Fic: Role Models
Role Models
Summary: Han and Leia's reaction on the night of Luke and Mara's wedding. They each remember separate situations with the future newlyweds where they expressed the same concern.
Time: Several hours after the wedding reception and two different flashbacks.
Setting: All on Coruscant but in different locations.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names and settings involving Star Wars characters. They belong to George Lucas and Timothy Zahn.
Author's note: I almost forgot I joined this site. I rediscovered the link and I now have several stories involving our favorite couple or with just Mara herself. This was was a challenge story where we had to come up with a vignette that connects to Union somehow. This is my version. Enjoy and review as you see fit.
Look for future stories from me. Thanks for reading.
“Nothing in the universe looked so wonderful at that moment.”
“What moment?” Han Solo replied to his wife as he was brushing his teeth before finally going to bed. Toothpaste was dripping out of the corner of his mouth as he waited for his wife to answer.
Leia Organa Solo wondered if her husband would ever catch on to her romantic ideals. She replied to him nonchalantly, “Nothing sweetie. You ready for bed? Or rather ready to crash into bed? You must have a keg of Byrillian Ale inside of you.”
Han laughed. “Not anymore, sweetheart. Remember, you don’t buy alcohol. You rent it! Besides, you know I can hold my liquor.” As if to punctuate the sentence, an audible crash of glass on metal sink was heard.
Leia called out automatically, “You all right?”
“I am. My after shave isn’t.”
“Thank the Maker. That stuff was giving me a headache.”
Han appeared out of the refresher in a nightshirt and sleep wear and said, “Good, I’ll remember that when you try your headache excuse again and I’m not wearing it.”
“Fine.” Leia let go of one of the side panels that allowed the view of the Coruscant traffic. Even at three a.m. in the morning the night sparkled with bustling headlights and ads. She went over to their bed and turned down her side of the sheets. Han did the same on his side.
“Did you even know what I was saying out here?”
“I don’t know. Something in the universe hadn’t looked so good at the moment. Is that one of your Alderaanian poets or something?”
“No, Han. I was speaking about my brother and his new bride. Luke. Mara. Those names sound familiar right now?”
“I know them, Princess. Don’t patronize me.” He lifted himself into the bed and drew the covers over him. She did the same but felt a sense of confusion from him.
She turned to him. “What is it, Han?”
He exasperated a sigh. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“Force of habit.”
“Oh, that’s cute. Was that pun intended?”
“No. Come on, spill.”
Han took a moment to gather his words, which gave her hope when Han Solo actually thought about what he was going to say first. “If you were saying that nothing in the universe looked as wonderful as Luke and Mara’s wedding did tonight, would that mean it looked better than ours as well?”
Leia smiled. “Ah, so you were listening.”
“Hey, with all the Jedi surrounding me in this family, listening to my instincts is all I got.”
Leia kissed him on the lips and he returned the favor. She parted from him and whispered, “I said their moment was wonderful. Ours was special.”
“Good answer. Let’s get some sleep.”
Each of them turned their lights off and they lay separately in bed face up. Neither could close their eyes. It was Han who first verbally expressed what they were both thinking.
“You think they’ll make it?”
“Of course.”
“Hon, you have all of your Jedi skills and even I can hear that lie.”
“Because you know me so well, dear.”
“Maybe. We’ve been together for so long that we know each other’s quirks. You think that’ll happen with Luke and Mara?”
“I’m sure of it.”
“Of course, what am I thinking? They both have the Force.”
“That doesn’t always translate into a successful relationship.”
“It certainly helps. Luke could never cheat on her.”
She gave him a slight slap on the arm. “Han! Luke would never do something like that.”
“No, he wouldn’t. He’d be thinking of the consequences if he did. Then he’d be checking his health insurance for coverage on broken bones.”
“Mara’s not that bad. In fact, outside of her lack of traditional wedding procedure knowledge, I believe she will adjust to marriage quicker than my brother.”
“Oh, you think so?”
“Sure. Look at what she’s had to go through in the past twenty years. She can adjust quickly to just about any situation.”
“Does that include commitment to one person for better or for worse?”
“Well, she was committed to the Emperor and Karrde for even longer.”
“Not the same in either case. I mean romantically involved. And, no, Lando doesn’t count. Maybe she’ll have a hard time adjusting to a new life.”
Leia sat up in the semi-darkness on her elbow and eyed her husband. “What do you know that you’re keeping from me?”
Han gave his I’m-Caught look and mentioned, “Nothing. I just spoke to Mara a few weeks ago and she confided in me.”
“When has Mara Jade ever confided in anyone besides Jedi Masters?”
“Well...we were alone-”
“You were alone with Mara?”
“Well, no. Not quite. Look...I’m not sure Mara would want this repeated.”
“Another great thing about being a Skywalker is that we can keep secrets very well.”
“It’s a long story. I thought you were tired.”
“Oh, you have my full attention, now.”
Knowing he couldn’t escape the clutches of his own wife, Han gave up and started retelling his encounter with Mara Jade. “You remember about two weeks ago when I had to see Wes Jansen at Wraith Squadron about those fluctuations we were getting in the shield generator?” Leia nodded. “Well, his office is next to the blasting range . So, after I talked to him and got the data I needed, I walk out, and who is shooting in one of the stalls but Mara Jade.”
“Mara was in the practice range?”
“Which is what I thought. Last thing she would need is practice at shooting. I guessed she was venting for some reason.”
“So you approached a venting Mara Jade while she was armed.” Leia shook her head and remarked, “Once again you dance on the line of bravery and stupidity.”
Han ignored her and went on. “So, I approach her from behind and I see her hardware she’s got.”
“Her what?”
“Guns! Guns, dear. She had some sweet artillery. Advanced repeaters. A Quasui mini canon. She was firing with the new BlasTech DL-75 Enforcer. Those things have a firing rate of-”
“Can we skip the weapons training for now? What did you say to her?”
“Ok. I came up to her silently, see...”
