Beyond - Legends "Unexpected Allegiance" Luke/Mara, others. WIP

"Unexpected Allegiance"
Author: WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

Sounding Board for Ideas: @JadeSphera

Disclaimer: Borrowing the characters with affection for oomphy tweaking.

Note: Luke and Mara are involved in the events of "Dark Empire", with several important changes.

~



CHAPTER 1

Luke sat on his bed. It had been a long time since he’d had a full night of sleep. Being busy with missions and searching for old records of the Jedi across the Galaxy didn’t give one much time to sleep. But last night had been different, and now that he thought about it, he’d had a dream. And Mara Jade had been in it!

The Jedi Knight let out a sigh, she’d been in his dreams too often lately. Dreams in which they were in all kinds of different situations, dreams that did not repeat themselves, blurry and incoherent, just random imagery at times. Were these really dreams? Or were these visions of the Force trying to tell him something? He couldn’t tell the difference.

She hated him. Mara Jade hated his guts.

Yes, she’d made that pretty clear when they’d met back on Myrkr. Then she’d remained hostile during their whole adventure on Wayland. She’d saved them all from the mad clone of Joruus C’baoth, but that had not meant that they’d become friends. And this bothered him. It bothered him way more than what he was willing to admit.

Well, there was no point in worrying about that. He’d not seen Mara in months and probably it would be a very long time before they ran into each other in some unexpected situation, as it always happened. Rushed encounters, each with their own matters to look into, no time to talk. He should better stop expecting anything more and put the beautiful redhead out of his mind once and for all.

Feeling utterly annoyed at himself, Luke walked into the fresher, he had a busy day ahead of him.

oOo

Mara was glad when she gave it any thought that she was rid of those pesky dreams that put her back in the thrall of the Empire. That pesky last command dogged her sleeping and waking life back then.

Nowadays, she seldom dreamed, so when she did, it was something to take note of.

In this one, she was on the trail of Sith holocrons and rumors of Sith activity; she was to report back to the NR Intelligence Department and the Jedi, specifically Luke. She was with Luke on a farflung world dodging blaster fire and red-bladed lightswords.

But it wasn't that which made Mara pause upon awakening... Rather, it was the easy, natural way she and Luke seemed to work together, seamlessly, instinctively.

oOo

Those dreams with Mara in them were becoming more frequent and more vivid. There was no way to continue ignoring them. This was definitely the Force telling him something. He ought to reach out to Mara and find out.

Yet, he remained hesitant as to what would be the best approach. Should he contact the redhead with some excuse of NR importance? Should he ask Leia to invite Master Trader Jade to an official event and then “run into her” there? Or should he just call her comm and spit everything out blatantly – risking the ire of the former Emperor’s Hand. He really didn’t know what to do.

Concerning on how to deal with Mara Jade, the one Jedi Knight in the Galaxy was completely clueless.

oOo

Mara went about her daily routine for about a week or so and then she had a dream of Luke again. This time they were in a room with a vaulted ceiling fighting what appeared to be Royal Guards of the Empire and security droids.

She wondered: I hope this isn't a vision of the future.

She pondered if she should contact Luke but decided to hold off. This could all be something transient and she didn't want to give him any ideas that she was preoccupied with him or any such nonsense. Force knew, she got enough teasing about Luke as it was from the crew of the Wild Karrde!

---

 

Hmmmm....I am waiting for some hot and steamy dreams.

I think I wrote a story about Luke/Mara having erotic dreams. I can't remember the title of that fanfic at the moment. Mainly because that is a trope I so love... and overuse...a lot.

I look forward to reading more.

 

Luke and Mara having dreams nice beginning what will come next?

 

Luke, Mara, and Dark Empire...I’m in. Can not wait to see where this goes.

 

I love how they're dreaming of each other--very sweet! Looking forward where this goes.

 

Author's Note: After an unexpected pause, the story continues.
Thanks ever to @JadeSphera for the input and suggestions.
~
Chapter 2

The trip to Talago at least had given him something to take his mind off those dreams.
Luke was always willing to help Leia with diplomatic missions and the moment she’d ask for his intervention he’d gladly said yes.

