Beyond - Legends Hard Choices (AU L/M, H/L) Completed 5/26. Survey up!

Jedi_Liz: Yes... just don't worry, people.

RebelMom: Yes... Leia would be senstive about that sort of thing.

PonyTricks: Not really. The battle is over...

Jedi-2B: Force-flex trash bags? What?

RedGold: Ok, sure... I'll take your word for it.

ccp: Thank you.

tasujad: Or the wrong place at the wrong time... depending on your point of view.

Master_Vicky: Your first story? But according to your profile, you've been here quite a bit. That's odd.

And now... the next post. Leia returns...

 

A welcoming party waited aboard the Chimaera. The ship was a slight distance away from the rest, with Fel's fleet on one side, New Republic forces on the other, and the ships of the Imperial Remnant, with their weapons and shields down, in the middle. The Rebel Dream had arrived in system less than an hour ago. After a quick assurance that Han and Luke were all right, Leia was invited to come aboard and join the negotiating team.

Admiral Parck, General Fel, Captain Adriff, Wedge, Lando, Corran, Kyp, Luke, Mara, Han, Chewbacca, Talon, Shada, Admiral Ackbar, General Kell, Admiral Taldine, Colonel Queder, and Garm Bel Iblis were waiting for the shuttle. An honor guard positioned itself as soon as the shuttle landed. The honor guard was formed of New Republic Marines on one side and stormtroopers of the 501st on the other.

Two Noghri leaped came out of the shuttle, sniffing around. ?It's clear, Lady Vader,? one of them said.

Leia came out. She wasn't wearing many decorations, but she made a very prominent display of the lightsaber at her side. She approached the line of people.

?Luke!? she shouted, hugging her brother. Han had to pull her away to get a hug of his own. ?Miss me, Princess??

?More than you know,? she answered. Then she stood back, looking at the rest of the group. ?Mara,? she said, not putting any emotion in her voice. Mara tensed, but kept holding Luke's hand.

?Honey, can't you see how happy these two look? Give them a break, they deserve it, after all they've done here.?

?Leia,? Luke interrupted, ?I am going to marry Mara. The only reason I might have had not to was politics. And as you see in this room,? he waved his arm, ?politics change.?

Leia sighed. Luke was right. She still wasn't certain, however. ?I'd like to talk to you in private first,? Leia said to Mara.

?Going to make sure I don't kill your brother?? Mara asked. ?I grew out of that phase.?

Han laughed, as did Soontir Fel. Then Admiral Parck approached her. ?Madam Chief of State,? he said. ?May we begin??

Leia nodded. ?I still want to talk to you,? Leia gave Mara a final look before leaving for the conference room.

Han looked at Luke and Mara. ?What do you think she needs to do??

?I don't know. But I didn't sense real hostility from her?not even deeply buried. Still, it does make wonder.?

Mara chuckled. ?Don't worry, dear,? she poked him. ?I won't keep you out of the loop.?

 

Ahhhh.... it's about time someone wrote a story where Leia lectures Mara about taking care of Luke and never hurting him (in more ways than one) Usually, it's Luke lecturing Han about taking care of Leia!

 

Force-flex trash bags? What?

I was afraid you wouldn't get the joke. I was just referring to that commercial on tv where the super-strong trash bags catch all kinds of things, like asteroids about to hit Earth.

Nice reunion. Now we have to see what Leia has to say to Mara.

 

Everyone is still breathing... that's a good sign.

 

This is a GREAT fic. Like reading a Zahn story. Fantastic job

Now that I have finished doing my marathon read...I will

 

PonyTricks: Yes... But Han knows how to take care of Leia. He's been doing that forever.

Jedi-2B: Ahh... I see.

RedGold: Yeah... Anakin would have tried 'aggressive negotiations' at this point.

PRINCESCAMBRIA: I wouldn't dare to presume I did anything like Zahn. He created Mara Jade. Enough said.

And now... Leia and Mara talk... and something else happens. Enjoy!

 

Several hours later, Mara was standing outside Leia's temporary quarters. She certainly trusted Luke, but she was somewhat nervous about what Leia might have in mind. She suppressed it. She loved Luke. Luke loved her. The approval of Leia was nice, but unnecessary.

