Jedi Dawn – Chapter 19
By Sienn (2002)
Rating (for chapter): PG-13
Protagonists: Luke/Mara
Category: Drama/Action/Angst
Time Frame: 26 A.Y.
Spoilers:
See Chapter 1
Disclaimer:
See Chapter 1
Coruscant, Medical Centre, 6 Hours Later
Mara Jade Skywalker sighed tiredly and leaned against the wall next to the small cot a few nurses had brought in for her. Immediately after Luke had fallen asleep, one of the medics had come in and asked Mara to help him with some bureaucratic stuff concerning Luke. It had been the first time that she had seen her husband's complete medical file and it had astounded her a little bit. If anyone got the silly idea to actually print it out, it would fill a whole room.
Shaking her head, she had skimmed through it and tried to help the medic assigned to her husband as much as she could. The Chandrilan had never treated Luke before and was quite unfamiliar with the Jedi Master. Judging by the look on the face of the man when he had first seen WHOM he would have to take care of, he would probably have fainted if Luke had been awake. Really, she thought annoyed, now sitting in the dark private room Luke lay in, if she hadn't known that he lay sound and alive in here, she would have thought to be reading the report from a murder victim. The next person who told her the job of assassin and space trader was dangerous would get a short, but intense debriefing on how the GOOD guys were paid for their bravery.
This stupid medic had taken up the greater part of five hours and after that, Mara had been asked to sign some papers to allow a scientific team from New Republic Intelligence to take the strange Yuuzhan Vong clothes Luke had worn to a laboratory. Guessing that Luke would be all too happy to have them far away from himself, she had signed the necessary permissions and told the next nurse heading her way for this and this confirmation of that and that in his medic file ("Excuse me, Mistress Jade Skywalker, but this must be wrong. Here is listed your husband was attacked by a Wampa and...") to jump into a Sarlacc pit.
Then she had shut down the lights in Luke's room, sat down on the cot and watched him, finally taking time to cool down and think through all that had happened in the last days.
While the light from Coruscant's sun faded more and more, she had stared at her husband's unmoving form, trying to get a grip of how he REALLY felt. True, he had been awake for almost two hours, he had talked with her, he had sat up. But he was LUKE - he'd even tell you he was ok when he was covered from head to toe in blood. Mara, though, had a definite advantage - she KNEW him. When he was around people he trusted, around her and his family, then one could read everything one had to know about Luke in his gestures, the way he moved, the way his eyes changed. Or at least one could if one knew every single inch of his body as well as she did. And now he was definitely not ok. It was no relaxed sleep and Mara wasn't even sure whether he really did sleep or was only unconscious once again. For he lay on his back, totally unmoving, arms beside his body - that was not the position he usually slept in. In fact, every morning she woke up finding him in another position that seemed for her anything else than comfortable. Now he looked like a corpse on its deathbed and this comparison didn't make his wife all too happy.
Gently extending her Force senses, she touched his soul, relieved when she found his presence quiet and unresponsive, but yet stronger than when he had woken up on the Millennium Falcon. Careful not to wake him or stir any other reaction, she probed deeper and immediately felt the fear in him. In a far corner of his mind, but it was there, like a dark, big knot that didn't go away. Mara didn't know what he feared - something in the past, the present, the future? It was shielded from her; his guard was up tight and if she tried to break it, she would not only hurt his trust in her, but also wake him and startle him.
She could only guess that the memories of his ordeal in Elan's and Kwaad's hands were isolated there and perhaps some of the past few weeks - the weeks she had left him alone for himself during a time which had been one of the worst in his entire life.
Her throat tightened when she once again remembered the moment she had seen him in the escape craft of the Yuuzhan Vong Shaper. His eyes had been so blank, so terribly blank- he had been Liin Kwaad - perhaps only for a few minutes or hours, but he had been Liin Kwaad. She shuddered automatically, imagining what could have happened when they hadn't shown up in time. Only two minutes later and Kwaad and Elan would have been in hyperspace, taking him away to who knows what place - she wouldn't have been there to trigger his memory. No one would have been there to remind him of anything. Only Yuuzhan Vong, only Elan, telling him that he belonged to her, that he had to serve, that he was a minor being named Liin Kwaad.
