by Angela Jade

Rated - NC-17

e-mail - angela@yavin4.free-online.co.uk - constructive criticism always appreciated

Feel free to post wherever, as long as it’s got this spiel at the top.

Disclaimer - recognisable characters belong to Lucas, Zahn, Stackpole et al. I’m making no money from this.

Story - continues the sequel to my other fanfic, ‘A Vision of Missing Moments’ - Luke and Mara are on honeymoon.

Written November 2000
 
 

Chapter 3 - Endor
 

“The Force is your ally, Mara. Use it.”

They ran through the forest in perfect unison, arms and legs synchronized as they raced along.

“Blast it, Skywalker! I am using it!” Her speech was much more breathless than his. “Now shut up and let me run.”

“If you were truly using the Force, you wouldn’t be out of breath,” he replied. //Somersault//

Mara concentrated for only a moment, putting Force-strength into her leg muscles as she leaped over the huge fallen tree in her path, turned over in mid-air, and landed solidly on the ground again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke mirror her move exactly before they both continued pounding their way through the heavy undergrowth. Splitting her concentration, she focused on slowing her breathing and heart-rate, encouraging her body to make better use of the oxygen it was receiving rather than merely demanding more.

“That’s better.” Luke grinned. He could tell he was beginning to irritate her, a deliberate ploy on his part to test her control and her dedication. “Don’t you just love forests?”

“I preferred Myrkr.”

“Why?” he asked innocently. “Because we couldn’t use the Force?”

“No. Because I had a blaster pointed in your direction.”

“Now, now, Mara. Anger leads to hate, hate leads to...”

“ENOUGH! Stop quoting that damnable Jedi Code at me!”

//Under//

Even as the word reached her brain, Mara was already rolling sideways under the near-horizontal trunk in front of her. She allowed herself a moment of self-satisfaction when she realized she was on her feet and running fractionally before Luke.

“The Code is very important, Mara. It helps us to remember what it is to be a Jedi. It stops us from straying down the dark path.” He grinned again. “Besides, I wasn’t quoting the Code. That goes ‘Peace over Anger, Honor over...’”

Mara let out a loud yell of frustration and sprinted ahead of him. “I swear I’m gonna kill you, Skywalker!”

He laughed then ran faster to catch up. “I’ve heard it all before, Jade. You love me too much to kill me.”

Her smile was malicious. “Fine. I’ll just maim you then.”

Luke clutched at his chest dramatically. “You wound me, my love. Truly...” He was cut off as Mara launched a roundhouse kick at his waist. Grabbing her foot, he twisted her leg, dumping her unceremoniously on the ground. “Had enough yet, Jade?”

“After three days of training?” she growled. “I can take anything you throw at me, Skywalker.” A nearby branch suddenly hurtled towards her; she held out an arm, neatly deflecting it before it even came close.

Luke nodded his approval. “Yup. Looks like you can.” He offered her his hand. “Let’s go back to the Sabre. I’m starving.”

Mara shook her head as she let him help her up. “You’re always starving.” They started running again, at an angle that would take them back towards their ship. “Actually, now that you mention it, I’m kind of hungry myself.”

“I told you before. Using the Force gives you an appetite,” replied Luke.

“You don’t think it might have something to do with the fact that we’ve just been running for four hours solid?”

“Could be.” He glanced at her, smiling. “Is it your turn to cook?”

“Nope. I produced last night’s feast. It must be your turn.”

“I guess it must be,” replied Luke with a grimace. “I don’t suppose you’d like to eat out, would you?” His sidelong glance was full of hope.

Mara leaped high over a tangle of tree-roots before answering. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. We are not, repeat, NOT going to visit the Ewoks. I can’t stand them.”

“I’ve always found them quite friendly.”

“The last time I saw an Ewok, he was pointing a spear at me,” replied Mara.

“What did you do?”

“Shot the end of his spear off, the vicious little brute.” She glared at Luke when she sensed his disapproval. “Hey, at least it wasn’t his head.”

***************

That evening they sat together on a fallen log, staring at their small campfire in companionable silence. The ‘Jade Sabre’ stood at the far side of the clearing, the powerful camo-net thrown over its hull making it near-invisible; absentmindedly, Mara wished they’d brought a smaller net to cover the collapsible shelter they’d decided to sleep in, which shone faintly green as the darkness deepened. She stretched, her muscles objecting to yet another day of physical abuse. “So, Master, how do you think my training is going?”

