The Birth Of Acceptance

By Sienn (2002)

 

Rating (for chapter): PG-13

Protagonists: Luke/Mara

Category: Action/Angst/Drama

 

Series: Part III of "Soul's Trial" Trilogy

 

Time Frame: 26 A.Y. (immediately after "Soul's Trial II: Healing")

 

Spoilers:

See Chapter 1

 

Disclaimer:

See Chapter 1

 

Chapter 2

By Sienn (2002)

 

Rating (for chapter):  PG-13

Protagonists: Luke/Mara

Category: Action/Angst/Drama 

Series: Part III of "Soul's Trial" Trilogy 

Time Frame: 26 A.Y. (immediately after "Soul's Trial II: Healing") 

Spoilers:

See Chapter 1 

Disclaimer:

See Chapter 1

 

Coruscant, Imperial Palace, Office Of The Chief-Of-State, 1 Week Later

Leia Organa Solo sighed inwardly and used the opportunity of not having to speak at the moment to take a few gulps of water. It was amazing how fast life had gone back to what it had been a few years ago, when she had been President of the New Republic for the first time.

Although the situation of the galaxy had changed immensely since these days, HER job was pretty much the same - work, work and more work. Silently, she had more than once thanked the Force that her children were almost grown now. At least the guilt of not being there for them as often as possible was eased this way. Jaina, Jacen and Anakin could take care of themselves very well, also without her.

The past couple of months had been dominated by meetings with Tsavong Lah, which had been among the most exhausting political talks she had ever had to endure. The mentality of the Yuuzhan Vong was hard to grasp, even now that they were at peace with each other and misunderstandings wouldn't result in the death of thousands of beings.

But then, if the overall plan failed, millions and millions of beings would die. It was a heavy responsibility to bear and sometimes Leia felt as if she wasn't able to anymore. Fortunately, such moments passed quickly and she could concentrate on the matters at hand again.

Just like now. For the whole afternoon, the small assembly of people had been sitting in her office, gathering propositions how to continue from now on.

The peace treaty was ready to be signed by Supreme Overlord Shimrra, the head of the Yuuzhan Vong race. Warmaster Tsavong Lah had contacted Leia one week ago and had told her that Shimrra had agreed to the truce as it had been proposed to him and that he was already on the way to this galaxy - the Coruscant system specifically - to meet in person with Leia. And Luke. Once again, the Yuuzhan Vong had demanded that Luke be present when the Supreme Overlord arrived.

Shimrra had a desire to meet with the head of the Jedi Order, as it seemed. To what purpose, no one could guess and Leia hadn't been too keen to investigate the Supreme Overlord's likely intentions. There was still some etiquette to be maintained, even if her and Tsavong Lah talked freely enough with each other.

It was the Yuuzhan Vong's nature to not engage in hypocritical chitchat, but come right to the point, even if this meant to almost insult the other party.

When the Alderaanian Princess had told her brother of Shimrra's demand, she hadn't been sure how he would react. Luke seemed to have overcome his trauma, just as he had said and Mara had assured her. But nonetheless, Leia wondered in how far he would be able to deal with Yuuzhan Vong in a normal way - just as normal as one could deal with them, anyway.

Letting her eyes wander, the President assessed her brother who sat opposite her and was concentrating on the statistics and numbers that were projected into the air before him. He had attended this meeting as Jedi Ambassador, not as Jedi Master, and as she had proposed to him a couple of days ago, when he had first presented himself before the Senate, he did not wear his usual dark celebration robe.

This was his sign as Jedi Master. Now he was not only a Jedi, but also a politician of the New Republic and thus had settled on a compromise between the two styles of clothing, too.

She smiled when she remembered Luke's unbelieving and annoyed expression when she had argued that the smallest details of your appearance could win you supporters in the world of politics.

The clothes he was wearing at the moment were cut to resemble a fleet uniform, only that they were dark blue and from a finer quality than any of the fleet admirals would ever wear or be able to afford.