In all the years she had known and loved him, Mara had always been painfully aware that she could lose Luke everyday - she had always been sort of prepared that he'd die in a battle or in an assassination attempt. That he was taken from her from one moment to the other. But never, ever had she feared that someone would take his soul away from her. That his body would be there, but his soul not.
More than anything else this had been what had almost taken all her hopes from her on the escape craft. When she had sent her Force senses out and called for him and had only received irritation. Irritation, the conviction of being nothing but a servant, of being the property of someone else, of having no free will and no rights.
She revelled in the feeling she got now - he was back again and all these were memories he had to forget, to erase. Mara wanted him to push them from his mind, so that she could do the same herself. She didn't want to be reminded of how she had almost lost him. Mara was determined to make up for everything and she would begin with it as soon as possible - that Tsavong Lah wanted to see Luke tomorrow was nothing she particularly looked forward to, but she had no other choice.
The ex-trader snorted. She had never liked politics and her disgust had only increased with every year she saw how Luke and his family were entangled in these things in the New Republic. And, to her utter dismay, she got entangled in it more and more, too, being the Jedi Master's wife and all. But at least this way, the former Emperor's Hand was able to take care of her husband - in her opinion, Luke had the wrong attitude when he talked to other beings. While Mara always assumed them to be as bad and cunning as imaginable, Luke went from the assumption that they had to be good. It was difficult for him to see anyone in a bad light unless they proved it. It had nothing to do with naiveté; it was just his confidence in the universe - that brought him again and again into messes such as this one.
Rising slowly, she went over to him, only being able to see his dark silhouette. The sun had vanished long ago. Taking his hand, she kissed him softly on the lips: "You're really naive, farmboy. Trusting this Priestess as if she were your best friend," Mara murmured. He frowned a little bit in his sleep, but became still again as soon as she stopped talking. For quite a time, Mara only held his hand and listened to his deep breathing.
She had no clue as to how long she had actually been crouching there when loud voices before the door of the room dragged her out of her light daydream. Luke moaned quietly when the discussion got louder and Mara unwillingly gazed over to the small, lightened slit under the door. Unfortunately, she couldn't understand who was talking about what, but she swore that if those two didn't stop yelling in the next minute, she would MAKE them stop.
As if to mock her, the voices became even louder and Luke beside her sat up with a low cry, staring around wide-eyed. "Mara?" he whispered, his hand feeling for hers.
With a slight push of the Force, Mara made the lights pop on and embraced her husband. Luke pressed her to himself and she felt him shiver slightly.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did they wake you?" she queried softly, rubbing his back.
"No," he replied in a small voice, laying his cheek at her shoulder. He still breathed rather fast. Worried, Mara laid him back onto the mattress and touched his forehead.
"Luke, you're sweating!" Frowning and wiping his face with one edge of the bed-covers, she eyed him suspiciously.
"It's... it's only too warm in here," he murmured, softly taking her hand and taking it away from his face.
Mara snorted quietly: "Luke, save yourself the trouble and tell me the truth. You know my methods." Smirking at him teasingly, she was rewarded by a shy, but rather honest smile.
"So, what woke you up?"
He sighed, his voice momentarily trembling, shook his head, but finally managed to get a few words out: "I... I dreamed about Kwaad."
Mara frowned - it was strange that he was far more frightened to talk about Kwaad than about Elan. The Master Shaper was almost completely unknown to Mara and she didn't have the slightest idea which role the woman had played in this whole matter. She only knew that Elan was the one who had plotted against Luke, the one who had manipulated him by using his feelings for her, the one who had wanted to convert him into a mindless slave. Her anger was boiling whenever she imagined the arrogant grin on the exotic face. Thinking about it, she wouldn't even be able to describe Mezhan Kwaad's face if someone asked her.