Wraith Squadron Headquarters - Blasting Range - Approximately two weeks prior
“Do you have a good view from behind, Solo, or do you need me to move over a bit?”
Han was impressed that Mara Jade could keep firing facing straight ahead yet still detect and identify someone sneaking up to her. “No, I was just admiring.”
She finished her current round and gave him a wry backwards glance. “Hope that means my shooting.”
“Hey, that’s an insult.”
“Take it anyway you want. What are you doing here?” She loaded another round.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
She nodded her head slightly and replied, “I’m doing exactly what it looks like.” She proceeded to fire several shots at the target.
He moved closer and made notice where all her shots went. The shots landed on the human-shaped target with a yellow fluorescent color due to special gas magazines used for practice shooting so that the shots can be seen better. All of Mara’s shots were grouped together centered on the target’s head.
Han gasped and said, “What it looks like is you may need a picture of Luke up there.”
She chuckled and asked, “You think I’m taking out my stress on Luke? You really don’t know me well, do you?”
“As I understand it, getting to know you is a hard thing to do.” To change the subject, he exclaimed, “Hey, is that the new Enforcer?”
“It is.”
“How did you get a hold of one? It’s not even on the market yet. New Republic can’t get a prototype for another month.”
“I still have certain advantages through Karrde. Is that why you’re here? To talk weapons?”
Han scoffed. “Now I see why Luke needs the Force to handle you.”
“Sorry. Old habits die hard. For the record, Luke is trying to help me out of them.”
“I’d say he has his work cut out for him.”
“Maybe he does.” She depressed the button that cleared the gas smears of her previous hits. She loaded another round and was just about to shoot again when she noted, “You never mentioned why you’re here. You’re never here near Wraith headquarters. You think they’re too brutal even for you.”
Han fought the urge to show his frustration at someone who could read him with the Almighty Force. Instead, he coldly replied, “I was seeing a friend about a security matter. Wes, if you want to know.”
Mara sighed, “I don’t.” Her tone changed from stoic to apologetic in that one sentence and even Han Solo caught it.
“Are you all right?”
“Something tells you I’m not?”
“I don’t know. I’m just getting a bad vibe from you.”
“Most people do.”
“Except Luke.”
She grinned widely. “You got me there.” She was about to fire again but Han stopped her.
“Would you mind...if I try that out?”
She shrugged. “Sure.” She started to give the weapon to him when she added, “Be careful of the new trigger mechanism. This isn’t your old 44.”
He took the weapon in hand and was in awe. “I see that. It’s lighter.” He lifted it up as if to fire. “Sight line is straighter, too. What’s the rate of fire?”
“ROF is sixty-fifteen,” she quoted.
Han whistled. “Sixty rounds in fifteen seconds. You could cut down a whole squadron with one shot.”
“Pretty much. I haven’t battle tested it yet.”
“Something tells me you’ll get your chance. What do you have this range on?”
“Forty. I felt like blasting at a short range.”
“Forty meters? The Falcon’s longer than that.” He searched the stall’s control console and depressed a button. “We can do better than that.” Instantly, the target was moving backward. He stopped it after a few moments and said, “There. That’s more like it.”
She eyed the range display. “Seventy. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah? Then watch this, sweetheart.” He fired a shot that sent multiple shots in the same direction. He pressed the opposite button to bring the target closer. Once his shots were in sight, he put on the ever famous Solo lop-sided grin and boasted, “Check that out.” The yellowish color of his shots were grouped in the center of the target’s chest.
“Not bad.”
“And they say I’m getting old.”
“We all are really.”
“I see what you mean by the trigger. More touchy.”
“It can go much father than seventy as well.”
“Farther? Anything over eighty with a hand blaster will affect the aim.”
“Not with this.” She went for the weapon in his hand and he surrendered it to her. She took over the main position for shooting and set the target back without erasing Han’s shots. The target kept going back further and further and she finally stopped it.
Han looked at the range and his eyes went wide. “A hundred and twenty meters? You’d need a Karpaki sniper to make that shot.”
Without a word, Mara took slow aim towards the far away target. And she waited. She paused so long that Han thought she was just focusing her aim at that range. Then she lowered the weapon and hung it at her side with a look of defeat.
“What’s wrong?” Han asked.
“I’m not ready,” she muttered.
“What? That thing charges twice as fast as my DL-44.”
She slumped against the transparisteel of the stall’s inner wall. “I wasn’t talking about the gun.” She looked up at him with concerned bright green eyes and then Han knew.
“Oh. You’re talking about something coming up in two weeks.”
She paused before acknowledging his assumption by asking, “What was it like going from smuggler to Rebel General in a heartbeat?”
He answered wryly, “Probably won’t be as smooth as going from Emperor’s Hand to smuggler to the wife of the Jedi Master.”
“Great. Let’s add to the pressure, why don’t we?”
“Sorry. Humor is just the way I handle stress. Don’t tell me the tough Mara Jade is getting cold feet.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m letting your wife handle the details of the wedding. She seems to be in her element. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to set up plans for a wedding. Yet I can plan an attack on a high-security compound without being detected once.” She looked down at the weapon in her hand and then to the rest of her arsenal on the bench. “This stuff won’t be me anymore after two weeks.”
“Nonsense. You’ll still be you. If you weren’t then Luke wouldn’t be so much in love with you. But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”
She sniffed. “Are you sure you’re not Force sensitive?”
Han gave a crooked smile. “I’m probably absorbing it through all my family and friends.”
“Well, you’re right. I’ve been so loyal to different people over the years. I was blindly loyal to Palpatine. I was loyal to Karrde out of necessity. Now, with Luke...”
“It’s a different kind of loyalty,” Han finished.
“Something like that. It’s the only loyalty in my life that I actually want to be part of.”
Han reflected, “Love can change your whole outlook, let me tell you.”
She nodded. “I have no doubt that Luke and I will be happy. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it took so long for us to be ready to commit.”
“It took me five years after Endor to finally marry Leia. And that was after fighting a Hapan prince.”
