jedimara77 | X-Wing: Knights of Plooma Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

On the New Republic delegation's final day on Plooma, Talon Karrde settled into the small briefing room where they would prepare for the gala closing festivities. He nodded briefly at Fiolla, who had already taken a seat across from him, and Hobbie, who sat next to her. Karrde made a mental note to figure out what that was about later. One of the attendants came by with some caf, which he accepted gratefully while perusing through some documents on his datapad. He was so focused on a new shipping agreement that he didn't notice Mara enter the room until she flopped into the chair next to him and practically threw a folder full of flimsiplast sheets on the table.

Karrde slowly glanced over at his former second-in-command. She stared straight ahead, looking angry, confused, and tired.

Very tired.

Even though he already had a good idea of what was inside, Karrde opened the folder and began scanning the documents. "Ah," he remarked as he recognized the contents.

"Ah yourself," Mara snapped.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are these what I think they are?"

"You can read, can't you?"

Oh, she certainly was in fine sarcastic form this morning.

"Then I'm right—these are employment contracts?"

"Yes."

"So this means you're coming back to work for me?"

"Yes! You won our little bet. Happy now?"

Karrde grinned, unable to resist poking the nest a bit more. "Well. What made you change your mind about Luke, Mara? Last time I checked, you still couldn't stand him."

The redhead's face turned as scarlet as her hair. "It's none of your damn business. Now shut up!" she hissed, just as Luke cheerfully sauntered into the room and took the seat next to her. Despite the bags under his eyes, he seemed upbeat and...somehow different.

Karrde chuckled, knowing exactly why Mara did not want to continue their conversation. Luke, however, picked up on their exchange and decided to interject. "Good morning, Karrde. Mara. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Mara said shortly.

"Oh, your wife was just returning some employment contracts," Karrde spoke over her, eliciting a sharp jab in the ribs. "She finally caved and decided to come back to her rightful place amongst my organization."

"Really?" Luke propped his chin on his palm. "That's...interesting. How come you're going back to work for Karrde, Mara? I thought you were happy being an independent?"

She glared at him. "Stay out of my head, Skywalker."

"Oh, now that's not a nice way to talk to your husband."

Mara ignored him, pretending to be engrossed in whatever she was reading on her datapad.

Luke began spinning in his chair, a self-confident smirk on his lips. He leaned in so the others in the room wouldn't hear him. "So I guess it's not that bad being married to me after all, huh?"

Karrde sputtered and caf flew across the table, hitting Fiolla in the face. He grimaced in apology, but she just wiped the beverage from her skin with her scarf and began sniffing it intently. He barely had the time to ponder her actions before the explosion erupted from his left.

"What the hell did you just say, Skywalker?"

The smirk did not leave Luke's face as he continued to whisper. "You're going back to work for Karrde. That means you admit that you enjoyed being married to me and, therefore, he won your bet. Now, I have to say that I'm very proud of you for admitting to that fact, without me even having to 'butt into your mind'! That shows great character, honesty, and nobility on your part. Very Jedi-like."

Karrde would not have been surprised if he saw steam come out of Mara's ears. She turned slowly to Karrde, then back to Luke, as a look of realization came across her face.

"You knew!" she snarled at Luke.

"About the bet? Yes, I have to admit that I did."

"You...you...you little nerfherder! That's why you've been so damned nice to me! You were in on this bet from the start!"

"Actually, Mara—"

She whirled around and pointed her finger in Karrde's face, cutting him off. "Oh, don't worry, I'll deal with you later—boss! But for now—" She turned back to Luke, who still had the same shavit-eating grin on his face. "—You are dead."

"Ah, that's an empty threat coming from you," Luke teased, and Karrde once again burst out laughing. Letting out a frustrated growl, Mara gathered her belongings and stomped to the chair on the other side of Karrde. Luke met Karrde's eye and shrugged, then got up to sit on the other side of Mara, once again blocking her in between the two men. "Look, yes, I knew about the bet. Karrde reminded me of several unpaid favors I owed him, so when he arrived and asked me to help him out here, well...I just couldn't help myself." He shrugged sheepishly.