Taking Luke's left hand, rubbing it when she felt how cold it was, Mara gently asked: "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
As if she had burnt him, he jerked his hand away and cowered in the corner of his bed in the next moment, shaking his head fervently. His lips pressed together, he said aloud and with as strong a voice as he could summon: "Not yet. I can't talk about it just yet."
"So you won't tell Lah anything tomorrow?" she probed hesitantly, quite shocked by his behaviour.
Luke only shook his head again in answer, then laid his forehead onto his knees and was quiet for a time, his shoulders heaving. Minutes had gone by when his breathing finally came back to normal and he dared to look up at her again. "You are not angry with me because of this, are you?" Luke's big eyes searched her face worriedly, his whole body expressing anxiousness and uncertainty.
Mara gave him a loving smile and gently pushed him back onto the mattress. Giving his chin a small kiss, she whispered: "Of course not. Take all the time you need, Luke." Laying her cheek onto his forehead, she let him grasp her hand.
She felt him nodding his head against hers and stayed in the position until she was sure he was fast asleep again. Then she rose, eyeing him worriedly. In the past few minutes, his thoughts had swirled. She had been able to catch it quite clearly and was deeply shocked by the extent and intensity of all the things he felt. Mara had felt incredible fear, linked to the mere name of the Master Shaper, humiliation for what he had almost become and there was something else still, deep down in his soul. That deep that she didn't think it had anything to do with what he had been through in the last couple of days.
It went farther into the past and it was something that Mara just couldn't forget. A strong feeling of disgust and detest, but towards what or whom she couldn't even guess. Perhaps towards her? But that didn't fit with his behaviour. Around her, he was shy and hesitant - even more than he had been in their first days together.
Settling into a bodyform-chair, she nailed her gaze on her husband's features and wished he would talk to her. At the same time, she was aware that she probably had lost his trust by simply disappearing when he had needed her most.
But she would think of something. When the whole Yuuzhan Vong matter was taken care of, she would make them take the time to relax. She would take care of him having as much time as he needed free and alone, without anyone wanting something from him, without anyone telling him what he had to do.
Thinking about how to manage this best, she overheard the slight knock at the door and almost jumped to her feet when it whooshed open. Turning her head, Mara froze when she recognised the face of the woman that stood in the door, peeking into the bed that lay half in the shadows of the only lamp in the room.
"May I come in?" a soft voice asked and when Mara nodded automatically, light, fluent footsteps could be heard. A moment later, Teneniel Djo, Queenmother of the Hapes Cluster, let herself sink onto the foot-end of Luke's bed.
"Who did give you the permission to get into this area?" Mara asked casually, once again having turned her gaze onto her husband.
"Leia. She said I could come whenever I wanted to," the Queen answered. Only now, Mara bothered to take a closer look at her. She was indeed of her and Leia's age, slender, not too tall and certainly well trained. Her face was beautiful and in the brown of her eyes bristled a bunch of orange sparkles. Her heavy auburn hair was braided delicately and pinned onto her head. She had a stunning resemblance to Leia, only that she looked somehow harder.
"Really?" Mara just replied. Teneniel sought her gaze, nodded, then turned her head and gave Luke's left hand a slight squeeze - not nearly strong enough to actually disturb him. But it disturbed Mara and that very much.
"I've been told that you made certain advances towards Luke." Mara was surprised at herself for succeeding in getting this out in a strong, normal enough voice that betrayed nothing of the jealousy that burned in her, now even more heated by Teneniel touching Luke.
The Queenmother perched an eyebrow and smiled at her, didn't even try to conceal anything. "The one who told you this didn't lie. I guess it was Han. He has a good eye for this sort of thing."
Her openness took Mara slightly off-guard and she regarded the other woman with a new suspicion. "You're right, Han told me." As casually as she could, Mara swung her legs over each other and measured Teneniel out of two cold, green eyes. "I've also been told that you're already married to a certain Isolder."
Her counterpart nodded, her smile now becoming sort of glum: "That's true, too. But we had certain problems."
"And because of this you're hitting on another man? If the Prince of Hapes is not the right one, then we try the mightiest Jedi Master in the galaxy?" Without actually wanting it, Mara's voice had assumed a cutting edge and she openly glared at the other woman.
