Heart's Destiny

JADESPHERA Heart’s Destiny

Copyright © 2021 by JadeSphera All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. DISCLAIMER: This is just a test story. It’s a FanFic I wrote borrowing the characters. The characters are not mine and I am not making any money out of this. I’m just testing the Reedsy formatting tool and this material will never be published. First edition This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy. Find out more at reedsy.com

Contents Chapter 1 1 Chapter 2 15 Chapter 3 20 Chapter 4 27 Chapter 5 33 Chapter 6 44 Chapter 7 57 Chapter 8 69 Chapter 9 76 Chapter 10 86 Chapter 11 97 Chapter 12 107 Chapter 13 119 Chapter 14 132

Chapter 1 T his whole deal had definitely gone wrong. This was supposed to be a simple pick up mission, but what he’d come for was gone. The cargo had gone missing and no one seemed to know where or even care about it, some of the many downfalls of acquiring goods in the black market. The Rebel Alliance was in desperate need for these supplies. Hoping around planets, flying hit and run missions, stealing intel, making new allies, being betrayed by others, had turned into his new way of life… It’d been two years of this, and counting. The whole operation of their next assault mission relied on the successful retrieval of these repair parts for the fleet’s ships! He could not just turn around and go back! Mon Mothma had entrusted this to him, Leia had trusted him… He could not fail them! Hence his insistence in remaining on Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler’s Moon; his appointed mission could just not end like this, there always was something that could be done and his plan was to do whatever it took to make it successful, or the whole deal could turn into something that could cost the Rebel fight dearly. A little bit of snooping around, a little bribing “a la Solo” here and there, had sprung enough information to get him close to the whereabouts of the precious lost cargo. The directions he’d been given had brought 1

HEART’S DESTINY him to a poorly lit, grungy place, not different from those many other low-end cantinas he was now used to visiting while going undercover. Luke Skywalker, Jedi-to-be and shining hero of the Battle of Yavin, mused on his bad luck, while pretending to be immersed in a drink he wasn’t even enjoying. His contact should show up any time, he just had to remain alert, and be patient. Although, truth to be told, he wasn’t even sure if this contact of his would even show up. A faint flicker, more of a gut feeling really, made him turn around and look towards the entrance… It was true that the Force had been whispering to him more and more intently by the day since his face down with the Death Star, but without the proper guidance of a teacher, Luke most times felt pretty lost at recognizing the evasive, subtle energy; so he did what he could: teach himself by trial and error. The brightness of daylight that crawled inside the darkened interior of the cantina while the entrance door remained open did not help at giving a clear sight of whomever had just entered, just a dark silhouette against the bright background at the door gave away the slender frame of a woman. Something irresistible kept Luke from looking away and turning back to his drink… Even with his rudimentary Force sense, the young pilot could distinguish a distinct presence in the Force radiating from this new visitor. After making her entrance, the female silhouette moved with the gracile gait of a feline towards the central bar of the establishment, right towards where he was seated. The new visitor did not resemble the description he’d been given of his contact, so she couldn’t be it; nevertheless Luke found himself unable to take his eyes off the mysterious woman. The young woman wore dark, well-fitted, all-purpose clothing, accompanied by a well-supplied utility belt and a blaster at her thigh, her fit body denoted someone absolutely ready for action. Her long hair was back, made up in a thick braid, revealing exquisite, sharp features… She had large, pretty eyes of a shade Luke could not distinguish in the 2

CHAPTER 1 dim lighting, framed by perfectly lined eyebrows. There was a faint furrow on her brow, that brought some severity to her expression, and there was a certain tightness on her well-defined lips that made him think that surely she did not smile much. The young woman looked around his own age, surely in her early twenties, and was stunningly beautiful. But despite all that beautiful exterior, she definitely looked like someone one should not mess around with. Luke heard her order a drink to the bartender, her husky voice sounding exactly as he would have expected, as he tried to remain inconspicuous of her presence and go back to the lookout for his contact… But how to ignore such a woman? She was like no one he’d ever seen before! Now that she was close, he felt hypnotized by the redness of her mane. “Can you just stop with the gawking? It makes you look like a farm boy,” Mara Jade said, exasperatedly. Being on Nar Shaddaa put her understandably on edge, and she didn’t want to attract more attention than was warranted. The husky voice was addressing him and it took Luke a moment to recover. Had he been that obvious? There was a certain threat in her tone, but he could not just sit there and say nothing! “Well, it is mid-afternoon and I’m just shocked at the type of drink that you just ordered… Are you having a rough day?” Luke could tell she was not expecting such an answer, perhaps she had been expecting him to recoil or even apologize, but he’d given her something different and she was surprised… After a few seconds he noticed a faint smile appear on her lips, and this pleased him. Soon an open smile formed on his own, “Are you?” He pressed with natural warmness, inviting her to talk to him. Well, this undeniably handsome guy with the sky-blue eyes and warm smile could snark back better than Mara had expected. “My navcomputer is acting up, so I had to re-calibrate and wound 3

HEART’S DESTINY up here. Until it’s fixed, I’m left cooling my heels,” Mara answered, surprised at giving so much information to a total stranger. “And you?” She found herself asking. No one came here unless they had to. “I’m just doing some business and should be off planet soon,” he ambiguously answered her question. He knew he needed to learn to be a better liar. When he was about to pop his next question to her, the feel of someone taking a seat on the other end next to him made him drop the attempt and turn his attention to this recent arrival. A big, sturdy looking man had taken the empty seat next to him. Wearing a dark blue jacket with a small badge of a golden and blue symbol of an Edan Tiger… This was his contact. “I was told that nerf-steaks in this place are the best in town,” the stranger told him. Luke recognized the cue; this was definitely his contact. “I prefer Bantha steak soup, Gubba’s Place specialty,” Luke spoke his own part of the code. Having checked each other’s identities, the other felt confident enough to continue the conversation. “What you’re looking for is at the east docks,” he quietly revealed, still looking up front, “That’s the territory of a Rodian gang, they answer to Greeato. They’re a nasty bunch, robbers, traffickers… I wouldn’t dare to mess with them if I were you…. The place is very well guarded, you’d need an army to breach their first line of sentinels,” the man warned. “Well, I think that’s something I’ll be able to figure out if you give me the blueprints that I was promised,” Luke pressed, his voice low too, his eyesight also up front as he casually took a sip of his drink, then put his glass back on the slab of the bar. The man slid a small datacard underneath his arms towards the younger man, pushing it underneath the napkin placed next to Luke’s drink, “Everything you’ll need is in there… Payment upon delivery,” he added. 4

CHAPTER 1 Very discreetly, Luke pushed a small, metallic card towards the man, “All the credits are here… Non traceable transaction code as you requested.” The man seemed to check the card for a brief moment, when feeling satisfied he spoke again, “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” then left without any more preamble. So this was it! He now knew where the stuff he’d come for was, and he was planning on getting all of it back. How he was going to achieve that? Well… he’d think of something. “Guess your business deal went alright?” Mara said, her vibrant green eyes not missing any of the surreptitious activity on the other end of the bar. “Probably you’ll be out of here before I am, Mr. …?” Her question snapped Luke out of his musings. He would have expected her to be already gone, but she was still there… sitting in the exact same spot. He felt glad for it, but conflicted all the same… The beautiful young woman had remained there for the whole time… How much of everything had she witnessed or heard? Well, it wasn’t like he and his contact had been openly discussing the issue, so probably she had not picked up anything at all. “Whitesun…” he answered, “I’m Bren Whitesun.” “Celina Marniss,” Mara supplied, mystified at herself for providing a name, even an alias. Somehow he knew this was not her real name, and knew she knew the same thing about him too… but it was all right. There was a spark there, something that he could not quite identify, and it somehow felt like if names were not important. Luke had the feeling that this would not be the last time he’d encounter this enigmatic woman. “See you around… Celina Marniss.” Mara watched him leave and on an impulse, threw down a credchit and followed him out. She had heard snatches of their low conversation, seemingly casual but with the exchange of datachips of some kind 5

