In Shadows and Darkness

Chapter 21

Luke stood quietly before the wide viewpanes to the rear of his Ready-room aboard the Peerless, considering, eyes on the massed glow of the Koornacht Cluster. The Peerless and the Dauntless were making a close pass through the Farlax Sector and their military Shipyards on the final leg of their return journey to Coruscant. He'd stretched the Tour of Duty to just over two months and had been considering announcing spot-checks of the shipyards, more from the desire to delay his return to Coruscant than any greater purpose.

But the news he'd just received had changed everything, requiring an editing of his own plans in response, whichever way this turned out. Nathan Hallin was already with him and he was awaiting Reece's arrival, having found a distraction for Mara, needing her gone so that he could discuss this new development immediately; if he were to act upon it, it should be now.

He sighed out his frustration at this; at being forced into these charades. Games within games; plans within plans. Perhaps his father was right; perhaps he had learned too well the lessons his Master taught - because he couldn't quite recognise who were friends and who were foes anymore... couldn't quite recall why that mattered.

More and more he worried at the ease with which he could step back, viewing everyone he knew as just pawns to be played, games within games within games...

Hallin's voice interrupted his bleak thoughts, "Perhaps I've found a new vocation."

"What?" Luke turned to see the slight, dark-haired medic sat comfortably in his chair, pulled up to his desk.

"What do you think- would I make a good starship Captain?" Hallin asked, voice flippant, always looking to lighten the tone.

Luke turned away again, replying only distractedly, "No. And you're not sat at the Captain's desk- I'm Admiral of the Fleet."

"No?" Hallin turned, mock-offence coloring his words, "Please, don't pull any punches on my account; say what you think."

Luke turned back absently, "Your ship is at Coruscant and you're asked to attend to problems in the Bajic Sector; do you take the Corellian Run, Corellian Trade Spine, the Hydian Way or the Rimma Trade Route?"

"That's navigation- I'd have a Navigation Officer for that." Hallin countered smartly.

"What percentage of shield failure would result in tiling of shields becoming ineffective?"

"That's shields; I'd have a... Shield Officer or something for that." he replied gamely.

"In pitch battle, you're in command of five Destroyers; your second-in-command tells you that three enemy craft are forming up in the Secondary Zone to execute the Ackbar Slash manoeuvre- what are your orders?"

"Um..."

"Congratulations- you've just lost your Destroyer along with nine thousand Officers and twenty-seven thousand enlisted men. Probably at least one other ship as well."

Hallin leaned back, casually rearranging the assortment of readers and automemo's on the wide, polished desk, "See? Easy. I'm a natural."

Luke turned away again, aware of what Nathan was doing. "Sadly I know of several Destroyer Captains with just your skill level."

Far more than Wez Reece, Luke considered Nathan Hallin a friend rather than a co-conspirator; someone who had gotten caught up in this because of his choice of acquaintances and who remained ensnarled because he was unwilling to give those same people up, rather than for some greater or more self-serving cause.

Given that, Luke should probably feel guilty about lying to him; certainly he told Nathan the truth far more than Reece... but he still kept his options open - was that wrong?

He was saved from following that thought by a quiet knock on the door as Reece entered.

"Commander?" he prompted, glancing momentarily Nathan, realising that it was clearly something serious.

Luke didn't prevaricate; "The Rebels have a plan underway to assassinate the Emperor."

Reece frowned, "Viable?"

Luke set his head to one side in a near-shrug, allowing the possibility that it might be.

"Do we have details?"

"Apparently they have the Command Override Codes to the Invincible."

Hallin's eyes widened, "How?"

"Bothans- it was part of the original operation when they infiltrated the shipyards for the Dynamic EMP blueprints - though at this point that's irrelevant."

"What are they planning?"

"They were planning to use the codes to override Bridge command and take the Invincible on a unviable intercept course with Coruscant's atmosphere during her inaugural flight when the Emperor will be onboard - break her up under the stress."

Hallin straightened, "Wait a minute, aren't you at that inauguration?" He paused, glancing to Reece in alarm, "Aren't I?"

Luke shook his head, "They can't do that now; there are too many other Ships-of-the-Line in attendance; two Super Star Destroyers and about a dozen Star Destroyers. If they'd had the Dynamic EMP's they were intending to use them to disable all the other ships. As it is, there are at least two ships with sufficient mass to hold the Invincible back from entering the atmosphere on tractor beams, both of which have a percentage of hardened systems now that we know the rebellion gained plans of the DEMP- it's just not a workable plan anymore."

"They'll scale it down." Reece considered, "They can still take control of the ship with the codes, if they think we don't know."

"They intend to seal off the Bridge and blow out the viewpanes; explosive decompression." Luke said, voice casual.

Reece considered, eyes skipping across the desk before him, "Which means you need to be off the Bridge when it happens."

"I intend to be." Luke said simply, turning to Nathan, "And you'll be aboard the Peerless, along with Reece. Only Mara and I will attend."

Hallin raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You're taking Mara?"

"If I take no-one Palpatine will be suspicious and if I take Reece then Palpatine could easily pull the whole plot from his mind if either of us make the slightest slip. Mara doesn't know; she's the logical person to take."

There was a brief silence. It was Reece who asked the question, impassive as ever; "Will she remain on the Bridge?"

Luke had turned away to look out of the viewpane and didn't turn back to answer, the silence hanging heavy, though Hallin couldn't tell whether that was a confirmation, uncertainty or simply a decision not to elucidate. He was always reserved about his relationship with the fiery redhead; so much so that even this would be considered an intrusion and rebuffed.

Reece, who had no interest in The Heirs dealings in this matter other than professional - in terms of its impact on Luke's safety - moved on without further consideration, "Could the Emperor open the Blast Doors if they were locked down?"

"Yes," Luke said at last, his back still to them, "If he knew what they were going to do then he no doubt would. If he didn't... he may allow them to feel momentarily in control, more out of curiosity than anything else- you know how confident he is. Once he realizes, to open two of the three sets of blast-rated Bridge doors would take thirty seconds each - maybe a minute. That may be all the time they need."

"Will the Rebels know that?"

"Probably not - which is why I'm considering telling them."

Another shocked silence took hold, both men turning to Luke where he stood, his back still to them, gazing out at the cluster.

