DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc, 20th Century Fox, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly, YKW and the other writers of the expanded Star Wars Universe. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Mara was incredibly surprised when Luke told her as they walked back to the resort that Callista had in fact come to see her. But after a few moments, it didn't seem so surprising. In fact, Mara quickened the pace, anxious to learn the next clue in this mystery scheme of events.
"Did she tell you why?" Mara asked in a low voice as they climbed the low stairs to their suite.
"No, not a word. Although I think I know." His face grew a little pale as he shot Mara a glance, but Mara seemed to be able to handle anything at the moment.
They entered the suite, their hands entwined, and Callista stood up, relieved to see them. Leia was nowhere to be seen, and it made Luke briefly wonder why. Perhaps for once Leia's diplomatic skills had failed her, and she just wanted to stay as far away from the situation as possible. Although Leia had a bit to be grateful for when it came to Callista. The woman had helped save her life on Nam Chorios. But Callista looked anything but upset as she greeted Mara and even offered her a sincere congradulations, obviously referring to her condition.
"How much longer?" Callista asked, a slightly wistful tone in her voice.
"About another month or so. I have a feeling she's going to be early. If she gets any bigger, I'll wind up popping." The weight seemed to get to her then, and she sat down, guesturing for Callista to do the same. "Luke said you came here to see me. If it makes you feel better, I think I know why. But please, don't hesitate to be blunt."
Callista's solemn gray eyes widened a bit and she seemed to want to bite her tongue, but instead let out a sigh and did as Mara asked. "I need your help. I'm trying to find my son."
She looked at Luke, who took the news as if he'd already heard it once before. "I think, though, that I should start from the beginning.
"After I left, I wandered for a while. I didn't have much money, so I wound up on some freighter heading out to Chad. I hoped that going home would help me stabilize myself for the emotional journey ahead. On the way, I discovered that I was pregnant. I wanted to come back, Luke, but the ship was captured by slavers. They took everyone on board. I never had a chance."
"How did you escape?" Luke asked softly.
"It's all a blur. They found out that I was pregnant and I instantly became some sort of prized possession. They held me until I was full term, and when I went into labor, I heard them talking about experimenting with some new technology."
Mara grimaced. "What did that mean?" she whispered.
"You both are familiar with carbon freeze. Well, there's this new technology that's like carbon freeze, but it isn't carbon and it doesn't cause hybernation sickness. It's like the entire body is put on hold by a forcefield. It was so new it wasn't even legal yet. They call it a stasis block. It was being used to ship animals from world to world because it wasn't damaging like carbon freeze. And after I gave birth, they put my boy in a stasis block, wanting to sell him to the highest bidder. Probably some rich couple who can't have children," Callista added, her voice as hard as the steel her eyes had become, "and have to resort to buying them." She shook her head, clearly restraining tears. "I didn't know what to do. I just went berserk when I found out. I was so angry I wound up using the dark side of the force and destroying their ship. I searched for my baby in the wreckage, but there was no sign of him. They must have sold him already. When I left, I was determined to never touch the dark side of the force again, and so I went to Nam Chorios to see what I could learn. That's why I couldn't bear for you to come near me, Luke. I would have told you. I couldn't bear to tell you, didn't want you to feel the pain as well. So I kept going. I've spent more years searching for my son than I have trying to regain the force. I've failed in both, and then when I heard about the two of you...well...." she figited, embarrassed. "Mara, you're a hard person to track down. The only way I knew you would be here was because of a transmission I intercepted about a month back from your old employer Karrde and someone named Ghent. And the fact that I heard in the news that Leia was on vacation...I just sort of put the pieces together and hoped for the best."
Mara leaned back on the couch. "So what do you want me to do?" she asked gently.
"I know that you were the Emperor's Hand. You know how to get information. Maybe you've even heard of the slave opperation that took my son. Do you think there's some way you could help me find him?"
"He would be about ten years old now, right?" Mara said, reaching for the small datapad sitting on a nearby endtable. She hooked the datapad into the nearby holonet and started pressing some buttons.
"Yes. The name of the slavers was something like 'The Fist of Jabba,' or something like that."
"Jabba's Fist," Mara confirmed. "I've heard of them. After Leia killed that old slug a faction of his company broke off and named themselves after him, kind of like an honor thing." Mara grinned. "Bet Leia really appreicated that, after what Jabba did to her." She flashed her eyes at Luke. "Athough I'm sure her outfit was stunning."
Luke's eyes widened, but he was fighting off a smile.
"What kind of ship was it, do you remember?"
Callista shrugged. "I remember thinking it looked like an old class of star destroyer, back in my day." She winced. "Seventy years old, at least. But still running. Not exactly a clean place."
