The Birth Of Acceptance – Chapter 20

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

 

 

New Republic Ship Ralroost

 

A siren was blaring, deafening the crew on the New Republic's flagship and doing nothing to soothe the worries and fears that kept assailing the beings of numerous species that tried to fulfil their duties.

 

At least, Wedge Antilles mused, it was not yet the siren that indicated danger. The signal that the thrusters and their sublight engine were about to overheat was not necessarily a good one, but a lot better than the report of a hit.

 

"Distance?" he shouted over the howling of the siren. Shaking his head, he added: "And will someone please shut that off? We KNOW that we're straining the ship."

 

At the fringes of his perception, he saw someone hurry for a station and a second later, the alarm subsided. While his ears still rang, Wedge let his gaze wander over the part of the bridge that housed, among others, the control stations that were in charge of ship stats. Unable to detect any guilty face, Wedge shrugged. Sooner or later, he would find out who had had the guts to leave his station during a fight.

 

"They're gaining on us by the second, Sir. They will be in perfect firing range in about a minute."

 

Wedge frowned, assessing the data on his own display and comparing it with what he had just heard. It never hurt to double-check.

 

"How long until we reach the position I want?"

 

"Forty-five seconds."

 

The Corellian General smiled grimly: "Captain Wya, you heard it. Will you be ready?"

 

"Of course, General Antilles, Sir."

 

"Have you ever had classes about advanced shielding technology?" Corran Horn mumbled into his old friend's ear. The Jedi had been assigned to the escort ships as a liaison between them and the Chief-of-State and her brother Luke Skywalker who both attended the festivities on the worldship of the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord.

 

Or rather, who had intended to do just that. Last thing the Corellian had heard, the worldship had been bereft of oxygen and shown a breech in the vicinity of its brain.

 

Wedge grinned at him. "No, never. I found it boring."

 

"Boring. And then you're trying to pull off a trick like that? What if it doesn't work?" Corran whispered, staring at him incredulously.

 

"What should go wrong?"

 

The Jedi Knight snorted: "Give me an hour and I may get the raw draft of a list done."

"Corran, you know what your problem is?" The hazel eyes of the former Rogue Squadron leader held a small, but genuine amount of amusement as they met the green ones of his friend. The Jedi snorted.

 

"Aside from being on a ship that isn't allowed to shoot at a horde of attackers that want to blast it into oblivion? I have no clue, boss."

 

"You are too pessimistic. It WILL work."

 

"Ten seconds, Sir. Countdown started. We're entering the space between the moons." The voice of the navigation officer yelled across the bridge. A deadly silence laid itself over the assembled beings. Neither of them knew for sure what their General had in mind, but they all had guesses as to what it could be.

 

"The Vong ships are accelerating. Eighteen seconds until optimum plasma cannon range." The sensory officer added with a quiver in his voice.

 

Out there were six heavy Yuuzhan Vong ships. If they all opened fire at the same time and concentrated on the flagship of the New Republic, even shields like the ones of the Ralroost would not hold for long.

 

"Excellent. Head deeper into Coruscant orbit and keep the moons between us and our visitors." Wedge clasped his hands tightly together behind his back, out of the field of vision of any of his crewmembers.

 

Truth be told, he didn't feel as optimistic as he gave himself. The playful banter with Corran was as much a way of reassuring his men and women as it was a way of reassuring himself. His old friend suspected, and that very accurately so, that Wedge had no clue whatsoever as to whether his idea would work.

 

Wedge preferred not to think about the fact that he endangered even the crews of the orbital mirrors with his little experiment.

 

"Captain Wya, feel free to move to your positions any time now." He ordered, sparing the bald man that still seemed quite flustered by the way he had been involved into something he most probably didn't understand not even a glance.

 

"Done, General Antilles, Sir. Mirrors will be in place in exactly five seconds."

 

It was just enough time for everyone on the bridge to abandon their displays and readouts and star out towards the planet that was looming bigger and bigger in the viewports.

