Part III

HOME

IT IS FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF THE EMPEROR AND THE
BIRTH OF THE NEW REPUBLIC, AND A NEW DARK JEDI, MALARIN
BELSARIOS, HAS TEAMED UP WITH IMPERIAL VICE ADMIRAL PELLAEON TO
RESTORE THE EMPEROR. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, LORD BELSARIOS SEEKS
THE VADER DISK, A FORCE-ENHANCING DISK ONCE OWNED BY DARTH
VADER. BELIEVING IT TO BE IN THE POSSESSION OF MARA JADE, ABOARD
THE GAMBLER'S EDGE, BELSARIOS PURSUES THE NEW REPUBLIC SHIP
BACK TO THEIR HOME GALAXY.

AS THE GAMBLER'S EDGE MAKES ITS LONG JOURNEY HOME, ALLIA
AND TOM DALE--ALONG WITH THEIR TWO CHILDREN--START TO ADJUST TO
THEIR NEW LIFE. DURING THE THREE-MONTH VOYAGE, JEDI MASTER LUKE
SKYWALKER BEGINS TO TRAIN HIS NEW-FOUND SISTER IN THE WAYS OF
THE FORCE. OTHER LESSONS INCLUDE GALACTIC HISTORY, STARSHIP
PILOTING AND NAVIGATION, AND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR TOM AND
THE CHILDREN.

MEANWHILE, ABOARD THE PURSUING FORCE STORM, ONE OF
BELSARIOS' MEN MAKES A DISCOVERY...

"Did you ever think when you signed on you'd be gone for six bleeding months?" Corporal Tobin stretched his arms, then leaned forward on his service blaster.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to get off on some planet--any planet," Private Chanders replied lazily. "Only another month-and-a- half to go..."

"Don't remind me," replied Tobin.

The two men were making routine rounds of the hangar bay and ship storage facilities on the Imperial strike-class Force Storm. Just another routine shift on what had turned out to be an exceedingly dull voyage. There had been some excitement a while back, what with the capture and subsequent escape of Mara Jade and some other rebel, but since then it had been quiet, their leader content to brood on his own as they chased the rebels back to their own galaxy.

"Well, it's almost time for chow," Chanders said as they walked across the narrow catwalk that extended from the main corridors to the hanger bay. Many hundreds of meters below them was deep storage and repair. "Let's skip deep storage tonight. I mean, we're in hyperspace, what the hell could we possibly find?"

Tobin shrugged. "I don't know, at least let me flash a light down there." He removed a glowrod from his belt and shined it below, making just a cursory pass into the darkness. He was about to turn it off and put it back on his belt when something flashed at him from below.

"Did you see that?" he asked Chanders.

The private shrugged. "There's all kinda stuff down there, I'm sure it's just a reflection off of a piece of a fighter or something."

"But it reflected back red," Tobin shook his head. "We'd better take a look, just to be safe. Lord Belsarios is still in an executing mood from those Jedi women escaping."

The two soldiers quickly crossed the catwalk into the hanger, then took a lift down to the level below. The storage facility was large and dark, lit only by ambient light from the hanger bay above them.

"I don't see anything," Chanders groused. "I'm hungry, let's go!"

"Wait a second, will you?" asked an exasperated Tobin. Maybe Chanders didn't mind being executed if they overlooked something, but Tobin was in no hurry to die. Looking up to the catwalk above, he moved beneath it to the spot where he had thought he had seen the red light come from. He smiled as the light from his glowrod illuminated a dark corner. There was something there, all right.

"What is it?" Chanders asked as Tobin picked up the thing that was reflecting back their light. It was a circular disk made up of three separate pieces and embedded with a red stone in each piece, near the center of the disk.

Tobin turned to his companion, a slow smile spreading on his face. "We're gonna get promoted for this," he said, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Why, what is it?" asked Chanders.

"It's that thing that Lord Belsarios wants. The Jade woman didn't have it after all."

"What thing?"

"The reason we came out here, you idiot!" Tobin cried, exasperated. "The Vader disk!"

***

"I'm getting pretty sick of the ship rations, too."

Ally looked up from pushing the strange food around her plate when she realized they were all staring at her. It was dinner time, and all the adults were gathered around the large table in the lounge, while the five children were eating together at a smaller table. It reminded Ally of a TV family's holiday dinner--her own family had never been big enough to include more than her own two kids. While they were eating, Chewbacca had made a comment about ship rations, and Ally had responded. She looked around the table, wondering why they were staring.

"How did you know what he said?" Han asked, sounding a little bewildered.

"What who said?" Ally asked. "You mean Chewie?"

"Yes, I mean Chewie," Han snapped. "You actually understood him?"

Ally smiled and shrugged. "Why do you think I've been following him around so much, to get tips on firing a bowcaster?" she shot back.

"Ally, it's been less than two months," Luke marveled. "I've known Chewie for eighteen years and I still don't always understand Wookiee."

"What's going on?" Tom asked, nudging her. He was getting better in Basic but still got lost in dinner conversations.

"They don't understand how I learned Wookiee so fast," Ally explained in English.

Tom laughed. "Not a language in...universe she can't learn...two months," he said, stumbling a little on the Basic.

Chewbacca, sounding more than a little impressed, questioned her.

Ally shrugged again, suddenly embarrassed at all the attention. "I'm an interpreter, remember? Languages is what I do."

"She got perfect sound memory," Tom supplied helpfully. "Never forgets anything she hears."

"Really?" Leia asked. "You know, I have a close friend who has perfect memory. I never thought about how useful that would be when learning a new language."

"Once I hear a sound and what it means, I just remember," Ally told them. "It's no big deal. It took a little longer with Wookiee--and I doubt I could actually reproduce the sounds accurately, but understanding's not too hard."

"You should..." Tom started, then stopped. "Translate, would you Al?"

Suddenly Threepio, the tall, gold-colored protocol droid stood up. "That's not necessary, Mistress Allia, I can--"

"I've got it," Ally snapped quickly, not allowing him to finish. She nodded for Tom to proceed.

Tom started again in English. "You should have seen her try and learn ASL. That one about killed her. The first time she ever had to work at a language."

Before Ally could even start translating, Mara asked "What's ASL?" They had all learned English on the trip to Earth from their galaxy and understood it fairly well.

"American Sign Language--a manual language used by the deaf," Ally replied.

Luke frowned. "Deaf?"

"People who can't hear."

"Why don't they just get their ears replaced if they can't hear," Luke asked. Ally noticed he unconsciously flexed his right hand--the mechanical one.

Tom nearly choked on his food--of all times for him to understand Basic, Ally thought. The son of two deaf parents, Tom had grown up in deaf culture. He was about to launch into a windy speech about the politically correct philosophies of deafness, but Ally waved him off. "Tom, this is not Earth, okay? I'm sure they don't need to hear the whole history of deaf rights. If something doesn't work here, they just fix it, okay?"

"Did I say something wrong?" Luke asked, puzzled.

"No, it's just Tom's parents were deaf. A lot of deaf people are really proud of their language and culture and would be offended at the suggestion that they should try and 'fix' their hearing."

Luke frowned again, still puzzled, but then went on to ask Tom how the piloting lessons with Han were going. Ally was grateful for the change of subject--she didn't like to make too much of her language ability. But as she continued her dinner and helped interpret for Tom, she noticed Chewbacca looking at her with something that resembled respect.

Once they had decided they would not be going back to Earth, Ally had decided the first thing she wanted to do was start learning alien languages. And what better place to start than the big Wookiee who was obviously like family to her new-found sister and brother. So she started following him around, soaking in every growl, bark, and snarl he uttered. It didn't take her long to learn her first phrase, which loosely translated meant something like "Leave me alone, you short hairless biped, or I'll rip your arms out." She learned several variations on that theme before she finally convinced Chewie that she could observe him without getting in his way.

Now, however, he seemed genuinely pleased that she had picked up his language. Which was a great relief to Ally, who was rather attached to her arms, and preferred them to stay attached to her.

When she wasn't trying to absorb the nuances of Wookiee, Ally spent a lot of time in training in Luke's make-shift gym in the ship's storage hold. That had been a hard sell, actually--Ally wasn't sure she really wanted to learn how to use the Force or be a Jedi. It seemed contrary to her religious beliefs which, even thousands of light-years from home, mattered to her.

It was Tom who finally convinced her to train. "I don't think believing in the Force means you can't believe in God," he had said. "Who said God didn't create the Force?"

So she began Jedi training. She was quite skilled--Gamiel had taught her more than she even realized--but she was still far behind Leia and Mara. While the other two women could jump from the gym's ground floor to the catwalk circling a good twenty meters overhead, Ally found it difficult to lift anything larger than a 5 kilo weight. And she had thought USAF boot camp was rough!

But hard as it was, Ally found herself enjoying the training, enjoying feeling the Force flowing through her. And between the training, learning Wookiee, and learning piloting skills from Han, Ally found her days pretty full. It was somewhat exhausting, really, but she found herself enjoying the trip more than she expected.

Except for one thing.

"Mistress Allia, there is really no need for you to bother yourself translating for Master Tom. I am, after all, fluent in over six million forms of communication--"

"I am perfectly capable of handling it," Allia growled at the protocol droid. That was the one thing that was driving her crazy--that annoying, whiny droid. She took it as a personal insult that a job she had been quite proud of on Earth was relegated to machines in the galaxy to which they were headed.

"Well, I never!" the droid exclaimed in a voice that reminded Ally of a prissy English accent. "Interpreting is, after all, my primary function."

"Mine too," Ally snapped back.

"Take it easy, Goldenrod," Han chuckled.

"I'm just trying to offer my assistance," Threepio pointed out.

"How about this, is this part of your six million forms of communication?" Ally asked as she flashed him a quick ASL sign.

"Although I am not familiar with that particular mode of communication, I do understand a great deal of the Twi'lekki communication that occurs manually through their lekku," the gold droid declared.

"What the heck's a 'lekku?'"

"Why, a Twi'lek's head tails, of course," Threepio said disdainfully. That earned him another quick sign from Ally.

Tom shot her a disapproving look. "Ally, the kids are right at the next table!"

"Well, I'm sure I know when I'm not needed," Threepio sniffed, walking stiffly away from the table.

Mara snorted. "You'll have to teach me that sign language of yours if it wards off annoying droids."

"Me, too," Han agreed.

"Oh, you three are too hard on poor Threepio," Leia scolded. "He's just trying to be helpful."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Han shot back to his wife.

Chewie barked, changing the conversation topic again. Ally was pleased to find that she understood this, as well.

"Thanks Chewie, I'd love to learn about Kashyyyk." * * * * *

Malarin Belsarios stood in his private quarters staring in wonder at the object in his hands--the thing Sergeants Tobin and Chanders had brought him.

The Vader disk.

Mara Jade didn't have it after all--she had dropped it here, on this ship, before making her escape. He turned it over in his hands, marveling at the way the three pieces fit together. He could feel the focusing effect it had on the Force, the power flowing through him.

For the first time since they left Earth behind, Belsarios could clearly sense his enemies. They were ahead of him, but now that he had the disk back, that would change. Force amplification was good for more things than just sensing others and attacking them with Force lightening.

Carefully, he pulled apart the three pieces. One of them he slipped around his neck. The other two he held in his hands, wanting to hold them a moment longer. A lifetime he had spent looking for these three objects, and now it was time for them to be put to use. One would be placed in the engine room at the starboard side of the ship, on a special dais he had created. The second piece would go in a weapon's battery on the port side. The third would remain with him. Though powerful when put together, these three pieces were even more powerful when spaced apart in a rough triangle, where they could feed off each other and amplify the Force in a greater area. This way, not only would Belsarios be more powerful, but the ship itself would have increased power.

All that was left was to devise a way to use that power. He would have to test it, and what better way then to make Mara Jade and her friends suffer for defying him?

Belsarios smiled. This was going to be a most enjoyable trip.

***

Mara sat upright in her cabin, the data pad she had been reading forgotten. She had felt something in the Force, something eerily familiar...

Before she could think too long about what it was, the buzzer on her door sounded. Mara stretched out her senses and discovered that the person on the other side was Ally Dale.

Mara smiled, her momentary uneasiness vanishing. In spite of herself, Mara found herself becoming quite fond of the blond lieutenant. Even if she was a Skywalker.

Mara thumbed the hatch controls and the door slid open. "Hey, Mara," Ally said casually. "Mind if I come in?"

Mara waved her into the room. "Sure. I thought you had history lessons or something like that."

Ally wrinkled her nose. "I'm sick to death of all this stuff I have to learn--Jedi lessons, history lessons, piloting lessons, language lessons," she said wearily, flopping onto a chair. It contoured itself around the woman's slight form, causing her to start. "I just can't get used to that!" she cried, looking at the chair around her.

Mara laughed. "Just another sign that this ship belongs to Lando Calrissian-- always going for the ostentatious." She sat down opposite Ally, in a chair that was not form-fitting.

"I've been hearing a lot about this guy. A good friend of yours?" Ally asked.

"I wouldn't go that far," Mara snorted. "We were business associates for a while, but he fancied himself something of a ladies man and I got tired of his constant lines."