“It took twice that time for Luke and I. And as far as I know, there was no Hapan prince in my way.”
They laughed, but stopped when a Wraith officer suddenly came up to them and gruffly barked, “Are you two going to shoot or just talk? We’ve got people waiting for-oh! Ms. Jade. Captain Solo. I...I’m sorry. Didn’t know you two were here.”
Han quipped, “We kind of like our obscurity.”
The officer gulped. “No problem. Carry on.” He stumbled away.
Han dead-panned, “That was a moment.”
Mara started laughing. “Just think, in two weeks he’ll have to call me Mrs. Skywalker.”
Han smiled and nodded with a spark of recognition.
“What?” she sneered.
“I think I got the gist of what you’re worried about.”
“Do tell,” she beckoned.
“You’re not afraid of love or commitment. Or even the wedding itself. You’re afraid of becoming someone you won’t recognize after the wedding.”
She sighed in defeat. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to someone who’s already been through it. Honey, if the Smuggler Han Solo ever met the Husband Han Solo, the Smuggler would laugh his ass off.”
“So, how do you say goodbye to an old life?”
“You don’t. Whoever you were in your past makes up who you are in the present. Think of it like a series of threads. Put all the threads together and it makes a piece if fabric. Take away an old thread and the fabric comes apart.” He allowed that to sink in for a moment and then stated, “Which leaves us with one question.”
“What?”
“Can Engaged Mara Jade hit that target from this distance as well as Emperor’s Hand Mara Jade?”
Without a word, she raised the blaster casually to start shooting at the target seemingly with no sense of aim. She kept firing several single shots instead of multiple action ones at the same time. After several minutes, she finished shooting and she depressed the button to bring the target closer. Once it reached eyesight, Han’s eyes bulged.
Surrounding his one shot dead center in the chest, were Mara’s several shots around it. They formed the shape of a heart with his shot as its center.
Han let out a breath and said, “Yes, you can shoot that far.” As if an afterthought, he glanced at his chrono and yelped, “Wow, I have to go. I’m going to be late meeting up with my wife.”
“I have to meet up with Farmboy pretty soon, too.” She paused as she flipped the safety on the gun. “I guess you were right. I did need to vent.” She lifted up the gun. “Except this is the only way Emperor’s Hand Mara knows how to vent.”
“Well, maybe Wife Mara Jade Skywalker will know how to use that to her advantage.” He turned to leave after he said, “See you around, Jade.”
“Thanks, Smuggler.”
He turned to her and walked backwards to correct her. “That’s ex-smuggler.”
Solo Apartment - bedroom - hours after the wedding
Leia asked, “That’s all you said to her?”
“What more would you have me say? A good thing about Mara is that she gets your message with the smallest amount of words.” He looked back at his wife who looked to be in deep thought. “What is it?”
“I just now remembered something several weeks ago with Luke. He was concerned with something similar.”
“How was that brought up?”
“We were going through his closet searching for his old formal wear he used at our wedding. We found something else instead.”
“What?’
“Something that sparked many fond memories. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you."
“Try me.”
Skywalker apartment - approximately three weeks until the wedding
"Luke, what is in that big yellow box way up in the corner?"
Luke came closer to his sister who was deep inside his walk-in closet and looked to what she was indicating. He replied puzzled, "I'm not sure."
"My stars, Luke. When was the last time you were even in this closest, much less cleaned it out?"
"Quite a while. I'm away for so long that I never get a chance." He eyed the yellow box and mentioned, "Now you have me curious". Knowing he couldn't reach up that far without a step ladder, Luke used the Force to nudge the box out of its mooring until he let it drop and catch it.
Leia warned, "Don't let Mara see you do that."
Luke grabbed the box so he could lay it down on his bed where various other boxes full of clothes and nick knacks were lain. He uttered, "That wasn't overuse of the Force. That was called saving my back from excessive pain."
"Which you could heal with the Force."
"Don't go all logical on me now, sis." He stared at the box inquisitively. He noticed that the color was not a true yellow, but an extreme off white from discoloration over the years. Instantly, his memory triggered as to the box's contents. His sister was nagging him to open it and he cringed in embarrassment. Slowly, he slid open the lid and inside was another piece of clothing.
Leia stared at it and let out, "Well, we know you're not wearing this to your wedding. What is this?"
Luke grinned. "I'm surprised you don't recognize it. We met for the first time when I wore this."
Leia's eyes brightened and she stuttered from disbelief. "Is..is this what you wore on the Death Star?"
He grabbed the beige tunic by the shoulders and lifted it up sending small fresh-caps down into the box and on his bed. He stretched it out on the bed and gazed at it. "The very same. I even remember the last time I wore it when I changed into my flight suit before the Battle of Yavin. I never wore it again."
"I never knew you to be this sentimental. Why did you keep it all these years?"
Luke breathed. "It was the last outfit I wore while I was still a citizen of Tatooine. It was also what I was wearing when I decided to become a Jedi." He turned the tunic around to the back and around again. He reflected with a certain amount of sadness that his sister detected, "It's also what I wore when I witnessed the dead bodies of my Aunt and Uncle."
Leia thought to lighten the mood and took her hand to open the front opening of the tunic and said, "I can tell you one thing. You'll never be able to wear this again."
"Not that I'd want to. It's the only thing I have left that I owned on Tatooine. I'm sure you have last keepsakes from Alderaan. Whatever happened to that gown you wore on the Death Star?"
"Oh, the one I wore while I watched my home planet explode before my eyes? I gave it away a long time ago. Guess I'm not as sentimental."
Luke spoke as if he were in another world. Or another time. "I also used to wear this while I helped Uncle Owen with the moisture vaporators."
"Wow, with this thing being in that Tatooine heat and the Death Star's garbage chute, I hope you did wash this before you stored it."
Luke laughed and said, "Of course. I think I put too many fresh-caps in there." Luke gazed more at his old shirt that he wore on his very first adventure and he sank back into time. He muttered almost absent mindedly, "I will never be as innocent as I was when I wore this."