 

Coruscant's planet-wide shield flickered in brilliant colours as more and more private craft raced at full speed into the safety zone beneath it. So Wya had indeed managed to warn them.

 

Wedge allowed himself a short smile, then focused back on the small, black dots that were barely discernible in the star-littered blackness that was the space around the city planet.

 

The very moment the countdown clock for the mirror that had been placed on his display reached zero, these black dots were illuminated spectacularly, revealing that they were indeed more than just space debris.

 

The Corellian general held his breath as he followed the events. All in all, it took only another couple of seconds, but for him, these stretched into eternity. So much was at stake. The life of his crew, of the people that served on the orbital mirror stations and of who knew how many civilians that would be caught unprepared should the Yuuzhan Vong fleet take its revenge for the claimed attack of the New Republic.

 

He was, except for Corran, the only one who knew what to watch out for on the scopes and outside, beyond the viewport.

 

His eyes sought a special ship among all the corvettes and yachts that hurried to safety and finally found it, at the coordinates he had gotten from his Jedi friend.

 

A sole orbital mirror ship moved into position, rotating on its axis in a way that seemed painfully slow to Wedge's gaze.

 

When it had completed its turn, a blinding flash of blue-white light shortly took his eyesight from him. The brilliant stream jumped, from mirror ship to mirror ship until, finally, it came back to its point of origin, closing the circle that would save all their lives – at least for a time.

 

For a moment, Wedge stared out at the spectacle in stunned awe, then he turned to Corran with an admittedly shaky smirk on his face.

 

His fellow Corellian, seemingly as shell-shocked as everyone else aboard, simply shook his head.

 

"Navigation, hold position."

 

"Yes, Sir."

 

"Sensory?"

 

"They are furious and shoot with everything they have. All our ships and fighters are in."

 

Wedge perched an eyebrow: "They better be. Captain Wya, shield status, please?"

 

"A hundred %. Very slowly decreasing."

 

"You don't think they'll simply give up and wait for someone to tell them what REALLY happened?" Corran asked non-chalantly, his voice betraying nothing of the fascination his green eyes held as he looked out the front viewport at the breathtaking colour spectacle that presented itself there.

 

"You sure have been too long around Luke. I can't stand this kind of pessimism." Wes Janson's voice chimed in out of the communication console. In the background, they could hear the noises of engines being powered down. The break they had would be used to refuel the starfighters that had spent more fuel than usual because of the extensive evasive and high-speed manoeuvres.

 

"Look who's talking." Corran mumbled under his breath, refusing to be dragged into banter with the notorious pilot in front of the whole bridge crew. The loudspeakers of Wedge's personal console were turned low, but Wes had shouted at the top of his lungs. No doubt deliberately. Later, he promised himself, he would get back at the cocky Rogue.

 

Wedge wisely ignored the exchange and focused, the first time since contacting him, on the chief of the Orbital Mirrors. "How long do you give us, Captain?"

 

The pudgy face of Orid Wya wrinkled in thought: "About half an hour."

 

"That should suffice. Thank you for your help, Captain." Wedge nodded gratefully to him, then turned on his heels to address the officer of a booth that had been largely neglected during their latest disaster.

 

"Communication, what about our reinforcements?"

 

The elder woman of Coruscanti origin smiled reservedly up at him: "General Bel-Iblis and Admiral Kre'fey will join us in ten minutes with their fleet groups, Sir. Coruscant Security sends three squadrons of A-Wings and two squadrons of E-Wings."

 

Wedge plopped down into his seat, finally allowing relief to flood through him. Even if everything went just worse from here on, now he had more pieces to play with. If he were taking care of his resources and his tactics, he would be able to play an eternal hide-and-seek game with the Vong out there.

 

"Any contact to the worldship or to our ferry?" he queried, a new wave of worry assaulting him. Some of his closest friends were down there and he didn't even know whether they were still alive.

