THE HEART OF THE JEDI

 

NIGHTMARES

by Martina

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

This chapter NC-13

 

- “Callie?”

With a surprised and overwhelming joy, Luke saw the woman that he loved

approach him. A faint wind embraced them and the large Massassi temples

surrounding them. All the leaves of the jungle trees danced in the light

breeze.

Luke’s heart was pounding.

- “Is it really you?”

The blond woman nodded and smiled warmly.

- “Yes. I’ve come back, Luke. I have returned to you. If you still want me…”

Luke gasped and hurried over to her. He took her into his arms, swirled her

around and held her tight with all the love he had ever had for her.

- “Callista! How can you think such things? Of course I still want you!”

She held him with the same dedication. His words seemed to sooth her, as if

she had feared that she was no longer welcome at the Academy. Or in his

life.

- “I’ve missed you, Callie! I’ve missed you so much…”

Luke brushed by her lips, longing to kiss her again. It had been so long.

She seemed to hesitate slightly at first, but finally gave in to his

affection. And she answered his hungry lips with a great passion of her own.

- “I’ve never stopped thinking about you, Luke,” she finally said once their

lips had parted. - “You’ve been on my mind every day.”

Luke continued to hold her, afraid she would slip away again if he ever let

her go.

- “Why have you decided to come back now?”

- “Because I have finally managed to do the impossible!” she answered with

great enthusiasm. - “The Force has finally returned to me!”

Luke looked into her grey eyes with great surprise. Had she truly done it?

- “Can’t you feel it?”

Yes, he did feel it!

Callista’s Force pattern touched him. He could sense her presence with ease,

as he hadn’t been able to do ever since he had met her as a spirit aboard

the Eye of Palpatine so many years ago.

It was true.

Callista, the Jedi Knight, had returned!

- “Oh, yes! I do feel it! I can sense you again!”

- “And I you,” Callista said as she embraced him anew. - “Finally..!”

- “I’ve wished this for you for so long, Callie,” Luke said with tears in

his eyes. - “Not that it ever mattered to me if you were Force sensitive or

not…”

- “It mattered to me,” she interrupted and finally took a step back. She

looked at him and smiled. She was as lovely as Luke could remember.

- “Don’t you wish to test me, Master Skywalker?”

- “Test you?”

She continued to smile and her eyes called out to him. Luke could barely

recall that she had ever looked at him in such a seductive manner before.

- “After all this time, aren’t you the least curious about what I can do?”

she asked him. Luke nodded. Yes, he was very curious indeed.

- “The way I know you, Callie, you already have something in mind, haven’t

you?”

She nodded and unhooked her lightsaber from her belt.

- “Do you remember how we used to duel against each other for practice?” she

asked. Luke nodded.

- “That, and everything else we used to do together,” he said. He also

recalled that even though she had been stripped off her Force abilities back

then, she had still been an impressive swordswoman. He could hardly imagine

what kind of an opponent she could be now.

- “So, what do you say? Shall we replay some old memories?”

With a grin on his face, Luke reached for his own lightsaber.

- “It won’t be a fair match,” he pointed out. Callista grinned at him.

- “I’ll go easy on you,” she teased.

She gave him a final kiss. Then she stepped back and activated her sabre.

- “Defend yourself,” she challenged.

Her blade.

It was crimson red.

Luke observed her cautiously for a moment and couldn’t help to feel somewhat

suspicious. She had made herself a new sabre. But why had she chosen red?

The colour of the Sith?

But she stood here before him now, finally. Beautiful. Filled with a joy for

life he had never noticed in her before. And the Force was with her once

more. She had returned to him, as he had been wishing her to do for so long.

There could be a perfectly logical explanation to her choice of colour for

her weapon. Luke had, unlike the Jedi of old, not put up any restrictions as

to the colours that were allowed to be used. Or rather not to be used.

In the past, the Jedi had used blue and green only. Today they had all kinds

of colours besides the two standard ones. There was yellow, purple, orange,

and even silver. Even different shades of green and blue. Perhaps it had

only been a matter of time before someone had decided to make a red one. And

the New Jedi Order wished to create a bridge between the Dark and the Light.

The lesser the gap was the greater would be the balance that could be

restored.

Who was he to suspect her of anything?

She was here, wasn’t she?

That was all that mattered!

Putting all doubts aside, Luke activated his own blade, fully prepared to

face his lady love in another practice duel. He was so curious of her skill

and how vast her mastery truly was, now that the Force was with her once

more.

