Beyond - Legends Smuggler's Delight: (MMM Challenge. L/M AU) UPDATED: 4 January 2014 Complete!

Oh, the several marvy meanings behind the word Delight!

 

Oh, new cool title!!!Smuggler's delight alright))

 

Thanks Demendora, Nyota's Heart, Hazel, EmeraldJediFire, and earlybird-obi-wan for reading and taking the time to review. I have always been a huge fan of the Wild Karrde crew. I think the only person I haven't written about extensively is Aves. Of course, my spin on Chin is my own. I really doubt he is the hard drinking, porn watching, misfit as I have portrayed him in STN. Karrde I love. He captured a Jedi. I love that. Ghent is the type of guy I wish I knew personally. I can call him up late at night and say, "I got the blue screen of death on my computer! What do I do!?!"

Okay, more Ghent, but I tried to throw in some L/M mush for good measure.

~JL~
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~Aboard the Smuggler Freighter Wild Karrde~


Ghent spent two days analyzing the central droid brain and had come to the conclusion that it was designed to control a whole host of systems to include weapons control, tractor beams and navigation. At first he thought it was for a Star Destroyer, but then he discovered programing to govern a molecular furnace and factories to create ships and droids.

“These droid brains appear to be made to control heavily shielded, flying, factories designed to manufacture droids and starfighters,” Ghent briefed the Wild Karrde crew as they stood around a partially dissembled droid brain lying on the floor of the cargo bay. “The spacecraft design doesn’t have a cockpit for a pilot, therefore I assume they are either remotely controlled or operated by droids.”

“Do you think you can write up a virus and infect all the droid brains before we get to Byss in five days?” Karrde asked.

Ghent took in a deep breath and let it out as he gazed at the twenty cargo containers. “I think I can do it, with some help.”

Karrde nodded. “Then let’s get busy.”
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Luke moved toward his cabin after finishing his shift as Ghent’s assistant for the day. The work wasn’t difficult, just mind numbingly boring. They had to go through the same process for each container: Check to verify make and model of shipping crate, check for explosives, override the system, pull out the droid brains so Ghent could access a panel on the underside of the equipment and input the viral code, put all the droid brains back, seal up the container and reset the security code back to its original configuration.

It took around three hours per container. With breaks for meals and sleep it was going to take them probably another day to finish. By then they would be entering the hyperspace route leading to Byss. They were cutting it close. Luke and Mara had been taking turns assisting Ghent. Karrde wanted them there because of their danger senses, but also the droid brains were heavy and much easier to lift using the Force than manhandling them out of the container. Luke’s shift was cut short when Ghent decided to take a break and get some sleep.

He went into his cabin, stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed behind Mara. He brought his chest against her back and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her eyelids fluttered as she mumbled half asleep. “Luke?”

He laughed and whispered, “Were you expecting someone else?” She muttered something incoherent and he realized she was talking in her sleep. He smiled as he leaned in and kissed the curve of her neck. Then settled down for some much needed rest.
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He woke up hours later by a small soft hand roaming across his chest and down his back. He smiled without opening his eyes. “Is that you Mara?” He could feel her tense for a moment through the Force before she playfully smacked him across the chest. “I’d get jealous, but since I am the only woman on this ship, I’m just confused…and slightly curious.”

He chuckled and opened his eyes to find her lying facing him. Heavy lidded green eyes stared at him lovingly. Her long red-gold hair was disheveled and stuck up at odd angles, but to Luke she was absolutely beautiful. He loved holding her in his arms as she slept. The fact that she felt comfortable with him while she was in that vulnerable state touched him deeply. Sometimes he felt it was a more intimate experience than sex. Of course if he had a choice between sleeping and making love, he would prefer the latter.

She caressed his face with a gentle hand and then leaned in for a kiss. “Did Ghent finish?”

Luke shook his head. “We just have three more containers to go. He said he needed sleep before he started making mistakes. We’ll have everything done before we reach Byss.”

He noticed an almost imperceptible stiffing of her posture when he said the name of the Imperial World. “How many times have you been to Byss?”

She gave a delicate shrug of her shoulder. “Twice that I remember. Once when I was around twelve and a second time about two years before his death.”

Luke didn’t need to ask her who she was talking about. Palpatine used the planet as his private sanctuary. It wasn’t surprising that Mara had been there on occasion. “Are you worried about going back…bad memories and all?”

She averted her eyes for a moment. “No. The memories I have of that place aren’t necessarily bad. You have to remember, I was happy with my life back then. I was blissfully unaware that I was being used by a corrupt, evil, sleemo, Sith-bag dictator.” She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I do remember an oppressive feeling in the Force while there, though. It hung over me like a heavy, wet blanket, pushing down on my mind. I realize now it was the darkside.” She looked into his eyes. “You have to be ready for that. It can be overwhelming.”

He gave her a weak smile as he pulled her closer, gently squeezing her against his hard body. “Uncomfortable maybe, but not overwhelming. We’ll have each other. I could face down a dozen Palpatines with you by my side.”