Ally nodded. "I thought he was married."

"He is now," Mara agreed. "Tendra's a really wonderful lady, I have absolutely no idea what she sees in him. They're due to have a baby right about the time we get back, I think."

"Well, Han talks fondly of him, so I'm looking forward to meeting him. And remember, I was in the military, I'm used to men who think rather highly of their own charms." She then noticed the data pad lying on Mara's bed. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt your reading something interesting?"

"No, just files I wanted to study up on. I do have a business to run when I get back."

"Gee, not many business women I know stop what they're doing to rush off and save the galaxy," Ally commented wryly.

"It's not saving the galaxy that interests me," Mara countered. "I want Belsarios."

Ally nodded thoughtfully. "I may be new to these Force skills, but I sense there's something personal between you and him."

"I told you before, we used to be on the same side and now we're not," Mara said, eyeing Ally warily. So far she had managed to avoid discussing this with anyone but Skywalker, and even that was not comfortable for her. She preferred the past to stay in the past.

"It's more than that," Ally continued, undaunted.

"All right," Mara conceded, deciding Ally wasn't likely to let it drop. Too much like Skywalker. "He killed my brother."

Ally's eyebrows raised slightly. "I'm sorry, Mara, I didn't know that."

"Now you do."

The two women were silent for a moment. "And he killed the only father I ever knew," Ally said softly.

"Then we have something in common," Mara said dryly. "We both want to see him get what he deserves."

Again, Ally was silent. Finally, she said slowly, "I guess you're right. I'm not supposed to want revenge; my religion teaches forgiveness. And of course, it's against what Luke's trying to teach us as well, but that's how I feel."

"Skywalker would say that comes from the dark side," Mara agreed.

"Speaking of," Ally said, clearly wanting to change the subject, "I'm really curious. How long have you and Luke been together?"

This question caught Mara completely off guard. She gave Ally a hard look and bit out "I am most certainly not 'together' with Skywalker!"

Ally cocked her head slightly. "Really? You two are so close, I just figured--"

"You figured wrong," Mara said, her voice so icy it almost dissipated the warmth she felt in her cheeks. Almost.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Ally said quickly. "Didn't mean to broach a sensitive topic."

"It's not a sensitive topic," Mara said hastily. "I just find the thought a little appalling." Not an out and out lie. "Did he tell you how we met?"

Ally shook her head.

"I wanted to kill him."

Ally's eyes widened, but she said nothing.

"I mean that literally, too," Mara added.

"Why?"

"They told you about the battle of Endor and the Emperor's death?"

"Mm-hmm," Ally nodded.

"Well, the Emperor was my Master."

Ally frowned, sitting forward in her chair. 'What do you mean by that."

Mara settled back in her own chair, as if retreating from Ally's advance. "I was known as the Emperor's Hand. I was his personal assistant, spy, assassin." Ally's eyebrows raised further at the word assassin.

"He could communicate with me through the Force, and I went all over the galaxy, carrying out his orders. One of my last assignments was to kill Skywalker. It was my first and only failure for the Emperor."

"So what happened?"

"Vader killed the Emperor because of Skywalker, and my life was basically over, or so I thought at the time. No one in the upper echelons of the Empire knew of my existence, and the few who did thought I was a concubine or some Palace dancer. I went from being one of the most powerful people in the galaxy to a cantina waitress overnight."

"How did you end up working with the New Republic?"

Mara sighed. "Not by choice. I finally got a good position in a smuggling group run by Talon Karrde, who's now my business partner. It's a long story actually, but Karrde felt he owed something to the New Republic, so we helped them defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn. After that Skywalker asked me to be a liaison between Karrde's smuggler's coalition and the New Republic government."

"But I thought you wanted to kill him," Ally observed.

Again, Mara sighed. "I finally realized that I was acting on an impulse implanted by the Emperor. I stopped the impulse by killing Skywalker's clone."

Ally shuddered. "I don't even want to know about that."

"Anyway, that was all about ten years ago. I guess I decided he's not so bad after all," Mara said cautiously.

Ally considered this a moment, then asked, "And how do you feel now about having been an assassin for the Emperor?"

She was definitely Skywalker's sister. "I don't cringe in shame, if that's what you mean," she said warily. "But I've since made some discoveries about the Emperor, and I'm sorry I ever did anything to help that decrepit piece of filth."

Ally looked at her curiously, and Mara could sense that she wanted to know more, but Mara made it clear in her emotions that she did not want discuss either the Emperor or Skywalker further.

"Well," Ally said at length. "I've never had a friend that was an assassin before."

Mara relaxed slightly. The questioning was apparently over. "And I never had a friend who could talk with her hands. You were going to teach me some of that sign language of yours."

***

"Lord Belsarios, the disks are in place," a tall officer saluted smartly. Belsarios acknowledged him with a nod. He really didn't need this information; he could feel the amplified Force coursing through him.

"I want full speed from the hyperdrive," he said quickly to his pilot. "I want to catch up with the rebels before they reach our own galaxy."

"Aye, sir," the pilot responded crisply. "At the present speed we should reach the Minos cluster in twenty standard days. According to the heading you've provided, sir, we should overtake the rebels in just under fourteen standard days."

"Good. Very good." Very soon Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, former Chief of State Organa Solo, General Solo and that damned Wookiee companion of his, and of course, the traitor Mara Jade would be just a footnote in the history data cards. The beginning of the chapter entitled "the rise of the New Empire."

***

It was very early in the morning when Luke entered his makeshift Jedi training room full of plans for his two sisters and Mara. He was surprised to find, however, that Mara was alone in the room, practicing her levitating skills. Artoo-Detoo, forever the object of Jedi training drills, was hovering a meter off the ground.

"Not bad," he complemented her, "but where are the others?"

Distracted, Mara lost her concentration and Artoo came tumbling to the ground with a high-pitched wail.

"Don't do that!" she cried, looking up at him.

Luke put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. "You should have sensed my presence," he chided her, but with a smile.

Mara scowled but didn't answer him.

"Where are Leia and Allia?" Luke asked again.

"Some kind of parent thing, I think," Mara replied, rolling her eyes. "I think our five little future Jedi Knights got into some kind of trouble and all the parents decided to get together to give them a little lecture." She smiled. "Guess it's just you and me, Skywalker."

That suited Luke fine; there were some things he wanted to work on with Mara anyway.

"So why did you drop Artoo?" he asked her, not wasting any time.

Mara put her hands on her hips and gazed at him evenly, not about to play the subordinate student. "You startled me," she replied tersely.

"Why?"

"Because I was concentrating on the droid."

"So?" he asked, deliberately challenging her.

Mara scowled again. "So, I was concentrating on the droid. I didn't hear you come in."

"Or sense me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Mara folded her arms. "What's your point, Skywalker?"

"My point, Jade," he returned, "is that you need to be able to divide your focus. While concentrating on using the Force for one purpose, you should still be aware of its presence in all things around you." He paused, waiting to see if she'd say anything. She didn't, but he could feel her irritation just under the surface. Mara Jade plainly did not like to be told what to do.

"Just like you did when you were able to move something very large while in the middle of a shoot-out on Belsarios' ship."

This surprised her. She raised her eyebrows and seemed about to ask him a question. Then she changed her mind and told him simply, "It was a crane."

Luke nodded. "And how were you able to move it, yet still keep your attention focused on the stormtroopers who were shooting at you?"

Mara dropped her defensive posture as she considered this. "I don't know," she said after a moment. "I just did it."

Luke nodded again. "Then why is it harder here?"

Again Mara responded, "I don't know."

"I do," Luke told her.

Without warning, he reached out with the Force and grabbed the small seeker remote that had been sitting idly in the corner of the training room. In just a fraction of a second it hummed to life and dove after Mara.

In one smooth move, Mara had her lightsaber off her belt and activated the blade with a sharp snap-hiss. Even as she did so, she brought it up to bear as the little remote came after her. Before it could get off even one shot, Mara sliced it neatly in two.

"What was that for?" she demanded angrily, her eyes narrowing as she turned on Luke.

He only smiled. "Just proving my point."

"What exactly is your point?" she hissed.

"You were able to defend yourself without thinking. It was pure reflex." He shook his head at the shattered seeker, then looked directly back at Mara. "You have a highly developed sense of danger. That's why you do so well in battle, and why you were able to so easily destroy the remote before it even could take a shot at you. But your danger reflexes are based in anger and aggression. The Force--the light side of the Force-- needs to flow from a place of calm and tranquillity."

Mara's hands flew back to her hips and gave him an icy stare. "I'll remember that if I ever need to attack while I'm feeling calm and tranquil," she sneered.

Luke could see he had really gotten her dander up. Which is exactly what he wanted.

"You're missing the point, Mara," he told her, his voice a little softer now. "The Force isn't about attack. That's the dark side. It isn't even always about defending yourself." He made a sweeping motion with his arm, as if motioning to the whole universe. "It's about life. It's about the energy that's created by life, and flows through it and surrounds it. And it's about understanding. Not anger, and not aggression."

Mara's eyes lost some of their iciness. She relaxed her posture and sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, Skywalker, anger and aggression are pretty much who I am." She paused. "Perhaps I'm just not cut out to be a Jedi."

"Mara, you're wrong," Luke said earnestly, stepping towards her. "You have it in you to be one of the greatest Jedi Knights." He looked at her seriously. "You could be a Master."

He surprised her again, and her emerald eyes opened wide. But she shook her head and turned from him. "I'm not like you, Luke."

Luke moved around to face her again. "Who said you have to be like me? You don't even have to be a Jedi if you don't want to. I'm not out to force you to be what you don't want to be. And I'm certainly not here to train you to fight or defend yourself--if that were the case, you'd probably be teaching me."

"Then why the lecture? Why is all this so important to you?" she asked, looking up at him.

He took her by the shoulders. "Because we both know that some day you'll have to face Belsarios again. And I don't want you to succumb to the dark side."

"That again," Mara said, shrugging free of his grasp. "I faced him once and I didn't fall."

Luke shook his head. "You had people depending on you for their safety--Ally and the children. Your first priority was escape. Next time it might be revenge."

He could see that he was not far from the mark. Mara let her breath out in frustration. "Am I supposed to just forget what he did to my brother? That he just struck him down from behind?" she demanded. "Am I supposed to just let him walk away?"

"No. You face him, but not in anger and not with aggression. You face him in strength."

"I'm not cut out for this," she grunted. "The only strength I know is my anger."

"And how does that make you different from any other Jedi?" She looked puzzled by this, so he went on. "Every Jedi and trainee I've ever known has had to fight their anger." He counted on his fingers: "Ben Kenobi's anger at my father's becoming Darth Vader. Kyp Durron's anger with the Empire over the destruction of his family. Kirana Ti and Teneniel Djo's anger with the Nightsisters. Cray Mingla's anger at her fiance's illness. Callista's anger at the loss of her abilities. Allia's anger with Gamiel and with herself for not believing him. Leia's anger at the loss of Alderaan. My anger at the loss of my father."

Mara started. "You?" She almost smiled. "I find it hard to believe you ever had to fight your own anger."

Luke grinned, feeling a bit like the cocky farmboy he once was. "Yoda almost refused to train me because of my anger. And my impatience." He smiled at the memory. "He told me he couldn't teach me because I had no patience. 'Much anger in him.' Those were his exact words. 'Much anger in him. Like his father.'" Luke continued, quoting his one-time Master: "'Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join in a fight.'"

Mara stared at him, apparently astonished that he had ever had his own inner conflicts.

Luke continued: "But you already have the key; what I had to struggle to learn, you posses already."

"And that is?"

"Self control."

"Yeah, like flinging a computer console across a ship's lounge," Mara chided herself.

"That one instance notwithstanding, Mara," Luke continued, "you have an amazing capacity to control your anger when it's in your own best interest to do so. I'd be dead if that weren't true."

He saw that he had hit his mark again; she remembered as well as he did that she had refrained from killing him years ago in spite of not only an intense desire for revenge for herself, but a direct order from the Emperor. She considered this a moment, then actually cracked a smile.

"I still can't picture you not in control."

Luke laughed. "Come on, Mara, I know you've read all the records the Emperor had on me. Surely you know I wasn't always the poised, self-confident, sophisticated Jedi Master you see before you."

At this, Mara actually laughed with him. "So how did you do it? How did you learn this patience and tranquillity."

Luke laughed again and told her a little about his own training on Dagobah--the exercises that had seemed so pointless at the time. He told her about his failed attempt to lift his X-wing out of the bog, and of the many drills where he had to do things like balance upside down while keeping Artoo suspended in mid-air, and Yoda perched on his foot.

Mara laughed again, this time much harder.

"What?" Luke asked a bit sheepishly.

Mara shook her head, laughing too hard. Finally she was able to get out: "The image of that little being, perched on your foot while you hang upside down--" She burst into a fresh round of laughter. "I've seen holos of him, you know."

Luke was amazed by her reaction. In all the years he'd known her, he couldn't remember ever seeing her really laugh. All at once he was struck by how truly beautiful she was with her guard down. But her laughter was contagious, and soon Luke was laughing with her until his stomach hurt. After all, he had looked pretty ridiculous, if you think about it.