The black over-robe had no sleeves or arms and flowed wide and freely around him whenever he walked. His lightsaber was clipped at his belt.

Luke's light hair and his sky-blue eyes contrasted nicely with this, so that no one could assume he was a figure of darkness. Just gentle elegance, as Leia's image advisor had put it. Luke had rolled his eyes at this and it had taken his sister the better part of an hour to persuade him to accept the garments as his own.

From the seamstress, they had immediately headed to Leia's office because this meeting was one of the most important ones for the further development of the relationship between the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong.

In the past hours, the gathered beings had tried to create a list of worldships that needed help with the evacuation the most and to decide which planets that had fallen to the conquerors had to be taken back first.

They had immersed themselves in surveillance data - age of the ships, numbers of people living there, their location, to name just a few - and had compared that with the forces they would be able to spare from the rebuilding operations all over the galaxy and from the guarding positions several fleet groups still occupied.

The amount of statistics and materiel to sift through was immense for six beings and because of this there hadn't been any real try at a list until two hours ago. Now the list of the ships was done, but the list of planets was not.

And whereas there hadn't been any discussions about the order of the worldships, there was a lot of argumentative potential in the choice of which planet to liberate and take back first.

Right at the moment, the scene was immersed in silence after the Senators of Obroa-skai and Agamar had gotten into a fierce argument that actually didn't have anything to do with the present problem, but was due to a private conflict the two of them had had some two years ago.

Drawing from her long experience, Leia hadn't bothered much with them and found a quick way to shut them down. While she had done this, Luke had looked on in wonder. She had been able to feel his astonishment at seeing two respected, reasonable politicians behave like children. The look he had shot her out of two wide, blue eyes had been an obvious question: 'How do you put up with that every day?' Leia had merely smiled at him.

Now, Luke cleared his throat and flicked off the holo he had been studying. "If you don't mind, I have a proposition to make as to which planet we take back first."

The four senators that had been elected to the committee next to Leia and Luke threw the Jedi Master a surprised look. Up to now, the awe-inspiring war hero had barely spoken a complete sentence, mostly listening to their arguments and propositions and consulting the chips and cards that were spread all over the low table.

His speaking up now was most unexpected and the nature of his words - a plea! - most disturbing for the two senators who hadn't been sure whether to bow or kneel down in front of him when he had first stepped into the room.

Leia had immediately noticed Luke's discomfort in face of such a treatment. As much as she could understand him, she couldn't help but be proud of him. Even more so now, that he had become a politician.

Leia had never realised how much she had wished for Luke to be in her life like that - as someone to work with on a regular bassis. As someone she could teach. And she liked it to show off with him, no doubt. It had been a warm feeling to stand before the Senate with him at her side.

She would do anything she could to make his work here easier for him and to give him the possibility to bring his creativity and his intelligence to a good use. For all of them.

"Speak away." She said, nodding at him encouragingly, knowing that he was more timid and shy than anyone here, except her, would ever think.

"Sernpidal. I think we should concentrate on Sernpidal first."

Rib Ehta, the Elomin senator, gaped openly, obviously irritated. If she was honest, Leia was surprised, too, but she didn't let this show on her face. On the one hand, she didn't want to intimidate her brother who had finally voiced his thoughts. During the past few hours, she had been absolutely sure that he was thinking thoroughly about something and had wondered when he would get together the bravery to actually say something.

"Excuse me, Master Skywalker," Ehta began, "Sernpidal is no use to anyone. The planet is not only conquered, it is in fact destroyed. It would strike me as a waste of resources to devote our time and equipment to it."

Luke focused his gaze on the tall non-human, moving the data card he had been studying before to the middle of the table with the Force and flicking it on. A holo of the destroyed planet filled the space between the Senators, him and Leia and numbers and words appeared at the sides.

