Beyond - Legends !! UPDATE 13 Jun !! Whenever, Wherever! [Songfic: Anakin, Mara, Tahiri, Chak Fel - set during SbS]

[Okay, this ?fic has been dead for a while - long enough that, in spite of the assistance of LadyPadme, I'm having some difficulty unlocking the original thread here, hence this repost. If the Mods can get the original thread up and running, though, they can delete this one...

Anyway. The good news is that the 'fic is only mostly dead.

The bad news is that I?m going to try to rework it in the style of Dennis Potter ? or rather, of a Dennis Potter homage like Alain Resnais? On Connaît la Chanson and the recent BBC drama Blackpool?

For those who don?t know, this means that the characters will use any given opportunity to launch into showy song-and-dance routines based around lipsynching random pop-songs ? and you also have to watch out for equally random pop-culture references doing a ton in the middle of the hyperlane?

Now for anyone who thinks that this is wholly inappropriate for Star Wars, I?ll simply refer you to Rick McCallum?s resumé. The Prequels are just Blackpool without the songs or the self-knowledge?

Have fun!! ]

A well-proportioned room on the piano nobile of a faded colonial mansion, the office looked as though it might have once been a guest bedchamber or an after-dinner drawing room, invaded now by the exigencies of the modern age. Piles of hard-copy paperwork, far more than the three filing-cabinets could hold. Scattered computer equipment, tied together by the tangled wiring of hard-link communications feeds, the dark casings of the portable memory-packs and microprocessors offset by the chrome-edged glint of built-in ports and emitters. A powerful caf machine taking up half the desk.

An old rug still covered the sand-smooth timber floor, the pattern in the pile frayed away in places. Stucco and gilding shone and swirled on the ceiling in a splendour of white and gold, framing a massive painting of some metaphorical scene. On the ochre-painted walls, two gilt-framed landscapes hung above the mahogany wainscotting, showing a river valley and ruins, somewhere on a temperate world that probably owed more to the artist?s imagination than any real planet.

The furniture was old and mismatched, mixing the veneered elegance of colonial pieces with the expressive exuberance of the richly-carved local styles - and jumbled further by being rearranged to accomodate the computer equipment, the paperwork, and the self-important caf-machine on the desk. The general air of confusion helped to disguise the incongruity of the well-stocked drinks cabinet on the other side of the room and the unprofessional stacks and rows of miscellaneous paper-cover books, fitted in wherever there was room.

Between the doorway and the narrow squint of a window that caught the morning light from the mansion's inner courtyard, a space had been cleared to make room for a folding bed, with a collapsable wardrobe fitted in beside it, in the awkward angle behind the open door - a light, sturdy construction of canvas and reworked alloy struts, bought in the sailors' market. At some point, the room's present occupant seemed to have been inspired to setting up a similarly-constructed sailcloth curtain to screen off his bunk, but the project had been abandonned half-complete, and the curtain, wrapped around its pole, stood propped against the floor beneath a small, flaking hole drilled in the wall.

All in all, while the room might not have been so well-loved or lived-in before its present occupant arrived, it might, at first glance, seem fair to say that it had seen better days.

In fact, the room had always been an office ? three centures earlier, when the building had been built as the townhouse of a local gentleman-merchant, it had served as the business salon. In those days, a degree of style and elegance had been deemed appropriate even for the modest room from which Jiego in Verrem and his two secretaries sold grain, grapes and melons to the grocers a

 

[Ummm...yeah...]

Elena

 

Elena: Is that a reply, or just a placeholder?

As usual, people, be unsparing with the criticism...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

I love that song.

Nice job, McEwok.

A little...odd...but we've come to expect that from you I think.

EDIT: Ever since I read this, the story has been dancing through my head like a music video. Oy.

Jes

 

It's back!

I'll be back when I have time to do more than just skim this.

 

*shakes head*

Ewok... Ewok... Ewok...

Strange...

But strangely interesting...

What are we going to do with you?

 

Weird, but interesting. I enjoyed reading it. I think.

 

I'm scared, you twisted man.

 

Jes':

I love that song.

