A Journey of Discovery -- Book One: Pendulum Chapter 7 By Michele See Chapter 1 for disclaimer Rated PG-13 The next morning, Luke welcomed Mara warmly when Herkin delivered her to his door. The normally overbearing officer once more stood back warily, giving Luke a wide berth. *Ready for today?* she sent to him, as he kissed her and led her inside. Mara smoothed the front of her knee-length shimmersilk dress, its emerald sparkles perfectly matching her brilliant eyes. *As ready as I'll ever be,* he returned, pulling her to the couch. One way or another, this would be his last day of captivity. An hour later, Luke approached his front door and began pounding on it. "Guards!" he shouted. The business end of a stormtrooper's blaster rifle greeted him as the door swished open. "Miss Jade has collapsed inside. You need to take her to the infirmary," Luke spit out, a worried expression plastered on his face. An old trick, admittedly, but perhaps these two hadn't heard it in awhile. Rifles held out carefully, the two white-clad troopers entered the suite. "Back away from the door," one of them ordered. Luke stepped back obligingly, wincing slightly at the sound of two thuds as Mara carried out her contribution to the subduing of the guards. He immediately swung back toward the hallway, holding out one hand to easily Force-shove the approaching Royal Guardmen into the wall. Waving toward the ceiling, he made short work of the hallway's holocameras. As Mara tossed him one of the appropriated rifles, Luke checked the setting, then swiftly stunned all four guards. He hurried into the turbolift, disabling that holocam as well just before Mara joined him. Before the lift doors even shut, she was pulling herself through the escape hatch in the ceiling. Luke triggered the control button for a non-stop descent to the first floor, then sprang through the hatchway right behind her, the bulky rifle slung across his back. By the time he caught hold of the maintenance ladder in the darkened shaft, the lift had carried him several floors below where Mara also clung to it. "Skywalker?" "I'm right behind you," he returned, his voice echoing eerily up the shaft. Had he noted a hint of anxiety in her tone? "Go! It won't take them long to discover the lift's empty and send it right back up!" Mara scrambled up the ladder, hurrying toward the crawlspace she had staked out the day before. The lift had dropped two floors even before she had been able to leap off its top. She could barely make out the sound of Luke's boots on the rungs below her. "Hurry!" Luke's shout reverberated upward. "I hear it coming!" Mara had just reached her destination and swiftly pulled herself in. Turning around awkwardly in the cramped horizontal shaft, she poked her head back out the opening. She too could now hear the whooshing of the rapidly moving turbolift drawing dangerously close. "Jump!" she practically screamed. She didn't want to think about the consequences if the lift slammed into him while he was still in the shaft. Luke didn't need to be told twice. Focusing both on Mara's voice and presence, he Force-leapt up the last twenty meters, grabbing desperately onto the ladder just next to the maintenance crawlspace. Mara reached out and yanked him inside, a split second before the lift car whooshed past. They heard it come to a stop moments later, no doubt depositing troopers onto Luke's floor. "Thanks," Luke panted. "I think I felt it scrape the bottom of my boots. And I thought sure this rifle would get caught on something." Mara was already turning herself around, scrambling on her hands and knees along the pitch-black passageway. "Thank me later. We need to get as far away from here as possible." They clamored hurriedly down the tunnel for another hundred meters or so. Mara could feel Luke behind her, though he barely made a sound. Part of her was glad it was so dark he didn't have any view of her derriere. The other part felt so comfortable with him, it wouldn't have mattered. She pushed both parts deep into the recesses of her mind. No time for such deliberations now. Luke nearly plowed into Mara's feet when she stopped suddenly. He could hear her feeling along the wall, but the darkness prevented him from seeing even his own hands in front of him. "It should be right here," she whispered, continuing to search for the hidden release she knew was there. "Feel for it through the Force," Luke advised, ignoring her huff of annoyance. Just then, a panel in the wall slid aside, and a whiff of only slightly fresher air assaulted their senses. Brushing aside cobwebs as they climbed through the opening, Luke was relieved