Luke smiled at her, watching the firelight shadows flickering over her face. “Well, let’s see.” He started counting on his fingers. “You complain whenever I ask you to do anything. You argue about the meaning of the Code at every opportunity. You are continually trying to attack me and dump me on the ground. You contradict almost every statement I make...” He grinned widely at the frown that slowly settled on her face. “You’re probably the best student I’ve ever had.”

Mara snorted in derision. “Yeah, right. Like you wouldn’t prefer one of the little sycophants at the Praxeum.” She paused, sighing a little. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“Yes, it was.” Luke reached out and brushed his hand down her bare forearm, both annoyed at her remark and yet pleased that she’d apologized immediately. “You’re doing fine, Mara. Besides, you’re already a Jedi and you understand the Force better than most. I don’t feel like I’m training a Knight; more like I’m training a teacher.”

Mara stared at the crackling flames, watching them dance towards the star-speckled sky and trying to decide what words she should use to pick her way through this delicate conversation. “I don’t think I’m cut out to be a teacher, Luke.”

His hand slipped comfortably into her hand, his fingers weaving their way through hers. “We learn something from everyone we meet. Therefore, everyone’s a teacher.”

She twisted her head to meet his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to smile. “You know what I mean. I don’t want to teach at the Academy. Not full-time, anyway.”

“I know.” He squeezed her hand gently. “But you’re going to be in contact with Force-sensitives so often, you’ll have to know how to answer their questions. My students, when you’re on Yavin. Leia’s children...”

His unguarded thought had initially sneaked its way into her head without her noticing it. “And our children?” asked Mara, quietly echoing the notion she now found in her brain.

He nodded, unable to speak immediately; his grasp on her hand tightened. At last he found his voice. “I need to know, Mara. Do you want children? I won’t mind if you say that you don’t - it’s you I love, you I want to spend my life with.” Now that he could finally express the anxious thoughts that had frequently raced unbidden through his head, he found the words tumbling over each other. “I mean it - you make me happier than any child ever could. I can’t live without you; I don’t want to live if you’re not here, by my side. But I have to know...”

She lifted her free hand and gently pressed a finger to his lips. “I don’t know about ‘children’, Luke...” The crestfallen look on his face almost broke her heart. “...but maybe we could start with one, and then see how it goes from there.”

It took a long moment for her words to sink into his brain, but finally a smile blossomed on his face. “You mean it?! You’d like a child?”

“Whoa, Skywalker. Not right this minute.” She caressed his face, his innocent smile irresistible, his happiness infectious. “I’d like some time with just the two of us first. Through our bond I know a great deal about you, yet I don’t feel like I truly know you, the you that has become my husband as opposed to the you I first kissed on Nirauan. We’re both different people now...” Her breath left her in a rush as Luke launched himself at her and pulled her into a tight hug; the elation he was projecting brought tears to her eyes.

“Anytime you feel ready, my love,” he whispered, as he slid to his knees in front of her.

Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “I’ll let you know.” Her face clouded slightly. “Although, I have to admit I’m not looking forward to that menstruation thing when I come off the meds. I’ve heard it can be pretty unpleasant.”

Luke slowly raised his face to meet her eyes, his frown reflecting hers as her dark thoughts became his. “Mara,” he whispered, “how long have you been on repress-meds?”

She shrugged hesitantly. “I’m not sure, exactly. Since I was about eight, I think.”

“Oh, Mara.” His arms slipped behind her knees as his head dropped to her lap, his eyes squeezing shut against the tears that threatened to fall at yet another injustice perpetrated upon her.

Absentmindedly she stroked his hair, her gaze drifting off into the distance. “I found out later that he ... umm ... he didn’t want any distractions for me.” Her voice was a whisper, as it often was when she talked of her former master. “No teenage hormones, no mood swings, no monthly ... diversions. By the time he died I was so used to having the shot that it never occurred to me to stop.”

His voice was muffled by her thighs. “Mara, I’m sorry.”

She looked sharply down at him, as if suddenly remembering that he was there. “You’re sorry? For what? Sorry that I missed out on all the pain and inconvenience? I’m not.”