Nice job, McEwok.

A little...odd...but we've come to expect that from you I think.

Thanks!

EDIT: Ever since I read this, the story has been dancing through my head like a music video.

That's the idea!

Oy.

... Vey?

*rimshot*

Scoundrel: It's back!

And this time, it's got songs!

I'll be back when I have time to do more than just skim this.

*bows*

I look forward to it!

RG: *shakes head*

Ewok... Ewok... Ewok...

Strange...

But strangely interesting...

Thanks... I think!

What are we going to do with you?

Why are you asking me?! If the rest of you want to start a "Uses for an Ewok" thread somewhere, then you're welcome...

StarFighter5: Weird, but interesting. I enjoyed reading it. I think.

What would help you decide for sure?

fb: I'm scared, you twisted man.

Mwahahahahaahahahahahahahaha!



- The Imperial Ewok

 

very cool

 

*Falls on floor, laughing helplessly*

*Rolls around for a bit*

Why do I have a feeling that a certain Mod will go Prequel on your ronto when she finds this?

 

A powerful caf machine taking up half the desk.


would have need it yesterday myself


and the self-important caf-machine on the desk.


a self-important caf-machine


But in the ern Galaxy, the memory of a civilized past found itself locked in a combat with the mess of electronic equipment necessary to run a modest military intelligence network, and the pathological untidiness of the man whose job it was to run it.


no respect for past


Something like that, his thoughts repeated, his toes already dancing to the tune. Not going to get much sleep tonight....




Sliding down the banister, he lands on the diamond-tiled marble of the first-floor hallway and glides up the camera on his knees, arms wide, singing his heart out.




Grinning at her own reflection, Mara plumps her cleavage.
Behind her, the door opens
She spins suddenly, taken by surprise, and Anakin and Tahiri step in.
Anakin?s jaw drops.
Tahiri glares at her boyfriend.
Mara glares at him, as well.
Anakin makes a run for it.
Running down the corridor again, he pauses, to sing to camera.
>Luky that I have strong legs like my mother
To run for cover when I need it.<








Mara and Anakin. They turn to camera, and offer the audience mismatched grins ? Mara with a quiet, blade-thin smirk, Anakin copying his father?s lopsided leer.
Then they look back at each other, and kiss.










That was great

Whenever, wherever
We?re meant to be together
I?ll be there and you?ll be near
And that?s the deal my dear

Thereover, hereunder
You?ve got me head over heels
There?s nothing left to fear
If you really feel the way I think.

*swinging and dancing*








Mag

 

Blended: Why do I have a feeling that a certain Mod will go Prequel on your ronto when she finds this?

Go Prequel on your ronto? ** falls off chair, laughing ** (Of course, now I'm afraid to point out some of the bits that I thought were funny and draw any undue attention to them, just in case they might be taken too seriously.)



Oh my. Just the perfect thing to take the sting out of another Monday of drudgery.

The opening part with Chak is still just as gorgeously descriptive as I remember the first time.

As for the rest of the post . . . WOW. I'm just utterly amazed at how clearly the whole thing plays in my mind like a music video - for most people, that would be a hard thing to write. There's just so much great stuff there, I'd have to practically re-post the whole thing just to highlight it all!

Okay, I'll stop gushing now and simply ask for more.

 

I finally got here.

That was GREAT. I laughed and laughed. Absolutely wonderful.

Grinning at her own reflection, Mara plumps her cleavage.
That in itself was an image its weight in credits.

Behind her, the door opens

She spins suddenly, taken by surprise, and Anakin and Tahiri step in.

Anakin?s jaw drops.

Tahiri glares at her boyfriend.

Mara glares at him, as well.

Anakin makes a run for it.

Running down the corridor again, he pauses, to sing to camera.


Luky that I have strong legs like my mother
To run for cover when I need it.
Classic. I loved the way the lines fitted the crazy antics.

I also loved the way you kept altering the pairings - really funny. It's so gloriously absurd - actually reminds me a bit of some of those French Theatre of the Absurd plays like "Chairs". Yes - and very Denis Potterish.

Wherever, whenever I hear that song now I shall laugh uproariously.