Teneniel didn't lack anything of Mara's fire. Repaying her glare with an equally fiery one, she spat: "It would be nice to let someone guess what's worse. What I do or what you did - speeding off like you're bitten by a runyip only because you're ill. It seems to me that you don't care any more for your husband than I do for mine."
Mara felt the blood drain from her face and she had to fight hard to keep her voice under control. "Watch out, Your Highness. I may be said to have softened over the years, but I'm not known for being kind to people who insult me and mock my feelings for my husband."
"Indeed?" Teneniel hissed, giving her a mocking glance, then focussing on Luke. "Which feelings would that be, exactly?" she then asked.
"Although you deserve to be beaten to crap for this question, I will be so kind as to answer you," Mara now whispered, after a glance on a slightly frowning, but still deeply sleeping Luke. Her voice had lost nothing from its dangerous tone.
"I can barely wait," Teneniel whispered back.
Mara's eyes narrowed when she met the Queenmother's gaze, but her voice was once again even and she managed to give a small smile: "I love Luke, Teneniel, and I apologised to him for what I did."
"So, you apologised. How noble of you," the Dathomirian witch snorted softly.
"I can't make it undone, Your Highness, so all I can do is tell him how sorry I am. And he can feel that I speak the truth." Mara wondered why she even cared to explain that much to this woman, instead of just throwing her out of the room.
She was rather surprised when Teneniel smiled at her much more friendly than before: "I know he can. And if he doesn't doubt your apology, then it will be sincere."
Although she meant it obviously as a compliment, the audacity of telling her that was almost too much for Mara's composure. "How dare you talk to me like this?!" she spat towards the slight figure.
"I am worried about a friend," Teneniel replied softly, not even glancing at Mara but once again carefully stroking Luke's left hand.
"Excuse my boldness, Teneniel, but I want to know NOW what you feel for my husband," Mara growled, swearing silently that she'd cut off this royal hand if she only dared to touch anything else than Luke's hand.
The Queenmother took her time to reply to that, but finally turned and looked Mara straight in the eyes.
"That's only fair. Let me tell you what I experienced, will you?" Mara frowned, but nodded and gestured for her to continue.
Teneniel sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting go of Luke's hand. "When he broke down, I was on Hapes. And I felt it still."
At this, Mara twitched. If she hadn't cut the Force link with him, she would have felt it, too. She would have known how bad he was and she would have returned. The Yuuzhan Vong would probably not have tortured him - and she wouldn't have been healed by now. Sighing silently to herself, Mara decided to let these musings go. It was in vain. What had happened could not be changed anyway. Nodding again, she settled back in her chair to listen to the Dathomirian beauty.
"I was not aware what had happened, I just knew that what I felt had come from Luke." For a moment, her eyes drifted again towards his face, then she continued: "When Leia called and asked me to come to Coruscant with my fleet, I agreed immediately. I was eager to see Luke again, after all these years, but I never assumed that THIS would happen."
At this, Mara gaped: "You knew him?"
Teneniel nodded: "Of course. I've known him for seventeen years. We met for the first time on Dathomir, the planet I was born on. Back then, I thought I loved him. No..." she shook her head, correcting herself: "I DID love him, but in another way I thought. He recognised it before me and I finally fell in love with my husband, Isolder. Fell really in love, you know."
Mara just nodded, strangely intrigued by this story. It was another part of Luke's past she wasn't familiar with.
"When I saw him again, after all these years, I thought I'd begin to fall in love with him again."
"You thought?" Mara replied slowly, eyeing her dubiously.
Teneniel nodded, smiling: "Yes, I thought. I was really sure that it could become love. He always meant much to me and I've always admired him for what he is - person and Jedi. I would have taken him over Isolder in this moment if he had wanted to."
Mara's eyes darkened immediately: "You OFFERED yourself to him?"
Teneniel grinned. "Of course I did. You have to understand, being raised on Dathomir, I have never been a woman that takes slow approaches to men. I wanted him and I told him - or rather, he made me tell him, because he was not in for the subtle game, you know." She chuckled softly, then sought Mara's gaze, noting the uncertainty and fear in the jade-green orbs.