HEART’S DESTINY meant a transaction of some sort. She had a strong intuition that Bren Whitesun would not be involved in something illegal for the sake of profit only… Something undefined urged her to keep an eye on him in this unsavory place. * * * After a pit stop to his ship when he’d quickly studied the information in the datacard his contact had provided, Luke decided he was ready to act. The sooner, the better; he did not want to risk his contact’s change of heart who might then decide to rat him out to the other party for money. It was true that the warehouse he was headed to was tightly guarded, but he’d find a way in, of that he was sure. He’d learnt a few tricks from Han and Chewie, and he had the Force on his side. Although limited, his rough-around-the-edges abilities had proved to be extremely useful and had always given him an edge. He sure lacked finesse when using his powers, but he’d make it work. It was already dark by the time he parked his rented landspeeder behind a large pile of rubble ditched on the side of the path he was following, this was as far as he could go on his ride, the rest of the trail he must take on foot. Luke checked his weapons; the power pack of his blaster was fully charged and his lightsaber hung securely from his utility belt and against his hip. Carefully, silently, he made his way to a closer spot to the large set of structures. There were several large warehouses, all lined up one next to the other, surely containing stolen cargo just like the one he was here to retrieve. He’d have to find a way to get all the crates with the Alliance’s supplies, hopefully these had not yet been unloaded… or he’d have another problem to worry about. With a few distracting tricks aided by the Force, a small click here and another hiss there, Luke managed to get past the first group of sentries, and slowly made his way closer to the warehouse marked in 6

CHAPTER 1 the map. The large main door was kept in custody by mean looking thugs carrying hi-powered guns… So this should be it, the place he came here to visit. There were at least fifty of them going around… and these were the ones he could see, there’ would certainly be a lot more inside. Hidden in the shadows, Luke observed what went around… If one of those thugs spotted him, the whole house would come falling on him. These types were hired guns not because of their brains, but because of their toughness and brutality, and he had to avoid any type of confrontation if he wanted to make it out of there alive and with his cargo, there was no way he could take those many out on his own, so this gave him enough reason to rethink his strategy… It all had looked so simple when he’d first considered the options back on his ship, now he was not that sure. Leia would definitely accuse him of brashness, and probably she’d be right. He knew he’d been brash, too desperate to retrieve what had been stolen and with this prove himself to the Alliance… Why did he always do that? All right, no time to panic… He’d think of something just as he always did. Maybe if he used the Force… Luke closed his eyes and blocked every distraction out, calling in the subtle energy he then set his intention on reading his surroundings, to try to catch on the life signatures around him… There they were, the fifty or so thugs outside the warehouse… He reached farther, inside the premises… To his surprise the place felt pretty empty, maybe two or three life forms inside… So perhaps this was not so bad after all. All he had to do was to find a way to get inside without being spotted and then secure a vehicle with his cargo on it and break away as fast as he got his hands on the controls. It all looked pretty simple in his mind, pulling the trick out was a whole different matter. He made his way to one of the long sides of the warehouse’s walls. The place was very well guarded at ground level and there was no way 7

HEART’S DESTINY he would go through, this meant he had to go up. Looking up, he looked for a good landing spot on the roof. Once he located what seemed a good place with safe footing, he summoned the Force and then jumped. The jump took him a good meter past the roof, landing on it with a painful thud, he definitely needed to work on that; at least he hadn’t been short in altitude or it would be a whole different story. He was on top of the roof now and it was time to find his way in. Keeping his body low, Luke walked on the roof along a line of ventilation racks… There it was! One large enough to fit him though. Taking a hold of his lightsaber, he pressed the switch on the handle and the white-blue blade came into existence. With great care, he cut through the slick piece of metal, just enough to make the grille come lose. Switching off his weapon, he then proceeded to retrieve the piece with his hands. He poked his head through the newly opened hole first, it was a long way down, but it was something he could manage. Soon he was inside the warehouse, moving about at ground level amongst stacks of crates and large cargo containers, and he had not been spotted, Good! Luke reached into his utility belt and retrieved a small electronic gadget, and pressed a button. Soon a signal came back, that was it! He’d found his cargo. Carefully and being absolutely silent, he approached a large cargo container… The readings on his gadget had led him to it. The cargo container had not yet been unloaded, just as he’d hoped for, maybe the Force was on his side on this one. The locks on the container’s doors were secured and didn’t look tampered with, so all the spare parts and technical supplies must be still inside. Now it was a matter of hooking the container to a speeder truck and getting the hell out of there. Luke got busy quietly looking for viable transportation. No one seemed to be around, so this would work on his favour. He found the vehicle. It would be kind of noisy once he started the engine. The 8

CHAPTER 1 moment he turned on the engine, Luke wasn’t sure if what he heard was the engine itself or the thudding of his own heart. Although the sound of the ventilation systems in the warehouse would help muffle some of the noise he was making, still he’d have to be quick. He led the speeder truck to the cargo container and aligned it to the grapple at one end. The automatic systems were not responding so he’d have to do the coupling manually. Quickly he got off the vehicle and reached the controls at the back. Then, something that he’d come to recognize as some sort of “danger sense” prickled on the back of his mind. When he turned, a mean blaster was being pointed right at his face. A small group of thugs stood right in front of him. He counted four of them, and four were enough. “Well, well…. Aren’t you a nosy one?” The one who looked like the leader spoke. A large, muscly Trandoshan with a thick accent. A second thug, a masked Gand, quickly went around Luke and took the blaster he carried out of its holster, disarming him. For some reason the alien didn’t take notice of the lightsaber. Well, the weapon was so rare that many couldn’t have recognized one when seeing it. “I say we warm him up a little,” another of the thugs proposed, too eager at the prospect. This was a lean, jittery Rodian. The young Jedi apprentice knew perfectly what “warming someone up” meant, it was something that involved broken bones and bruises. “I’m just here to retrieve what is mine,” Luke challenged, his voice even despite the precariousness of his situation. “What is yours?” The chief thug sneered, “Everything in here belongs to Greeato. What makes you think that claiming any property on anything in here will do you any good? Greeato does no good to anyone.” Luke frowned at those last words, something in his sense had picked up an emotion coming from the lead thug… Was that resentment? Yes, it was resentment towards this Greeato character. Perhaps… “Maybe 9

HEART’S DESTINY we can make a deal,” Luke pressed. “What kind of deal a little skunk like you could offer?” The leader of the group mocked the young human. “I don’t have to report this… I’ll stick to the story that all of it was robbed and the company I work for will get the insurance money and leave this alone,” Luke stated matter-of-factly, managing to sound convincing. “I was planning on selling this on my own anyways. I can offer you one third of whatever comes of it.” He was lying and he was not sure if Jedi were supposed to be lying like this, even if these lies were told to criminals, but right now it looked like it was his only way out of this mess. Perhaps too much of Solo had already rubbed on him. The offer seemed to catch the thugs’ interest; credits always did. “Come on, you know it’s a good deal…” Luke insisted “I don’t think Greeato will ever give you that many credits…” The leader seemed to consider it, and this gave Luke some hope. “Make it half,” the Trandoshan demanded, “And Chigo here will come with you… As a security measure,” he added nodding towards the Rodian. “All right, half,” Luke agreed, sounding resigned. It would be a lot easier to get rid of just one guard. The thugs let out grunts of satisfaction; this just was too much of a sweet deal. They let the human finish levelling the cargo container to the speeder truck, a task that took only a few minutes. “I’m ready to go,” Luke announced when he was finished, “Who’s going to take care of the men outside?” he was all business. “You know what human… We here have made a general consensus,” the lead thug said, using words he didn’t quite understand but that in his own opinion made him sound important. “We want all of the money after all, and your dead body will be proof that we caught you and killed you after you made the sale.” Luke let out a small sigh. Of course they would turn on him, these 10