"You're going to help them?" Hallin finally asked.

"I'm considering it." Luke said. "...Opinions?"

"If it's unsuccessful and one of them is caught alive..." Hallin said, making Luke turn just slightly.

"I wasn't intending to comm them and say, 'Excuse me, this is The Heir; I understand you're about to get rid of a big problem for me so I thought I could offer a few pointers...'" Luke stated, dryly. "For one thing I doubt they'd believe anything I told them, and for another, they may well begin to ask how I know what they're doing."

"If you're putting information back to them through a third party then why are you worried?" Reece asked.

"Because I don't want it to be too much of a resounding success. I want it to work, but I need to balance that with how confident it would leave them if it did."

"Because?" Reece prompted. Luke remained initially silent, as if considering.

"Future intentions." He said at last, then, after further consideration, "I need them to think that I'm willing to negotiate with them if I came to power- force them to make a deal with me rather than continue with their hit and fade attacks. I'm not willing to spend years chasing shadows around the Rim Systems... and they're not going to come to the table if they're not hungry."

"You're going to negotiate with them!" Shock was audible in Reece's voice, a rarity for him. Too much so.

"No, I'm going to make them think I'll negotiate with them." He corrected pointedly, "And I'm wondering whether giving them aid now and revealing that it was me at a later date will enhance my credibility- bring them to the table."

"You'd never get them to negotiate." Hallin said at last, "They're too wary of you."

"Mon would have been too wary; Leia Organa might just be amenable."

Which was why he'd been so insistent on removing Mon when he had the chance!

Suddenly threads began to pull together for Hallin, isolated incidents falling into a greater plan. "Which is why you let the smuggler go!" he said of the Corellian onboard the Fury.

"Partly," Luke conceded, "He's close to Organa- she listens to his opinion."

Reece considered this fascinating glimpse of far-reaching plans; The Heir wasn't in the habit of handing out this kind of information without reason. "I doubt anybody else will be quite as open to his opinion."

"They don't need to be; just Organa; I'll approach her first. When she trusts me I'll get her to bring the Chiefs of Staff to a rendezvous - let her think that it was her idea, let her name the rendezvous and any security she requires - and I may bring along a few extra people of my own; just a Destroyer or two. It won't eradicate them completely, but if we can remove enough of their leaders at once it may well throw them into enough turmoil that we can weaken them considerably in the ensuing months- as part of a larger plan."

"Interesting." Reece allowed at last, looking for flaws; it was a loose plan but then this far in advance it would be foolish to believe one could have much more and he was sure Skywalker would elaborate only when he felt it necessary- but it had possibilities if the groundwork was laid well in advance, as The Heir seemed to be doing with his usual attention to detail.

Certainly having some kind of hold over the leader of the rebellion - and The Heir clearly believed he did - was no bad thing.

"So do I help them?" Luke repeated, bringing the conversation round.

Reece brought his mind back to the present problem, "Taking into account what you've said, I can see your dilemma... but I still think it's too much of a risk to get involved at this stage; there are too many variables and I think you know it."

Luke nodded his agreement, "I'm not dismissing it completely though; now that information is available I'll keep a close eye on developments."

"I'm sure it will change closer to the date." Reece agreed, "They say no battle plan survives..." he trailed off, seeing the sudden change in The Heir's eyes-

Luke had turned back to Hallin, "The Bothans."

Hallin frowned, "I'm sorry?"

"Bothans- you asked how they got the codes."

Nathan's frown increased, "You said it was irrelevant."

"I was wrong." Luke said quickly, conceit never a consideration, "If the Bothans who handed over the DEMPs got the information out, then Ollin'yaa surely knew."

"And the Emperor has Ollin'yaa." Hallin finished, of the Bothan Spy Master Luke himself had handed over following the capture of Mon Mothma.

"Which means he may already know." Luke stated, all three men pausing to consider this.

"We need to find out." Reece said at last, voicing Luke's own worry; "If Palpatine already knows, then the best line of action would be to inform him of your knowledge too, without delay."

"Except that he'll want to know how I found out." Luke replied, "And I'm not admitting to Argot"

"He already knows you have an informant in the rebellion headquarters." Hallin reasoned.

Luke ran his fingers back through his unruly hair in consideration, clasping his hands at the nape of his neck. "We need to get the Rebellion to check the codes they have- if they've been disabled or nullified then I'll take this to the Emperor. For now, I think the best course is to sit back and watch. Now that Argot is in the loop, I'll be kept informed."

Reece frowned; "It seems strange that Argot only got this information now."

"Only Madine knew." Luke smiled ironically; "They think they have a spy in their midst. Tag Massa has been charged with keeping a close eye on Solo." He glanced over to Hallin as the medic straightened in realisation, "And yes; that is the other reason I keep letting him go."

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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Luke sat crouched down against the wall on the wide balcony which ran the length of his apartments in the Palace, the humid heat of the balmy summer day still being leached from the pale stone even this late into the evening, warm against his bare feet. His shirt was undone at the collar and cuffs, the muggy breeze ruffling through the openings without cooling him, the hot, humid air twisting his dark hair into loose curls.

He heard a noise from the double-doors beside him and didn't need to turn to know that Hallin had walked out, pausing as he glanced about, then walking to lean companionably against the wall beside him in silence.

The heat rippling from the pale travertine tiles took Luke's mind unstoppably back to the baking deserts of his childhood, leaving him melancholy, as he often was on his return to the Imperial Palace. Strangely, he felt more completely alone here in the Palace, surrounded by people, than at any other time.

He'd been summoned to Court again, as he had been every evening since returning to Coruscant. Another massive room of nervous deference and empty lipservice, fear and fascination in every face. Everyone jostling for position to draw close to a man they didn't even know, lies on their lips and distrustful dread in their minds; they exuded it; like sweat. Terrified to be near someone they knew could kill with a thought, the only thing that could overcome their fear was their greed; their desire for power and position.

Didn't they know- couldn't they understand that he knew this of them, that they made him what they feared. He didn't see their faces anymore, only their lies, and he felt no guilt about using or removing them; they'd do the same to him, given the slightest chance.

And Palpatine, always so amused at Luke's distaste, always playing his own little power games among his own sea of nervous faces....