 

[ Thank you all! Replies go here!! ]

- The Imperial Ewok

 

[Okay - updated with an old-fashioned, non-musical L/M scene... make of it what you will! ]

Ben Skywalker lay smiling in his in his cot, contented little emperor of an innocent universe. Standing in the hatchway, Mara Jade Skywalker grinned at her sleeping son, then switched off the light, and stepped back out of the cabin they had converted to serve as a nursery, into the main companionway ? her smile growing wistful as the hatch slid softly shut behind her.

She paused outside the airlock, resting the palm of one hand against the cool metal of the surround ? and wondered.

Shouldn?t she be feeling slightly more guilty?

?Worried?? a voice asked.

She didn?t need to turn to see him ? slim, handsome, and smiling at her as he ducked through the hatch. She was mildly annoyed that he?d been able to sneak up on her like that, but even if she?d affected to ignore him, he was still a Jedi ? they both were ? and she couldn?t help but signal her reaction in the Force.

So, after a moment?s hesitation. she turned round ? looked at him, cocked an eyebrow offered him a smile.

?No,? she lied.

?You sure about this?? he asked, eyes simmering with concern. ?Bringing the kid along for the ride??

Sighing, she shook her head, and drew herself up, looking down at him.

?You mean Ben?? she asked, one eyebrow lifting. ?Or his father??

?You know what I mean,? Luke frowned. ?Why are you doing this, Mara??

?Wartime and female hormones,? she shrugged. ?Bad combination. You know there?s a theory that in primitive societies, the emergence of patriarchy and the subordination of women from a warrior role to cooking, housework and nappy-changing is the key in the transition from nomadic anarchy to the beginnings of stable, settled civilization??

?So what have we both spent our lifetimes doing, then?? Luke asked

?Trying to put the mistake right??

They both laughed, but Luke?s amusement, real though it was, faded with his laugh. The light in his blue eyes settled back to a steady and serious shine.

Not for the first time, she reminded herself how much she loved him.

We?re Jedi Knights, his expression seemed to say. Don?t leave.

Two years earlier, she had been the first Jedi Knight to face the Yuuzhan Vong advance scouts ? with Luke beside her, she?d fought Yomin Carr on Belkadan, but even before that, she?d met Nom Anor on Monor XII. He?d infected her with the coom-spore sickness ? used her as a specimin in field trials of a bio-weapon, like some laboratory animal. As the war had spread across the Galaxy ? as the aliens overran planet after planet, won battle after battle ? the sickness had worsened.

Then, she?d gone and gotten herself pregnant..

Now, she was cured, and she had a beautiful baby son; but the Galaxy was still racked by the worst, most vicious war in a generation, and Ben, bright in her life like a new sun, tugged her priorities clean out of the smooth orbits she?d locked them into when she married Farmboy.

Mysterious as the invaders remained, there was no doubt by now that Jedi were at the top of their list of priority targets. And she dreaded to think what they might do with a Force-sensitive infant, particularly if some piece of spit told them that the kid in question was Luke Skywalker?s son.

?Mara?? Luke repeated.?Love.?

?Luke?? she asked. ?Husband??

?The Corellian Run is hardly the cropdusting trip it was two years ago,? he sighed. ?Yuuzhan Vong battlefleets at Tynna and Kalarba, Peace Brigate privateers scouring the trade lanes?.?

?We?re not exactly going to be unprotected,? she countered, with a shrug. She didn?t bother to explain further. The Shadow packed a punch, and there would be four X-wings with Jedi pilots flanking them through hyperspace. But there, too, there were ambiguities that she had to acknowledge, even if she didn?t want to examine them too closely. In the abstract, she knew that all of them would to defend her and Ben ? and for no reason beyond the fact that they were Jedi Knights, and that was what was expec

 

Interesting...

You never cease to do whatever it is that you do...

 

?Raping entire planets, driving several sentient species to the edge of extinction, torturing and executing prisoners by the million,? she nodded. ?Even the Empire intermittently tried to pretend to be the good guy.?

Thought that was an excellent line.

 

Goopa furball!