"None of us have the same innocence we had when we were young. Or the same ideals."
"Where did those go?"
"Hidden somewhere inside our children."
"You're speaking for yourself now."
"You've kept your ideals over the years."
"Have I? Will I lose them when I become married?"
"That's nonsense, Luke. And don't even tell me you're having second thoughts."
Luke smiled and he was back to the present. Thinking of Mara. "I have never had less doubt about anything else in my life."
"I know you love her, Luke. Do you trust her?"
"From day one."
"Wait...day one was when she had a gun pointed at you and threatened to kill you. You trusted her then?"
"Especially then. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."
"If you have no doubts about her, then what do you doubt?"
Luke sighed at his sister's excellent intuition. He attempted to put his concern into words.
"I have had many titles to live up to over the years, Among them is hero and Jedi Master; two titles that require much responsibility to maintain. In less than a month, I'm going to have the new title of husband. A title with the greatest amount of pressure."
"Luke, with all of your accomplishments, I think you will be a great husband."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes. But, it's not for me to answer, is it? That's a question for Mara. But don't ask it too quickly. Give it time. She will be loyal to you for sure."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I want to teach her that she doesn't have to be as loyal to me as she was with Palpatine or Karrde. I don't want her making decisions that will harm her in protecting me."
"That would be her decision, wouldn't it? If you don't think so, then you're in the wrong business, my brother. You may as well put this tunic back on and work on those moisture vaporators for a living."
"You know that will never happen. I'm a different person now. Less naive, cocky, and impatient."
"Perhaps. You may have outgrown those, but there's one aspect to Luke Skywalker the Boy and the Jedi Master that is the same. Both have a great thirst for knowledge." She paused and reflected herself. "Did I ever tell you that after our briefing of the Death Star's weakness on Yavin, General Dodonna asked me about you. I told him what I knew then and he said that you will be a great leader someday. I asked him why and he said that you ask questions."
Luke nodded. "And I still do. I don't know everything."
"Good thing, too. Don't know if I can handle you knowing everything...Farmboy."
"That sounds so much more endearing when Mara says it."
"I certainly hope so! If she thinks that we're too intimate for a brother and sister then I can always tell her about our little moment in the Med lab on Hoth."
Luke jerked his head up to bulge his eyes at her, and her eyes did the same at him out of instant regret.
All too quickly, Leia spoke fast, "Well, I have to get going. Two hours with my children would be enough even for a Wookie."
Luke stuffed his old tunic back into the box and slid the lid back on. "Yes, I have to meet Mara for lunch. She’ll want to know how our kiss-our time went in searching for my old suit."
Leia gathered her things together without any semblance of order. "I guess you'll have to break down and buy a new suit. Can't find your old one."
"Nope. I'll go tomorrow."
"Ok. Bye, Luke."
"See you, Leia.
Solo Apartment - bedroom - hours after wedding
"Still embarrassed about that after all these years," Han gloated. "And to think that act was originally to make me jealous."
Leia exclaimed, "I didn't know then!"
"Part of you did."
"Well, I didn't kiss him with that part. Can we change the subject, please?"
"Funny how each of them were concerned by the same things."
"Yes," Leia said with small relief. "They're afraid of losing their identities while they're married. What they don't realize is that their identities will be greater together."
"Tell you what, I'd hate to be an enemy of the Skywalkers and face the both of them."
"Han, this isn't the day to talk about that. It's their honeymoon."
He put his arm under her waist and pulled her towards his chest. "You're right."
"And the answer to your first question...yes, I believe Luke and Mara will make it."
He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Good night, honey."
Leia purred, "Good night, my love."
The Ambassador Hotel - Honeymoon Suite - several hours after the wedding
The newly titled Mara Jade Skywalker stretched her body against the soft sheets of the king-sized bed. Waves of pleasure still hit her at various intervals even after twenty minutes. She purred loudly, "Oh, Luke...you really showed me the Master in Master Jedi tonight!"
Luke Skywalker peered his head around the door of the refresher and mumbled an apparent suggestion.
Mara sighed. "You see, this is what's going to be great about us. I actually understood that even with the toothpaste in your mouth. And the answer is no way. Personally, I can't believe Leia would keep something like that. Especially after she murdered Jabba in it."
Luke disappeared around the corner and reappeared to speak clearly. "You know, I never asked her straight out, but I think she sensed Han's attraction to her when she wore it."
Mara shook her head slightly. “Typical males. Just so you know, I will never ask for it. I’ll let you do that. There, that won’t be awkward, will it?” She smiled deviously as he approached the bed and lifted himself into it beside her.
“Would you believe Leia and I have worse awkward moments than that would be?”
She looked blankly into her new husband’s blues and dead-panned, “Never...tell me.”
“Done. You ready to sleep?”
“Ugh, I was ready to sleep hours ago but something kept me awake.”
“I didn’t hear you complain.”
She smiled and shrugged as he put his arm under her shoulder and brought her close to him. “I figured the trade-off was better. Hey, what time are we getting up,” she looked at the nearest chrono, “this morning?”
“Don’t worry, we can sleep in.”
“Where are we going again?”
He watched her as he felt her presence try to enter his mind. He filled his head with an alternate plan.
“Okay,” she said, “there’s no way we’re going to Dagobah for our honeymoon.”
“Nice try. I told you it’s a surprise.”
“You’re getting too good at that.”
“I had the greatest teacher.”
“Fine. Let’s go to sleep before I teach you about breaking bones that you won’t feel.”
“Good idea.” They turned out their bedside lights with the Force.
Mara muttered, “Not a word about overuse.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
They both cuddled together and were on the verge of sleep when Mara mumbled, “I watched Han and Leia tonight at our reception. Do you think we can ever be as happy as them?”
“I couldn’t say, Mara. The amount of happiness any couple brings themselves is different in each case. We’ll just have our own happiness. And that will be enough.” He kissed her forehead gently as she surrendered to slumber. “I will tell you this, though. Han and Leia are a great inspiration for new couples.
