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Author Topic: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
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 Date Posted: 6/19 3:32am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette) - Date Edited: 7/14 4:10pm (4 edits total) Edited By: Gabri_Jade
Title: Serendipity
Author: Gabri_Jade
Timeframe: NR, between the Black Fleet Crisis and The New Rebellion
Characters: Mara, Leia
Genre: vignette, canon-compatible
Summary: So a smuggler walks into a bar... tongue

Notes: This is my 5000th post. I thought that such a milestone deserved to be commemorated with a fic. Five thousand posts and nearly seven years - I really didn't know what I was getting myself into when I registered here, did I? tongue doh!

For Bri_Windstar, who planted the seed for this idea, and went above and beyond in sharing her Leia knowledge and brainstorming when I couldn't think of a title to save my life. kiss Many thanks also to ViariSkywalker for her quick and insightful beta work, and to LadyPadme and Knight_Aragorn for their constant encouragement and prodding of my muse. hugs




The cantina was crowded and dim, the light level a scant few shades above real darkness. Fragrant smoke from various cigarras and spicesticks wafted throughout, rendering the view hazy from floor to ceiling. It was also loud in the way of cantinas throughout the galaxy - conversation and clinking glasses dominated, but the crowd of howling fans around the one fuzzy holovid contributed, as did the piped-in scrak music. From some of the dark alcoves around the edges came fainter, more suspicious noises that were probably best left to the beings making them. On the whole, the cantina radiated generic seediness. It was certainly an unfit place for a civilized lady to spend an evening.

From just inside the entryway, Mara Jade waited for her eyes to adjust to the gloom and regarded the whole thing with satisfaction.

She hadn’t expected to have a free evening to spend in the first place, having arranged to meet with Karrde’s supplier tonight. But the supplier had unexpectedly insisted on a meeting earlier this afternoon - just as he’d insisted on terms less favorable to Karrde’s organization than he’d ostensibly agreed to when they’d set this whole thing up in the first place. Mara was no stranger to negotiations, but in the end the supplier had simply declared that she could accept the terms he’d laid out or he could go to another smuggling organization. She’d been sorely tempted to let him walk, but the reality was that it was a profitable enough contract even with the revised terms that she knew Karrde would rather take it than not.

So she gritted her teeth and swallowed her indignation at his duplicity, and she validated the agreement. The supplier had sauntered off smugly, leaving Mara to fume. She could, of course, have just gone straight to the small yacht granted her for this mission and headed back to base early. It would have been the more practical choice; no other business held her here on Coruscant.

But neither would it do to go back as frustrated as she was. Karrde might lack the extrasensory powers of the Force, but his ability to read people was second to none, and Mara felt disinclined to discuss the matter until she’d regained some emotional equilibrium. And they really weren’t expecting her back so soon anyway. It wouldn’t hurt anything to take the one night off.

And this place exactly suited her mood.

Alternately slipping and elbowing her way through the crowd, Mara found an empty stool at the bar and promptly claimed it. “An Antakarian fire dancer,” she said when the bartender turned her way.

He nodded casually, placed a garnish in the durindfire he already held, and handed the glowing concoction to a patron several stools down from Mara, then selected the appropriate bottles and began mixing her order. Mara absently dragged a fingernail across the bar’s countertop, then grimaced as greasy buildup collected underneath the nail and hit her fingertip. Would it kill them to wipe the bar now and then? She certainly hadn’t let things get so grimy when she worked in cantinas, no matter how seedy they were. She picked the dirt from beneath her nail, then thought to lift her elbows from the countertop. Sure enough, the elbows of her jacket were now smeared with patches of the same gunk.

“Excuse me,” she said to the serving girl who’d joined the bartender behind the bar. The girl glanced up from reloading her tray. “A damp cloth, please?”

The girl looked confused - Mara doubted that many patrons here had such requests - but after a few minutes of fishing around, she came up with a reasonably clean rag. She ran it under the spigot of the bartender’s sink and wrung it out, then offered it to Mara.

“Thank you,” Mara said. “A word of advice: If you clean the counters and tabletops more often, the tips will improve. Even in a place like this. Guaranteed.”

The girl narrowed still-confused eyes. “Um, okay,” she said, and turned back to her tray, whispering to the bartender and sneaking furtive glances at Mara as she finished loading the tray. Mara mopped her dirty elbows and pretended she didn’t see. The girl gave off the unmistakable vibes of a new hire, and there was no point in making her any more uncomfortable than she already was. If she followed the usual pattern of cantina servers, she wouldn’t last the week anyway, and it wasn’t her fault she hadn’t been trained properly.

Mara frowned at this train of thought; it was almost wistful. Yes, her life had been simpler when she was working as a cantina server, but it had also been miserable. She’d still been mourning the loss of her old life, bitterly watching everything that she’d so loyally served self-destruct, wrapped in hatred as though it were a cocoon. There was nothing to feel nostalgic about. Absolutely nothing.

