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 entered the grand room and looked around her, trying to hide her appreciation. Cal had always had excellent taste. He had a fondness of fijisi wood that was equal only to her own. She managed to hide her feelings behind a trademark smirk. This was a rather odd thing to be in the middle of an old modified Dreadnaught.
Cal entered from a set of doors made of the deepest wood, carved with characters from a mythology she vaguely recognized. Probably from Cal's homeworld--wherever that was. He liked to talk about it but had always managed to sidestep the direct question about its location. Sometimes, Mara wondered if it existed.
He looked the same. Eyes blue like force-lightning, hair dark and swirling around his head, perfectly styled. His vanity was etched into his features, a trait she had found herself drawn to in spite of itself. His skin was nearly white from his days between the stars, but that face...it had not changed. If anything, it had improved with age.
His smile was radiant. She found herself returning it. What was it about him, anyway? How could the Force allow such a broiling pool of ambition and cruel desires to lie behind such unspeakable beauty? She rarely thought of men as beautiful, but Cal was the exception. She had never found another. Not even Luke's handsome face was comparable with his.
Still, she loved Luke. And the mere thought of him brought her back to her senses.
"Mara," he said, his voice rolling over the name.
"Back to old tricks, I see," she said, fighting to keep her voice from sounding husky.
"As always. And you? I heard you got married."
"Truth travels fast."
He gave a slight grumph. "Only if they sound like outrageous rumors. Skywalker, of all people? The one who wanted so badly to kill?"
She gave him a half shrug. "Some of us grow up past our pettiness, Cal."
He frowned. "Easy. I thought you came in peace."
Damn him. The old tricks did work best. "Sorry. I do." She took a breath. "I didn't know you'd be out here by Duran, of all places."
Cal strode forward, his long black cape flowing out behind him. He was even starting to look like a dark Jedi, although it was obvious to her that he lacked the sheer power behind the appearance. "I take it you weren't looking for me, then." He paused, glancing out at the blue-green world right outside the viewport. "I've gone back to the old smuggling game. There are certain parties on Duran that are opening themselves up to outside trade, but they have to keep things ultra hush-hush. No one can know we're here, so we have to be careful before we go in to make a drop. Nothing can pick us up. They pay very well, though. Eventually, they're going to pick up enough Basic that the truth will probably slip out accidentally." He grinned. "I must confess I wouldn't like that very much. I've done things to...prevent it."
She folded her arms. "Don't tell me. My husband is a New Republic figure, and my sister-in-law is the Chief-of-State. Tell me about any illegal activities and I'd have to report you."
He put up his hands. "If it means I'd get to see you again after you finish your business here, I'm willing to pay the price."
She grinned at him again, trying to make it mocking. "You're laying it on too thick, Cal. Don't you even want to know what I'm doing here?"
"I admit, I'm idlely curious. I'm even more interested, however, in learning why you left me to begin with." He grew serious. "Why you didn't even say goodbye."
She fought to keep from shuddering. "I had my reasons."
"I would hope. I would hurt my feelings if I thought you had disappeared on me just because you felt like it."
Maybe it was the tone of his voice. Maybe it was the earlier thought of Luke. Maybe it was the tremor in the Force she felt at those words. Whatever it was, Mara was sick of him having the upper hand on her. "I do everything because I feel like it, Cal. You know that," she returned in the same tone.
He advanced on her, but she kept herself from jumping back. Remembering all the things Luke had taught her, she called a peace to herself, and swore she saw Cal's step falter. "Still the free spirit, in spite of being domesticated," he tried, his tone arrogant.
"If I were domesticated," she said slowly, "then I would not be here."
He went back to the disarming grin. This was more tiring than a lightsaber duel, she thought. "Of course. Tell me what you're doing out here, Mara."
"Do you remember Jabba's Fist?" she asked.
Good, that one surprised him. "A little. I know that I wasn't too happy when they wound up falling apart. I did my best to banish the bad memories."
"Do you know--" and she hesitated, unsure as to how much she should tell him. "Do you know anything about their last shipment here?"
He frowned at her. "What about it? They were slavers. Are you looking for someone specific?"
She sighed. "A friend of mine died recently. She was pregnant a long time ago and gave birth while she was a temporary captive of Jabba's Fist. She escaped and wound up spending the rest of her days trying to recover her child, but never succeeded."
"So this is a deathbed promise thing," Cal said flippantly. "What makes you think I would help you, Mara? You and I haven't even laid eyes on each other in almost fifteen years. You pop up down here out of nowhere and give me your typical hostile attitude, not even a simple explanation as to why you left." He looked at her, those force-lightning eyes glowing angrily. "Dammit, Mara, I'm human, too. I know you think I'm some sort of monster, but I'm not. You didn't even say goodbye!"
"There was no reason," she said softly. "If you knew me at all, you knew why I left. You just won't admit it."
He got even angrier. "I'm beginning to realize everything I thought I knew about you was a big lie. You were this tough assassin that had a vendetta against the rebellion, not a desire to marry into it. You were smart, cool, and beautiful. You still are beautiful." His eyes raked over her face. "But you've changed. I don't even know who you are. And with all that, you can't even spare a kind word for my feelings."
She snorted. "The woman you knew, Cal, didn't have a kind word for anyone."
"True." His eyes glittered, but they were starting to smile. "If that was who I was talking to, I could live with that."
"If you don't help me, I'll just ask the officials on the planet Duran. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to find out that you're out here," she said with a dangerous tone in her voice. "How is that for 'old times sake?'"
He smiled even wider. "That was the Mara I knew. My old heart feels so glad."
"You know what's going to happen to your old heart if you don't tell me something I want to hear. Now," she took a breath, "Jabba's Fist's last shippment was here, to the planet Duran. Do you know anything about it?"
Cal turned away and walked over to a big desk. He pulled out a small box, and Mara could smell a familiar scent. Sugar. The guy had an old supply of sugar stashed in this ramshackle ship of his. Force help her if he took a taste of it--she would have to draw her lightsaber and kill him.
He turned back to her quickly, catching her emotion. "This bother you?" he asked.
"Yes," she said between gritted teeth.
"Sorry, it helps me think." But he shut the box and held up his hands to show they were empty. "Okay...what was that, about ten or so years ago?"
"A few years longer." She calculated it in her mind. Callista had come to them three years ago, and it had been nearly eight years since Callista had left Luke. "Eleven, or twelve, I think."
Cal nodded. "It was the last shippment...I remember there being a pregnant woman on board. A yellow lightsaber, am I right? Funny, she wasn't Force sensitive. What was she doing with a lightsaber?"
Mara nodded. "That was Callista. It's a long story. What was done with the child?"
Cal stared out the viewport for a long minute. "She was pretty upset about the baby being taken from her. She escaped, like you said, but not before doing some heavy damage. She was Force- sensitive, now that I think about it. But it was the dark side." He frowned. "I remember Kerander talking about how some of the shields...he couldn't get them back on line. He didn't want to miss the shippment, but he didn't want to be on the ship, either, in case something happened. He was a big coward. That was the biggest reason I left. The last I heard, the ship was headed out here." He paused. "If you want more than that, you'll have to let me check some things. I may know where to look. Besides, there were a few men I know who were on that ship when it went to Duran. They are none too fond of the memory of finding out how bad of a shape it was in. They may complain of it quite willingly. Such bad experiences make memories more vivid, don't they?"
His eyes had turned to hers in the middle of his little speech, and held hers. After a long moment of silence, Mara deftly broke the contact and turned her back to him. "Please call me when you hear anything," she said softly, and left.