CHAPTER SEVEN
Through the doorway to the bedroom they shared, Luke Skywalker caught a glimpse of his wife reclining on the bed. She lay there very comfortably, her red-gold hair spread around her head like a halo. Her chest rose and fell regularly and gently—peacefully, really—prompting him to realize how little peace they had known in their life together.
Beside her, on the bed, lay a few folded garments that needed to be stuffed into the traveling bags at the foot of the bed. Hers were mostly full, and two bags had been set out for him. Luke smiled, appreciating her thoughtfulness, and admiring her for taking the extra effort to get his bags out, despite the draining fatigue that was part of her illness.
He entered the room quietly, hoping not to disturb her, but her eyes flickered open. “Luke. Good, it’s you.”
“Who else would you have expected?”
She smiled, a bit haltingly, but with enough strength to send a thrill through him. “Anakin. I don’t want to be late for our departure.”
“Don’t worry about that. Anakin is a very understanding boy.” Luke set aside the folded garments and seated himself at Mara’s feet. “How are you?”
One corner of her mouth tucked itself into a smirk. “You’re the Jedi Master, you tell me.”
Luke reached out through the Force toward her and quickly encountered the defenses she’d set up. It felt as if she’d wrapped herself in thorns, then cobbled together body armor from starship hull plates. Beyond that were kilometers of wrappings holding her in all tight. Each line of defense brought his probe up short, then a little, tiny gap opened, allowing him to move deeper and deeper.
Finally, beyond the wrappings and past an ocean of images, hopes, and fears, he reached Mara’s core. When he experienced her through the Force this way she always appeared to him to be white-hot, flaring brilliantly. She was the most vibrant and alive person he’d ever known—something made all that much more remarkable since the Emperor would have tried to dampen down her vitality while she was in his service.
The illness she had contracted had sapped some of her strength, but her resilience kept it at bay. He could feel the Force flowing through her, constantly rebuilding the damage done and keeping the disease beaten back. While the initial encounters with the Yuuzhan Vong had distracted her and allowed the disease to advance, she had made a major effort toward recovery.
She is not yet whole again, but she is gaining in strength. Luke gave her a smile. “I’d say you are doing very well, my love.”
Mara sat forward and reached out to stroke Luke’s cheek. “I’m doing better, but not well enough.”
“Give it time, Mara.” He kissed her on the wrist. “Impatience is handmaiden to despair.”
“And despair is of the dark side.” Mara nodded slightly. “I understand, Master Skywalker.”
Luke shook his head. “You know what I mean.”
“I do, Luke, and I know why you warn me that way. Your empathy and caution are two of your more endearing qualities.” She lay back down, drawing her knees up to give Luke more room.
Luke rested his chin on her right knee. “You don’t mind having Anakin accompany you to Dantooine?”
She shook her head. “I can go it alone, if you need him elsewhere.”
“If you don’t want him with you, I can find another assignment for him.” The Jedi Master kissed her kneecap. “I don’t want you burdened with something that’s really my problem.”
“Luke!” Mara’s voice gained in volume and developed a little of an edge. “When we married, your problems became my problems.”
“Yes, but Anakin is part of my family, and the way you grew up, you didn’t have a chance to—”
Mara spitted him with a green-eyed stare. “Want to consider again what you’re saying there, Raised-as-an-only-child Skywalker?”
Luke laughed silently for a moment. “Point taken.”
“Take this one, too. When I agreed to marry you, I knew what I was getting into. We agreed to share our lives, which means we agreed to share all of the problems as well as the joys.” Mara closed her eyes for a moment. “I like Anakin. I can sympathize with what he is going through.” She opened her eyes again. “He feels responsible for Chewbacca’s death. At one time I felt responsible for the Emperor’s death. Both of us have lost someone who was part of the foundation of our lives. If I can help him through that, well, he won’t have to go through the things I did to find his way back out again.”
She glanced up at Luke. “Of course, I imagine he’s not thrilled at being saddled with a sick old lady heading to a backwater world for a rest cure.”
“Actually, he accepted the assignment very willingly. I told him I was entrusting you to his care. He shouldered that responsibility very positively. He’s done a good job requisitioning all the things you’ll need on Dantooine.”
Mara’s eyes flashed. “I caught that burst of caution from you, Luke. What is it?”
“I clearly need to work on control more.” He sighed. “You know the star charts. Dantooine is fairly well Rimward. It could be in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion corridor—if there is one. Sending you and Anakin out there all alone—”
“Is probably the best shot you have at getting some scou–ting done so you can assess the scope of the invasion.” Mara scooted back, sitting up and piling pillows behind her back. “As we’ve discussed, the attacks we’ve already dealt with were decidedly unmilitary. There was no reconnaissance in force, no establishment of forward bases that could be supported, none of the things we’d expect from an invasion. Whatever is going to be following this up will now have to work more cautiously because they know we’re alerted.”
“I can’t fault your logic, but I don’t like the idea of having you on the front line.”
“But Dantooine isn’t a serious military target. That’s why the Rebels chose it as a base, only to abandon it later. And that’s why Tarkin didn’t destroy it with the Death Star.”
Luke shrugged uneasily. “That’s assuming their sense of targets is the same as ours. You remember what they did on Belkadan. Maybe their selection criteria are different from ours.”
“All the more reason we need to have people scouting far and wide, to figure them out.”
The Jedi Master shook his head. “There’s basically no way that you won’t be able to twist my concerns around into proof that you and Anakin should be sent to Dantooine, is there?”
“It is only because I know you so well, my love.” Mara crooked a finger, beckoning him closer.
Luke stretched out on the bed, resting his upper body on his elbows. “You do know me, Mara, better than I know myself.”
“But not as well as I will know you when we’re old and gray together.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “And I know your concern for me, and for all the other Jedi heading out, is simply a mechanism you use to avoid thinking about the dangers you will face. After all, we are going to worlds where the Yuuzhan Vong might appear. You are going to a world where we already know they’ve been, and we have no clue as to what you will find on Belkadan.”
“All I want to find there is something to help cure you. You said you felt a connection between the plague there and your illness. If I can track down something that will be more helpful—”
She pressed a finger against his lips. “You will, Luke. Facing all we’ve faced, there is no way I’m letting some ague kill me. If the cure comes from Belkadan, great. If we have to find it elsewhere, that’s fine, too. The key thing is to find out for certain if my illness is connected to the Yuuzhan Vong. If it is, when I get healthy, the Yuuzhan Vong will pay.”
Luke raised his face and kissed her on the lips. “When, ah, you and I were on the opposite side of things, that sort of spirit made me a bit fearful of our finally having to face each other in combat. Now I almost feel sorry for the Yuuzhan Vong.”
“They brought it on themselves. No one invited them here.” Mara returned his kiss, long and fiercely. “Don’t you worry about me, Luke. Take care of yourself and Jacen. Anakin and I will do just fine.”
He nodded. “I know you will.” He kissed her again. “I will miss you terribly, you know.”
Mara ran her fingers back through his hair. “And I will miss you, too, husband. But, our being apart from time to time is something I also accepted when I became your wife. We part now so we can be together forever. Not the best bargain in life, but not the worst, either. And, for now, husband mine, it is a bargain I am more than happy to accept.”