 

"No, Sir. But Coruscant's shields are more massive than average battleship shields. They block communications to a high amount. Long range receptors tuned into this direction are neutralized completely."

 

The General sighed: "I see. Keep me up to date about everything."

 

"Of course, Sir."

 

Swivelling his chair around, Wedge beheld for the first time the view in front of the transpariglass that presented the windows out to space. He whistled softly: "Wow."

 

Corran came over to him and bent low, so that no one could hear his next words: "You didn't think it would work, did you?"

 

Wedge laid both his hands together, fingertip at fingertip: "Nope."

 

"You expected it to backfire on us."

 

"Yes."

 

"Wedge, you're definitely crazy."

 

 

New Republic Ferry

 

"What, by all the Sith Lords…." Mak Sofria breathed, unbelievingly staring at the planet of Coruscant and what was unfolding directly in front of it.

 

"A krishta shall take me! What a stupid idea!" Feria Bel'asca shook her head, her grin pretty much contradicting the insult she had flung at the Corellian general that was still many light-years away from her.

 

"What kind of idea, Jeedai?"

 

It was but a soft rustle of a robe that told Feria that their Yuuzhan Vong passenger, the Supreme Overlord himself, had come forward and now stood between her and the co-pilot seat that was occupied by her fellow Jedi and friend Mak.

 

Glowing eyes were trained on the shining wall of energy on which spectacular colours played. The New Republic ships that were safely hidden behind it were not to see, only the group of Yuuzhan Vong living ships that barraged it with fire without achieving anything.

 

"If I'm not completely mistaken, General Antilles has used the orbital mirrors to channel a part of Coruscant's shield energy away from the planet." She explained, barely keeping herself from asking whether any Yuuzhan Vong would ever have been able to invent such a tactic.

 

The Supreme Overlord made a sound that resembled a half-growl and leaned forward, suspiciously surveying the sensory display of the ferry.

 

"These small dots…" a vicious looking claw pointed at the readings that presented the mirror stations, "… are what is channelling the energy. He has built a corridor of shields?"

 

The male Ishi Tib nodded, now grinning, too. "He is save from your ships for the moment. Hopefully long enough for us to reach the range of your villip's communication ability."

 

Shimrra lapsed back into silence, ignoring the Jedi's last comment. With an expression that could be interpreted as thoughtful, he stared out at the one-sided fight.

 

 

Yuuzhan Vong Worldship Hiis El

 

Luke's old lightsaber still lay in her hand, firmly, but unlit. Although she knew these feelings to be from the Dark Side, Mara Jade Skywalker couldn't help the satisfaction and the contempt that filled her heart when she saw the lifeless body of the Master Shaper Mezhan Kwaad clatter to the floor.

 

And why shouldn't she allow such feelings to herself? This monster had tortured her husband, again and again. Mentally and physically. She had inflicted so much pain, self-doubt and irritation on him that she would have deserved a much more painful death. Wasn't it just to claim revenge in such a case?

 

A wave of surprise and disbelief interrupted her thoughts and she turned her head to stare straight into the crystal blue orbs of her husband. They were wide and nailed on the dead Yuuzhan Vong, harbouring an expression of awe.

 

She saw how he sought her face for confirmation, thought to almost hear the unspoken question that flew through his mind in this very moment.

 

'Is it true or is it all a dream?'

 

She smiled softly, continuing to meet his stare and finally saw acknowledgement replace the startledness. Mara had expected to see happiness appear, too, but there was no such thing.

 

For a short moment, his eyes held intense relief and sheer joy, but she could feel that this wasn't directed at the fact that she had killed Mezhan Kwaad.

 

Free. That was the one word that permeated his thoughts and which he projected loudly into the Force, totally unshielded.

 

Luke excelled her at this. He was not able to feel satisfaction upon killing. In an odd way, she had the distinct feeling that he mourned Kwaad in a manner that was completely incomprehensible to her.