that this new passageway, though narrow and still dark, was high enough that they could stand upright. As he was still stretching his muscles, Mara reached past him to trigger the panel back closed. "Come on," she bit out. "We've still got a long way to go." * * * * * * * * * * * * Emperor Palpatine had been alone in his dining chamber, finishing an early lunch, when a clearly petrified officer dared to interrupt. "Your ... your Excellency," the man stammered, bowing deeply. "What is it?" Palpatine's caustic voice bit out. "The security holocams in the prisoner's rooms have all gone out," the lieutenant sputtered, certain his life was over just for reporting such unwelcome news. "And the guards are not responding." "Prisoner?" the Emperor repeated, though he had no doubt which prisoner the officer was referring to. "The ... the Jedi," the man answered, bowing his head in acceptance of his fate. "Send Lord Vader in here," Palpatine ordered, "and Captain Herkin. Detail two squadrons of stormtroopers to that floor immediately." "Troopers have already been dispatched, your Highness." The officer bowed once more and backed out of the room, relieved to be able to deliver at least one satisfactory report. Darth Vader swept into the dining chamber moments later, followed by Captain Herkin. "Skywalker is attempting to escape," the Emperor grated out accusingly. "I can no longer feel his presence in the palace." "He cannot have gotten far," Vader responded, also noting the absence of Luke's Force presence. "He must be cloaking himself." "He was still there when I escorted Miss Jade to his rooms this morning," Captain Herkin put in hesitantly. "I was just about to go retrieve her." "Jade," the Emperor said slowly, suddenly realizing her presence was no longer detectable either. "Replay the security recordings from all morning," Vader ordered, and Herkin moved swiftly to the nearby holo-projection table to comply. An image of Luke came into focus, dressed in his own black clothes and sitting cross-legged on the floor near a window, apparently meditating. He looked up just before his door opened, admitting Herkin and Mara Jade. Herkin had given the Jedi a cautious look as Luke pulled her into an embrace, then shut the door, locking it securely. They watched as Luke and Mara made their way across the room, and Luke pulled her down onto his couch. Herkin increased the volume on the unit to catch what they were saying. "I've been waiting all morning for you," Luke murmured, kissing her hungrily. "And now I'm here," Mara replied in a sultry voice. "So what do you have planned?" "You know what I want," Luke said huskily, running his hands up and down her formfitting shimmersilk dress. "Letıs do it in the tub again." Mara kissed him on the nose playfully. "You know we're supposed to stay out here," she countered. "But I like it in the water," he whined. "I don't think His Excellency will mind, since I'll be joining him in ruling the Empire today. Call it one last fling before our union becomes permanent." Jade giggled lightly, then got up, pulling him up with her. "All right. I guess we'll have to make sure whatever suite we share in the future has a big tub, too, desert boy." Palpatine, Vader, and Herkin watched as the pair kissed and laughed their way into the refresher, tugging at each other's clothes impatiently. Herkin fast-forwarded the recording ahead about an hour, until Luke was seen exiting the refresher alone. A determined look filled his face as he looked up directly into the lens of the hidden holocamera. He raised one hand, and the picture blinked out. Herkin switched the view to the other holocams in the room, but they too swiftly went dark. He triggered the projection to show the scene from the hallway outside the suite's door. They could hear Luke's plea for help, and saw the stormtroopers open the door and enter. "Fools," Vader bit out, just as Luke reappeared in the doorway. Herkin gasped astonishingly as the Jedi stuck out one hand and the Royal Guards were hurled against the far wall before they could even lower their Force pikes. Luke then glanced toward the hallway's holocams, and they too winked out of existence. "I didn't see Jade anywhere," Herkin spoke up boldly. "Do you think he disposed of her in the refresher?" "Or she's joined him," Vader suggested. He turned to the Captain. "Have every square centimeter of that suite searched, especially that accursed refresher. Have the entire Palace put on alert. They must not be allowed to escape." Herkin bowed and hurried from the room. The Jedi's security had been his responsibility. His future did not look bright. "She