CHAPTER 1 were ruthless criminals after all. They had been toying with him all along, and he’d given them the wrap-up element. They would fake the robbery from the warehouse, and then use his corpse as the perfect alibi. “On your knees!” The fourth thug ordered, “Hands on top of your head!” He sneered. Luke did as he was told, his mind racing. He wondered if he could summon enough Force power to push the four aliens away from him and buy himself some time to escape… Or maybe he could use the Force to jam the trigger of his assailants weapons, but that would need an accuracy in the Force he did not possess… Whatever he decided to do he needed to do it now! Summoning the Force once more, Luke opted for trying a Force push to disband the group of thugs surrounding him. The Force came and he pushed with his mind… The four thugs lost their balance and fell on the ground. ‘Shav it!’ This time the amount of Force power he’d summoned had not been enough, but it gave him the distraction he needed. In a quick roll he took cover behind the large vehicle he’d just attached to the container, if he could only locate his blaster… Instead he located a large pile of boxes that seemed to contain some sort of tools. Using the Force once more, the novice Jedi threw a number of boxes at his attackers, the makeshift projectiles keeping them at bay. Then, out of nowhere, blaster fire came from behind him. Reinforcements had arrived! All was lost now. While trying to locate the source of the new incoming fire, Luke realized that the shots were not aimed at him, instead the first shot took out the Rodian, then the Gand fell, immediately followed by the second Rodian and finally the Trandoshan. Soon, four steaming corpses lay before his eyes. And then the presence… A young, female human, of red mane and dark, well-fitted clothes made her appearance from behind a set of crates. “What are you doing 11

HEART’S DESTINY here?” Luke asked as he approached his unexpected ally, his blue eyes wide, not being able to hide his surprise. It was obvious that she had followed him and he felt glad, but… Mara had sneaked in a side entrance that was currently unguarded, using infiltration keys she had in her waist pouch. She had arrived to see her recent acquaintance from the cantina ‘negotiating’ with four thugs who obviously had no intention of playing fair. She took advantage of the distraction he provided to take down the goons in quick succession, since they didn’t know she was there, and she was quicker than they would ever be. “Saving your hide, it looks like,” Mara retorted. “You’ll get no arguing from me!” Luke agreed, getting busy. Moments later both were on board the speeder truck, ready to make a run for it. Luke set the vehicle on full speed and let it run. When the vehicle broke spectacularly through the main door, all the guards outside were absolutely taken aback; they would have expected trouble to come from the outside, never from the inside. Once recovered, they reacted quickly. Blaster fire rained on Luke and Mara as they made their escape, he only hoped these didn’t hit any vital parts of their vehicle or the ride would be short. Then, the sound of an explosion… and then another, and another… As the vehicle run past different groups of guards, it left explosive mayhem behind. In no time the place looked like a war zone. “Now, let’s not stick around,” Mara said, looking with satisfaction at the general disarray of the warehouse. Those small, inconspicuous, low-grade, portable explosives she always carried proved to be very efficient if one knew how to handle them, and she was an expert at handling dangerous materials. “That should keep them busy,” Luke declared as he watched the fire left by the explosions in the rear-view mirror of the vehicle, “I don’t think they’ll be coming after me for a while,” and when they did, he’d 12

CHAPTER 1 be off planet by then. “Thank you.” “Think nothing of it,” Mara answered casually. “But I hate to think where you’d be if I hadn’t shown up! Did your bosses hire you for your recklessness?” Luke couldn’t take the look of disapproval on that pretty face of hers, and knew he deserved the scolding, even if it came from a stranger. “Lesson learned,” he uttered in a mix of sheepishness and hurt pride. By the time they had reached the hangar and landing platform where Luke’s ship awaited and the cargo had been transferred to the cargo hold of the ship, a good two hours had passed. This had given Luke some time to sit with Mara and have a small conversation. “Thank you for all your help,” Luke sincerely said, “If you hadn’t been there probably I’d be dead,” he admitted, giving her a sheepish smile. “You’re welcome,” Mara said, a rare smile coming to her lips. “I have to go, can’t stay here for much longer…” He said, with certain disappointment in his voice. “Will I see you again?” These last words coming out of his mouth too eager, quite uncensored. “I doubt we run in the same circles,” Mara answered with a wry humour, “But you never know.” It surprised her that she wouldn’t mind running into him again, and not too far off in the future. That small, almost impossible to detect smile of hers made Luke’s heart skip a beat. He did want to see her again. “How can I find you?” He asked. Mara gave him her public comm-contact code, tied to her alias Celina Marniss and the transport she most often used. As she did, Luke looked at her, locking eyes, mesmerized at the beauty of those green eyes. “Call me the next time you’re in a jam,” Mara said, half-teasingly. He gave her one last nod, then turned around and headed toward the landing platform where his ship awaited for him. Luke could feel his heart thudding in his chest, but this time for an all too different reason. 13

HEART’S DESTINY This woman definitely affected him. 14

Chapter 2 M ara completed her account to the Emperor of her successful mission of extracting important information from a recalcitrant Moff. His praise and approval made her feel gratified. She exited the Throne Room, giving the Dark Lord, Darth Vader, a wide berth. He gave her an eerie sense of continual menace so she tried to be as unnoticeable as possible when he was around. It had been four weeks since her encounter with the oh-so-mystifying Bren Whitesun on Nar Shaddaa, and yet, her mind still turned to that brief encounter. If she let her mind drift, it always seemed to recall a vibrantly admiring pair of blue eyes and a not-unattractive smile complete with cleft. Mara was distinctively not given to reveries of any kind. So why couldn’t she shake this strange preoccupation? The Emperor’s Hand mused about this as she made her way to the main Imperial Intel Room. When she realized what her mind was doing she shook her head with irritation, she had a mission to plan for and could not afford to be distracted! Specially not by this Whitesun guy. * * * 15

HEART’S DESTINY Luke worked diligently on his X-Wing. Four busy weeks had gone by. Matters with the Rebellion had kept him very busy, barely having time on his own to do some of his self-taught Jedi training, even less to do anything else. For the moment, right in the middle of all the bustle in the main hangar, Luke was busy with Artoo calibrating his X-Wing’s navcomputer. Han Solo had joined in to offer moral support, he very well knew how bad things could get when a ship’s navcomputer acted up. In the midst of their conversation, See Threepio made his entrance, “Captain Solo! Princess Leia is in need of having a word with you. Can you please accompany me to the command quarters?” “Yes, Threepio… I’m on my way,” Han answered with a hint of exasperation, but not giving any sign of leaving any time soon. “She specifically asked me to escort you…” the droid added doubtfully. “All right! I’ll be right there!” Han interrupted, this time clearly showing his exasperation. Then he turned to Luke, a mocking look on his face, “Her Excellency is summoning me,” Han let out with his trademark sarcasm, “Better go and see what she needs or she’ll give me hell if I don’t.” Luke just gave his friend a nod. As he followed the tall Captain with his gaze and saw him disappear through a threshold that led to the command quarters, Luke wondered about his two friends. He’d noticed Han and Leia had started to spend more and more time together. Although their interactions always ended in heated discussions practically ninety percent of times, the young Jedi apprentice could tell there was something going on… Han and Leia had grown close, and he could tell this went beyond just friendship, even if the stubborn pair fail to admit it. To his surprise this didn’t bother him at all. It was true that in the beginning he’d felt drawn towards the Princess’ beauty and then towards her character, but after a bit of soul searching he’d come to understand that what he felt towards her was 16

CHAPTER 2 just great affinity and affection, kind of a brother’s love – even though they were not blood related. In some way, Leia, Han and Chewie were his family now. Peril and misfortune had bonded them in ways he could not explain, but knew these were ties that had formed to stay forever and grow even stronger. Now that Han was not there to keep him distracted, his mind wandered off… To a certain red head he could not put out of his mind since the day he met her. He could not wait to have a chance to call her or send her a comm message… He wanted to see her so bad! Know more about her, lose himself in those beautiful green eyes of hers. The opportunity seemed to be close. Just the day before, General Rieekan had spoken of another mission and Luke had jumped forward as a volunteer immediately. This meant a chance to see Celina again, and he would not waste it; he didn’t know when he’d have a chance to see her again after that. Fortunately Rieekan had seemed pleased and had agreed to it. Leia had given him a suspicious look, of course she knew he was hiding something, she always did! The princess could read he and Han just like an open datafile. So he’d been avoiding her for the following hours, he didn’t want to talk about Celina with her! Nor lie in order to keep his interest on her a secret. He didn’t know why, but he had this feeling that he had to keep this private, at least for now. So he’d be off soon and he’d contact Celina as soon as he reached safe territory. And then this notion brought another set of concerns to his mind. Would she even answer? Would she somehow be in a nearby star system so they could arrange a meeting? What was he going to tell her? ‘Hey, Celina! It’s Bren. I know its been a month, but I’m dying to see you! Would you like to have some caf?’ This sounded so lame! And he hated to have to lie about his real name, but he knew better than that. Coming forth with his true identity was out of the question, he’d have to suck it up if he wanted to see her again, and he did want to… So desperately that it surprised him. Why was he so into this mysterious woman? 17