 

She would have to talk to him about all this. Mara didn't need to be a psychologist to guess that all that had happened in the past hour had to have reopened wounds that had barely been closed.

 

The terror filled cry that had revealed his position earlier on had conveyed all the panic he had felt at awakening once again in what was the closest to a chamber of horrors Mara had ever seen.

 

Her husband smiled tiredly at her, his eyes blinking open and closed slowly. As unshielded as he was at the moment, Mara could easily feel exhaustion claiming him.

 

Now, that Liin Kwaad was gone, all the extensive exercises he had put himself through in the last few days caught up with him. Adding to that the shock and his most recent injuries, he had to be weary to the bone.

 

Speaking of injuries….

 

Leia, Han and her reached Luke at the same time, causing him to chuckle softly as they helped him to his feet.

 

Mara suspiciously assessed the cut on his back. It bled softly, though not worryingly so.

 

"You think the blade's been poisoned?" Leia asked anxiously, following her sister-in-law's fingers meticulously with her eyes.

 

"I would already be dead if it had been." Her brother chimed in, his voice small, but steady.

 

"How pretty." Han grumbled, keeping a firm grasp on Luke's biceps to hold him upright. The Jedi Master didn't sway, but his face had adopted a sickly grey complexion and blood was still streaming down his cheeks.

 

"She had her special charms." The younger man smirked feebly, wriggling away from the probing fingers of his sister and his wife. "You inspect me all you want, but AFTER we're out of here."

 

Finally sure that the newly sustained wound was not dangerous for now, Mara nodded, leading the way when they went cautiously over to the passage that led to the anteroom. They met Miiram and Khalee halfway through, both slightly panting but obviously perfectly healthy.

 

"I take it those bugs posed no particular problem to you." The ex-Emperor's Hand stated, her tone tinged with the smallest hint of relief. Miiram simply sneered at her, something that Mara had learned to interpret as the Yuuzhan Vong form of a very broad grin.

 

The Warmaster's son had meanwhile gone a few steps into the chamber, halting and narrowing his eyes when he noticed the remains of Mezhan Kwaad. The young Yuuzhan Vong grumbled something that sounded distinctly disappointed and angry and shot the redhead a withering glance.

 

"You took my kill from me."

 

Mara met his stare deadpan and made a negligent gesture towards a corner of the laboratory. "I left you the apprentice. Be faster next time and perhaps you get to kill someone of importance."

 

A sound suspiciously resembling a laugh exploded from the Supreme Overlord's daughter's throat, but she quickly stifled it and accompanied her obviously ill tempered betrothed deeper into the laboratory.

 

Before they vanished in the shadows around the corner, Miiram called a fleeting: "Get into our coralskipper. We'll follow you soon and bring you to one of your ships."

 

 

New Republic Ship Ralroost

 

It had been a long wait, grating on nerves that were already strained to the maximum. But finally, after more than twenty minutes, the continuous, hypnotizing whirlwind of colours that ridiculed the danger of the plasma shots that created it subsided and gave view onto the group of Yuuzhan Vong warships. Now serenely drifting in space, they looked to be not much more than large asteroids.

 

This dangerous misinterpretation had cost many New Republic pilots their lives in the early stages of the war. It had taken some time to equip the targeting computers and the sensory fields of starfighters and starships alike to identify Yuuzhan Vong craft by flight patterns and accelerations atypical for real asteroids.

 

Wondering why these thoughts came to him now, Wedge stood and looked over to his communications officer. The Coruscanti was intently listening to some broadcasts, a rare smile blossoming on her severe face.

 

As far as the Corellian knew, she was a veteran of the Battle of Endor, having joined the Alliance to avenge the loss of her two sons and three daughters at the hands of the Empire. Her husband had been a journalist and obviously broadcasting his opinions about how Palpatine handled non-human races too freely. The family had been charged with treason. She and her husband had barely escaped from the city planet, losing their children in the process.