THE END!
Summary: Han and Leia's reaction on the night of Luke and Mara's wedding. They each remember separate situations with the future newlyweds where they expressed the same concern.
Time: Several hours after the wedding reception and two different flashbacks.
Setting: All on Coruscant but in different locations.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names and settings involving Star Wars characters. They belong to George Lucas and Timothy Zahn.
Author's note: I almost forgot I joined this site. I rediscovered the link and I now have several stories involving our favorite couple or with just Mara herself. This was was a challenge story where we had to come up with a vignette that connects to Union somehow. This is my version. Enjoy and review as you see fit.
Look for future stories from me. Thanks for reading.
“Nothing in the universe looked so wonderful at that moment.”
“What moment?” Han Solo replied to his wife as he was brushing his teeth before finally going to bed. Toothpaste was dripping out of the corner of his mouth as he waited for his wife to answer.
Leia Organa Solo wondered if her husband would ever catch on to her romantic ideals. She replied to him nonchalantly, “Nothing sweetie. You ready for bed? Or rather ready to crash into bed? You must have a keg of Byrillian Ale inside of you.”
Han laughed. “Not anymore, sweetheart. Remember, you don’t buy alcohol. You rent it! Besides, you know I can hold my liquor.” As if to punctuate the sentence, an audible crash of glass on metal sink was heard.
Leia called out automatically, “You all right?”
“I am. My after shave isn’t.”
“Thank the Maker. That stuff was giving me a headache.”
Han appeared out of the refresher in a nightshirt and sleep wear and said, “Good, I’ll remember that when you try your headache excuse again and I’m not wearing it.”
“Fine.” Leia let go of one of the side panels that allowed the view of the Coruscant traffic. Even at three a.m. in the morning the night sparkled with bustling headlights and ads. She went over to their bed and turned down her side of the sheets. Han did the same on his side.
“Did you even know what I was saying out here?”
“I don’t know. Something in the universe hadn’t looked so good at the moment. Is that one of your Alderaanian poets or something?”
“No, Han. I was speaking about my brother and his new bride. Luke. Mara. Those names sound familiar right now?”
“I know them, Princess. Don’t patronize me.” He lifted himself into the bed and drew the covers over him. She did the same but felt a sense of confusion from him.
She turned to him. “What is it, Han?”
He exasperated a sigh. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“Force of habit.”
“Oh, that’s cute. Was that pun intended?”
“No. Come on, spill.”
Han took a moment to gather his words, which gave her hope when Han Solo actually thought about what he was going to say first. “If you were saying that nothing in the universe looked as wonderful as Luke and Mara’s wedding did tonight, would that mean it looked better than ours as well?”
Leia smiled. “Ah, so you were listening.”
“Hey, with all the Jedi surrounding me in this family, listening to my instincts is all I got.”
Leia kissed him on the lips and he returned the favor. She parted from him and whispered, “I said their moment was wonderful. Ours was special.”
“Good answer. Let’s get some sleep.”
Each of them turned their lights off and they lay separately in bed face up. Neither could close their eyes. It was Han who first verbally expressed what they were both thinking.
“You think they’ll make it?”
“Of course.”
“Hon, you have all of your Jedi skills and even I can hear that lie.”
“Because you know me so well, dear.”
“Maybe. We’ve been together for so long that we know each other’s quirks. You think that’ll happen with Luke and Mara?”
“I’m sure of it.”
“Of course, what am I thinking? They both have the Force.”
“That doesn’t always translate into a successful relationship.”
“It certainly helps. Luke could never cheat on her.”
She gave him a slight slap on the arm. “Han! Luke would never do something like that.”
“No, he wouldn’t. He’d be thinking of the consequences if he did. Then he’d be checking his health insurance for coverage on broken bones.”
“Mara’s not that bad. In fact, outside of her lack of traditional wedding procedure knowledge, I believe she will adjust to marriage quicker than my brother.”
“Oh, you think so?”
“Sure. Look at what she’s had to go through in the past twenty years. She can adjust quickly to just about any situation.”
“Does that include commitment to one person for better or for worse?”
“Well, she was committed to the Emperor and Karrde for even longer.”
“Not the same in either case. I mean romantically involved. And, no, Lando doesn’t count. Maybe she’ll have a hard time adjusting to a new life.”
Leia sat up in the semi-darkness on her elbow and eyed her husband. “What do you know that you’re keeping from me?”
Han gave his I’m-Caught look and mentioned, “Nothing. I just spoke to Mara a few weeks ago and she confided in me.”
“When has Mara Jade ever confided in anyone besides Jedi Masters?”
“Well...we were alone-”
“You were alone with Mara?”
“Well, no. Not quite. Look...I’m not sure Mara would want this repeated.”
“Another great thing about being a Skywalker is that we can keep secrets very well.”
“It’s a long story. I thought you were tired.”
“Oh, you have my full attention, now.”
Knowing he couldn’t escape the clutches of his own wife, Han gave up and started retelling his encounter with Mara Jade. “You remember about two weeks ago when I had to see Wes Jansen at Wraith Squadron about those fluctuations we were getting in the shield generator?” Leia nodded. “Well, his office is next to the blasting range . So, after I talked to him and got the data I needed, I walk out, and who is shooting in one of the stalls but Mara Jade.”
“Mara was in the practice range?”
“Which is what I thought. Last thing she would need is practice at shooting. I guessed she was venting for some reason.”
“So you approached a venting Mara Jade while she was armed.” Leia shook her head and remarked, “Once again you dance on the line of bravery and stupidity.”
Han ignored her and went on. “So, I approach her from behind and I see her hardware she’s got.”
“Her what?”
“Guns! Guns, dear. She had some sweet artillery. Advanced repeaters. A Quasui mini canon. She was firing with the new BlasTech DL-75 Enforcer. Those things have a firing rate of-”
“Can we skip the weapons training for now? What did you say to her?”
“Ok. I came up to her silently, see...”
