"Pinch me, Mac, I think I'm dreaming..." Author: Hugo "Animal" Chikamori E-mail: hchikamori@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13 (mildly graphic language) Classification: Mac/Harm R; Luke/Mara R; Han/Leia R; Spoilers: None, except whatever comes out of Animal's demented mind... JAG/SW Cross-over Summary: What would happen if some characters from "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...ended up stuck in our corner of the universe...Is Brumby really Australian? or is he...a...? DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended. All characters, such as Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa-Solo, Han Solo, belong to George Lucas. Mara Jade is the brain-child of Timothy Zahn and is also copyrighted to George Lucas. None of these characters are being used with the intention of making monetary gain, but just for the purposes of entertainment. May 19th, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 1450 ZULU EST; Harm sat in his chair contemplating the next case in his ever- expanding portfolio of cases that he had on his desk. He was getting a major headache. 'Ah, what a Tylenol would do for my headache right now.' He had ended up staying awake long into the morning, this morning, and he was paying for that with burnout. 'I need a break...' he thought. His partner, the young pretty Major Sarah MacKenzie grinned," Hey... partner...you look a little tired." Harm snickered...as he looked up at her." That's a major under- statement, Major...I'm completely bushed..." Mac looked at him with that mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes and replied. " Well, considering that you were all gung-ho to go through the night with that case." Harm rubbed his temples as he leaned back in his chair. " Yeah, I guess I overdid it." (way out there...somewhere in a galaxy far, far away approximately about the same time period as before) Chewbacca growled something at the "kid" who was sitting beside Han Leia. "Anakin Solo...What did I tell you about fiddling with the power converters again? Now the readings are all off the damned map." Han growled as he looked at the readings on the Millenium Falcon console. Anakin was a sixteen year old, not yet old enough to learn the ways of the Force. His uncle, a Jedi Master, was along for this trip to an uncharted sector of the Unknown regions, as was his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker. The Skywalkers were sequestered in their own cabin, which used to be a storage area on board the Falcon, before Han converted it. "But, dad..." Anakin grumbled..."You taught me that the left power coupling has to be fitted to..." "Look, I don't give a Hutt's behind about what I said...young man... I don't want you messing around with the Falcon..." Han shot Anakin a 'keep your trap zipped...look' that caused Anakin to shut-up. "Han, shall we make that jump into hyperspace..." Leia said indulgently to her husband. " Or, will the Falcon take doing another hyper- space jump?" " Don't worry, she'll hold together..." Han reassured her with a cocky grin...under his breath though, he muttered 'hear me, girl, hold together..." " So, is my young nephew's berating over yet?" a female voice came from just outside in the corridor leading to the Falcon's cockpit. " Oh, sure, Mara...come in." The fiery ex-Emperor's Hand and ex-smuggler eased her way in around the numerous consoles in the cockpit. She was lithe and had a dangerous aura around her. Her temper was well known around Coruscant, and she was efficient with a blaster and lightsaber. She hadn't lost that dangerous edge that she had before marriage and Luke knew her well enough not to coddle her like a little wifey who couldn't handle anything. She could definitely handle herself since being an assassin for the Emperor had taught her skills that made her lethal. Leia envied her for her beauty. She was stunning, red-gold tresses falling past her shoulders, emerald green eyes stood out and the things that her body did to her black jumpsuit were absolutely criminal. "Well, strap down...and grab a seat...in either order..." Han quipped "We're gonna make the jump to lightspeed." FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 1600 ZULU EST Mac and Harm made their way out of the JAG Headquarters. Lieutenant Commander Mic Brumby saw them leave. He snickered,"Little does that pathetic Harmon Rabb Jr. know about my real past." He checked the door to see that no one was in the building. Then he pulled out his briefcase and opened it up. A cylindrical object with some knobs and switches was resting in the briefcase. He pulled it out and pressed a button. Instantly a crimson beam extended into a shimmering blade. Brumby chuckled ominously. He had an old chair that was not used anymore as a test-bed for his light- saber. It had been such a long time since he had used it last. Swinging the lightsaber, it connected with the chair slicing through it like a hot knife through butter. He felt the Force calling to him through his limbs. Lifting up the pieces so that they hung suspended in mid-air, he raised one hand. Blue electrical Force lightning crackled along his finger tips and he fired it at the chair. The chair vanished into little shards that did not even resemble a chair anymore. He cackled evilly. (back on board the Millenium Falcon) It was dinner time. And Luke, Mara and the Solos, ate. All of a sudden, Luke jolted bolt upright in his seat. "I feel a darkness..." he stammered..." It is the same feeling that I got when we faced Joruus C'Baoth back on Wayland." he said to Mara, who shivered. " Oh...damn...we've got a Dark Jedi running around somewhere in the Unknown Regions." Han's jaw hit the table as his brain digested the ramification of Luke's statement. A Jedi running around in a region that the New Republic did not have control over could have serious complications for the entire galaxy. Leia gasped as she reached for Luke's hand..." Luke...is it one of your former students?" " No, Leia, it's someone that I have not met before, but he does have a familiar aura. I felt the same darkness when I faced the Emperor." " No..." Mara growled..." It can't be..." but there was no denying it. Looking inward, she saw through the Force that there could be no doubt. May 22nd, 1998 Courtroom 117 1030 ZULU EST, " As a matter of public safety, mate, I feel that your Lance Corporal Wilkins should be shoved in a cell and left there for the rats to devour..." Brumby sniped at Harmon Rabb Jr. " Or, is your problem less about the public's safety and more on your incredible win record...think about it, mate." It was all Harm could do to keep from wiping that smug grin off of Brumby's face with his fist. "Tut tut...Commander, playing with anger is a part of the Dark Side... as they say around these parts...mate..." Brumby kicked himself for that slip. He wasn't going to let his cover down, but he couldn't resist taunting that big-headed American oaf. 'Stupid wanker...' He had defeated better men than him in mortal combat. He had ruled the galaxy with an iron fist and he had commanded legions who trembled at his very command, time and time again. He was immortal as he thought, more batches of his clones awaited him at Wayland. Harmon Rabb thought, "Man, what I would give just once to cave in his head." " Too bad you won't have the chance..." was a flicker in his mind... and an evil cackle faded into the distance. " Damn, I must be hearing things..." Harm shook his head in amazement. 