[Reply to your review follows here... ]


[Okay - updated with an old-fashioned, non-musical L/M scene... make of it what you will! ]

no music, no new song driving me nuts the whole week ... ... oh I am already nuts...


Ben Skywalker lay smiling in his cot, contented little emperor of an innocent universe.

aww... a bit demanting isn't he


Shouldn't she be feeling slightly more guilty?

guilty? About what...


"Worried?" a voice asked.

overprotectiv farmboy?


She didn't need to turn to see him slim, handsome, and smiling at her as he ducked through the hatch. She was mildly annoyed that he'd been able to sneak up on her like that,


her thoughts were with someone else?


"No," she lied.

Hah!


"You mean Ben?" she asked, one eyebrow lifting. "Or his father?"





his father.... !!!!


"Wartime and female hormones," she shrugged. "Bad combination. You know there's a theory that in primitive societies, the emergence of patriarchy and the subordination of women from a warrior role to cooking, housework and nappy-changing is the key in the transition from nomadic anarchy to the beginnings of stable, settled civilization?"



that's an interesting topic... gender roles in the society and in the historical context as well... there are many thesis and thesis against them...


she'd met Nom Anor on Monor XII.


I could be wrong but wasn't it Monor II
(or so I remember it from reading BP in the morning... but my mind is foggy from lack of sleep... so I can be wrong... )


Now, she was cured, and she had a beautiful baby son; but the Galaxy was still racked by the worst, most vicious war in a generation, and Ben, bright in her life like a new sun, tugged her priorities clean out of the smooth orbits she'd locked them into when she married Farmboy.


aww... me like...


"Mara?" Luke repeated."Love."


"Luke?" she asked. "Husband?"



not so much "love"?


Luke, ever the innocent, always saw the goodness in people and, she'd discovered, he was right. He'd saved her, even saved Kyp Durron better a brattish, psychopathic Jedi than a brattish, psychopathic Sith.



*wide eyes*

*blinks*

*goes and reads it again*

brattish okay... but psychopathic?


She still ran through the basic exercise regime every morning, even now.

keeping herself in shape


"Raping entire planets, driving several sentient species to the edge of extinction, torturing and executing prisoners by the million," she nodded. "Even the Empire intermittently tried to pretend to be the good guy."

not executing... okay FACPOV... but they are calling it sacrifices ...
... but it is true...
but how explained the Empire the hatred toward the alien races when they pretended to be the good guy to the alien races?

"Don't you always say I'm innocent?"

Hah!

the next one with a song again?


as I already told you "me like"


~Mag~:_

 

RedGold: Interesting...

You never cease to do whatever it is that you do...

Thanks, I think...!

How do you do what you do to me?
I wish I knew
If I knew how you do it to me
I'd do it to you

How do you do what you do to me?
I'm feeling blue
Wish I knew how you do it to me
But I haven't a clue

You may have just discovered the music for the next post!

Spike: Thought that was an excellent line.

Well, you would, wouldn't you!

Maggy: no music, no new song driving me nuts the whole week ... ... oh I am already nuts...

Ja!

aww... a bit demanting isn't he

Demanding? He's entirely happy!

guilty? About what...

Various things? Not all of them necessarily to do with Anakin Solo?

overprotectiv farmboy?

Always!

her thoughts were with someone else?

</Obi-Wan>Possibly...

Hah!

Heh!

his father.... !!!!

Just to clarify - several people misread that line as being a surprisingly straightforward reference to Anakin Solo - in fact, you're meant to read it as Mara snarking at Luke himself...

that's an interesting topic... gender roles in the society and in the historical context as well... there are many thesis and thesis against them...

Ja, true... later in the 'fic, someone is going to suggest that it's all the fault of women pushing their men to take over the world...

I could be wrong but wasn't it Monor II
(or so I remember it from reading BP in the morning... but my mind is foggy from lack of sleep... so I can be wrong... )

Nope, you're absolutely right!

aww... me like...

Thanks!

It's really just an extension of Jacen's "binary star" metaphor in BP...


not so much "love"?

Said with wit and affection?