HEART’S DESTINY Artoo’s chirps brought him back and out of his rampant musings. It looked like the X-Wing’s navcomputer had responded and was back online. Two more days and he’d be off. Well, the wait time would represent a very good exercise to practice Jedi patience. * * * “Hi, Celina! This is Bren… Whitesun… from that Nar Shaddaa thing?… We met there… I hope you remember me. Humm… Listen, I’ll be in the Sarto System in two standard days from the moment you get this message… I hope it reaches you on time… Humm… I was wondering if you’d might be anywhere near… Maybe we can meet? If you’d like… I can come and find you where you are, if that’s easier. This is my personal comm-contact code so you can reach me here anytime… Humm… Well, hope to see you soon! Bye.” Luke listened to the replay of the message he’d just left in Celina’s comm… It sounded so lame that he could feel his face blushing. If everything went according to plan and he was able to rush the delivery and pick up of intel he was intended for, he’d have and extra day he could use to meet with her, maybe even steal a few hours of the next day and still make it back to the Base on schedule, so no one would freak out about he being back late. He’d never put the mission at risk though, this was clear to him. It was a big deal that he’d been trusted with this specific intel gathering mission, that the higher ranking members of the Alliance trusted him; after all, he was only a twenty-one-year-old farm boy from Tatooine trying to find his place in the Galaxy, in the Rebel Forces and in the fight for freedom. Luke knew he’d be pushing it, but it was the only way he’d be able to meet with Celina… If she answered to his message, that was. Luke let out a deep sigh of nervousness and longing. 18

CHAPTER 2 All that was left for him to do was to hope and wait. * * * Mara concluded perusing the datafiles for her next mission, dealing with a rogue Inquisitor, always a pesky thing. They were adept in the Force; their arrogance led them to go off on tangents and not follow orders. She could handle them in her sleep. Suddenly, a ping alerted her to an incoming or recently arrived message. She played it, noticing who had sent it. She had wondered if she would ever hear from Bren Whitesun again, or if their paths could ever have the chance to cross. What was the likelihood, she thought? Did she even want to? If her preoccupation was anything to go by, more than she ought to. Before she could gainsay her own better judgment, she sent a crisp reply: “I have a so-called colleague to set straight. It shouldn’t take me long. I’ll meet you at the Dancing Ronto on Sarto II.” * * * Luke was bursting with anticipation and apprehension when her reply came through in that melodious husky voice. He could almost see the teasing glint in her jade eyes. He grinned and started the pre-flight sequence. The sooner he took off, the faster he’d see Celina. 19

Chapter 3 M ara had dispatched the recalcitrant Inquisitor with a deft wielding of her silver bladed light-saber. It wasn’t red like the Emperor’s or Vader’s; she hadn’t had to bleed or squeeze the Kyber crystal. It had attuned itself to her without any difficulty. She also liked the fact that there was a feature which made the blade extra-long at need. Now she was headed toward the whatever-it-was with Bren Whitesun. Every other minute she wondered at what had made her agree and then she felt glad she had. What was it about him that caused her to have such a sequence of conflicting emotions? Well, as soon as they spent a few minutes over drinks, they would doubtless part ways again, and they could get back to their own, separate lives, which was just how she liked it. Or, if liked wasn’t exactly the word, perhaps comfortable was a more apt description. * * * At his arrival to the mapped planet, Luke had had to shake off a tail – probably some sort of intel burglar that had wanted to take advantage of a young outsider, but he’d been able to shake him off with ease. Despite 20

CHAPTER 3 his age, in the last two years Luke had matured enormously and had grown up real fast… compliments from being involved in a war. This time round, the delivery and pick up mission he’d been assigned by General Rieekan had gone without any problems. With the gathered intel secured, he had now reached the rendezvous coordinates in uncharted space to deliver the information to a group of Bothans whom in exchange would give him other type of precious information. Quietly, Luke’s ship sat in the middle of space at the assigned coordinates… A lone small merchant ship in the middle of nowhere. Maybe he had arrived early. With the mission running this smoothly, Luke knew he’d gained time… Time he intended to use for this other personal matter he eagerly had been waiting for: his meeting with Celina. There had not been a day he hadn’t thought of her. Those enigmatic green eyes were burned in his memory… The redhead was so beautiful. He wanted to know her, there was something about her he’d never seen in other girl before. Had it been love at first sight? Luke chuckled at the occurrence… Love at first sight… If he confessed any of this to Han he’d never hear the end of it! Speaking of which… Where was Han? He and Chewie where supposed to have arrived already! They were his backup. Luke took a quick look at the controls… Nothing. The ship’s sensors picked up no sign of Han, nor the Bothans. Where was everybody? All right… He’d wait. There was nothing else to do. Waiting was something that didn’t sit well with him. He’d often been accused of being impatient, and there was some truth to that. But he’d wait, and he’d done everything exactly as he was supposed to, deliver the gathered intel to the Bothans, get whatever the furry aliens had gathered for the Alliance, he’d say hello and see you later to Han, and he’d be off soon. Once in safe space he’d check his comm for any messages, hopefully Celina’s response would come through. 21

HEART’S DESTINY The beeping of a proximity alarm on the ship’s panels caught his attention… An incoming ship, with all the proper markings. When recognizing the markings the young Jedi-to-be hit the communications switch. “Hello there, Kid!” Luke heard a familiar voice in the ship’s comm channel. “You’re late!” He reprimanded his Captain friend. “We had to take a small detour…” Han’s voice crackled in the comm systems. “Problems?” The younger pilot asked in concern. “And not of the mild kind,” Han sounded serious, “So we better do this quick and get the hell out of here! Where are the Bothans?” “Not here yet…” Luke could feel a tightness creeping up from the bottom of his stomach. If the Bothans hadn’t been as lucky as Han… Or worse: if the Bothans were followed… In one quick move Luke turned all the defence systems of his ship on, better to be safe than sorry. “Let’s hope they don’t bring us any other company,” Luke’s voice sounded worried. “You got that right… We better be prepared.” The Corellian Captain was always prepared. Soon, the ship’s sensors picked up the presence of a third ship of small size. A hailing came through in a coded signal. Luke quickly passed the signal through the decoder… Those were the Bothans indeed, and didn’t seem to have brought any more company, which could mean either of two things: the Bothans had not been followed, or whoever was following them had decided to wait and see how this meeting went and come up to conclusions. Luke just hoped that whoever might be out there was not of Imperial nature. “Are we clear?” Han asked, his voice full of tension. “Yes… They check out. It is our contact,” Luke confirmed. The good thing about intel transactions of this kind was that ev22

CHAPTER 3 erything could be exchanged through encrypted signals run through sophisticated computer devices. All Luke had to do was to confirm passwords and credentials, wirelessly connect his ship’s terminal to the Bothan’s, and the computers would do the rest. The trick for this kind of transaction was proximity, thus the need for the rendezvous point. Luke was happy to have Han watching his back while he busied himself running the security codes and transmitting, soon the other side began their own transmission and the intel exchange was underway. Minutes later, the back engines of the Bothan ship, as it manoeuvred towards a hyperspace jump spot, was all Luke could see, and in a flash the ship was gone. With the new intel in their possession, now it was time for he and Han to leave. “That went on smoothly,” Han spoke through the loudspeakers in the ship’s cabin. “Very… We better be quick and don’t sit here for too long,” Luke stressed. “We better… See you at the Base, Kid,” Han got ready to make his jump to hyperspace. “Humm… I’m not coming back now. I have some days of leave… There’s this other matter that I have to see to…” Luke told his friend. The Kid’s voice sounded too evasive, too careful… Han knew his friend like the palm of his own hand, there was only one reason for that on guard behaviour, “Is there a girl involved?” The Corellian asked, a lecherous tint to his words. Luke felt his face blush. He was not ready to speak of Celina to anyone yet, not even to Han, but he would not lie to his friend, “Something like that…” he sheepishly admitted. “Well… What are you waiting for? Scram!” Han urged, “And make sure you get laid or something!” Half amused, half embarrassed, Luke chuckled at his friend’s remarks, “I’ll be back to the Base as scheduled… Say hi to Leia for me, and don’t 23