'I must be going nuts...I can just see trying to explain this to Mac. Look, Mac, don't see Brumby anymore, because I think he's evil reincarnated. She'll reply why...how did you hear this...and when I reply I heard a voice in my head...she'll tell me to go see a shrink.' He shook his head again... Didn't he see that in a movie once. *Use the Force, Luke...* came in his mind again and that same evil cackle. Harm shook his head a third time, picked up his briefcase and walked out of the court-room, it was just getting too weird for his liking. 'And why the hell am I talking to myself?' he thought. JAG HEADQUARTERS FALL CHURCH, VIRGINIA 1235 ZULU EST, Harm walked in to his office after the trial, still mumbling some- thing to himself as he paced back and forth. "What's the matter?" Mac's voice asked from the door. "Oh, nothing..." Harm replied startled out of his reverie. "It wasn't anything important." Mac raised one eyebrow as if disbelieving him and said,"Yeah, right. C'mon, if something's got you pacing around, then it's bothering you...now, out with it..." "Honestly, Mac, there's nothing wrong." Harm replied, the jealousy running through his mind, making his response rather punchy. "Look, let's drop the subject all right? I'll stop pacing, and go and sit down." he walked over to his seat. "There, I've stopped pacing, are you satisfied?" he said as he dropped back into his seat. "Geesh," Mac said, grinning at Harm,"Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" "NO!" was Harm's irritable growl "Now, Major, don't you have a case to review..." "Yes, actually, I do..." Mac's irrepressible good humor today was just driving Harm up the wall. Of all the days that she had to be cheerful, she had to just pick this one. Somewhere in Hyperspace On board the Millenium Falcon Roughly about the same time "ANAKIN!!!!" there was a bellow from the holding area. Jacen Solo and Jaina looked at each other, "Oh brother, he's gotten himself into trouble again." muttered Jacen looking at his sister. "What is it with him?" "Well, you're the one that's supposed to be watching him," said Jaina looking at her brother. "DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO TOUCH THE ALLUVIAL DAMPERS. NOW THE BLASTED THING IS OUT OF CALIBRATION. ANAKIN!!!!" Han Solo was not just annoyed now. He was enraged. Mara was cheerily looking at Luke who was rolling his eyes. His nephew had a natural affinity for trying to fix machines. But he did not realize that Han treated the Falcon like his own flesh and blood. Han did not want anyone going near his pride and joy. "Did you remember the last time that he tried to fix the vaporator back on our vacation property on Tatooine?" asked Mara to her husband. Luke rolled his eyes again. He still remembered that the vaporator had started pulling out so much water out of the atmosphere that the next time they had to take a shower, they ended up with half the basement flooded, from the over- pressure of the holding tank. It had taken Mara and Luke five days, even with using the Force, to wring the water out of every piece of clothing so that they could use the fibre-line to hang the still damp clothes out to dry in the dual-Tatooine suns. Luke would not let Anakin go near R2D2 either. The poor droid nearly lost all its motivator circuits after Anakin had, at the tender age of 11, tried to give Artoo a tuneup. The little astro-mech droid had ended up being able to out-race an airspeeder, off the porch of their apartment in the Palace in Coruscant 1,550 storeys straight down. It was a wonder that they could find all the pieces. Reading his thoughts, Mara just about broke up in laughter. "Let alone put him back together again." Mara finished his thought for him. "I think I'd better go and see what Anakin is going through." Luke responded cheerfully as he got up out of his seat to go take a look. "I'll come along with you..." Mara said with a chuckle as she took Luke's hand. They wandered down the corridor interconnecting the storage area with the holding area. They found a very penitent Anakin Solo being berated by a very furious Han Solo who had a hex-spanner in his hand tapping it against the palm of his own hand. They were too far away to hear exactly what was being said, but it was very evident that Anakin was not in very good odor with Han right now. Han growled as he raised his eyes to the ceiling glowpanels. "What am I going to do with this kid." he said as he saw Mara and Luke approach. " Glad you could show up?" he said sarcastically as Mara and Luke walked over to their young nephew. Han looked over at Luke and twisted his mouth into a tight grin."Lucky for you he doesn't get into as much trouble as he does at home when he's with you..." Mara looked at Luke with a raised eyebrow. "oh...yes," she said biting down the agreement that was in her voice. "He's a really good kid." trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Even her private things had received a good soaking. All the private things that a wife wears with in the private company of one's husband. All of it ended up on public display when they had had to dry everything out. She was not happy about that. "See," Han said,"He's a good boy when he's with you, but at home he's a holy terror!!!" he growled, oblivious to the fact that Mara's face had belied her comments. "Maybe I should send him to the New Republic Military Academy." That was a tough school which brooked no nonsense from its academic pupils. Luke said,"It's your choice, Han." he said, not really wanting to agree with Han, but Anakin's messing around with little items on board the Falcon and any other mechanical items had started to wear on the Jedi Master's somewhat inexhaustible patience too. At least he wouldn't have to rebuild Artoo again for the second time. 'The first time was a pain in the neck as it was', he thought as he ran through a Jedi relaxation technique in his mind. Han finally decided to send Anakin to his room, then recanted thinking of all the trouble the 16 year old could get into if left alone in his own room. May 23, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALL CHURCH, VIRGINIA 1330 ZULU EST, "WHERE THE HELL IS MY CHAIR?!!!!" thundered Rear Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden as he looked around the JAG headquarters. "My old favorite comfy chair that I used to relax in?" Lt. jg. Harriet Sims told her husband,"Take cover, take cover, the admiral's in that mood again." The admiral had not been very happy since his two prize attorneys were at each other tooth and claw in the courtroom again this morning. He would have to have a talk with both Brumby and Rabb. Those two were starting to get on his nerves. Right now, AJ just wanted to find his old chair that he could relax with. He tromped through the headquarters again,"GODDAMNIT!!! WHO THE HELL TOOK OFF WITH MY FAVORITE CHAIR?!!!" Petty Officer 1st Class Tiner looked out the door to the garbage bin, and saw the chair in several severed pieces. "Uh, sir?" he said as he looked out."I think you may not want to look at this but I think..." "OUT WITH IT...PETTY OFFICER!!!" thundered AJ again. He was not pleased. "It...I mean, your chair is out here...sir..." the petty officer said. "Well, bring it in!!!!" the admiral yelled. "Uh, sir, that may be difficult." "What are you talking about?" AJ growled ominously at Tiner. "Uh, the chair...you might want to take a look at it, sir..." The admiral shouldered the door open to look. His face went pale, then it went livid. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY CHAIR!!!!!" his voice went up several decibels. "WHO IN THE HELL WAS THE LITTLE CRETIN THAT DESECRATED MY CHAIR!!!!!!!!!" the admiral was FURIOUS. "RABB!!!! MACKENZIE!!!! IN MY OFFICE NOW!!!!" Harm and Mac exchanged look. Harm looked as though he was going to the executioner's block. The look on Mac's face was equally despondent. The admiral hissed,"Does anyone know what has happened? My chair was found in several pieces. Neatly cut up." He held up a piece of the chair. "Petty Officer Tiner found this in the garbage bin, Now this is tough metal. It has been sliced cleanly through. Even with a blowtorch, you can't get a clean line through a pipe. Not unless you use a rotary saw with a diamond edged blade and even then there are pieces of metal all over the place. These are clean cuts that fit neatly into each other. Somebody did this and I want to know WHO!!!" "Yes, sir..." Harm and Mac looked at each other in disbelief. Someone just chopped up the admiral's chair and now, the admiral wanted a all- out naval investigation? Harm and Mac gave each other another look and the admiral barked out. "DISMISSED!!!" the two officers turned on their heels and exited the admiral's office. As they wandered back into the office, they ran into Brumby again. The little weasel was wearing a self-satisfied grin as he had listened to the brou-haha that was going on just a few minutes ago. Mac grinned at Brumby who offered Harm a triumphal smile. Harm noticed that it contained a lot of malice. "Well, I see, the admiral's found his chair..." Brumby's haughty tone of voice indicated his disdain for the admiral's situation. "I presume he's ordering a naval investigation into the cause of it's disappearance." "Yeah, Brumby, would you have anything to do with it?" Harm snarled at him. "Oh, I wouldn't think so, I'm too pre-occupied with other matters at the moment." Brumby snickered. "My dear, Mac, would you care to join me for a bit of lunch." "Of course, Mic." Mac smiled, and grinned at Harm,"Ever the gentleman Mic is, isn't he, Harm?" she asked cheerfully. "Thank you, luv." Brumby gloated as he tossed a disdainful look over at Harm. *You cannot beat the dark side, Harm* Brumby tossed back mentally as he took Mac's arm and headed off. "You have a naval investigation to conduct, Major..." Harm snapped as he turned to go into his office. "Oh, quit being such a stiff, Harm, It can wait an hour..." she said as she disappeared out the door on Brumby's arm. Harm gnashed his teeth as he sat down in his chair. 'Who-ever this Brumby fellow was, he was messing with the wrong man.' He made up his mind to come back to the office later on that night to figure out exactly what this character really was. Harm knew that Brumby might be the key to solving this little mystery, however trivial this was. Later that night The Millenium Falcon Nearing Earth. "Are you sure, that this is the area that the Dark Side emanations were coming from?" asked Han. "Yes, whoever he is, he is strong in the Dark Side. Yet, he does not seem to be like Vader..." Luke trailed off. "No, he's worse..." replied Mara, a firm set in her jaw. "I've felt this darkness before, many a time. It is so familiar to me..." She had a far- off look in her eye. "The Emperor?" Luke asked knowing now, what caused Mara's distress. "The Emperor." Mara agreed. "This is a battle not meant for us, but for someone of this planet. Actually two people. Two people destined for one another, yet they do not know it yet. We must hurry, if we are to prepare them for the confrontation to come." Luke knew that he would have to do some rapid teaching of Force skills to the two that they were destined to meet, if they were to have any hope of defeating the reborn Emperor. " Han, we must hurry..." he said. May 23rd, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA 1905 ZULU EST Harm, dressed in dark clothes, slid in through the main door, as the elevator stopped by the hallway. He had his M96 Beretta with him as he tried the lock, it was locked from the outside. He inserted his key to the door of the office. It opened up. Harm went inside eyeing Brumby's office. "How nice of you to join me." an evil-sounding voice cackled in the office. It was coming from Brumby's room, but it did not sound like Brumby at all. The Millenium Falcon landed on the lawn outside a big massive building that looked very flimsy by New Republic Standards, Leia thought. Han guided the ship to a stop, on the lawn, having already activated his anti-matter shield which produced an invisibility field around the object for about ten hours before having to be recharged. Luke and Mara reached for their lightsabers as they headed for the main hatch. Leia followed unsheathing her lightsaber from her belt and turning it on. The snap-hiss of the igniting lightsaber was startling to the droids who turned around as she rushed past them. "Oh, Mistress Organa-Solo..." Threepio called out after her, as Han pulling out his blaster charged by. "What is going on? Captain Solo..." his question was answered by a brief "STOW IT, GOLDENROD..." "Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. United States Naval officer." the voice cackled again,"You do not know the true heritage of your upbringing do you?" the voice said gloatingly. As Harm entered the Brumby's office, the cachinations increased. It was Brumby as he said to Harm, an evil look displayed on his face. "I would kill you, if you were but useless to me, however, you can be of assistance to me. After all, I have your partner with me..." He pointed to the closet. Mac was in the closet, her hands bound together with a form of handcuffs. What seemed to be really funny was that the cuffs appeared to be glowing. Harm had never seen a pair of handcuffs that glowed before. "Rabb, you do not believe that you know your exact powers. You too can be what you call a GOD." "Are you nuts, Brumby, let her go...*ack*" an invisible vise grabbed for his throat as it tightened constricting his air passage choking him. Harmon Rabb dropped to his knees and the pressure relaxed on his throat. "As one of my disciples once said,'I find your lack of faith disturbing.' Rabb. You could become all powerful. What is this world but a middling little backwater planet with everything possible that you could have at your command. Come with me, Rabb, RULE this planet and bow to me..." Brumby grinned maniacally as he raised his hands, blue lightning flashed in between his hands. What Mac's face was not covered, her eyes showed shock and disbelief at what was happening. "A little demonstration of my powers..." Brumby blustered as he levelled an index finger at Harm. A glowing point of light collected on his finger. "I do love this..." Mic Brumby gloated as he fired a bolt at Harmon Rabb Jr. When it hit, it felt like his heart was completely on fire. Even though it was only about 110 volts. "You look a little dour, Harmon Rabb, Why don't you dance." Brumby fired bolts from his fingertips at Harm's legs, keeping him dancing. "PALPATINE!!!" a thunderous voice stopped Brumby dead in his track. "Skywalker?" Brumby's face turned pale. A blonde-haired man stood there with a cylinder emitting what appeared to be a green glowing beam of light that extended about a meter long. "Ah, you have returned." "Not so fast...Palpatine..." A female voice, brittle and cold spoke as the speaker stepped into the room. A red-gold haired female, from what Mac could see, armed with a gun strapped to her wrist, and holding a similar object as the first male, stepped into the room. This one too was extending a meter long beam of light but this one was bluish in color. "Ah, my old Hand..." Palpatine (Brumby) gloated as he looked over at the woman,"Mara Jade." "It's Mara Jade Skywalker now. And your mind-tricks won't control me as it once did..." The woman replied coldly,"I am now a Jedi Knight." 