Her mood darkening further, Mara slapped the rag down on the countertop and pressed her lips tightly together.

The bartender brought her glass over, and Mara handed over the appropriate credits. “Thank you,” she said, trying not to sound curt and knowing she was failing. The Bothan on the stool next to her eyed her curiously, and she scowled at him. He hurriedly looked back to his glass.

Irritated by her own lack of self-control as much as anything else, Mara slid off the stool with her drink in hand. Obviously she needed to find an empty, dark booth where she could seethe in private and get this whole stupid bout of frustration out of her system - or at least bring it back under control before she went back to the base.

She stalked away from the bar and toward a row of booths. All were deeply recessed and lit only by a dim lamp set low on the back wall, making it difficult to really see if they were occupied without leaning in close - not generally a wise move in places like this. Fortunately, Mara had no need to resort to such tactics. Her use of the Force might not be so precise as a certain annoying Jedi might wish it to be, but she could certainly pick up the presence of life forms. Not to even mention -

Mara pulled up suddenly, pausing to consider the familiar sense behind her. It couldn’t be...

She turned back to the last booth she passed and leaned over the table, peering at the silhouette of the booth’s lone occupant. “Leia?”

The dark form stirred, and Mara caught a glimpse of a motion as the person waved a hand ever so slightly in her direction. “You want to go get a fresh drink - ” The person paused and leaned forward. “Oh, Mara. Just as well. I can never make that trick work right anyway. What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” Mara seated herself, sliding along the cracked leather seat far to the back of the booth so that she could see the other woman better in the faint light. “I’m a low-life smuggler. You’re the Chief of State of the New Republic. You tell me who’s more likely to be in a dive like this.”

Leia quirked a smile in her direction. “At least I’m more likely to be on this particular planet.”

Mara waved a hand. “Details.” She looked around at the large booth that held only the two of them, then scanned as much of the rest of the cantina as she could see from her seat. “Are you here alone? Not even a security detail?”

“Noghri,” Leia said, sipping at her steaming drink.

Mara scanned the room again, saw no hint of Noghri, then shrugged. “Solo’s not with you?”

“Nope.” Leia eyed Mara over the rim of her glass. “What about you? Are you here alone?”

“Yes,” Mara said. “Had some arrangements to make earlier today.”

“For what?”

“You’ll pardon me if I don’t spill smuggler business to a government representative,” Mara said dryly.

Leia smiled again. “The central government has more important things to do than chase after every smuggling group out there, Mara.”

“Nice try,” Mara said, taking a sip of her own drink.

A quick flash of genuine hurt reached her and was just as quickly smothered. She flicked her eyes toward Leia, but her expression was still even. Mara felt her own quick flash of guilt, which only added to this night’s general discomfort. “Maybe I should let you enjoy your drink in peace,” Mara said, starting to slide back out of the booth.

Leia reached out a hand to touch her arm. “Stay. If we’re both drinking alone, then we’re not doing anything much more important than brooding, are we? Might as well brood together. And it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

“Speak for yourself,” Mara said, but she settled back in her seat. “I don’t brood. And I’ve seen you plenty of times; politicians of your rank wind up on the HoloNet fairly often. You just haven’t seen me.”

“Fair enough,” Leia said, almost managing to hide another smile behind her glass.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, regarding each other not quite uneasily. Mara tapped her fingers on the tabletop, then consciously stopped herself. “At least you got a clean table,” she said, then mentally kicked herself as Leia raised her eyebrows. Of all the stupid things to say.

“As clean as I suppose a place like this gets,” Leia allowed.

“Cleaner than the bar,” Mara said by way of explanation. “I sat there first. Not clean.” She lifted her arm to display the still-dirty jacket elbow. Somewhere deep in her brain a voice was hissing, Shut up; you’re babbling, but she couldn’t quite make herself stop. “That’s why I went looking for a booth.”

“I’m glad you did,” Leia said, and sounded sincere.

Mara took a hasty sip of her drink to keep herself from saying something just for the sake of saying something, and used the few seconds of drinking to come up with a new conversational tactic.

“How are the children?” Real original, Jade.

“They’re good,” Leia said.

“I haven’t heard much about them lately.”

Leia’s eyes went suddenly cold. “By design. They didn’t sign up to be in the public eye; I did. They shouldn’t have to bear the burdens of an office they never asked for.”

“Right,” Mara said, taking another sip of her drink and aiming for nonchalant body language. “Those burdens are getting heavier than normal lately?”

“Why do you ask?” Leia said frostily.

“Only because the political rumblings from Coruscant have seemed a little louder than usual lately,” Mara said, eyeing the other woman. “And because the Chief of State is sitting alone in a dark booth in a seedy little cantina in the underlevels, drinking alone and, in her own words, brooding.”

