them said anything. And Leia did not wish to

break his good mood. Even if Luke was flying accordingly to the speed

limits, which Leia knew was terribly slow for his taste and skill to handle,

he seemed so happy now. Unlike when he had embraced her upon his arrival.

The fear she had sensed in him then was now much deeper hidden within.

Still, she had to ask him. She had to know what was going on.

And it wasn’t about that fear she had sensed in him earlier. He would tell

her about that soon enough. No, what she wanted to know now was of a

completely different matter.

And much more confusing too.

- “By the way, is Mara all right?”

Luke looked over to her, slightly surprised by her question. Lando had told

her what had happened on Anargosa. And Leia must have been able to see for

herself how Mara was when they had arrived.

But that also started to trigger Luke’s alarms. Leia was after much deeper

information than the well being of his lady friend.

Leia had seen them kiss.

And naturally, she wanted to know why.

He swallowed, trying to figure out what to say, and to say it the right way.

- “Yes, she’s all right. But it was a close call.”

- “For you, too, I heard,” Leia stated. He said nothing, not even to confirm

what she already knew. He went back to concentrate on the flying.

But Leia was not going to let him get off the hook so easily. She was very

worried for him. And her concern went by the name of Mara Jade.

- “Luke, is something going on that I should know about?”

He did not look at her when he spoke.

- “Regarding what?”

- “You and Mara.”

There was a pause. He still didn’t look at her. And his face slowly seemed

more cold, his eyes almost dark.

- “No, nothing is going on between us.”

He was telling the truth.

Yet Luke now felt as if he was a liar.

He never liked to lie to his sister.

But what was he supposed to tell her?

He had no idea what was going on between him and Mara himself.

- “She kissed you,” Leia stated, becoming more and more aware that her

questions were beginning to make him feel very uncomfortable.

- “Yes. That she did.”

His statement sounded not just like an answer to hers but also to his own

questions of what had happened in the hangar before, as if he not until now

had fully realized what Mara had done.

- “Why?”

His sister’s insistence was starting to become really irritating. Could she

not see that he did not want to talk about this? Luke did not want to keep

things from Leia, nor did he want to hurt her. But if this conversation

continued, he would end up hurting her, whether he told her anything or not.

And he could not allow that to happen.

He looked over to her slightly again, his expression unusually cold for the

Jedi Master.

- “She felt like it, I suppose,” was all he said.

And then he pushed the thrusters to the limit.

The speeder escalated in no time, shooting through the air as if shot out of

a canon, quickly leaving the Noghri escort behind with no chance of catching

up.

His course of action took Leia completely by surprise as she found herself

pressed back into her seat.

- “Luke, you don’t need to go so fast!”

He glanced at her again. All her thoughts regarding Mara Jade had vanished.

Good!

But he knew that he better keep those thoughts away for a little while

longer. Besides, now he was finally flying this thing!

- “New engines need to be tested, Leia. And these thrusters seem to have

great capabilities!”

- “I know this thing is fast, I’ve tried it out myself,” Leia said, not

fully able to conceal her worry as Luke flew them past and between the rest

of the traffic, now way over the allowed speed limits. - “You can slow down

now.”

- “No.”

His reluctance to obey her surprised her even more. That he desired to try

out the speeder was understandable but Luke was not someone to take

unnecessary risks for fun, at least not in the company of others. And what

he did now was dangerous.

Still, he seemed very focused. He kept his eyes on what he was doing and

used the Force to guide them safely through the traffic even in this high

speed, and without hurting anyone else along the way. Perhaps he had a

reason to fly so fast?

- “Are we late for something?” Leia asked.

- “Kind of,” Luke said and grinned a little as his calculated, new

trajectory was quickly approaching up ahead. It would save them a lot of

time. He suddenly deviated from his original course.

- “I’m just taking a short-cut”.

Leia’s eyes widened as she realized where he was taking them. The speeder

was heading straight towards two sky scrapers that stood very closely

together, with only a very narrow space between them. It was not even wide

enough for their small speeder to come through. Still, this was exactly

where Luke was taking them.

- “No! No, not that way!” she yelled. - “We won’t fit!”

Leia was right; it was too narrow for them. Unless they tipped on the side

and flew through it vertically. This was exactly what Luke intended to do.