'Jedi Knight?' Harmon Rabb Jr. thought that he was now going completely bonkers. 'I'm seeing things...' *no, you are not...I am Luke Skywalker, Human*. the man's voice rang in his mind. 'how does he do that?' Harm thought, thinking that he was thinking to himself. *no, Harmon Rabb Jr. you will be able to do this yourself one day* the man said as Palpatine/Brumby ignited his beam of light and charged at the man. The man brought up his own beam of light and parried the swing. The moves were blindingly swift and the blades crashed against each other with sparks flying. Mara quickly went over to Mac, "Hold out your hands." "What are you going to do?" Mac growled at the woman. "HOLD OUT YOUR HAND..." the red-haired woman snarled,"Otherwise do you want to keep these binders on?" "Since you put it that way." Mac retorted. The woman flashed her beam of light twice in an intricate pattern around Mac's hands and the weird cuffs fell off her wrists, neatly split open. Mac felt kind of faint seeing as the cuts were much like those inflicted on Rear Admiral Chegwidden's chair. "What is that thing?" Mac asked, her legs feeling kind of rubbery seeing how efficiently the beam of light had cut the bracelets from her hands and how they lay split open on the floor. "It's called a lightsaber," the woman named Mara said. Mac reached out a finger to the blade as if to touch it when Mara said,"Ah, no...don't touch it. It will cut your finger completely off if you touch the glowing blade." "It's made of light?" Mac said, her eyes disbelieving what she saw,"I can't believe it..." Skywalker had beaten Palpatine back, and the former Emperor had to leap through the plate glass window, down three storeys to the ground to escape. Harm thought that Brumby had fallen to certain death when he saw the man escape along the street, crimson lightsaber blade glowing still. "How...how...how did he do that..." Harm gaped as he looked between the broken plate window and the ground. Skywalker grinned as he extinguished his lightsaber,"It is called the Force, it is something that all Jedi Knights and Masters utilize. We utilize the force of living things around us, to make objects move, even to see into the future. You have met with the Dark Side of the Force, Palpatine was the Emperor in our corner of the galaxy. He is interested in galactic conquest and domination. Now he has re-emerged in the Unknown Regions of where your planet is a part." "You, you saved us..." Harm extended a hand in greeting. The man looked at it and then extended his own. Harm grasped his hand and shook it. "A strange greeting..." the man looked quaintly. "You people speak the same as we do." Harm said quizzically. "How do you folks know how to speak English?" "English?" the man spoke quizzically. "For us, we know this language as Basic." "Your name is Skywalker, this is strange. We saw a movie back in 1976 called Star Wars and your name was figured prominently. You look like the actor who played in it...Mark Hamill, I think his name was..." Mac said "Is this some kind of joke?" " There is no joke..." the man named Skywalker replied. "I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and this is my wife, Mara Jade Skywalker." she pointed at the fiery red-gold haired woman who was standing there. Harm looked over at her. She was what every man's dream-woman would be like, gorgeous with a capable competent look about her. "George Lucas thought all of this up in his mind..." Harm said. "How can it be?" "The question you might start asking yourself is...how the heck did Palpatine manage to fit himself in so nicely here..." was a darkhaired man with what appeared to be an old German style weapon with a flared barrel. "Palpatine...is that who Brumby really is?" asked Harm. "He can take many forms..." Mara replied,"He is an evil entity that once killed over Endor, now resorts to taking over the bodies and minds of unsuspecting Force-prescients." "Endor...even this was mentioned too..." Harm replied,"in the movie. You and your father Darth Vader killed the Emperor...by throwing him down the ventilation shaft on the second Death Star. But how did George Lucas recognize all of this." "This George Lucas..." Luke said with a knowing smile,"Is a Force- prescient being too, he knows many things about our galaxy, since he is capable of seeing into the future as well as the past. Han, Leia, come in... Palpatine has left. We will have to track him down, but let him go for now. Now that he has tasted the power of the Dark Side of the Force again, he will be drawn to it like a flutterwing to a flame. We will be able to find him with ease." Mac shuddered,"This is too much..." she wandered over to Harm. "The Emperor? Lightsabers, Force, this is information overload..." "It's a little much at first..." Luke said sympathetically,"however it is crucial to your destiny." "Crucial to my destiny..." Mac stammered,"Destiny? What the hell are you talking about?" "You must face Palpatine. Only if you defeat him, will he be defeated for good." Luke had this far-seeing look in his eyes, which caused Mac to think that good old boy Lukey was completely looney-tunes. "It is you and your friend's destiny to face Palpatine and defeat him." "Harm, I think this guy is nuts..." Mac replied. "You may think that I am crazy." Luke said, but reaching out to the Force he picked up a sheaf of papers and started spinning them around in mid- air. "Hey, that's a bunch of case-folders..." Mac said stepping forward to grab them. "See." Luke replied as Mac replaced the folders back on the table. " the Force surrounds all objects, it ebbs and flows around us." "And you, Harmon Rabb Jr. and..." He looked at Harm indicating Mac. "Sarah MacKenzie." Harm replied indicating his partner. "Sarah MacKenzie have that power that the Jedi have as well. That is why Palpatine was targetting you. You were the key to his quest for galactic domination." Luke continued. "Galactic Domination?" Harm breathed. Their world had just gotten a LOT bigger. "He wouldn't be satisfied with just running JAG?" he questioned. "No, Palpatine used to control legions of stormtroopers and Imperials at his every command." Luke corrected him," He wanted to start up a new Empire in the Unknown Regions to rival the New Republic, to threaten every thing that the New Republic stands for. "But you're a Jedi Master..." Mac said,"You can't stop him?" "My destiny lies along a different path..." Luke stated gravely. "It is your destiny. You must face Palpatine. That is the way of the Force and I cannot interfere nor render any assistance except to teach you and your friend all that you need to know to defeat Palpatine. You must learn the ways of the Jedi Knight in order to achieve this final victory." "Now, I'm sure that he's nuts..." Mac retorted. Much later FALLS CHURCH, VA An abandoned warehouse 2033 Luke and Han reclined on a box as Harm chased a remote around armed with Luke's lightsaber. "Reach out to the Force. Harm..." Luke coached as Harm swung at the remote with an angry look on his face. "Harm, stop. Do not let yourself become angry. Anger is a part of the Dark Side." "I can't seem to chase down this damn thing." Harm grumbled. "Don't chase it, Harm. Let it come to you. All you do is block and parry." Luke's passive tones caused Harm to calm down, but only slightly. "Easy for you to say...you've done this sort of thing before...YE- OW!!" A stinging bolt flashed on the tip of the remote and hit Harm in the behind. "Jesus Christ...you never told me that this thing shoots back. This thing's worse than that homicidal flying ball in Phantasm." Harm