He raised his head and she was surprised to see that his eyes were not full of the pity she’d expected. Instead, they shone with anger. “I’m sorry it took me so long to kill him.”

“Thank you.” She smiled a little hesitantly. “Although I seem to remember you said that Vader killed him, not you.”

“Stop changing the subject. I’m no doctor, but even I know that putting children on repress-meds is dangerous and can cause long-term damage. We should get you checked out at a med center as soon as possible.”

“So that they can take me off the meds and you can impregnate me? No way, Skywalker. I’ll wait,” she said with a shudder.

“Mara, I’ll have the shots, if you want. I’ve had them before.” He gently ran a hand up her thigh. “Until you’re ready to...”

“You’ve taken repress-meds?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do tell.”

He tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it didn’t quite work. “On and off since I set up the Academy.” No need to mention names. “And it was ... umm ... recommended when I flew for the Alliance.”

“Recommended, huh?” She watched him in silence, determined to fight the grin that threatened to split her face. Finally she shook her head. “The Force save us from randy X-Wing jocks.”

“Randy!?!” His mouth opened and closed in indignation. “I was not randy!”

She grabbed a handful of tunic, yanked him close and kissed him soundly, her hand sneaking down his stomach towards his crotch as her tongue stroked his. Her grin was positively feral. “You are now.”

His eyes flickered closed for a moment, before he pulled her tightly to his body and ravaged her mouth with his. Finally he rested his forehead against hers, breathing heavily. “Are you still trying to kill me, Mara?”

“Not unless you want me to.”

“I can think of worse ways to go,” he growled quietly.

“Luke, I...” she paused, gathering her thoughts. “I need you. Tonight.” A shaky breath. “I feel like I’ve faced some demon or monster or something, and I need to feel you, to have you close. I...” His arms were around her once more, as his lips met hers, frantically trying to drive away all her fears, her nightmares, the horrors that had occurred so long ago.

Finally Mara shoved him none too gently down onto the mossy ground and straddled his stomach, tugging impatiently at his tunic as she continued kissing him. “Why can’t you just wander about in nothing but a Jedi robe, Luke,” she muttered. “It would make my life a lot easier.” Eventually the tunic gave way and was flung unceremoniously over her shoulder.

“Umm, Mara...” He paused as her mouth settled on a nipple. “Shouldn’t we at least take this inside the shelter?”

She kissed him, her tongue dipping in gently to meet his. “Why?” She smiled before she continued stripping him. “You’re not afraid of a few bugs, are you?”

His eyes flicked left, then right. “Depends on how big they are.”

Mara laughed as she pulled off her own clothes, before settling back on top of him. “I told you, Luke. I need you. Now. And no bug is going to stop me from having you.” She pinned his arms by his sides as she started nipping gently at his stomach.

Luke felt her strength in the Force increase, and suddenly he was immobilized, his whole body held firmly against the soft ground. He knew he could easily break the Force-bonds, but now his wife had gone down on him and he was abruptly unwilling to free himself. The sensation of leaves and twigs beneath him faded as heat spread throughout his body and his mind spiralled ever upwards. Just as he thought he would explode, Mara was kissing her way back up his body, nuzzling his stomach, nipping at his sides, claiming every centimeter of his skin with her mouth.

“Luke, I...” Her breath left her in a rush as he shattered her bonds and pushed her onto her back, covering her body with his as his mouth settled on one nipple. She moaned as her back arched into his touch.

He trailed kisses across her collar bone and up the smooth skin of her neck. //Mara, let me help you// He pushed apart her unresisting thighs and entered her in one smooth stroke, his head falling onto her shoulder as he shuddered with pleasure. //Please let me help you. To forget...//

“You are helping me, Luke.” Her hands pressed down at the small of his back, pulling him in deeper. “Oh, yes,” she muttered through gritted teeth, “this is definitely helping.”

He lifted his head, his blue eyes meeting her gaze, piercing her soul. “I wish I could wipe out the bad memories.”

Her muscles tightened around him as she kissed him fiercely, not even allowing him the breath to moan. “You are.” Her own breath was coming in ragged gasps as she stretched and writhed beneath him. “I want lots more of these memories...” Her arms squeezed him in a vice-like grip. “...to replace the old ones.” And then she could talk no more as he pushed her higher and higher, his mind caressing hers just as his body worshipped her.