 

It was one of millions of sad stories linked to the Empire and it had robbed this woman of her joy to live. She had devoted her whole existence to the military and it wasn't her first assignment with Wedge.

 

Thus he knew how seldom anything could result in her showing a smile.

 

"Good news?" he queried.

 

She nodded. "Very good news, Sir. Supreme Overlord Shimrra has informed his ships about what happened. We are safe to come out."

 

Corran perched an eyebrow: "Says who?"

 

"We have the word of two Jedi Knights."

 

Wedge grinned: "Corran?"

 

The green-eyed Corellian grimaced at him, a smile tugging at his lips: "That's good enough, I think."

 

 

Personal Coralskipper Of Khaleeh Lah, Aft Compartment

 

Luke sagged onto the coral bench, closing his eyes for a moment and trying to fight the nauseating feeling created by the Yuuzhan Vong breathing device he had used to travel through the worldship.

 

As if he hadn't hurt enough, they had also had to note that the creature that had enabled them to survive the total lack of oxygen in the worldship didn't have anything against taking fresh blood for a snack. Obviously smelling the open and still bleeding wounds on Luke's cheeks, it squirmed and convulsed - a very annoying and uncomfortable process if one took into account that it was plastered firmly against the back of Luke's throat and extended just up into his nose.

 

"Come on, I help you take it out." Han sat down next to him, shedding his own breathing creature that had not been nearly as painful to wear because the Corellian didn't have any injuries except of some bruises.

 

"No, Han, it's okay, I can…"

 

Before Luke could finish the sentence, his friend had expertly taken him by his chin and in a matter of seconds, with another flash of nausea that almost made the Jedi black out, the tiny, glob-like creature joined its fellows in a corner of the room.

 

The simple action left Luke drained of energy and he was not sure whether he had perhaps even lost consciousness for a time as he opened his eyes and found himself lying on the bench, Han kneeling next to him. Mara and Leia were nowhere to be seen and the former pirate had somehow gotten his hands on an emergency med-pack.

 

"Where…?" he mumbled in irritation, astonished at hearing the rough quality of his voice.

 

Han smiled at him and, while rummaging through the pack, nodded over to the corridor that led to the cockpit of the Yuuzhan Vong craft. "They are with Miiram and Khalee to take care of Nen Yim."

 

Luke frowned, having difficulties to grasp that Mara would have left his side. He admitted that he even felt a little hurt that she had. It might not be the most heroic thing to wish for, but he wouldn't have objected to having her next to him and feeling her love.

 

The Corellian gave him a mock-hurt glance: "Hey, I know I'm not as beautiful as Mara, but give me some credit for my ability to patch up the holes you so frequently acquire."

 

The Jedi Master chuckled and started to sit up, but Han pressed him back determinedly. "Hold still now. Those cuts are still bleeding. Gotta stop that before you ruin the nice furniture and I have to pay for it." His best friend mumbled, setting to work with some small bacta packages and wound sprays.

 

Luke obliged, all too happy, if he was honest, to be able to just lie still. The wounds in his cheeks were throbbing and he still felt woozy because of the blood loss. Patiently waiting for Han to finish his ministrations, the Jedi took sight of the slowly darkening bruises at the side of his friend's head.

 

Grimly, he pressed his lips together. He had inflicted those upon Han. He had hurt his best friend. Remorse and pain assaulted him and he closed his eyes – he didn't want to see what he had done.

 

Of course he couldn't remember when he had done it. Technically, it hadn't even been HIM, but this fact didn't help to soothe Luke's conscience. Not at all.

 

"Hey, kid, postpone your nap a little, will you?" Calloused hands patted his cheeks with measured force, and Luke hesitantly allowed himself to open his eyes. Han's expression was worried and he frowned down on his younger friend.

 

"Until we have some medical units to supervise your life signs, I'm not going to let you drop off. We had that one time and I don't care to repeat that particular experience." The Corellian huffed while he stashed the remaining bacta patches back into the emergency med pack.