HEART’S DESTINY annoy her too much!” A mischievous laugh was all the Corellian gave back. Luke watched his friend make his own jump into hyperspace and soon followed. Now all he had to do was for the counter to count all the way down and he’d be there. He’d meet Celina at the agreed coordinates on Sarto II, at the Dancing Ronto. Luke’s heart pounded hard in his chest with excitement. * * * Mara arrived at the Dancing Ronto. She ordered a Bakuran Bomb, which had more than a dollop of a creamy, light-flavoured liqueur. She sat at the bar, keeping a keen eye out for Whitesun’s arrival. When he entered, looking warily around, Mara caught his eye and waved him over. She saw a fleeting look of relief cross his face, before it disappeared in a wide grin. “Guess you thought I might not show up?” She snarked. “One thing anyone who knows me will tell you, I keep my word.” “I like people who keep their word,” Luke told her, secretly all too excited about finding her there, unable to get rid of the big grin that had taken hold of his face. He took the seat next to her at the table and ordered some sort of Corellian liquor Han had taught him to drink. Celina looked amazing! Better than he remembered. She had this way of looking stunning even when wearing simple utilitarian clothing. Her hair shone red against the soft lights of the establishment and her bright green eyes were hypnotizing. Luke took a sip of his drink while he listened to her giving him the details of the place and how she had come to find it. “Is the food any good in here?” He asked. “I haven’t heard that there isn’t, and the fact that it’s full of customers is reassuring,” Mara replied wryly. 24

CHAPTER 3 “Let’s order then! I’m starving!” If something was well-known about Luke, was that he had a healthy appetite. Too many hours of space travel and the normal stress of the missions he ran always left him starved. Mara nodded and waved the server over. “Anything you recommend?” He asked while he read through the menu the waiter had just dropped at their table. “I like the nerf sliders with sautéed vegetables and toasted bread,” Mara said. “And their fruit tarts are fine for dessert.” The food in the place was really good and Luke felt glad Celina had decided to bring them here. As they ate, they conversed about different things. From the mentioning of the new trade routes the Empire was opening and how these would connect different new systems to topics on trade and far away planets. “Being out there gives you a whole new perspective about how things really work,” Luke let out in a pensive manner. Things in the Galaxy were changing, and were changing fast… Two years ago all he was worried about was to complete his chores and go to Tosche Station. When Celina gave him a questioning look, Luke felt he owed her an explanation, “I grew up in a farm, raised by my aunt and uncle, pretty much out of contact with everything,” he shared with his usual naïve openness, it was so easy to talk to her. Mara’s smile was genuine. That explained his demeanour all right, and rather surprisingly it did not detract in the slightest from his appeal; on the contrary, it added to it, knowing his background. “You know… I wasn’t sure you would show up…” he sheepishly confessed, “And I am really glad that you did.” There was true honesty in his words, something he noticed didn’t bother her. Mara laughed softly, taking a final bite of the flaky, warm pastry. “I find that I generally have a good and accurate read of people,” she confided. It came from her work and also an inner sense of what lay under the surface. “I wouldn’t have agreed to come if I thought you 25

HEART’S DESTINY were a Gundark’s rear or a deadly bore.” Luke gave a little snort of satisfaction, then something occurred to him, “How long are you staying on planet, Celina?” Luke asked Mara, trying to sound casual about it, he didn’t want to overwhelm her. Mara considered. “Well, I’m in between jobs at the moment. My… boss will comm me when he wants me for a meet-up or a new assignment.” “I have to wait for my next work round, what I picked up is still a few days away so I have some free time…” He was starting to feel a bit insecure about asking, but he’d ask anyways, “If you’re not too busy, humm… If you’re staying on planet… Maybe we could hang out or something? Do some sightseeing? I mean… If you want to…” Oh, blast it! Why was he so clumsy? Luke could feel perspiration forming on the back of his neck and his stomach tighten. Had he sounded too desperate? Maybe he had, or maybe not? Had he been too straightforward? But Celina looked like the type of girl who could handle straightforwardness, didn’t she? He didn’t know what to think, he’d said it now and could not take it back. He was nervous, unsure. The way she was looking at him now didn’t help at all. Mara replied, “Yeah I guess that would be fine. Nothing worse than sitting idle in a strange place.” Being with Whitesun would keep the low-lifes from bugging her, more than likely. And if she got restless and wanted to bust out of orbit early, she could always say business beckoned. Luke’s lips tightened, suppressing an utterly wide grin of joy, showing only a smile. He’d asked and she’d said yes! He felt like dancing on top of the table! He only did an imaginary dance. 26

Chapter 4 L uke stood in the promenade looking out to the ocean and savouring the sea breeze and salty smell of the water. Luke loved water. He appreciated it in ways not many sentient beings would, unless they had grown up in a desert planet like he did. He’d arrived early and waited patiently for his date’s arrival. Could this be considered a date? He wondered. As the well raised young man he was, he would have loved to pick Celina up at her hotel, but she’d kept cryptic all about it. Having failed at knowing where she was staying, he’d had to content himself with meeting with her at the agreed spot in this promenade. Mara approached the promenade, enjoying the ocean view. It was utterly different from the vast city-world of Imperial Centre or Coruscant. “Hello,” Mara greeted, giving Luke a small smile. “Been here long?” Luke returned a big grin and a hello, “Not really. Any particular places you’d like to visit?” “Nothing in particular. Let’s take a stroll, see if there’s anything interesting.” “Well… Maybe we could start at that market over there?” He suggested as he pointed towards an agglomeration of colourful market stalls and 27

HEART’S DESTINY tents along the far end of the promenade with one finger. “Sure. But we need to be careful. Don’t buy any old fancy overpriced trinket,” Mara advised. They made their way to the market. The place was not really busy since it was still early, but Luke bet that it would get busier as the hours passed by. Just as expected for a market set up in a planet of such disputable reputation like Sarto II had, the market carried all sort of goods imaginable. Mara looked at carry bags and side pouches in a nearby stall. Luke checked out one offering fresh produce. After making his purchase he came back triumphantly to where Celina was. “I loved these when I was a kid!” He explained as he waved a bag full of some small, peach-like, yellow fruit. “What are those?’ Mara asked. They looked fresh and inviting, fortunately, not over-ripe. “These are pallies,” Luke said, “Want one?” “I’ll try one,” Mara replied. She took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet tang. “Delicious!” “I told you!” He countered, feeling gleeful about his findings. They walked along the aisles between stalls, Luke happily eating his fruit. Just rubbing it against his jacket to clean it a little and biting into it afterwards. “You know… My aunt used to treat me with these…” Luke revealed, a tinge of melancholy in his voice. “My aunt taught me manners and to be considerate to other people. My uncle taught me everything I know about hard work and responsibility.” He paused for a moment, the memories weighing on his mind. He stopped to think on how much he appreciated his aunt and uncle now, after they were dead. If Luke had one regret, it was that he had never actually told them how he felt when he had the chance. Mara noticed the sad note and frowned in sympathy, although she had 28

CHAPTER 4 no memories of her family, good or bad. She couldn’t miss what she’d never known, but there were times when she felt a pang of wondering, what if? A street vendor caught Luke’s attention. When noticing his interest, the vendor quickly approached them. “Tickets for tonight’s smashball game. The Rontos will try to beat the Guarnaks! You can’t miss this one!” The vendor waved a pair of tickets in front of Luke’s face. But Luke was not looking at them; he was more interested in the other set of tickets the man was carrying, “What are these for?” He asked. “Oh! Pod races,” the vendor informed, “For this afternoon! Very good seats these are!” He presented the tickets to the potential buyer. Luke turned to Celina, “What you say?… Smashball or pod race?” ‘Please say pod race’, he wished internally. Not that a game of smashball was bad, but he loved the excitement, the speed of pod races, and he’d never seen one live. “I prefer pod races,” Mara said, without hesitation. Luke’s eyes brightened, “You’re definitely my kind of girl!” He spontaneously said when hearing Mara’s selection. He paid for the tickets and the vendor was off. “Let’s head to the race site now, then,” Mara suggested. When they arrived to the Pod race Arena of Sarto II, Luke and Celina were very impressed. The place was huge and very well set up, it looked like the races here were a big thing and for the looks of it, bets were great business too. The tickets they had been sold ended up being for excellent seats. An unexpected treat that gave them an incredible view of the tracks. Luke felt jittery and excited like if he were a little kid, although he tried to hide it as well as he could. There were a number of races lined up, and the ones for last featured the champions of the latest season. This was going to be awesome! 29