Finally, swiping at her eyes, Mara began to calm down. Luke saw it was a good time for his next surprise.

"I want you to take me on in a lightsaber duel."

"What, now?" Mara asked, still smiling.

"Sure," Luke smiled back. "You're arm's pretty well healed, right?"

"I thought you weren't trying to teach me how to fight."

"I'm not," he answered mischievously. "You already know how to do that. The goal here is not victory over me. It's victory over yourself. Now, while you're happy and at peace, is the perfect time for you to see you don't need your anger to be strong."

Stepping back, he took his lightsaber off of his belt and ignited the green-white blade with a flourish.

"You're serious," Mara said.

Luke waved the blade back and forth, causing it to hum. "Yes, I am."

Mara shrugged off her jacket and pulled out her own blue-bladed lightsaber. The same one Ben Kenobi had given Luke so many years ago. Luke, in turn, had given it to her after their defeat of Joruus C'baoth and Grand Admiral Thrawn. She held the blade up before her in the classic two-handed grip, her face once again tense and serious.

Luke made the first advance, swinging his blade up in a smooth arc. She stopped it with her own, blades crackling as they came in contact with each other. Pushing backwards, Luke spun around, then came at her with another jab. This time she had to fight to make the block, but almost immediately she went on the offensive, arcing her blade down, then back up and around to come down on top of Luke's blade.

"You're starting to get aggressive," Luke cautioned over the electric snapping of the two blades.

"I tend to do that when I'm fighting," she shot back, but heeding his warning, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. While she did this, Luke went in for another attack, but he couldn't catch her off guard. She blocked his attack and nearly pushed him over backwards in the process. Using her own momentum against her, he ducked down and dashed past her as she nearly stumbled over his head.

Luke whirled around to face her again, charging before she'd completely regained her balance. With a dancer's grace, Mara spun around, low to the floor, slicing upward with her blue blade. To escape her, Luke took a deep breath, then jumped high, back-flipping onto the catwalks up above. But Mara was not to be so easily dodged. Summoning the Force, she followed him, landing deftly in front of him, blade extended. He attacked as soon as she landed, knocking her back against the railing. He could feel her anger and aggression start to rise as she struggled to push him off. She did not give in to it, however; she used his own maneuver on him and ducked down under his arm, knocking him forward into the railing. As he pushed himself backwards away from the railing, he felt her take another deep breath, reining in feelings.

They battled on for another full five minutes, first Luke taking the offensive, then Mara as they dueled around the upper level, then back to the main deck. They were both drenched with sweat and breathing heavily when Mara moved in for one final attack. Holding her blade almost horizontally in front of her, she charged, pressing Luke back as he held his lightsaber out in a similar fashion. Their blades met again and their faces were so close he could feel her breath. Luke stared into her eyes, narrow emerald slits. She looked fierce, but Luke could tell she was calm inside. He could feel strength coursing through her, even as she pressed him. They'd reached a stalemate.

Luke took a step back, bumping into the wall behind him. He extinguished his blade then slid down the wall to the floor, exhausted. Mara likewise shut off her lightsaber and sank to the floor beside him, panting heavily.

"How do you feel?" Luke asked when he could somewhat catch his breath.

"Not bad," she breathed. "Calm. And exhausted."

Luke nodded, his heart suddenly swelling with pride. "You did it. The Force was with you, and you did not give in to aggression."

Mara looked at him, smiling and obviously quite pleased at her accomplishment. She absently wiped loose, wet strands of red hair away from her flushed cheeks, and for the second time that day, Luke was struck by how lovely she was. His eyes locked with hers and he savored the openness of her emotions to the Force, something unusual for Mara Jade. Motionless except for their heaving breath, they stared at each other, his face centimeters from hers. Slowly he reached forward, brushing his finger against her cheek...

Then the moment was gone. Abruptly, Mara got up and grabbed for a towel that was hanging nearby. She faced away from him, wiping the back of her neck with it, and Luke could feel a wall go up in the Force.

"Mara, wait," he said, rising. As he did so, Mara stooped down, examining something on the floor. She rose again and faced him, but did not look at him.

"Tell me, Skywalker, how is Callista doing in her quest to regain her Jedi abilities?"

Callista? Where did that come from? He was about to ask her when he became aware that they were no longer alone.

"Was that a lightsaber duel we heard?"

Luke turned quickly, startled to find Leia and Ally in the doorway of the cargo hold, dressed for training.

"Yes," he told them trying to keep his voice calm. "I was taking advantage of your absence to help Mara work on her connection with the Force."

"Who won?" Ally asked, looking back and forth between Luke and Mara with an odd expression on her face.

"It was a stalemate," Mara answered as she draped the towel around her neck. Stepping forward and facing Luke she added, "You're a good swordsman, Skywalker." She turned back towards Leia and Ally. "Your turn now--I'm exhausted. If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to hit the showers."

She headed towards the door, then turned around, as if in afterthought. "Oh, Skywalker. You must have dropped this during the fight." She gently pitched him something very small and white, then left the room.

Luke reached into the air and caught the object she'd tossed. It was his seashell ring. The one Callista had given him. Confused and more than a little frustrated, he slipped the ring into his pocket. He had no idea what had just happened, but now was not the time to figure it out. He looked up at his sisters, concealing his emotions as best he could, knowing it wasn't really working.

"Ready for your workout now?"

***

Leia sat alone in the lounge trying to read a data pad, but her mind just wouldn't stay on it. It kept going back to the day's training session with Luke and how distracted he was. Something had happened between him and Mara; she had sensed his turmoil the moment she and Ally had entered the training room after dealing with their errant children. She had hoped he would talk to her about it after the day's lessons were over, but he never did and Leia debated whether or not to ask him about it. In the end she decided to leave him alone--he'd come to her when he wanted to talk. He always did, eventually.

Leia tried again to concentrate on her data pad when Allia entered the room, dressed in a pale green jumpsuit borrowed from Mara. It was lucky for all of the Dales that they were able to find clothes to fit them, seeing as they had brought nothing with them but the clothes on their backs. Ally was almost exactly Mara's size, Tom was just a bit shorter than Han, and Aaron and Casey more or less fit into Jacen's and Anakin's clothes.

"Hey, Leia, whatcha reading?" her sister asked casually as she flopped onto the couch beside Leia and propped her feet up on the table in front of her. Leia admired the way Ally was always so laid back. Her adopted Alderaanean aunts would have highly disapproved, always expecting Leia to sit and stand regally. She had actually been quite a disappointment to them--much more rough-and-tumble than they thought proper, but Ally reminded her more of Han, who was never regal about anything.

"I don't even know," Leia answered her, tossing aside the data pad. "Can't keep my mind focused."

Ally nodded thoughtfully. "Listen, Leia, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Leia replied, rearranging herself on the couch to face Ally.

"What's the story with Luke and Mara?"

Leia raised her eyebrows curiously. So she hadn't been the only one to notice something was up. She looked at her sister innocently. "Why don't you ask them?"

Ally scowled, wrinkling her nose. "I already tried that. I asked Mara if she and Luke had been together long and she about took my head off."

Leia laughed. "Don't take it personally, that's pretty much how Mara reacts to everything."

"I know," Ally said, curling her legs around underneath her. "But she protested so vehemently I couldn't help but think there had to be something going on. Then I was going to ask Luke about it, but..." She trailed off, thinking. "I don't know, it just didn't feel like something I should ask him." She paused, then leaned towards Leia. "A Jedi Master's not like a priest or anything, is it? I mean, is there some rule that he's not supposed to get involved in relationships?"

"No, it just seems like it," Leia sighed. She often found herself wishing for Luke the kind of happiness she and Han had, but something always intervened.

"So what's the big deal?" Ally asked her. "If Luke and Mara care for each other-- and judging from what I've seen the last couple of months, I'd say they do--why don't they just go for it?"

Leia smiled. "It's more complicated than that."

"I know, I know. She was the Emperor's Hand and wanted to kill him." Ally waved her hand dismissively. "But that was, what, ten years ago?"

"I don't mean that," Leia said, shaking her head. She paused, looking for the right words. "Luke has-some unfinished business with someone else."

Ally's brown eyes widened with curiosity. "There's another woman?"

Leia nodded. "Callista."

"Who's Callista?"

"A Jedi Knight who lost her powers." Ally looked at her questioningly but said nothing, so Leia continued. "He met her about seven years ago on a ship, the Eye of Palpatine. It was programmed to destroy a planet full of Jedi children but Luke, Callista, Threepio, and two of Luke's students stopped it. Luke's students were killed and Callista lost her Force abilities."

"How?" Allia asked with interest.

Leia sighed again. "It's a rather long story. She--she was just a spirit when Luke met her. When Cray--one of the students--died, she allowed Callista to take her body."

Ally's eyes widened in horror. "That's--a little bizarre," she said, shaking her head.

"I know, it was hard to get used to at first," Leia admitted. "But it was Cray's idea. And gradually she stopped looking like Cray--her eyes were a different color and her hair started to change color, too. But apparently the exchange stripped her of her connection to the Force. And that kept her and Luke apart."

"Oh God, please don't tell me Luke refused to be with someone just because they weren't a Jedi," Ally rolled her eyes.

"No, no," Leia responded quickly, shaking her head. "Luke didn't care if she was a Jedi or not. It was Callista who decided she couldn't be with him until she could be a Jedi again. Made her feel less than his equal, I guess.

"Anyway, the two of them tried finding the answer to her problems together, but the only bit of Force she could touch at all was the dark side. She told Luke that being with him tempted her to use that dark side connection and she went off on her own, promising to return when she regained her powers."

"And Luke promised to wait for her," Ally finished.

"More or less."

Ally pondered this a moment, then suddenly her eyes lit up as if something had just occurred to her. "She's the one who gave Luke that ring he always wears, isn't she?"

Leia nodded. "She comes from the planet Chad, which is mostly covered by oceans. Seashells are very special to her."

"When was the last time he saw her?"

"About seven years ago."

Ally rolled her eyes again. "No offense to your brother-- our brother," she corrected herself, "but seven years is an awfully long time. I mean, I'm all for long-term commitments--I expect my marriage to last forever--but it doesn't sound healthy to hang on to something that might never happen. What if she's met someone else and just hasn't bothered to tell him?"

"Oh, I doubt that--she was pretty intent on focusing just on her abilities," Leia said quickly. But she had to admit she had similarly felt that it wasn't good for her brother to hang onto something that was only a mere possibility. She even suspected he might have used his connection with Callista as a way to avoid getting close to others. His status as Jedi Master had been bought at a terrible price--he had seen much evil and was occasionally haunted by dark moods--and he was reluctant to inflict that side of him on another.

But then, even on his darkest days, Luke was still the cheerful, naive boy of his youth compared to Mara Jade.

"So Luke's still in love with Callista?" Ally asked suddenly, shaking Leia from her thoughts, "Even after all these years?"

The former princess frowned. "You know, I really don't believe he is. I think you were right to begin with; he just might be falling in love with Mara. Something was going on before we interrupted them today."

"No kidding," Ally agreed.

"But he feels guilty about it," Leia continued. "Like he's breaking a commitment. And that is something Luke Skywalker would never do."

Ally tucked her knees under her chin and looked thoughtful. After a moment she asked Leia, "What do you think about all of this."

Leia shrugged. "It's none of my business."

"That's the politician talking," Ally smiled mischievously. "What does the person who loves Luke think?"

Leia couldn't help but smile at her sister--Ally did seem more like Han than like Luke or herself. "I want my brother to be happy. I want him to find someone to share his life with, like Han and I, or you and Tom. And I don't think that will happen with Callista. But," she added, "I don't think we should meddle. If Luke has feelings for Mara--and she for him--they have to come to that realization in their own way."

Allia scowled playfully. "You're no fun. I like to meddle." Then she laughed. "But you know Luke better than I do. I won't bug him if you think it's best not to. And Lord knows I fear for my life enough to not bring it up to Mara again!"

Leia laughed with her. But she had to admit, her new- found sister had given her a lot to think about.

***

"Prepare for the jump back to normal space!"

Belsarios, seated in his command chair on the bridge of the Force Storm, squeezed his hands together in anticipation. Today would be the day they caught up with the rebels.

Outside the viewscreens, the mottled gray of hyperspace abruptly became star lines, which quickly receded into pin- points of light.

"Hold your position," Belsarios ordered. He closed his eyes and reached out...

They were not far. And they would be jumping back to realspace here. And he would be prepared for them.

He started to give the order that would deploy the fighter squadrons, but suddenly he felt something that made him stop. Lightly tracing the outline of the pendant around his neck, he concentrated.

Then he knew. She had sensed him.

***

Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Tom Dale were in the cockpit of the Gambler's Edge, making last minute preparations for the jump back to realspace. They were one month away from home and this was likely to be their last stop before reaching the Outer Rim of their own galaxy.

"Okay, Tom," Han was saying, pointing to the navicomputer. "Before we jump out of hyperspace, we need to be ready to make the calculations for the jump back in. You never know when you'll need to make a hasty exit, as you saw when we left Earth."