So long had they both waited for this moment.

Callista made the first attack, which Luke easily blocked. They went very

easy at first but quickly the speed escalated and so did the skill of the

movements. Luke made some attacks of different kinds himself, to see how she

would match them. Callista blocked every single one and also made some very

fast and clever counter-attacks. Her footwork was steady and her balance

excellent.

After a few minutes of their non-hostile contest, Luke was beginning to be

very impressed with her performance. With the Force, Callista was truly a

foe to be reckoned with.

- “You’re good!” he told her proudly.

- “This is nothing, Luke!” Callista answered, fully enjoying her returned

powers. - “I’ll show you. Don’t hold back just because I’m a woman!”

Not that Luke ever held anything back on purpose during any practice duel –

he rather adjusted the difficulty according to whoever he was facing. If she

wanted harder competition, he could gladly give it to her.

- “As you wish, my dear.”

He moved faster and began putting more strength into his attacks, giving her

a much greater challenge. Callista was beginning to reveal her limitations;

they were no longer as equal as they had been up to this point. But she was

still handling the situation very well. She never would have if the Force

had not been with her. She made instant analyses of his next moves and

confronted his greater physical strength with agility and a formidable

strength of her own. None of this would have been possible without the

guidance of the Force.

- “Not bad, Callie!” Luke said, feeling very impressed by her performance. -

“Who has taught you to be so good?”

- “The best!”

Luke couldn’t say why, but her sudden grin did not fit the situation

somehow. She seemed almost malicious, a trait that did not fit her well and

which he had never seen in her. This was merely a practice duel and she had

shown him what she could do. And most of all, it felt as if she was not

referring to him as the one who had taught her to this level of skill with

the lightsaber.

He made a pause and stepped back a bit. Her grey eyes as well had turned

haunting somehow. Mean, even.

Something was not right.

- “You know, Luke, you have always been so naive! And that is your greatest

weakness!” she suddenly stated and glared at him. - “A true Master of the

Force would have asked me more specifically how I managed to regain my lost

connection to the Force before accepting me with arms wide open – or before

facing me in battle!”

Luke’s danger senses tingled. He was beginning to understand.

Or he thought he did.

- “There was only one way for me to regain what I had lost, which was the

same reason why I left you,” she continued and as she spoke her voice seemed

to change, sounding less and less like a woman. And her appearance did the

same.

Luke stared at her. He could hardly believe his eyes. She was changing right

before him!

- “And that one and only way was the Dark Side!”

She started to laugh, a nasty and intimidating laughter that echoed between

the temple walls. Luke recoiled even further, gasping at what he saw. The

laughter was no longer Callista’s. And Callista was no longer the one who

stood before him.

It was Emperor Palpatine!

- “No..!”

Luke breathed heavily.

- “No! This can’t be!”

- “You have always been so blind, my friend,” Palpatine told him, a young

Palpatine, like the clones back on Byss all those years ago and fully

dressed in a black uniform and a cloak. - “The fate of your lady friend

awaits all of your kind. Those who do not choose death. And now the time has

come for you!”

In that same moment, the young Emperor attacked.

Luke raised his blade in defence. But suddenly everything felt so surreal.

He could move but barely so. He was moving in extreme slow-motion. His legs

felt as if they tried to move in thick mud up to his knees and his arms gave

him the impression that he had never even held a lightsaber before, even

less that he knew how to wield it. This created a terrible panic within his

heart and he started to strike wildly without any real intention but to keep

his enemy away from him.

This merely made Palpatine laugh at him.

- “And just what is that supposed to be, Son of Vader? Getting incompetent

already?”

Unable to understand why all his abilities were abandoning him, Luke still

continued to fight. But it was far from the superiority and skill that he

had made himself famous for as a swordsman.

- “Now you know how it feels like! To be stripped of your abilities, of your

identity! To become nothing! And no one is there to help you! All you

receive is useless pity! Everyone turns their back on you. Including the

ones you thought loved you!”

It was Palpatine that spoke the words, but it was with Callista’s voice. And

her voice was grim, filled with anger, hate and contempt. Luke trembled,

trying to fight back his own desperation as his link with the Force seemed

to retreat farther and farther away with each passing moment.

Was this truly the way Callista had felt as the Force had left her?

If so, he could not blame her for her anger and fear.

He was very frightened himself.