complained. Mac was rolling around on the floor laughing her head off as she watched this. "What the hell are you laughing about? Major...that stung..." Harm growled. "That was funny. Harm." Mac said once she could breathe again,"You have to admit that the look on your face was a riot." Mac grinned. Harm glowered at her and said,"OK, Major, you think it's all nice and easy, why don't you try it?" Shutting the lightsaber's blade down, he tossed Luke's lightsaber to her. "Gotta remember," Mac said snidely as she ignited the lightsaber," A Marine never backs down from a challenge." The remote hummed back to life and hovered about three meters away as Mac brought the lightsaber into an 'en garde' position. The ball hovered and spun around in a circle working itself around. Mac's eyes followed it around and she instinctively flinched when the ball made an attacking movement. Luke warned her and said,"Don't follow with your eyes, it will trick you. Feel it, reach out with your mind. Let go and let the Force flow through your limbs." Mac relaxed her muscles, let her mind go and tried to picture it, closing her eyes, as she did so. Suddenly the ball fired three bolts at Mac. Instantaneously her reaction caused the lightsaber to meet all three bolts and deflect them towards the dark corners of the building. The remote shut down and hovered waiting for its next sequence of orders. Mac extinguished the lightsaber, a flushed look of surprise evident on her face. "This is incredible! I could actually picture that remote in my mind. I knew almost exactly to the second when that thing was going to fire. How?" "It's the Force" Luke said,"Sarah, it controls all things around us. You are the one that utilizes it to it's means." "How can you control it when it flows so indiscriminantly." Harm asked. "I tried this and it doesn't seem to want to flow through me like it flows through Mac." "Because you push against it, it will push back against you." Mara said." You must learn to let go and let the Force carry you." Harm got up and tried again. "Relax your mind. Only when a Jedi is at peace can you feel the Force. Jealousy, Anger, Aggression, down the dark side path, they will lead you." Luke said calmly. Harm tried to relax, he took a few deep breaths as the remote activated and went up to its hovering height again, ready. "Close your eyes, block out all other noises..." Luke mentioned as he watched the tall naval officer take a few deep breaths and close his eyes. " What do you see? Harm." Luke asked. "I see visions...Meg...Parker...but they are all blurry...I see things happening. Violent things." Luke could see his shoulders loosen as he tried to probe deeper into the vision. Then all of a sudden the remote made its move. Spinning around, Harm spun the lightsaber at the remote cutting it in half. The two pieces of the remote fell to the floor. "Congratulations..." Luke grinned. "You have finally felt what it is like to use the Force. Visions, Extra Sensory Perception. That is what the Jedi can feel." June 1st, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA 0935 ZULU EST "What do you mean you can't find Lieutenant Commander Rabb?" Rear Admiral Chegwidden growled. "Did you think he disappeared off the face of this planet? And what the hell happened a week ago? I come in, Lieutenant Commander Brumby is missing and his office looked like a goddamn warzone?" the admiral was not happy. His two best litigators were missing and he didn't have a clue where the heck they were. He couldn't care less about Brumby. The guy had an attitude a mile wide. "Sir, we don't know..." Commander Carolyn Imes replied. She and Commander Mattoni were standing in the admiral's office getting a raking over that usually was inflicted upon Harm and Mac. "Well, put out an Missing Persons report and find those three. Do I have to think of everything?" the admiral barked as the two officers scurried out the door. By this time, Mac and Harm were trying their best to listen to Luke's instructions. They were managing to learn how to leap higher than they'd ever jumped before as well as doing gymnastic moves in mid-air. They were sparring with each other and with Mara and Luke with lightsabers. "Is there a final exam?" Harm asked at one point. "Your final exam," Luke paused reflecting on the words,"Or more aptly your ultimate sacrifice to become a Jedi Knight is the test, the test which one can either fail, or pass." Mac rolled her eyes as if to say, 'well that's evident'. "However. each test varies. In yours, it will be when you face Palpatine again." "How will I know if I have passed or failed the test." Mac asked. "You will know in your own way." Luke finished. "Oh, that's a wonderful amount of help..." Mac rolled her eyes again. Luke looked worriedly at her."Why do you distrust so..." he asked. "None of your business..." snapped Mac. Luke did not pressure her to reveal it. Mara understood instantly. She had gone through almost the same amount of problems that Mac had to go through in her life. Being the Emperor's Hand, had meant living in the Palace, being trained to have no feelings, to kill without remorse, to not trust anyone, to be betrayed and betray many times over. How many people had she killed on the Emperor's orders. Innocent people whose only crimes may have been to hold an opinion different from those of the Emperor. She knew instinctively that Mac did not trust because similar events had caused her to trust only herself. Mara also knew that the only person that Mac trusted was her partner. She probed Mac's mind gently without letting Mac become aware of what she was doing. The word Abuse sprang up. Normally, Mara was stoic, but seeing images of the battering, the alcohol abuse that had gone on through Mac's life, was emotionally traumatic. A silent tear crept out from the corner of Mara's eye. Mara was now stable, less of an assassin than a loving wife of a Jedi Master, due to the fact that Luke had kept her from completely destroying her emotions. She only hoped that Mac would see the light and find her own peace. Of the two of them, Mac would be the most susceptible to the lures of the Dark Side. Mara knew that Mac held a lot of pent-up anger within her. Anger that could lead her to choose a quick and easy path to power. She had been kept down for so long that power was some- thing that she craved. It was a temptation. Revenge for those who had hurt her. She made a mental point to bring it up with Luke. Mac saw Mara looking at her. Mac thought, she looked so lovely but as Luke had mentioned, she used to be an assassin. Mac appraised the Jedi Master's wife. Her red-gold hair cascaded in soft curls down her head. Her lips were soft, but had for too long been set in something other than a smile. It seemed as if smiles came difficult for Mara Jade Skywalker. 