 

Luke couldn't help but wince at the memory of this one mission some years ago that had gone disastrously wrong – as most of their missions went, if he came to think about it.

 

Watching Han work for another few moments, he finally cleared his throat. If he didn't get it out now, he wouldn't at all and then it wouldn't let him have a calm moment.

 

"I'm sorry, Han."

 

Hazel eyes focused on him, suddenly, suspiciously, and his brother-in-law's hands halted in what they were doing. "What for?" the older man queried.

 

Luke smiled bitterly: "I think I did that." He indicated the bruises with his right hand, his eyes firmly on his best friend's face.

 

"Nonsense."

 

"But Han…"

 

"Liin did that."

 

"Han, listen…"

 

"No." The Corellian jumped to his feet and towered over the smaller man that was still lying on the bench. His expression was furious and he saw the Jedi cringe at the sight. Han's rage immediately faltered. This was not the time to tell him how infuriating his habit of blaming himself for everything was.

 

Luke was deathly pale and so exhausted that he looked ready to lose consciousness anytime now. In fact, the kid had him scared quite well when he had gone limp in his arms after Han had helped him to get rid of the living breathing device.

 

Fortunately it had been mere minutes before he had woken again, quieting his brother-in-law's worries effectively.

 

Sighing, Han sank down onto the bench, taking Luke's left hand into his own carefully. It was a gesture that was seldom between the two of them and the Jedi didn't even try to hide his surprise.

 

"Luke, I admit that it freakin' scared me, okay? Seeing this monster as you.. I mean, IN you… it's not something I want to see ever again. He was a little rough with me and yes, I admit, it hurt."

 

The Jedi Master winced and averted his gaze, but Han wasn't about to back off. "But do you know what hurt more?"

 

Luke ignored the question. Of course. He had already firmly resolved that it was all his fault and his alone.

 

"You're such an idiot." The Corellian grumbled irritably and pulled at his friend's arm. Luke shot him a passive glance, his face emotionless. How often, Han mused, had he seen this very same expression on his brother-in-law? And on his wife? It had to have been more times than he could count.

 

"Luke, these bruises are nothing. It hurt more to think to have lost you. I mean… well, if we're at it, I had panic you were gone. I'm not Force sensitive and I never really envied you for it or wished for it." Han paused, staring at the yorik coral floor. He was not accustomed to talking like this about his feelings, but he knew this was important. He didn't want to erect another wall between him and Luke that would endanger their friendship.

 

"At this very moment, I wanted to be a Jedi. I wanted to be able to feel whether you're still there. You know, I could have killed Liin. I had the chance. But I couldn't make myself do it. I didn't know whether you were still alive. I couldn't bear to have hurt you, much less killed you. And I know you wouldn't hurt me - ever."

 

There was a silence, a long silence, and through all this silence, Han didn't dare look up. He had always assumed Luke knew him well enough to guess what he really felt and thought but even between the two of them, in all those years they had known each other, they had seldom had a talk similar to this. Perhaps one or two times and it had felt curious to Han every time.

 

It did now, too. At some point, though, the silence became unbearable. Bracing himself, Han lifted his head, surprised at finding Luke simply staring at him.

 

It was another consolidation of their friendship. There were no words needed, not beyond those the Corellian had already spoken out loud. He could see in the blue eyes of his brother-in-law that the younger man had understood. And Han himself had understood, too.

 

After a while, Han patted the slightly cold hand of his best friend and rose: "I'll fetch Mara now. You're not going to faint on me, are you?"

 

"No. No, Han, I'm fine. Thanks." Luke smiled, waving him away.

 

"No big deal, kid." The Corellian winked at him and vanished in the corridor.

 

*~~

 

The sight that greeted him when he entered the cockpit of the living craft was pretty much what he had expected.