The hearings were over and he was free to do with his time as he pleased, for now it was time to get his tummy filled. He was starving!

Sitting on the terrace of a small café, Luke watched the crowd walking by, when suddenly a familiar presence hit him with the force of a thousand torpedoes. Before having her in sight, he already knew who that was. What in the suns of Tatooine was she doing there?

oOo

Mara hated to admit it, but it was nice seeing Luke again. His smile when he saw her was genuinely warm. But there was something ... She frowned.

"Skywalker, you look like something the bedraggled tooka brought in out of the rainstorm. Like you haven't been sleeping all too well." She grimaced. She knew how that was, unfortunately.

Luke gave her a sharp look. "Yeah, well, now that you mention it... I haven't." He sighed.

"Lots weighing on your mind," Mara said, not making it a question, just an observation.

"You could say that." He said.

She waited expectantly. He was an open person, and he would share if and what he desired to. She wouldn't pry, but she wanted him to know she was ready to listen.

Luke took a few moments to order his thoughts, he really didn’t know where to start. “I’ve been having these dreams,” he started, “Distressing dreams, full of ominous scenes, fighting off an unknown dark force… The thing is that as these have progressed they don’t feel like just dreams or even nightmares anymore -–”

“You think these are premonitions?” Mara interrupted, too invested to not to. She’d been having similar dreams of her own.

“I don’t think these are exactly premonitory, but I cannot ignore them,” he paused. “There’s lots of chaos in them, a deep sense of urgency and threat. And you’re always in them.”

For some strange reason, Mara was not surprised. Now the pieces were falling into place. “I’ve been having dreams with you in them too. Way too realistic. Should we exchange notes?” she proposed trying to sound unconcerned, but this was concerning.

They shared details.

"Wow," Luke said, "So many of the actual details like the layout and the overll scenes are too alike to be a coincidence."

"Yeah, but still it felt too specific to be a vague Force warning." Mara observed.

"But the fact that we each are having them and they keep happening makes me think it's something to look into."

Mara gave him a skeptical look. "And where would you suggest we start? There wasn't exactly a navcomp grid coordinate included."

Luke laughed. "Nothing so easy. No, I was thinking we could see if there was something ... tangible, something that seemed to point to a possible menace of some kind." He recalled the portentous feel of the very air and the cast of the sky before a sandstorm. If something as ominous was in the offing figuratively, there would be rumblings of some kind more likely than not.

Mara agreed. "I'll see what I can find out officially and otherwise. Karrde's got a lot of contacts in the information gathering arena."

 

Coming together and finding out what those premonitions are. They should do that. Great discussion between the two

 

I'm liking this!
You know I can't resist a Luke and Mara fic.
Intrigued by their shared dreams, wonder what's coming...
Look forward to more!

 

Chapter 3

Mara did not believe in coincidences. Soon after her talk with Luke she got a call from an old contact using one of her long-dormant but still accessible aliases, Celina Marniss. Jenessa Starflare was a slicer of some repute although naturally not at Ghent's genius level.

She contacted Mara with some intriguing activity near the Deep Core, between Prakith and Byss. Neither world was of recent prominence, not being involved in recent relevant galactic events. The things Jenessa had unearthed involved increased financial and spacefaring traffic.

"It went from not even a blip on the HoloNet to several moves in a few hours' duration." Jenessa said.

Mara thanked Jenessa and passed the news on to Karrde who had also got a hint of unusual activity.

It unfolded that the movement was coordinated through fake corporations and that the cred trail was circuitous and landed in accounts with long numbers in obscure locations.

Mara had a strong suspicion this was somehow linked to what she and Luke had been discussing, although she had no idea how it might.

She decided to do some on the spot sleuthing incidentally as Celina. Hearing from Jenessa under that account had given her that idea of using that particular alias.


Should she clue Luke in on what she was doing, Mara wondered. She decided not to. Best scout things out and then let him know if he needed to know. For all she knew, this had nothing to do with their unusual ... dreams.