Were they so different anymore, he and his Master? The thought chilled him; set a tense knot of restless disquiet in his stomach, jaw tightening in revulsion. The heat soothed though; took him far away, and he followed it willingly.

"Do you ever wish you could go home, Hallin?" he asked quietly without looking up.

"Do you?" Hallin asked, sliding down to a crouch on the warm stone beside him.

"No..." Luke said without conviction.

They remained quiet, comfortable in each-others presence without needing to fill the silence, watching the sun slowly sink behind distant buildings, red sky settling out to velvet night.

"I guess... sometimes I wish I could go back to that person though."

"I think you're still more that person that you realise." Hallin assured mildly.

To the edge of Hallin's vison, Luke glanced down in silence, uncomfortable as ever with even this small concession. But then they were seldom made to him, Hallin knew- especially here.

"You grew up on... Tatooine?" he prompted, hoping to draw Luke out- but he politely avoided, as he always did.

"Yes. You?"

Hallin glanced out over the encroaching dusk of the City Planet. "Here- but in Osin Province, close to the equator." He smiled, picking at a pebble embedded in a crack of the pale travertine floor. "See, I like the heat too. I'm not at all taken with this whole winter thing that they have in the Capital- I think it's highly overrated."

Luke smiled, a gentle laugh in his voice, "Yeah, I stayed on some planet in the Hoth system for a while- wasn't impressed."

Hallin frowned, "Hoth System?"

"One viable planet- just. But it's ice, too far from its sun. The surface is feet deep in snow and glaciers. I think the whole time I was there the temperature never rose above minus thirty. The novelty of snow wares off just about the same time as you step off the end of the ship's ramp and realise just how cold minus thirty actually is."

"How long did you stay?" Hallin asked.

"I don't remember." He avoided, unwilling as ever to hand out details. "Too long."

They were silent for a while, but it was a comfortable silence on both parts, Hallin knew; he was privileged to be among the very few trusted even this far.

"Mara's on her way." Hallin said into the silence; the reason he'd come out.

He knew Luke liked a little time to himself before the mindgames of Court and would never normally intrude, but Luke seemed talkative tonight in an open, informal way. Which was why Hallin felt able to ask his next question- that and the fact that nobody else would.

"May I ask- do you trust her?" he turned to study The Heir as he spoke, though Luke's eyes remained on the horizon.

"No. And neither should you."

Hallin frowned, genuinely unsure, "Then why are you with her?"

Luke left just a single hearbeat too long; "With her?"

Nathan remained silent, neither pushing for acknowledgment nor moving the conversation along, giving Luke the time to decide whether to give a little on this one. He stared out in mute silence for so long that Hallin thought he had chosen to ignore the question.

Then he sighed, glancing down, "Because I made a mistake and now I can't back out. She's a liability which I have to..."

Hallin waited, but Luke didn't finish whatever he had begun to say, so he posed another question, "Do you... care for her?"

"I'd be a fool to do that." Luke said.

"Ah but you'd be a member of a very large club, whoever your companion was. I myself have an impressive string of bad decisions under my belt. I'm an honorary lifetime affiliate."

Luke smiled into the growing shadows without looking at him, "I know."

Hallin turned, but Luke didn't offer more, eyes still on the distance, so he sighed, throwing the tiny pebble he'd dug free out before him to skitter across the pale stone. "Are we talking about the present or the past?"

"Present. The past is past." Luke said genially.

"Maybe not completely..." Hallin ventured, keeping his voice light.

When Luke didn't answer, he sighed again, mind brought to his present indiscretion. "It seemed like such a good idea at the time..." He grinned wickedly, "Actually it didn't, but nature is a powerful persuader. It doesn't care who you are or where you are or what your plans. It has its own agenda."

Luke laughed lightly, "And a loud voice." he agreed readily and Nathan smiled, scuffing at the floor with the toe of his impeccably-polished boot.

"I never understand why people always meet in the glasshouse," Luke finally said of Hallin's imminent clandestine rendezvous in one of the massive enclosed glasshouses to the rear of the Monolith roof, more properly named the Winter Gardens. Though he often accompanied Luke, Hallin's presence in Court wasn't actually required, and he'd intended to slip away tonight for a little encounter of his own.

"Because there's a gap in the security grid if you must know." He defended lightly, surprised by Luke's specific knowledge but not minding the intrusion- because it was Luke.

"Have you ever considered that it's there for a reason?" Luke said without turning.

"You're telling me they're watching the glasshouse?" Hallin asked, deadpan.

"Well it is made from glass." Luke shrugged easily, "That should be some kind of clue."

"You can't see in from the outside." Hallin argued lightly, aware that the plexiglass walls were privacy-treated, as all plexiglass was throughout the Palace. Jamming and counter-jamming devices were so prevalent in the Emperor's paranoid little world that light-based, line-of-sight imaging was the only reliable method of watching others, and privacy-treated glass ruled that out.

"No but you can see down through the roof." Luke pointed out easily. "Have you checked all that glass is privacy-treated?"

Able to see the treated glass walls from the outside as he walked by it, it had never occurred to Hallin to check that the roof glass was also privacy-treated; he really wasn't cut out for all this vigilant, guarded living. "So basically my private life is being passed around the Palace on datachips?" Hallin said dryly after a long, considered pause.

"No, nobody knows- yet." Luke assured, "But you might want to rethink your safe spot...." He paused in consideration, then; "If you need somewhere to meet outside the security fields use these rooms... when I'm not here, I hasten to add."

"Thank you," Hallin said, surprised but strangely, not embarrassed- mostly because Luke clearly wasn't. "This is my first clandestine affair." He added with mock seriousness, "I'm still learning the ropes."

"I hope that's not literal." Luke smiled, making Hallin do the same.

"So, what... should I leave a towel hanging over a chair in the hall?" Hallin joked lightly, "Or will you just... know?"

Luke smiled again, shaking his head as he looked down, "Don't even go there...."

Hallin too glanced down, amused, but when he looked up his voice was genuine, "Thank you."

Luke shook it away wordlessly.

"And I think you're changing the subject." Hallin added. When Luke glanced back across at him, Nathan set his head to one side, "Do you care for her?"