HEART’S DESTINY “This setup is a lot better than I might have supposed,” Mara remarked, echoing Luke’s own opinion. The afternoon went by between cheers and boos, good laughs and eating stadium food. The Tatooine farm boy followed the races with great interest. “That red pod is gonna cut them off!” Luke exclaimed in a mix of thrill and alarm. Seconds later the red pod in question did exactly that. Luke turned around to see Celina, who was giving him an odd look. “Lucky guess!” He innocently shrugged and turned back to the race. The hunch had been so certain, and he really didn’t know where it had come from. Had it had to do with the Force? Probably. He’d better keep himself in check, he didn’t want to give Celina the impression that he was some kind of weirdo. They stayed until the last race and soon it was all over. As they conversed, they ended up walking back to the promenade where their day had started. The day was now dying out, the sun was low over the water, announcing an incredibly orange and violet sunset. Walking by her side, Luke felt the urge of taking her hand in his, but he restrained himself. Celina was amazing and he wanted so much more of her than an afternoon out. “Well, you certainly made this an entertaining day,” Mara said. “I had a great day,” Luke confessed. He wanted to be truthful to Celina, let her know that he really liked her. His blue eyes were so warm and his entire demeanour throughout the day had been so thoughtful and enthusiastic, so different from the phony and self-serving attitudes Mara was surrounded by - it was so refreshing - that impulsively, she gave him a brief kiss as if to say: Please don’t change. That took Luke completely by surprise. When he recovered, Luke pressed his palm softly against the side of her cheek, returning the exchange with tenderness. The kiss was soft and sweet. Her lips felt 30

CHAPTER 4 like a balm, and the scent of her hair was exquisite… She smelled of orchids. They parted. Luke opened his eyes and he saw her smile. A genuine smile that was. He smiled back, unable to utter anything, still feeling electrified by the touch of her lips. Then she tensed. Like if a sudden chill had taken hold of her. “Are you all right?” Luke asked, concerned. He’d felt Celina relaxed and happy, he could even dare say: blissful… and suddenly her demeanour had changed, like if she’d just closed down inside a thick shell. “I’m fine, just got a brief chill,” Mara answered, distracted. Shavit! She had felt the Emperor’s unmistakable mind-touch. What kind of unusual timing was that? Could it be a coincidence? With the Emperor, was there ever such a thing? She sighed. Mara had been just a lady out with a handsome, genuine actual gentleman and now… the respite was regretfully over. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He insisted. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Mara made to insist. “I just remembered I have to leave sooner than expected. The good time I had today put it right out of my mind.” “I want to see you again,” he stressed, not wanting to part without making some sort of overture. “I’d like that,” Mara agreed readily. If only she could guarantee no ‘interruptions’, she thought wryly. No chance of that! Luke felt relieved, but knew there was something wrong. “I guess I’d better head back and get ready for an early start tomorrow,” Mara told him, already feeling more settled. There was nothing she could do until she was in a place with secure communication. “Take care, Celina,” he said and saw her leave. At least she’d agreed they’d meet again, and he had her number, so he should not worry, he ought to trust what he’d just felt. And what he’d felt was that Celina 31

HEART’S DESTINY really liked him, just as much as he liked her. She nodded and walked away briskly, but casually. A few days had passed since Sarto II and Luke was back in his routine at the Rebel Base, waiting for an opportunity to get out. But it looked like things were slow for now and that the high ranks in the Alliance didn’t need anything but to keep the troops and personnel out of Empire’s reach. So they’d been in hiding. Luke thought of Celina every day at every hour. He didn’t even recognize himself! All he could think of was of that incredible kiss! He’d never get over that! He could feel his heart beating rapidly at the memory. And he felt worried too, worried for Celina… There was something going on with her… That moment before they said their goodbyes, right after their kiss, something hadn’t felt right… Something had felt dark somehow. Not coming from her, but around her. It was silly, he knew. But it was hard to tell, and the Force wasn’t helping much. He’d had to wait until their next encounter and hope that everything would be all right with her. 32

Chapter 5 M ara was intrigued when she finally found out the urgency behind the Emperor’s summons. She met with Grand Admiral Thrawn who wanted to ask about her familiarity with Kuat. It appeared there had been some incursions by Rebels in the vicinity of the Kuat Drive Yards. Mara related what she knew of the efficient and business-like Kuati. “If something is occurring that is traitorous, the Kuati are either not involved directly (the activity is successfully carried out without their knowledge), or it is a fringe criminal element, which I am inclined to think is the actual situation.” She knew of Thrawn’s ability to strategize given the artistic penchant of a culture, and she was not able to provide any insights on that, unfortunately. He thanked her for her input, and Mara thought no more about it until she herself was tasked to go to Kuat and try to uncover the mastermind and deal with them in such a manner as to send a clear message. All of this should have left her little or no time to think about Bren Whitesun, but to her annoyance, he still crept into her thoughts at the most unusual moments, usually when she had a few brief moments of idleness. Mara tried to squelch the image of those sky-blue, earnest 33

HEART’S DESTINY eyes and that infectious, sincere smile of his, but it seemed like the more she tried, the more persistently he stayed on her mind. * * * A little over a month had gone by and it had been a busy time for the Alliance. Hopping from one system to another, without finding a safe spot where to set up a base, running low on cash and supplies getting harder and harder to get… Everyone’s nerves were on edge. Only a miracle could save the Rebels, before everything started to come apart. And then it happened that an encrypted message had reached the Rebel hidden convoy, a message from a source who claimed sponsors had been found. This were most welcome news, but in times of war like this, one ought to be cautious. The intel had to be checked and confirmed first, before any further decisions were made. Luke had to carry out this vital mission for the Alliance. A secret meeting with a mediator called Fulcrum in order to recover this precious intel was now in his hands. Travelling in a small, merchant vessel with modified ID, Luke reached the Morngol System. He was to meet this mysterious informant in the shipyards of Yalorum. As months had passed by, Vader had gotten more and more desperate to find the young Rebel pilot who had destroyed the Death Star, and bounties were hitting six figures now. With his name now in the most wanted list, he had to be extremely careful. Luke opted for leaving his ship parked in a public hangar some blocks away from his meeting point. He’d walk there and look inconspicuous. His cover consisted on posing as a ship buyer, his contact would be the seller. All he had to do was to reach the agreed hangar and look for a green star skiff with Tangorian markings. When he entered the hangar, it didn’t take him long to spot the ship he was looking for at the far end of the area. When he approached, 34

CHAPTER 5 somebody was waiting by the ship’s ramp. That must be the seller. “I hear skiffs are becoming the newest trend in Bandor,” Luke said when he was near enough, his senses in full alert. “Only if you get one from Nugata and take it for a spin to Coruscant,” the seller answered. The code exchange had gone without any problems, so this was indeed his contact… This was Fulcrum. Fulcrum was a slender female Togruta of copper skin, long white and blue head-tails and montrals, delicate white marks on her face, and deep blue, fiery but wise eyes. “I’m Bren Whitesun,” Luke introduced himself, “I’m here for the ship you have for sale?” “Fulcrum,” she extended her hand and shook his. “Shall we?” She signalled the way. They walked alongside the ship, taking a few stops here and there, pointing at the main features on the ship’s hull and exchanging related questions and answers, both doing the whole drill as if this were a simple commercial rendezvous. They stopped at one point and the Togruta pointed at a small grid on the bottom part of the hull. Luke took the hint and placed his hand on top of the signalled spot and passed his fingers along the grid… Inside it, there it was! A small datacard. He took it and casually placed it in the pocket in his pants, while he asked something about the fuel efficiency of the ship. Next they went aboard the ship, and into the cockpit. In there it would be safer to talk. “Whitesun, you say?” Fulcrum gave a small chuckle, “You look more like a Skywalker to me.” Luke froze. He looked into those cerulean eyes of hers and panicked. His cover was blown! How could he’d be so careless! He expected Imperials to rain on him any minute. 35