He slashed at the young Emperor as if his foe was some form of gigantic bug

that constantly managed to avoid his attacks with taunting and annoying

ease. When Palpatine didn’t simply just move away from the green blade that

tried to cut him down, he blocked it without any effort and seemed quite

bored of the whole event.

- “This is ridiculous,” he stated, now with his own voice again. - “I will

actually do you a favour, my friend. I shall let you die with honour, as a

Jedi. Not as the pathetic maggot that you’ve become.”

Everything that happened next took only a few seconds. But for Luke it was

nearly an eternity.

A painful, never-ending eternity.

The Emperor’s blade came at him at a very low angle. Luke moved his own

blade to block him and reached out with the Force to gain further strength.

But the Force wasn’t there.

It did not help him to move his blade in time.

The Force had let him down!

The very same burning and unimaginable pain that he had experienced at Cloud

City when Vader had cut off his right hand hit him without mercy.

This time, though, it was not his hand.

It was his left leg.

Luke’s body was shaking all over. He stared into Palpatine’s yellow eyes,

unable to understand what had happened. He was too stunned to scream from

the pain. He tried to stand but the cleaved leg simply glided off him at the

upper thigh. And Luke fell like a rock to the ground.

Palpatine grinned at him.

- “So small you have become, Skywalker! This is not the enemy I used to

regard as my equal. Where is the resistance!? Get up! Give me a reason why

you should be a man worth killing!”

Luke tried to get up again but he couldn’t. The pain consumed him. And then

he saw his own leg lying on the ground right next to him. The pain was

replaced by shock and fear.

The truth was beginning to sink in.

Luke did not notice himself, but tears were falling down his face. Why had

the Force abandoned him?

- “Look at you!”

Palpatine circled him, over and over again.

- “Where is the mighty Jedi Master? The son of Darth Vader!?”

Luke heard him but was unable to answer. His own leg, now departed from the

rest of him and that laid there next to him on the ground, was twitching.

And he could still feel it!

- “If your father were here he would be ashamed of you!”

The mentioning of his father gave birth to an enormous rage within him.

Luke’s artificial hand squeezed itself tighter around his lightsaber. His

anger gave him new strength, or at least willpower. Empowered by he Dark

Side or not, Palpatine was not going to defeat him this easily!

He saw a possibility. Palpatine had made the mistake of getting too close to

him in this very moment, standing almost on top of him.

Revenge was at hand!

- “No!”

Filled with anger, hate, fear and aggression – with all the emotions that

were the Dark Side – Luke raised his weapon and struck against his enemy

with all of his capacity.

However, Palpatine had expected this all along.

Just in time, Palpatine stepped away from the green blade. Not expecting his

enemy to avoid his attack, the full strength of his strike made Luke’s whole

body tip over and he landed face down, placing himself in an even more

vulnerable position.

Palpatine was not late to use his advantage.

And he showed no hesitation with his action.

Or mercy.

The crimson blade cut through the flesh and bone of the right arm as if it

cut through thin paper. Luke’s agonising howl was more desperate this time,

but it died very quickly as he realized that he was finished. He no longer

had any means to fight, not with just one arm and one leg.

And he no longer felt the Force. It was no longer there to help him.

Why had the Force forsaken him?

For a short moment he had tried to use the Dark Side against Palpatine.

Was this his punishment?

He gasped desperately for air as if his own pain wanted to drown him.

Palpatine pushed him back on to his back again with his foot and stood right

over him, looking down.

- “Painful, yes!?”

Luke gritted his teeth and tried all he could to withstand the pain.

- “The…”

It was very difficult to speak.

- “The others… will come… for me.”

- “I know. But they will not arrive in time to save their Master,” Palpatine

assured him.

- “And I will be waiting for them.”

They both heard the hum of the still activated green blade that rested in

the grasp of Luke’s artificial hand that lay beside the defeated Jedi

Master. Palpatine noticed Skywalker’s desperate longing for his weapon, even

now. He grinned and knelt down right next to the still activated sabre and

met his fallen foe’s gaze.

Slowly, Palpatine tapped the handle of the lightsaber, the very same way as

he once had done fifteen years ago when it had rested on the arm of his

throne aboard the second Death Star. And his question remained the same.

- “You want this… don’t you?”

He removed the weapon from the artificial hand, never leaving Skywalker’s

gaze with his own. Then he rose to his feet once more, holding his own

crimson blade in his left hand while holding his enemy’s green one with his

right.