Luke hunched down and rubbed at his closed eyes, voice wry and self-effacing, ".....So do I get a membership card in this club, or something?"

Hallin laughed lightly, and they both fell to casual silence again, each considering their predicament.

"So you do trust her then?" Hallin reiterated at last, looking for reassurance.

Luke looked away; wouldn't meet his eye. "No, I don't trust her. She'll... one day she'll betray me, I know that - I just don't know when."

Hallin's voice abruptly sharpened, "You're sure?"

Luke looked down without replying, enough for Hallin to know he was. "Would it be completely foolish of me to ask what you're doing with her then?"

Luke only smiled, speaking quietly and without rancour. "Oh you're one to talk."

"My partner isn't trying to kill me."

"I didn't say she'd try to kill me." Luke said quickly, but Hallin was too concerned to let this drop now.

"You said she'd betray you."

Luke glanced back to the open terrace doors behind Hallin, a subtle warning to lower his tone. The medic hushed to a whisper, though as far as he was aware there was no-one in the room- Clem, the only bodyguard on duty, stood to quiet attention in the long hallway beyond. "Well then how will she betray you?"

Luke sighed, looking out over the metropolis again, hair ruffling over his eyes in the muggy breeze.

"I don't know." He said at last, "You seldom see specifics with future events because they're still in flux, just... twists in the flow; feelings... flashes in the darkness which you can trace back to a person or an event. Not even that sometimes, just..."

He trailed to silence, having no way to describe the inexplicable.

"When?" Hallin pushed, still whispering, but Luke only smiled, amused.

"What would you like- a time of day?"

"How can you be so accurate on something as unimportant my love life as and so vague on something that's possibly life-threatening?"

Luke only turned, amusement in those mismatched eyes at his friend's close concern, "Maybe it's impenetrable for a reason."

"What does that mean?" Hallin asked, then ducked down slightly, realising how loud he'd spoken.

Luke shrugged, setting his head to one side, "Some things you can't see for a reason."

"Now you're just being obscure." Hallin accused, frustration borne out of his sense of protection, Luke knew.

"Some things aren't meant to be changed." Luke clarified. He hesitated a long time, considering, "I once knew a Jedi Master who said that the will of the Force is like the flow of a river; we may change its course from time to time, but it still travels to the sea."

"Very deep. I thought that the Sith had a handle on that kind of thing."

"Maybe not as much as they think." Luke said, making Hallin frown; he always said 'they'; never 'we'.

Hallin considered momentarily, pulling his mind back to the moment. "Perhaps Reece should be aware..."

"No." Luke paused, clearly searching for the right words without wishing to offend, "I trust Reece absolutely in matters of policy. But... I feel he may be a touch less forgiving and a tad more... direct in his view of how to deal with Mara. You-" Luke paused, turning to Nathan, wry expression very open and artless and persuasive, "...I know I can trust a fellow 'club member' to give me the benefit of the doubt in dealing with my own... lapses."

"Am I so predictable?" Hallin smiled, amused at the realisation.

"Only to me." Luke said easily, "And speaking of problems, ours have arrived. And I'm not dressed for Court yet."

He pushed up and set off, walking barefoot past the run of open doors to enter the furthest, which led to his bedroom, disappearing behind the reflective, high security privacy panes of the tall plexiglass doors.

Hallin re-entered the nearest, stepping into the drawing room, surprised that there was still no-one there. Frowning, he set off out through the dining room, pausing to turn to Clem, "Are Commander Jade and Commander Reece back yet?"

The tall, broad security officer glanced to the small reader on his wrist, lifting his sleeve to do so, "Reece stopped at the Staff Office... Commander Jade is in the apartments..."

Hallin turned away and headed out with a nod, intending to go to the staff complex just inside the door to the sprawling Perlemian apartments, wondering idly just how far the corridors and hallways would stretch if he measured them all one day. The massive residence covered a complete floor of the West Tower, each of the thirty or so palatial rooms easily equalling the floorspace of a complete home- and that was the kind Hallin was used to, which was hardly underprivileged.

Learning the names of all the rooms was bad enough, never mind the layout; the Malak Gallery, the Ebony Study, the Marble Hall, the Cupola with its massive stained glass dome, backlit to appear like a skylight, the light changing to match the time of day outside. Luke actually used less than a quarter of the rooms, mostly the smaller ones... though 'smaller' was a relative term; even they were each close to the size of Hallin's complete apartment, which had itself seemed huge when the medic had first arrived.

As everyone did, though no-one admitted to it, Hallin cut through Luke's private office to avoid the long trail through the central cupola of the extensive apartment.

Walking in from the doors at the opposite wall of the sizeable office, obviously using the same shortcut, was Mara Jade.

She glanced to him, nodding and rolling her eyes at having been caught out using this common shortcut. Unable to stop himself, everything that had just been said fresh in his mind, Hallin glowered, coming to a halt.

Mara walked calmly past... then slowed to a halt at the realisation of his glare; after a very rocky start they'd settled into a polite routine, but in the last few months that had seemed to slowly change and she had no idea as to why. As direct as ever though, realizing they were alone and in a room wich Luke routinely moved all surveillance from, she decided to find out.

"Do you have some kind of problem with me, Hallin?" she asked abruptly without turning back, hoping to knock him off-guard.

His eyes narrowed just slightly, though his voice remained very polite, accustomed as he was to the word-games here. "I hate to disappoint you Commander, but I really haven't given it that much thought.

Despite his civilized tone, Mara was speechless at his audacity considering their relative rank. "I think you should say what you have to say," She invited curtly.

To say anything would be a mistake, Hallin knew; it was precisely the wrong thing to do.

But Jade turned slowly toward him, green eyes ablaze, and remembering Luke's recent admission Hallin couldn't hold back, feeling in some way responsible for the present situation; hadn't he asked that she be reinstated after her failure to protect Luke from the assassination attempt? She could have been long gone by now; a distant memory. This was his mistake- he'd kept her here... it was his decision Luke was having to deal with now.

"I'm watching you." He said simply.

Mara frowned, "Watching me what?"

Hallin tilted his head to one side, his eyes hard, expression caustic.

Mara remained, unfazed, "Seriously, Hallin- what do you think I'm going to do? Go Ahead?"

"Please," Hallin said dryly, "You think this gives you some hold over him?"