Wraith Squadron Headquarters - Blasting Range - Approximately two weeks prior
“Do you have a good view from behind, Solo, or do you need me to move over a bit?”
Han was impressed that Mara Jade could keep firing facing straight ahead yet still detect and identify someone sneaking up to her. “No, I was just admiring.”
She finished her current round and gave him a wry backwards glance. “Hope that means my shooting.”
“Hey, that’s an insult.”
“Take it anyway you want. What are you doing here?” She loaded another round.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
She nodded her head slightly and replied, “I’m doing exactly what it looks like.” She proceeded to fire several shots at the target.
He moved closer and made notice where all her shots went. The shots landed on the human-shaped target with a yellow fluorescent color due to special gas magazines used for practice shooting so that the shots can be seen better. All of Mara’s shots were grouped together centered on the target’s head.
Han gasped and said, “What it looks like is you may need a picture of Luke up there.”
She chuckled and asked, “You think I’m taking out my stress on Luke? You really don’t know me well, do you?”
“As I understand it, getting to know you is a hard thing to do.” To change the subject, he exclaimed, “Hey, is that the new Enforcer?”
“It is.”
“How did you get a hold of one? It’s not even on the market yet. New Republic can’t get a prototype for another month.”
“I still have certain advantages through Karrde. Is that why you’re here? To talk weapons?”
Han scoffed. “Now I see why Luke needs the Force to handle you.”
“Sorry. Old habits die hard. For the record, Luke is trying to help me out of them.”
“I’d say he has his work cut out for him.”
“Maybe he does.” She depressed the button that cleared the gas smears of her previous hits. She loaded another round and was just about to shoot again when she noted, “You never mentioned why you’re here. You’re never here near Wraith headquarters. You think they’re too brutal even for you.”
Han fought the urge to show his frustration at someone who could read him with the Almighty Force. Instead, he coldly replied, “I was seeing a friend about a security matter. Wes, if you want to know.”
Mara sighed, “I don’t.” Her tone changed from stoic to apologetic in that one sentence and even Han Solo caught it.
“Are you all right?”
“Something tells you I’m not?”
“I don’t know. I’m just getting a bad vibe from you.”
“Most people do.”
“Except Luke.”
She grinned widely. “You got me there.” She was about to fire again but Han stopped her.
“Would you mind...if I try that out?”
She shrugged. “Sure.” She started to give the weapon to him when she added, “Be careful of the new trigger mechanism. This isn’t your old 44.”
He took the weapon in hand and was in awe. “I see that. It’s lighter.” He lifted it up as if to fire. “Sight line is straighter, too. What’s the rate of fire?”
“ROF is sixty-fifteen,” she quoted.
Han whistled. “Sixty rounds in fifteen seconds. You could cut down a whole squadron with one shot.”
“Pretty much. I haven’t battle tested it yet.”
“Something tells me you’ll get your chance. What do you have this range on?”
“Forty. I felt like blasting at a short range.”
“Forty meters? The Falcon’s longer than that.” He searched the stall’s control console and depressed a button. “We can do better than that.” Instantly, the target was moving backward. He stopped it after a few moments and said, “There. That’s more like it.”
She eyed the range display. “Seventy. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah? Then watch this, sweetheart.” He fired a shot that sent multiple shots in the same direction. He pressed the opposite button to bring the target closer. Once his shots were in sight, he put on the ever famous Solo lop-sided grin and boasted, “Check that out.” The yellowish color of his shots were grouped in the center of the target’s chest.
“Not bad.”
“And they say I’m getting old.”
“We all are really.”
“I see what you mean by the trigger. More touchy.”
“It can go much father than seventy as well.”
“Farther? Anything over eighty with a hand blaster will affect the aim.”
“Not with this.” She went for the weapon in his hand and he surrendered it to her. She took over the main position for shooting and set the target back without erasing Han’s shots. The target kept going back further and further and she finally stopped it.
Han looked at the range and his eyes went wide. “A hundred and twenty meters? You’d need a Karpaki sniper to make that shot.”
Without a word, Mara took slow aim towards the far away target. And she waited. She paused so long that Han thought she was just focusing her aim at that range. Then she lowered the weapon and hung it at her side with a look of defeat.
“What’s wrong?” Han asked.
“I’m not ready,” she muttered.
“What? That thing charges twice as fast as my DL-44.”
She slumped against the transparisteel of the stall’s inner wall. “I wasn’t talking about the gun.” She looked up at him with concerned bright green eyes and then Han knew.
“Oh. You’re talking about something coming up in two weeks.”
She paused before acknowledging his assumption by asking, “What was it like going from smuggler to Rebel General in a heartbeat?”
He answered wryly, “Probably won’t be as smooth as going from Emperor’s Hand to smuggler to the wife of the Jedi Master.”
“Great. Let’s add to the pressure, why don’t we?”
“Sorry. Humor is just the way I handle stress. Don’t tell me the tough Mara Jade is getting cold feet.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m letting your wife handle the details of the wedding. She seems to be in her element. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to set up plans for a wedding. Yet I can plan an attack on a high-security compound without being detected once.” She looked down at the weapon in her hand and then to the rest of her arsenal on the bench. “This stuff won’t be me anymore after two weeks.”
“Nonsense. You’ll still be you. If you weren’t then Luke wouldn’t be so much in love with you. But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”
She sniffed. “Are you sure you’re not Force sensitive?”
Han gave a crooked smile. “I’m probably absorbing it through all my family and friends.”
“Well, you’re right. I’ve been so loyal to different people over the years. I was blindly loyal to Palpatine. I was loyal to Karrde out of necessity. Now, with Luke...”
“It’s a different kind of loyalty,” Han finished.
“Something like that. It’s the only loyalty in my life that I actually want to be part of.”
Han reflected, “Love can change your whole outlook, let me tell you.”
She nodded. “I have no doubt that Luke and I will be happy. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it took so long for us to be ready to commit.”
“It took me five years after Endor to finally marry Leia. And that was after fighting a Hapan prince.”
