Beyond - Legends Serendipity (Leia-Mara vignette)

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...

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?

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. 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.

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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 wer

 

Miiiiiiiiiiine

 

Congratulations on the 5,000th post.

You've blessed us with a gem of a gem of a gem. Your grasp of the characters is brilliant and your dialogue is genius. 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?! A bunch of old squibbling niggly fartheads who don't care about making things better just tooting their own rusty horns Rather like the U.S. Congress We get a real leader in there for the first time in decades and they try to badmouth and stymy at every turn Sorry for the soap box. 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. yup, that's why

for the marvy read!!!

 

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????

 

Yeah! My two favourtie SW gals!

You've nailed both Leia and Mara. 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.

Awesome.

CJM

 

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!

 

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!

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. ) 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.

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??

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 a

 

Woohoo, my first response in a Gabri thread!

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

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!

 

I'm wondering when you sleep...

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

 

Fantastic vig, Gabri! 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.


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!

 

Congrats on the 5000th post!

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.

 

Hey, 5K!

And what a little peach of a morsel

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!)

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

 

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! ) 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!!!

 

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

 

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 ). 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. 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.

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 se

 

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.

Write more.

 

Wow, I don't think I've ever been so late in leaving replies. Apologies, everyone. The feedback means a lot to me; life just gets in the way sometimes.

Bri-chan: Hello, darlingest determined stalker.

Jade_eyes: Thank you. Glad you liked it.

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

Time zones. It was still dark here.

canadianjedimama: Why, hello. Fancy meeting you outside of the Cade thread.

Yes, Leia's the sort who'd sacrifice just about anything for the greater good, but she was surely frustrated a lot of the time as CoS. And Mara's always the determined loner at heart. Thanks so much for reading!

VaderLVR: Thanks so much, Kim! I've written very little Leia/Mara interaction, and I was worried about getting that dynamic right. I'm glad it worked.

Vi: 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.

I love that. It could have been the summary for this story.

I can't tell you how relieved I am that Leia reads well in this. I really was nervous about writing her; much as I love her character, Mara speaks to me much more clearly than Leia does. And I totally agree with your assessment of them. Mara certainly had an extremely high opinion of herself in her youth (not that it wasn't warranted in some ways, with her skill and official status), but both of them are motivated by their own moral guidelines more than anything else, and they'll sacrifice everything they are for a cause they truly believe in.

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.

Exactly. TTT is pretty clear on just how well Leia understood Mara - more than Luke at times, I believe - and that Leia treated her with a great deal of respect. Alas for Leia's wavering characterization in the rest of the EU.

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.

I really like that you picked up on this, Vi. Mara is usually abrupt and can be sharp, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have good intentions. She just goes about them in her own inimitable way.

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.

I'm fond of this passage myself for the same reason. I always feel like I'm blathering on like an idiot. And yeah, I'm betting that Leia caught on and was just polite enough to pretend otherwise. She's very gracious like that.

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? I just don?t get that from the profic, but it?s so obvious that when they?re written right, Mara and Leia click.

I so agree. I think that to some extent, Leia and Mara are often portrayed as stiff and aloof because hey, neither of them has ever been in a position where they could just be normal and have normal friendships. Leia grew up as a princess and has spent her whole adult life as a political leader; Mara grew up as an assassin and shadow agent and spent m

 

Thought I'd commented on this. Everything is in the details here, the tapping, down to the description of the dirty countertop. Those are two of a kind ladies, both extremely independent types, so it would be awkward at first for them to sit and "chat" like that. It was also nice how you had Mara complement the barmaid at the end. Well done!

Hey, LP popped in here! I'd love to see some updates on her stories!

 

dm1: Hello there. I'm so glad you like it! I agree; Leia and Mara would find this sort of casual chat a bit daunting. Lead an army or government or carry out an assassination? Sure. Talk? About feelings? Not so much. Thanks for the feedback! I'll tell LP to get a move on, already. Some of her stories have indeed been sitting for a while.