PREGNANCY PONDERINGS
Mara Jade stood on the porch outside the Jedi temple on Yavin watching the sunset. Her back rested against one of the huge cortosis ore pillars. Her hand rested lightly on the distinctive swell of her abdomen. A small smile played about her lips as she pondered the remarkable changes in her life in the last ten years.
She can still remember the first time she had met Luke Skywalker. They had met by chance when he was taken prisoner by Mara’s employer Talon Karrde on Myrkr. She remembers sitting in the chair in his cell, her blaster in her lap watching his sleeping face. Her rage and hatred boiled inside her as she absorbed his boyish, handsome features.
Their three day trek through the forest of Myrkr also stood out in her mind. She can still remember her surprise when she was pinned by a vornskr and Luke used the force to take his lightsaber and kill it. He then calmly handed his weapon back to her. She could not help but think if their positions had been reversed she would have seen this as an opportunity to escape. It was then she became aware of Luke’s strong moral compass and this knowledge made her question her past. It made her question the command she had lived with for so long, the command, ‘You will kill Luke Skywalker.’ For such a big portion of her life she had made this command her credo.
She can remember her shocking moment of terror at the battle for the Katana fleet. She had somehow managed to eject her pilot seat directly into the path of the ion cannon. The effects not only scrambled her communication system but destroyed her life support. She can still remember the tight sensation in her chest as her air ran out and the density of space threatened to crush her. When she woke up in the medical wing of Coruscant it took her only moments to realize there was only one person who could have and would have found her and brought her to safety. The same person she had been threatening to kill for three years.
Now it occurred to her just how many times in that three year period she had the opportunity to end Luke Skywalker’s life. Yet each time she had come close something had stayed her hand. It was not until the battle on Mt. Tantiss that her slaying of the clone Luuke made the command in her head stop. It was only then she had finally realized how neatly the emperor had manipulated her. He had sent her a false image of his death to motivate her to seek revenge on the son of his right hand man. The man who had ended his life after watching him torturing his son. The man who finally chose to be a father rather than a lackey.
Memories of their time on Niruaan brought the warm smile to her lips again. Her original intention on confronting Luke with behavior over the last ten years had been to help a friend. She did not know in the process of the emotional catharsis they both went through during that time that they would realize their true feelings for each other. The man she had vowed to kill had in the end become her husband.
‘Mara,’ a voice called softly behind her.
Mara stood for a moment watching the sun sink below the horizon. ‘Coming’ she replied turning and heading into the temple. Heading into her present and future, now the past was laid to rest.