She made a face. “Can we not talk about him while we’re in bed.” She ran her hands down his bare chest. “You’ll spoil the mood and I am in the mood for some hot Farmboy.”

Luke smirked. “You want the Farmboy treatment today…not the smuggler?” He tried to look disappointed but failed and cracked a grin.

“I am definitely in the mood for some moisture farmer loving.” She couldn’t say the words without laughing.

He was caught up in her good mood. “Okay, I’ll be the innocent farm boy and who will you be?” He cocked an eyebrow. “The virgin farm girl from next door? Or a maybe the more experienced barmaid from Mos Eisely Spaceport?”

She brought her hands over his shoulders and around his neck as she pulled his lips to hers. “You pick.”

He looked at the wall chrono. “I think we might have time for both.”
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They had entered hyperspace before Ghent had finished his work. Luke hoped they would be able to drop off the cryptologist so he didn’t have to go to Byss, but he said he wanted to go. It would give him a chance to observe and document Imperial technology, which he would then send to the New Republic anonymously.

They were now running as the Sloshed Spacer. Mara had her long red hair up in a severe bun with a fake red prosthetic eye disguising her facial features. The rest of the crew, including Luke, was masquerading as Kiffar, a near human species from the planet Kiffu. Talon Karrde liked this particular cover because the Kiffar looked like any other human except they all had facial tattoos and every smuggler knew facial tattoos are a good way to beat facial recognition software. Since Luke’s face was well known he dyed his hair black as an added precaution and allowed his facial stubble to grow out longer. Ghent also dyed his hair since none of the crew could remember ever seeing a blue haired Kiffar.

All were aboard the flight deck as they exited hyperspace. Chin was at the pilot’s station. As they reverted to real space he looked back to his captain nervously. “Approaching Byss and entering the deep core security zone.”

“Transmitting the registration code,” Aves added from the comm.

Although every one on board knew the registration code was genuine, there was still a nervous pause until Byss control acknowledged their approach.

“Sloshed Spacer, this is Byss control. Your registration code is confirmed. The planetary shields will be open in four-point-two seconds.”

The crew could not see the opening in the planetary shield but guidance instructions were transmitted to them allowing safe passage. As soon as they entered the stratosphere Luke and Mara gasped, causing the rest of the crew turn to them anxiously.

“What is it?” Karrde asked. “Trouble?”

Luke looked over to Mara. He wasn’t sure if she sensed the same thing. “Nothing specific directed to us. There is a great darkness in the Force.” He didn’t continue. He didn’t want to upset Mara if he was mistaken.

She looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes. “How can this be?” She looked out the viewport, her breathing becoming ragged. “How can he be alive? I felt his death.”

Luke’s heart sank. There was no mistaking what he felt. She sensed it also.

“What?” Karrde asked. “Who are you talking about?”

Luke and Mara turned to each other and said in unison. “Palpatine.”

 

Deliciously mushy with an ominous twist at the end

 

Oh, crap..its going down. woot. I love the mush its perfect

 

Oh yeah! Luke will be like "Hi, Palpy! Guess what, I am not longer a Jedi and I kriffed your Hand!Ooops, I did it again!

 

When you wrote that I got the image of Palpatine looking confused and then gazing down at his palms.

 

Honestly..I got it too while I was typing. And it would be highly disturbing for him

 

That could be highly disturbing for everyone involved
Loved the mush. You have no idea how Mich I needed it today.

 

The creep is alive on Byss.
Loved the scenes between Luke and Mara

 

Thanks earlybird-obi-wan, Hazel, Demendora, Nyota's Heart and EmeraldJediFire for reading and reviewing. Did I ever tell you guys how much I dislike Dark Empire? But there are people who love it and they will argue with me over in Lit about it. I still think Luke was an idiot for not leaving Coruscant with his sister. Why does Luke's master plans usually involve him purposely letting himself get captured? It happened in ROTJ, in the new comic books and in DE. Anyway, I know I am over simplifying DE, but tough.

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~Approaching the Planet Byss~


Karrde looked at Luke and Mara confused. “Palpatine is dead, isn’t he?”

“That’s what we thought,” Luke said softly totally shocked by the turn of events.

“Shield yourself in the Force,” Mara said suddenly. “If we can sense him, he might be able to sense us.”

Luke nodded and tried to contain his Force signature. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know. What do you think we should do?” Mara asked.

Karrde was the next person to speak. “Aves, Chin bring us in to the designated docking coordinates.” He turned to Mara and Luke. “You two, in my cabin, I want to talk to you privately.”

Luke and Mara nodded as they followed their boss to his quarters. When they entered Karrde took a seat at his desk chair while Luke and Mara sat on the edge of Talon’s bunk. Karrde gave them both an exasperated look. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do about Palpatine…if he really is here…nothing.”

“And leave a Sith to rule the Empire?” Mara asked incredulously.