Leia glared momentarily, then sighed and settled back. “The Uscru Entertainment District is a perfectly respectable area, underlevel or not.”

“Yes,” Mara agreed. “And it’s a stone’s throw away from some far less respectable areas. Doesn’t strike me as the sort of place most politicians would come to relax.”

Leia smiled again, tiredly. “Maybe that’s why I chose it.”

“Mm,” Mara said. “Again - ”

“It’s fine,” Leia said with a sigh. “I just needed a break. No one’s going to expect me to be here, so it’s less likely that they’ll recognize me in the first place. That’s all.”

“Fair enough,” Mara said. “Though you might want to brush up on that mind trick just in case they do recognize you.”

The faint smile was somewhat brittle this time. “I don’t have enough time to do my job. I don’t have enough time to spend with my husband and children. I definitely don’t have enough time to continue my training. Have you been talking to Luke lately or something?”

Mara made a face. “No, and if you tell him you saw me, you’ll regret it.”

Leia grinned. “So how’s that whole not-a-Jedi thing working out for you, Mara?”

“I’d guess about the same as it’s working out for you, Leia,” Mara said, twirling her drink in her glass.

They gazed at each other across the table in an entirely more companionable light.

“Seriously,” Mara said. “You okay?”

Leia sighed. “Yeah. It’s just - sometimes even a career politician gets sick of the double talk and the games. I know I make mistakes, but I’m not in this job for kicks, you know. I’m trying to make things better for the galaxy. And what do I get for it? Endless criticism. Every politician undermining important motions or initiatives for their own personal gain. Roadblocks at every turn.”

“That’s the nature of the game,” Mara said, not without sympathy.

“I know,” Leia agreed quietly. “If it was just that - well.”

Mara swirled her drink again, watching the dim light reflect off the cerise liquor. “What else is it?”

Leia held her glass in both hands, staring down into it. “A husband I hardly see, who’s been far too patient for far too many years. Children who almost resent me for not being there. A brother who sometimes feels like a stranger.” She glanced up, the expression in her eyes bleak. “If I’m not succeeding as a politician, and I’m not really succeeding as a wife or mother or sister either, what’s the point of any of it?”

“You know that’s not true,” Mara said, almost gently. “Han and the kids love you. Luke dotes on you. And - well, I’m no politician, but you’ve certainly done more for the common good than a lot of others would have. As much as you can within the constraints of the job, I think.”

“Mmm.” Leia was looking glumly into her glass again. Mara kicked her under the table, and Leia looked up, startled.

“Hey,” Mara said. “I voted for you, last election. And it’s no easy task to get my vote, let me tell you. You should still be riding high on that accomplishment alone.”

Leia laughed, and her sense in the Force was suddenly lighter. “Well, if you’d told me earlier, maybe I could have been.”

Mara winked at her. “I’ll send you a note next time.”

Leia grinned, looking almost cheerful for the first time since Mara had recognized her. “You do that,” she said, and leaned back in the booth, resting one arm along its back. She took another sip of her drink, then wrinkled her nose. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Mara asked, sipping her own drink. It had been a long time since she’d had an Antakarean fire dancer - Karrde’s crew generally favored brandies and ales - and the sharp, rich flavor made for a pleasant change. She hunched her shoulders slightly to stretch the muscles, then relaxed them, meeting Leia’s gaze with pretended unconcern.

Leia’s own eyes were both knowing and unimpressed. “Nice try,” she echoed dryly. “Come on. If you won’t tell me what you’re doing on Coruscant, you can at least tell me what it is you’re not brooding about.”

Mara hesitated, then made another face at her. “The person I was meeting with plays dirty.”

“Did you have to wipe the floor with him?” Leia asked, a spark of interest lighting her expression.

“Nah,” Mara said, then sighed. “Though I think I’d be a lot happier if he’d given me reason to do just that.”

“So?”

Mara leaned her head briefly against the wall in tired frustration, then thought better of it and pulled back, touching her head gingerly and turning to the side so Leia could look. “Is there anything in my hair now?”

Leia grinned and leaned closer for a moment, then leaned back. “Nope. So? What happened?”

Mara shrugged uncomfortably. “Karrde - Karrde’s an honorable man, smuggler or not. He stands by his word, treats his people right.” She glared almost reflexively at Leia, daring her to argue.

“Very true,” Leia said, perfectly composed. “We’re not going to disagree on that. Try harder, Mara.”

Mara grinned before she could stop herself. “You’re a real pain in the neck sometimes, Leia.”

“Also true,” Leia said, a wicked glint in her eyes. “Quit stalling.”

Mara tapped a fingernail against her glass, listening to the clear tone. “Well, he is. Most smugglers and people who use smugglers aren’t. They cheat. They change terms at the last minute. They always look to cut you out of your fair share of the profit. I don’t like dealing with people like that - at least, not when I’m not allowed to pull a blaster on them.”

