Chapter 13

 

 

 

Mara looked on as Shada sighed and lifted one more case of ration bars into the back of the landspeeder.

"Do you think that will be enough?"  Mara asked, frowning slightly.

Shada rubbed the bridge of her aristocratic nose.  "That's two cases.  I suppose it depends on how long we're going to be out there."

Mara shrugged her elegant shoulders.  "Who knows?  Let's just hope that Luke and Talon find something we can work with at that 'wisemen' site.  I wouldn't mind finding a speedy solution to the disease and returning home to Coruscant."

Shada smiled wryly at her.  "Getting tired of the rustic life already?"

Mara laughed and shook her head.  "Maybe I'm just getting soft.  I find myself dreaming of nice, long hot showers."

Shada agreed, but silently thought it would be quite some time before Mara would be able to take that soothing soak.

Earlier that morning, the two couples had come upon the abandoned living quarters of the group of men Vashi had called 'wisemen'.  It hadn't taken them long to ascertain that the 'wisemen' were actually a preliminary colonizing group.  But from what planet and for what purpose they still hadn't figured out.

Just like a few weeks before with Talon's small ship, all bits and pieces of technology in the camp had been destroyed, randomly and violently, seemingly with no purpose other than arbitrary destruction.  And stranger still was the fact that there wasn't any evidence at all of humanoid or alien remains.  The whole thing was a mystery.

Luke had suggested that he and Talon search the site thoroughly for any evidence concerning what had happened to the 'wisemen' and for any clue about the disease that was eating away at the population of the planet. While they were doing that, Luke sent Mara and Shada to the Jade Saber for more supplies.  Their search for the source of the disease was beginning to look as if it would take longer than he had first thought, and they might as well prepare as best they could.

"Should I throw in another box of rations?"  Shada asked, thinking it over as she glanced at her smaller companion.

Mara's lips quirked.  "Well, if Talon eats like Luke, it probably would be a good idea."

Shada laughed and began walking back up the ramp into the Jade Saber.

 

She was almost halfway when Mara called out, "Shada, if you see a carton of hot chocolate mix, would you bring that?  Luke loves it.  Thanks!"

She grinned and continued on her way.  The food stores were located in the galley, which was near the back of the ship.  She pulled out another case of ration bars and placed it on the floor.  Glancing around in the shelves, she found the carton of hot chocolate.  Putting it in with the ration bars, she hoisted the case onto her shoulder.

When she came out onto the ramp again, Mara was tugging part of the camouflage net over the bulk of the Saber.

Shada turned her head to the side thoughtfully as she watched her friend. "Mara?"

Mara grunted with exertion as she tugged on the heavy net.  "Yeah?"

"Why don't you just use the Force to move the net over the ship?"

Mara gave another tug on the burdensome web-like mesh.  Then she straightened.  "I don’t believe in unnecessary use of the Force.  It makes a Jedi lazy...both in body and character."  Mara glanced over at Shada.  "Take you, for instance.  You're not a Jedi, but you're one of the strongest and most capable people I have ever met.  I would never underestimate you.  What if you were an enemy and I was a Jedi who used the Force for every small job?  I wouldn't understand or comprehend your intellect or your physical skills.  You would have a very good chance of surprising and defeating me if I were a Jedi like that."

Shada pursed her lips, thinking over what Mara had told her.  "So a Jedi should build body as well as mind and spirit and only use the Force when there's no other way?"

Mara grinned.  "Exactly."

Shada dropped the ration box into the landspeeder, moving over to where Mara stood with the net and picking up an edge of it. "Well, maybe a Jedi won't turn down a friend if she offers to help?"

That made Mara laugh.  "Not on your life."

Working in tandem, the two women soon had the ship completely covered by the camo netting.

After they had both walked over to the speeder and climbed in, Mara sat back for a moment, staring at the place where the Saber was now out of sight.  "I told Luke that we should take the Saber and fly it to the 'wisemen' site, but he thinks it would be safer to leave it hidden."

Shada nodded and then reassured her.  "After hearing what happened to Talon's ship, Luke's probably right about leaving the Saber here."

After agreeing albeit reluctantly, Mara slowly guided the landspeeder through the grove of trees. On a few moments, they were back out on the plain.