Mara was shocked at Hallin's implied knowledge. Did he know; had Luke confided in him? He'd always known her interest in Luke; had seemed quite indulgent of it in the past- kindred spirits, it always seemed- so what had changed?

"I'm not looking for any hold over him."

"Liar."

Mara shook her head; "Has it ever occurred to you that I may actually care about him?"

Hallin half-smiled, tone still polite and gracious even if his words were not, "How very generous of you. You put him in direct conflict with the Emperor's wishes, knowing what will happen if he finds out... on the off-chance that you may care for him."

Apparently the gloves were off. Now it was Mara's turn to scorn, "Don't get high-handed with me- I know what you're really thinking."

"I am serving the best interests of my friend. What's your justification?"

"I don't need to justify anything to you."

Hallin played his ace, "And the Emperor?"

Mara's heart skipped a beat at the implied threat - but she recovered impressively, "Don't even try to pull that one, because I know you wouldn't do that to Luke."

The medic said nothing but she could see mistrust boiling behind that cultured, polished manner. He could so easily stop this situation before it had a chance to develop. If she was to continue meeting Luke, then the fact was that she needed Hallin's trust. Mara took a step forward, consciously taking the sting from her voice, "I'd never hurt him, Nathan - you know that."

There was the slightest of pauses, though his cool expression softened not a whit. "Then leave."

"What?"

"Leave. If you want to help him - to protect him - leave. Request another assignment."

Mara shook her head, "I can't do that."

"Ah!... I see." He feigned polite realisation, "You claim genuine concern but when you're asked to relinquish, suddenly it's no longer convenient."

Mara could only shake her head, "I don't know what you think I'm doing, but I promise you I have no intention of ever hurting him."

"You already are."

Mara cracked just slightly beneath the utter conviction in his voice. "You're wrong."

"No, Commander; I'm not wrong. You'll destroy him... and deep down I think you know it - because he does."

Mara twitched, disturbed by his words; even more so by the subtle revelation of their source, having no comeback to that. He turned slowly away, eyes delivering one last warning, and walked from the room. She could only watch him leave, lost in a cloud of uncertainty.

The door had slid quietly closed at the far side of the room before Mara spoke again, very quietly, "You're wrong."

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Hallin had taken several paces past the turn in the corridor before he allowed his composure to slip just slightly, his step faltering though he kept walking, aware that he was in sight of the surveillance lenses now.

Was she telling the truth - did she really care? And did it matter anyway, given Luke's prediction.

What Hallin did know was that Jade was Palpatine's agent; his informer. She was, by definition, Luke's sworn enemy. Whatever else she thought she felt, her true loyalties were clear; she reported to the Emperor every few days, like clockwork. That was her job; it was why she was here. She had informed on Luke's actions in the past, knowing what the severe consequences would be, and yet she claimed that she would never hurt him... how could he believe that she would do any differently now?

Given Luke's admissionn it was surely more likely that she was lying, manipulating him to some pre-arranged plan. And even if she wasn't, there was still a dangerous truth to Hallin's words; she was playing with fire- and she was persuading Luke to do the same.

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Unsettled, Mara made a conscious effort to avoid being alone with Hallin over the coming weeks. His wary enmity didn't seem to wane but she grew used to it; it was after all, just one more obstacle in a whole galaxy of them, and hardly her greatest problem when she and Luke were here at the Palace.

Still, his words had bitten deep- deep enough to make her wonder again at her split loyalties; or were they that at all? She had after all never hidden from Luke the fact that her allegiance lay with the Emperor. The time they spent together was completely separate to that in her mind; a self-contained reality which required no closer scrutiny.

Certainly Luke seemed to consider it the same. Aside from that single, explosive argument onboard the Peerless, by some unspoken pact neither ever mentioned anything of the real world or its demands when they were together. Nothing ever encroached, the realities of their situation never mentioned, either in terms of their reckless liaisons or their split loyalties. Ignorance was bliss, and in the absence of any opposing allusions from Luke, it was all too easy to persuade herself that the loyalties of the man whom she now regarded as very much a kindred spirit would be no different to her own.

Yes, Luke argued and challenged and occasionally even squared off against the Emperor, but he was still here, and even though Palpatine was a master of manipulation, Luke was one of the most obstinate, wilful, intractable people she had ever met, and if he didn't want to be here he would be long gone. Something was holding him here.

The weeks went by excruciatingly slowly when she was here in the Palace now, her mind always drifting back to the relative freedom they enjoyed when safely away aboard the Peerless. Here, there was no closeness save in stolen glances and momentary contact hidden beneath accidental touches as they passed each-other or walked side by side.

But she knew that soon they'd be gone again. The Invincible's launch, the reason they were here, was imminent now. Just two weeks and they'd be free again, taking the new Super Star Destroyer on its shakedown voyage to the shipyards in the Farlax Sector, weeks, perhaps even months of refinement requiring an extended stay free of the stifling surveillance on Coruscant.

So now Mara was counting down the days, wondering if Luke was doing the same. She studied him now as he worked at the table in his drawing room, a number of readers and datachips scattered across it. The table was before the long bank of plexiglass doors which led out onto the balcony, the long spell of muggy weather which Coruscant always endured in the summer making Mara uncomfortable though it never seemed to bother Luke- in fact he seemed to enjoy it, opening all doors and windows to the heat, rendering the air conditioning useless.

Mara was sitting to the rear of the huge room, where it still held some sway, when Reece knocked quietly at the quarter-open door, eyes discreetly down as he entered from the dining room beyond, prompting Mara to wonder if he suspected too - that could be dangerous; he was an agent here reporting to Saté Pestage and therefore the Emperor, just as she was.

"Excuse me, Sir- Lord Vader is in the antechamber to the Stateroom; he... insists an audience."

Luke was already rising as Reece entered, turning off his automemo in preparation, Mara realized, "Did you know he was here?"

He didn't reply, turning instead to Reece, "Thank-you Wez. I'll see him in here."

Reece bowed his head as he retreated, the heavy double-doors sliding silently shut on their smooth mechanism.

"Luke- did you know he was here?" Mara repeated.

"Yes," he said without elucidating.