- “It would be too unmerciful of me to not grant you that wish. After all, I

am not uncivilized.”

The second after, Palpatine made two very swift moves, one with each sabre.

The two remaining limbs of Luke’s body were now, too, separated from the

rest of him.

The blades burned his flesh quickly. And they moved so fast that Luke barely

felt what had happened until it was over. And even after that he could

barely feel anything. The pain was now so powerful that it numbed his whole

body. What was left of it. He started to see black dots flashing before his

eyes but he was not granted unconsciousness. It was as if something still

kept him awake, against all odds.

Tiny pieces of metal, circuits and green crystals fell over his chest. It

was the last remains of his lightsaber, now vaporized by the Force in

Palpatine’s grip. That sabre had served him well for so long a time. It was

the one he had made himself. It had become an extension of himself. His

forever trusted friend in battle.

But its very last act had been to cripple him even further before it was

annihilated.

It truly was over now.

Luke knew that.

He gazed up towards the heaven above. It had been a very lovely weather

today; the sky was clear and blue. The breeze was still warm. But now he

could only see these things with his eyes and feel them with his human

senses.

He could no longer connect with them through the Force.

Luke now longed for death.

But that would now be of the hands of Palpatine. If the Force had been with

him, Luke would now have left this existence as Obi-Wan and Master Yoda had

done and joined all the Jedi of old. He would then be reunited with his

father again.

But he could not do this. The ability was no longer with him. He was

stripped of everything; of the Force, of his arms and legs, of his weapon.

And very soon of his life, too. He was no more than a shaking, agonising

chunk of flesh that could do nothing.

There was nothing left of him.

Nothing at all.

Something touched the side of his face. It was Palpatine’s hand, caressing

his cheek softly.

- “Why… won’t you just… kill me…?”

Palpatine gave him a smile of mock-compassion.

- “And let you get away so easily with all the pain you have caused me?

Never!” he stated harshly. - “I shall watch you drift away and let your pain

be your last companion in this life.”

Luke closed his eyes hard, shaking his head in refusal.

- “I beg you..! Kill me!”

Palpatine giggled.

- “I have already done you enough favours, my friend. I don’t wish to spoil

you as I once spoiled your father.”

His caresses of Skywalker’s face turned into a hard grip, making the Jedi

Master open his eyes again.

- “Mark my face,” Palpatine said as the two men locked gazes. - “It will be

the last you’ll ever see.”

He bent down even closer, merely whispering to him now.

- “But before you die, Skywalker, know this. Once I’m done with you, all

your students will follow you. I will destroy them all, one by one. But

don’t fear, my friend. I promise I’ll save your sister for last. She shall

be the last of the Jedi. Unless you wish me to spare her by turning her to

the Dark Side? Anger has always roamed in her soul. Converting her will not

be difficult. Would you like that, Skywalker? Do you want your sister dead

or shall I make her mine?”

A big grin spread in the young Emperor’s face.

- “I think I shall make her mine! In one way or another!”

His sister.

Leia!

Tears flooded his face as the very last breath of air pushed out of Luke’s

lungs as he screamed out in protest.

- “No!!!”

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

With a violent jerk, Luke woke from his nightmare.

The stress and fear of his dream had been so powerful that he literary found

himself sitting up as he woke.

He had finally fallen asleep. And as soon as he had, the nightmares had

returned. He would soon not be able to take much more of this.

Trembling, bathed in his own sweat and breathing heavily, Luke stared into

the darkness of his cabin. Palpatine’s last words still made him feel

slightly dizzy and sick. And he broke out into tears, weeping softly.

The Sith Lord was now threatening Leia, too. Even if this had been a dream

only, it had also been a message, a premonition of what was to come.

Calming down a bit, Luke wiped the sweat and the tears from his face. Had

the touch of his own hands ever felt better?

He was on the Lady Luck, not lying helpless on the ground next to the

Massassi Temples of Yavin 4. He was not in pain. And the Force was still

with him.

That realization soothed him more than anything.

The Force had not abandoned him.

Still sitting up in his bunk, Luke hugged himself, enjoying the feeling of

all his limbs as he embraced himself. The pain had been so real. He could

still sense it, most of all the phantom feelings from his arms and legs as

they had been cut away from him.

He closed his eyes and focused on his serenity. More than anything, he

needed to find peace in his mind.

But would he ever find that peace again?