Talon stood and started pacing the small room. “Luke, Mara we nearly got killed fighting a dark Force-user on Wayland and we knew we were walking into danger. We don’t have that luxury today. We are absolutely not prepared to bring a fight to a Sith. We have limited weapons and no back up.” He gazed at Luke intently. “Luke, this is the first time you have been on an Imperial world as a smuggler. Let me tell you what is going to happen. We will be escorted out of the ship and detained while the cargo is inspected and removed. Once they ensure everything is out we will be given a few hours to refuel and use the docking commissary to buy provisions. We will not be allowed to leave the docking terminal without authorization. When it comes time to leave we will stand outside the ship with our crew roster and our false identification. The Imps will bring in Neks to sniff out any stowaways and then we will be asked to board and leave posthaste. We will be under constant surveillance the entire time.”

He paused seeing if Mara or Luke would protest. When they didn’t he continued. “We have done enough damage to the Imperials with the virus we introduced to the droid brains. And I have to point out it is with considerable risk to us. Ghent said he buried the programing deep inside the brains, but if the Imperials have a man as smart as Ghent on their side…the virus could be discovered. If that happens the authorities will look at every person who had contact with the cargo, including us.” He stopped pacing and sat back down and gazed at Luke. “When we return if you want to jump ship and bring a attack force back to Byss then go for it, but I am not going to allow you to endanger my crew by playing Jedi hero.”

Luke sighed deeply as he ran a hand through his dyed black hair. “You’re right, Talon. We’ll keep our eyes open and simply observe.”

Talon sat back in his chair somewhat shocked. He expected a fight from Luke. Maybe when he became a smuggler he developed a raging case of common sense. “Good,” Karrde said as he stood. “Let’s prepare to dock.”
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As they left Talon’s quarters Mara gave Luke a surprised glance. “You’re really not going to run into danger on a suicidal mission?”

He gave an exasperated grunt. “Talon’s right. We don’t know the situation and we don’t have the resources. What we are going to do is take as much surveillance holos as possible and record everything we see or hear.” He turned to his beautiful companion. “I signed up to be a smuggler, not a Jedi.”

They went to the cargo bay to make sure everything was secured correctly and the manifest was available by datapad and on a flimsi printout. She gazed at her lover wondering if they made a mistake. He probably should be a Jedi saving the galaxy from these giant threats and not traipsing around the universe with a bunch of smugglers.

Luke looked up and caught her expression. She knew that when they tried to suppress their Force signature they couldn’t read each other, but he knew her well enough that he didn’t need the Force.

“Stop it Mara. If I was a Jedi I don’t think I would be able to see the underbelly of the galaxy like I am now. Evil usually doesn’t manifest in the light. If you and I were Jedi instructors on some planet teaching students we wouldn’t be here discovering the presence of Palpatine. I doubt Talon would have taken this mission at all. After all, you said he did it for the New Republic and me. And if he didn’t take that mission two-hundred central droid brains would have went into some Imperial super weapon. I think I've done more for the cause as a smuggler than I could as a Jedi. Besides,” he walked over and wrapped her into a warm embrace. “I like being with you.” He went to kiss her but then pulled away and laughed. “That cybernetic eye is strange to look at while kissing you.”

She smiled as she traced a finger over his many fake facial tattoos. “Then close your eyes my handsome tattooed scoundrel.”

He pulled her close, closed his eyes and kissed her passionately. When they separated their breathing was ragged. Luke gave her a sultry smile. “We’ll have to continue this later. Everything is secure here. Lets go topside and record what we can see from the viewports.”
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Luke didn’t want to be seen holding a holo-recorder on the flightdeck. He placed the imager on the control panel aiming outward and secured it down with mesh tape.

He was impressed with the grandeur of the Imperial Control Sector of Byss. Currently they were approaching the Imperial Freight complex where the cargo would be unloaded and they would be scheduled to depart as soon as possible. The Freight complex was huge. Luke estimated it was at least a hundred kilometers in height. Hovering around the complex was something that looked like an Imperial probe droid on major growth hormones. The dangerous looking droid was over a kilometer in height with four long arms with pincher claws at the end dangling from the bottom of the craft.

“What the hell is that?” Aves muttered, clearly stunned at the size of the machine. He looked over to the cryptologist. “Have you seen those before Ghent?”

The young man shook his head. “No.”

Karrde ran his fingers through his beard. “Some sort of security droid I would think. It looks like it can grab ships out of the sky with those claws.”

Mara stepped closer to the viewport and turned the holo-imager slightly to capture the flying monstrosity. “It probably has tractor beams.”

“I see laser turrets,” Luke added. Something else caught Luke’s eye. “What’s that?” he asked as he pointed to a red domed building precariously balanced on an impossibly narrow and thin spire.

“The Emperor’s Citadel,” Mara said matter-of-factly. “If he’s actually alive and on planet he will be there.” She stared at the structure intently. “From what I remember it’s guarded by legions of Stormtroopers, Imperial Red Guard, and a slew of darkside nasty creatures.”

“So that’s not on our list of ‘Places to visit while on Byss’,” Chin joked.