"Why are you seeing him here?" There were any number of dedicated receiving rooms in his extensive apartments, ranging from the luxurious and welcoming to the cavernous and stately- why would he let Vader of all people into his private rooms?

He turned to her without speaking, the inference clear, but Reece re-entered the room, curtailing further argument on either side, Vader only a step behind him.

"Lord Vader, Sir." Reece announced formally, before bowing and backstepping a neat retreat from the room at a nod from Luke.

Luke remained silent before the hulking form of Darth Vader, as unintimidated as he had always been. When Vader didn't speak, he finally sighed and looked away, as if boring already of an old game, "You have something you wish to say, Lord Vader."

Mara had never in all the time she had been with Luke heard him refer to his father by anything other than his title. Even in private like this, distance was always maintained between them.

Vader remained silent, turning slowly to Mara, who lifted her own chin in defiance; whatever frustrations she felt against Luke were instantly lost beneath her protective instinct for him now, automatically closing ranks before an outside threat.

"Mara?" Luke invited without turning, and she let out a sigh of her own before rising to leave, pausing to turn and bow at the door, holding Luke's eye a moment too long, expression questioning. He nodded imperceptibly and she backstepped, the doors sliding shut before her.

Both men remained silent for long moments, waiting...

Finally, feeling the need to break the silence, Vader spoke, "I came to deliver the final breakdown of the Fleet which will attend the launch of the Invincible."

"Could you not send this by courier?" Luke asked distantly, eyes still on the door.

"No- the information is restricted at the Emperor's command." Vader replied easily, also waiting, filling the gap with mindless words.

"I see. How many Destroyers?"

"Fourteen, excluding the Executor. They will arrive over the next eight days and take up positions about the Polar South Deep Orbit Station..."

Finally Luke turned from the door to look at his father, both men relaxing just slightly. "You've picked them carefully?" His manner changed abruptly as he stepped forward, voice lowering, tone relaxing now that he was sure that Mara had left the adjacent room.

"Yes. Two are already loyal, ten could potentially be persuaded and two are faithful to the Emperor, to belay any suspicion."

Vader had already arranged with his son to begin reassignment of loyal and potentially loyal military supporters, and the pomp and ceremony that accompanied the launch of a new Flagship would enable him to briefly recall many high-ranking officers whom Luke seldom had the opportunity to meet in the Core Systems.

The Invincible's inaugural celebration would be held on the night of the launch in the State Ballroom, a massive venue in which, with a little carefully-laid interference, would enable Luke to make subtle personal petitions and form the foundations of alliances in return for certain guarantees.

It would be difficult to achieve under the noses of Palpatine's spies and the Emperor himself, but the boy had proved surprisingly adept, forming alliances and collaborations in a way which Vader never could, his forthright but not overbearing command style making him popular among the military, seeming approachable and trustworthy even in this.

Now he nodded, taking the small datachip Vader proffered and loading it into a reader on the table, attention centred on memorising names and images as they appeared. He expressed no trepidation at the thought of the task presented to him, simply concentrating, learning names, briefly discussing strategies based on the information provided, throwing out considered snippets as to the individual person's family or background which would have to be taken into account.

He had become so completely naturalised to this environment now, Vader noted, the fact that this would be a reception of hundreds of the galaxy's leading figures in the ostentatious grandeur and outrageous, extravagant excess of the mirror-lined gallery and the cavernous State Ballroom of less relevance than the knowledge that within the mirrors and the crowds, many ears would be listening and few of them innocently.

Luke narrowed his eyes, voicing the opinion that he shouldn't mention Captain Dorrin's potential involvement to Captain Lain, the two Star Destroyer Captains maintaining long-standing enmity due to their respective Family Houses, situated on two planets within the Stenness Node and held from all-out war only by the presence of the Empire within their system, citing a constant undercurrent of bickering and rivalries between the two Houses within Court.

Vader nodded silent agreement in this and other points, aware for the first time how much the Emperor had been quietly grooming the boy for Command- forcing him to deal with constant obstructions and hindrances; to look for other means, other methods and manoeuvres. To learn all these subtle ploys and traps simply so that he could avoid or dismiss them- but to learn them all the same, now equally at home with both the driving ambitions and broad powerplays of the military elite or the elaborate scheming and subtle, petty machinations of Court, where Vader had always been uneasy.

When Luke was satisfied that he had a working knowledge of the information, he flicked slowly through the images one last time, then blanked datachip's memory, returning it to his father.

"We should bring this to a close; you've been here some time."

He chose not to mention the planned attack on the Invincible to his father, seeing no specific benefit in doing so. Firstly because he knew his father would automatically resent allowing the Rebels to make this attempt on Imperial sovereignty and Luke didn't particularly want to be placed in a situation in which he was forced to defend the Rebellion as a consequence of that, knowing that his father would believe Luke's loyalties to be split, and secondly because he didn't need his father's aid or input in this. Vader would have his own view and it would be strongly held and much as he wanted to, Luke didn't believe his father could be trusted not to take this to Palpatine simply to head off Luke's interaction with the Rebels.

Beside, his decision was made even if, as in this case, it was simply that the best course of action was to wait and see; this was a rare occasion when it was more advantageous to be reactive than proactive.

Vader held his son's eye momentarily, aware that there was something more but believing it simply his anticipation of the task in hand, then nodded, taking the blank chip and concealing it in the folds of his clothes, reaching out beyond the room with the Force-

"She is growing suspicious." He said, voice very sure- but then it always was.

"Only of this, today."

Vader sighed, and Luke braced himself, waiting for the criticism which, despite everything, he had known would come. It was dispensed in an unexpected form; "A short recording came into my hands a month ago from a dealer on Bilbringi. I bought and destroyed it."

Luke remained silent, eyes wary, hardly noticing the rasping breath of the life-support that his father wore anymore, so familiar-a sound had it become. Vader continued after a long pause, sure that he had the boy's attention now. "It showed you stepping off from the edge of the balcony behind you. Mara Jade caught you."

Luke considered a long time, eyes down, and Vader was left to wonder if he was deciding whether to tell the truth or whether to tell him anything at all.

"I was testing a theory." Luke allowed at last without meeting his father's featureless gaze.

Vader set his head to one side, "That being?" he prompted, when the boy offered nothing more.

Luke shrugged casually, "Just a theory." he avoided.

