Goodbye -- ROTJ AU

*feels alone* I'm the only one rooting for Vader, aren't I?

That's ok. I'll just settle here for the wait. *grabs beanbag chair and food*

Cookies, anyone?

 

yay!!! another post!!! And a cliffhanger too....

Great Post!

 

Oh no, you can't leave it there!!! I'm so bad with cliffhangers! Good post!

 

OOo I'll have a cookie.. *grabs one* thank you very much V_I *settles down for the wait for the next post*

Yay! this is my 500th Post

 

*passes out homemade fudge.* well, it looks like some people started replying right after me. Usually after i post a reply no one else responds. how weird is that.

anyway. *sits down in a beanbag chair and passes out fudge.* where is the next post?

 

oh dear. did i scare everyone away somehow? UP!!!

 

*takes fudge and offers a cookie*

 

I love this story!
*Sighs and settles back to wait for more while humming Christmas carols*

 

Great posts.

So, will Luke let Mara help him - finally? Keep up the good work!

 

Wow....thank you for all your comments!

Well, you can probably tell I'm on Christmas vacation, but oh well. Here's another post (don't know how long the every Friday thing is going to last, but enjoy while it does.... )





***********************




Skywalker jerked toward her like a strung bow, right hand instinctively reaching to his side for the blaster that Mara could see in the half darkness was not there. His mind caught up with him for a moment long enough for him to realize that it was her and that she was alone.

?Mara??

She deliberately uncrossed her legs and rose from the sagging armchair, feeling his eyes watching her intently, suspicious and confused. ?Yes,? she replied quietly. ?It?s me.?

?What are you doing here?how?d you find me??

She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and eyed him. ?You?re not as good at hiding as you seem to think. As for what I?m doing here, it?s a long story.?

?What do you want??

Mara bit down on her lip, swallowing her pride. She had no idea how he was about to take this. She?the woman who?d vowed to kill him?was offering her assistance. ?Actually,? she began, swallowing again, ??I came to help you get out of here.?

There was a long silence in which neither of them moved. How did she know that Skywalker wasn?t going to look upon her proffered hand as one would the venomous end of a snake? Blatantly laughing in her face was perhaps the only reaction she should expect from him. The taut quiet seemed to have a sound of its own as she waited for him to do something. Finally Luke spoke.

?Right,? he murmured.

?I?m serious.?

?So am I,? he assured her, reaching for his travel bag without taking his eyes off her. ?Just what does Palpatine take me for if he thinks I am going to fall for this? Where?s the catch??

?There is no catch.?


?Come on Mara, where?s this hidden squad of stormtroopers?or were you planning to be able to take me yourself?? His manner held a sort of weary cynicism that had not been there before, making him sound tired and irritated. ?Why the subterfuge? Are you afraid of rousing the locals??

Mara set her teeth. ?Skywalker, you are not listening to me. I am here to help.?

He paused for a moment, eyeing her. He then swung the bag over his shoulder and brushed past her. ?If you?ll excuse me please, I?m late for an appointment.?

?Luke, this place is swarming with Imperials,? she snapped to his back. ?Or haven?t you noticed??

He spun on her. ?Yeah. Thanks. I noticed. I thought that?s why you were here?or aren?t you an Imperial anymore??

That stung. Mara stiffened in anger, but pushed it to the back of her mind. The Jedi had a propensity for saying things that got on her nerves. That was all. She refused to entertain the thought that perhaps Skywalker was more right than he realized. This was not the time for them to fight.

Since she had no answer to his cutting remark, Mara chose to ignore it. She was astounded at her own remarkable display of tolerance. ?I have a speeder waiting about a block from here,? she told him. ?The spaceport is barricaded, but it shouldn?t too difficult for us to get past the border patrols groundside. From there, we can make it to Kraell in a little less than eight hours.? She paused, waiting for a reaction. Skywalker?s expression was unreadable. ?But,? she went on, ?if we don?t hurry, it may be too late to do anything.?

Luke didn?t answer. Perhaps he realized she was serious. ?Why Kraell?? he asked finally, his voice losing a significant amount of the harshness that it had held a moment earlier.

Mara arched an eyebrow. ?Why not?? she countered. ?It?s as close as anything, but with one significant difference: Palpatine?s not there looking for you.?

?What will happen once we get there?? he asked cautiously.

She shot him a scornful look. ?Need you ask? I can take care of any Imperial codes or authorizations we might have to deal with. We?ll find a ship somewhere.?

Luke dropped his gaze to the carpet. ?I

 

good post! Nice Luke and Mara scene!

 

Yeah a L/M posty. Great post.