HEART’S DESTINY “Relax,” she said when noticing him tensing, “I’m not here to turn you in. As a matter of fact, I didn’t expect to find you here. Your name is all over Imperial announcements and in their most wanted list. I never expected you to be out in the open.” Luke relaxed, for some strange reason he believed her. Fulcrum looked at the boy, measuring him up. To insert himself in Imperial territory like this, with a bounty on his head… The boy was reckless! “Is this a strategy of your choice?” She asked. “More of a last resort choice, really,” Luke snorted. Fulcrum smiled, “Somehow you remind me of my young self.” With great care, Fulcrum inspected the young pilot before her with her gaze. When she’d heard the name at first, popping in every piece of Imperial intel she’d gathered, ‘Skywalker’, hearing of someone named like that, she’d wondered… but now that she had the boy right in front of her there was no doubt. Although yet untrained, the boy was strong in the Force… His energy, the blue eyes, the cut of the chin, the sandy blond hair… “You look like your father,” she finally said. Luke’s eyes opened wide. She knew his father? “I served alongside him during the Clone Wars,” she answered his unspoken question. “Are you a Jedi?” He asked unable to hide his befuddlement. Fulcrum didn’t say yes or no, just pressed her lips, as if these were about to betray her. This didn’t go unnoticed. “Teach me!” Luke begged. “I don’t take apprentices… I stopped being a Jedi long ago.” This memory brought back acute pain. The Jedi had betrayed her, doubted her… and she’d left. Their bows meant nothing to her anymore, as well as their Code. She’d lived by her own rules since, by the guidance of her heart and conscience. “I just do what I can… And giving you this intel is all I can do now.” Luke was about to protest, but her furrowed brow made him stop. He 36

CHAPTER 5 turned to look at what she was so attentive of… Through the cockpit’s transparisteel window movement in the far entrance of the hangar caught their eye. Stormtroopers entering the hangar! “Don’t panic…” she soothed her young companion, “They’re here for me. Time to run! And you better do the same,” she warned. “Come! I’ll show you a secure exit point. We’ll leave the ship behind and will part ways as soon as we’re clear.” Luke followed her past the main entrance, down the main aisle of the ship, his mind rumbling in thoughts, his heart tight in his chest. No! She could not leave just like this! He had so many questions! And she had answers. But the imminent Stormtrooper raid gave them no time for any of that, and with deep heaviness Luke admitted that he’d have to leave and perhaps never see her again. He followed her without hesitation. Fulcrum led them through a secret exit in the ship that led them further back in the hangar area, allowing them to take the back exit without being noticed. They stepped outside in a street full of pedestrians and vehicles. Once out in the open they mixed with the crowd in the streets. After a few blocks, Fulcrum stopped, already sure they were not being followed. “Now, we part ways,” she told him under the hood she’d pulled over her head. Luke nodded, there was no time to argue, much depended on him making it out of there safe. The mere existence of the Alliance depended on this. “At least… What is your name?” He asked. “Tano… Ahsoka Tano,” she provided. Luke would remember that name for the rest of his life. Tano turned around to leave, but two steps ahead she stopped and looked back to see him one last time, giving him a warm smile. “Goodbye… Skyboy.” * * * 37

HEART’S DESTINY A name had tantalizingly come up for Mara in her investigations … one that had been a bother for more months than she and Palpatine would ever admit— Fulcrum. She traced the activity of Fulcrum to a planet named Yalorum. Mara felt a surge of elation at the thought that finally this enigmatic spy named Fulcrum would fall into their hands. The Emperor would be exceedingly pleased if she brought about this desired outcome. Encrypted messages led to a squad of Stormtroopers being planet side, and Mara surveyed their progress from her ship. She scowled as her displays showed the Stormtroopers scattering in every direction, apparently having lost their quarry. “If you want something done, you have to do it yourself,” Mara thought with disdain and debarked to begin her own search. Meanwhile, Luke walked on the sidewalks in busy streets, his mind too preoccupied with what had just happened, with whom he’d just met. There was a Jedi still alive! And he’d just let her go. His one chance to find a proper teacher was long past. He’d have to find Ahsoka Tano, somehow he had to! But something told him that she was someone who didn’t want to be found, and being a Jedi made this even more effective. He knew in his heart, with the certainty that his rudimentary Force sense allowed him to, that he’d never see her or hear of her ever again. Small groups of Stormtroopers went hurriedly past him in the direction of the hangar he had just left behind. They didn’t look like they had caught Tano, and he felt glad; and they had just run past him, so his cover hadn’t been blown. Now he had to make way to his ship and leave. Luke tried to walk fast but as casually as he could, he didn’t want any eyes on him. There was just too much adrenaline in his body, boosted by his discovery and the urgency of getting off planet without being recognized. This time things had been close, too close. He didn’t know for how long his Bren Whitesun façade would work. “Whitesun, hello!” Came an all-too familiar and welcome voice. 38

CHAPTER 5 Seeing him again almost made Mara lose her composure, he had been so much on her mind of late, but she was too well trained to let it show except for a smile she couldn’t prevent. Luke turned at the sound of the name of his current alter ego, “Celina!” This was really a surprise! “What are you doing on Yalorum?” She questioned. “I’m here checking on a purchase… I’ve been thinking about buying a new ship,” Luke quickly delivered feeling acutely self-conscious, he had to stick to his story although he hated lying to her, “And you?” “Oh? I was trying to run some rumours to ground for my ‘employer’, and not having too much luck,” Mara admitted, an edge of frustration creeping into her tone. “You heading out?” She asked, since he seemed to be going in the direction of the hangars. “My business here is done, actually. I’m about to leave!” This wasn’t a lie. “I shouldn’t keep you, and I have a report to file.” Mara hated reporting a lack of success, but it couldn’t be put off indefinitely. “Are you staying long?” Luke asked, maybe Celina could come with him. It would certainly help to have her around to diverge attention, but mainly this would give him a chance to be with her. It was crazy! Here he was, his own hide at stake, but thinking about how much he wanted to have Celina by his side. Luke shook his head in self-reprimand. “I will probably be leaving within the next few hours. No sense hanging around,” Mara answered. What happened next, happened way too fast. Luke felt Celina push him out of the way, putting them both behind the protection of a wall in a nearby alley. Seconds later a flourish of blaster bolts vaped everything in the spot they’d been just occupying. ‘How did she?’ Luke wondered; it was just like if Celina had known the blaster bolts were coming. Soon, the perpetrator came in sight, no Stormtroopers amongst them 39

HEART’S DESTINY so this proved these people were not here for him. Why were these thugs here? Blaster already in hand, Luke prepared to fight their way out of there, “Are these friends of yours?” He asked. “In my line of work, sometimes I tend to antagonize the wrong people. An occupational hazard,” Mara quipped. Wielding their blasters, both kept the thugs from entering the alley they had found protection in, then a blaster bolt came right from behind them. The thugs — even more it seemed than originally - had found their way around and were coming in from the other end. They were surrounded. “This doesn’t look good,” Luke mumbled, as he pulled Celina close and into a small nook on one of the walls taking cover from the incoming fire, a space large enough to fit them both very tightly. “You can say that again,” Mara re-joined, continuing a volley of bolts aimed at the would-be attackers. They were stuck, with nowhere to go. Celina was certainly a great shot, but they would not be able to hold off a dozen enemies for long. From the limited vison angle he had, Luke looked around, searching for an opportunity… and he found it. Up the high walls of the buildings that made out the alley, there were flowerpots and lines full of clothing hung to dry in the early afternoon’s sun; if he could call in the Force and use that as a diversion… “When I tell you so, just run towards the end of the alley!” Luke told Celina; his voice muffled by the raging sound of blasters firing. He saw uncertainty on her face, but this was not the moment to try to convince her, “Just do it!” Luke closed his eyes for brief moments and tried to connect to the flow of the Force. ‘Darn!’ It was hard! The results were not elegant, but were effective. Dozens of heavy flowerpots started raining on the thugs, knocking them out, and pieces of clothing falling like large leaves blocking everyone’s angle of vision. 40