 

Khalee and Miiram were sitting at the controls, quietly explaining some of the "instruments" to a very interested Leia. The worry about her brother was easy to see for someone as familiar with her face as her husband, but he knew she would take her time later.

 

Nen Yim was restrained to a seat in the furthermost corner of the cockpit, her eyes dull and her face wearing no expression whatsoever. Han shortly wondered whether she had been a simple pawn in the Master Shaper's game or whether she had been a more active part in the scheme against his best friend, but quickly decided that such musings were to no use right now.

 

Mara had immediately risen from her seat when he had entered and met him at the door.

 

She looked at him, scrutinizing, then smiled: "Everything all right?"

 

Han nodded, replying her smile warmly: "Everything all right. Thanks for letting me take care of him." The Corellian appreciated the gesture very much. It must have cost Mara a lot to let her husband alone, even if only for a couple of minutes, after everything that had happened in the last time. And yet she had done it and he was grateful for it.

 

"You're welcome, Han. The two of you needed that."

 

They smiled a last time at each other, then Mara hurried out of the cockpit, to Luke, and Han planted himself in the seat she had just vacated.

 

 

Coruscant, Skywalker Apartment, Late Evening

 

Luke didn't think he had ever felt older in his life. This day had been long. Terribly long. It had taken hours for everyone to recount what had happened and bring it into a logical order. Wedge's scheme to save the fleet without killing a single Yuuzhan Vong deliberately had been a genius one and Luke had told him so willingly.

 

The Supreme Overlord's worldship had suffered severe damage and was, for the moment at least, absolutely uninhabitable. Therefore, they all had agreed on signing the peace treaty on the less damaged Criarto, two days from now.

 

Nen Yim had been condemned to death by a procedure with a very foreign name neither of them wanted to know more about.

 

While Luke had attended all those meetings and discussions and had even taken the time to praise his two Jedi Knights that had brought Supreme Overlord Shimrra into the range of the communication creatures of his Vong escort, the Force had been all that had kept him going. Luke wasn't even sure anymore whether he had made up an appointment with the Supreme Overlord again or not.

 

The personal talk between the two of them had never taken place because of how everything had developed and Shimrra had expressed his interest in realising the meeting nonetheless.

 

His surroundings had vanished into a haze halfway through most of the sessions and by the time he had boarded the ferry down to Coruscant, he had barely been aware of anything. Leia had stayed with him, while Mara had piloted the ship together with Han, and it had helped him to hold on just a little longer.

 

He would have loved to fall into his bed the second he had stepped into their apartment, but his wife had insisted that he had to clean up, already for the sake of his wounds. So he had bathed, almost dozing off in the hot water, and now finally sank down on his bed.

 

Luke felt more than heard the soft footsteps of his wife. The movement of the bed when she joined him merely lulled him deeper into his doze. Even the slight stinging sensation as Mara finally tended to the superficial cut on his back didn't rouse him anymore.

Perhaps the dim sounds he heard before sleep claimed him totally were words she directed at him, but although he longed to talk to her and hold her, he couldn't fight against the exhaustion anymore.

 

*~~

 

Mara smiled lovingly, carefully rolling her husband onto his back and pushing some stray hairs out of his forehead. It would do no good to his cheeks if he slept on them right away.

 

He had already been in a daze when he had come out of the bathroom. Probably it would do him good to sleep really long and deep after all the straining days he had been forced to go through.

 

The ex-Emperor's Hand could barely believe that it was really over now. Kwaad was dead. There would be no terrible scheme of hers surprising them again, endangering their life and threatening to take the one thing from her she loved most in this universe.

 

Tomorrow they would talk about everything that had transpired. Tenderly, she reached out in the Force and touched her husband's presence. His shields weren't yet in place and Mara doubted he had even noticed it.

 

All the time she had wondered how he had managed to go on at all and it was a small miracle that he hadn't simply collapsed. Another proof that the Force was an ally that could give you a lot.