Tom nodded. His Basic was still far from perfect, but he seemed to be catching on.

"And correct calculations are very important," Han said, and Chewbacca snorted to emphasize the point. "You jump so much as one degree in the wrong direction and you could pass right through the hyperspace shadow of a planet and you're history."

"Sounds like fun," Tom said dryly.

"Okay, now once the computer's primed and you've got the countdown clock for the jump started, you--"

"Solo! Pull out short of the mark!"

Han swiveled in his seat to find Mara standing in the doorway, a somewhat wild look in her eyes. Luke, Leia, and Ally were right behind her.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a trap," Mara said firmly, her teeth clenched. "Belsarios is waiting for us."

Han shook his head. "Mara, that's not possible. There is no way his ship could catch up to this one."

"I felt him," she insisted. "He has the disk back."

Han gave Chewie a sideways glance, then looked back to the three Jedi in the doorway. "Are you sure? Luke?"

"I felt nothing, but she's much more connected to him than I," Luke said slowly. "I think it might be wise to pull out early and take a look at the situation."

"What good would that do? It's not like he knows--"

"He does know," Mara interrupted impatiently. "Solo, I'm telling you, I felt him searching for us. He knows exactly where we are and where we plan to jump out of hyperspace and he's waiting for us. Remember the trip here?"

She had a point there. "Okay, then let's get to battle stations. Are the kids all strapped in?"

"They're all together in the Solo kids' cabin," Ally nodded.

"Okay," Han said, turning to back to Chewie and Tom. "We're gonna jump back manually at T minus thirty seconds, okay?"

Chewbacca nodded while Han set about explaining to Tom exactly what they were going to do. Luke, Mara, and Leia left to man their gun turrets, and Ally sat down behind Tom to participate in the flying lessons.

"Okay, on my mark," Han warned. "Okay, Chewie, now!"

Chewbacca pulled back on the lever while Tom and Ally watched. They were back in realspace.

Han made a close inspection of the sensors even as Chewie roared a question. "No, I don't see anything. It's perfectly clear." He reached for the comlink. "Mara, are you sure you got that right? There's nothing out there, not even ahead where we were supposed to jump out.

There was a long pause, then Mara answered slowly. "I don't sense him anymore. But he was there, I know it."

Han glanced at Chewie who shook his head slightly. "Are you sure you're not getting a little jumpy, Kid?"

"I am not your kid, and I'm not jumpy!" she shot back testily.

"Okay, okay. But whatever you felt, it's gone now?"

"Affirmative."

"Well, let's just keep our eyes open while we recharge and see what happens," he said, then swiveled to face Tom and Ally. "Okay, you two, this time I want you to make the calculations for the jump back. You get good enough at this and I'll even put in a good word for you with General Antilles for his Rogue Squadron," Han told them.

"No thanks, my fighter pilot days are over," Ally answered quickly, but Han could tell the idea appealed to Tom.

"If I ever get fluent in Basic," he said sheepishly.

"Nah, you're doing pretty good," Han encouraged him. "Now, what's the first thing you do when setting up the calculations for a hyperspace jump?"

***

They had made it back into hyperspace just moments before the rebels jumped out--thirty seconds short of their mark.

He had tipped them off. He had tipped her off.

Of course, he could have just stayed where he was--his ship clearly had superior firepower, not to mention fighter squadrons at the ready. But somehow he sensed that wouldn't be good enough. Everyone aboard that yacht, down to the children, were legendary for their ability to get out of situations where they were vastly outgunned and outnumbered. They had even proved their abilities to him directly in their escape from Earth.

No, he would need surprise on his side. So he had ordered the Force Storm to make a hasty retreat back into hyperspace. There would be other jump points. He could bide his time. And next time, he would be sure that he did not give his presence away. But how?

There was really only one way. Smiling, he turned to his communications officer. "I want you to prepare to send a message to Vice Admiral Pellaeon as soon as we get to the Outer Rim," he said quickly. "I need him to send a ship to the Minos Cluster. An Interdictor."

***

It was very late at night when Mara entered the quiet, deserted lounge. Her dark red hair was loose, flowing over her shoulders, and she was wearing a leotard and a breezy, flowing skirt with no boots; she was dressed for dancing. Stepping silently into the room, she keyed on the lights. Unable to sleep, she had decided some exercise might help put her mind at ease. It wasn't working.

Two things were bothering her. The first was Belsarios. She had sensed him, she was sure of it. And that meant he had found the disk. And that meant real trouble. But their time in realspace had been completely uneventful. Why could she no longer sense him? Was Solo right, was she just getting jumpy?

Could be, after that damned lightsaber duel with Skywalker the other day.

Which was the other thing that was keeping her from sleeping.

Sighing, Mara tried not to think about that, but the memory of his presence intertwining with hers lingered. She had enjoyed it, and that's what bothered her the most.

"I have been cooped up on this tin can for too long!" she said aloud through gritted teeth. Well, perhaps she could dance the disturbing thoughts and feelings away.

Crossing over to the entertainment console, Mara selected an Alderaanean piece with a driving rhythm and punched it up on the music synth. She turned up the volume as loud as she dared this late at night, then moved gracefully to the middle of the lounge floor.

The music started and Mara moved to it, letting it flow through her almost as if it were the Force itself. Actually, she liked music better; it demanded nothing of her. It washed over her in powerful waves as she allowed all her emotions to flow out, unchecked, through her movements. Passion, rage, confusion, longing, it was all there and dancing was the one way she allowed herself to express it all.

Before the song was even halfway over, Mara sensed that she was not alone. She could feel a presence behind her, eyes following her every move, but she ignored her audience and continued the dance until the music ended with a loud flourish and Mara all but fell to the floor in a graceful heap. Silence hung heavy in the air, punctuated only by Mara's breath. Without looking up, Mara said coolly, "This isn't Jabba's Palace--I don't dance for an audience, Skywalker."

If he was surprised that she had sensed his presence, he didn't show it. Obviously not put off by her cool tone, he quietly entered the lounge.

"Beautiful," he said, almost dreamily. "I forgot what an exceptional dancer you are. You are...stunning."

Mara rose from the floor and faced him. "Well, like I said, I'm not a show girl anymore."

"No," Skywalker replied, not taking the hint, "but I am amazed at how expressive you are when you dance."

That was about the last thing she wanted to hear from him at this particular moment. Brushing past him in the doorway she said quickly, "Well, it's late, I'd better get back to my room."

With an intensity that took her completely by surprise, he grabbed her arm as she walked by him, then turned her abruptly around to face him. "Why the barriers, Mara?"

Startled, Mara found herself looking into his clear blue eyes. He actually looked a little angry and--hurt?--something she'd never seen in him before. She quickly turned away from those prying eyes and tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp, but he held her tightly. "Mara, why are you shutting me out?"

Now it was her turn to lose her temper. Looking back at him through narrowed eyes, she shot back, "Why are you trying to get in?"

Undaunted, he held her gaze. "Because I care about you."

"And how would that make me any different from the other trillions of beings in the galaxy?" she growled.

He dropped her arm, frustrated. "I thought we'd become quite close friends on this trip. Then you have a major breakthrough in your Jedi training, and all of a sudden the barriers are up and it's like we just met."

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to be that close, to anyone?" she hissed angrily, taking a step back away from him. "I like my solitary life. I don't need any Jedi Masters to psychoanalyze me!"

Skywalker blew out his breath, sending his wispy blond hair up away from his eyes. "I have never tried to psychoanalyze you. I just wanted to get to know you better."

"Well, I don't want to be known," she said quickly, then tried to get past him again. He stepped between her and the door.

"I don't believe that Mara, everyone needs to be known. I sense--"

"That is exactly what I'm talking about!" she exploded. "Don't go playing Jedi Master with me. I'll not have you telling me what my emotions are."

"I'm not telling you what you feel, I'm trying to get you to tell me."

She was in dangerous territory now, she knew. The last thing she had any intention of discussing with Skywalker was her emotions.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked.

"I'm not afraid of anything," she bit back.

"But I know you cherish friendships, I've seen you become quite close to Ally, so I don't buy this solitary act."

Oh, but Ally was completely different. Closing her eyes, she said softly "I can't do this!"

"Can't do what?"

She stopped and looked at him and in her anger she almost told him. Almost threw ten years of denial and carefully constructed indifference down the drain. But in the end, her sense of self preservation won out. She would not have this man, who fifteen years ago had completely shattered her universe, turn her life upside down again.

When she didn't answer, Skywalker just shook his head and moved closer to her. For a moment she felt like the air was electrically charged; she couldn't breathe.

"You are very... complex, Mara.," he said, "I don't understand, what can't you do?"

Feeling like a wild vornskr backed into a corner, she struck out blindly, trying to hurt him, anything so he'd back off.

"Why don't you stick to simple women, Skywalker! Women who's only complexity lies in the fact that they live in someone else's body!" she snarled, sounding as much like a vornskr as she felt.

He recoiled from her as if she had slapped him, and instantly she was sorry she had said it. "Skywalker..." she started, but he held up his hand to cut her off.

He looked as if he were about to say something, then bit it back. "Never mind," he said shaking his head, his hand still up as if to ward her off. Then he turned and left.

Drained, Mara sunk down into one of the lounge's plush couches. Well, at least she had gotten rid of him. But somehow, that didn't make her feel any better.

***

Allia was in the children's large cabin watching Aaron proudly display a model starship that he had built with Jaina's help.

"It's called a B-wing," he told her, quite pleased with himself. His Basic was getting quite good.

Ally was about to comment on her son's creation when Han appeared at the cabin doorway.

"I want to have a meeting in the main lounge in about ten minutes, " he told her. "That includes you kids."

All five children cheered, always happy to be included.

It took about ten minutes for her to round them all up and herd them into the lounge where the others, droids included, were waiting. Ally took a seat between Tom and Mara.

"Okay, Solo, what's your big meeting," Mara demanded in her usual irritated tone. For the past several days she had been even more testy than usual. Something had happened between her and Luke, Ally knew. The tension between them was palpable enough that even Han and Tom had noticed, and as they were both non-Force sensitive and male, the fact that they had observed anything at all seemed doubly remarkable.

"We'll be jumping out of hyperspace in about an hour," Han said, answering Mara's question. But Ally knew something else was going on. He was trying his best to keep from breaking into a wide grin.

"We know the drill," Leia said, sounding a little tired.

"But today is different." He paused and looked up at Chewbacca, who was doing an even worse job of hiding his smile. Han continued: "When we get back into real space today, we'll be just outside the Minos Cluster in the Outer Rim-- just twelve days away from Coruscant!" His grin exploded onto his face as he let his cat out of its bag.

Everyone in the room became exuberant. After three long months--six for the non-Terrans aboard--they were almost home.

Ally felt strangely quiet as the others cheered around her. Home. This place known as Coruscant, which she never knew existed, was going to be home. Not Tucson, Arizona, the United States, or even Earth. The Imperial City on Coruscant. For the first time since she had reluctantly agreed to go with her new- found family, the reality of the situation hit her squarely in the face. She would probably never see Earth again.

"You okay?" a voice at her shoulder asked. It was Mara.

Ally nodded. "Yeah. It just hit me how different my life's going to be. It's one thing to live on a spaceship and meet a Wookiee and a couple of droids and learn galactic history. It's another to be living it."

Mara squeezed her arm in a gesture of unusual warmth for her, especially given her mood as of late. "When the Emperor died, my life fell apart. I lost everything I'd ever known. But I now have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"When God closes a door, he always opens a window." Ally smiled at her friend.

"Huh?" Mara looked at her quizzically.

"It means I'm sure you're right," Ally told her.

Han quieted the room again. "Okay, okay. No one is more excited to be getting home than I am, but we still have a lot of work to do.

"First of all, I want Jaina, Jacen, and Aaron to--"

He was cut off abruptly when the ship suddenly lurched forward, knocking all of them into a heap on the floor. Alarms went off all through the corridors.

"What the hell--" Ally heard Tom cry out and she noticed-- quite irrelevantly-- that he, too, was doing very well with Basic.

Han and Chewbacca were up off the floor in a flash, Chewbacca bellowing.

"How can we have jumped out of hyperspace?" Ally asked the Wookiee, disbelieving. "That's--" She was cut off as the ship rocked violently again and she lost her balance.

"It must be an Interdictor field! But what's one doing all the way out here? We haven't even hit the Outer Rim Territories yet!" Han shouted.

"We're doomed!" came Threepio's plaintive cry.

"Shut up, Goldenrod. Han snapped. He turned to Chewie. "We've gotta get up to the bridge and see what's--"

Another powerful tremor rocked the small space yacht, and this time Ally thought she heard an explosion from somewhere inside the ship.

"Belsarios. I knew I felt him before!"

Of course, it made perfect sense, but it was still hard to believe. His ship should have been much slower than their own.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked Mara. Ally saw him close his eyes to verify it for himself.

She nodded vigorously, her eyes far away. "And I was right, he did find the disk."

