[Star Wars] "Chance Meeting"
Title: "Chance Meeting"
Author: shuriken7
Fandom: Star Wars Expanded Universe
Characters: Luke Skywalker/Mara Jade
Word Count: 1,157
A/N: Written for mandyloo for her donation at help_Japan.
Summary: Mara is enjoying her time on Coruscant until she is interrupted by a certain Jedi. Set around the Jedi Academy era.
*****
Mara walked the streets of Coruscant, she was in between missions and enjoyed wandering around, seeing people do domestic things she knew she would never do. She would pass by families walking by, parents’ faces alight with pride and the child’s glowing with joy. Elderly couples would walk along, hand in hand, as they had been doing for decades, passing by boutiques that were constantly changing in the mega-city. Students hurried by late for classes at the University and office workers headed to lunch meetings and other business. She would walk the different levels watching as the people changed, their activities matching their status in life. On the upper levels, young women from rich families would flirt with up and coming business men, a few levels down people would be working their way through an hourly wage life, towards the bottom people would be fighting to merely survive. It was refreshing to see the levels of society, the levels she had infiltrated at one time or another.
She walked into a small cafe on one of the lower, less affluent levels. It was filled with the types of shady characters she actually felt more comfortable around than the high-strung, political, do-gooding types she had been forced to associate with lately. She chose a booth in the back corner, placing her back to the wall so she could keep an eye on the patrons as they entered and exited. Old habits died hard. Not long after she sat down a waiter came to take her order, she simply ordered a cup of caf. He returned a few minutes later with the steaming beverage. She inhaled the smell of it, this was proper caf, not that frilly stuff that always came out of the fancy caf dispensers on the upper levels. She sipped her drink and listened out of habit, searching for any intel that could be used to her advantage. Most of the conversations were small talk or about petty disagreements, nothing exciting nor useful. The door chime rang every time someone would enter or exit, creating a backdrop to the chatter that filled the cafe.
The chime rang again, the new patron a man with blonde hair. She cursed inwardly and tried to hide herself in the Force. This was a familiar man with blonde hair. Too late, he had already noticed her and was now smiling and making his way over to her booth. It was not long before Luke Skywalker was standing in front of her table, smiling kindly at her.
“May I sit with you?” he asked.
“Do I have a choice?” she replied, Luke had this annoying tendency to stick to her like a burr stuck to the coat of a bantha.
“There is always a choice.”
“It’s too early in the day for you to get all philosophical on me Jedi.”
He shrugged, “I promise I won’t say anything philosophical if you let me sit with you.” Humor trickled off of him through the Force.
“You are a liar, Skywalker.” He smiled that kind, completely infuriating smile again causing her to roll her eyes sarcastically, “Sit down before I change my mind.”
He slid into the booth opposite of her, gesturing to the waiter and then ordering his own cup of caf. Luke wore a tranquil look on his face that tended to annoy her, it was the Jedi Master face. She could tell he was using the Force to scan the cafe, checking threat levels, a habit that had helped him survive.
“So what brings the Jedi Master to such an undignified place?” she asked, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him.
Color rose slightly in his face, “I was looking for you actually. I had heard you were back on planet from Karrde.” She was going to have to kill Karrde, she had specifically told him not to mention anything to Skywalker. She glanced over at him, he wasn’t looking at her, gaze pointedly fixed on a wall across the cafe, a completely innocent look stamped firmly on his face. Suddenly, it sank in.
“Wait a minute! Did you seriously hunt me down with the Force? Are you keeping tabs on me now, or do you do this to all Force-sensitives?” she demanded, feeling the ire rise in her. He turned his blue eyes on her and looked at her, not saying anything for a moment.
“Not really.” Luke took another sip of his caf. Mara couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at him, trying to discover his angle. He really shouldn’t care anything about her, she had tried to kill him in the past and they had only worked together during the Thrawn crisis out of necessity. She admitted he was far more talented than her with the Force, but did he really have to rub it in her face? She leaned back and took a sip of her own caf trying to quell her annoyance before he could sense it.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What is what supposed to mean?”
“You just admitted to the fact that you pursue me specifically.” An action Mara did not completely understand or appreciate. He took another sip of his drink without taking his eyes off of her. She reached out in the Force to try and get a sense of his thoughts. Nothing was revealed by those sky blue eyes or his Force aura. He was damned difficult to read and it only succeeded in annoying her further.
He reached out across the table and put a hand on top of hers. Mara had half a mind to yank her hand back and tell him never to touch her again, but there was something about the feeling of his rough fingers on the back of her hand that she could not pull away from. “You have such potential Mara, I would really like it if you would come to the Academy. I also just enjoy your company.” His face turned slightly red at the last statement. Her heart skipped a beat, what was that about? She slowly pulled her hand out from under his, suddenly nervous in his presence.
“I will think about it, Skywalker. I have to go, I’ve got work for Karrde.” She got up from the table, gathering her things and leaving payment for the caf.
He smiled at her, that endearing, infuriating smile, “Thank you, Mara.”
She left the cafe, wondering what Skywalker really wanted. She knew Karrde was just teasing her when he would joke that she and Skywalker looked good together. There was no way she would ever be interested in that Jedi. Besides, there is no way he would want the former Emperor’s Hand. At any rate though, she decided that she might have to check out his Jedi Academy, just to see the kind of nonsense the do-gooder was putting in people’s heads.