Mara shook her head. “Hardly. There are also dozens of those huge security droids circling around it. I don’t even like being this close.”

Mara fidgeted nervously and Luke reached out and took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Don’t worry. We’ll be unloaded an on our way soon,” he whispered to her.

She glanced over to him. “And then what? Are you coming back with the New Republic military?”

Luke blew out a breath. “I’ll figure that out later.”

As they arrived to the docking bay Luke reached up and removed the holo-imager and put it away in his cabin’s locker. He didn’t need the Imps asking them questions about it.

The entire crew exited and waited until Imperial customs arrived with the cargo handlers. He was impressed by the efficiency of the Imperials. A customs inspector checked their paperwork, inspected the seals and called in a half dozen load lifters to move the containers out of the hold.

A security chief rechecked their credentials and fake identification cards. When he was satisfied he went to Karrde, who earlier identified himself as the captain of the ship and handed him a credit chip.

“This is payment. If you wish to purchase fuel go to that building there.” The gray uniformed officer pointed to a building on the dock with a sign above announcing it was the fuel depot office. “You are restricted to this level and must be gone within an hour. Call in for departure clearance. Your ship will be searched for unauthorized personnel before permission to vacate is given.”

“Understood,” Karrde said as he pocketed the credit chip. The officer gave Talon a quick nod and quickly moved to the next ship docked in the bay. Talon walked up to his crew as he took out a credit reader, running the chip underneath the scan to ensure he received full payment. He was obviously satisfied because he re-pocketed the chip and smiled. “That was an easy one-hundred thousand credits.” He threw a thumb in the direction of the fueling office. “Chin get us refueled. The rest of you don’t go far from the ship. We’re restricted to this level.”
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An hour later they requested permission to depart. They went through the departure protocols and boarded the ship. As they lifted off the crew stood on the flight deck to observe the Imperial planet.

“Sixty seconds until the planetary shield is open for our departure,” Chin announced. They slowly flew over the rooftops of Imperial Center and got a good look at the Emperor’s Citadel rising up to the clouds as enormous security droids hovered around the structure like beetle-moths around a lightstick.

Karrde was staring down at the Citadel when a thought struck him. “Luke.”

The younger man looked over to him. “Yes.”

Karrde rubbed a hand over his bearded face. “Han once told me a story about you on a mission to Mindor.” He turned to look at Luke. “He said you were able to grab the Millennium Falcon right out of the air and hold it in place. Is that true?”

Luke nodded. “Yes, but takes a lot of concentration to do it.”

“If you can grab things with the Force to hold them still…can you grab objects with the Force and move them?”

Luke nodded. “Yes.”

Karrde chewed on his bottom lip wondering about the consequences for what he was about to suggest. “Can you use the Force against something bigger than the Falcon?”

Luke nodded.

Karrde pointed down to the citadel that was slowly receding from the Wild Karrde. “Would you be able to grab one of those kilometer tall security droids and maybe smash it against the narrow spire of the Citadel?”

Luke looked down at the Emperor’s headquarters and smiled. “How long until we are out of the planetary shields?”

“Ten seconds,” Chin called out.

“Do it!” Karrde encouraged the man knowing he was taking an enormous risk, but smuggling and risk went hand-in-hand. He also knew this was an opportunity Luke or the New Republic might never have again.

Luke closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. His face became a mask of concentration as he put a hand out in the direction of the Citadel.

The entire crew watched expectantly. When the droid didn’t move Luke turned to Mara. “Help me.”

Mara nodded and closed her eyes. At first nothing happened, but after a second or two one of the security droids wobbled and then careened into the base of the fortress. The spire broke and crumbled to the ground. The domed building above didn’t fall right away. Karrde assumed there were repulsor stabilizers used to steady the structure, but they were obviously not strong enough hold up the building like Bespin’s Cloud City. The red domed building slowly tilted to the side and then crashed to the ground. There was an enormous explosion that lit up the sky as the Wild Karrde flew through the planetary shield opening.

Karrde startled when Mara let out a loud gasp. She turned to Luke and grinned wildly. “I felt his death. It was exactly what I felt when the second Death Star exploded.”

Luke chuckled as he grabbed her into his embrace and kissed her passionately.

“Chin, get us into hyperspace as soon as possible,” Karrde ordered with a sense of urgency. “It'll only take a few minutes before this entire zone is in lock down.”

Chin grinned. “You got it boss.”
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Once the ship was in hyperspace and out of the Imperials’ grasp Luke and Mara finally relaxed and went back to their cabin to rest. Luke had washed out the temporary hair dye, removed the fake tattoos and then joined Mara in bed. He wrapped her in his arms; her sexy satin slip teased his bare chest as he kissed her softly. “So, you think he’s dead?”

“Arrggghh,” she made a frustrated sound. “What did I say about talking about Palpatine while in bed?”

He gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“The damage is done.” She sighed and leaned forward so her forehead touched his. “To answer your question, that’s what it felt like. I don’t understand how he could be alive, though. I felt his death years ago. How can he be on Byss?”