Mara snatched the folder from the table and smacked Luke hard on the arm. Luke didn't flinch. He calmly took the folder from her grasp and passed it back over to Karrde. "I have to admit, though, that the bet wasn't the only reason I acted the way I did. It hurt my pride a bit, that you were so put off at the prospect of pretending to be with me. So I wanted to prove myself to you."

"And just what does my opinion on such things matter to you, Skywalker?" she asked dismissively.

Luke sighed heavily, turning away from Mara to study his datapad, suddenly forlorn. "I think you know that it matters very much, Jade."

Mara watched him for a moment; then she rolled her eyes and abruptly pushed herself from the table, mumbling something about the refresher and that she was expecting a hefty raise when she got back to the Wild Karrde. Karrde chuckled, then grew serious as Luke raised his gaze to watch Mara leave the room. As soon as she was gone, the Jedi Master glanced at Karrde, before quickly looking away.

"Admit it, Luke," Karrde said, as the younger man began to read his datapad.

"Admit what?" Luke replied, not looking back at the information broker.

Karrde leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "You enjoyed being married to her, too."

Luke didn't respond. He just leaned back in his chair and gazed off into the distance.

The New Republic delegation was mulling about the spaceport, saying good-bye.

Corran was very grateful that the mission was over; after all, getting shot at by Imperials was never very fun. Plus, he missed his children. And Mirax.

He smiled to himself as he glanced over at the Pulsar Skate, eagerly anticipating the reunion with his wife.

But for now, it was time to say good-bye to Mara. She was leaving the planet with Karrde, since he had somehow suckered her into working for his organization again. Corran hadn’t been able to get that story out of her; in fact, she’d threatened to kill him when he had dared to ask.

“See you later, Klivian,” Mara said, giving Hobbie a polite handshake. “Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”

Hobbie grinned. “My pleasure. Have a good trip, Mara.”

“You too.” She then turned to Corran with raised eyebrows. “So. I guess this is good-bye, Horn.”

He pulled her into a dramatic hug, then held her at arm's length. “Yes. Now, try to calm yourself; I know that parting is such sweet sorrow, but I am sure we will see each other again soon.”

“Oh, shut up. And tell your wife I’ll be on Coruscant in a month. I expect her to buy me some drinks as payment for putting up with you for two weeks.”

Corran laughed and glanced at Luke. “Hey, didn’t we once agree to never let the two of them meet?”

Luke nodded, looking somewhat melancholy. “Yeah. I remember that.”

The pretend husband and wife shifted awkwardly for a few moments. Then Luke suddenly grabbed Mara’s arm and pulled her away from the others.

“Why does he have to do that?” Corran whined.

“Oh, I wonder why,” Hobbie replied drily.

Corran waved his hand, silencing the other pilot. He closed his eyes and reached out into the Force, but couldn’t hear anything. Luke must have been blocking him. Admitting defeat, he opened his eyes and watched the two say good-bye. Luke placed his hand on Mara’s shoulder and it looked like he was trying to convince her of something, but she was having none of it. Trying to convince her to go back to the Academy? Corran rolled his eyes. Luke was definitely persistent.

Mara shook her head vigorously and turned away, the expression on her face not betraying any sort of emotion. She began to cross the spaceport towards the shuttle where Karrde was waiting.

"Hey Mara?" Luke called, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around and gave him a curious look.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just wondering...about the Academy..."

Mara held out a hand. "I thought we agreed, remember? No more Jedi talk."

"What? ...Oh, no! No, that's not what I meant," Luke replied, shaking his head.

Corran watched them, confused. If they hadn't just been talking about Mara returning to the Academy, what had they been talking about? Could they possibly have been discussing their crazy relationship? His hopes began to rise...then Luke stepped closer to Mara, and he took her hand in his...