Author: shuriken7
Fandom: Star Wars Expanded Universe
Characters: Luke Skywalker/Mara Jade
Word Count: 1,157
A/N: Written for mandyloo for her donation at help_Japan.
Summary: Mara is enjoying her time on Coruscant until she is interrupted by a certain Jedi. Set around the Jedi Academy era.
*****
Mara walked the streets of Coruscant, she was in between missions and enjoyed wandering around, seeing people do domestic things she knew she would never do. She would pass by families walking by, parents’ faces alight with pride and the child’s glowing with joy. Elderly couples would walk along, hand in hand, as they had been doing for decades, passing by boutiques that were constantly changing in the mega-city. Students hurried by late for classes at the University and office workers headed to lunch meetings and other business. She would walk the different levels watching as the people changed, their activities matching their status in life. On the upper levels, young women from rich families would flirt with up and coming business men, a few levels down people would be working their way through an hourly wage life, towards the bottom people would be fighting to merely survive. It was refreshing to see the levels of society, the levels she had infiltrated at one time or another.
She walked into a small cafe on one of the lower, less affluent levels. It was filled with the types of shady characters she actually felt more comfortable around than the high-strung, political, do-gooding types she had been forced to associate with lately. She chose a booth in the back corner, placing her back to the wall so she could keep an eye on the patrons as they entered and exited. Old habits died hard. Not long after she sat down a waiter came to take her order, she simply ordered a cup of caf. He returned a few minutes later with the steaming beverage. She inhaled the smell of it, this was proper caf, not that frilly stuff that always came out of the fancy caf dispensers on the upper levels. She sipped her drink and listened out of habit, searching for any intel that could be used to her advantage. Most of the conversations were small talk or about petty disagreements, nothing exciting nor useful. The door chime rang every time someone would enter or exit, creating a backdrop to the chatter that filled the cafe.
The chime rang again, the new patron a man with blonde hair. She cursed inwardly and tried to hide herself in the Force. This was a familiar man with blonde hair. Too late, he had already noticed her and was now smiling and making his way over to her booth. It was not long before Luke Skywalker was standing in front of her table, smiling kindly at her.
“May I sit with you?” he asked.
“Do I have a choice?” she replied, Luke had this annoying tendency to stick to her like a burr stuck to the coat of a bantha.
“There is always a choice.”
“It’s too early in the day for you to get all philosophical on me Jedi.”
He shrugged, “I promise I won’t say anything philosophical if you let me sit with you.” Humor trickled off of him through the Force.
“You are a liar, Skywalker.” He smiled that kind, completely infuriating smile again causing her to roll her eyes sarcastically, “Sit down before I change my mind.”
He slid into the booth opposite of her, gesturing to the waiter and then ordering his own cup of caf. Luke wore a tranquil look on his face that tended to annoy her, it was the Jedi Master face. She could tell he was using the Force to scan the cafe, checking threat levels, a habit that had helped him survive.
“So what brings the Jedi Master to such an undignified place?” she asked, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him.
Color rose slightly in his face, “I was looking for you actually. I had heard you were back on planet from Karrde.” She was going to have to kill Karrde, she had specifically told him not to mention anything to Skywalker. She glanced over at him, he wasn’t looking at her, gaze pointedly fixed on a wall across the cafe, a completely innocent look stamped firmly on his face. Suddenly, it sank in.
“Wait a minute! Did you seriously hunt me down with the Force? Are you keeping tabs on me now, or do you do this to all Force-sensitives?” she demanded, feeling the ire rise in her. He turned his blue eyes on her and looked at her, not saying anything for a moment.
“Not really.” Luke took another sip of his caf. Mara couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at him, trying to discover his angle. He really shouldn’t care anything about her, she had tried to kill him in the past and they had only worked together during the Thrawn crisis out of necessity. She admitted he was far more talented than her with the Force, but did he really have to rub it in her face? She leaned back and took a sip of her own caf trying to quell her annoyance before he could sense it.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What is what supposed to mean?”
“You just admitted to the fact that you pursue me specifically.” An action Mara did not completely understand or appreciate. He took another sip of his drink without taking his eyes off of her. She reached out in the Force to try and get a sense of his thoughts. Nothing was revealed by those sky blue eyes or his Force aura. He was damned difficult to read and it only succeeded in annoying her further.
He reached out across the table and put a hand on top of hers. Mara had half a mind to yank her hand back and tell him never to touch her again, but there was something about the feeling of his rough fingers on the back of her hand that she could not pull away from. “You have such potential Mara, I would really like it if you would come to the Academy. I also just enjoy your company.” His face turned slightly red at the last statement. Her heart skipped a beat, what was that about? She slowly pulled her hand out from under his, suddenly nervous in his presence.
“I will think about it, Skywalker. I have to go, I’ve got work for Karrde.” She got up from the table, gathering her things and leaving payment for the caf.
He smiled at her, that endearing, infuriating smile, “Thank you, Mara.”
She left the cafe, wondering what Skywalker really wanted. She knew Karrde was just teasing her when he would joke that she and Skywalker looked good together. There was no way she would ever be interested in that Jedi. Besides, there is no way he would want the former Emperor’s Hand. At any rate though, she decided that she might have to check out his Jedi Academy, just to see the kind of nonsense the do-gooder was putting in people’s heads.