Leia continued sipping her drink, looking thoughtful as she did so. “I can’t say I’m surprised,” she said at last. Mara raised an eyebrow at her, and Leia shrugged. “Integrity’s as important to you as it is to Karrde. Maybe more so.”

“Idealist.”

“Not here. Mara, have you ever considered that you spent most of your life upholding law and order? You may have been operating outside the system; the system itself might have been corrupt. But you were always trying to uphold justice. I’m not surprised that a smuggler’s way of life would grate on you, even if you are working with a rarity like Karrde.” She propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll ever be truly happy in that line of work.”

Mara narrowed her eyes. “Quite the psychoanalysis.”

Leia smiled. “Maybe. But it makes for a nice change from the brooding.” She swallowed the last of her drink, then set the glass down almost ruefully. “I really should get back. Han took the children to the Galactic City Zoo today. They always stay late when they go there, but they should be back within the hour. At least we can have dinner together.” She looked wistful, then confided, “I couldn’t get out of work early enough to make it worthwhile to join them. Prompted the brooding, I suppose.”

Mara quirked a sympathetic smile at her. “Dinner’s better than nothing.”

“True.” Leia leaned in again, momentarily intense. “Mara, really. If you ever need anything, if you want to do something other than smuggling, let me know, okay?”

“Sure,” Mara said, uncomfortable again, then remembered to add, “Thanks.”

Leia waved it off. “Seriously. Or if you just need to talk to someone outside Karrde’s organization, just to vent or something.” She tilted her head. “I still owe you for helping save the twins, you know. I always will. This is the least I can do.”

Mara shook her head. “You don’t owe me for that.”

“I do,” Leia said, with absolute conviction. “And don’t get all unemotional and distant on me; I’m not buying it.” Her gaze softened. “Look, just take it at face value, okay? If you need something, let me know.”

She was quite serious, and out of respect for that, Mara did her best not to squirm. She almost managed it, too. “Okay,” she conceded. “But the same goes for you. If it comes down to that, I wouldn’t have made it off Wayland alive if you hadn’t come for us.”

Leia was looking entirely too earnest at this point, reminding Mara distractingly of Luke, and the open hope he always displayed when asking if she’d be coming back to the Academy any time soon. It was too much, and Mara lost the battle to not squirm. “Get out of here, Leia. Your family’s waiting.”

The quirk of Leia’s brows suggested that she understood far more of Mara’s thoughts than Mara would have liked. “Want me to tell Luke you said hi?”

Horrified, Mara leveled a warning finger at her. “Don’t you dare.”

Leia smiled. “It was good seeing you, Mara.”

“Yeah,” Mara said, and managed a genuine smile. “Same here.”

Leia pulled some credits from her pocket and set them on the table next to her empty glass, then headed for the door. Mara caught sight of a slender gray silhouette seemingly coming from nowhere to follow her, and turned back to her own drink, reassured that she wouldn’t have to surreptitiously shadow Leia herself. She could have, of course, but keeping Leia from sensing her would have made things a little tricky.

She sat back in the booth, obscurely feeling better than she had upon entering the cantina. It had been several years since she’d last seen Leia for more than a few moments at a time, and she’d wondered increasingly if the aloof politician on the holovid was truly the same person she remembered from so long ago. It was nice to know that she still was.

Thoughtful, Mara finished her drink, setting the glass down just as the server from earlier was passing by. She paused, obviously recognizing Mara, and hesitantly asked, “Another round, ma’am?”

Mara looked up. The girl’s eyes could have been her own, years ago. “No,” Mara said. “But here.” She dug briefly in her pocket, and came up with a ten-cred coin. She slid from the booth to stand, and handed it to the girl. “You’re doing a good job,” she said. “Just remember to wipe the tables.”

The girl looked wide-eyed at the coin, then back to her. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

She gathered the empty glasses and made her way back to the bar. Mara watched her, remembering all sorts of things.

But the past was the past, and the future had a way of shifting beneath one’s feet. For now, it was enough that she had responsibilities waiting.

She headed for the door, and for home.

 

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Serendipity (Leia-Mara vig) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/30178069
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Date Posted: 6/19 3:32am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Miiiiiiiiiiine mischief love

 

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Date Posted: 6/19 4:13am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Congratulations on the 5,000th post. grin grin

You've blessed us with a gem of a gem of a gem. applause applause Your grasp of the characters is brilliant and your dialogue is genius. happy happy These are exactly Leia's feelings--and I've asked myself that question a zillion times about her career--she's sacrificed herself and her family/couple time for what?! frustrated A bunch of old squibbling niggly fartheads who don't care about making things better just tooting their own rusty horns laugh Rather like the U.S. Congress laugh We get a real leader in there for the first time in decades and they try to badmouth and stymy at every turn tongue Sorry for the soap box. laugh The tone with Mara's end was perfect. She's no better at the nonemotional distant thing than Spock is/was. Is that why I love her too? Neither one of them is good at it and they both inspire beaucoup devotion and affection. happy yup, that's why laugh

hugs for the marvy read!!!