"But how in the worlds did he get an Interdictor?" Leia asked, but before the words were even out of her mouth, Han, Luke, and Mara said in unison:

"Pellaeon!"

What the hell was a Pellaeon?

Another explosion shook the ship and the lights flashed off for a moment, then emergency lights flickered on.

This time Han didn't even try to get up to the bridge. "Artoo, get over to that terminal and see what the hell's going on!" he ordered. The small astromech droid, who had rolled across the length of the lounge when the first blast hit, somehow managed to remain upright. He trundled over to the wall and stuck his computer arm into the circular jack.

While he did so, Han continued shouting orders. "Chewie, haul it up to the cockpit and get the shields up. Leia and Tom--"

Another blast, then Artoo began twittering wildly.

"Oh my!" Threepio moaned. "Captain Solo, it seems that our hyperdrive reactors have been damaged. We'll never escape!"

Han swore, and Leia gave him a sharp look, pointing out that the children were all still in the room.

"Allia, grab all the kids and get them to one of the cabins!" he yelled.

As she started to do so, Luke stepped in. "I'll go into the engine room and see if I can do something about the hyperdrive." Before Han could even reply, he was gone.

Ally managed to round up all five children and herd them down the hall. Han, Leia, Tom, and Mara ran out behind them, presumably headed towards the cockpit.

The first cabin Ally came to was Han and Leia's. She bustled the kids inside and searched frantically for emergency straps to get everyone buckled down.

"Mommy, what's happening?" Casey was crying, hanging on to her legs.

Ally bent down to comfort her daughter. Six years old and she'd been through so much in the last three months. Suddenly she felt someone else at her side. She turned to find Anakin pulling on her tunic.

"Aunt Ally, I'll make sure she's okay," the young man said solemnly. He then put his arm around his younger cousin's shoulders and comforted her. "My dad's the best pilot in the galaxy. He can get out of anything," the boy told Casey.

Ally stared at him in wonder. Eight years old--just two years older han Casey and a year younger than Aaron--yet he seemed to be an old hand at dealing with crises. Come to think of it, Jacen and Jaina were pretty calm too--even a little excited. Ally didn't know whether to be impressed or sad. Obviously they were old hands at crises. For not the first time, Allia wondered what she had gotten herself and her children into.

While Anakin comforted Casey, the twins and Aaron located the safety harnesses and were fastening themselves to the furniture. Ally buckled in Casey and Anakin and gave them both a kiss on their foreheads.

"Everything will be okay. Now I have to go help Uncle Han."

She managed to make it to the cockpit just as a sixth explosion jarred the Gambler's Edge, propelling Ally into Mara's back. When she regained her balance, she could see out the viewport that things were very bad: Belsarios' huge ship was almost on top of them, hammering them mercilessly with both blasters and ion cannons. A second, larger ship could be seen in the distance.

"Threepio!" Han barked into a comlink, "what did that last explosion do to us?"

Ally heard Artoo whistle--I'll figure out his language yet: another useless and irrelevant thought popping into her mind--then Threepio's fussy voice came on the line.

"Oh Captain Solo!" the droid fairly wailed, "that last blast hit our main reactors again. Radiation and coolant are leaking into the engine room!"

"Luke's in there!" Leia screamed.

Ally saw all of the color drain from Mara's face. It was the first time since they'd met that Ally had seen anything resembling fear in her new friend. For what seemed like an eternity, Mara stood as if rooted to the deck. Then the hard edge abruptly returned to her eyes. She narrowed them, then spun around and was out the door, Leia close on her heels.

"Leia!" Han called after his wife, "there's nothing you can do!" But the two women were already gone.

Ally caught Tom's eye. Welcome to our new home, she thought bitterly.

***

Leia's heart was in her throat as she and Mara ran down the space yacht's corridors at a dead run, pausing only long enough to grab three breath masks from the emergency supplies. Radiation and coolant. Even with masks on the stuff could be lethal. And Luke didn't have a breath mask.

But Luke's a Jedi.

The engine room had automatically sealed itself off as soon as the leak occurred. Leia quickly sealed off the engine room's outer doors as she and Mara slipped on two of the masks. She then hit the override switch, allowing the inner hatch to be opened. The override successfully broke the seal and the hatch slid upwards, allowing a noxious white cloud to stream out of the room beyond.

Leia struggled to see through the white haze. What she was able to make out made her gasp: not only had the explosion broken the coolant mains, the entire room was littered with broken pieces of heavy machinery. And her throat and eyes were already starting to burn, even through the mask. They probably had about five minutes, max, until the fumes overpowered them. Five minutes to not only locate Luke under all this equipment, but to get him safely out.

He's a Jedi, she repeated firmly to herself. And so am I.

Reaching out with the Force, Leia searched for some sign of her brother's presence. She felt a faint glimmer. He was alive, somewhere at the back of the engine room.

"He's back there," she cried, motioning to Mara. The two women picked their way over the debris.

"There!" Mara pointed.

Under a broken hyperdrive reactor pipe Leia saw a figure in black.

Instantly they were at his side. Leia's heart jumped to her throat again when she saw that Luke lay completely motionless, pinned under the heavy pipe.

"We're too late!" she heard Mara whisper hoarsely.

"No," Leia shook her head, "he's a Jedi. His body would have disappeared. He's alive." As if to confirm this, Luke's eyelids fluttered and he tried to look up at them. There was an audible sigh of relief from Mara.

Leia coughed as the white haze began to penetrate into her chest. Then she remembered the third breath mask and quickly put it over Luke's face.

"We don't have much time," Mara told her, coughing herself. "We've got to get this pipe off of him."

"I know," Leia agreed. "How are you at lifting with the Force?"

"I knocked over an entire crane on the Force Storm," the other replied, "but let's do this together just to be safe."

Leia nodded. Rising, the two women joined hands and closed their eyes. Leia reached out with as much Force strength as she could muster. Incredibly, she felt Mara's sense join with hers. The two women pushed in unison, and Leia felt the massive duct lift into the air. They directed it away from Luke's unmoving body, then let it fall with a crash.

Leia quickly knelt down at Luke's side even as she was seized with another coughing fit. Suddenly she felt dizzy and the room around her started to gray out, but then she felt Mara grab her arm and squeeze it. Hard.

"Ow!" she cried out, rubbing her arm. But it had done the trick; she felt somewhat alert again.

Carefully the two women lifted Luke, Mara grabbing him under the arms and Leia taking his legs. They slowly backed out of the room, picking their way back over the pile of hyperdrive machinery.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the small alcove between the inner and outer engine room doors. They gently laid Luke down, then Leia slapped the control switch that resealed the inner hatchway, then another switch that started a large pump that suctioned off a great deal of the noxious coolant fumes so that they could open the outer doors without exposing everyone on the ship.

As they waited, they both knelt at Luke's side, peering anxiously at him, hoping for any sign of life. Leia touched him with the Force. She could still feel him, but just barely. Mara stroked his face gently, wiping some of the white residue off of his cheek as she looked down at him with concern.

Then her hand froze and she looked up.

"What?" Leia asked nervously.

"The explosions. They stopped."

She was right--there hadn't been an explosion since the one that caused the coolant leak. "What do you think happened.?"

Mara's eyes had that faraway look again. "Belsarios is gone." * * * * *

Belsarios watched with satisfaction from his command chair on the bridge as his strike-class ship pummeled the small space yacht. Behind him he could see the large Interdictor that Pellaeon had brought just in time. This time he had succeeded in taking the rebels completely by surprise. This time, they would not get away.

Closing his eyes and savoring his triumph, Belsarios stretched out, caressing the pendant around his neck. He was even more satisfied by what he could see in the Force: Jedi Master Skywalker was injured, slowly being poisoned by coolant, while Mara Jade and Leia Organa Solo struggled vainly to save him. Just as they were about to lift a large pipe of some sort off of the fallen Jedi, Belsarios was snapped back to reality by the voice of his communications officer.

"I'm sorry, my lord," the man said tentatively. "Vice Admiral Pellaeon is hailing us."

Belsarios shook off the pleasing vision and brought his attention to the hologram displayed before the communications console. "Yes, Vice Admiral?"

"Lord Belsarios, I've just received word my repair crews aboard the Super Star Destroyer Annihilator. She is approaching the final phase of reconstruction. They would like us to approve the final plans."

Belsarios stroked his beard. The Super Star Destroyer was much closer to being ready than he had dared hope. It could be ready for its first attack much sooner than he had thought, which meant he could do fewer preliminary blows and move more quickly to a hard hit. If they got there quickly and gave the final approvals.

"What's the condition of the space yacht?" he asked his sensor operator.

"Sensors show hyperdrive is destroyed and life support is severely damaged."

"How damaged?"

After some quick computations, the officer replied, "Looks like they only have three or four hours at the most."

"And how far are we from civilization?"

"Oh, a good two hours from the Minos Cluster, which doesn't really count as civilization. And that's traveling in hyperspace. The closest New Republic system is a good three days away in hyperspace."

That settled it, they had done enough damage already. His time could be much better spent getting back to his base and making use of that Super Star Destroyer.

"Vice Admiral," he said, turning back to the hologram, "I want to cut off the attack. Prepare to make the jump back into hyperspace, we'll return to the Annihilator immediately."

"Yes, my lord," Pellaeon bowed curtly, then his hologram vanished. * * * * *

Han Solo cursed again. That last blow must have at the very least seriously injured Luke, and now Leia was going to get herself killed trying to help him.

This was not his idea of a happy homecoming.

But there wasn't time to dwell on that. The Imperial ship was hammering away at them, and he had to focus his attention on piloting--no mean feat, since the ship was virtually crippled. But trying to escape was really the only thing he could do: he considered having Tom and Allia man the guns, but there was really little point to that. With no maneuverability, he couldn't get in position to return fire anyway.

While screaming orders at Chewbacca, Han racked his brain trying to think of a way out. He couldn't.

But then, the Force must have been with them. Without warning, the Force Storm ended its relentless attack and vanished into hyperspace, the Interdictor not far behind.

Chewbacca snorted in surprise.

"I have no idea," Han responded, equally astonished.

Behind him he heard Tom exclaim something in his own language, then add in Basic: "What happened? They had us, why would they just retreat like that?"

"I have no idea," Han repeated. "but I'm not going to look a gift tauntaun in the mouth."

Chewbacca quickly ran a systems check, giving Han a short report. The news was not good. Hyperdrive systems: failed. Sublight drive systems: near failure. Shields: gone. Life-support systems: three hours left, tops. And that was if the coolant from the engine room hadn't leaked into the atmosphere.

Han turned around to the Dales. "Well, looks like Belsarios didn't need to bother blowing us out of space. We're pretty much dead as it is."

"Can we call for help?" Ally asked hopefully.

Han nodded. "Miraculously, all our comm systems are operational. The only problem is, we only have about three hours of life support left and we're about as far out on the Outer Rim of the galaxy as you can get. No one from Coruscant or any other New Republic world that I know of could get here in three hours."

The intercom on the flight panel beeped, and Han reached for it, desperately hoping it was Leia. Hopeless as their situation seemed, Han was not anxious to have her killed by coolant and radiation poisoning.

The Force was with them again: it was her.

"Han, we're down in sick bay." She coughed viciously, and Han winced. Must have coolant in her lungs. "Luke's alive, but just barely, and Mara and I got a little too much of that stuff ourselves. Any chance of finding somewhere to land and seek medical help?"

Han started to reply, but then decided they should discuss it face to face. "I'll be right down," he told her, then thumbed off the comlink. He got up and started out of the cockpit, motioning for the others to follow.

Putting his huge furry arm on Han's shoulder, Chewbacca barked helpfully.

"Good idea," Han told his friend. "Thanks, pal."

'What did he say?" Tom asked, but before he could answer, Ally translated:

"He's going to go see how the kids are. Thank you, Chewbacca."

Han shook his head, still amazed at how fast she had picked up Wookiee.

As Chewbacca headed towards Han and Leia's cabin to look after the children, the three humans proceeded towards sick bay. When they arrived, Han gasped in dismay.

Luke was lying on the sick bay's cot, covered in a filmy white residue and looking near death. Leia and Mara were hovering anxiously over him, with Mara protectively holding his hand. The two women were covered from head to toe, their hair and clothes a grayish-white, with only their faces showing any color where their breath masks had obviously been. Han rushed over to hug his wife, but she held up her hands, holding him off.

"Don't get too close, I don't want you to breath in any of this stuff." She coughed again, proving that she herself had already taken in too much.

"You guys all okay?" he asked with concern, looking from Leia to Mara to Luke's unconscious form.

Leia finished coughing, then nodded. "But we've got to get Luke into a bacta tank, and pretty soon. Any chance of finding somewhere to land?"

Han shook his head grimly. "We've got no hyperdrive, no sublight drive, only about three hours of life support, and we're about as far on the edge of the galaxy as you can get."

"Just where are we?" Mara asked, coughing as viciously as Leia.

Han shrugged. "We were pulled out of hyperspace about two hours outside of the Minos Cluster. Our navicomputer systems are down as well, so I can't be sure of our exact location."