"Don't worry - he blocked me quite effectively. He loves YOU, not me. He would never be able to love me, though I thought otherwise for quite a time. What I want to assure you of, Mara, is that I won't bother him - or you, for that part. The thought that I love him again only sprang out of my frustration about my own marriage. Besides this, I really didn't consider him to be forbidden territory anymore."
Mara felt her eyes go wide with that and once again, Teneniel grinned: "If a woman on Dathomir had left the way you did, it would have been a clear sign that whoever was her sl... husband is free for anyone to chase. I didn't really think you'd come back again and as I said…" She sighed. "It was sort of a hallucination, if you want so."
For quite a time, both women were silent, then Mara nodded and offered Teneniel her hand: "All right. Apology accepted."
The Queenmother smiled and shook the hand of the female Jedi Master: "I'm glad you did. Otherwise you would have had the right to challenge me because I tried to steal your property. By Dathomirian laws, you would have had the right to demand a fight to death with me. It would be sort of embarrassing to have the Queenmother of the Hapes Consortium fight for any other man than her Prince-husband, wouldn't it?"
Mara smirked: "It would certainly be too much for that mother-in-law of yours." At that, Teneniel couldn't help but laugh out loud, causing Luke to open his eyes and stare astounded in her face.
"Teneniel!" he croaked, his voice still a little bit rough. The Queenmother smiled, then bent forward and kissed him on the nose: "Consider me already gone, Luke Skywalker. We will see each other before I return to Hapes." With this she left the room.
Luke's big, azure eyes wandered uncertainly towards his wife, his pale cheeks slightly flushed at the display of affection from Teneniel.
"Mara, I... uh... she... we..." Mara lay a finger on his lips and grinned: "It's ok, farmboy. She did explain everything to me. You were faithful - that's good." She patted him jokingly on the head and he grinned bashfully.
"Teneniel is rather... uh... straightforward in such things. I haven't encouraged her," he hurried to assure, gazing up at her intently.
Mara laughed: "Of course you didn't."
That got a frown onto Luke's boyish features: "You're that sure of it?" His wife nodded, bent forward and kissed him, this time on the lips, revelling in his taste and the fact that he returned the kiss, even if hesitantly and way too soft.
"Of course I am. Because you know that I'd have to kill you if you cheated on me."
Luke chortled softly, then once again closed his eyes: "I'm sorry, Mar, but I'm so tired," he whispered, already drifting off again. Mara only sent him a soft nudge in the Force to reassure him she didn't mind and watched him drift off.
Yuuzhan Vong Ship Criarto, Coruscant System, The Next Day
For the second time in her life, Mara set foot on a Yuuzhan Vong ship, only that she now took some time to look around and note the beautiful colours the yorik coral had. It was a living artwork and if she only could forget the death inflicted by those ships for a moment, she could appreciate them as the biological wonders they were.
Warmaster Tsavong Lah was awaiting them, as he had the previous time, only that he did look more curious than even during her first visit. Beside him, looking rather tired, but content, stood Leia who had spent the last 48 hours on the Criarto, finishing the basic treaty that would bind the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong together.
Seeing her brother between his wife and his brother-in-law, Leia made a few quick steps and embraced him strongly.
'Are you okay?' she sent through the Force, eyeing him carefully, noting that his face looked even more haggard and his eyes more strange than ever. But when he smiled in reply, there was her brother beaming in them, taking Mara's hand and giving her back the hope that he could heal totally.
'I'm fine, Leia. Don't worry. Everything is all right.' She couldn't quite believe him, because he looked like a ghost, but then, he wore again his black celebration robe and in this one, it was no wonder that he looked pale. Mara, as Leia noted contentedly, was as worried as she was, though she didn't show it that much. Once and again, though, her eyes darted towards Luke, who didn't seem to notice it. For a Force sensitive person, it was all too obvious that he was chilled and scared of being on a Vong ship again, but he maintained control admirably.
"Jeedai Skywalker," Lah bowed respectfully, surprising Luke for a moment before he gathered enough of his manners to bow equally.