She saw Captain Adriff approach. ?Jedi Jade,? he acknowledged her presence. ?I understand you were the one to kill that madman Sarim??

?Isard,? Mara replied. ?Well, me and Durron, actually.?

?Yes,? Adriff said. ?Thank you.? He sighed. ?Not that it is much satisfaction??

The door to Leia's quarters opened. Mara turned to see Leia, but it was only her aide. The aide, a rather short older woman, blinked and dropped her datapad.

?Nolan?? she whispered.

?Sej?? Adriff looked as stunned as she was.

?What's going on here?? Leia approached the doorway. ?Mara, come in.?

?I thought you died at Chandrila,? Adriff finally managed. Mara looked at Leia, who apparently didn't understand any more than she did.

?I thought you did,? Sej said.

?Sej...?

?It's me, Nolan,? she sighed. ?It's been a long time.?

?Too long. Sej, you don't??

She approached him. ?Why don't we leave the high and mighty,? she pointed at Leia and Mara, ?to their business, and you can show me around.? she said. ?And we can reminisce.? She gave Leia a glance.

?Go on,? she said. ?You've been working too hard.? The reunited couple left.

?You aren't worried about letting your aide walking off with an Imperial like that??

?Sej can take care of herself,? she replied.

?And Luke can't??

?I didn't say that. Look, Mara,? she said. ?I'm sorry. I do trust you. I've trusted you with my life, with the future of the Republic?even with the lives of my children. It's just that... you know Luke has had trouble with women. All of them left.?

?I couldn't pull myself away from him?not completely, anyway?since we've met. And I tried. I'm not going to leave him now.?

?All right,? Leia said. ?I'd like to?no, you don't have to??

?Will it make you feel better about our marriage??

?Maybe.?

?What is it??

?I'd like to... probe your mind.?

Mara gave her a laugh. ?Luke thought you might ask for that.?

?Well, he does know a thing or two about me,? Leia replied.

?All right,? Mara consented, and lowered her mental shields?which were quite formidable.

Leia began her probe. Images flooded her mind. Mara as a little girl. Mara being trained in combat. Mara on missions for Palpatine. The pride she had felt at her success then. The disgust she was feeling at these successes now. Mara's Jedi training. Nirauan. The battle on the Conqueror.

And above all that, was her burning love for Luke. It took less than a second for Leia to register that. ?I'm sorry,? she
said. ?I'm sorry I ever doubted it.?

?I didn't exactly broadcast my feelings, did I? And I'm hardly the one to bring up the past.? She hugged her future sister-in-law.

?Just one question, Mara. If didn't consent, would you still have married??

?Luke and I talked about just that, and decided we would. If we had to, we would go to live with Fel and Parck in the Unknown Regions,? she said.

Leia shook her head. ?Take care of my brother, will you? He is the reckless half of the Skywalker twins.?

Mara grinned. ?I wouldn't have it any other way.?

 

I think the Skywalker twins are evenly matched in the reckless department. It's good to see that Leia is accepting now.

 

great post

I am glad Leia approves of Mara now.

Luke being reckless? well, Han has had to rescue him how many times?

 

Nicely done. Can't wait for the wedding and alittle L/M mush

 

Oh, happy days are here! Leia now approves of Mara, and everything will be coming up roses now! Right?

 

That Luke... that's why we love him!

And apparently Mara does too!

 

Probe her mind? Mara is brave. Glad they've buried the hatchet, though...

 

Leia shook her head. ?Take care of my brother, will you? He is the reckless half of the Skywalker twins.? Oh, I don't know, Leia can be somewhat reckless herself... Luke, however, is reckless and naive sometimes!

What a twist on the old "Han, you'd better take care of Leia" speech from Luke! Loved it!

Well done!

 

RebelMom: Luke's the one who went after Vader at Bespin. Luke's the one who decided to marry someone who tried to kill him. I don't think anything Leia did is on this scale... she usually plans beforehand.

ccp: Thank you.

Jedi_Liz: They've both been through a lot. And yes, Han does seem to do a lot of rescuing... starting with Yavin.