Each passing night his nightmares became worse. Every time he fell asleep,

Palpatine found a way into his consciousness and terrorized him, making sure

that he would never find any rest, scaring him with painful memories and

Dark possible futures. It was as Luke feared. Palpatine had somehow found a

weakness, some secret entrance into his mind. And now he exploited it with

full force.

The touch of Palpatine’s cold hand always went away the moment he awoke. The

Sith Lord had no control of him as long as he was awake. But the nightmares,

always different every night, always very personal to him, left him

frightened, nervous and exhausted. The battle between them had already

begun. This was mental warfare and his soul was the battleground. And right

now, Palpatine was the superior. While Luke was unable to stop him from

disrupting his sleep.

His breaths began to return to normal, as did his heartbeat. But he was

still trembling slightly. Luke shook his head, so incredibly disappointed in

himself. He was a Master of the Force. Why could he not keep this Sith

Master out of his mind? How could Palpatine have found his way in? And when?

Probably already during the days when Palpatine had been his Master. His

mind had been totally exposed to the Sith Lord back in these days; surely

Palpatine remembered some entrance that Luke himself wasn’t aware of.

Palpatine was still punishing him for his betrayal, constantly reminding him

of his walk on the Dark Side.

However, this last approach surprised even Luke.

Palpatine was in full control of the nightmare, he decided what would happen

and what would be seen.

So why had Callista been in this latest nightmare?

How could Palpatine possibly know about her?

Luke had not met her until after they had believed Palpatine destroyed for

good on Onderon. There was no way that he could know about her. Could

Palpatine truly have gone so deep into his mind to drag his memories of

Callista from him for his own personal gain?

Somehow, Luke found this somewhat unlikely. The nightmares and visions had

up until now only included things, people and events that he shared with

Palpatine, like his father and his own steps on the Dark Side.

But Luke had never shared Callista with Palpatine and he had always kept the

memories of her very deeply hidden, not even Leia could find them. And even

Palpatine was not strong enough to break through that wall, not even while

Luke was sleeping.

So, how could he possibly have known of her?

And with such correct detail?

The more Luke thought about it, the more he trembled. This did not feel

right. Unlikely things were taking place, both on the Moon of Endor as well

as in his own dreams. Palpatine had the upper hand and was toying with him.

Kicking him while he was already lying down. Frightening him with his bad

dreams to increase his insecurity. And in the meantime, Luke was getting

more and more tired as he never had a full night’s rest.

And the inability to stop Palpatine weakened his heart.

‘I can’t go on like this,’ Luke thought. ‘If I let him do this to me he will

defeat me even without a fight. I must find the strength to stop him! To

prevent him from entering my mind. But where will I find that strength?’

A sudden scream brought him away from his wonder.

Luke raised his gaze. It was a terrified scream. It came from the cabin next

to his. It was a woman’s scream.

Mara!

He immediately got out of the bunk, left his cabin and ran over to hers. He

pushed the cabin door aside.

- “Mara?”

She did not answer. She was still asleep, but was not finding any rest. She

was moaning loudly, breathing heavily and at times even crying out in fear.

And her sleep would not release her.

Luke sensed the disturbance. Now that he was awake he had no problem

locating the source. The Dark Side was at work here. Palpatine had gotten

the same hold on Mara as he had on him.

Mara rolled from side to side anxiously. Luke could not see the actual

images her nightmare was giving her but he sensed that she was resisting the

projection. And just like him, she seemed to be losing the fight.

- “No. No, don’t!”

Luke hurried up to her. He would not let Palpatine terrorize her as he was

terrorizing him. He had to put an end to her nightmare before it got too

ugly.

He shook her but without effect. Palpatine’s grip on her was even stronger

than it had ever been on him; the mere power of this mental connection was

stronger than he’d ever been able to imagine as possible over such vast

distances. Luke reached out to the Force and focused upon Mara’s mind. And

like a brick wall he fell between her and Palpatine’s mental link.

Immediately he sensed the Sith Lord’s anger at his intrusion. The link began

to fade.

But the grip did not fall away entirely. It clung to Mara’s mind without

mercy. Luke took her agonising yet still sleeping body into his arms,

increasing his power to put an end to the Sith Lord’s terror. First it had

been him, then little Anakin. And now Mara, too.

This had gone far enough!

- “No, Master,” Mara mumbled. - “Please! I beg you..! Don’t do this! I never

meant for this to happen. It wasn’t my fault! No!”