"I'm honoured to have you on my ship again. I hope you are aware that I was in no way involved in the treacherous actions of Priestess Elan and the Master Shaper Mezhan Kwaad. They're being chased as we speak and are sentenced to death."
Mara hadn't thought it possible, but Luke became even paler. Nodding, he acknowledged Lah's compliments.
"I'm glad to hear that, Warmaster. I never thought you'd be in league with her, to speak frankly."
"Very well, Master Skywalker. I must ask you to tell me what happened, so that I can report to Supreme Overlord Shimrra about the incidents."
Luke went rigid at once and clenched Mara's hand painfully. Sending him soothing thoughts, Mara stepped closer to him and squeezed his suddenly cold hand.
Leia eyed him anxiously and Han's forehead was wrinkled in open worry and dismay.
"Is it sufficient if I tell you that she wanted to shape me into her companion against my will and that she applied all procedures necessary to reach the goal?" Luke's voice was emotionless, but his Force presence was boiling.
Lah frowned, but then decided to let it be that way: "That will be enough, if you wish so. I don't think anyone would question your honour anymore."
"What? Suddenly?" Han quipped, clearly surprised by these words. Lah perched his non-existing eyebrow and glanced at Leia. With a beaming smile, the Princess stepped to her brother and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"You are the first being in their history to withstand a shaping. With your own willpower and your own abilities. You're sort of an example for them and they consider you a great warrior."
Luke swallowed visibly, but then nodded appreciatively towards Lah: "I thank you, Warmaster."
Lah bowed once again: "It's my pleasure, Jeedai Skywalker. Now, if you would follow me to..." His words were interrupted by a shudder of the whole ship that left Mara and Leia fighting for their balance. Before they could fall, though, Luke's arms caught them both and held them upright without much effort.
His breathing became more rapid, but aside from that, he seemed to be every bit the invincible Jedi Master as ever. "What was that?" Leia panted, straightening her gown and staring wide-eyed at Tsavong Lah.
The Warmaster frowned and shrugged, then bent to the site, listening to one of his aides.
When he turned his attention once again towards them, his eyes were glittering as dark as obsidian.
"What?" Han almost bellowed, hating it when he was not on his own ship.
"It seems as if we're being attacked. The ships bear the signs of Admiral Idao's fleet."
"The traitor, right?" Mara asked, her arm still resting around Luke's slim waist. Her husband looked at her strangely for a moment, then focused on Lah: "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with him." He choked on the word familiar, but caught himself soon.
"He teamed up with Elan - your mate killed him on Dathomir." His eyes full of questions that replaced the startledness, Luke once again stared at Mara, but then his eyes went wide as the full impact of the words hit him.
Spinning around, he panted: "Elan is out there? And Mezhan Kwaad?"
"I'm pretty sure of it. And we have only this ship available," Lah growled, angrily clenching his hands into fists.
"Really? And what would you call those?" Teneniel spoke up, for the very first time in the whole talks, and gestured towards the exit to open space, where two of her Hapan Battle Dragons floated serenely in space.
"We are not allied with the Hapan Consortium," Lah murmured.
"If you are allied with the New Republic, then you are allied with the Hapan Consortium. You just have to take the chance," Teneniel smiled, extending her hand.
Lah stared at it for a moment, then stared out towards the exit into open space, just in time to see one of his coralskippers explode. Once again, the Criarto shook violently.
Extending a hand and grasping Teneniel's small one into it, he nodded. Leia added her hand to the grasp: "The New Republic is always ready to stand by the side of its allies."
After a moment of hesitation, in which Mara could feel his repulsion towards touching a Yuuzhan Vong, Luke joined, too: "And the Jedi Knights will fight side by side with the brave Yuuzhan Vong warriors, if the need should arise, and pledge themselves to ensure the peace between both our races."
Lah nodded and after another moment of silence, gestured them to follow him: "I'll lead you to the bridge." Accompanied by another shuddering of the ship, the group headed out of the hangar bay and deeper into the ship.
| To Be Continued |