'She would have made a wonderful Marine.' Mac thought. Mara was tough, resource- ful, she would have made life hell for a number of Marines during boot-camp who had thought that women were merely accessories for creating new life. Much later Luke looked at Harm's M96 Beretta. "An old fashioned slug-thrower but different from any that we have ever seen." he stated as he turned the weapon over in his hands. "Watch it, Luke, it's loaded..." Harm replied. "I haven't unloaded it yet from when I went to the office." Luke grinned a boyish grin and said,"Do you think that you could teach me how to use a slug-thrower. I've been able to use blasters and light- sabers but learning how to use a slugthrower would be very useful." Mara grinned,"Yes, it would be, with a slug thrower, you can't see the bullet travel as you can with a laser bolt." June 20, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA 1445 ZULU EST Luke and Mara accompanied Harm and Mac to the JAG Headquarters. Luke was dressed in a United States Naval officer's uniform, as was Mara who wore her hair in a hair-net just off her shoulders. "Right, I'm Lieutenant Commander Mara Kelly, United States Navy JAG." she repeated as Mac coached."I'm the wife of Commander Luke Kelly, USN, Line officer and naval aviator." looking with raised eyebrow at the three stripes and upside down star that her husband wore. "Nice uniform, Luke..." she quipped. "Right..." Luke was looking rather curious. All of them were dressed in uniform, Luke, Mara and Harm in Navy dress blues. Mac in her United States Marine Corps Class A greens. Mac grinned at Harm,"They look good, don't they." Mara looked stunning in a navy blue skirt and her uniform jacket which they had procured from the nearest PX. "Don't sweat it." Harm said,"With us as your escorts, no one will ask questions..." he said assuredly as he stepped into the JAG office. "LIEUTENANT COMMANDER...JUST WHERE IN THE HELL WERE YOU?" Rear Admiral Chegwidden's voice reverberated through the building. "DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO BE CITED FOR BEING AWOL?" "No questions, right?" Mara said with a cynical grin. "That's a superior officer..." Mac hissed back."You salute him, and don't mouth back to him..." "Got the picture..." Mara replied, snapping to attention as coached. "WHO THE HELL ARE THESE TWO?!!" growled AJ affixing Mara with a stony glare. "Lieutenant Commander Mara Kelly, JAG reporting for duty, sir..." replied Mara in a clipped voice. "Don't remember a Lieutenant Commander Kelly in my JAG unit, Lieutenant Commander." AJ looked her with an appraising look. "Her record dossier..." "I have it, sir..." Mac replied, holding out two folders with very good approximations of official Navy service information sheets in them. " Sir, this is Commander Luke Kelly, with the VF-33 Tarsiers squadron. He flies the Tomcat, much like Harm used to and he is currently assisting his wife with getting into her new duty station." AJ was flummoxed. His two officers had disappeared for over a month and now they had reappeared with two new Naval Officers who he had never heard of before. Somewhere out in a Washington Alley A tattered looking naval officer tottered through the streets, grumbling crazily to himself. His uniform ripped and shredded, he looked around, an evil glare in his eyes as he searched the locale. He had taken flight from the JAG building as Skywalker, his nemesis had confronted him. Scenes had haunted him from his past life. Palpatine, a name that he had not been called in so long. How he had risen through the Imperial Senate, how he had taken over the Old Republic and replaced it with the new Empire. How he had built Star Destroyers and now, reduced to a stumbling bum in the streets of a godforsaken planet in the middle of the unknown regions. "Ah, how the mighty have fallen." he said laughing crazily to himself. That was a quote by one of the inhabitants, now long dead, formerly of this planet. He had taken over the spirit of a this body of a Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant Commander since the continent of Australia had been the most similar to his home planet. Much had been made of this backwater planet. Yet the technologies were far behind the technologies of the Known Regions. These inhabitants flew in atmospheric aircraft, threw missiles of mere explosives at one another and floated on boats that would be considered archaic from where he came from. He had entered the mind of Mic Brumby and had controlled his own destiny. Brumby was a man that had some Force potential and subtly controlling him, was an easy task, as Brumby himself was as powerhungry as he was, albeit on a smaller scale. Yet he had miscalculated in trying to get stationed as JAG liaison to the law office of the most powerful country in the world. There he had met up with another Force-sensitive though ignorant naval officer and his partner, a Force-sensitive Marine Corps major. Then as he had tried to lure the Major to his side by plying her with dinners and then trying to subtly corrupt her to the Dark Side, he had incurred the wrath of the Navy Lieutenant Commander, who though ignorant of the powers that he held, tried to confront him. Then, abominations, Skywalker had to come and ruin his entire plan. And betrayal, his Hand, his very own taught and adopted Hand, had betrayed him by joining in flesh and mind to his worst enemy. "Mara, you betrayed me!!!!" he shouted to an empty alley as he staggered along. "You all right, Mac?" a burly garbage-man said as he saw the naval officer mumble something and stagger out of the alley. Brumby/Palpatine ignored him and staggered along. But they did not call him the most evil person in the galaxy for nothing. Palpatine would stop at nothing to gain back his power and rule the galaxy again. The spirit within Brumby strengthened as Brumby himself straightened up his back and started down back to the JAG building. He would kill Rabb, MacKenzie, Skywalker and Jade if it was the last thing that he did. Dropping his lightsaber into his pocket, he grinned, a slow evil grin that spread across his face. JAG HEADQUARTERS 1500 ZULU EST "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR AN IDIOT, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER?" Chegwidden was furious. "AM I AN IMBECILE? AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAD A MANIC EPISODE AND THAT IS WHY YOU WERE MISSING FOR A MONTH? MR. RABB AND MAJOR MACKENZIE, YOU TWO HAVE ENDED UP WITH DOUBLING THE CASELOAD THAT COMMANDER IMES AND MATTONI WERE DEALING WITH WHILE YOU TWO TOOK A LITTLE SOJOURN TO THE EDGE OF TOWN AND TOOK TAI CHI WITH A ZEN MASTER?" Chegwidden's voice did not come down in volume. "YOU ARE GOING TO BE LUCKY IF YOU END UP TAKING PARKING TICKET ENFORCEMENT CASES FOR THE REST OF YOUR CAREERS HERE!!!!" "Sir, Jedi Master..." Rabb said. "WHAT?!!!" Chegwidden replied. "Sir, not a Zen master, but a Jedi Master..." Mac said. "I don't care..." Chegwidden snarled sarcastically." If he is a dog trainer...you are an officer in the United States Navy. When you find the need to go off somewhere, you ask for leave, and wait for it to be approved not before, not during the approval period, but after it is APPROVED...AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?!!!!" the volume went back up. "Yes, sir..." They said. The four of them exited the office after AJ snarled a last "DISMISSED..." "I think he took it rather well..." Mara said facetiously to her husband, "don't you?" "Oh, very..." Luke replied sarcastically,"Once my eardrums stop vibrating, I guess we can hunt around and see what we can come up with on this Brumby-fellow." Mac and Harm grinned. Luke was starting to sound like Harm. "Something smells suspicious about him. Like he has been possessed by the spirit of the Sith; the spirit of the Emperor..." he continued. "Shhh..." Harm hissed as Lieutenant Bud Roberts looked up at the new Naval Officer,"Sir ...might I add, that you look a lot like that character on Star Wars?" "Uh, thanks, Lieutenant, you can return to your work now..." Luke responded rather nervously. "The phrase is, As you were..." whispered Mac behind him. "As you were, Lieutenant..." Luke said a lot more confidently. "Yes, sir, Aye-Aye, sir..." Bud replied returning to his work. "Uh, that was a close one..." Mara remarked as she turned her beautiful green eyes to look at a painting of a very ancient warship on the wall and then