The planet had been split in two by the impact of its moon. Its gravity, though, was still strong enough to keep the two parts roughly together with only a small space between them - of course it was not really that small, but compared to other distances in space, this particular one was neglectable.

"As you can see, both halves of the original planet have enough gravity left to provide a breathable atmosphere. In the past two years, the earthquakes have died down to a level where they wouldn't endanger any settlements built according to the most modern standards."

"But the cities are destroyed. The inhabitants are annihilated." Hist'amin, a senator from the planet Ryloth, put in. Leia opened her mouth to correct him, but her brother beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, but you are mistaken, Senator. There have been around seven thousand inhabitants that have been able to flee the planet before the moon crashed onto the northern hemisphere. There is no way to know how many beings have survived the impact and the subsequent natural catastrophes. If we ask ourselves which planet in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion path needs help the most, the answer is Sernpidal."

There was a silence as the four Senators consulted their own data to confirm what Luke had just said. The Jedi Master leaned back, waiting, but on the inside, he was quivering with nervousness.

He had no idea about politics, had never been interested in it all too much and had openly gawked at Leia when she had proposed to him to become Jedi Ambassador. He hadn't felt that he was up to such a challenge, had rather feared that he would be more a hindrance than a help to his sister or anyone else for that matter.

At the beginning of this meeting he had seen his suspicions confirmed. The Senators and Leia had discussed things that he hadn't even understood and the only reason he had begun to immerse himself in the data cards was to hide the fact that he wouldn't have been able to say anything to what had been the topic of discussion.

But while he had skimmed through the lists, the Force had nudged him to a certain data card out of the hundreds that were available and he had been stunned to see Sernpidal emerge before his eyes.

The name of the planet brought with it a sharp pain that stabbed at his heart. An image of Chewbacca had flashed before his mind's eye; the soft eyes of his Wookiee friend had once again met his and the loyalty and friendship he had seen in them had made him almost choke.

Although it had been almost two years ago, Chewie's death was still so unrealistic that he had problems to grasp it. But after he had battled down these emotions, an idea had sprung to his mind, an idea that had come out to be a full-grown conviction. This was the place to begin retaking what was theirs.

"Of course this planet needs help, Master Skywalker." Rib Ehta looked up from his readouts. "But I'm not sure whether this is the ideal place to begin. There are planets with more influence and larger importance that will ask for help and freedom, too."

"But THIS is the place to begin. It has been the first one to fall to the enemy." Luke tried to find words to make his feelings understandable to the Senators, but they eluded him. He was no talker. He couldn't explain things in sentences that sounded as if you had spent hours and hours hammering them into your head. The Force told him to begin at Sernpidal. But the Senators weren't sensitive to the Force.

"What Luke tries to say, " Leia chimed in, her smile encouraging him and showing him that she was on his side. Warmth spread through Luke and he willingly accepted Leia's mental touch. It was good to know that she was confident in him and that she understood why this seemed to be important and just. ", is that retaking Sernpidal first will be a symbolic act for the galaxy. The invasion has begun there and there we start to clean it up again. Even this devastating attack hasn't succeeded in bringing us to our knees. And we can honour the sacrifice of one of our greatest war heroes." She added in a softer voice.

This silenced Ehta and Hist'amin's protest died on his lips. They couldn't argue with this and it was a sad truth that no one had yet been able to give Chewbacca a decent funeral that pointed out his role in the foundation of the New Republic. It would indeed be a very symbolic gesture.

Luke was amazed to see how one after the other, all four senators agreed with his choice. Leaning forward enthusiastically, he showed them a card of this part of the galaxy and let some more numbers and names appear on the holo. "This way, we can even work at two planets at the same time. Belkadan has been occupied directly after Sernpidal's destruction and hundreds of slaves that need to be freed are living there. Additionally, a worldship is orbiting Belkadan. It is not the weakest one, but it strikes me as logical to begin there. The one we put at the top of our list will hold on for two or three weeks longer."