Mara's green eyes flashed. "Isn't Torvine just outside of the Minos Cluster?" Her eyes turned upward as she tried to remember.

"Never heard of it," Han responded. "Why, do you know of an inhabited planet nearby?" he asked hopefully.

"Not an inhabited planet. But if I'm right, I just might know a smuggler who has a base on a moon that orbits the gas planet Torvine."

A smuggler! Han immediately brightened. His kind of people! He quickly leaned on the intercom switch on the wall. "Threepio, you there?"

There was a brief pause, then the droids prissy voice responded: "Captain Solo, you're alive, thank the Maker! I was--"

"Shut up and listen. I need Artoo to tell me if a there's a planet called Torvine, and where it lies in relation to the Minos Cluster."

"Yes, sir. Right away sir." The protocol droid must not have turned off the comlink, because Han heard him yell to Artoo in the background: "You heard him, you overgrown trash collector! Get busy!" Han heard Ally snicker behind him.

There were some low whistles coming over Threepio's comlink, then Threepio came back: "There is indeed a planet called Torvine, Captain Solo. It's a gas planet with three moons and it apparently lies at oh-three-seventy outside of the Minos Cluster."

Han did some quick mental calculations. That would put it about an hour's hyperspace travel outside of the Minos Cluster, just off to the side of the path they had been headed on before being yanked out of hyperspace. "Sounds like it may only be an hour or so away," he turned to Mara hopefully.

"Do we have any comm systems?" Leia asked.

Han nodded. "That's pretty much the only thing we do have." He looked back at Mara. "Think your smuggler friend will help us?"

She shrugged. "Ever heard of Tjan Quayn? Not really fond of government types like yourselves, but he owes me a favor."

"Well, lets call him up, then. He may be our only hope."

He started to head back up to the cockpit, but was surprised when Mara hesitated. She looked worriedly down at Luke.

Leia touched her arm. "It's okay, there's nothing else you can do here," she said softly.

Mara looked up and Han thought he saw an unusual softness to her eyes, but then the hard edge returned. She nodded, gently released Luke's hand, then followed Han back up to the bridge.

Selecting a wide-band channel, Mara put out a call. She managed to get through to Quayn's camp, but had to go through several underlings before she was finally connected with Quayn himself.

"Quayn, this is Mara Jade," she told him when she was finally connected. "I need your help."

"Mara Jade!" the voice at the other end responded, a mixture of delight and suspicion. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was in your neighborhood when we ran into a little trouble," she said glibly. "I'm afraid we're in need of a rescue." She paused. "And your medical facilities."

Quayn also paused. "Medical facilities? Who's injured?"

Mara sighed. Han could tell she was reluctant to reveal who she was with, but lying would probably make matters worse. "Luke Skywalker."

There was a low whistle from the comlink. "I heard you were moving in pretty influential circles. I don't suppose his sister, the former Chief of State is also with you?"

"Yes, and her husband and several others," Mara snapped. "We don't have time to chat, Quayn. Skywalker may die, and our ship is completely crippled."

Another pause. "How do I know this isn't a ploy so the New Republic can get a look-see at my operation?"

Mara snorted in disgust. "Listen, Quayn. Organa Solo's brother is dying, and her children are also on board and will die when we run out of life support in about three hours. I don't think she's really all that concerned with your operation."

"Still, it's an awful big risk--"

"You have two choices," Mara hissed icily. "You can send help and offer your medical and ship repair facilities-- which I know are among the best--and profit quite handsomely. Or you can ignore us. In which case we'd have to contact Coruscant."

She paused. "Of course, they're too far away to help us, but when we inform them that the one person who could have saved the lives of their former Chief of State and three of their most decorated war heroes--" Mara winked at Han "--refused to send aid, I'm sure they will become most interested in your operation."

She paused again to let this sink in. "I think Admiral Ackbar in particular might want to pay you a little visit."

Han grinned at Mara with admiration. The Mon Calamari were renowned for their dislike of smugglers.

"Besides, Tjan," she added, "you owe me one."

"All right, all right, no need to get nasty," Quayn sputtered back. "Beam me your location and I'll send a rescue team after you."

Mara looked at Han, and he took the comlink from her. "We don't know our location. We got pulled out of hyperspace by an interdiction field and our navicomputer's down."

"Ah, the illustrious Captain Solo, I presume. Can you broadcast a distress signal for us to zero in on, then?"

"That we can do," Han said and slapped the control that would start the signal.

"Then I'll send a team right out." The smuggler paused. "We can discuss just how handsomely I will profit when you arrive."

Mara snatched the comlink back from Han. "You'd better send a good medical frigate," she snapped. "Your profit decreases considerably if Skywalker dies."

Han raised his eyebrows. Quite a lot of concern for someone who once wanted to kill Luke herself. But then, he was really in no position to judge people about their past loyalties and priorities--his own past wasn't exactly sterling.

"Understood," Quayn responded. "Quayn out."

"Jade out."

Now all that was left to do was wait.

***

The Annihilator was even more beautiful then Belsarios imagined it would be. A full eight kilometers long, it was over seventeen times larger than the Force Storm, and had approximately twenty times the fire power. He walked along the newly refurbished bridge, with Vice Admiral Pellaeon behind him.

"You like it, my lord?"

"Oh, it's beautiful. A ship worthy of the Emperor himself."

"Or his successor," Pellaeon said with a smile.

Belsarios stopped and turned, his red cloak settling around him. "Yes. You have done very well, Vice Admiral. This ship will make a most excellent command ship. I'm anxious for it to be completed."

"I'm glad you're pleased, my lord. It should be completed in under a standard month."

"Perfect." There was still much to be done if they were going to make use of this ship. Together, Belsarios and Pellaeon boarded the shuttle that was waiting to take them down from the ship in orbit to the planet below. To Belsarios' new base.

Actually, the base had been Pellaeon's idea, something he remembered from his service under Grand Admiral Thrawn. It had been destroyed in battle, of course, but like the Super Star Destroyer, it had been rebuilt and refurbished nicely. It would do, at least until they were powerful enough to regain their rightful capital: the Imperial City on Coruscant.

But first things first; Coruscant was a long way off, and he was happy to be anywhere right now that was in his own galaxy. There were many other New Republic worlds that would be much easier primary targets until he got the Annihilator up and running. And with the Vader disk carefully set up in his new base: one near the main power reactors on the west side of the base, one in the east side power reactors, and the third around his neck, he could feel the Force radiating throughout the entire mountainside. Of course, when he left the base, he would place the disks in a similar configuration aboard his ship, but for now they were most helpful right where they were: increasing his own strength, increasing his base's strength, even increasing the weaponry strength.

"Vice Admiral, I don't want to wait until the Annihilator is finished to strike our first blow. Do you have any ideas of some preliminary targets where we could do some easy damage without a Super Star Destroyer, and that would make a good example for the rebels?"

"Actually, sir, I have an idea."

"Go ahead, Pellaeon. I'm all ears."

***

For five years of her life, Mara Jade had dreamt of nothing but seeing Luke Skywalker dead. Waking or sleeping, she had endlessly fantasized the umpteen different ways she could bring about a slow and torturous death for the man she believed had destroyed her life.

The irony of that was not lost on her as she sat sullenly in the back of Tjan Quayn's medical facility on an unnamed moon, surrounded by Luke's most cherished friends and family, listening to the medic say the Jedi Master might not survive. She felt terrified and helpless and fervently wished she could take his place.

And that scared her most of all.

It wasn't that she was a completely self-absorbed person- -once she pledged allegiance to anyone, she was loyal to the end, and always willing to die fighting for them. But this was different. The anguish she felt at the prospect of losing Luke went well beyond loyalty. Well beyond, even, anger that the man who had killed her brother had hurt yet another of her allies. This went much deeper, into feelings Mara Jade, ex- Emperor's Hand, ex-smuggler, and current hard-line, no-nonsense trader wanted no part of.

Of course, the powerlessness she felt wasn't exactly helping her mood either. She was a person of action, yet here there was nothing she could do. So she sat, idly smoothing out her long red hair which hung loose on her shoulders, still wet and sticky from her own bacta treatment, and listened to the medic drone on.

"If he were anyone but Master Luke Skywalker, I'd say he'd have no chance at all," the medic, short, gray-furred Drall, was saying rather bluntly. "Heck, he'd have died as soon as the coolant hit the air. But he appears to have gone into some kind of Jedi trance that's slowed down his body's systems, so he probably breathed in a lot less of the stuff than an ordinary person would have. But," he paused dramatically, "he was exposed to a huge amount of toxins and radiation. The bacta treatment helped, of course, but he still hasn't come out of his trance."

"Is there anything that can be done?" That was Leia, who stood near Luke's bed, leaning on her husband for support. Allia Dale was also there. Tom and Chewbacca were elsewhere, keeping the five children from climbing all over their unconscious uncle.

The Drall was shaking his fur-covered head. "Nothing but stay close by. He's got to come out of it on his own, and the only thing that may help is to be surrounded by the people about whom he cares most."

Great, Mara thought bitterly. More helpless waiting. She carefully rearranged herself in her seat and looked around her for something to keep her hands busy before she went stark-raving mad. Next to her on a low table lay a pile of things that had been collected from her, Leia, and Skywalker before their bacta treatments: a child's toy Leia had had in her pocket, Mara's blaster, Skywalker's lightsaber and the shell ring he always wore. Her hand absently traced over the switches on the lightsaber. Skywalker's cherished Jedi weapon. If only she could pick the thing up and fight . If only that were the answer. She needed to act! Sighing, her hand moved from the saber to the ring, which she distractedly rotated through her fingers.

"You okay?"

Mara looked up to see Allia looking down at her with concern. Great, just what she needed.

"Just fine," Mara lied. She doubted Ally bought it, but she nodded and moved away.

"I'm sorry we can't do more," the Drall medic went on as Mara tossed the ring lightly into the air, catching it again in the palm of her hand.

Suddenly her hand clenched, tightening around the small band. Something the medic had said.... She sat up abruptly. Maybe there was something she could do. A minor thing, really, but at least it was better than sitting here stewing. And it was also something she was sure only she had the resources to do.

Quietly, she stood as the medic finished his spiel. "Excuse me," she said as Leia gave her an odd look. Ignoring it, she slipped from the room, glad to no longer have to look at Skywalker's deathly pale face.

Or deal with her feelings for him.

She quickly strode down the hallways of Quayn's large complex until she found someone who directed her to Quayn's office.

"Tjan," she said, entering without waiting to be invited. "I need to ask a couple favors from you."

The short, paunchy, middle-aged human looked up at her from behind his elaborate desk. "Anything, my dear Captain Jade. As long as you can pay the price."

Mara smiled sourly. "Of course, Tjan. Actually, this favor will allow me to pay you sooner. I need to contact my associate on Dakroon. He'll be able to wire all the credits you require."

The smuggler smiled. "Of course, why didn't you say so?" He rose from his desk, punching a small console protruding from the smooth wood finish. Out of the center of the desk popped up a somewhat large-ish holo communication system. He motioned to it with a sweeping gesture, obviously quite impressed with himself.

"My office is at your disposal." He came around from behind the desk and headed towards the door as Mara moved over to his seat.

"Tjan, one more thing," she said as he was about to leave. The smuggler turned around expectantly.

"I'd like to purchase a starship."

Quayn blinked in surprise. "A starship?"

"Something small and fast, preferably a two-seater," Mara responded.

"Twenty thousand," Quayn smiled.

Mara waved dismissively. "Fine, fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll contact my associate and make all the arrangements."

Fairly drooling with greed, the smuggler left her alone.

Mara sat behind the pretentious desk, frowning in distaste. She much preferred subtle elegance. But however ostentatious it may be, the high-end holocomm unit was exactly what she needed. She quickly placed her call and waited until Ghent's smiling face appeared before her on the desk.

"Mara!" he cried ecstatically, "you're home!"

"Not quite, Ghent, but we are at least back in the galaxy."

Her second in command fairly gushed. "I'm so glad to hear from you--Karrde's driving me crazy! Where are you and when will you be back?"

"I'm way out in the Outer Rim Territories," Mara said briskly, "and I've got a couple of things I've got to take care of before I come back. We...ran into some trouble."

Ghent frowned. "What kind of trouble. Is everything all right?"

No. Everything was as far from all right as possible. But to Ghent she said "Never mind that. I need you to transfer some credits for me. To one Tjan Quayn."

"Done. Just send me the figures," Ghent nodded efficiently.

"And tell Karrde I'll be calling him as soon as I can. He hasn't dissolved our partnership while I've been gone, has he?"

"No, no," Ghent smiled, "but I think he's getting tired of dealing with me instead of you. Still thinks of me as nothing more than a kid slicer."

Mara smiled back. "Well, I'll be back as soon as I can." Then she leaned forward towards his image. "I need something else from you."

"You bet, boss."

"I need you to contact someone named Garindan for me."

Ghent's eyebrows raised. He had obviously heard of the Kubaz spy before, but Mara was pleased that he said nothing.

She continued: "My private files will tell you how to reach him. Tell him I need the record he's been compiling for me. He can transmit it to me in care of Tjan Quayn."