turned back to smirk at her husband."I think he knew you from somewhere..." "I guess he must have saw me on a holofilm or something..." "It's called movie over here..." Mac hissed. "Oh, yeah...movie...He must have seen someone that looked like me on a movie..." Luke stammered nervous again. He was still unsure about himself in a situation like this. The four went into Harm's office and sat down. "What do you think Palpatine is going to do next." Mac asked. "I think he's coming back here..." Luke said, contemplatively looking out the window. "I can feel his anger. He wants revenge, not only against you two, but us as well." "Do we have the necessary skills to defeat him?" Harm asked. "Yes, you learn fast, and you have learned well." Mara stated firmly. "And you have the tools that you need to defeat him." Harm and Mac reached into their own pockets to pull out similar devices as Luke pulled out his lightsaber. Mara pulled hers as well as they all stated. "We cannot confront him here." Mac said,"Too many of our friends are still here..." "Then we confront him in the alley." Luke stated." We will have to guide him there..." "Harm, Mac, Mara, you go to the alley, I will guide him to you." Luke said determinedly as he headed out the door just as Admiral Chegwidden leaned out the door to call something to Mac. Mac, Harm and Mara left the room heading for the door. "Harm, Mac, where the heck are you two going?" the admiral yelled out. "Trust me, sir, you do not want to know about this..." Mara yelled back."It is something beyond your comprehension..." "WHAT!!!!" AJ was enraged. He started after the three officers and was stopped suddenly by a Force wall, that he could not see nor penetrate. "RELEASE ME!!!" AJ roared. "Sir, with all due respect. Harm, Mara and I will handle this." Mac replied. She ignited her lightsaber in mid-sentence leaving AJ, Bud, Harriet and Tiner speechless. They left. The admiral and the others looked at each other in dumb amazement. "Did you see what I just saw?" Bud asked vacantly to the other dumbfounded officers. "Star Wars really does exist..." The three got to the alley and waited. Luke stood, lightsaber extinguished, waiting for Brumby to show him- self. In the middle of the street in a Naval officer's uniform holding a metallic cylinder a foot long and two inches wide, Luke made a strange sight as he stood stoicly. "Ah, my young apprentice." The voice coming from the figure who walked up the street was old and cracking. It seemed strange coming from a man as young as Brumby. But the spirit was doing the talking. The Emperor controlled this human being as he had controlled so many others but indirect- ly. "You have come to me..." the voice gloated. "Yes, Palpatine, but it is not as a student." Luke replied,"I am here to inform you that your reign of terror and galactic domination of the entire galaxy is over." "And you think that your pitiable students can stop me..." Palpatine growled. "They are more pathetic than you realize." "Why don't you find that out for yourself..." Luke replied and gestured towards the alley. Palpatine looked down the alley seeing three dim figures standing there in the shadows of the alley. Three snap-hisses were heard as three lightsabers were ignited. Palpatine whirled back on Luke as Luke ignited his own lightsaber. Palpatine reached for his lightsaber which leapt into his hands as Luke slashed at him. The flash of the connecting lightsabers was brilliant as the duel started in earnest. But Luke, being the Jedi Master, was skilled enough to drive Palpatine into the alley towards the other Jedi who stood waiting for him. "Need some help?" a female voice was heard as Mac and Harm looked towards the voice. It was Leia, who ignited her own lightsaber as she readied herself calmly for the battle. "We need as many people as we can..." replied Mara as she looked over at Leia with a grim smile. Leia looked her sister-in-law up and down and grinned,"You know, you look very attractive in that outfit. Maybe you should bring it back to Coruscant with you." Mara snorted as her attention turned back to her husband who step-by- step was forcing the Emperor back towards the waiting students and Jedi Knights."So, where's Han?" "Back on board the Millenium Falcon. He's told Chewie to stay out of sight until we rendezvous back with them." was Leia's reply as she stood with them. She had on a very attractive pant-suit, that she had managed to exchange a New Republic gold credit for what appeared to be $300.00 American. Mac was staring at her pant-suit,"It's an Armani." Mac asked Leia. "A what?"was the equally confused question. "You paid over $240.00 for that pantsuit." Mac asked one eye on the duel between the Jedi Master and his nemesis and one eye on Leia. "One New Republic Gold Credit..." replied Leia. "1-300 exchange rate!!!!" Mac looked at Harm who was gaping by now. "Let's continue this line of conversation later...I'd like to see what that is like..." "Surround him in a semi-circle." Luke yelled out as the Emperor was forced back to the group. Slashing at the Emperor, Mac knocked Palpatine's lightsaber out of his hand. Palpatine highly enraged started to throw his Force-lightning bolts at her. The hits of the lightning bolts were agonizing. Mac buckled to her feet as the blue lightning bolts surrounded her. Her friends could only deflect as many of the bolts as they possibly could but that was not enough. Mac felt the energy bolts sucking the life out of her. Finally she slumped unconscious, weaker than she had ever felt before as she felt her life-force ebbing away from her. "Oh, god...SARAH!!! NOOOOO!!!!" shouted Harm. Looking at Palpatine, Harm looked at him with a cold look. "Ah, you realize that I have taken your partner..." Palpatine gloated. "Hate me, Hate will make you powerful...Come, strike me down..." Luke shouted "No, Harm, don't listen to him..." Harm calmed himself. His partner had given her life for them, but he would not fall to the Dark side. "Your time on this planet has ended, Palpatine, he said calmly as he linked minds with the other Jedi. A shimmering incandescence surrounded the Jedi as they forced the dark nexus that was Palpatine out into the surface. They saw the shimmering dark mass that the Emperor had become rise in the air. Feeling a constriction of their throats as the Emperor's nexus tried futilely to defeat them, the four of them crossed lightsabers as the nexus shrieked in defeat and then split into millions of shards which evaporated in the sunlight. Brumby's body crumpled to the ground. Harm rushed over to Mac's body; she was still breathing faintly. "Oh, god, Sarah..." Harm yelled out,"Call a Medic..." "A medic will not help, Harm...the healing practices of this world can- not save your partner." "Only a Jedi with the aid of the Force and a commitment to this partner for life, can save her now..." Mara said sadly, knowing that this could be the crucial turning point between life and death for Major Sarah Mackenzie. "How..." Harm's face was agonized." How can I save her..." "Admit to her that you love her, Harm..." Mara said. "You know that in your mind and your heart that you do. Look within yourself. You have the light." "Really?" he asked. "The Force is a powerful ally..." Luke replied. Harm knelt beside his fallen partner. Closing his eyes, he felt the truth of it when he admitted that he loved his partner. That he always had. He didn't notice that his body had taken a glow and as he ran his hands over Sarah's body, the burns were healing, the damage was reversed and the healing power of the Force had brought the strength of renewed life back to