 

Now, probing his feelings lightly, she could feel that what she had feared hadn't happened. The events of the day hadn't pushed him back into the terrible state of shock he had been in after Mezhan Kwaad had first laid hands on him. His trauma hadn't been reinstalled and she was eternally grateful for it.

 

Finally, everything would be all right. Mara stretched out next to him, laying her arm over his stomach under the covers. Luke snuggled up to her instinctively, his hand seeking her belly.

 

Mara grinned. He was safe with her, his injuries a matter of days. Their baby was fine and, most important, would be born into a galaxy in peace.

 

Of course there would be trouble again, sooner or later. She didn't allow herself any illusions about it. But at this moment, for once, there was nothing to worry about.

 

"I told you you'd be stronger, my love." She whispered, kissing his lips softly and closing her eyes.

 

 

~~~~ Epilogue ~~~~

 

Luke Skywalker sat in the living room of his sister, holding a small bundle in his arms. It was unbelievable. Simply unbelievable that this tiny being was what he and Mara had created.

 

In the past few months he had been able to feel it grow, more and more. It had been a wonder to him. He had already been fascinated by the pregnancy of his sister, but the fact that it had been his child this time, his very own, had changed his whole perception.

 

This small, precious creature had helped him push the memories of Kwaad and Elan back into the deepest recesses of his mind.

 

The fateful day, when the Master Shaper had finally vanished from his life, had not instilled as much fear in him as his shaping had, but it had not been something to dismiss as easily as a bruise either.

 

This time, though, he had immediately accepted the help of his family. In between the signing of the peace treaty and the adjoining meetings about the resettlements, slave liberations and what not, there had been much leisure time for all of them.

 

They had often gathered to simply talk the whole evening or sit together and be quiet, watching the sunset or listening to music. It had been a source of immense peace and strength for him, those times, when his family and many of his friends had been present.

 

Love was the best medicine. He had read that somewhere at some point. As a young man, he had not really believed it. Now he did.

 

Little Ben Skywalker cooed and gurgled delightedly as his father softly stroked his cheek.

 

Luke smiled. Love could have so many faces. Even a chubby, petal soft one like the one of his son. Blue eyes stared at him, thoughtfully, as if the little boy could hear his father's musings.

 

The Jedi Master settled deeper into the couch, settling the infant against his chest so that he could hear his heartbeat. Ben was strong in the Force and his father didn't deny the pride he felt upon touching the bristling, if undeveloped, presence of his child.

 

"You will hopelessly spoil him if you continue like that." Mara gently admonished, letting herself sink down next to her husband and leaning her chin on his shoulder.

 

"He was afraid."

 

His beautiful wife laughed: "He was bored, Luke, nothing more."

 

"She's right, kid. First thing you have to learn about babies: they're cunning creatures." Han plopped down into an armchair, sipping at his beer, his eyes transfixed on little Ben. His nephew.

 

The Jedi Master perched an eyebrow and glared at his brother-in-law mock-sternly: "Did you just insult my son?"

 

Han just grinned as every further discussion was quickly prevented by Ben Skywalker demanding his daddy's attention once again, his tiny hand fishing in Luke's face and getting a firm grasp on the lower lip of the Jedi.

 

"Ouch! Hey, you…" Luke mumbled, grinning, trying to pry five small fingers from his mouth.

 

"At least now we know that he's got Mara's temper. We will need to buy him some transparisteel cage to run around in."

 

"Han!" Leia admonished, extending a hand from the tray she was carrying and smacking him across the head. She had come out of the kitchen just in time to catch her husband's comment.

 

"Ouch!" the Corellian cried out in an overly dramatic manner, grimacing as if mortally wounded.

 

 

Ben, whose eyes had been resting on his uncle, erupted into small, gurgling giggles and crowed his delight.

 

Luke laughed along with his family, laying an arm around the shoulders of his wife and hugging his son closer to him. He couldn't remember a time when he had been happier.

 

 The End

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