“He did have a fondness for clones.” Luke whispered. “Shadowspawn knew of a way to take over a person’s body, I would think Palpatine would have the same knowledge.”

“That’s true.” Mara looked at him sadly. “Are you going to go back to Byss with the New Republic military?”

He reached out and pulled her against his body, closing his eyes in thought. “I think we should take a watch and wait approach. Meanwhile Ghent is sending any information we discovered to the New Republic anonymously.”

She snuggled up closer and kissed his jaw. “Who’s he sending the information to?”

Luke opened his eyes and chuckled. “To himself. He’s going to encrypt it and then later claim he decrypted some information he found by chance.”

“That’s smart. I really don’t want anybody knowing we were on Byss.”

“I agree.” He ran a caressing thumb over her jaw. “If I did leave to accompany the New Republic back to Byss…would you wait for me?”

The question was meant to be a joke, but he was shocked when she shook her head and answered. “No.”

He averted his eyes as his breath froze in his chest. “Oh,” came his stunned whisper.

She chuckled as she ran a teasing hand down his body. “I wouldn’t need to wait because I wouldn’t let you go alone.”

His eyes widened and smile broadened. “You would go back to Byss and fight for the New Republic?”

She shook her head slowly. “No, not for the New Republic, only for you.” She leaned in and kissed him. “I don’t think I could let you go. For the first time in my life I’ve found love. It’s a love so deep it frightens me. I’m scared of its power, but I would never want to lose it.”

Luke was taken aback by her admission. He knew she loved him, she had said the words before, but she never admitted of being afraid of anything. “You don’t need to be afraid. You’ll never lose me.”

“You know that’s a promise that neither of us can keep forever. Eventually death will find one of us, sooner or later.”

He pulled her into a warm hug. “We just have to hope it is later, very much later. Until then we should make the most of every moment we have together.”

“Oh really,” she said with a coy look. “What do you suggest?”

He nibbled on her earlobe then moved down to press a kiss against the pulse in her neck. “I say we make love until we get back to Coruscant to drop off Ghent.”

“And then what?” She gave him a smirk.

“Making love to you is my entire agenda for my off hours.”

“No eating?”

“I can get some whipped cream and we can do both,” he suggested with a predatory grin.

She gave him a knowing nod. “I guess I am dealing with my sexy smuggler and not the Farmboy for the duration of this trip.”

“You got that right,” he whispered before his mouth settled on her lips ending all conversation.

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~Three Months Later~

The Wild Karrde crew was celebrating another successful run having smuggled several hundred cases of Corellian Brandy to some low level aristocrat on the planet Serenno...for an extremely good price.

Currently they were sitting around a large table in the middle of a tavern in Serenno’s Carannia Spaceport. Aves and Chin were slugging back large mugs of ale as Karrde sipped a tumbler of Brandy. Mara and Luke were sharing a bottle of wine as they stared up at the floating holovid projectors interspersed within the bar. Currently they were watching a smashball game when a Breaking News banner flashed across the holo-image.

There was a groan from the patrons, which was quickly replaced by silence as the image of huge war machines appeared above the projectors. A young female journalist was hunkered down behind a vehicle as she gave her report.

“These large Imperial war machines have appeared on a number of planets in the Borderland Region, to include Listenhol, Elom and Almania…where I am currently located. These massive vehicles broke atmosphere less than an hour ago. It appears that they possess enormous tractor beams that can literally rip apart the planet beneath. The military attempted to repulse the superweapons, but were unable to penetrate the shields. The colossal machines have been coined ‘Planet Killers’ or ‘World Devastators’…”

The journalist paused when her holocam operator shouted, “Look!” The reporter turned just in time to see one of the World Devastators start to wobble and then shot up into the atmosphere in a corkscrew fashion. The other enormous machines soon exhibited the same unusual behavior. Three started spinning and turning very much like a balloon that was blown up and released. Two of the huge machines smashed together in a horrendous explosion. Others simply fell to the ground with loud thuds and a screech of durasteel. When one went tumbling through the sky like an inebriated person doing cartwheels there was loud thunderous applause and laughter from the patrons.

"Stupid Imps!" One man called out. "Don't kriff with the Borderlands!" The rest of the bar patrons howled in approval. The planet Serenno was located just outside the area referred to as the Borderlands and there was a good chance that a majority of the tavern customers were from that area.

Karrde looked at his crew smugly. “Ghent sure knows how to put on a show.”

“You think those are the machines that received the droid brains?” Mara asked.

“I know it. This is pure Ghent,” Karrde laughed as he raised his tumbler in a toast. “To Ghent!”

Everybody raised his or her glass. “To Ghent!”

Luke downed his drink and looked over to Mara. "It's good to be a smuggler."

 

Oh Ghent. A long time ago I once commented on a fic about how I wanted a Luke Skywalker, but I'll probably end up marrying a Ghent, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Great update. Will we ever get to read details about the 'off-hours'

 

Marvelous. This was awesome. Can't wait till the next chapter. As for DE I'm one of the many who actually like it. But yeah, he's always being a kriffin' martyr (sheesh!)