“It took twice that time for Luke and I. And as far as I know, there was no Hapan prince in my way.”
They laughed, but stopped when a Wraith officer suddenly came up to them and gruffly barked, “Are you two going to shoot or just talk? We’ve got people waiting for-oh! Ms. Jade. Captain Solo. I...I’m sorry. Didn’t know you two were here.”
Han quipped, “We kind of like our obscurity.”
The officer gulped. “No problem. Carry on.” He stumbled away.
Han dead-panned, “That was a moment.”
Mara started laughing. “Just think, in two weeks he’ll have to call me Mrs. Skywalker.”
Han smiled and nodded with a spark of recognition.
“What?” she sneered.
“I think I got the gist of what you’re worried about.”
“Do tell,” she beckoned.
“You’re not afraid of love or commitment. Or even the wedding itself. You’re afraid of becoming someone you won’t recognize after the wedding.”
She sighed in defeat. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to someone who’s already been through it. Honey, if the Smuggler Han Solo ever met the Husband Han Solo, the Smuggler would laugh his ass off.”
“So, how do you say goodbye to an old life?”
“You don’t. Whoever you were in your past makes up who you are in the present. Think of it like a series of threads. Put all the threads together and it makes a piece if fabric. Take away an old thread and the fabric comes apart.” He allowed that to sink in for a moment and then stated, “Which leaves us with one question.”
“What?”
“Can Engaged Mara Jade hit that target from this distance as well as Emperor’s Hand Mara Jade?”
Without a word, she raised the blaster casually to start shooting at the target seemingly with no sense of aim. She kept firing several single shots instead of multiple action ones at the same time. After several minutes, she finished shooting and she depressed the button to bring the target closer. Once it reached eyesight, Han’s eyes bulged.
Surrounding his one shot dead center in the chest, were Mara’s several shots around it. They formed the shape of a heart with his shot as its center.
Han let out a breath and said, “Yes, you can shoot that far.” As if an afterthought, he glanced at his chrono and yelped, “Wow, I have to go. I’m going to be late meeting up with my wife.”
“I have to meet up with Farmboy pretty soon, too.” She paused as she flipped the safety on the gun. “I guess you were right. I did need to vent.” She lifted up the gun. “Except this is the only way Emperor’s Hand Mara knows how to vent.”
“Well, maybe Wife Mara Jade Skywalker will know how to use that to her advantage.” He turned to leave after he said, “See you around, Jade.”
“Thanks, Smuggler.”
He turned to her and walked backwards to correct her. “That’s ex-smuggler.”
Solo Apartment - bedroom - hours after the wedding
Leia asked, “That’s all you said to her?”
“What more would you have me say? A good thing about Mara is that she gets your message with the smallest amount of words.” He looked back at his wife who looked to be in deep thought. “What is it?”
“I just now remembered something several weeks ago with Luke. He was concerned with something similar.”
“How was that brought up?”
“We were going through his closet searching for his old formal wear he used at our wedding. We found something else instead.”
“What?’
“Something that sparked many fond memories. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you."
“Try me.”
Skywalker apartment - approximately three weeks until the wedding
"Luke, what is in that big yellow box way up in the corner?"
Luke came closer to his sister who was deep inside his walk-in closet and looked to what she was indicating. He replied puzzled, "I'm not sure."
"My stars, Luke. When was the last time you were even in this closest, much less cleaned it out?"
"Quite a while. I'm away for so long that I never get a chance." He eyed the yellow box and mentioned, "Now you have me curious". Knowing he couldn't reach up that far without a step ladder, Luke used the Force to nudge the box out of its mooring until he let it drop and catch it.
Leia warned, "Don't let Mara see you do that."
Luke grabbed the box so he could lay it down on his bed where various other boxes full of clothes and nick knacks were lain. He uttered, "That wasn't overuse of the Force. That was called saving my back from excessive pain."
"Which you could heal with the Force."
"Don't go all logical on me now, sis." He stared at the box inquisitively. He noticed that the color was not a true yellow, but an extreme off white from discoloration over the years. Instantly, his memory triggered as to the box's contents. His sister was nagging him to open it and he cringed in embarrassment. Slowly, he slid open the lid and inside was another piece of clothing.
Leia stared at it and let out, "Well, we know you're not wearing this to your wedding. What is this?"
Luke grinned. "I'm surprised you don't recognize it. We met for the first time when I wore this."
Leia's eyes brightened and she stuttered from disbelief. "Is..is this what you wore on the Death Star?"
He grabbed the beige tunic by the shoulders and lifted it up sending small fresh-caps down into the box and on his bed. He stretched it out on the bed and gazed at it. "The very same. I even remember the last time I wore it when I changed into my flight suit before the Battle of Yavin. I never wore it again."
"I never knew you to be this sentimental. Why did you keep it all these years?"
Luke breathed. "It was the last outfit I wore while I was still a citizen of Tatooine. It was also what I was wearing when I decided to become a Jedi." He turned the tunic around to the back and around again. He reflected with a certain amount of sadness that his sister detected, "It's also what I wore when I witnessed the dead bodies of my Aunt and Uncle."
Leia thought to lighten the mood and took her hand to open the front opening of the tunic and said, "I can tell you one thing. You'll never be able to wear this again."
"Not that I'd want to. It's the only thing I have left that I owned on Tatooine. I'm sure you have last keepsakes from Alderaan. Whatever happened to that gown you wore on the Death Star?"
"Oh, the one I wore while I watched my home planet explode before my eyes? I gave it away a long time ago. Guess I'm not as sentimental."
Luke spoke as if he were in another world. Or another time. "I also used to wear this while I helped Uncle Owen with the moisture vaporators."
"Wow, with this thing being in that Tatooine heat and the Death Star's garbage chute, I hope you did wash this before you stored it."
Luke laughed and said, "Of course. I think I put too many fresh-caps in there." Luke gazed more at his old shirt that he wore on his very first adventure and he sank back into time. He muttered almost absent mindedly, "I will never be as innocent as I was when I wore this."