betrayed me," Palpatine growled bitterly. "She's helping him. He could not be cloaking himself this effectively on his own." "And she knows every hidden passageway in the Palace," Vader added. Now was not the time to voice the premonitions he'd had all week that allowing the young pair so much unmonitored time in the refresher was not a wise move. Luke had a talent for persuasion, and Jade had exhibited traces of Lightside tendencies on a few rare occasions. "Find them," the Emperor commanded his dark Lord. "I want her head, along with that miserable bastard of yours." "They will not escape," Vader intoned, bowing his head slightly before striding out of the room, his cape billowing behind him. * * * * * * * * * Mara set off at a rapid pace through the musty pitch-black passageway. She rechecked Luke's Force-shield, and could feel him doing the same for her. Both were strong and intact, despite even those tense moments escaping the turbolift shaft. "I stashed a small pack about twenty floors down," Mara whispered, stopping abruptly. Luke promptly ran smack into her, eliciting a quiet, but irritated, "Hey!" "Sorry," he sent back in contrition, his breath warm against her cheek. "I thought you could sense me," she complained in a low voice. "Not when you stop that fast," he muttered back. Mara reached out unerringly in the darkness and grasped Luke's hand. "I've got a couple glow rods in my pack, but I don't think we can risk igniting them in here," she said, resuming her brisk pace, and nearly dragging him along. "That's all right." Luke gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll be fine." Though he couldn't see her, he could tell she was probably rolling her eyes just from the change in her sense. They backtracked numerous times to avoid trooper patrols that were filtering into the passageways. After a myriad of twists, turns, ramps, and stairwells, Mara announced they'd reached the spot where she had secreted away a small survival pack. "How can you be sure?" Luke whispered. He should have known better than to question her. "I've been counting floors since we left yours." She began running one hand against panels in the wall. "Haven't you?" "Twenty-seven floors down, one half kilometer east." Mara paused, her hair brushing against his shoulder as she swiveled her head in his direction. "Uh,... that's right." She carefully hid how impressed she was. Opening the small bag, she pulled out a glow rod and turned it on to its lowest setting. "Here." She shoved into his hand a small blaster, then narrowed her eyes as he changed the setting to stun. "You may as well leave it on kill," she murmured. "Any guards we encounter won't be allowed to live to reveal the passageways' secrets. In fact, if we manage to escape, they'll all be put to death anyway." In the dim shadows of the glow rod, Mara saw the pained expression that filled Luke's face, and sensed his rueful distress. This was no time to start feeling sorry for stormtroopers. "I imagine the group you stunned outside your door are already dead," she said, without any hint of remorse. "Well, they won't die by my hand," he declared, firmly clicking the small control to 'stun.' "I already have enough deaths on my conscious." Mara gave an exasperated sigh, and began strapping a small holdout blaster to her left forearm. "That's ... wicked looking," Luke commented, eyeing the tiny weapon. "It's my favorite. I didn't want to leave it behind," she explained indifferently. Luke wisely pretended not to notice when she casually changed the setting on her blaster to stun also. Mara switched off the glow rod and slung the pack over her shoulders. They could hear the stomping of stormtrooper boots echoing in the distance. Mara took Luke's hand once more, and leaving the cumbersome stormtrooper rifles behind, they resumed their frantic pace. *I wasn't able to retrieve your lightsaber,* she sent, almost apologetically. *Palpatine keeps it next to his throne.* *That's okay,* Luke returned, still amazed at how they could switch so smoothly between verbal and silent communication. *I seem to have a penchant for losing them. I can build another someday.* *I have one myself,* Mara continued, not missing a step in her hurried flight through the darkness. *But I was afraid Palpatine might notice it missing from my room. Bringing the blasters was risky enough.* *Lightsabers wouldn't exactly be the perfect choice for traveling incognito under the city,* Luke rationalized. *No, guess not,* Mara concurred. After a moment, Luke continued, *So, you're skilled with a saber, then?* *Enough to get by.