"With Jade, apparently." Vader growled, his distaste evident.

His son looked up at this, a warning flashing momentarily in his mismatched eyes, then he turned away to the tall windows to watch the darkening, storm-heavy sky.

Vader remained still, frustrated as much at his own stubbornness as his son's- so when the boy spoke his words were surprising.

"Say it." Luke finally invited, knowing this was something his father wished to address.

"You will do as you wish regardless." Vader said, very sure.

"Yes." Luke replied, half-turning back to his father, "But I'll take what you have to say under advisement."

"She is dangerous." Vader didn't hesitate- he seldom did anyway and in this he was very sure; "She will always remain loyal to the Emperor and cannot be trusted... theoretical tests aside."

Luke tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement, "I know - and I wasn't testing that."

He offered nothing more as he turned back to the brewing storm.

Vader tried a different tack, "Palpatine is using her to control you."

"I know that too." his son replied, "I'm not blind."

"But you are allowing it." Vader warned; it was tantamount to the same thing- worse, because the boy allowed it knowingly; willingly.

Luke folded his arms, but when he spoke, his tone remained open, "Give me an option- a viable one."

Vader didn't hesitate, "Remove her."

"And then what?"

Wasn't that obvious? "That problem will also be removed."

Luke turned, tone and sense resolute. "Then she'll be replaced and I'll have to learn the operating procedures of another 'watcher'. Discover a whole new set of strengths and weaknesses and habits- four years of familiarity and knowledge wasted. No- better the devil you know."

"You're allowing her too close." Vader maintained.

His son shrugged, "I can control her. She believes she's close and she passes that confidence on to Palpatine."

"You think you can control her," Vader corrected, "You have no proof. She will always be loyal to the Emperor."

"I know. But whilst she's close to me I can control exactly what information she is and isn't party to so I know exactly what information she's passing on to the Emperor- what he's reacting to and why. He trusts her implicitly- which is a weakness on his part."

"And you?" Vader asked

"I don't trust her at all." Luke said, wondering how much his father really knew and how much was his own guilty conscience.

"That is not what I asked."

Luke turned to his father, wary. Because no matter what he said out loud, if Vader thought Luke and Mara were too close, he feared he'd find some way to remove her. "She's not a weakness because I won't allow her to be. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"See that you don't." Vader charged, tone little short of a command.

Luke's eyes narrowed at that, offended as much on Mara' behalf as his own, "Don't order me."

"Don't leave yourself open to criticism." Vader reproached.

"You of all people should think carefully before saying that."

The words had left his mouth before he'd even considered them, goaded by his father's self-righteous tone. Even now, knowing the damage they'd done, Luke couldn't back down because he knew his father too well to think that his silence now constituted any kind of agreement. "And just to be clear- if something were to happen to Mara Jade, all deals would be off the table- understand that."

It was, Luke knew, an admission of at least partial vulnerability on his part, but it had to be said otherwise his father would move against her based solely on what had already been said. "Mara jade isn't your concern."

"No- but you are." His father parried without hesitation.

Was it a manipulation or was it real? His father remained a closed book to Luke, his true intent hidden. He wanted to believe that Vader's words were were spoken out of genuine concern, but he knew him too well; it was at least partly a protection of his investment. Vader still believed absolutely that he knew what was best for Luke, and in typical heavy-handed fashion, would do whatever he conceived of as necessary to keep his son, and therefore his investment, on track. There was no contradiction; they were one and the same to him.

Luke turned away, uneasy, never knowing quite how to react to such asides from his father. "I can look after myself."

"You'll forgive me," his father said dryly, "If I don't take that under advisement."

.

.

Mara stepped out to watch Vader pass on hearing his heavy footfalls in the corridor beyond the heavy double-doors of Luke's day office. He glanced once to her in obvious distaste, but didn't pause, a flurry of dark robes against the bone-white travertine tiles of the long corridor. Although it shared part of a wall with his private drawing room, Mara had been able to hear nothing from the day-office save the rise and fall of their voices as they spoke, the deeply-plastered half-curve at the adjoining wall insulating the noise.

It wasn't in her remit to watch Vader, but Luke's position within the Emperor's elite was more stable and trusted than ever before, and she didn't want Vader to endanger that with his own petty schemes. She'd been tempted to put a trembler on the wall to see if it clarified anything, but some tiny fragment of faded morals left her reluctant to resort to such tactics with Luke anymore, despite burning curiosity and professional concern.

Luke's strained relationship with his father was something the Emperor relied heavily on to maintain the manageable status-quo between his two acolytes and therefore his own security. It always had to be maintained, he had made that quite clear. The slightest relaxing of enmity invoked the most serious measures in response, always aimed at Luke- unfairly in Mara's mind; but then she'd long ago learned that life was seldom fair. Luke's willingness to flaunt that fact at his own expense was a more recent but equally disturbing discovery, firing protective instincts and outrageous frustration in equal measure.

When she returned to Luke, he was stood close to the tall plexiglass doors, arms wrapped about himself, watching the distant storm as lightening forking over the city's horizon, briefly lighting the dark, low clouds whilst thunder rumbled ever closer, charging the humid air.

Mara walked silently up beside him, reaching out to close the open doors to the balcony.

"No leave them open." Luke said quietly, lost in thought.

"Why?"

"I want to hear the storm." he murmured, distant and distracted. "It's always the same sound on every planet- no matter what the colour of the sky or what landscape below- have you noticed that?"

She frowned, glancing out at the rolling clouds, a sheet of rain visible rolling over the city now, sweeping toward the Palace. Lightening forked again, closer, making Mara flinch, "You should step back."

"Why?"

"There's a chance you can get hit by the lightening."

He turned away, dismissive, head on one side as his eyes remained on the closing storm, the sky overhead dark now, the thunder a constant bass rumble vibrating through her chest.

"I like the storm." He said at last, still withdrawn and contemplative, "We used to have them on Tatooine."

A massive rumble split the sky, making him smile as two forks of lightening came down in perfect unison.

Mara stepped back, curious. "Rainstorms?"

"Once every five or six years. You could feel it building for weeks before- like a charge in the air. Then the storm would just... explode overhead and the skies would open. Raindrops so big you could hold out your hand and five or ten drops would fill your palm. You could drink water from the sky, still stood in the desert."