They had gone several kilometers when the tingling of her danger sense erupted like a swarm of angry flies at the back of Mara's neck.  She brought the speeder to a quick halt and reached out with the Force, all her senses on full alert.

"What is it?"  Shada asked cautiously, peering around.  She had come to trust Mara's sudden intuitions.  She had never thought about it much before, but having a Jedi around was a situation she could easily get used to.

"There's trouble," Mara mumbled, her gaze on a small rise just to the left of the speeder.

Shada reached behind them to take a small, compact blaster rifle out of a holstered sleeve on the back on Mara's seat.

"I think I've seen everything now," Mara suddenly said, drawing Shada's attention to the group coming over the little rise.

About a dozen teenaged boys were cautiously approaching them, spanning out into a long line.  Mara suspected that their plan was to surround the speeder before she or Shada figured out what was happening.  Mara smirked.  Come on, boys, she thought to herself.  I've forgotten more about warfare tactics than you'll ever know.

 

The youths were armed according to the standard of the planet, with heavy bows and arrows, and long, capable-looking knives.

Shada laid the blaster rifle in her lap.  "Do you think that's the same group we saw when we were going to the village the first time?"

Mara shrugged, as she carefully watching the movements of the group. "Could be."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't want to hurt any of them if we can help it.  They're just boys," Mara said.

Shada glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and smiled faintly. The feared Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand and trained assassin, thinking of the welfare of what basically amounted to a swoopie gang of male adolescents.  Jedi Master influence?  Or was Mara finally becoming the person she was meant to be all along?  Either way, Shada was grateful that this woman had become her friend and confidante.  She missed that aspect of life as a Shadow Guard when she and her fellow warriors had been as close as sisters.

 

"I could fire the blaster near them," Shada suggested.  "It would probably discouraged any imagined heroics on their part."

"Do it then," Mara agreed, opening the canopy.  "We can't afford to waste too much time on them."

Shada lifted the Blastech rifle and fired into a small bush not far from the line of boys.  The bush immediately burst into flames and was consumed in seconds.

The line of boys, almost as one, dropped to the ground on their stomachs, calling out fearfully among themselves.

Mara stood up in the landspeeder and ignited her lightsaber, its blue blade gleaming in the late afternoon light.  "What do you want?"  she called, speaking slowly as she had learned to do with the natives on the planet.

A short, but stocky, muscular youth, apparently the leader, rose carefully from the ground.  He eyed the lightsaber fearfully.  "God women," he murmured.

Mara shot Shada a glance, but she only shrugged, not understanding what the youth meant.

The boy, about eighteen or so and obviously the leader, took a cautious step toward them.  "God women," he repeated in his harsh-sounding Basic. "You women from stars?"  He pointed to the sky above him.  His eyes appraised Mara's figure, and he licked his lips.

Mara flipped her long braid over her shoulder, but didn't relax her combat stance.  "What do you want?" she demanded again, keeping a wary eye on the group behind the leader.  The less information she gave out about their group the better.

When he took a step toward the speeder, Shada decided it was time to stand up also.  She moved slightly closer to Mara, cradling the blaster rifle in the crook of her arm.

The leader stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening even more as he took in Shada's tall, lithe figure.  "The gods have answered us," he said softly and then turned to the group of youths behind him.  He raised his hand toward the sky and yelled, "The gods have answered us!"

The other boys, most of them about his age, got to their feet, yelling out and dancing in excitement.

Mara's grip on her lightsaber tightened and Shada brought the blaster up, its barrel pointing directly at the chest of the leader.

The leader whirled around again, his face split into a huge grin.  "Star women.  The gods have sent us star women."

Mara and Shada looked at one another, both their faces mirroring puzzlement.

"What in Sith's hell is he ranting about?"  Shada asked, unconsciously using Talon's favorite curse.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but I'm losing patience," Mara growled.

The leader advanced a few more steps, but stopped abruptly when Mara casually swung the lightsaber in an arc over her head.

"We not hurt you," the leader said hastily.

Shada grinned and for the first time spoke to him, "You couldn't if you tried."

The leader stared at her a moment, his eyes roaming up and down her slim body.

Shada's grin vanished and she shot Mara another look.  Mara nodded, having also noticed the hot stares from the other boys.

"We need to be on our way," Mara said loudly. "Step aside."