* Mara had been trained in the art of lightsaber dueling, but she still felt she had a lot to learn. A secret doorway suddenly slid open ten meters ahead of them, and a pair of crimson Royal Guards were revealed in the shaft of light that swept in with them. Mara skidded to a halt, with Luke careful not to bump into her this time. Two stun shots pumped out from her weapon, and the guards crumpled in a heap. She was glad Skywalker kept his comments to himself. She had no desire to hear his sanctimonious words of approval. Bad enough she felt like she was going soft, listening to all his pacifist preaching. "Let's go." Mara began running once more, pulling Luke behind her. *There's a drop shaft up ahead.* As they rushed through the inky gloom, Mara checked again how Luke was doing with his Force shield. He had it firmly in place, no wavering whatsoever. The only unexpected part to her was how well they could still sense each other, and converse in silence as easily as she could with the Emperor. It was as if their shield of invisibility enclosed both of them together, like two seeds hidden in a single pod. Would that change if they moved apart? Did it matter? With surprisingly few misgivings, Mara admitted to herself that for better or worse, they were sticking together. They soon reached the ancient shaft Mara had remembered. This time, she chanced igniting a glow rod just long enough to locate the spring release for the access panel. The shaft was similar to the ones turbolifts traveled through, only a much tighter squeeze. It was barely a meter square, with a ladder bolted to the wall opposite the access door. Luke poked his head in, peering down into the bottomless well. "Ladies first," he whispered. "How chivalrous," Mara snorted. "Okay, I'll go first. But I don't want to hear any grumbling about my looking up your dress." "It's pitch black. You're not going to see anything." "I have a vivid imagination." Imagination nothing, Mara thought. She'd given him ample opportunities to view her undergarments. Mara swatted him out of the way, then perched herself on the lip of the doorway. Once again, she regretted not having on more practical clothing. Luke held the glow rod out, illuminating the ladder as Mara launched herself across the expanse, grabbing the rungs with practiced ease. She snatched the light as Luke tossed it across, then climbed down a couple meters right before Luke landed in the spot she'd just vacated. He paused long enough to replace the access door with the Force, then followed her downward. "Don't you dare step on my hands, or head." Mara's voice drifted up to him in the reinstated blackness. "Yes, ma'am," he sent back obediently. Hand over hand, they descended quickly, constantly on alert for any sudden appearance of guards. They'd been descending about fifteen minutes when Luke first sensed, then heard, the faint scraping as a panel slid open a couple floors above them. *Don't move,* he sent quickly to Mara. A powerful spotlight shone upward, then downward, sweeping back and forth. Do, or do not, Luke told himself as he shut his eyes and concentrated. Moments later, the light withdrew, and Luke felt the troopers move off. *I can't believe they missed us.* Mara released the breath she'd been holding. *I projected an illusion of an empty ladder,* Luke returned. *I'm impressed.* *Uhh, ... well, ... thanks. Let's go.* Skywalker certainly didn't fit with what had been drilled into her concerning Jedi, Mara thought. He could never be accused of being arrogant or flashy. Nearly a half hour later, they reached rock bottom, literally. "We're ten levels below what's considered the ground floor," Mara informed Luke quietly. "This is where we'll have to go through the sewers for several blocks." "Oh, goodie," Luke snorted sarcastically. "I so enjoy a nice jog through the sewers. One of my favorite pastimes." "At least you're wearing high boots," Mara groused right back. She wasn't looking forward to sloshing through ankle-deep muck in her dress slippers. "Do you want me to carry you?" "Wouldn't you just love that?" Wouldn't mind, Luke thought, smiling to himself in the darkness. Mara bent and pulled off her shoes. She tugged open a metal hatch, then with a disgusted grunt, stepped down into the slimy goop with her bare feet, followed closely by Luke. "Uhm....," Luke hesitated. "I'm going to ask the obvious question here. Why didn't you bring boots along?" He could hear her annoyed sigh above the sloshing of their steps. "Because...," she drawled, "I had to strap this bag around my thigh to hide it, as it was. There are guards all along the corridors between my room and the nearest entrance to the