*wide eyes*

*blinks*

*goes and reads it again*

brattish okay... but psychopathic?

Mara's POV? He does have a thing for killing things?

keeping herself in shape

Body-fascist?

not executing... okay FACPOV... but they are calling it sacrifices ...
... but it is true...
but how explained the Empire the hatred toward the alien races when they pretended to be the good guy to the alien races?

In at least one place (the X-wing comic) it's implied Imperial citizens like Baron Fel were raised with the idea that humans were innately superior, at least in military terms - they were 'protecting' the aliens...

For some people, this would obviously serve as an excuse for unacceptable racism. For others, like Pellaeon, it might have served to dignify a discomfort with cultural difference. Others again, like Han, never bought it. For others, it was a genuinely-held belief; Fel was in this last group - but seeing what Thrawn was capable of at Derra IV (just before ESB) kinda undermined this idea for him...

Hah!

the next one with a song again?

That's the idea...

as I already told you "me like"

Yub yub!

Thanks!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

[Just a short update, set to John Cage's 4'33"... ]

Leonia Tavira listened to the whisper of static on the audio track, looking at the wavering holo of the two Jedi, caught in the steel frame of the companionway aboard their runner ? two brown-robed figures with lightsabers on their belts, a man and a woman, wrapped in each other?s arms, sharing a very private moment.

She smiled as he watched them kiss. She didn?t know who had managed to get hold of that sort of surveilance footage, and there was still the very real possibility that it was a fake. An excellent fake, but a fake nonetheless.

But everything indicated that it was real. Mara Jade was returning to Terradoro, and bringing a group of Jedi Knights with her. And when they came, Leonia Tavira would be waiting for them.

Innocent people? she wondered, thinking over the words she'd just overheard. Ordinary people? Yes, Mara Jade. You know all about that, don?t you?

It wasn?t revenge, she told herslef. That was just a spice which, in this instance, happened to make her duty that much more pleasant.

 

McE:


Ja!













but because there was no music driving me nuts I actually had time to read



Demanding? He's entirely happy!

Yub Yub! Always trying to keep the others busy, mainly his parents

Various things? Not all of them necessarily to do with Anakin Solo?


who was talking about Kin?

Always!

Hah!

</Obi-Wan>Possibly...

Ben?

Heh!



Just to clarify - several people misread that line as being a surprisingly straightforward reference to Anakin Solo - in fact, you're meant to read it as Mara snarking at Luke himself...


I was refering to Luke... why Kin? *snickers*

Ja, true... later in the 'fic, someone is going to suggest that it's all the fault of women pushing their men to take over the world...

sure ... and in the end it will come out good ol? Palpy decided to be a dark Jedi only because his mum didn?t bough him this special Teddy bear for example

no serious (if this even possible for me )
therefore women would rule in the galaxy and let the men beleave they do ...
gah ... I am too tired for this now... *yawn*

Nope, you're absolutely right!



auch ein blindes Huhn findet mal ein Korn

Thanks!

It's really just an extension of Jacen's "binary star" metaphor in BP...

um... yes... can?t remember, um.. ja... ?kay...

Said with wit and affection?

`Ja, true... later in the 'fic, someone is going to suggest that it's all the fault of women pushing their men to take over the world... ´

this way?

Mara's POV? He does have a thing for killing things?

still has?

Body-fascist?

seams so, doesn?t it?

In at least one place (the X-wing comic) it's implied Imperial citizens like Baron Fel were raised with the idea that humans were innately superior, at least in military terms - they were 'protecting' the aliens...

I never was really a fan of comics so therefore I have none.
They are protecting the aliens in the way that they are used for low works and as slaves. Interesting POV of the word protecting.
I dare to say (with keeping in mind of this POV of protection) that the Yuzzhan Vong are not really different as the Empire. They also have their believes and see the races in the galaxy they are protecting in their own way, which means they are relief them of the suffering of live. Wouldn?t that be also protection? They are protecting them from being hurt in life? From their POV is living with the gods the real `life´. I think I am going to far therefore I stop...