 

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 Date Posted: 6/19 4:19am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Snags number 3 spot...full comments to come after I come home from work.

Although WHY are you still up just when I'm getting up to go to work????

 

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Date Posted: 6/19 5:26am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Yeah! dancing My two favourtie SW gals!

You've nailed both Leia and Mara. grin This was a wonderful read. You gave excellent voice to the undercurrent that Leia wasn't happy with her job. And the fact that Mara went all "sorta-Jedi" on her own, without going to the Academy. tongue

Awesome.

CJM

 

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 Date Posted: 6/19 5:41am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
This was flawlessly executed. Your characters were spot on, the conversation seemed "real" without dragging, and the dynamic between them was simply perfect! What a great way to begin my morning!

applause

 

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Date Posted: 6/19 7:03am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette) - Date Edited: 6/21 10:54pm (2 edits total) Edited By: ViariSkywalker
I really really love this one, as you know. I'm off to work for now, but I'll give all sorts of feedback when I return! hugs

EDIT: Okay, so first of all, I just love the level of detail in this vig. I can clearly see the cantina, the bar, the booth – everything. I can feel the grime on the bar, can feel Mara’s awkward realization that there may in fact be something in her hair. It’s so tangible; like blank101 said below, the descriptions and setting really are like another character.

There is just so much to love about this, but the Mara/Leia interaction is highest on my list. Leia is right up there among my favorite characters, and honestly, over the years, Mara has been climbing her way up there too. (Probably thanks in no small part to the attention you and other capable fanfic authors have given her in your work. wink ) So you have two of my favorite SW women, who should be given more time together in the profic but rarely ever received it, having a chat in a shady cantina. What could be more fun?

Not only did you include Leia, but you absolutely nailed her character dead on. I know you don’t write Leia much, but you should, because you really do seem to understand her. In a lot of ways, she’s not unlike Mara. There are some distinct personality differences between them, but they’re both strong in the sense that they are driven to succeed at what they do because they believe in it, not because they’re necessarily ambitious or greedy. Mara may have had more ambition when she was under Palpatine’s tutelage, and I think it probably stemmed in large part from her youth – we all think we’re invincible when we’re young, and having that much power and authority at such a young age doubtless affected how she saw herself. But I think first and foremost she served him faithfully because she believed he was a good man who was trying to restore peace to the galaxy. This idealism is the same that we see in Leia. Had their situations been reversed, I can definitely see Mara approaching the Rebellion and Leia approaching her loyalties to the Emperor with the same zeal. So it is immensely gratifying to have two such women in SW and to have them be related by marriage no less. It is sad that they weren’t allowed to interact more in the EU, because I think your vig shows that Leia really got Mara. Like Luke, she saw and understood things in Mara that not many other people could. This is a credit to Leia’s powers of perception, something that seems to come and go in the EU.

But I’m starting to ramble. Onto the specifics!

“Thank you,” Mara said. “A word of advice: If you clean the counters and tabletops more often, the tips will improve. Even in a place like this. Guaranteed.”

I really liked that Mara offers the server this advice. A lot of people think of Mara as standoffish and unnecessarily sharp, but I think you manage to show with this line how Mara can be blunt and thoughtful at the same time. Not a lot of people would give such advice, but even though Mara does, it is clear she’s genuinely trying to help the girl out. Nice touch. happy

The dark form stirred, and Mara caught a glimpse of a motion as the person waved a hand ever so slightly in her direction. “You want to go get a fresh drink - ” The person paused and leaned forward. “Oh, Mara. Just as well. I can never make that trick work right anyway. What are you doing here?”

laugh Oh, Leia! What a perfect intro.

Leia quirked a smile in her direction. “At least I’m more likely to be on this particular planet.”

Mara waved a hand. “Details.” She looked around at the large booth that held only the two of them, then scanned as much of the rest of the cantina as she could see from her seat. “Are you here alone? Not even a security detail?”

There’s something about Mara’s response here that made me smile. Leia is joking with her, and she’s accepting it and reciprocating. Not that it’s all sunshines and flowers, but the wave of the hand and “Details” just reminds me of the way I joke around with people at work. They’re not all that close yet, but it’s not because they don’t want to be. Circumstances have just gotten in the way.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, regarding each other not quite uneasily. Mara tapped her fingers on the tabletop, then consciously stopped herself. “At least you got a clean table,” she said, then mentally kicked herself as Leia raised her eyebrows. Of all the stupid things to say.

“As clean as I suppose a place like this gets,” Leia allowed.

“Cleaner than the bar,” Mara said by way of explanation. “I sat there first. Not clean.” She lifted her arm to display the still-dirty jacket elbow. Somewhere deep in her brain a voice was hissing, Shut up; you’re babbling, but she couldn’t quite make herself stop. “That’s why I went looking for a booth.”