After another round of studying numbers, Luke's proposition found the agreement of the committee and after another quarter of an hour, the meeting was finished and he and Leia were left alone in the office.

Luke allowed himself to close his eyes and lay back in the armchair he had been occupying. This had been more exhausting than a sparring against Mara if she was determined to best him.

Withdrawing into himself to find a calm spot, he almost jumped when he felt soft lips on his cheek and blinked surprised when Leia squeezed beside him. Putting a cup of hot, steaming liquid into his hands, she grinned broadly.

"This was good." She stated, sipping at her caf and watching his face intently. Luke grinned bashfully, letting the hot mug warm his hands.

"It was just the Force, Leia."

His sister shook her head, laying one of her delicate hands on his shoulder: "The Force that worked through you. YOU can read it like this. It has been your idea, you've thought it through and presented it. Why don't you accept credit for it?"

Luke sighed and glanced over to the stack of data cards that lay on his part of the table. "Perhaps I'm just scared of the work that goes along with having had a good idea."

Leia laughed and nudged him gently in the ribs. "Come on, this little bit of paperwork won't be a problem for Luke Skywalker, will it? This is just administration, brother. Plans who will do what and when and you know it. You have done something like this before."

The Jedi Master scratched his head, rose and grabbed the pile. "But not to this extent. And never has that much depended on it. Leia, I'm no politician." His big eyes looked at her helplessly and she smiled lovingly at him.

"Luke, you don't have to be. You just have to be yourself. You're in this because I want you to be yourself; because I want to have someone like you in it. That's it."

Her brother sighed, throwing his hands in the air in a helpless gesture. "Why me???" Leia laughed out loud at this, then pushed him gently in the door's direction.

"Go home, Luke. If everything goes as planned, you will be headed to Sernpidal soon. And you have to catch some sleep. You look tired."

Pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, Luke smirked down at her: "Yes, mother." Leia just rolled her eyes and closed the door.

Tired, but in a very good mood, Luke made his way over to his apartment.

 

Worldship Doola, Shapers' Laboratories

Taal Riid paused for a moment and glanced warily over to his apprentice. The young woman, Nen Yim, was busy working on a set of bugs - glittering like black diamonds, the fingernail-sized animals were relatives of the thud bugs.

This, though, was everything Taal Riid knew about them and that alone was reason enough for him to be suspicious. He didn't like if anything going in HIS laboratories held secrets to him. What did the young Shaper assistant's sudden interest in these animals mean? Why did she waste her time with them?

While his hands automatically assumed their previous task again, Taal Riid's mind wandered back through the past three weeks, up to the evening on which despicable Mezhan Kwaad had gathered the Shapers present in this galaxy around her in one of Doola's conference chambers.

He had always despised Kwaad - every word she said was tinged with heresy and treason and her respectless attitude toward the gods appalled Riid. She had been a pain to bear as an apprentice and because of this he had granted her with mastership sooner than it was custom.

He had simply been at the end of his patience - her insults, her audacious demands, her solitary experiments that could have very well brought about his own death if they had been discovered, had pushed him to make this decision.

All these years, he had been thankful to be spared of Mezhan Kwaad's presence. When he had heard that she was presumed dead, killed when some infidel monstrosities had destroyed Priestess Elan's flagship, Taal Riid had almost felt happy.

At least until he had discovered that his new apprentice, Nen Yim, had a striking resemblance to Mezhan Kwaad if it came to her attitude.

Every lesson he tried to give her was interrupted over and over again by annoying questions. The young Yuuzhan Vong demanded to know things that were not allowed to be spoken of even among the most respected and skilled Master Shapers.

At first, he had tolerated this and only gently rebuked her, assuming the youth was over-enthusiastic to please him. But after a while, he had come to see that there was more.

Taal Riid had begun to suspect that Yim executed experiments on her own, hidden from him, on subjects he didn't know about, using protocols that were certainly not allowed to be used by someone of her status. More than one time, he had tried to catch her red-handed, but she was wary and intelligent.