For some people, this would obviously serve as an excuse for unacceptable racism. For others, like Pellaeon, it might have served to dignify a discomfort with cultural difference. Others again, like Han, never bought it. For others, it was a genuinely-held belief; Fel was in this last group - but seeing what Thrawn was capable of at Derra IV (just before ESB) kinda undermined this idea for him...

Now I should know what he has done there, shouldn?t I?
But anyway I think there are even cultural differences between the human races in this `fictiv´ galaxy. And you can?t convice all people. I think it is enough to convice the ruling ones to get to the same results. What would Han be able to do against the racism when he woudn?t have met Leia and joined the Rebels? I think nothing much, perhaps freeing some other slaves and he would have died trying it. But it wouldn?t change much. `Normal citizens´ can only vote for their gouverment and such things can be influanced and in they are making the laws. A `normal citizen´ can say `I don?t believe in that´ but can he really change the things on the planet. Also there is to consider the military of the Epire. Nobody dared to say something against it.

 

bother - didn't realise i had missed that previous post. sorry about lack of some capitals - am holding baby.

Bad combination. You know there?s a theory that in primitive societies, the emergence of patriarchy and the subordination of women from a warrior role to cooking, housework and nappy-changing is the key in the transition from nomadic anarchy to the beginnings of stable, settled civilization??
ha ha - good old Mara - blind him with science, or maybe he finds anthroplogy stimulating!

Interesting theory . On the surface it sounds good until you start thinking about what constitutes a patriarchy . . . i mean was the nomadic anarchy patriarchal too? And then you get complications from apparent patriarchal societies where women rule.

It is however true that - in colonial societies like New Zealand - the ruling order encouraged women to break up the nomadic anarchy because a "family"-based society is better economically. So in that sense it was patriarchy looking after its own interests. Social Darwinism.

Damn - now you've given me a plot bunny for a Kirana Ti/singing mountain clan viggie or poem. gah!

back to the story. i enjoyed the background on mara - i'd actually forgotten most of that. yeah - her role in the empire has always bothered me a bit. but put in those terms where i can see her being broken down and reshaped, it makes sense. Reminds me a bit of that Klaus Theweleit book about fascism, especially the stuff about rigid body maintenance. Sometimes that habit of extreme self control of the personal borders is hard to break.

maybe that's one of the things that luke finds so compelling about her because i don't think he's intinsically a self-disciplined type. it's more a case of having it imposed on him. so i guess mara kind of bolsters him up in that way.

rambling - back to story again. Leona Tavira! yay - i like her. am now very curious.

 

Maggy:
who was talking about Kin?



I was refering to Luke... why Kin? *snickers*

Well, why were you laughing? Even if you were referring to Luke, Kin is implied, no?

I think I am going to far therefore I stop...

"You must do what you think is right, of course..."

As long as they get food, work and a living space everything work out quite, I think. Humans only revolt when they don?t get those things.

Not strictly true...

*is confused*

hope I will puzzle it out with the next post(s)
but it sounds after action

Well, there's another post coming right up!

Tahi: bother - didn't realise i had missed that previous post. sorry about lack of some capitals - am holding baby.

Aww!

ha ha - good old Mara - blind him with science, or maybe he finds anthroplogy stimulating!

Isn't it all just (sexual) politics, though?

Interesting theory . On the surface it sounds good until you start thinking about what constitutes a patriarchy . . . i mean was the nomadic anarchy patriarchal too? And then you get complications from apparent patriarchal societies where women rule.

Well, at the back of it are some musings of my own which I have neither the time, money or self-discipline to develop fully... and which could be wrong, anyway!

It is however true that - in colonial societies like New Zealand - the ruling order encouraged women to break up the nomadic anarchy because a "family"-based society is better economically. So in that sense it was patriarchy looking after its own interests. Social Darwinism.

Aye? Or just men getting nervous?

Damn - now you've given me a plot bunny for a Kirana Ti/singing mountain clan viggie or poem. gah!