Their gentle cries of ecstasy rang out into the balmy evening air.

***************

“Are you sure about this, Luke?” asked Mara, as she carefully kicked over the remains of their campfire with the toe of her boot. Out of sheer habit, she pulled grass and leaves over the charred spot until it was completely covered.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s just something I want to do while we’re on Endor,” he replied, without meeting her questioning gaze.

“I know you want to visit Vader’s last resting place...”

“Anakin,” he gently corrected her.

“Sorry, Anakin’s last resting place.” She walked over to where he was stuffing supplies into a box and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I just wondered if you really want me along.”

He stiffened at the touch of her hand, then spun round and swept her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. “Oh, Mara, of course I want you there. I think I need you to see it, to share it with me.”

Stroking his hair, she hugged him tightly. “Then of course I’ll come with you.” She lifted his head, kissing his cheek. “I’d be honored.”

“Thank you.” He softly kissed her mouth. “I love you.”

“I know. Now let’s get this mess cleaned up and we can go.”
 

An hour later, they were speeding over the tree-tops in the Jade Sabre, Mara once more in the pilot’s seat. She glanced over at Luke as he stared intently out the forward viewscreen. “When was the last time you came here, Luke?” she asked gently.

“About three years ago.” He shrugged. “I used to visit more often, but I’ve been so busy lately, and there seems to be less and less of his presence there every time I come...”

Mara merely nodded, her lips a thin line.

Luke studied her for a long moment, then leaned across and laid a hand on her thigh. “You never did tell me, Mara.”

“Tell you what?” Her gaze never left the viewscreen.

“You didn’t tell me if you felt the Emperor at all.” He waved a hand towards the sky. “When we first arrived, you flew more than a hundred orbits round Endor. And you wouldn’t tell me if you could sense him or not.”

Mara’s grip on the flight stick tightened until her knuckles shone white. “Maybe I still don’t want to talk about it.” When he didn’t reply, she finally glanced over; he was watching her with the calm serenity that normally drove her crazy.

“I felt nothing,” said Luke, carefully watching her expression. “I just wondered if you did.”

Her expression darkened as she turned back to face forwards. “I ... I don’t know,” she finally admitted, shrugging helplessly. “There was definitely nothing like I felt before, no overpowering sense of evil, of ... him.” She blew out a sigh. “But I still felt ... something. Like someone I couldn’t see was watching me.” Suppressing a shudder at the memory, she automatically slammed up her mental barriers. Something up there had made her feel uneasy and made her danger sense tingle. Something malevolent. The Emperor? Perhaps. Or maybe she was just paranoid, sensing things that didn’t exist. Certainly that would explain why Luke had felt nothing...

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I told you, Skywalker. I didn’t want to discuss it.” The anger in her voice softened only slightly. “I still don’t.” Her gaze settled on the coordinates scrolling slowly across the NavComp. “We’re nearly there. You want to find somewhere I can set down?”

“Okay. Sure.” Recognizing that she’d just signalled the end of their conversation, he returned his concentration to the vista below. Suddenly he stiffened. “There. That’s it. Just land at the edge of the clearing.”

Mara followed his pointing finger, wondering at the certainty in his voice. “Are you positive?”

“Yes. That’s it.”

The ‘Jade Sabre’ swung round in a wide arc before settling down gently at the edge of the glade Luke had indicated. The repulsors were barely deactivated when Luke was pulling off his restraints and heading out of the cockpit; he quickly opened the hatch and walked slowly down the ramp. Mara watched him through the forward viewscreen as she finished the shutdown, then followed him.

She found him a little way from the ship, staring into the middle distance. Slipping a hand into his, she laid a cheek on his shoulder. “It was here?”

He nodded, his lips pressed together. “I brought him down in a shuttle; landed just over there.” He pointed to a small clump of thick-set trees to their right; Mara didn’t ask how he could be so certain, when the landscape was bound to have changed in such a long time. “He was dead by then, of course. Couldn’t survive long without his helmet.” He sniffed and Mara’s hand tightened about his.

“What happened, Luke,” she whispered.