The leader shook his head.  "No, the gods have answered and sent you to us."

"Look, I don't care what you think your gods have done, but we're leaving, and if you don't move out of the way, we'll just have to go over you," Mara snapped.

"Our numbers are small.  Our elders have died," the leader said.  He stepped closer.  "We are mostly males now.  The women in our tribe are young...too young."

Both Mara and Shada frowned, and the leader shook his head.

"Our tribe is dying.  We need women who can produce children."  He waved his hand at them.  "The gods have answered."

Shada and Mara looked at one another and then Mara warned in a whisper, "Don't you dare laugh."

Shada fought to keep her face under control.  "I know, but..."

Mara shook her head.  "If we laugh, it'll make them angry and we'll probably have to kill one of them."

"But they can't be serious!" Shada insisted in a gasp.

"Oh, I think they are," Mara said softly.  "We're just going to have to dissuade them...politely."

 

She shut down her lightsaber and hooked it back onto her belt.  Turning back to the leader, she said patiently.  "I'm sorry, but we aren't the answer to your prayers.  I don't think our men would appreciate it."

The leader frowned heavily.  "You have men?"

"Yes, and they will be very angry if we don't return to them soon."

The young man took another step toward them, and Shada casually swung her blaster in his direction again.  He stopped abruptly and his eyes narrowed in thought.

He glanced at the lightsaber hanging from Mara's belt.  "I know your men."

Mara blinked.  "You do?"

"Yes."  He took a deep breath, staring intently at Mara.  "Your man.  He has sand-colored hair?"

Mara eyed him suspiciously.  "Yes."

The leader looked at Shada.  "And yours?  Big...tall with dark hair?"

Shada glanced at Mara who nodded almost imperceptibly.  She turned back to the stocky young man in front of her.  "Yes."

The leader's eyes never left Shada.  "Your man killed one of us."

Without conscious thought, Shada's fingers tightened on the BlasTech rifle and she moved to stand slightly in front of Mara.  "If he did, he must have had a good reason," she said calmly.

The muscular youth stared at her a long time, taking in the rifle and her protective stance.  Finally, he sighed.  "You will do as your man did. Protect your ally."

He turned to the group of boys behind him and waved his hands.  The boys slowly began to back down the slight rise.

"Are they leaving?"  Mara asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Shada answered, her dark gray eyes never leaving the youth in front of her.

But when he turned to her again, there were no weapons in his hands. "Your man was right in what he did.  I would have done the same if my comrade was wounded and in danger."

With that, he turned and at a trot, disappeared over the rise after the other boys.

Mara blew out a breath.  "Well, wasn't that interesting?"

"It certainly was," Shada agreed.  "I think Talon and Luke neglected to tell us everything about their stay in the village."

Mara plopped down in her seat again and activated the engine of the landspeeder.  "Come on.  I think we should have a little chat with them."

********

Luke turned his face away as another burst of wind ripped across the abandoned campsite.  The sand and grit tore at his clothing, and he could feel the swirling dirt sliding down his collar.

 

Talon moved over to him, staggering a bit in the stiff breeze.  "Where in all Sith's hell did this come from?" he shouted over the howling of the wind.

Luke shook his head.  "Must be a storm coming."

"I wish Shada and Mara would get back.  I don't like them being out in this."

Luke shot Talon a glance.  He didn't know two women more capable of taking care of themselves than Shada and Mara, but Talon had become very protective of Shada since they had been on the planet.  Luke wondered if Talon was even aware of it.  He'd bet Shada was and it might be interesting to see how she'd react to it.  Mara never took Luke's attempts at protectiveness well and Luke had an idea that Shada would react the same way.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," he assured the bigger man.  "They should be back any minute."  He took Talon by the arm.  "Here, come on.  Let's try and get out of this wind a little."  He guided Talon over to some rock outcroppings and knelt down behind them.  The wind still howled with ferocity, but wasn't blowing directly on them.

Luke peered up at the sky.  "It's going to get cold soon and it looks like there's rain and maybe some snow in those clouds."

Talon looked at him in surprise.  "I thought you were raised on a desert planet...Tatooine, right?  And then you spent years on Yavin IV."

Luke grinned.  "Yes, that's right."