 

Haha!! Fantastic.

 

A wonderful post. Great solution to getting rid of the threats on Byss. The L/M conversation after they left made me all gooey and happy Scrumptious and proof Luke made the right, best choice.

 

Haha! I would never think about this way dealing with the Emperor Reborn!
And I agree. We need a shine here!

 

Big surprise from Ghent destroying the machines like that and great scenes between Luke and Mara

 

Thanks Briannakin, earlybird-obi-wan, Demendora, Nyota's Heart, Hazel and EmeraldJediFire for reading and taking the time to review. There is nothing wrong with ending up with a guy like Ghent. In fact I knew a guy like Ghent in college. This was when personal computers were just getting popular. I was finishing up the final report of a group project that was worth 30% of the group's grade...when the entire file disappeared. I was freaking! So I went to this computer geek all freaked out and asking if he could find my file. He assured me that the computer would back up the files every fifteen minutes and knew where to look. He ended retrieving the file and saving my (and my group's) grade. Over two decades later he is still a computer geek and we are still friends.

Personally, I think I would like to end up with a guy like Talon Karrde. I know you would think I would say Luke Skywalker, but Luke is like a celebrity and I would not like to date a celebrity. Talon is a behind the scenes guy. I like that.

I wasn't sure where to go from the last chapter, but I thought I would go forward to the night before the wedding of Luke and Mara. I wrote this real quick, so I am not sure how good it is, but I hope you enjoy it.

~JL~
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11 ABY Imperial Palace, Coruscant

“This is not fair,” Mara Jade complained to Luke as they walked hand-in-hand down the corridor leading to his sister’s apartment.

Luke smiled at his lover and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m sure you and the ladies will have a fun night.”

Mara rolled her eyes. “I am going to a ‘bachelorette’ party with your sister, Winter and…I’m not sure who else…probably Mon Mothma. All these prim and proper ladies who grew up in royal palaces.” Mara tilted her eyes up to the ceiling and sighed dramatically. “I am one-hundred percent positive my night is not going to be as fun as your bachelor party thrown by SMUGGLERS! Smugglers! You’ll have Han, Chewie, Karrde, Chin, Aves, Ghent and probably Booster Terrik and Lando Calrissian!” She shook her head in disgust. “Smugglers know how to party. I should know because I’m a smuggler! So while I’m having tea and sweet pastries with your sister, you’ll be doing shots of whiskey at some dive while some strumpet gives you a lap dance.”

Luke’s face split in a wide grin. “They’ll be strumpets?” He turned and gave Mara a wink. “I promise not to enjoy the lap dances...at least not too much.”

He chuckled as she punched him lightly on the shoulder. “You better keep your lightsaber in your pants or we can call off this wedding.”

He stopped in the corridor and pulled her into his arms. “Mara, there is no way the guys are going to plan anything that will get me in trouble with you.”

She gaped at him incredulously. “They ALWAYS get you in trouble!” She started counting off on her fingers. “They got you drunk while on Corellia.”

Luke let out a loud laugh. “You didn’t seem to upset about that. In fact weren’t you the one who asked for a copy of the holos that Chin took?”

She smirked as she grasped his hand and started walking down the hall again. “I can’t believe Aves shaved your head.”

“And Chin drew a moustache and a fake scar on my face with permanent marker,” Luke reminded her.

She laughed. “You shouldn’t have drank that much on your birthday.” She let go of his hand and reached back to squeeze his butt cheek. “If I remember correctly I made it up to you later that night with my Birthday surprise.”

Luke grinned. “Oh yeah. I remember how you liked the feel of my severely shorn head rubbing your belly.”

A hot blush crept over her face and neck. “That was a special night.”

They arrived at the Solo’s apartment. Luke gave her a smile as he rang the buzzer. Han Solo opened the door and invited them in.

“Are you ready to party?” Han ask Luke with a playful jab of his elbow into the younger man’s rib. “This is going to be the best bachelor party ever.”

Mara gave Han a stern look. “Just make sure it’s not too fun, Solo.”

Han gave her a disarming smile. “I promise no women…and if there are women, we’ll look and don’t touch.” He wrapped an arm around Luke and guided him toward the door. “Chewie is pulling the speeder out front and we’ll meet the rest of the guys at the Red Rancor.” He turned back to Mara and pointed toward the kitchen. “I think Winter and Leia are making tea. Have fun.” Han grinned wildly as he pulled his brother-in-law out the door. Luke was only able to wave to Mara before he disappeared down the hall.

Mara sighed as she went to the kitchen. Inside she found Leia and her childhood friend, Winter. Winter had the same build and looks as Leia with the exception of her brilliant white hair. Leia had once told Mara that when she was young Winter would sometimes disguise herself as Leia so the Princess could sneak out of her parents' palace and meet boys. For some reason Mara had a hard time picturing Leia as a young misfit princess.