"Will do," the young man gave her a quick nod. "Anything else?"

Mara shook her head. "Just have Garindan get me that information as quickly as possible. I need it right away."

Ghent nodded again then signed off, obviously relieved that his superior was back in charge. Mara stretched, then rose from behind Quayn's mammoth desk. Now to see to that ship Quayn promised her, and maybe a quick shower and change of clothes while she was waiting--the residue from the bacta tank made her feel a little sticky.

She felt a little better now that she was actually doing something. And just maybe, Skywalker would be all right after all.

He had to be.

***

The information from Garindan came sooner than she'd expected. She had just barely finished dressing after the quick shower she'd taken in one of Quayn's guest suites when one of his employees appeared at the door with a coded data disk. When she'd had it decoded, she was pleasantly surprised. The planet mentioned at the end of the file was not far from here-- probably only a couple hours in hyperspace. That meant she had time to go there in person, rather than rely on a subspace communication.

She was much more persuasive in person.

She quickly gathered together her things then headed out to find out about the ship Quayn had sold her. It'd better be a good one, or she wasn't paying twenty thousand for it. As she moved towards Quayn's spaceport, she almost ran right into Leia who was headed in the opposite direction, back towards the medical wing. She too had showered and changed, but Mara knew that she had only left her brother's side because of Solo's insistence.

"Mara, where are you going?" Leia asked, obviously a little irritable. Mara hadn't been in to see Skywalker since she'd left to make her calls.

"I've got some business to take care of," she said tersely.

Leia folded her arms regally, looking every bit the disdainful princess. No wonder Solo sometimes called her "Your Worshipfulness."

"Business," she said coldly. "I see."

Mara was in no mood to defend herself to Skywalker's sister; her own emotions were a little too raw. A fact she didn't need Leia to know.

"There's nothing I can do here," she said quickly. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Leia said nothing as Mara walked away, but Mara could feel her anger through the Force. Well, let her be angry. After Mara took care of this one last thing, Skywalker and his family would no longer be her problem.

Then she could move on to her real business: finding Belsarios and making him pay. For Mykos and for Skywalker.

***

It was a small, dark, musty cantina on a small, out-of-the- way world in the Outer Rim Territories, but for the tall, shapely blond waitress, it was home.

At least until she found what she had come here in search of.

It was late in the morning, local time, so the Rusted Freighter cantina was pretty much empty. The waitress was alone in the back room, carefully wiping glasses clean with dishtowel. She reveled in the peaceful morning hours, when she could do her work without being harassed by slobbering customers. When she had time to study without being interrupted. As soon as she was finished with the glasses she could hit the books.

But when she saw the tall Twi'lek--her one friend here-- approach, she knew instinctively that her studies were going to be put on hold.

"There's someone here to see you," he said simply.

She frowned. "If it's that disgusting Flind again, tell him--" She stopped in mid- sentence when the Twi'lek shook his head, his long lekku swaying elegantly behind him.

"It's not Flind. It's a woman."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"From off-world."

Now she almost dropped the glass she was holding. No one off-world knew she was here--at least that's how she had arranged it. She couldn't even think of more than a handful of off-world women she knew, let alone any that would track her down to a backwater hell-hole like this.

"What does she want?"

Her friend shrugged his head-tails. "She wouldn't say, but she looks pretty--I don't know, intense. And she asked for you by name."

So that ruled out a visitor just looking for a waitress to serve her.

"Where is she?"

"Waiting out front."

The blond woman frowned again. Carefully, she took a small blaster from behind the counter and tucked it under her tunic. Who knew what this person could want?

She cautiously left the back room and headed to the main tables out front. The correct table was easy enough to find--it was the only occupied table in the room.

The stranger was seated with her back towards her, but the waitress could see that she had long red hair that she wore in a thick braid down her back. She looked somewhat familiar...

Then she recognized her visitor and almost tripped over a chair in front of her.

What's she doing here?

Feeling more on edge than ever, she moved around to the front of the table, facing her guest.

"Mara Jade," she said evenly, her hand near her blaster-- just in case. Their last meeting had been friendly enough, but this woman had once been, after all, the Emperor's Hand.

Mara Jade looked up at her, her eyes narrowing to emerald slits.

"Hello, Callista."

***

Allia stretched and stood up from her seat at Luke's bedside. She'd been trying her best to chat amiably with him as if he could hear her--perhaps he could, after all. But she was tired and irritable and she wanted to see her kids. She reached down and squeezed her brother's still hand.

Her brother.

That thought still seemed foreign to her, even three months and a zillion light- years later. She left his small room and out into the hallway where Leia and Han were sitting together.

"How's he doing?" Leia asked, her brown eyes wide and frustrated.

Ally shrugged. "Same."

"We still need to get back," Han said softly.

Ally sighed. He and Leia had been having this argument for most of the two days they've been here. They had called Coruscant as soon as Luke was out of immediate danger, and the New Republic government was sending a ship to retrieve them, piloted by Han's friend, Lando Calrissian. Han thought that they should leave as soon as the ship arrived, taking Luke with them. Leia disagreed.

"Han, I'm not going anywhere until Luke's better." She shook her head emphatically. "For eight years I've been the Chief of State, and duty always came first. For seven years before that I was on one diplomatic mission after another, and for the twenty-one years of my life before that I was involved in the blasted war. Well, I'm not Chief of State anymore, and I'm not putting anything above my family's well being!"

Han sighed. "Leia, it'll be perfectly safe to transport him. We moved him here all right, didn't we? And if we sit around here, Belsarios gets to go on using that disk and pretty soon he's resurrected the Empire."

"Please, Han, you've been telling me for years that I should let someone else step in. I'm willing to do that now. Admiral Ackbar and the rest can handle it."

"But it's not doing us any good to stay here," Han protested.

And so it went. Ally had heard it a hundred times already. Personally, she didn't care if they stayed or went. This smuggler's base was not home, but neither was Coruscant. Home was light-years away.

She wandered somewhat aimlessly down the corridors, searching for her children, who were somewhere with Tom and Chewbacca, and wishing rather pointlessly that Mara hadn't left. It had been such a sudden decision, and Allia had been quite surprised when Leia told her that Mara was going. She wasn't angry like Leia, just confused. Mara had been deathly worried about Luke, of that she was certain. The sudden decision to leave seemed...well, sudden.

As she walked, she became aware that someone was behind her. She turned and found Leia following her.

"I'm sorry, Allia. First we practically kidnap you and your family away from your home, and then we welcome you to our galaxy like this." She indicated the space around her with a sweep of the arm.

"It's okay. I'm worried about Luke, too." Ally sighed. "This is all just--I don't know, a bit much."

Leia stepped beside her and put an arm around her waist. "I know. You know, I didn't know--" she stopped abruptly, laughing at herself when she realized she'd managed to say "know" three times in seven words. She started again. "I didn't know Luke and I were brother and sister until about three years after we'd met--or that Darth Vader was our father," she added, shuddering slightly. "I still can't get used to that."

"Was he that bad?"

Leia started to nod, but stopped herself. "I shouldn't judge. Luke was the one who was with him when he died, and he says he turned back."

"Deathbed repentance," Ally mumbled.

"Yes. And he did appear to me shortly after his death, begging my forgiveness."

"See, now it's that kind of stuff that unnerves me," Ally stopped her. "All this 'being one with the Force,' it's just a little strange."

Leia smiled. "You'll get used to it."

They walked on together a little longer before Leia told her she wanted to go back to see Luke again. Ally planned on continuing her search for her husband and children, so the started to part company when they heard footsteps approaching from the direction Ally was headed. Both women were quite surprised when Mara strode into the corridor.

"Mara!" Ally cried, giving her friend a quick hug. "You came back."

She stepped back and looked at Leia, who didn't seem to know what to say, when they heard another voice from behind Mara.

"Hello, Leia."

Ally watched as Leia stared at the newcomer, completely stunned. A tall, lanky, and very beautiful blond woman with startling gray eyes approached her tentatively.

Leia's quickly came to her senses and she reached over and hugged the woman. "Callista! I'm speechless! How in the worlds..."

Callista! Ally gave Mara a questioning look, but Mara's eyes avoided hers.

"Mara told me Luke was very ill. I--" Callista faltered. "I had to come," she finished softly.

Leia nodded, still looking a bit dazed.

Callista then turned to Ally. "You must be Allia, Luke's other sister. Mara gave me a quick rundown of your latest adventures." She stuck her hand out, and Ally shook it automatically.

"It's Ally. And I've heard some good things about you, as well." She wasn't sure what else to say. The fact that this woman's body had once been someone else's would not leave her mind. Another of those strange things she was having trouble getting used to. Aliens and droids and hyperspace travel, that was all fine, but switching bodies with people?

But Callista didn't seem to notice her awkwardness. She turned back to Leia. "Where's Luke? I'd like to see him if I could."

"Of course," Leia stammered. "Please forgive my manners! It's just that I'm so--stunned. I--"

Callista smiled warmly. "I know, you weren't expecting me to show up here."

Leia nodded, then pointed down the hall. "The medical wing's that way. You can go on ahead, if you'd like. I'll catch up with you in just a minute."

The former Jedi Knight nodded, then headed off in the direction Leia had indicated, as Leia turned to Mara.

"Mara, I don't know what to say," she started softly. "I'm afraid I owe you an apology."

Mara shrugged, and Ally could tell she was having a hard time controlling her emotions. "The medic said he needed to be surrounded by the people he cares most about."

"But how did you know where--"

Mara cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I have my resources. But before you start feeling too warmly towards me, you should know that I am leaving again."

This time Leia only nodded. "Thank you," she said simply, giving Mara a quick hug. She then turned and went after Callista towards the medical wing.

Allia waited until Leia was out of sight, then turned to Mara.

"You have more class than anyone I've ever known," she said with deep feeling.

Mara again waved her hand dismissively. "I have to go," she said simply.

Ally gave her another hug. This time Mara embraced her in return, and Ally could feel her sorrow. Then Mara pulled back and grabbed Ally's shoulders, her face intense.

"I need you to do me a favor. "Please contact me every couple of hours to tell me how he's doing. Quayn can show you how to reach me. And let me know right away if he wakes up or--" She broke off, unwilling to finish that thought.

Ally looked at her friend sadly and nodded. "Just find him, okay? Find that man who did this to Luke, and who kidnapped my children and attacked my home and killed my father and make him pay." Not a very Christian attitude, she knew, but there it was.

She sensed Mara's pain shift subtly towards anger and saw a look in the other woman's eyes that made her shiver.

"I will. If it's the last thing I do."

Ally watched her head back down the hall the way she had come and for the first time she was able to see the assassin that Mara Jade had once been.

***

The Force Storm and several other capital star ships burst out hyperspace and into orbit around the small planet, fourth in its system. Even from this high up, Belsarios could see the devastation that had been wrought on this planet generations before.

"It has no real military value," Pellaeon was saying, "but I think it would be an appropriate statement. The inhabitants were traitors to the Empire, and the New Republic would suffer a great political defeat by failing to protect her."

"Yes, yes," Belsarios agreed hastily. "But don't think for a moment I don't know your real motive for choosing this planet for our first attack. Grand Admiral Thrawn was murdered by a Noghri."

Pellaeon nodded. "His bodyguard," he said with disdain.

Belsarios, of course, was familiar with the story. The Noghri were a primitive, savage hunters who's world had been nearly destroyed during the Clone Wars. Darth Vader had found this planet and fooled the niave natives into believing he was attempting to save their planet when in fact he was keeping it desolate. Indebted to the man they believed to be their savior, the Noghri became loyal to the Emperor. That changed when they discovered that Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo were the son and daughter of Vader, and that the Empire had tricked them. Almost overnight they had turned traitor and one of their number had assassinated Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"Nevertheless," Pellaeon started, but Belsarios waved him off.

"Vice Admiral, I assure you, if I did not approve of your strategy, we would not be here. Prepare the attack on Honoghr."

***

The Lady Luck, a modified yacht similar to but smaller than the Edge, landed in the small port outside of Tjan Quayn's base on the unnamed moon orbiting Torvine. Its lone crew member strode purposefully down the ramp to find himself face to face with an old friend.

"Han Solo, you old smuggler, what did you do to my ship?"

Han smiled as Lando Calrissian came forward and embraced him heartily. "It wasn't my fault," he said. Of course, that was exactly what Lando expected him to say.

"What if I had done such a deplorable job watching after the Falcon when we made the run on the second Death Star?" Lando kidded his friend.

"Hey, your not comparing that old rusted out yacht to my Falcon, are you?"

Lando laughed.

"Speaking of, how is she?"

"Fine, fine," Lando replied still laughing. "So where's the rest of your family? I was expecting a better welcome than this."

Han grew serious a moment. "They're in with Luke; he still hasn't regained consciousness."

"I'm sorry." Lando squeezed his friend's arm.

Inside the base, which had been stripped of any and all incriminating equipment and cargo, Lando noted with amusement, they quickly walked through the corridors until the came to the medical wing. Outside on of the rooms Lando saw Leia and Chewbacca sitting with a blond woman and dark-haired man he'd never seen before.