She woke abruptly with a quiet scream, only to find herself in Luke’s

protecting embrace.

She gasped, looking around the cabin in confusion and fought against his

hold on her in the mistaken belief that Luke was the enemy.

- “Calm down, Mara,” Luke said gently and held her even closer. - “Calm

down. It’s only me.”

She no longer sensed Palpatine’s presence in her mind. She was no longer

hearing his voice. He had vanished.

All she sensed now was this surprisingly comfortable embrace. And the Force

that swept her in like a warm blanket, trying to sooth her, pushing back her

fear and disorientation. And that warm and kind voice…

It could only be him.

- “Luke?”

She was still trembling, which did not surprise him. But she had stopped

struggling and did not at all try to get away from him anymore. Her senses

were coming back to her.

- “Yes. I’m right here,” Luke said softly and carefully laid her back down

onto the bunk for her to find peace a lot easier. He still held both arms

around her as he lay down next to her as well to provide her with better

comfort. Then he quickly scanned her condition to make sure that the dream

had not brought any negative effects to her capability to breathe. He sensed

no physical change in her. But even so, Luke would not leave her side until

she was feeling all right again.

- “You’ve had a bad dream,” he explained.

Now fully realizing what had happened, Mara shook her head. This could not

be.

- “I’ve never had one like this before,” she stated with a trembling voice.

This was not the first time the Emperor had contacted her through her

special link with him. This link had been their ultimate connection when she

had served him as his Hand; Palpatine had even put down a lot of time to

develop this special ability of hers to guarantee a strong link with him no

matter where in the galaxy she was. Nor was this the first time this link

had given her nightmares. But they had been nothing like this. Not even

close.

- “But… he has never been aggressive towards me,” she said. - “Not like

this. He tried to kill me.”

Mara closed her eyes hard. She did not want to accept what was happening.

- “He speaks to me again..!”

She suddenly felt ashamed and weak in Luke’s presence. She had promised him

her support against Palpatine and right away she fell prey to her former

Master’s mind games. How could she support her friend if she fell victim to

this so easily? But she also sensed something else.

Luke was just as frightened as she. Mara realized now that he was the one

that had broken Palpatine’s grip on her and freed her from her nightmare. He

understood.

For he was experiencing the same thing as she.

She sensed it with ease even from him now. His latest nightmare was very

clear to her. The pain and fear from the aggressive acts of Palpatine in

Luke’s dream became her own. His dream had been even more violent than her

own and Mara gasped at the horror of it. No wonder Luke had not gotten any

proper sleep in days and preferred to not sleep at all if possible.

What astounded her the most, though, was the presence of Callista in his

nightmare. That angered her almost more than what Palpatine had done to him.

Could that blasted body-snatcher not keep away even from Luke’s nightmares!?

And how was it possible for Palpatine to even know of Callista Ming?

Mara put away her anger. Callista always made her angry but she did not wish

to disappoint her friend that lay so close to her now. For some unimaginable

reason, Luke still cared about Callista; despite the way that woman had left

him, alone and heartbroken. Mara would never understand this but she was not

going to debate the issue with Luke tonight. Palpatine would gain even more

of a victory if he also managed to make them drift apart.

And right now, they were not drifting apart at all.

In fact, they were closer than ever.

If Mara had been bold enough, she could easily have reached forth just a

little and given her friend a kiss. Merely the urgency of that desire kept

her from doing so. But something even more desirable than kissing him came

to her attention. Something even rarer than a kiss.

In this moment, Luke’s mind was not at all as closed to her as it otherwise

always was. It was not entirely open either but still revealed itself a lot

more than ever before. That, above all, brought Mara comfort.

She didn’t need to touch him physically now to be close to him.

Now, he truly was there beside her.

Not just in body.

But in soul as well.

- “What did he say to you?” Luke asked - “What did you see?”

He needed to know what Palpatine had done to her. He could perhaps not

prevent the Sith from entering his own mind but he would at least keep him

away from her.

Mara inhaled deeply as she allowed her Jedi friend access into her mind so

that he could look upon her dream for himself.

- “Palpatine was reborn and young again,” she said. - “He accused me of

betraying him. And then he attacked me with a lightsaber. I tried to defend

myself but I couldn’t move.”

The impact of the dream was still very near for her.

