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.
She practically ran down the plank where Luke was waiting for her. She hurled herself into his arms and he hugged her close.
"You okay?" he asked, alarmed at how fast her heart was beating.
She nodded. "Adrenaline overload." She pulled away slightly and gazed up at him. "Besides, can't I be really glad to see you?"
"Don't complain, Skywalker," came a voice from not-so- far-away. "It's better than her trying to kill you, isn't it?"
Luke turned to see Cal Saphringer striding toward them, his dark hair tossed carelessly about his head. He could feel Mara rest against him, and he tightened his arm around her waist protectively.
"And you're Cal, right?" Luke said, forcing his voice to be friendly.
Cal nodded. "I'm quite impressed, Skywalker, really. I mean, if you knew how different Mara was in her attitude about you so many years ago---"
"Trust me," Luke cut him off, casting a wry smile at Mara. "I know."
Cal let out a little grunt. "I guess Jedi manipulation powers aren't all on the dark side, are they?"
Luke started to scowl. Mara squeezed his other hand.
"I did some damage to his ship," Mara said. "We're going to have to have it fixed."
Cal waved his hand. "That's not necessary, Mara, really. As long as you're safe." He gave her one of his breathless smiles, and Luke felt a tremor in the Force. Sting of it was, he couldn't tell if it was coming from Mara or Cal.
It was at that moment that Han Solo strode into the cargo bay, Vaiya perched on his shoulders. The three-year-old girl squealed at her mother in greeting, and Mara broke away from the two conflicting men in her life to embrace her daughter. As Mara knelt down with the little girl to hear her tell her tale of traveling through hyperspace, Mara began to realize that Cal had significantly eased off whatever he'd been doing. It was like someone taking a rock off her head. The longer she was with Vaiya, the clearer she got. Finally, Mara turned to them to see Luke watching her lovingly, and Cal just watching.
"She looks like you," Cal murmured.
"Vaiya has Mara's smile, and her nose," Luke said offhandedly.
"But she's got your eyes, darling," Mara said, brushing back a handful of Vaiya's silky strawberry blond locks. "And your cheekbones."
"What is she, a little girl or a jigsaw puzzle?" Han interrupted.
Luke jumped. "Right. Look, Cal, thank you for helping out my wife," and he said the words with a tad too much accent on "my wife," but he didn't care, "and any repairs you need done to your ship, we'd be happy to pay for. Just let us know."
Cal waved his hand again. "I already said thanks but it's okay, really." Cal's dark eyes locked with Luke's. "Once I say something, I stick to it."
It was in that moment that Luke realized that this man was causing more than just the slight disturbances in the Force he and Mara had been feeling. This man was a walking, talking premonition of doom.
"So what made you run from the Academy?" Mara asked Luke when they were in private.
Luke was downloading the report the control station had sent to him so that he could try and identify the attackers. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it isn't like you to just up and run like that, even under attack."
"I couldn't put Vaiya in that kind of danger," he said as he turned to focus on her. "We had to escape."
"And protect the Academy?" Mara pressed. "You realize that taking Vaiya up in the Falcon was even more dangerous than just hiding in the Massassi temple. And what makes you so sure that whoever attacked you didn't destroy the Academy when they figure out you weren't there?"
"Because," Luke said patiently, "I checked in with the Academy right after we got here, and my hunch was confirmed-- they were after me and Vaiya, not the Academy."
"You followed a hunch? You have been hanging around Solo too long. I remember when you used to call that Jedi intuition."
Luke shrugged. "Perhaps they're the same thing." He frowned at her. "Are you okay? You still seem rather shaken up."
"By what? The fact that some crazy unknown enemy is insane enough to attack us in protected space, or that my ex-lover turned Dark Jedi wannabe is staying two doors down from us? Exactly which would shake me up more, do you think?"
Okay, the claws were coming out. Luke gently opened himself up to Mara's feelings, and saw what she'd been denying for the last few hours--her incredible worry. It had built up on her like a fungus, penetrating every aspect of her life, her fear over never finding Callista's and his son, that the child was leading a life of slavery somewhere and she couldn't save him, and the unsettling incident of Cal Saphringer returning to her life and treating her like she was the old Mara Jade and expecting her to ACT like it...it was too much. She'd been holding it in, and now Luke was the lucky winner she was pouring it out upon.
Mara sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not fair. I shouldn't do this to you. I've just been a bundle of nerves over the last months and I can't understand it. It's just so not like me."
"Then you need to get rid of it," Luke said. "I know how you can get rid of one of them."
"How?"
"Tell Cal to leave."
Mara blinked. "Just tell him? Get out and don't come back?"
"Sounds good to me."
She gave him an amused frown. "Why, Master Skywalker, you're jealous. Isn't jealousy of the dark side?"
Luke looked up into the air as he pretended to try and remember. "Nope, don't remember Yoda ever mentioning that. Fear, agression, passion, hate, anger...no, no jealousy."
She punched him in the arm and he grabbed her wrist to pull her closer. "Don't do it for me," he said huskily. "Do it for yourself." He kissed her cheek and turned back to the download he'd gotten from the control tower. She hesitated a few moments, and then disappeared out into the hallway. She felt this crazy urge to see her daughter before she did anything yet regarding Cal.
About fifteen minutes had passed since Mara had left the room, but Luke found out all he could in half that time--nothing. There was no record of the ships, their destinations and point of orgin had somehow been smeared pretty bad so they couldn't be traced or tracked. They had shown up, wreaked havoc, and disappeared.
A real professional job, Luke thought as he stared at the scematic for Cal's ship. The flight records had been updated in their graphics, and Luke could see clearly the markings the man had put on his ship. Old Jedi symbols for power, passion, and vengence. He wondered if Cal even knew what they meant.
As if on cue, the man entered the small holovid lounge, his dark cape removed to reveal a more simple dress. He reminded Luke of Lando a bit, dressed one of those spunsilk shirts and dark trousers with knee-high boots. His shirt hung open a little more than Lando's usually did, revealing a sprinkling of black chest hair.
No wonder women found him so charming. Even Mara, once. But not anymore.
He clenched his fist. Not anymore.
"Skywalker," Cal drawled. "I was just coming to see if you and Mara had come up with any leads as to who your attackers were." He glanced around the room briefly. "I can see that Mara isn't here."
"No, she went to check on our daughter." Luke forced himself to relax. Maybe if he could convince Cal to leave, it would let Mara off the hook. If he did, Luke was sure that Mara's unusual levels of anxiety would drop off. This guy reeked of the dark side.
"Ah," Cal said. "I see. Well, did you come up with anything?"
"There wasn't anything to come up with," Luke said. "They just disappeared."
"No one just disappears," Cal admonished with a quick frown. "Just like no one ever changes. Those fighters will be back, with more firepower. They were just playing with you, finding your weak spot, so they could use it to their advantage."
Luke cocked an eyebrow. "You seem to know a lot about the enemy," he said softly.
"Well, one of them did crash into me," Cal said with a wave of his hand. "I guess you could say I got up close and personal."
Luke took a deep breath and prepared to tell the man that he was grateful for his help but that he wanted him to leave both him and especially Mara alone when Luke heard Mara's voice through the Force a few seconds before the alarms went off.
*LUKE! We're under attack!*