“I’m glad you did,” Leia said, and sounded sincere.

Mara took a hasty sip of her drink to keep herself from saying something just for the sake of saying something, and used the few seconds of drinking to come up with a new conversational tactic.

“How are the children?” Real original, Jade.

This whole passage cracked me up. I know I told you how I love that Mara is mentally kicking herself. Very reminiscent of Leia with Guri in SOTE. I always do this, thinking that I sound like I’m blabbering on about nothing, when really, the other person probably doesn’t even notice.

Although in this case, Leia might. Because she’s so perceptive and had been trained to pick up on those things. At least she has the grace not to mention it to Mara. tongue

Leia grinned. “So how’s that whole not-a-Jedi thing working out for you, Mara?”

“I’d guess about the same as it’s working out for you, Leia,” Mara said, twirling her drink in her glass.

I love this nod to the fact that they are both basically in the same boat as far as Jedidom goes. And that they’re both trying to avoid discussing this topic with Luke. tongue

“You know that’s not true,” Mara said, almost gently. “Han and the kids love you. Luke dotes on you. And - well, I’m no politician, but you’ve certainly done more for the common good than a lot of others would have. As much as you can within the constraints of the job, I think.”

“Mmm.” Leia was looking glumly into her glass again. Mara kicked her under the table, and Leia looked up, startled.

“Hey,” Mara said. “I voted for you, last election. And it’s no easy task to get my vote, let me tell you. You should still be riding high on that accomplishment alone.”

Leia laughed, and her sense in the Force was suddenly lighter. “Well, if you’d told me earlier, maybe I could have been.”

Mara winked at her. “I’ll send you a note next time.”

I think this passage may sum up how I feel Leia and Mara’s relationship could (dare I say should?) have played out in the EU. It seems that Leia is often portrayed as a stiff, cold political figure, while Mara is a stiff, angry hothead. Neither of these comes even close to the reality. Their personalities really are quite compatible, and here we see the makings of a solid, deep friendship. I almost think I’m picking up slight echoes of Han and Luke in the movies. I like Winter, I really do, but I wish Mara could have been bumped up to “best friend” tongue I just don’t get that from the profic, but it’s so obvious that when they’re written right, Mara and Leia click.

Leia continued sipping her drink, looking thoughtful as she did so. “I can’t say I’m surprised,” she said at last. Mara raised an eyebrow at her, and Leia shrugged. “Integrity’s as important to you as it is to Karrde. Maybe more so.”

“Idealist.”

“Not here. Mara, have you ever considered that you spent most of your life upholding law and order? You may have operating outside the system; the system itself might have been corrupt. But you were always trying to uphold justice. I’m not surprised that a smuggler’s way of life would grate on you, even if you are working with a rarity like Karrde.” She propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll ever be truly happy in that line of work.”

Exactly, Leia. Exactly. wink

“True.” Leia leaned in again, momentarily intense. “Mara, really. If you ever need anything, if you want to do something other than smuggling, let me know, okay?”

“Sure,” Mara said, uncomfortable again, then remembered to add, “Thanks.”

Leia waved it off. “Seriously. Or if you just need to talk to someone outside Karrde’s organization, just to vent or something.” She tilted her head. “I still owe you for helping save the twins, you know. I always will. This is the least I can do.”

Mara shook her head. “You don’t owe me for that.”

“I do,” Leia said, with absolute conviction. “And don’t get all unemotional and distant on me; I’m not buying it.” Her gaze softened. “Look, just take it at face value, okay? If you need something, let me know.”

She was quite serious, and out of respect for that, Mara did her best not to squirm. She almost managed it, too. “Okay,” she conceded. “But the same goes for you. If it comes down to that, I wouldn’t have made it off Wayland alive if you hadn’t come for us.”

Leia was looking entirely too earnest at this point, reminding Mara distractingly of Luke, and the open hope he always displayed when asking if she’d be coming back to the Academy any time soon. It was too much, and Mara lost the battle to not squirm. “Get out of here, Leia. Your family’s waiting.”

Also love this so much. I love seeing Leia and Mara refer to the events on Wayland. It’s so true that they would have felt they owed each other. I also love the detail about Leia looking earnest in the way that Luke does. This is a wonderful nod to the fact that, despite the differences in physical appearance, Luke and Leia are still twins and it is only natural that they might share certain mannerisms, either inborn traits or things they picked up from being around each other over the last several years. Love it. wink

The quirk of Leia’s brows suggested that she understood far more of Mara’s thoughts than Mara would have liked. “Want me to tell Luke you said hi?”