"Yeah, the Emperor was real happy about them driving around in Imperial model ships. Made them hard to spot, hiding in plain sight like that."
She was quiet for a few minutes, watching the information run across the small screen in front of her. "Well..." she murmured, "it looks like they weren't that big. There isn't too much of a mention of them after about five years ago." She bit her thumb. "I don't have too much access from here...Coruscant would have better files."
"You mean, better databases for you to hack into," Luke corrected.
Mara shrugged. "I'm not really the hacker. I know a few passwords here and there. I know how to manuver a system. But Ghent, he's the slicer. If anyone could find it, he could." She stood up. "I can send him a message right now, Callista. If you want, we can all head back to Courscant in a few days. Just give us some time to pack up."
Luke tried to hide his surprise, but Mara felt it ripple toward her. Her exterior remained cool, but he could hear her thoughts--*Sithspit, Luke, what are we supposed to do? Make her sit around here and watch us play expectant couple while she waits for me to follow a lead that very may well be a dead end? I've given up my cruelty days.*
"No, I don't want you to do that," Callista said, half-way through Mara's thought. "You must both be pretty busy, and I'm sure you don't get much time off."
Mara snorted. "Oh, yeah, we're just up to our necks, aren't we, Luke?" *Come on, back me up.*
"Callista, really, we can always come back. But the longer we wait to find your...our son, the farther away he might get."
"It's been ten years, Luke. I'm running on sheer desperation now. I'm ready to give up. Trust me, I can wait another week for that. How do you think I've managed until now?"
"Well, at least let me get to the Jaded Sky and contact Ghent. We might not have to go anywhere if luck is with us." She set down the datapad and looked at both Luke and Callista. "You two can stay here if you want," she said carefully. "I won't be too long." And she exited the room before either could insist on it being otherwise.
Luke and Callista just stared at each other. Finally, Callista sat back down and cleared her throat. "How long have you known?" she asked.
"Only a few days ago did the subject ever come up. I think I knew you were coming." Luke watched out the window at Mara's retreating back. She didn't glance back at him, not once. And since he knew she wasn't angry, that must mean she trusted him.
"You didn't have any feeling before that?" Callista asked hopefully. "I...had a feeling he was a force sensitive."
"Well, he would be, even if only one of his parents---" And then he stopped himself, realizing that his tone was entirely too flippant. "I'm...sorry, Callista. I didn't mean--"
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I deserve that one. Actually, to be honest, I'm sort of okay with it now. Sort of. Not entirely. It's kind of become secondary lately."
"I understand."
"I hope you do." The words were entirely different in their meaning as her eyes watched him, guarded, as if he might strike her. "I mean...you're taking this extremely well. So is she." Callista paused. "She's changed a lot."
"Yes," Luke agreed. "She has." He sighed. "I guess I'm taking it well because she is, or maybe I'm just getting old. Or maybe I'm going to wake up tomorrow steaming mad." He frowned. "Stars, Callista! Couldn't you have sent a message or something?"
She recoiled as if that blow had finally come. "I'm sorry. I know I made a lot of mistakes, and I just make more." She put her head in her hand, and Luke noticed that even ten years in that body hadn't changed the curve of her neck, that stemlike neck. "But you had a right to know. And you know you aren't really sorry I never came back. This is where you're happy. You never would have had this with me." She swung her arm in the direction Mara had taken. "She can hear us now, can't she, on some level? Always touching your emotions, always aware of you in some way. I was right to leave. It's what was meant to be."
"I know that," Luke said softly. "I meant, couldn't you have at least told me that you had had a son? I know you had lost him, but if you had told me, I could have done something sooner to find him. Now....it may be too late."
Callista stood up slowly. "It's times like these when I miss my Force sensitivity the most," she said with a self-depreciating laugh. "I take everything the wrong way. It's been a long trip and I'm tired. I'm heading back to my ship. Tell Mara she can find me there if she gets any information for me."
Luke put his hand out. "Callista, you don't have to sleep on your ship. You can stay in a suite here. Trust me, it's much more comfortable."
"No, Luke," she said, her voice firm as she retreated from his outstretched hand. "I'm going to stay in my ship. Trust me, it will be better like this. Besides, it's my home." She reached the door and stepped out. "And this is yours."
Luke sat in the quiet she left behind her, his mind churning over the last half hour. A gentle foreboding washed over him, and he heard the words of his old Master. *Adventure...heh! Excitement...heh! A Jedi craves not these things.*
Luke smiled. "Oh, Master Yoda," he whispered, "why didn't you tell me it was because one can hardly crave what one gets in abundance?"