- “I couldn’t move… The pain…”

Her dream’s resemblance to his own startled him. Seeing Mara being cut down

with a lightsaber by the young and reborn Emperor made him jerk as his mind

saw what she had seen. Besides from the beginning with Callista, it was

scarcely too much alike his own dream. Not as sinisterly violent perhaps as

Palpatine merely bothered to cut Mara down once, but otherwise it was very

much the same. Luke closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder.

- “Oh, Mara…”

Guilt washed over him.

- “I’m so sorry,” he whispered and prayed that she would forgive him. - “I

just woke from a similar nightmare myself. Our minds must have made some

form of connection while we slept.”

She turned her head and looked at him as he lay there so close to her.

- “I know,” she stated, putting no blame on him. - “It’s that blasted mind

connection of mine! It always works too well and especially when I don’t

want it to.”

Luke suddenly realized that she now had access to his own nightmare as well.

A lot more than he had thought. Even now as they both were awake.

She could see!

He slowly closed the connection between them. If he didn’t she could, with

her vast mental abilities, discover by accident even more of him that he did

not wish her to see.

Things that did not belong to any nightmare.

But rather to a very frightening reality.

- “I’m sorry, Mara,” he said again. - “I never meant to frighten you. I

didn’t know that you could receive and share my nightmares.”

Mara observed him in silence for a short moment, staring into those blue

eyes of his. He was so close now, yet so far away. He had once more closed

his mind to her. And now he put himself to blame for a fear he had not

caused.

Was he never going to change?

- “You don’t have to be sorry, it wasn’t your fault,” Mara assured him. -

“You bring me no fear”.

She paused as she put her arm around his waist.

- “You did not cause this to either of us, Luke. You did not project my

nightmare. He did.”

He was still trembling but no longer because of his nightmare. This

unexpected approach from her had Luke never expected. He had been prepared

to move away from her and leave her alone again at any moment. Mara had

never shown any greater desire to have him this close for too long. Having

him near had always made her nervous.

But now her unexpected move revealed something to him. She still needed his

comfort. She needed her friend as much as he had needed to help her break

free from the nightmare.

- “He wants me to know he has returned,” Mara continued. She was struggling

to keep her worry under control. But she could not hide it from him. It was

doomed from the start.

Could she, herself, be doomed already, too?

- “He will try to claim me again,” she stated with unsettling confidence,

just as she had done earlier this evening. - “Or kill me.”

- “He won’t,” Luke assured her. - “I promise.”

He had already given her that promise. He would continue to do so. And he

would never break it. Mara should not go through the same hell as he once

had.

Palpatine would never be given the chance to destroy her as he had destroyed

him.

Her arm around his waist continued to pull him closer to her.

- “I don’t wish to be alone,” she said. - “Please, stay with me.”

Luke’s heart was pounding as she brought him further and further with her

into the bunk. She even pulled the cover over them both. It was clear that

Mara would not accept no for an answer. And Luke had no intention to deny

her what she asked for. He did not wish to be alone right now either.

Finally, they both lay comfortably in the tiny space with their arms around

each other. Never had Luke thought that Mara would ever share her bed with

him, even like this. For this was no more than a comforting embrace in

friendship, right?

It couldn’t possibly be something else.

Could it?

Her eyes were closed. She breathed normally as she rested her head on his

arm. Having him near truly seemed to soothe her. She was already beginning

to drift back into sleep.

- “You’re never alone,” Luke whispered to her, making sure not to disturb

her new slumber. He stroked her red hair slowly. He didn’t know why he did

that, he suddenly just felt so compelled to touch her. Holding her so close,

bringing her comfort after what Palpatine had delivered to them both, had a

very calming effect on him too.

‘He shall never harm you, Mara,’ Luke promised her silently in his mind

‘Never. He must kill me first.’

He continued to strike her hair as she fell into deeper sleep.

- “Sleep well now.”

He would remain awake, to guarantee that Palpatine’s ruthless nightmare

attack wouldn’t reach her again. At least not tonight.

Mara soon slept without any concern, pressing her whole body to his. This in

turn brought serenity to him and ultimately, after a few hours of fighting

back his desperate fatigue to stay awake for her protection, Luke drifted

into sleep himself.

Next to each other, the two friends slept well and undisturbed until the

following morning. The touch of Palpatine’s Dark nightmares no longer

reached them. Even if it kept trying. But for the first time without any

result.

When together, the evil darkness could no longer touch them.

 

To be continued in: "Everything Under Control"

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