"That first time you decided to leave the Academy," he said softly. "Was that because of the lightsaber incident?"

Corran's eyes widened. Oh, kriff.

For a moment, there was pure, absolute, horrifying stillness. Then, all at once, Luke's eyes flashed wickedly, Hobbie keeled over in laughter, and Mara turned around slowly, glaring vibroblades at Corran. His life flashed before his eyes: his time in CorSec, liberating Coruscant with the Rogues, his dear wife, learning to be a Jedi, the birth of his two children.

Unable to move, Corran stared in fear at the woman whose hand was creeping dangerously towards her lightsaber. "That's it," she snarled. She turned to Luke. "Tell Mirax I am very sorry, but I was forced to murder her husband."

The Jedi Master nodded solemnly. "I'm sure she will understand."

Corran's eyes widened in absolute fear as Mara began advancing on him. He backed up as quickly as he could, trying to calm her down as he moved. "Mara, come on now, it was just a joke! I didn't tell him anything, I swear! ...Oh, shavit!" He turned and bolted across the spaceport.

Mara was only a few steps behind him, her blue blade already ignited at her side.

Hobbie and Luke watched them in laughter, coughing to catch their breath. Now this is much more entertaining than watching Luke and Mara fight, Hobbie mused.

"YOU ARE A DEAD MAN, HORN!"

"MIRAX! OPEN UP THE SHIP! MARA'S TRYING TO KILL ME! SHE'S SERIOUS, THIS TIME!"

"TRUST ME, SHE'LL UNDERSTAND! NOW STOP RUNNING SO I CAN FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT'S IN BETWEEN THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS!"

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Hobbie asked.

Luke shrugged innocently. "Possibly."

"I thought a Jedi was above revenge?"

"We are," Luke agreed. "But, as she always points out, Mara isn't a Jedi."

"Oooh. You're sneaky, old boss."

"I wasn't Rogue Leader for nothing."

Two blurs ran past them again.

"COME ON MARA, THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!"

"NO IT'S NOT, THIS IS DEADLY SERIOUS!"

"I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS! I DIDN'T TELL LUKE ANYTHING, I SWEAR!"

"AND YOU NEVER WILL BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SLICE OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND GIVE THEM TO A MOOKA TO USE AS A PLAY TOY!"

After a few more choice words, Hobbie sighed. "We should probably try to stop her now."

Luke nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah, we probably should. Corran may be armed and have the Force, but I doubt that will make much of a difference with her right now."

"THE ONLY LIGHTSABER INCIDENT YOU'RE GOING TO BE CONCERNED WITH FROM NOW ON IS THE ONE THAT ENDS WITH MY BLADE SHOVED ALL THE WAY UP YOUR ASS!"

Luke's face paled. "On second thought, I think I prefer to keep the rest of my limbs intact, don't you agree?"

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," Hobbie said.

Sharing a grin, the two pilots walked across the spaceport towards the Pulsar Skate, while the shouts of pain emanating from Corran Horn faded into the distance.

Hobbie was ready to go home.

Two weeks of dealing with two grown adults acting like children, a third encouraging the aforementioned pair to continue acting like children, getting shot at, flying combat, dealing with boring meetings, being paraded around like some sort of trophy, getting caught up in local government corruption, and having a lovely woman mistake him for Corran's boyfriend had gotten old in a hurry. Perhaps he should put in for some leave. Force knows he could use a vacation or two. A very long vacation or two that were far, far away from the Rogues, Cracken, Luke, Mara, and Corran.

Especially Corran.

Thankfully, Hobbie wouldn’t be leaving Plooma the same way he had arrived, aboard the Pulsar Skate and trapped with the Jedi portion of the diplomatic contingent. This time he’d be leaving in his own personal, private X-Wing. He had been given the choice of departing on the much more spacious freighter, but Hobbie quickly declined. Even though Mara would be leaving the planet with Karrde, he still did not want to have to deal with Corran trying to find out what happened during Luke and Mara's final dinner or the both of them teasing him about his adventures with Fiolla. Never before had Hobbie been so happy to climb into the cramped confines of a starfighter cockpit and spend several long days in hyperspace. The utter silence would be wonderful.