Mara straightened her shoulderblades. When had Ghent gotten so talky? Of course, it had been a little while. He had fun teasing her about being pregnant, that was probably it. Wondering what kind of mother she would be. She herself had absolutely no idea. But no matter what else, the kid would be able to shoot a blaster better than her father before she reached the age of sixteen. That was a promise Karrde had had her make.
She grinned. "Those were the days," she whispered. But as nostalgic as she was for them, she knew they were far from over. Being a Jedi Knight's mother didn't seem like the easiest job, and Mara knew that the child of Luke Skywalker was not going to be an easy secret to keep.
Something between a grimace and a grin crossed her face as she remembered saving Leia and Han's children, many years ago on Coruscant. They had handled it well, and Han wasn't even a Jedi.
And Leia wasn't the ex-Emperor's Hand, also known as the Ultimate Predator.
These Jabba's Fist scum were going to regret the day that Jabba died.
She sighed. Callista had said something about running on sheer desperation. That she would have to be, to come to them--to come to her--after all this time and after all the things that had happened. But a lost child was a crisis everyone could sympathize with, even those who had never experienced it directly. Callista knew full well that she wouldn't be turned away.
It just made Mara a little suspicious. Even though Mara was always a little suspicious, even when there was no reason. Callista had known about her and Luke, hadn't even seemed too surprised when she saw Mara eight months pregnant. And she wasn't surprised when Luke knew about the child.
That part wasn't surprising. The surprising part was, the more she thought about it, was that Luke hadn't always known. That it had only come up over the last few days. Weren't Force sensitives supposed to be aware of each other on some level at all times? Especially relatives. Luke was always aware, on some basic level, of Leia. And she had always known he was her brother, even when she didn't actually know. Vader had sensed the presence of his son, according to Palpatine. And Palpatine had always been aware of her every move. That was why he trusted her so completely.
What had Callista said about that new technology? Statis blocks? Would that keep the child from being active in the Force? Maybe not completely, but enough to keep his presence a secret?
Then again, Vader hadn't known about Luke until Luke became a public figure, and the name SKYWALKER was as good as a flashing neon sign. She could be wrong, entirely wrong. Luke might only be able to sense his son in a fleeting way because that was the way of the Force. Vader, Luke, and whoever this boy was.
Callista had never told them a name.
She stood up and headed out of the Jaded Sky, stopping at the bottom of the ramp and taking in the air around her. It might rain soon...she hoped so. She loved the feel of the Force after a good rain. It vibrated with all kinds of new life and made the entire world smell fresh. She put her hands over her head and stretched, letting the light pour over her, relishing the tale-telling breezes over her bare arms.
The baby kicked. She laughed. *Want to join me, little one? Soon now.*
But the baby kicked again. HARD. And again. And again. She had had little tantrums like this before, but this was different.
Mara had always been connected to the child through the Force. Sometimes, when she thought about it really hard, she could remember the first moment she had realized that her little girl had been conceived. The child's soul was so real, and Luke himself had touched her presence and predicted she would be very skilled in the ways of the Force.
That was all smalltalk compared to what Mara felt now. While she had talked to the baby many, many times, it was not words that the unborn child understood, but rather emotions. Emotions had become Mara's second language over the last three years, and she was speaking it rather fluently. There were no words for this.
Then the baby all but leapt out of her. Mara grabbed her abdomen and let out a little groan. What was it? What had upset the child like that? The creature wasn't even born yet and she could detect something Mara couldn't?
Taking a deep breath, Mara ran through a calming technique. She let it seep through her and into the baby, sending all her love and peace into her unborn child. In a few moments, it was over, and the baby was still.
Luke's arms were around her before Mara could even open her eyes.
"What happened?" he asked, slightly out of breath. "I thought you were going to go into premature labor."
"So did I," Mara said, her voice a monotone. "Calm yourself," she added, looking at him tenderly over her shoulder.
"You know, you're much prettier than Yoda ever was," he whispered, and kissed her cheek.
She smiled. "Help me. Something created a disturbance. Our daughter just went...well, nuts. And I can't sense what it was."
Luke opened his mind to her, and together they scanned the area. Nothing but the trees, and the Ewoks, and the life, and the coming rain....Luke shook his head and pulled away, but Mara flashed across something...something black and horrible and smelling of death. She would have turned back, but something seemed to slap her away, and she gasped as she stumbled back just a bit. Luke's grip around her tightened.
"What did you see?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"I...I don't know." And she turned around, putting their unborn child between them. Suddenly, Mara was very much afraid.
"Palpatine?" Luke whispered.
"No. Something worse." She shuddered. "Let's get inside, Luke," she said, her arms going around his shoulders. "I...I don't want to be out here anymore."
He nodded and they started up the ramp back into the Jaded Sky.