Here's a challenge - write it as a Kae Kwaad Album filk on "Knights of the Round Table" from MP&tQftHG!

back to the story. i enjoyed the background on mara - i'd actually forgotten most of that. yeah - her role in the empire has always bothered me a bit. but put in those terms where i can see her being broken down and reshaped, it makes sense. Reminds me a bit of that Klaus Theweleit book about fascism, especially the stuff about rigid body maintenance. Sometimes that habit of extreme self control of the personal borders is hard to break.

maybe that's one of the things that luke finds so compelling about her because i don't think he's intinsically a self-disciplined type. it's more a case of having it imposed on him. so i guess mara kind of bolsters him up in that way.

Aye... makes you wonder how Palpatine, the poisoned old cynic, saw her...

rambling - back to story again. Leona Tavira! yay - i like her. am now very curious.



- The Imperial Ewok

 

[Yep - an update. Sorry it took so long - most of this has actually been written for a year or so. I'm not sure how the first half of it works against the previous L/M scene - the near-repetition is deliberate, but I think it's slightly long (fourteen pages in Word! ), and I tried and failed to find good places to cut it. I don't need a beta, I need a publishing deal and an editor!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! ]

Three days later, Mara lay awake on the double bed in her cabin aboard the Shadow, one hand thrown across the empty space beside her, thinking idly of Luke.

She smiled, and ran the tip of her tongue along her lip, slowly reliving the lingering memory of a kiss, remembered the way her thoughts had intertwined with his in the Force, pure and perfect and delicious.

Innocent people? she wondered.

Her thoughts drifted to the million hostages the Yuuzhan Vong were holding on Talfaglio, and she frowned quietly up at the cabin ceiling. They were innocent people. And for all she knew, so were the rank-and-file Yuuzhan Vong.

But now, Luke was going along wih the government?s ?no negotiation? policy, playing Borsk Fey?lya?s political games and following Admiral Sovv?s strategic leadership ? Luke, who had negotiated with Sith and Mandalorians and Grand Admirals before, even with C?baoth.

Even with her.

The whole idea stunk.

Like a lot of Farmboy?s ideas, she reflected. In their first months together, before they got married, she?d tried to keep count of times she shot down his dafter schemes. She?d given up eventually ? and that had been when she realised that she really loved him.

For a moment, she almost smiled.

But in this particular instance, it wasn?t simply a matter of harmless innocence, easily corrected ? it was serious.

She rolled out of the bed and paced across the cabin to the ?fresher, throwing open the door and switching the setting from sonics to water. She wanted the luxury of a real shower today.

She tipped her eyes up to look at the nozzled, and twisted the dial right round.

A squall of ice-cold water exploded into her, taking her in the throat and face with the savage energy of a hailstorm. For a moment, she simply gasped, wide-eyed and open-mouthed ? helpless?

For a moment, it felt like an absolution.

For a moment, at least.

But she was already reaching for the bottle of blueleaf gel, massaging the shampoo into her hair, working up into a lather.

As she glided effortlessly into the rhythm of wiping off the night?s sweats, she felt the water warm up on her skin ? still insistent, but comfortable now, as the air grew most and heavy around her.

The Jedi were being forced onto the political stage, she mused, bending over to wash her shins ? and she?d just bitten her tongue and let her husband do it his way. Of course, she valued Luke?s opinions ? didn?t she? ? and surely she wouldn?t want to go back to the a time when their relationship had consisted of edgy, awkard combat manoeuvres, when they negotiated around feelings for each other that they weren?t prepared to acknowledge ? and which, perhaps, hadn?t lined up as neatly as they seemed to now.

Luke had changed after they?d come together on Nirauan, she was sure ? and for the better, she thought ? but she seemed to have changed too. Once, she would have openly challenged him before anything too serious happened. Now she tried to employ more subtle methods of getting her own way. Once, she would never have?.

Less effective methods, she conceded, catching herself ? stepping back out onto the tiled floor and plucking her towel from the rail, wrapping it around her torso. Don?t tell me you?re losing your touch?.

She raised an elegant eyebrow at the face in the mirror as she tucked the towel together, making a mental opportunity to bring the matter up with Skywalker at the first opportunity.

How to put it, though? she wondered, then paused. When had she started to consider her marriage in such co