his partner. As the glow faded, Mac coughed once and opened her eyes. Harm was so relieved, as the tears ran down his face, he looked into her eyes..."Sarah, Oh, god...thank you...I thought I had lost you...Sarah ..." "Oh, man...do I ever have one hell of a headache..." Mac said groggily. She looked into his eyes...and saw something that she had never realized she had missed before. Fear for her safety, Love, Trust...those emotions ran like a movie across his face. She reached for his face, as Harm kissed her and hugged her as if he would never let go. "I love you..." He whispered to her as he buried his face in her hair. Mac was shocked and wonderfully surprised..." Gee, Maybe I should do this more often..." "Not on your life, Major..." Harm said as he gave her another passionate kiss that nearly sent Mac's hormones into overdrive. "Well, I'll settle for saying 'I love you'...too..." she said as she kissed him. Luke and Mara were grinning at each other. "Why, do they know? " "Well, Major, they were the ones that mentioned something about us being right for each other..." "Why is it that some people from another world know that we're compatible without having ever met us for ages, and we haven't been able to see it..." Mac grumbled indignantly. "Well, there's truth in the saying that love is blind..." Harm grinned. "Well, it looks like love opened it's eyes just in time..." Mac replied as she kissed Harm again. They both heard a groan coming from where Brumby had fallen. She looked over at Brumby slumped over. "He's...he's..." Luke went over to Brumby,"He's still breathing. He's a little shaken up but he's all right." Luke replied. Shaking his head, Brumby woke up..." Oh, I had the worst possible dream in my life. Something about a dark lord, Emperor something or the other...Blast...what a crock..." he muttered as he staggered to his feet. Looking over at Harm who was giving him a glare, he said,"Sorry, mate...so, what appened 'ere..." "You mean you don't know..." "The last three years ave bin a total blur, mate...By the way, who are you?" Harm grinned, this was better than he thought..."Mac, let's go back inside..." "Sure, thing, sailor...did we get rid of that Emperor?" Mac grinned. "Yeah, dead and gone..." Harm grinned as he looked over at Luke, Mara and Leia. Inside the JAG office The JAG officers inside were still stunned at what had happened. "Mac ignited what looked to be a lightsaber..." AJ grunted,"Never seen anything like that before unless it was at a movie theater. Geez, am I seeing things...I gotta get to bed earlier." The four officers and Luke's sister-in-law came into the JAG office. "Major, you're all right...I thought I was starting to see things..." AJ growled."That wasn't a lightsaber that I saw was it." Mac seeing a perfect opportunity to test her mind-trick that she had learned from Luke grinned, cocking a finger up in the air and turning it slightly she grinned,"No, you didn't see a lightsaber..." "No, I didn't see a lightsaber..." repeated AJ as he shook his head and went back into his office. Harm and Mac giggled as they guided Leia, Luke and Mara back into Harm's office. "I can see that this is going to be very interesting from now on." Mac grinned. "Oh, it can be..." Leia agreed as she looked at her brother. June 22nd, 1998 HARM'S APARTMENT 0730 ZULU EST "Oh, my head feels like someone has been banging on it for the past ..." Harm woke up. Empty pizza boxes and beer lined the living room as he stumbled to the shower. An irate screech, told him that he was not welcome in the shower. He immediately exited the bathroom as a wadded up towel hit him in the back. "Sorry, Mac." He mumbled. He remembered something about four friends who had partied until the late hours of the evening and then had said goodbye. Something told him that the goodbye was sort of final, that they wouldn't be meeting again for a very long while. He looked over and saw that the camera film had been developed. A pad of paper with a scrawled message. "We developed your pictures of the party so that you could remember this meeting. Technology is not as developed as it is on our homeplanet. But you and Sarah will be missed. Remember that you will always have the Force as your ally and as your guide. Both you and Sarah are strong in the Force. You have a future together. Don't let that slip away. Your friends Luke and Mara." He slipped his hand into the packet of photos that was lying on the coffee-table. Looking over the photos, he saw pictures of Han, Luke, Mara, Leia, Sarah and himself laughing, and enjoying themselves that evening eating pizza watching movies and relaxing. "so it really happened," he mumbled to himself. "I have the Force." Letting his mind reach out, relaxing, he lifted the remote to his fingertips. It obediently came to him. "Geez, this is great. Now, I don't have to get up and walk over to pick up the remote anymore." "Hey, Mac, you finished in the shower, yet?" he hollered. A towel came flying around the corner and smacked him one in the side of the head. "I take it that's a no..." Harm replied snidely. "That's the general idea." came Mac's cheerful voice over the running water. About ten minutes later, when she was finished she came out, dressed in her uniform . She saw the message and reached out for it as Harm passed it to her. She read it, her eyes gleaming and she sighed. "Well, sailor. I guess..." Harm embraced her, wrapping his arms around her. "So, I guess we can now say that ET brought us together?" "I prefer to believe in the Force..." Mac grinned as she wrinkled her nose and gave him a kiss. Harm returned the kiss."Ugh, go take a shower..." she said,"You smell of beer. Can't fall off the wagon now, can I?" "Remember the Jedi Mantra?" Harm grinned, "There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force. A Jedi doesn't act for personal power or wealth, But seeks for knowledge and enlightenment. A true Jedi never acts from hatred, anger, fear, or aggression, but acts when calm and at peace with the Force." Mac repeated." So, I guess we are serene when we are together..." she quipped. "We must be strong." Harm said quietly and calmly. Ever since he had been taught by Master Skywalker, he was starting to become more and more calm. "OK, Mr. Strong-man...Go take a shower..." Mac grinned,"I'll make breakfast." Harm went to take a shower. Mac calmly looked at the two cylindrical objects on the dresser drawer in Harm's room. She reached over and picked up the one that she knew was hers. Igniting it, she looked at the golden colored blade, that she had created, Much like the golden-yellow of the Marine Corps crimson and gold colors, the lightsaber hummed as she looked at it. "Amazing." Mac thought. "Who would have thought..." June 22nd, 1998 JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA 0835 ZULU EST Harm and Mac walked in together into the office. "Good morning, sir..." Bud exclaimed."Gee, Did you know that George Lucas is coming out with a new movie, sir?" "So, we've heard, Lieutenant..." Mac grinned as the both of them went into their respective offices. Mac laughed when she heard Brumby yelling at his recruitment officer on the phone. "HOW IN THE HELL DID I END UP IN AMERICA? THE LAST TIME I WAS ASKING FOR A TRANSFER I WANTED IT TO A DETACHMENT IN NEW AUCKLAND!!!!" Mac and Harm knew that for the two of them, life would never be the same again. But at least they were now together. Somewhere in the galaxy. On the Millenium Falcon... Han Solo was furious,"ANAKIN!!!!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU..." Mara and Luke were rolling their eyes. "Things never change..." THE END.