As the speeder laid itself vertically, flying with the smallest margin of

error perfectly between the buildings, Leia shut her eyes and clung to her

brother. She didn’t dare to watch. She didn’t doubt her brother’s abilities

to handle the vehicle but whatever reason he had for flying like this was

what truly scared her.

- “Oh, that was close,” Luke said and giggled. This was so much fun!

As the speeder came out again between the buildings and straightened up,

Leia still rested her head against her brother, having his arm comfortably

around her. She had not even noticed when he had put it around her.

- “What’s the matter, Leia?” she heard him ask. - “I’ve got everything under

control.”

For some reason, Leia didn’t fully believe him. Luke maybe believed he had

control, but in fact he did not. Of the flying perhaps. But there was

something else. He was trying to flee from something. Something he had no

control of at all.

Luke sighed as he realized the airspace wasn’t much better on this side

either.

- “So much traffic,” he muttered. But there would be much lesser traffic

higher up. He wondered just how high up into the atmosphere the speeder

really could go. Why not find out?

- “Let’s see what this baby can really do!”

- “No, wait!”

Once more, Leia found herself being ignored. And their speeder shut straight

up towards the heaven, miraculously not hitting any other transport or

speeder on the way. Even if miracles had nothing to do with it at all. And

that was the only thing that kept Leia from going into panic. She wasn’t

easily scared; she had flown through an asteroid field while chased by the

Imperial Star Fleet. But at least back then someone had been chasing them.

This was no chase or emergency.

And soon this speeder would not be able to go so very much higher. Clouds

were already passing by outside.

- “Don’t pull any stunts!” she begged, hoping that Luke would finally stop

playing and drive like an adult. - “Just take us down.”

- “As you wish.”

The speeder changed course again. But it wasn’t the slow descent that Leia

had been hoping for. In an absolute straight, vertical line, they dropped

like an arrow straight down again towards the bottom. Leia kept holding on

to Luke for what she believed was her dear life, her hands tightly gripping

tightly the black fabric of his Jedi uniform. The adrenaline pumped through

her whole body. She was too worked up to see the smile of joy in Luke’s

face. It had been a long time since he’d had this much fun. And this speeder

was indeed living up to what the company had promised.

After another thirty seconds of shooting straight down, Leia felt that she

was slowly growing sick. She was not a natural pilot like her brother, nor

did she have his reflexes or Force capabilities to handle such intense

flying for as long as he.

- “Pull up! Pull up, Luke!”

Sensing her distress, he finally obeyed. They had just reached their

destination anyway. The Imperial Palace was just up ahead.

He pulled the speeder up again and slowed down to the regular speed limit.

They had saved at least thirty minutes of flying. Not bad at all in this

heavy traffic.

- “This is much better,” he stated.

Leia moved away from him, leaning back into her own seat. She breathed

heavily. Right now she was angry. She didn’t like being angry, especially

not with Luke. She felt a small urge of aggression coming, she wanted to hit

something. She wanted to hit him. But she didn’t have the heart to. She

loved this maniac too much to ever hit him no matter how much he pushed her

to her limits. It ended with her hitting her fist lightly on the control

board, never causing any harm. Her small outburst caught his attention.

Well, that was about time!

- “You’re crazy!” she spat. - “I really don’t like it when you do that!”

- “Sorry, Leia,” Luke said honestly. - “I thought you enjoyed flying.”

- “I do, but the way you’re flying it is mere suicide!” Leia continued. -

“It’s enough that Han flies like a mad man!”

- “Except that with me you can trust to arrive in one piece.”

She glared at him. His sense of humour, otherwise always so charming, did

not hit home this time.

- “And you expect me to believe that!?”

Leia sighed.

- “You’re like an accident just waiting to happen.”

Luke frowned slightly at her choice of words. That was exactly what his

friends back on Tatooine when he was young had called him. He looked at her

as they approached the docking station. Maybe he had pushed it too far. She

refused to look at him now.

Leia shook her head. She knew he sensed how upset she was. Good! He could

have it!

- “Force knows from whom you’ve gotten your obsessed love for insane

flying!?” she mumbled.

Her new choice of words actually brought about a smile to Luke’s face. He

did not believe she was on the wrong track. Not considering the very little

that Obi-Wan truly had told him about their father.

- “Perhaps it’s inherited?” he suggested. Leia looked at him again. She did

not look too pleased. But she tended to agree with his suggestion.

- “That would not surprise me!”

 

To be continued in: "I Trust You"

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