Mara was transfixed by the intensity of the memory he recounted, his words barely a whisper. "I didn't know."

He nodded, looking up as the lightening forked again, grinning into the fury of the storm, "Maybe four or five hours, that's all. But it was just... unbelievable - a solid sheet of water. Sometimes, if it'd been really hot beforehand and the stone was warm, you could hear the canyon walls pop and crack in the deluge. You'd see huge chunks shear off the rock face..."

"It must have been amazing."

"It was nature in the raw- incredible. There was water everywhere - so much that it pooled on the ground in places; if you went up to the stone rifts, it would actually sit on the surface of the ground... it changed the shape of the dunes- bluffs that had been there for months were gone overnight, beaten away to nothing in a matter of hours. Then by the next morning the Piri were out."

"Piri?" Another grating rumble vibrated through the room, slicing the air, incredible in its power.

"They're little blue flowers- tiny. They come out only when the rain comes, for just a day or so, then they're gone. Bright, azure blue. At dawn, there'd be a mist over the dunes, like low cloud, then when it burned off the piri were there- millions of them. Your whole world is changed - everything you know so well is carpeted with this incredible rush of colour and all the dust and the grit is gone. There's a place close to where I used to live called the Dune Sea. Offworlders and people who don't know the desert think it's because of the sand dunes, but it's because once every five years, when the rains come, it's filled with the densest mat of piri and it looks... it looks just like a deep blue sea. The piri-covered dunes look like an ocean and everything's moving, rolling in the wind, like ocean waves. Just for a day, there's a sea in the desert."

She studied him, enthralled; watched his face lifted to the fury of the storm and wondered whether the incredible piri could ever compare to the blue of his eyes...

He still held his arms wrapped about him, the rising wind whipping his hair up, tousling it. "Sandpeople - Tusken Raiders - they judge their age by how many times they've seen the storms."

The first drops of rain began to fall on the dry, pale stone of the balcony, leaving large, dark roundels where it hit. Luke glanced down, watching them multiply until they began to merge, "I wonder if my father ever saw it."

My father... Mara frowned; "Was he... did he grow up there?"

"Yes. His mother's grave was just outside the farmstead I grew up on." Luke answered her unspoken question before it had formed in her thoughts, for once allowing some small part of his past to be seen- more than she had ever known before. "I thought he was a navigator on a freighter. They told me he was long dead."

Mara felt her heart crumple at the raw emotion which he tried so hard to hide behind that casual, distant tone, his eyes still on the sheeting rain, the skies rumbling ominously.

"Is there... nothing to salvage between you?" She knew this wasn't what the Emperor wanted, but the veiled pain in his voice made her ask anyway - how could she not?

He leaned back against the door frame, eyes lowered. "I don't know. How could I trust him- ever?"

"Is trust necessary?" she pushed.

He shook his head, remaining silent for a long time. It was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him, torn by doubts and desires.

"I thought I wanted to kill him. When I first... when I saw him again after... after Palpatine." He shook his head, the sky beyond the window lighting up momentarily about him, the storm directly overhead, "I had lost everything and it was his fault. He could have helped me... so many times he could have helped me... and I couldn't understand why he didn't. I should have- I knew by then what Palpatine could do, how he could twist everything to suit himself. How he could warp your mind and tie you down. But I thought everything was Vader's fault- all I knew was that I wanted revenge. I wanted to show him that I wasn't weak and couldn't be used by him again. Wouldn't be."

The rain was torrential now, almost drowning out his quiet words, the chill which trickled over Mara's skin part reaction to the storm and part empathy for her lover.

"I thought I wanted to kill him- I was so sure."

"But Palpatine stopped you." The rain suddenly thinned to nothing as she spoke, the skies stilling as the eye of the storm passed overhead, the air electric.

"No, Palpatine didn't stop me. I went in there intending to kill him despite Palpatine's order. Nothing he said- nothing- made the slightest difference in that moment."

Mara blinked. "Then...?"

"I didn't kill him because..... I couldn't. In that moment, when I had the power, when I held the saber up..." Luke shook his head, sliding slowly down against the edge of the doorframe until he hunched in a huddled crouch, arms wrapped about himself, lost in the memory. "I couldn't kill him. I couldn't kill my own father - how could I? No matter what, how could I?"

Mara's stomach constricted at that; at the incredible, far-reaching implications. Palpatine had hung his control of Luke on the fact that he had broken that link between father and son. On the fact that he held the power to constrain and contain Skywalker even in the heat of battle, even when his fallen Jedi wanted- needed to kill...

But this... this meant he had nowhere near the control he believed over Skywalker.

This meant everything he'd built after that point had been based on a lie!

A massive crash of thunder ripped the sky open, rain pouring in a solid curtain again, Mara's world, her life, everything turned upside down by this one admission.

Every fibre of her being told her to run - run to her master and tell him the truth; that Skywalker was a threat, a danger.

The lightening flashed, blinding, and just for a moment... for that instant, Mara saw in the hunched, dark-clothed figure silhouetted against the roiling sky something wild and portentous, a momentary image from a vision long ago when the Rebel pilot had first been imprisoned in the Palace; when he had first flexed his mental muscles and thrown the Force against the reinforced, monofibre-threaded windows, shattering them to a thousand crazed shards. She remembered the wolf from her vision, hunched and brooding, sitting out the storm, waiting his chance...

But something else pulled at her heart and her soul now and held her to a torn, indecisive stillness. How could she - how could she betray him?

Yes, he was a wolf... but he was her wolf. He was wild and unpredictable and capricious but he was hers...

He turned, hair whipping about his face as the warm wind drove the storm past overhead, the rain trailing to drizzle now, distant shafts of brilliant sunlight lancing through the darkness.

"Mara?" he asked, uncertain, sensing the change in her, as sudden as the storm.

She stared at him for long seconds, not even a breath disturbing the stifling, storm-heavy stillness...

Then she smiled, stepping forward, and he stood to wrap his arms about her, blanketing all those fractured doubts and loyalties, Mara allowing the warmth of his close body to push them from her mind.

"Storm's over." she murmured, as the first bright breaks in the cloud reached the gardens far below.

He only frowned, uneasy. "There'll be others."