half a SW story (Mara, Shada D'ukal)
I said: "Tell me about a story I haven't written, and I'll give you one sentence from that story."
And gabri_jade said: "How about that story you haven't written about Mara training Shada to be her replacement in Karrde's organization? I think there's a whole lot of potential for great interaction between those two. :)"
And I said: "Okay, I'm making this way harder than it has to be ;) I think my problem is that I don't really understand what Mara does every day, and thus having her explain it to someone else is problematic {g}. Plus I haven't read VotF in a really long time, so it's hard to remember exactly what Shada was like. Okay, enough excuses, at least one sentence."
But then when I sat down to write the one sentence, instead I got a whole bunch of something. So much that LJ wouldn't let me post it as a comment. Once I got going it was kind of fun ;). So here it is instead. If I have time tomorrow I might try to finish it up, but for now it's 2:30 and I should get some sleep tonight. Gabri, I'm not sure this is really what you had in mind, but I hope it's entertaining anyway :)
Anyway, here it is, in rough draft form:
Shada spent the first day simply shadowing Mara, watching her interact with the others under her command, learning their names and ranks and the ways they responded to her commands. She knew some of them, of course, having spent the last several weeks with the crew of the Wild Karrde, but there were plenty of new faces at the Coruscant base. It was clear they trusted Mara's judgment and respected her as a leader in the organization, but there was plenty of good-natured ribbing among them as well. By now the reason for her imminent departure was common knowledge throughout the galaxy, and her coworkers lost no opportunity to remind her of it. Shada watched it all with fascination.
Near midday Mara suggested they break for lunch, and Shada agreed. They went to a small cafe where Karrde's people were apparently well-known; the server recognized Mara and asked if she wanted her usual order.
As they waited for their food, Shada studied the other woman. Mara sipped at her drink, apparently watching the other patrons of the restaurant, but after a minute she spoke up. "Am I that fascinating?"
"What?"
"You're studying me pretty intently. What is it that's so disconcerting?"
Shada narrowed her eyes. "I thought Jedi didn't read others' thoughts without permission."
Mara still wasn't looking at her, but Shada could see her roll her eyes. "Please. I don't need to be a Jedi to notice things. You were a Mistryl; you know better than that. I imagine anyone trained in body language could tell you're upset with me." At last she turned to look at Shada. "And for the record, no, Jedi don't read other people's thoughts. So what is it?"
Shada shook her head. "I'm not upset with you. Just... confused, I guess."
"Am I that confusing? It's been a pretty average day; you haven't seen me do anything unusual. What is it?"
Shada frowned. At last she admitted, "You aren't what I expected."
Mara laughed, a short, harsh sound. "And what did you expect?"
"You have something of a reputation," Shada pointed out, as tactfully as she could. "Intelligent. Competent. Dangerous. A former Imperial agent and assassin."
And that was the problem, Shada realized. The woman she'd spent the morning with was certainly intelligent and competent, a natural leader and excellent at what she did. But the legendary Mara Jade she'd expected, the Emperor's Hand, would not have tolerated teasing from her subordinates. Would not have smiled amicably at a waiter in a small cafe and ordered 'the usual.' Would not be planning a marriage-- a love match-- to Luke Skywalker, the squeaky-clean Jedi poster-boy and darling of the New Republic.
Mara laughed again, turning away once more and picking up her drink. "Is that it? I'm not dangerous enough for you?"
There was mockery in her voice, but Shada wasn't sure if it was directed at her. Still, Shada realized how ridiculous it sounded when spoken aloud. "It's not that... I guess I just imagined you differently."
"That's the problem with reputations, you know," Mara said, conversationally. "They're never accurate." After a moment she continued. "Yes, I was the Emperor's Hand. 'Intelligent, competent, and dangerous.' An Imperial agent and assassin. I hunted traitors and blew up pirate bases and commanded stormtroopers. I killed people my master deemed enemies of the Empire.
"But I also spent days doing research, or hiding undercover in the Imperial court. I was trained as a dancer, a courtier, a translator. There were whole days when I didn't kill anyone! Weeks, even! When I didn't so much as touch a weapon." The mockery in her voice was stronger now. "Imagine that."
She gestured at the cafe. "And now there are days when I come to work, I listen to what my people have to say and advise them on what to do next, I have lunch in small cafes like this one, and I go home. Whole days when I don't even yell at anyone. But you don't hear about those."
Shada raised an eyebrow, a bit embarrassed. "I guess you hear this a lot."
Mara shook her head. "Not as often as you might think. And plenty of people are still too afraid of me to mention it." She raised her glass in mock-salute to Shada. "There's a point in your favor."
"Does it bother you? Your reputation?"
The red-haired woman shrugged, absently swirling the liquid still in her glass. "No. Not really. I am all those things you said. Former Imperial. Assassin. They just aren't all I am."
"Wife?" Shada asked lightly, trying to hide the skepticism in her voice.
She gave another mirthless laugh. "You didn't see that one coming, did you?" But the candid expression on her face was gone now, shuttered away behind wariness and mistrust. "But yes. What about it?"
I didn't mean for Shada to come off quite so... naive? If I continue this, I'd like to turn the conversation back on her a little, get to learn a bit more about her. But look, I resisted the Shada/Karrde angle (for now)!