“We’re so happy you agreed to come to our little party,” Leia said upon seeing Mara. She was stirring a pitcher of brown liquid filled with ice. “I’m making some ice tea. Would you like some while we wait for the rest of the ladies to arrive?”

“Sure,” Mara said unenthusiastically.

Leia poured out three glass and handed it to Mara and Winter. “I would like to proposed a toast.” She raised her glass. “To Mara and Luke. May you be friends to each other as only lovers can; and may you love each other as only best friends can.”

Mara smiled as she raised her class. “I’ll drink to that.” She gulped down what she thought was sweet iced tea and practically spit out the contents. She coughed a few times trying to clear her airway. “What is that?!”

Winter laughed in a way that gave Mara the impression that this was not her first drink of the night. “It’s one part dodbri Whiskey, one part Sullustan gin, one part Corellian Rum, some hard cider, liqueur, and a touch of Brandy.”

“Don’t forget the tea.” Leia said.

Winter’s brow furrowed. “Oh yeah, the tea. That’s strange…I have a holographic and audiographic memory. I never forget anything.”

Leia busted out laughing. “That means you are drunk.”

“No, I think I’d remember getting drunk,” Winter said with a slight slur. “Anyway, we call it Toxic Tea.”

Mara was beginning to think this party might not be a bust after all when the doorbell chimed. Winter steadied herself with one hand on the counter as she moved toward the door. “I’ll get it.”

Mara laughed. “No, allow me.” She moved to the entrance and opened the door. Outside was a regal looking redheaded woman who she recognized as Mon Mothma and the other was a woman Mara’s age that she met a few times aboard the Star Destroyer Errant Venture –a smuggler ship owned by Booster Terrik. “Mirax, Mon Mothma!” Mara said amenably. “How nice to have you come to my bachelorette party. I am honored that the Chief of State is in attendance.”

The petite former rebel leader smiled widely. “I will always remember Leia’s party. If this is anything like hers then this is an event that shouldn’t be missed.”

Mara wasn’t sure what happened at Leia’s party, but she was now interested to see what Leia has planned for the night. Mara greeted Mirax and led the ladies back to the kitchen where Winter was draining another glass of the Toxic Ice tea. Leia must not have trusted herself to carry the refreshments to the front room because she had See Threepio carrying out the tea pitcher with glasses along with some cookies and pastries.

The ladies moved to a caf table in the living room surrounded by a couch and cushioned chairs and took a seat. They all had a few rounds of drinks before Leia put down her glass and gazed at Mara intently. “I have to admit, Mara. I have ulterior motives in bringing you here.”

Mara put down her beverage and prepared herself for whatever lecture Luke’s sister was going to harangue her about. She knew Leia was upset that her brother decided to become a smuggler and gave up his dream of restoring the Jedi Order, she only hoped she could make it through this night without blasting someone.

Leia sat up straight in her seat and appeared to collect her thoughts. She turned to Winter questioningly. “What was I going to tell her?”

“About the Jedi,” Winter reminded her.

“Oh yeah,” Leia said drunkenly. “We found a real live Jedi. His father went into hiding prior to the purge and taught his son the ways of the Jedi in secret. He wants to talk to you.” She pulled out her comlink and whispered into it. She looked back to Mara. “Just hear him out.”

Mara couldn’t prevent herself from rolling her eyes. She gritted her teeth and tried to smile cordially. “Certainly.”

There was the buzz of the front entrance. Leia’s protocol droid opened the door allowing a handsome man in full Jedi Robes to slowly walked in. He stopped inside the room as the door slide closed behind him and smiled at Mara. She may be getting married tomorrow, but she couldn’t help but notice his perfect white teeth, handsome finely chiseled facial features, dark brown hair and deep green eyes. “You must be Mara Jade?” He said in a deep baritone voice.

“Umm…yes,” she mumbled.

“I was asked to come here and tell you a little about the Jedi and the various benefits of…encouraging your future spouse to travel the path of a Jedi Knight.”

She blew out a frustrated breath, but didn’t want to make a scene by leaving. “Knock yourself out.” The words came out a little more scathingly than she intended.

The man gave her a brilliant smile. “Thank you.” He turned to the gold protocol droid. “If you would be so kind Threepio.”

Mara was a bit confused as the droid shuffled over to the entertainment center. He pushed a button and loud boisterous music started blaring and much to Mara’s surprise the stoic Jedi Knight that once stood stately in front of her started gyrating his hips in a provocative manner.

Mara jumped when Leia screeched in delight. Mirax started laughing hysterically as Mon Mothma and Winter downed another glass of Toxic Tea.

The bogus Jedi Knight started removing his clothing a piece at a time. First his bulky cloak flew across the room and then his outer tunic. He grabbed hold of his fake lightsaber on his belt and stroked it in a sensual fashion that had Mon Mothma spewing out the tea she had been sipping.

The clothing came off until he was just wearing his weapon’s belt, trousers and boots. He grabbed hold of the front of his pants and pulled them away from his body in one bold motion. Underneath he was wearing a leather thong. He danced up to Mara and held out his hand with a grin. “Use the Force, Mara.”