Leia rose to greet him as soon as she saw him. "Lando, thank you so much for coming. We're in your debt," she said warmly, giving him a huge hug. Chewie followed suit, almost knocking the wind out of Lando.

"And I'd like you to meet Leia's sister and brother-in-law, Ally and Tom Dale," Han added. The two newcomers rose and took turns shaking his hand. "This is Lando Calrissian," Han finished.

"We've heard a lot about you," the woman smiled. She looked tired and strained.

Lando returned the smile. "Well I promise, I'm not nearly as bad as I'm sure Han's led you to believe." Lando looked around. "Where are the kids?"

"They're over playing somewhere," Leia said a bit absently.

Han cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Kids! Uncle Lando is here!"

"Han, this is a medical wing!" Leia cried in horror. Han gave her a sheepish grin.

Whether or not it was the appropriate thing to do in a medical wing, Han's call unquestionably worked. Five children appeared out of nowhere and the Solo children all but threw themselves at Lando's feet.

"Uncle Lando!" they cried in excitement. He bent down and hugged them all as Han introduced the other two children, Aaron and Casey Dale.

Looking up at his friend, Lando asked "So when do you think we can get off this rock?" He saw Han and Leia exchange looks and knew instantly he had stepped into a disagreement between them. Trying to lighten the situation, he hastily added, "I mean, I'm anxious to get back to my wife--and son."

His statement had the desired effect. "Son!" Han cried as he and Leia once more crowded at him to give him a huge hug. "Congratulations!"

Chewbacca was so enthusiastic he picked up Lando a half a meter off the ground.

"All right already, Chewie!" Lando choked out, and finally the huge Wookiee set him down.

"When was he born, what did he weigh, how's Tendra?" Leia asked in a rush.

"A week ago, 3.4 kilograms, she's fine," Lando laughed. He then looked at Han. "And his name is Han Risant Calrissian."

This stopped Han in his tracks. "I don't know what to say," he said softly, shaking his head.

Leia put her arm around her husband and looked at Lando. "That's very sweet, Lando," she said for him.

Lando brushed it off; neither him nor Han were much for touching moments. "Now that I've told you the good news, I suppose I should tell you the bad news."

"Uh-oh," Han groaned. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Lando nodded. "You should. Just before I landed I got word from Coruscant-- Honoghr's been attacked."

"Honoghr!" Leia cried out in alarm. "Why in the worlds would anyone attack Honoghr?"

"To make a statement. Fleghan thinks it's Pellaeon's way at getting back at the Noghri for Grand Admiral Thrawn's death."

"Then Belsarios must be involved," the blond woman, Ally, put in. It was the first thing she had said since her introduction.

"Yes," Lando agreed. "And it gets worse. The NRI believes Pellaeon's gotten a hold of a Super Star Destroyer. It wasn't used at Honoghr, but they think there's one hiding out somewhere, waiting in the wings."

"A Super Destroyer? Oh wonderful, just what we needed," Han said rolling his eyes. "How's Fleghan handling it?"

"Ackbar's been sent to personally defend the planet, but I doubt he'll get there in time. And I'm sure they'll want you to go there, Leia. The Noghri trust you the most."

"See," Han said to her, "we should leave right away."

"Han--" Leia started, but before she finished another woman stepped out of the room.

"Callista?" Lando asked with some surprise.

"Lando, hello," she said nodding at him.

"Any change?" Leia asked Callista as Lando tried to figure out what in the worlds she was doing here. And then it occurred to him that he had expected to see someone else.

"Where's Mara?" he asked Han.

His friend merely shrugged. "Took off like a mynock out of hell. After bringing Callista here."

Lando raised his eyebrows. This was definitely strange. But first thing's first.

"I'd like to visit with Luke myself if I could," he said gently to Leia.

"Oh, of course, Lando." She linked her arm in his and walked with him towards the room, Han behind them.

Luke was laid out on the bed, looking very pale. Lando looked at him worriedly, then turned to Leia. "Is he going to be okay?"

Leia nodded, "We hope so. The medic hopes he'll wake up soon."

"And you want to stay here until he does," Lando finished for her.

"Lando, I'm sorry. I hate to ask, I know you want to get back to your wife and new baby, but I'm really worried that moving him before he regains consciousness would make matters worse. I--"

"I understand, Leia," he said gently. "We'll stay until he wakes up."

"Thank you," Leia said gratefully. Lando caught a disapproving look from Han.

"Hey, you know I could never turn down the request of a beautiful woman."

***

He was searching for something.

Something in the fog. But the fog had a life of its own, and it swirled around him, blinding him, choking him. His lungs burned and his limbs felt like dead wood and something important remained just beyond his grasp, but he didn't know what.

Then he heard the voices.

At first they weren't like voices at all--just jumbled sounds like music or like the desert wind on Tatooine. But they gradually became more and more distinct and he could just make out brief snatches of phrases:

"...please come back..."

"...kids are driving us crazy..."

"...miss you..."

"...when we get back to Coruscant..."

'...sorry I stayed away for so long..."

His mind hung on that last phrase, turning it over and over. Something was surprising about it. He recognized suddenly that it was not the phrase that was catching his attention, it was the voice itself.

Callista's voice.

It was then Luke realized he was dreaming.

It had to be a dream. He hadn't seen Callista in seven years.

So he was dreaming, but where was he dreaming? He had no idea. The last thing he could clearly remember (and clearly was a relative term--everything was coated with that damn fog!) was fighting a lightsaber duel with Mara Jade.

Mara Jade. Maybe that's who's voice he was hearing, though it did sound an awful lot like Callista's. Slowly he opened his eyes.

He was wrong. It wasn't Callista and it wasn't Mara who's face was hovering over his anxiously. It was Leia's.

But before he could even open his mouth to say something to her, she jumped up and out of his line of sight, yelling for a medic. A very short time later she returned, with an alien--a Drall--who poked and prodded him with some kind of medical instrument.

"Hey!" he called out, but it came out more like hah! His tongue felt like it was as thick as a Hutt's.

"Oh, Luke, thank the Force you're all right!" Leia was saying, tears in her eyes. "We were so worried!"

The Drall continued to poke him, checking for further signs of life.

"I've called the others," Leia was prattling on. "They're all out getting something to eat."

Luke nodded stiffly, not really sure who "the others" were. Han, of course, and their children. And some other family member--Allia! he remembered triumphantly. He had a new sister named Allia.

Finally the Drall, obviously a medic of some sort, finished his examination. "I think the worst is over," he said to Leia. "He should be fine in a few days." Then he left, and Luke was alone with his ecstatic sister.

She sat down beside him and squeezed his hand. "Can you hear me, Luke? Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Already Luke's tongue felt more like normal, so he replied weakly, "I'm okay. What happened?"

Leia squeezed his hand again. "We were attacked. You were trying to repair the hyperdrive thrusters when the main reactors took another hit, and coolant and radiation leaked into the engine room."

As she explained, it all came flooding back. The explosions, the huge thruster pipe falling down on top of him, then the white cloud of coolant that exploded into the room. Well, that explained the fog anyway. Then he remembered something else: Leia had been there also. She had come to rescue him, along with Mara.

Luke sat upright, immediately wishing he hadn't as a thousand crazed banthas rushed into his brain.

"Luke, you've got to rest, you're still sick!" Leia cried out in alarm.

"Mara," Luke said. "Where's Mara? I saw her in the engine room, with you. Is she--"

"No, no, Mara's fine," Leia told him quickly. "Everyone's fine."

Luke laid back down again as relief flooded over him. "Where is she?"

Leia was silent for a moment. "She left."

Luke groaned. She'd gone after Belsarios alone. He rested a moment, then asked Leia, "Where are we?"

"On some moon near the Minos Cluster in the Outer Rim. A smuggler acquaintance of Mara's has a base here. He's been quite generous with his facilities--for a price, of course," she added, smiling. Smugglers amused Leia because of her husband, who never did get around to making use of the handsome reward he was promised for rescuing her.

Luke nodded. Then he remembered his dream. "Leia, I had the strangest dream. I kept hearing all these voices, and one of them was Callista's."

Leia looked at him strangely. Had he been stronger, he would have used the Force to find out what she was feeling, but as sick as he was he thought it best not to expend the energy. It was unnecessary anyway--right away she told him.

"Callista is here, Luke."

Luke almost sat up again, but he remembered the crazed banthas in time and just opened his eyes wide instead.

"What?"

Leia nodded. "Mara brought her."

Mara? Why in the worlds.--and how?

Before he could collect himself enough to ask Leia, the room filled with people: Han, Chewbacca, Ally, Tom, Jaina, Jacen, Aaron, Anakin, Casey, and even Threepio and Artoo were clamoring to see him. He was surprised to note that Lando Calrissian was also there.

And behind all of them, Callista.

She hung back, waiting tensely as the others gave him their good wishes. Eventually the Drall medic returned and ordered them all, crying "One at a time, one at a time!"

Leia, ever the diplomat, quietly herded her happy family and friends from the room. "You stay," she told Callista quietly, "you came an awfully long way."

So the others left and Luke was alone with Callista.

And it wasn't a dream.

"Long time no see," she said nervously after an uncomfortable silence.

"Yes," Luke agreed.

Callista sighed. "I wanted to come and see you so many times, but I just couldn't. I haven't had a whole lot of luck regaining my abilities."

Luke nodded sympathetically, feeling strangely aloof. Maybe it was the effects of the coolant, not quite worn off. "I'm sorry, Callista."

She was suddenly seized with emotion. She grabbed his hand tightly and bent over, giving him a small kiss. "I've missed you, Luke."

"Me too," he replied. This was so overwhelming, seeing her again so suddenly after so long. It had to be a dream!

There was another uncomfortable silence, until Luke finally asked, "Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, here and there. Mostly working odd jobs waitressing or something like that. And studying anything I can find about the Force." She smiled bitterly. "I'm quite the expert now. I could be a teacher at your Academy."

Luke wasn't sure how to respond, sensing that the last thing she wanted was for him to pity her.

Instead he asked her the million-credit question. "Why are you here now?"

"Mara Jade told me you were ill and that you needed me," she answered simply.

So Mara had been the one responsible. He should have felt grateful, but instead he found himself feeling a little hurt.

"I have no idea how she knew where to find me," Callista went on when Luke didn't say anything.

"I gave up questioning her sources long ago," Luke smiled weakly.

Then the Drall medic returned. "I'm sorry, you must let him rest now. He's still weak from the coolant poisoning."

Callista stood up and gave his hand a final squeeze. "I'll be back later, when you're feeling better." Before he could answer, she left.

Leaving Luke feeling strange enough to wonder if he hadn't been right in the first place.

Maybe this all was just a dream.

***

Once he regained consciousness, Luke recovered with remarkable speed, and in two days the group made plans to return to Coruscant.

In that time, Luke had had several conversations with Callista--all of them superficial and uncomfortable. He knew she was going to leave again, and she knew he knew, but he was surprised at how little that fact really affected him. Surprised and a little guilty.

He had once promised to wait as long as it would take. Now he knew it was a promise he couldn't keep.

They had to talk--seriously--before she left again, but Luke was having difficulty sorting through his own feelings. So instead he found himself talking to Leia.

"Luke, what's troubling you?" she asked. She had always known when anything was on his mind.

"When we leave, Callista won't be going with us," he began.

Leia frowned. "Did you expect her to?"

"No, of course not," he responded quickly. "It's just--" he broke off, not knowing what to say.

"It hurts you that she's leaving again?" Leia questioned.

"That's just it. It doesn't hurt at all. I mean, not any more than when I have to say good-bye to you or any of my friends."

"I see," Leia nodded, and Luke knew that she did see. "And that's what's bothering you."

"Yes." He was grateful she understood. Floundering for the right words again, he went on: "It's been a long time since I ever really believed that Callista and I would be together--I pretty much figured I was going to be married to my work, and that was the end of it. But I feel like--I feel like I'm breaking my word."

"Because you don't love her anymore."

Luke nodded, again grateful to have a sister who so easily understood him.

She reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Luke, you have nothing to feel guilty about. Callista made her choice- -it was more important for her to regain her Jedi powers than to be with you. It just wasn't meant to be. Seven years is an awfully long time."

"You waited for Han almost that long," Luke pointed out.

Leia snorted. "It's a completely different situation. Han was there with me, not completely out of touch for seven years. Besides," she added, "if you recall, I almost married someone else."

"I don't believe for a second that you would have gone through with marrying Isolder," Luke smiled.

"But my point is, if Han hadn't come around when he did, I would have had to move on. Sometimes hanging on isn't noble, it's just...hanging on. Especially if it's to something that's not meant to be. If you and Callista were meant to be, she wouldn't have stayed away for so long. And in all that time, it's only natural that your feelings for her would start to fade." Leia paused. "Or that you'd start to have feelings for someone else."

Luke looked up at her sharply, but her soft brown eyes did not waver from his.

"You're falling in love with Mara, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

Luke let out his breath, suddenly feeling frustrated. "I don't know! I've seen a whole different side of her over the last six months,