“Are you getting in on the pool, Hobbs?” Wes asked from beside him.

“You’re starting another pool?” Hobbie said, angling his arms into the sleeves of his bright orange flightsuit.

“Marriage pool,” Wes confirmed as he pulled his head through the white flak jacket. “Luke and Jade.”

Hobbie heaved a sigh. “Really, Wes?”

“Oh come on Hobbie, you know we have pools for everything. We’ve got marriage pools, when is this Rogue going to shack up with that Rogue pools, when is Darklighter going to next embarrass himself in front of the opposite gender pools, when is Wedge going to assign the new guy kitchen duty pools...”

“If Jade ever catches wind of this, we’re all dead,” Hobbie said, sealing the cuffs on his sleeves.

“A risk, I believe, we must take,” Wes said. He shouted towards the other side of the changing room. “Pash! Luke and Jade marriage pool, how long?”

“What’s the buy-in?” Pash asked from across the room.

“Two hundred credits.”

“Put me down for five years.”

Wes grinned and jotted the wager down on a sheet of flimsy. “Thank you, good sir,” he said before turning his attention to another side of the room. “What says you, boss?”

Wedge poked his head out over a stack of crates. “Fifteen months.”

“Fifteen months? A rather daring wager,” Wes noted before turning to face Hobbie. “Now what can I put you down for, old friend?”

“I’m not indulging you this time,” Hobbie replied.

“You’re no fun anymore. Remember when you used to be fun?”

“I’m still fun,” Hobbie protested, ensuring his life support vest was in place. “Fine, six years.”

Before Wes could trap him into making a second bet in the pool, Hobbie slipped out of the changing room and made his way outside and towards the row of parked X-wings. He made a mental note to “accidentally” turn off his hypernet communications transponder so Wes couldn’t bother him while in transit. Sighing to himself, Hobbie climbed the ladder mounted beside his X-wing and keyed the canopy release button.

Nothing happened.

Narrowing his eyes at the control panel and the transparisteel canopy that prevented him from achieving the isolation he so desired, Hobbie depressed the button once again. “Damn relay is broken again,” he muttered under his breath. He would have to pull the manual release. Stepping onto the last rung of the ladder, he leaned over the canopy and stretched his arm towards the other side, grasping for the lever that would disengage the locking mechanism. Cursing, Hobbie stood on his tip-toes, trying to ignore the unnerving sensation of his balance point being extended a touch beyond what he knew was safe.

Finally, his fingers wrapped around the lever and he pulled back. A series of mechanical thuds signaled the lock had disengaged. Before Hobbie could pat himself on the back for his remarkable display of flexibility, his stomach lurched. The canopy lifted, with him on it. His hands flailed to try and find purchase, but it was already too late. The transparisteel frame lifted just enough to raise him fully off of the ladder and shift his weight beyond the point where mere friction would hold him to the hull of his X-wing.

Letting out a yelp, Hobbie fell to the ground below. A sickening crunch rang through his ears and a sharp pain coursed through his chest. He tried to breathe to calm himself, but that simple action only served to increase the blazing agony.

“Sithspit, Hobbie!” Wes yelled, suddenly appearing standing over him. “Didn’t you learn in flight school that it's a long ways down from the cockpit?”

Hobbie could only groan. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Wedge standing over him, too.

“A few broken ribs if I had to wager a guess,” Wedge said. “What a shame, you’d done so well to avoid getting yourself injured on this trip. No way you’re flying now.”

Another groan.

“I’ll get on the comlink and see if Mirax is still here,” Wedge continued. “I’m sure she can take you to the Redemption to get patched up before taking you, Luke, and Corran back to Coruscant. It should only be a two day trip.”

This time, Hobbie only managed to whimper.

THE END...

...or is it?