He then turned around and clenched his muscular butt cheeks while swaying back and forth in a hypnotic manner.

“Leia, can I have another drink?” Mara asked. “I would reach forward to get my own, but there’s a man’s derriere blocking my way.”

Leia laughed as she handed Mara another drink. “Just think how nice Luke would look in those robes.”

Mara smiled as she thought how nice Luke would look out of the robes. She looked back to Leia. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

Mirax and Winter screamed as the man did a backflip and landed in a split. Mara just grinned. He's good, but Luke is better. Everything is better with the Force. Maybe she should talk to Luke about Jedi training after all. Until then she was going to have fun at her bachelorette party.

Later that Night

See Threepio was given the unpleasant duty of escorting Mistress Jade back to her guest quarters. The young woman was displeased about having to leave her party, but Captain Solo had called and informed Mistress Leia that he had delivered Master Luke to the guest apartment and he was asking of the whereabouts of his bride-to-be. Threepio had his arm around the woman’s shoulder as he guided her to her room. When he arrived he was heartened to see Captain Solo at the door. The Captain gently grabbed the redheaded woman by the arm and brought her into the guest apartment. In exactly fifteen-point-nine seconds Captain Solo exited the guest quarters.

“Let’s go Goldenrod. Let’s leave those two lovebirds alone.”

“Thank you Captain Solo. Can I assume you and Master Luke had a pleasant evening?”

Han rolled his eyes. “The kid was on his best behavior. It was like he thought Mara would bust into the pub with lightsaber blazing if she caught him looking at another woman.”

“I truly doubt Mistress Jade would become angry if Master Luke looked at other women. After all, her bachelorette party featured a practically nude human male dancing in close proximity to the guests in attendance. In fact the proximity of the male dancer’s leather clad reproductive organs were at one time only four-point-three centimeters from Chief of State Mon Mothma’s fingertips.”

Han stopped abruptly and glared at the droid. “What?!”


Imperial Palace Guest Apartment

Luke smiled in bed as he snuggled up to his fiancé. He grabbed her around her hips and pulled her close. It wasn’t until then that he realized she was still completely dressed. “Why do you have your clothes on?”

Mara’s eyes remained closed. “I think it was Han that tossed me in bed. I guess he thought it would be improper to strip me before he tucked me in.”

Luke chuckled. “That was nice of him. See, not all smugglers are scoundrels.” He started unbuttoning her tunic and helping her pull it off. “Did you have fun at the party?”

“It was nice,” she murmured. “The Chief of State was there, your sister, Winter and Mirax Terrik Horn.” She struggled out of her pants and threw them aside. “Your sister invited some guy who tried to show me the benefits of being a Jedi.”

Luke grimaced. “Sorry about that. I thought my sister had accepted my decision.”

Mara laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad at her. In fact, I think you would look very sexy in Jedi robes.”

Luke was taken aback. “Really?”

“Sure, in Jedi Robes or out of Jedi Robes, they're both good.”

He chuckled. “I said I would be a smuggler and stay with you. I am not going to go back on my promise.”

Mara opened her heavy lidded eyes and gazed at him lovingly. “I love the smuggler’s life, but it is not the life for a family.”

Luke’s eyes went wide. “Mara…are you pregnant?”

She laughed. “No. I wouldn’t be lying in bed drunk if I were. I’m just saying…I was thinking…” She rolled over to face him fully. “Have you ever thought about children?”

A huge grin grew across his face. “I would love to have a child. Are you serious?”

She nodded. “I think we should try to have a baby and if we succeed…maybe we can think about settling down and you can start training Jedi…if that's something you’re still interested in.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her ardently. “I am all for doing the baby making. We can figure out the rest later.” He kissed her again, long and gently. “For now, lets sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be Mara Skywalker.”

“Mara Jade Skywalker,” she mumbled before she fell asleep.

Luke smiled as he gave her another kiss on her lips. “Goodnight Mara Jade Skywalker.”

 

Okay that Jedi stripper scene had me grinning from ear to ear

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Lol. That was fantastic!

 

I would like to see THAT drunk Luke as Mara remembers him.
Hahaha! Leia is a sneaky woman! Made Mara think about Jedi life through male stripper! Lol!
Oh-oh, Leia is in so much trouble right now. Well, Han, still waters run deep

 

Yes, JL, it was! Mara had a better time than she expected. And yes, if/when L/M started a family, they would have to adjust their lifestyle somewhat Glad they are at least entertaining the idea

 

That was a lot of fun!!

 

Great fun to read

 

I like how this skips over the whole Living in the Forest Eating Rabbit Food Woe is Me I Only Love Unattainable Women phase of Luke's life. Also that the reborn Emperor and his war plans get demolished by a bunch of smugglers. Scoundrels rule. I'm curious to see whether and how the Jedi will be different, seeing as they're going to be trained by a smuggler. Ex-smuggler. Though I think it's one of those things that stay with you...

Mara though she was going to have the boring party. Boy was she ever wrong... All those serene and dignified, respectable types.