Now, though, she had made a mistake. Taal Riid laughed softly to himself. Had this overconfident youngling really thought he wouldn't notice that she had exchanged the thud bugs she was exercising on against another race? Of course both sorts of bugs resembled each other closely, but he was a Master Shaper. One of the most skilled in his caste and highly sought after.

He had seen the difference immediately. And now he would go over, find out what Nen Yim did when he wasn't present and would have her kicked out of the caste in shame. Perhaps even punished by the Warmaster himself.

And she would deserve it. Her disrespect towards him was outrageous. She had even dared stay with Mezhan Kwaad and listen to her; when he, her Master, had already left the gathering, clearly stating his opinion! Not a single word of Yim's deferential excuses had he believed. Not a single one. She had lied.

Though to what purpose, he couldn't guess. Probably the girl had been afraid of punishment. Afraid of being denied further teachings by him.

Of course she would know what a privilege it was to be instructed by him and that there was no other Master Shaper that could open doors to so much knowledge to her.

Slowly, he walked up behind her, glancing over her shoulder. His keen eyes - despite his old age, they hadn't diminished in ability - noted how she stiffened for the shortest moment, then pretended to further concentrate on the bugs, pushing them on their backs and working on their soft underbellies.

For a while, he watched her and was rewarded by the fact that she relaxed. The dumb thing really thought he wouldn't notice the difference between thud bugs and whatever she had in her small yorik coral mug now. This enraged him. It enraged him that Nen Yim was so arrogant as to assume she could play him for a fool.

"This is pretty interesting, my dear. Which race is this?" he spoke softly into her ear. Although the words had been barely audible, the girl jumped and made a hasty step away from the working desk. Her eyes were widened. She was obviously terrified.

"Master, I…" she stammered, but shut up immediately when he lifted one hand.

"Did you REALLY think I wouldn't notice if you began to experiment on your own, child?" Taal Riid asked, unbelieving and astounded in face of so much audacity and dumbness merged into one single person.

"I… I didn't think… I didn't want…" Nen Yim halted and bowed her head in deference. "I'm sorry, Master Riid. I was curious and I thought…"

"I doubt that you have thought at all. There are reasons young Shapers are not allowed to experiment on their own. Biological manipulation, genetic manipulation, is tricky and an art. Nothing for clumsy fools like you." He hissed furiously, satisfied when the frail young Yuuzhan Vong shied away from him in fear.

Granting himself some seconds to drink in her quivering appearance, he turned and went over to the desk. "Now let's see what you did to these poor animals." Taal Riid murmured, bending down and mustering the bugs. He barely registered that his apprentice joined him again.

"I did alter them, indeed." She said softly. If the Master Shaper had bothered to look up, he would have seen the narrowed eyes of his apprentice, the sneer that disgraced her attractive features. But he didn't.

"Interesting. In which way? What did you hope to achieve with it?" Riid asked, extending a hand and gently turning the bugs on their feet. He had always liked bugs and couldn't bear to see them struggling in terror for long.

"Your death."

Taal Riid's head snapped higher and he stared at his apprentice in shock. The look of disgust on the woman's face surprised him. Not taking her threat really serious, he straightened and gazed at her in wonder.

"You are the most obnoxious..." he began, but was interrupted by a sharp pain on his hand. Startled, he looked down, only to witness how a bug buried its sting into his soft flesh. While he was looking on in shock, more and more of the small insects swarmed over his arm, pinching and biting him.

He opened his mouth to laugh at the girl. No specimen of the race the thud bugs belonged to or were related to was poisonous. And to think a mere two dozen of these animals could hurt him in any serious way was ridiculous.

But before he could get out a single tone, dizziness enveloped him. When he opened his mouth, he felt something warm spread out over his chin and wander over his throat. His legs gave way and he crumpled to the floor.