Horrified, Mara leveled a warning finger at her. “Don’t you dare.”

grin

Gabri, I deeply enjoyed reading this, and I hope you show this side of Leia and Mara’s relationship in the future, because it has awesome story potential. A beautifully crafted vignette that hits all the right notes and gives us a glimpse into who Mara and Leia really are. applause

hugs

 

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Rew 
Date Posted: 6/19 10:01am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Woohoo, my first response in a Gabri thread! grin

And congrats on 5K posts, BTW. I have a while before I can catch up with you. wink

Lovely little story, BTW. It's so easy to think of Mara and Leia as two radically different people, and in many ways they are. But what's neat about this story is that it shows that in many other ways they're the same person, with similar goals. I especially like the subtle parallel between self-serving politics and self-serving smuggling and how Leia and Mara in their own ways seek to rise above that--and are frequently discouraged.

Well done! applause

 

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 Date Posted: 6/19 11:01am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
I'm wondering when you sleep...

Anyways, great job capturing both Leia and Mara. There are so few of them actually interacting friendly like.

 

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 Date Posted: 6/19 12:20pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Fantastic vig, Gabri! grin I'm always impressed with the imagery and depth of detail that you put in your work and this was stellar. You really captured both of their personalities and I just love that it was a meet-up in a seedy bar. Great intro line, about the smuggler. laugh


Leia grinned. “So how’s that whole not-a-Jedi thing working out for you, Mara?”

“I’d guess about the same as it’s working out for you, Leia,” Mara said, twirling her drink in her glass.

I loved all of it, but those two lines in particular were genius! I never really thought about it before, but I guess they were both sticking their fingers in their ears and saying 'LaLaLa' to Jedi-dom at the same time, weren't they?

Congrats on 5K posts! This was an awesome way to celebrate it! applause love

 

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Date Posted: 6/19 1:16pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Congrats on the 5000th post! applause rose

My favorite lines:

Have you been talking to Luke lately or something?”

Mara made a face. “No, and if you tell him you saw me, you’ll regret it.”

As well as the 'whole not-a-Jedi thing' line!

Luke's ears were probably burning, and he won't know why. tongue

 

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Date Posted: 6/20 12:50pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Hey, 5K!

And what a little peach of a morsel happy

I always get a great sense of place in your stuff, Gabri, in the slightest observastions, casually thrown out; the setting is as much a character as the people, which I always love.

This has a lovely little melancholy note to it in Mara's remembrances and regrets, especially when she speaks to the waitress, mixed in with that close observation again, for wit this time (we've all done the elbows on the bar thing! laugh )

Fav line? Has to be,
"" “I’m a low-life smuggler. You’re the Chief of State of the New Republic. You tell me who’s more likely to be in a dive like this.”""

Fav point; still has to be Mara knowing she's babbling just to fill the silence but still not being able to stop tongue

applause applause



 

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Date Posted: 6/21 4:26am Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
In a way it's strange why it is such a yummy situation to have Leia and Mara, two strong women, so different and so alike and still now knowing they are sister-in-laws-to-be, to meet in a scruffy place like this. But it is, and you make maximum of both the yumminess and opportunities it gives.

The way you make them move wearily around each other, connecting several times still without really giving in to it, is utterly convincing and in character as well as enjoyable to read; the give/hold back balance of the text following the characters wonderfully!

You get both women so right here - I always love Leia ann Mara interaction - but this is such an interesting time period to write about and you manage to catch and voice it perfectly, as well as fleshing them both out very convincingly! They are both vulnerable but for so different reasons. Loved Leia's insight that Mara's life couldn't give her what she needs because she deep down has a need to contribute to law and order. Those words were so true and indicated even more!

Also loved the details about the waitress who Mara couldn't help sympathising with (against her will off course! tongue ) and the way Luke popped up and was dismissed in their interaction. He's the axis they both turn around in this meeting, yet they stand by themselves and together when they part!
Beautiful job!!!
applause applause applause

 

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Date Posted: 7/5 5:35pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
This was great! I think I liked how honest the two of them were. Both women are similar, married to their jobs but always looking to what they could have done and could be doing. The conversation was a great way to have them articulate that to someone else who would understand.

Loved the details about the bar, and Mara's experience as a cantina server, made it all the more authentic. Congrats on 5000

 

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Date Posted: 7/6 8:28pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
This is just perfect. Mara and Leia bonding is so rare, and even more so when they're bonding over their own not inconsiderably hectic lives and not just ruminating on a certain Jedi of their mutual acquaintance. (Who, while of interest to them both, should certainly not take centre stage on every occasion tongue ). Your characterisations are, as always, a joy of nuanced and complex detail, and I love the insights drawn here into where both Leia and Mara are in their lives at this time.

I love Mara's frustration at the duplicity of the supplier, and I love even more that she swallowed her personal feelings out of pragmatism. Self-control is a huge aspect of Mara's personality, and too often that's overlooked. Having a temper doesn't mean using it in every instance, which Mara would be fully aware of.