He shrugged, still unable to look at her. “He was so heavy and I felt so weak ... I don’t know how I got him out of the shuttle, let alone on top of the pyre I’d built. But I did. I had to; it was the one thing I could do for him as his son.” Finally he met her gaze, his blue eyes bright. “I was right, Mara, there was good in him. No-one else believed me: Yoda, Obi-Wan, even Leia, when I told her later.” His eyes returned to the scene only he could see; Anakin Skywalker in the guise of Darth Vader, his body being consumed by the flames of a funeral pyre. Finally his lips tilted in a tiny smile and his voice dropped to a barely-audible whisper. “I knew for certain he was good when his robes collapsed and his body disappeared.”

Mara slipped her arm around his waist. “He must have been a wonderful person when he was younger, Luke.”

He frowned at her questioningly. “What makes you say that?”

Her shrug rubbed against him. “Number one, even after what the Emperor must have put him through, after all he’d done in Palpatine’s name, after eighteen years of being in the grip of the Dark Side, Anakin still had good in him. That implies to me that he had a lot of good to start with.”

“And number two?”

Smiling, she cupped his face in her free hand. “He produced you. And you’re the most wonderful person I know.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her forehead lightly. “You’re pretty terrific yourself.”

They stood in silence, the sounds of the forest drifting over them as they contemplated the peaceful little clearing.
 

Mara figured they’d only been standing there for twenty minutes or so; she was surprised to see more than an hour had passed, according to the Sabre’s chronometer. Flipping the switches that would bring the repulsors and sublight engine online, she was pleased to see Luke happily engrossed in the NavComp; she had been a little worried that visiting this place would sink him into a depression. She dropped into the pilot’s chair, grinning. “So, where’s the next stop on the Skywalker Mystery Tour, then?”

“I have no idea,” he replied, tilting the tiny monitor round so she could see it. “Where would you like to go?”

Mara studied the small cluster of systems displayed on the map. “We could visit Hoth. I haven’t been skiing in quite a while...” Her teasing was cut short by Luke’s glare. “Okay, maybe not. How about Bespin?”

“Why Bespin?” queried Luke.

“Why not? I’d just like to get back to somewhere civilized, that doesn’t have all this...” She looked out of the viewport and waved her hand disdainfully. “...nature.”

He smiled at her, shaking his head. “Fine. Bespin it is. Cloud City has some pretty fancy hotels these days, I believe.”

Mara nodded enthusiastically. “And the nightclubs, casinos, and theaters aren’t too bad, either.” She brought the repulsors up and the sleek craft drifted sedately into the air as Luke programmed in their next stop. “Better bring up the scanners, too. Just in case.”

“Already done.”

“Jump in twelve minutes,” said Mara, watching her instruments carefully. “Let’s all wave bye-bye to Endor. At least it was a nice relaxing visit this time, unlike some other...”

Suddenly a strong blue pulse of light sizzled past the viewport, causing Mara to jump and swerve the craft in a tight loop. “What in blazes was that?!”

Luke’s face was tight as he slapped the shields to full-strength and checked the setting on the Sabre’s lasers. “It wasn’t friendly, that’s for sure. Ion cannon. Ground-based, I think.”

“Ground-based? On Endor?” Mara kept the ship dancing and jinking even as she tried to figure out where the shot came from. Another shot leapt up from the trees, missing them by over a kilometer. “Who the hell is down there, apart from the Ewoks?”

“No-one, as far as I know,” replied Luke. “The NR promised not to colonize the place.” Another bolt, farther away.

“Try to hit my ship with an ion cannon, would they,” growled Mara, bringing them round to face where her instincts and her instruments told her the weapon was. “I’ll show them...”

“Mara, don’t.” Luke’s voice was quiet as he placed a hand gently on her knee. “They’re rotten shots; they’ll never hit us.”

Sure enough, another blast headed into the stratosphere, not even coming close.

Mara took a deep, calming breath, clearing her mind until she could see the reality of the situation, unclouded by her anger. “There is no-one else down there, is there. Someone’s gone and armed the Ewoks.”

“Sure looks like it,” replied Luke. “I just can’t figure out why they’d do it...”

His eyes met Mara’s as the same thought speared their brains. //Diversion//

Mara pulled the Sabre into a stomach-churning course-change, skimming at high speed over the Endor tree-tops, while Luke quickly cycled the scanners through their pre-programmed ground and atmosphere checks.