PRINCESSCAMBRIA: Sorry, but you'll have to look elsewhere. We've got the wedding in canon, and I'm fine with the way they did it... in fact, all I did was make the Imperial troubles around it much bigger. This is the same reason I don't write AU stories of Luke and Mara getting together, which are extremely popular in the fandom: I'm fine with the way it happened in canon.

PonyTricks: Well, yes.

RedGold: Exactly..

Chewie-Fan: Of course she is...

dm1: True. But I didn't know that 'Luke lectures Han' speech was a popular topic... I haven't seen much fic about it (although I admit that I may not have been looking, since I rarely purposefully look at H/L stories).

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end... like this story. This is the final post. I'll have a survey up in a few days, asking you for general feedback. So... enjoy the ending!

 

The treaty was completed a week later.

Because all the Moffs were killed by Isard in his bid for power, there was no real government in the Imperial Remnant to speak of. Adriff, a mere captain, was the de facto head of the military, by virtue of the rest of the fleet being forced to surrender. The negotiations were thus between the New Republic and the Empire of the Hand.

The Empire of the Hand would incorporate the eight sectors of the Remnant, and establish new local governments. As the legacy of Thrawn, the Empire of the Hand would be accepted by most residents of the Remnant the way the New Republic never could. And because the Empire of the Hand was strong enough to resist even a full-scale war with the New Republic, there would be little humiliation for them?something the previous treaty, with the Remnant itself, inevitably entailed.

Nirauan and Coruscant would exchange diplomatic missions, and negotiate a trade agreement. Neither side would conduct military maneuvers within 5000 light-years of the border, having only small patrol craft, no larger than a corvette, in the region. Planets lying in the border zone would decide their allegiance by full, open, plebiscites, with independence and neutrality as options. Neither side would actively try to expand in the region.

There were, of course, many specifics, but this was the gist. The main purpose of the treaty was to reduce the possibility of war?either inside one of the mega-states, or between them?to a minimum.

Leia and Parck placed their signatures on the final document. ?It has been a pleasure, Admiral,? Leia said, shaking his hand. ?I wish you luck. If, as you say, we are facing a grave threat from without, we are going to need each other.?

?I wish I had tangible proof of that threat. The kind of proof your Senate would accept. Of course, I will be very grateful if it doesn't materialize. But we have to prepare. Good luck in your endeavors... Leia.?

She laughed. ?My husband might get jealous, you know... Voss.?

***

Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Mara were aboard the Rebel Dream, ready to leave for New Republic space. ?Luke Skywalker to General Fel,? Luke contacted the Redoubt.

Fel's hologram appeared. ?Luke, will you call me Soontir already? I decommissioned you sometime ago.?

?Sorry, Soontir. Thank you for all the help. We finally have a peaceful galaxy, after all this time. Thanks to you.?

?For now. And are you sure about letting our people into that Academy of yours? The thought of Chiss Jedi gives me pause.?

?Yes, I'm sure. And I think we'll have our first student before too long.?'

?Oh, you mean Lieutenant Kuth? You're probably right...?

?Wasn't she an Ensign?? Luke asked.

?Not anymore. You'll hear from her soon enough, I expect. Captain Lenaon wishes you luck.?

?I'll consider that.?

?Good luck to all of you, as well. I suspect your sister will need it more than anyone, in dealing with the politicians.?

?I know. Well, we will see each other again, so this isn't really a goodbye.? He paused. ?May the Force be with you.?

?As we say on Corellia, smooth sailing. Fel out.?

The transmission ended. The two ships, which a few days ago would likely, if they met, hurl death at each other, silently vanished into hyperspace, heading home.

 

Lovely ending! (and a Happy One, too!)

 

Great Happy Ending!

 

Well done! Let us know when you write more!

 

That's what I like to see!


Usually...

 

Great ending

 

but...but... it can't end! I was enjoying the story a lot
Won't you do a sequel, when the Vong knock on the GFFA door, pretty please?

 

Nice wrap-up ending. The whole story was a good twist on the Empire of the Hand/Imperial Remnant angle.