passageways. It was bulky enough with the blasters, glow rods, and a few ration bars. I couldn't even fit in a cape to cover this dress." "Why didn't you just wear boots when you came this morning?" Luke persisted. "Knee-high boots aren't exactly normal attire for a seductress." "I wouldn't know -- you're my first." Luke grabbed Mara's arm as she started to slip in an attempt to jab him in the ribs. "Careful!" "Stang, this is cold," Mara groused as she pulled out of his grasp. "If you change your mind, my offer to carry you still stands." "You'd probably slip and dunk us both." "Nah, I've got experience navigating through garbage." "And you never fell in?" Mara snorted derisively, though she was curious to hear his answer. "Got pulled under once, by a dianoga. Not something I care to repeat. Lando fell in at Xixor's. Chewie slipped there, but that was when we got out and his feet were wet." Mara stopped suddenly, sliding in the process and latching on to Luke's forearm. Luke had related to her numerous adventures of his Rebel friends over the past several days, but she didn't recall anything concerning the Falleen crimelord. "Steady!" he cautioned. "Xixor? Prince Xixor? Of Black Sun?" Mara whispered incredulously. "Yes." Luke resumed their sluggish trek, careful not to reveal his delight that Mara absentmindedly still clung to his arm. "We entered his castle via the sewers." "But Xixor's dead, and his castle is destroyed." Luke laughed lightly. "It is now." "You ... took down his castle?!" "Not by myself! That was Lando's contribution. It wasn't actually part of the plan, considering we barely made it out ourselves." Luke continued his tale, as Mara seemed to be listening intently. Perhaps she had decided, as he had, that keeping up a running, though quiet, conversation was marginally effective in keeping their minds off the foul-smelling sludge. "And then, just as I was leaving, Guri decided she wanted to find out how it felt to battle a Jedi." Mara pulled up once again. "You fought his HRD?" "We'll never get out of here if you keep stopping," Luke joked, then continued. "She didn't give me much choice." "I saw it in action once," Mara replied. "It was lethal. You actually defeated it? Everyone assumed it was destroyed in the explosion, or blown up with Xixor in his ship." "I didn't kill 'her'," Luke corrected. "She couldn't help how she was programmed. She didn't deserve to die, and I'm pretty sure she escaped the explosion." "Skywalker, it's a droid!" "Droids have personalities, and feelings, in their own way. Wait till you meet Artoo and Threepio. You'll see what I mean." "Listen here, Skywalker, you're not taking me home to meet the family ... Hey! Something alive just brushed against my leg." Mara involuntarily jumped a little closer to her 'escort.' "That's it," Luke declared in exasperation. Without hesitation, he scooped her up out of the water. Which didn't suit Mara one little bit. "Put ... me ... down ... right ... now!" Her growl sounded fiercer than Leia's, Luke decided, as he forged ahead with his struggling load. "Calm down and be quiet," he bit out impatiently. "Unless you want some sewer serpent to make a snack out of your pretty little toes." "Aagghh!" Mara pounded on him, but he held her in a deathgrip. Thankfully they soon reached the hatchway that Mara had previously determined opened onto a dry tunnel leading directly to Coruscant's underground sections. Opening the hatch, Luke set his fuming passenger onto the dirty, but dry, surface beyond. He half expected her to slam the hatch shut in his face, but instead she turned aside and calmly pulled out a glow rod. Carefully picking off the worst of the muck, she then slipped her shoes back onto her still filthy feet. When Mara spun back around to face Luke, though, he surmised that her face was as red as her hair. She poked the narrow glow rod against his chest, highlighting her emphasis on each word she spoke. "Don't ... you ... EVER ... do that again. Do I make myself clear?" "Perfectly." Burning blue eyes met glacial green ones. "But I'll do whatever is necessary to keep us both safe," Luke growled. "Do I make ... MYSELF ... clear?" "Listen, Jedi," she spat, infuriated. "I'm not some princess in distress that needs to be rescued by the likes of you." "The princesses I know would have more sense than to walk barefoot through raw sewage," he shot back hotly. "How many diseases were you trying to catch?" Mara whirled away, too furious to speak. He was right, damn him. He was right, and she knew it. It was a stupid thing to do. But she would never, ever, give him the satisfaction of admitting it out loud.