Before the pain assaulted him and plunged him into deep darkness, he could see the evil, sneering face of his assistant appear before his eyes.

Taal Riid's last conscious thought was that he had obviously underestimated his new apprentice. It was the first mistake he had ever made. Ironically, it was also the last.

*~~

The very second the guards and the commander of the worldship had left the laboratory, Nen Yim straightened. Her tears dried and her hands stopped trembling.

"You can come out now, Master." She said, turning towards a darkened alcove and bowing respectfully.

The tall, graceful figure of Mezhan Kwaad stepped out into the light, mustering the younger woman with a delighted smile. "This was artful, Nen. Care to let me in on what you did?"

A broad grin of pride crept over Nen Yim's face and she gestured for Kwaad to join her at the working desk. The Master Shaper glanced into the mug, taking in the numerous bugs on which the illumination glittered. "These are thud bugs…. altered thud bugs." She stated after a while.

The Shaper assistant nodded, snorting in disgust at the door, through which the remains of Taal Riid had been brought away just minutes ago. "He didn't even grasp that. He thought it was a different race."

"Riid has always been too sure of himself. You made them poison him." It was no question.

A part of Nen Yim was disappointed that her new Master had seen through her scheme so easily, but another part was satisfied. This was a Master that deserved to be looked at with respect.

Mezhan Kwaad was highly intelligent and knew what she was talking about. She wasn't afraid of experimenting with new things. She wasn't afraid to speak up against those who tried to limit the Shapers.

Nen Yim nodded: "Yes. It was a simple alteration in their genetic make-up. The poison is actually an acid that burns away tissue in fractions of a second. Highly effective. It took me a while to make their inner systems grow immune against the acid, but in the end, I succeeded. They have served their purpose, though. They are to no further use."

Kwaad laid one of her tool fingers at her lips, her cold, green eyes narrowing when she smiled. "I wouldn't say that, my dear. I wouldn't say that at all. In fact, they may be useful and fit into my plans much better than you think."

Trailing off, she stared into nothingness for some time until she back on her apprentice. The young woman was watching her, respectful enough to not disturb her in her musings. But curiosity shone out of her eyes.

"How soon can you be away from here, Nen Yim?"

Knowing that the alcove had shut out most sounds, the young Shaper apprentice hurried to inform her Master about what had transpired between her and the commander of Doola.

"As I have assumed, the commander has believed me that it was an accident. He has no idea about the work of a Shaper, or about the hierarchy in the caste. I have made him believe that I was about to pass the test to become a Master."

Mezhan cocked an eyebrow: "He has believed you?"

Nen Yim smirked: "He is a Warrior. Of course he has believed me. I'm free to go where I please. Master Shapers are needed on every worldship."

"Indeed, they are." Kwaad was pleased. It was obvious that she could rely on this girl. She was cunning, intelligent, ruthless… and she could show initiative. When she educated her properly, there would never be any rebellion against her and the both of them could form a wonderful team. A deadly team.

"Um, Master Kwaad?"

Mezhan focussed her eyes on her counterpart, noting slight impatience that had crept into Nen's voice. So eager. So eager to destroy.

"Yes?"

"Where ARE we going?"

"I don't know yet." When she saw her apprentice's forehead furrow, she smiled and turned towards the secret exit of the Shaper laboratories.

"Fetch enough of the bugs so that you can keep growing them. Meet me at my ship as soon as you have taken care of any formalities here. By the time you are ready, I will know where we're headed."

Nen Yim bowed and hurried away.

*~~

Mezhan Kwaad sat down cross-legged in the cargo-hold of her little ship. Closing her eyes, she concentrated once again on the one infidel she had already had her hands on.

She deeply regretted that she had never had the possibility to finish what she had intended. Elan's feelings for the human had been most unexpected and she had still not entirely grasped how the Yuuzhan Vong Priestess had come to care for the human. If it hadn't happened, Kwaad would have had no problem to form him as she had intended from the beginning.