And gabri_jade said: "How about that story you haven't written about Mara training Shada to be her replacement in Karrde's organization? I think there's a whole lot of potential for great interaction between those two. :)"
And I said: "Okay, I'm making this way harder than it has to be ;) I think my problem is that I don't really understand what Mara does every day, and thus having her explain it to someone else is problematic {g}. Plus I haven't read VotF in a really long time, so it's hard to remember exactly what Shada was like. Okay, enough excuses, at least one sentence."
But then when I sat down to write the one sentence, instead I got a whole bunch of something. So much that LJ wouldn't let me post it as a comment. Once I got going it was kind of fun ;). So here it is instead. If I have time tomorrow I might try to finish it up, but for now it's 2:30 and I should get some sleep tonight. Gabri, I'm not sure this is really what you had in mind, but I hope it's entertaining anyway :)
Anyway, here it is, in rough draft form:
Shada spent the first day simply shadowing Mara, watching her interact with the others under her command, learning their names and ranks and the ways they responded to her commands. She knew some of them, of course, having spent the last several weeks with the crew of the Wild Karrde, but there were plenty of new faces at the Coruscant base. It was clear they trusted Mara's judgment and respected her as a leader in the organization, but there was plenty of good-natured ribbing among them as well. By now the reason for her imminent departure was common knowledge throughout the galaxy, and her coworkers lost no opportunity to remind her of it. Shada watched it all with fascination.
Near midday Mara suggested they break for lunch, and Shada agreed. They went to a small cafe where Karrde's people were apparently well-known; the server recognized Mara and asked if she wanted her usual order.
As they waited for their food, Shada studied the other woman. Mara sipped at her drink, apparently watching the other patrons of the restaurant, but after a minute she spoke up. "Am I that fascinating?"
"What?"
"You're studying me pretty intently. What is it that's so disconcerting?"
Shada narrowed her eyes. "I thought Jedi didn't read others' thoughts without permission."
Mara still wasn't looking at her, but Shada could see her roll her eyes. "Please. I don't need to be a Jedi to notice things. You were a Mistryl; you know better than that. I imagine anyone trained in body language could tell you're upset with me." At last she turned to look at Shada. "And for the record, no, Jedi don't read other people's thoughts. So what is it?"
Shada shook her head. "I'm not upset with you. Just... confused, I guess."
"Am I that confusing? It's been a pretty average day; you haven't seen me do anything unusual. What is it?"
Shada frowned. At last she admitted, "You aren't what I expected."
Mara laughed, a short, harsh sound. "And what did you expect?"
"You have something of a reputation," Shada pointed out, as tactfully as she could. "Intelligent. Competent. Dangerous. A former Imperial agent and assassin."
And that was the problem, Shada realized. The woman she'd spent the morning with was certainly intelligent and competent, a natural leader and excellent at what she did. But the legendary Mara Jade she'd expected, the Emperor's Hand, would not have tolerated teasing from her subordinates. Would not have smiled amicably at a waiter in a small cafe and ordered 'the usual.' Would not be planning a marriage-- a love match-- to Luke Skywalker, the squeaky-clean Jedi poster-boy and darling of the New Republic.
Mara laughed again, turning away once more and picking up her drink. "Is that it? I'm not dangerous enough for you?"
There was mockery in her voice, but Shada wasn't sure if it was directed at her. Still, Shada realized how ridiculous it sounded when spoken aloud. "It's not that... I guess I just imagined you differently."
"That's the problem with reputations, you know," Mara said, conversationally. "They're never accurate." After a moment she continued. "Yes, I was the Emperor's Hand. 'Intelligent, competent, and dangerous.' An Imperial agent and assassin. I hunted traitors and blew up pirate bases and commanded stormtroopers. I killed people my master deemed enemies of the Empire.
"But I also spent days doing research, or hiding undercover in the Imperial court. I was trained as a dancer, a courtier, a translator. There were whole days when I didn't kill anyone! Weeks, even! When I didn't so much as touch a weapon." The mockery in her voice was stronger now. "Imagine that."
She gestured at the cafe. "And now there are days when I come to work, I listen to what my people have to say and advise them on what to do next, I have lunch in small cafes like this one, and I go home. Whole days when I don't even yell at anyone. But you don't hear about those."
Shada raised an eyebrow, a bit embarrassed. "I guess you hear this a lot."
Mara shook her head. "Not as often as you might think. And plenty of people are still too afraid of me to mention it." She raised her glass in mock-salute to Shada. "There's a point in your favor."
"Does it bother you? Your reputation?"
The red-haired woman shrugged, absently swirling the liquid still in her glass. "No. Not really. I am all those things you said. Former Imperial. Assassin. They just aren't all I am."
"Wife?" Shada asked lightly, trying to hide the skepticism in her voice.
She gave another mirthless laugh. "You didn't see that one coming, did you?" But the candid expression on her face was gone now, shuttered away behind wariness and mistrust. "But yes. What about it?"
I didn't mean for Shada to come off quite so... naive? If I continue this, I'd like to turn the conversation back on her a little, get to learn a bit more about her. But look, I resisted the Shada/Karrde angle (for now)!