"None of us have the same innocence we had when we were young. Or the same ideals."
"Where did those go?"
"Hidden somewhere inside our children."
"You're speaking for yourself now."
"You've kept your ideals over the years."
"Have I? Will I lose them when I become married?"
"That's nonsense, Luke. And don't even tell me you're having second thoughts."
Luke smiled and he was back to the present. Thinking of Mara. "I have never had less doubt about anything else in my life."
"I know you love her, Luke. Do you trust her?"
"From day one."
"Wait...day one was when she had a gun pointed at you and threatened to kill you. You trusted her then?"
"Especially then. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."
"If you have no doubts about her, then what do you doubt?"
Luke sighed at his sister's excellent intuition. He attempted to put his concern into words.
"I have had many titles to live up to over the years, Among them is hero and Jedi Master; two titles that require much responsibility to maintain. In less than a month, I'm going to have the new title of husband. A title with the greatest amount of pressure."
"Luke, with all of your accomplishments, I think you will be a great husband."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes. But, it's not for me to answer, is it? That's a question for Mara. But don't ask it too quickly. Give it time. She will be loyal to you for sure."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I want to teach her that she doesn't have to be as loyal to me as she was with Palpatine or Karrde. I don't want her making decisions that will harm her in protecting me."
"That would be her decision, wouldn't it? If you don't think so, then you're in the wrong business, my brother. You may as well put this tunic back on and work on those moisture vaporators for a living."
"You know that will never happen. I'm a different person now. Less naive, cocky, and impatient."
"Perhaps. You may have outgrown those, but there's one aspect to Luke Skywalker the Boy and the Jedi Master that is the same. Both have a great thirst for knowledge." She paused and reflected herself. "Did I ever tell you that after our briefing of the Death Star's weakness on Yavin, General Dodonna asked me about you. I told him what I knew then and he said that you will be a great leader someday. I asked him why and he said that you ask questions."
Luke nodded. "And I still do. I don't know everything."
"Good thing, too. Don't know if I can handle you knowing everything...Farmboy."
"That sounds so much more endearing when Mara says it."
"I certainly hope so! If she thinks that we're too intimate for a brother and sister then I can always tell her about our little moment in the Med lab on Hoth."
Luke jerked his head up to bulge his eyes at her, and her eyes did the same at him out of instant regret.
All too quickly, Leia spoke fast, "Well, I have to get going. Two hours with my children would be enough even for a Wookie."
Luke stuffed his old tunic back into the box and slid the lid back on. "Yes, I have to meet Mara for lunch. She’ll want to know how our kiss-our time went in searching for my old suit."
Leia gathered her things together without any semblance of order. "I guess you'll have to break down and buy a new suit. Can't find your old one."
"Nope. I'll go tomorrow."
"Ok. Bye, Luke."
"See you, Leia.
Solo Apartment - bedroom - hours after wedding
"Still embarrassed about that after all these years," Han gloated. "And to think that act was originally to make me jealous."
Leia exclaimed, "I didn't know then!"
"Part of you did."
"Well, I didn't kiss him with that part. Can we change the subject, please?"
"Funny how each of them were concerned by the same things."
"Yes," Leia said with small relief. "They're afraid of losing their identities while they're married. What they don't realize is that their identities will be greater together."
"Tell you what, I'd hate to be an enemy of the Skywalkers and face the both of them."
"Han, this isn't the day to talk about that. It's their honeymoon."
He put his arm under her waist and pulled her towards his chest. "You're right."
"And the answer to your first question...yes, I believe Luke and Mara will make it."
He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Good night, honey."
Leia purred, "Good night, my love."
The Ambassador Hotel - Honeymoon Suite - several hours after the wedding
The newly titled Mara Jade Skywalker stretched her body against the soft sheets of the king-sized bed. Waves of pleasure still hit her at various intervals even after twenty minutes. She purred loudly, "Oh, Luke...you really showed me the Master in Master Jedi tonight!"
Luke Skywalker peered his head around the door of the refresher and mumbled an apparent suggestion.
Mara sighed. "You see, this is what's going to be great about us. I actually understood that even with the toothpaste in your mouth. And the answer is no way. Personally, I can't believe Leia would keep something like that. Especially after she murdered Jabba in it."
Luke disappeared around the corner and reappeared to speak clearly. "You know, I never asked her straight out, but I think she sensed Han's attraction to her when she wore it."
Mara shook her head slightly. “Typical males. Just so you know, I will never ask for it. I’ll let you do that. There, that won’t be awkward, will it?” She smiled deviously as he approached the bed and lifted himself into it beside her.
“Would you believe Leia and I have worse awkward moments than that would be?”
She looked blankly into her new husband’s blues and dead-panned, “Never...tell me.”
“Done. You ready to sleep?”
“Ugh, I was ready to sleep hours ago but something kept me awake.”
“I didn’t hear you complain.”
She smiled and shrugged as he put his arm under her shoulder and brought her close to him. “I figured the trade-off was better. Hey, what time are we getting up,” she looked at the nearest chrono, “this morning?”
“Don’t worry, we can sleep in.”
“Where are we going again?”
He watched her as he felt her presence try to enter his mind. He filled his head with an alternate plan.
“Okay,” she said, “there’s no way we’re going to Dagobah for our honeymoon.”
“Nice try. I told you it’s a surprise.”
“You’re getting too good at that.”
“I had the greatest teacher.”
“Fine. Let’s go to sleep before I teach you about breaking bones that you won’t feel.”
“Good idea.” They turned out their bedside lights with the Force.
Mara muttered, “Not a word about overuse.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
They both cuddled together and were on the verge of sleep when Mara mumbled, “I watched Han and Leia tonight at our reception. Do you think we can ever be as happy as them?”
“I couldn’t say, Mara. The amount of happiness any couple brings themselves is different in each case. We’ll just have our own happiness. And that will be enough.” He kissed her forehead gently as she surrendered to slumber. “I will tell you this, though. Han and Leia are a great inspiration for new couples.
THE END!