 

Catching up---Great dialogue between Mara and Luke! Seems like their unusual dream situation is heading to some adventure.

 

As Celina she can be in trouble?

 

Should she clue Luke in on what she was doing, Mara wondered. She decided not to. Best scout things out and then let him know if he needed to know. For all she knew, this had nothing to do with their unusual ... dreams.

Having read AU books a long time ago I have come to learn that Jedi do their best, when they work together. Against evil enemies. Against any kind of peril. But well, Mara is not used to team work at this point.

 

I am surprised that Mara did not become more alert when the planet Byss came up. Get your ‘Go Bag’ ready Luke. One of those two always get in trouble when they think to go off by themselves!

 

So worrying troubles are growing out there in the galaxy... and Mara has decided to go solo scouting/spying. I bet Luke notices her absence quickly tho.
Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

Chapter 4

Luke was buoyant with a sense of true purpose. He had been sensing something stirring in the Core and there were rumors and rumblings on the HoloWeb as well, although he didn't take those too seriously.

His friends with New Republic Intelligence mentioned some strange activity near Byss.

"Backrocket world now, although it used to be a hotbed of intrigue."

Luke said. "I wonder if there's a connection to whatever it is I've been feeling?"

Giving in to his erstwhile impulsiveness, he decided to scout around.

He asked for and got an alias from Intelligence, under the name Collin Varik.

He had the cover of a skilled mechanic, which dovetailed well with skills he had.

All went smoothly until he arrived at the hub of continued comings and goings.

The ship, called the Swift Nova was taking on cargo.

Luke strolled down to the cargo bays with an order to check the haulers when suddenly he felt a presence that he would never have supposed.

Mara?! Could it be?

Might it have been her drawing him inexorably to this nexus as much as if not more than the puzzle he was investigating?

He stepped into the large bay and... there she was.

Of course, his disguise didn't fool her for a second.

Her jade eyes widened and she breathed, "Luke? What in the 9 Corellian hells are you doing here?"

 

Haha! They both ended up in the same place despite trying things their own way first. Typical.
Luke and Mara should just accept their a team already and do this investigation together.
Look forward to more.

 

Byss...that is never a good planet to see in fanfics. But whatever is out there, Luke and Mara can take it on. They are truly stronger together. A force to be reckoned with. Sorry that I missed so many entries. I have been so busy.

 

Byss is always bad. But with Luke and Mara, they can take the bad

 

Chapter 5

Luke answered in an equally amazed whisper, "I could ask you the same. I'm going by Collin Varik, though."

"I'm Celina Marniss." Mara rejoined. "So...?"

Luke told her what he had been looking into, and she gave a nod when he concluded. "I've been following a similar trail. An interesting coincidence, if I believed in such things."

Luke chuckled. That last sounded a lot like Han...

"Well, since we're both here, more or less together, let's join forces?" He suggested.

She shrugged and assented readily enough.

They shared meals together in the common area for crew, so that it wouldn't be suspicious if anyone saw them talking together. So far, neither had found anything too suspicious, but each felt that somehow it was only a matter of time when they discovered something critical.

In the meantime, the combination of the mystery and sharing one another's companionship was a pleasant one.

~~

@AzureAngel2

 

love the banter between them in their undercover mission

 

Hi! Sorry for being away this long.
Somehow when I clicked the follow button I did not check the box for email alerts and I was missing on all the goodies.

Luke and Mara working together are always great to read

I like where you're taking this. I wonder what twists on the Byss general story you have in store for us
Can't wait to read what comes next!

 

Now they're team! Yay!
I'm really looking forward to seeing how they investigate together.

 

Chapter Six --
Luke and Mara, going under the aliases of Collin and Celina, levied their way up in the hierarchy of trustworthy workers who were (A) more than competent and (B) cooperative and receptive to taking on work assignments.

They were assigned a mid-sized transport, the Trailblazer with excellent armament and shielding.

They were tasked with taking the very cargo they had been surveilling, essential ship components.

And they wound up on the world of Byss, a world still with echoes of Dark swirls.

+++

 

Trouble ahead I think? Love the name of their transport