The spoilt Priestess had believed Kwaad was only searching for some excitement. The Master Shaper, though, had never intended to merge Luke Skywalker into Elan's familiar on the long run. No, she certainly hadn't.

Unfortunately, she hadn't finished the ancient protocol on him and had had to delay her plans, adapting them to the new situation. All the Jedi had got was a reprieve. And before he even realised it, this, too, would be over.

It took her a while to direct her thoughts back to the task at hand. She had come here to find out where she was headed. And there was only one person in this galaxy that could tell her that.

Revenge was something sweet, indeed.

 

Coruscant, Late Evening, Skywalker Apartment

Mara hadn't been gone for more than a couple of minutes to fetch a bottle of water and some cookies for herself and her husband, but when she returned, Luke was obviously in the process of drifting asleep.

Clad only in his sleeping pants, he laid on the bed, surrounded by data cards, print readouts and a datapad. For the past three hours, he had been busy sending out orders, creating plans…. administrating a whole rebuilding and retaking action. And not for the first time since they were back on Coruscant had he been working until late in the evening.

Although Mara knew that her worry was irrational, she still couldn't quench. The two months of relaxation had perhaps softened her. If she could have managed it, she would have taken care of Luke never having to work like that again.

But of course she knew that he wouldn't be happy like this. The thing was, SHE would be happy with it. This way, he would be safe. Away from all these problems and political issues.

Now he was… Mara sighed, carefully collecting the data cards and prying the pad out of Luke's hands. He smiled lazily, turning on his back. "Coming, too?" his voice mumbled.

"In a moment." She replied, touching his hand shortly and heading off towards the bathroom to brush her teeth.

What was he, anyway? He wasn't in danger. Not really. Coruscant was probably the safest place in the galaxy at the moment. Her danger sense didn't tingle. Not here, not in the Senate, not in Leia's office. Nowhere.

And yet she had the distinct feeling that something was having an eye on Luke. Something she couldn't identify. Something she couldn't even grasp with the Force. Something she definitely didn't like.

He hadn't talked about it with her, but she had noticed how he sometimes glanced into corners. Sudden, small movements of his eyes, not to be noticed by anyone but her. Even she had almost missed them.

He did feel watched. At first, she had thought it would still be because of what he had been through. That he would have to adapt to Coruscant and his large crowds.

But then she had gotten this feeling that something was not right. And since then, it had been nagging her. In the last few days, he hadn't seemed to feel watched. He had been relaxed, even if overworked.

So Mara had calmed down again. Frowning, she extended her Force senses. Leia's presence was there, calm and serene. Sleeping. Jaina's felt much the same. Anakin and Jacen felt agitated. Probably in an argument again, she thought sarcastically.

Shrugging mentally, Mara went back into the bedroom, shed her clothes until she was wearing nothing but her underwear and crawled under the covers.

*~~

The Master Shaper frowned in concentration.

"Where?" she whispered.

*~~

Mara snuggled up to her husband, resting her head on his bare chest. His skin was hot and she shivered for a moment until her body had adapted to the cozy warmth in the bed.

"Sernpidal." It was only a low breath, but Mara lay directly next to him and caught it nonetheless. Surprised, she propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at Luke. His face was serene. Only when she moved did he blink.

"What?" she asked befuddled.

Luke rolled to the side, burying his face in her neck. "Didn't you ask?" he mumbled.

Mara chuckled softly. He was cute when he was like this. Like a little boy. "No, farmboy, I didn't."

The Jedi Master didn't answer her, having fallen asleep finally. Shaking her head with silent laughter, Mara maneuvered him a little until his face lay comfortably on her shoulder. With a slight push of the Force, she shut down the lights and settled in for a relaxing night.

*~~

Mezhan Kwaad smiled, rose and went over to the cockpit. It was nice to be able to rely on some people, at least.

 

| To Be Continued |

 

 

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