 

This was a great scene -- and I usually don't like L/M scenes!

 

Great posts. I don't like Palpy foreseeing another capture for Luke. Ahhhh.

 

Up!

 

Wonderful, Tarado! Can't wait for more.

inez

 

whoops, I've missed the last two posts. I guess I sorta cheated the cliffhanger that way. Both posts were great, especially the L/M scene. Perhaps I'll catch the next post in time.

 

Oh nice Lukie\Mara scene :-D ha, she really knows how to control him, doesn't she?

 

Ack! I missed two posts.

Poor Luke. He's a wreck. Hope he can get past Daddy and Palpy.

 

Thanks for your replies!

School is starting up again pretty soon. Unfortunately, this coming semester looks like it might be worse than the last one. However, I've been writing a lot on my break...so hopefully I can spread it out a little bit. At any rate, I'll post some more story this Friday.

Happy New Year!

 

So....here it is, as promised. Enjoy!




*********
The wide, flat landscape stretched out in front of the ultra bright lights of the speeding Mobquet, bare and empty for as far as the eye could see. The blackness of the night closed in quickly behind the sleek, dark vehicle as if allowing it secret, silent passage through the darkness.

Mara sighed, pressing her head into the back of the tall seat in an effort to stretch her arms and legs as far as the cramped confines of the chair permitted. She?d been sitting for only three hours, but the combination of tension and boredom made time stretch to the point that it felt like days instead. On the console, the flashing white blip on the faintly blue glowing screen of the navigator gave the only sign that they were making progress in the right direction. Otherwise, Mara would have sworn they were driving in circles.

Silence, her usually long-suffering companion, seemed heavy, pressing in on her. There were no sounds save for the faint, seamless hum of the vehicle and Luke?s even breathing coming from where he lay, asleep, in the back seat. Cautiously, Mara glanced back at him. She?d suggested to him earlier that he should try and get some rest. They had a long journey ahead of them, and there was no point in both of them staying awake. Reluctantly, Luke had consented on the condition that she would wake him in a couple of hours. A couple of hours, my foot, Mara thought sourly, still eyeing the Jedi. A couple of days was more like it. He looked as though he hadn?t slept in a week.

Mara stretched again, slapping a button on her console. A readout appeared in bright blue, outlining their trajectory. They were still a good distance from Kraell. Sensors revealed no sign of people or ships in the immediate vicinity. No Star Destroyers or TIEs, and that?s all you care about, she told herself. She sighed again, wondering darkly what impulsive power had possessed her to jeopardize her life and livelihood to help Skywalker.

A stifled moan behind her interrupted Mara?s musings. She glanced back at Luke once again, frowning. The Jedi?s brow was creased in a frown and the eyes moved rapidly beneath their lids. His features looked strained and troubled, as if the worries and problems he faced still plagued him in sleep. Mara looked down at the console, stiffening slightly. You have nightmares, Skywalker? she wondered silently.

Somehow it seemed wrong for her to see him that way?as if she?d stumbled on to a dark secret she was not supposed to know. Mara wasn?t quite sure what she had expected to find when she met him again, but somehow felt unprepared for the subtle way his temperament and personality had changed over the past two months. She wondered what had happened to him in that time that could mark his features so empty and lifeless and turn his eyes into crystal pools of dark, hidden pain.

Some people are haunted by their own demons.

She glanced back at him again. A thin line of perspiration stood out on his forehead and upper lip, plastering damp strands of hair to his forehead and giving his features a wax-like sheen. Luke certainly seemed to be a person who possessed more than his share of demons.

She wondered if she was actually to terms with the fact that she was turning herself into an outcast for the sake of seeing Skywalker to safety. Three months ago, the thought of doing something like this would be shoved aside as treasonous, suicidal and stupid. Now here she was: doing it. But it had to be done. And if no one else?not even his friends?were going to come to the Jedi?s aide, then the job fell to her. The thought of what Palpatine would do if he ever got his hands on Luke again was sickening. Mara knew: she?d seen it, heard tales, and been indoctrinated with stories of it before. She felt somehow that she had a responsibility to see that it did not happen again. Maybe she was going against the wishes of her master, but she also had to live with herself.

Besides, something s

 

This is defnitely the goods! Atmospheric, believable, and a cliffhanger at the end... More, please, and bravo!

 

wow! I could actually imagine myself sitting there with them.

inez

 

I didn't miss it this time.
Oh, man, Luke never gets a break, does he? Palps and Daddy just had to land in the place Luke and Mara are heading.

so how long are we gonna hang on the cliff?

 

good post