Love the exchange with the serving girl. It's my firm opinion that once you've worked in any kind of service industry anywhere, you tend to view the person on the other side of the counter with a tad more sympathy and understanding. tongue I like that sense that Mara's been there, and I like her half-wistful nostalgia, overridden by logic.

The initial awkwardness between Leia and Mara is perfectly done. They live in such different spheres (at this point in their lives, at least) that it's inevitable, and yet there's a strong affinity between them as well. I like that they're both trying to work out what the other is doing in such an uninspiring locale. tongue

Leia grinned. “So how’s that whole not-a-Jedi thing working out for you, Mara?”

“I’d guess about the same as it’s working out for you, Leia,” Mara said, twirling her drink in her glass.

They gazed at each other across the table in an entirely more companionable light.

Had to pull this out, because I love that they're bonding over the 'avoid Luke's academy at all costs' issue. Luke would be so dismayed to witness this, and yet it's just lovely and makes me wish there was much more Leia and Mara bonding fic around.

Leia held her glass in both hands, staring down into it. “A husband I hardly see, who’s been far too patient for far too many years. Children who almost resent me for not being there. A brother who sometimes feels like a stranger.” She glanced up, the expression in her eyes bleak. “If I’m not succeeding as a politician, and I’m not really succeeding as a wife or mother or sister either, what’s the point of any of it?”

It's impossible to think that Leia wouldn't have seriously grappled with the sacrifices she made as Chief of State. This not only hits the nail exactly, but it's entirely believable that she would work around to it in the conversation rather than just blurting. It also says a lot about how much she trusts Mara on a personal level, to even share this.

“You know that’s not true,” Mara said, almost gently. “Han and the kids love you. Luke dotes on you. And - well, I’m no politician, but you’ve certainly done more for the common good than a lot of others would have. As much as you can within the constraints of the job, I think.”

Love that Mara's so gentle here. She doesn't gloss things up, but she states what she sees, which is that Leia does a good job. And I suspect that it would take a lot for Mara to say that about a politician, given her past experiences, so it's high praise indeed.

“Not here. Mara, have you ever considered that you spent most of your life upholding law and order? You may have operating outside the system; the system itself might have been corrupt. But you were always trying to uphold justice. I’m not surprised that a smuggler’s way of life would grate on you, even if you are working with a rarity like Karrde.” She propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll ever be truly happy in that line of work.”

Mara narrowed her eyes. “Quite the psychoanalysis.”

Ooh, I like this very much. Not only is it a fascinating insight, but it's delivered in a way that's seamless in terms of the dialogue. (It can be so hard to work these things in without the analysis seeming sudden). And Mara's response reminds me of VotF, her discomfort when Luke tries to delve into why she has such a strong moral compass given the atmosphere she was brought up in.

I was so amused that Leia's earnestness reminds Mara of Luke, and that Leia picks up on that and has to tease, just a little.

Mara watched her, remembering all sorts of things.

But the past was the past, and the future had a way of shifting beneath one’s feet. For now, it was enough that she had responsibilities waiting.

She headed for the door, and for home.

I love the soft nostalgia here, and that Mara chooses not to indulge it. It's that sense of contemplation governed by pragmatism that drives the whole story, and it's so characteristic of Mara.

I love this story so much, which is why it's taken me longer than I thought to do feedback, because every time I go back to read a section I just get lost in the story. tongue There's such subtle complexity in the characterisation, and, as always with your work, I can only sit back in awe of the concise and elegant flow of the story. Stunning, and a joy to read. hugs

 
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 Date Posted: 7/9 8:29pm Subject: Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)
Hmmm....comments after I get home from work somehow got delayed about 3 weeks.

For some reason, I thought I'd written, but I'm clearly senile...but this was a lovely vig and I did want to say so.

Leia/Mara stories are rare, and the Leia/Mara relationship told true to character is even rarer. Too often, it seems that H/L and L/M camps are at odds with each other, which is silly, since, really, both couples have so much in common, and complement each other so well.

This was an interesting point in time you chose for the story. I guess it really was a moment of crossroads in their relationship with each other. Not "enemies" as they would have been at the fall of the Empire, and not yet quite friends or sisters, I like how this vignette showed there was a mutual sense of understanding between the two of them that neither one was willing to admit due to the monumental pride the both had. But more than understanding, both of them showed sympathy and concern for the other, a rare flash of sentimentality that I think surprised both of them. The problem being that both women are essentially "loners". Neither of them has many close relationships with other women (at least none that are well-portrayed) because both of them have been dedicated to their careers/duties, and I think that they don't really know how to react to a genuinely kindred spirit even if they instinctively recognize one as evidenced by the awkwardness of their conversation when Mara first sat down.

Lovely dialogue, and I loved how Mara kept tapping her fingernail on things. Nice to see that the fiery redhead has some nervous quirks to her personality...really humanizes her more.

Great choice for 5000, Mei. applause rose

Write more.

 

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