CHAPTER 5 “Now!” Luke yelled. Both ran, jumping over knocked out thugs and missing random bolts that came from the opposite direction, aimless shots now that their owners couldn’t see where they were firing. Luke and Mara made it to the main street, making their way through the crowd with difficulty. As he pushed through the crowd, at one point Luke lost sight of Celina. The mass of people was so thick that inevitably got them separated. Luke could feel his throat tightening in anguish. He had to find her! They both needed to get to safety and he was not leaving without her. Frantically, he started his search of her. * * * Where had Whitesun disappeared to? And that trick with the flowerpots and laundry… if she didn’t know better, Mara would have to think he was Force-sensitive to some degree. That was a tantalizing thought but one that would have to wait. Four armed thugs suddenly arrived and all her attention was taken fending them off until one of them fired a nasty projectile dart which landed in her shoulder. Mara suddenly felt woozy. What was in that thing? Some kind of narcotic or some such to slow down your defences. While Mara was feeling disoriented, two goons bound her wrists and dragged her into a building. A tall, nasty looking man levelled his blaster pointing at her face, “Wardell sends his regards.” Wardell? That was the Moff she’d just exposed some short time ago. So this was his doing. “You can tell your boss to go vape himself,” Mara said with difficulty but with cold fury. Without showing any sort of remorse, the chief thug pulled the trigger. 41

HEART’S DESTINY Then, a yelp as the man was sent flying, the blaster bolt ricocheting on a wall nearby. Luke had made it just in time. With the help of the Force he’d tracked her energy signature. Using the Force once more, he pushed all three remaining thugs with power, making them hit the walls hard, rendering them unconscious, just like their first companion had done seconds before. Hurriedly, Luke approached Celina who lay on the floor. “Are you all right?” A deeply concerned Luke asked, his breath short. She gave evidence of making a big effort to keep herself coherent, just as if she’d been drugged… She didn’t look good, the gut wound she sported and the red puddle underneath her told him everything he needed to know, she didn’t have much time, “We have to get you some medical help!” He’d not been fast enough! The blaster bolt had missed her head, but not her abdomen. “Got any bacta bandages?” She asked, slurring her words. “I’ll do what I can now,” Luke offered as he retrieved his emergency kit from his utility belt. “You’ll be all right! I promise!” She looked pale and had started to shiver, she was going into shock! “Here! Swallow this… It’s a pain killer,” he placed the small pill in her mouth. Quickly he ripped her scorched clothes and inspected the wound. Mara felt some relief as the painkiller started to kick in, but the continued loss of blood was worrying! Celina was in a lot of pain and the wound was bad, she’d already lost so much blood! What to do? He’d seen these sorts of wounds before, in the battlefield… and none who’d had them had survived. Luke’s hands shook as he worked, what was he supposed to do with something like this? He was not a medic! Well, he was not a medic, but he was a Jedi… or at least one in the making. Maybe the Force could help him. Instinctively Luke placed the tips of his fingers on her temples; closing his eyes, he drew in energy from the Force… Willing it to heal, to mend, 42

CHAPTER 5 to bring life. Moments later, her panting stopped, she stopped shivering and felt limp… When sensing her change Luke opened his eyes and for a moment he panicked. Had he killed her? Quickly he checked her pulse… She was still breathing, and to his surprise she looked peaceful, like if only asleep. He checked her wound once more and to his surprise the bleeding had stopped. Had he done this? Never mind! It was not the time to hesitate or wonder. Now that the bleeding had stopped he could administer some first aid. He finished patching her up and she was still asleep; Luke wondered for how long. He now needed to take her out of there and bring her to some place safe. It was evident that Yalorum was not safe for her or for him, so they should leave. But he could not just show up to the Base with a stranger. “Artoo! I need you to come and find me!” Luke used his commlink to call the little droid, “I need your help to carry out a last-minute plan.” 43

Chapter 6 M ara stirred, feeling surprisingly more in one piece than she might have expected. This Bren Whitesun just kept coming up with surprises! He definitely had Force abilities! She heard the thrum of engines and realized they must be away from Yalorum. She resolved to take care of that Gundark butt of a Moff when she had the chance. She had more than a score to settle with him. She opened her eyes with effort and noticed Luke watching her with concern. “Thanks for getting us out of there,” she said in a ragged whisper. “Where’re we headed, anyhow?” “Hey! You’re awake,” he told her with softness, unable to hide his relief. He’d been able to pull them out of Yalorum without any more incidents. If he had not arrived when he did… Celina would be dead. Luke found that thought unbearable, and felt glad things turned out the way they did. By now those thugs must have desisted in their search and probably moved out to another system. Celina was safe for now. “I found this small moon and I think we’ll be safe there.” At not being able to bring Celina back to the Rebel base with him, Luke had found a small moon with remote, rustic areas where they could go into hiding. “Your wound is healing, but it’ll need a lot more rest to heal completely.” 44

CHAPTER 6 She’d been submerged in that sort of healing trance he’d put her under, or at least this is how he’d decided to call whatever it was he’d done. Mara said, “A convenient find, that’s for sure. Now my unpleasant report can be delayed for legitimate reasons. That was quite the display you put on back there in the alley when those mercs showed up.” “About what you saw back in the alley… I don’t know how to explain… ” he sheepishly said, “It is something I recently learnt about myself, I can do things with my mind, with the power of my will… I’m very bad at it though,” he snorted. “Yeah, well, it worked well enough,” Mara remarked. “Have you always been able to do such things?” “The more I think about it I’ve come to realize that I’ve been able to do strange things since I was a child… Sometimes my aunt and uncle would freak out! Although they tried to hide it I could see it in their faces.” Luke searched his memory, going back to those specific times, “It was never discussed at home, so I just suppressed it I guess, and forgot all about it… Until…” Luke stopped, not wanting to bring the name Obi-Wan Kenobi up. “That must’ve been more than a little awkward and confusing,” Mara said in sympathy. Growing up in a simple rural community as he had described but with a talent that was uncommon and inexplicable must have imposed an unwanted isolation and sense of differentness. “How did you know they were going to hit us?” Luke then asked. Celina had known exactly when the shots were going to rain on them and he also had his suspicions about her. “Just lucky, I guess.” Mara said and stifled a yawn. Her energy reserves weren’t up to full quite yet. “You go back to sleep; I’m taking care of everything,” he reassured. Mara wasn’t used to leaving the details to someone else, but besides the literal fact she wasn’t up to handling them at the moment, surprisingly it felt good doing so in this situation (and what was even more startling) 45

HEART’S DESTINY with Bren Whitesun who was becoming more interesting with each encounter! Luke left Celina in the sleeping cabin resting and took his place in the ship’s cockpit. Despite the little droid’s complaints, he instructed R2-D2 to drop them off on the moon and immediately fly back to the Rebel Base to deliver the intel he’d gotten from Fulcrum, not without making a note to him to wait for his encrypted signal to come back and get him. With this out of the way, Luke could use the rest of his time to make sure Celina healed. * * * The small, rustic house where they were staying was located outside a tiny village in a secluded area in the mountains. Luke didn’t know for how long they would stay there, but he’d paid for the rent of the small place for two weeks in advance, the owner didn’t seem to want to ask any questions and looked very eager to get all that money all at once. The locals didn’t seem to be interested in their visitors either. This suited Luke perfectly. While Celina slept, Luke had gone into the village to get provisions and some new clothing for her so she could have a fresh change and ditch the bloodied apparel. As soon as he was back from the village he got himself busy prepping some food in the small kitchen. He was just about done when Celina made her appearance, clad in the new set of clothes he’d gotten for her and had left by her bed. After a full night’s sleep and more, Mara felt more like herself. She found a new set of clothing by her bed and put them on: an outfit in shades of pale blue and silver. “How do you feel?” Luke greeted. 46