Mara felt Luke’s tension through the Force fractionally before she heard his breath hiss between his teeth. “What is it?”

“Looks like that weird-looking fighter we picked up over Bakura. It’s right behind us; twenty klicks and closing fast.”

Mara risked a quick glance at him, before returning her concentration to the instrument panel. “You want to fight or run?”

“Run. NavComp’s programmed. Just get us far enough out of the gravity well and then...”

“I CAN fly, Skywalker,” she retorted, yanking angrily on the stick to take them soaring towards the outer edge of the atmosphere.

“Sorry.” Green laser light splashed over the rear shields and Luke swore softly. “They’re gaining.”

“Not for long.” The Jade Sabre broke free of the little moon’s stifling atmosphere and suddenly accelerated. Mara glanced at the hyperdrive counter. “Keep ‘em off for two minutes.” Revelling in the power of her sublight engines, she pushed the little ship as hard as she could, trying to ignore the lethal laser bolts shooting past her viewscreen. “At least the ion cannon’s stopped.”

“For now.” There was a tautness to Luke’s voice that hadn’t been there previously. “Shields down to 83 percent.”

“What?!” exclaimed Mara incredulously. “From one hit?! I thought you said the shields on this thing were good?”

“They are,” replied Luke grimly. “I got them from Karrde.” He armed the lasers, his jaw hardening as he prepared to return fire. “This guy’s obviously got some serious firepower onboard.”

Another shot rocked the entire ship. “Shields at 64 percent,” reported Luke. His hand gripped the rear quad-laser control and squeezed the fire button. A cycle of deadly red laser bolts spat towards the craft on their tail, dissipating as they reached its shields.

“Hold on, here we go,” said Mara, and pushed the hyperdrive lever forwards, blowing out a sigh as the stars blurred around them. She rubbed her fingers over her eyes, then raked them through her hair before swivelling her seat to face her husband.

He was looking slightly the worse for wear, his face flushed and his hair straggling over his forehead. “What do you think that was all about?” he finally asked.

She slumped in her seat, her neck tilting backwards until she was staring at the ceiling. “Don’t know. Someone who wants one or both of us dead, I guess.”

“That sure narrows it down.”

“Not funny any more, Skywalker.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know who it was, Mara. My best bet is that one of Fel’s goons managed to follow us to Bakura and then Endor.”

“It didn’t look like a Chiss ship,” replied Mara, watching him carefully. “You didn’t get any reading on the pilot?”

Luke shook his head, dislodging more hair into his eyes. “Didn’t have time. And just because we didn’t recognize the ship as Chiss, doesn’t mean a thing. We don’t know enough about their technology to say exactly what they’ve got, but it definitely had those TIE-style wings.”

“I’m not convinced; lots of ships have Imperial designs, especially those built recently, although...”

Luke caught her somber thought. “What?”

“If whoever-it-is managed to follow us to Endor, what’s stopping them from following us to Bespin?”

“Nothing, I suppose, unless you want to try dropping out of hyperspace early and heading somewhere else.”

“I’d rather not.”

Luke tucked his feet under his chair and swivelled it from side to side, trying to shrug off the feeling that they were flying into more danger. “You think they might try to follow?”

Mara shrugged. “They seem pretty determined. If they’re prepared to give an ion cannon to a bunch of Ewoks, then who knows what they’re capable of.”

“Maybe they’re not responsible for arming the Ewoks.”

“It’s a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” She watched Luke carefully to see what he would suggest.

Finally he stopped moving his chair and met her eyes for a long moment. “Do you want to go back to Coruscant?”

“No.” Her eyes narrowed as her fists clenched in her lap. “It’s going to take a lot more than one fighter to cut short my honeymoon.”

“I’m glad we’re agreed on that point, at least,” replied Luke.

“We should go over the scanner data, to see if we can figure out who or what it is,” said Mara, her eyes drifting over the instrument panel as she slowly started to relax. “And make sure the shields and weapons are optimal.”

Luke nodded and tried to smile reassuringly. “Cloud City’s got some pretty powerful defenses these days. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Fine. Sure.” A smile finally broke through Mara’s frown as she shook her head. “I just love being married to an optimist.”