Talon waved at the sky.  "Then how would you know anything about snow?"

Luke grimaced.  "I've been on some snow planets...most notably Hoth, during the war."

"Ahhhh...that would explain it."

A high-pitched, whining sound interrupted them, and Luke stood up and laughed.  "Looks like our girls are back."

Talon got quickly to his feet, liking the sound of "our girls".  The landspeeder was still some distance away, although the noise of its engine could be clearly heard.

"I hope they thought to bring some warmer clothing," Luke said, glancing up at the sky.  "I think we're going to need it."

It was only a short time before the landspeeder came to a halt in the small settlement.  But instead of getting out, the two women waved for the men to join them.

Luke nodded, knowing that the speeder would protect them better from the wind.  As soon as the canopy finished opening, he leapt into the seat behind Mara and Talon did the same, taking the one behind Shada.

"Close it quickly," Luke said, grinning. "Or we'll have enough sand in here to make castles."

Everyone chuckled at that and Mara did as requested, closing the canopy quickly.  The sudden cessation of the noise of the wind caught both Luke and Talon by surprise.  They shook their heads and Talon rubbed his ears. "Sithspit.  I hadn't realized that it was that loud."

Luke agreed, rubbing his own ears and grimacing at the grit he found there.

 

"What did you two do to bring up this storm?"  Mara asked teasingly, glancing back at her husband.

"Maybe we're the ones who should be asking you that, since you were out on the grasslands.  It came from there," Luke said, tugging affectionately on Mara's braid.

"We are completely innocent of stirring up any storms," Mara intoned seriously, then shot a glance at Shada.  "Although Shada did do her best to find us some new boyfriends!"

Talon sat up straighter in his seat.  "What?!"

Shada was indignant.  "I did not, Mara Jade Skywalker.  How can you say...?"

Mara burst out laughing, effectively cutting Shada off.  "Well, he thought I was cute, but when you stood up his eyes almost fell out of his head!"

"That is not at all true..." Shada sputtered helplessly.

Mara suddenly and efficiently interrupted all conversation by opening the canopy on the speeder again.  All four occupants turned their faces to the side as the ferocity of the wind and sand hit them.

"Mara!"  Luke shouted.  "What are you doing?"

"Well, Farmboy, it's been a long day and although I would prefer the comforts of a well-stocked refresher, I don't see any around here.  I suppose I'm going to have to find me a nice big rock to go behind."  She smiled charmingly at Luke.  "Do you want to come with me?"

"Mara!" he said again, a bit scandalized as a hint of pink appeared in his cheeks.

Mara laughed and grabbed his hand.  "Oh, come on, Luke.  I haven't seen you in hours."

Luke glanced over at Shada and Talon and suddenly understood Mara's purpose.  She wanted to leave the other two alone, especially since Talon's face was approaching the same fury as the storm.

He hustled out of the landspeeder, and he and Mara disappeared into the rock outcroppings.

Shada reached over and lowered the canopy again, sealing out the windstorm.  The silence in the speeder was oppressive and she glanced over her shoulder at Talon.  She blinked in surprise at the anger on his face.  "What?" she asked in astonishment.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?  Just who did you meet out in the grasslands?" Talon demanded.

Shada couldn't believe it.  Surely, he wasn't...jealous?  "Look, Talon, that was just Mara trying to be funny," she explained, putting an emphasis on the word 'trying'.He wasn't placated.  "What did she mean by new boyfriend?"

"She was teasing, Talon," Shada insisted, a bit impatiently.  "We just ran into a group of teenaged boys on our way back, that's all."

"Teenaged boys?"  Talon repeated. 

Shada had a feeling his tone of voice

would have been the same if she had said that they had encountered the ghost of Admiral Thrawn.

"Yes, it wasn't anything," she assured him.  "We talked with them for a little while and then we left.  There was nothing to it."  Shada knew she wasn't being completely truthful, but Talon didn't have to know everything.

Talon watched her for a moment and then said softly, but sternly, "Tell me all of it."

 

 

She looked over her shoulder at him in astonishment.  His grim expression faded and he gave her a weak smile, sliding a hand under her long hair to caress the back of her neck. "I know you too well for you to hide anything from me anymore."

Shada didn't move away from his caressing hand, but she glanced out of the canopy to make sure Mara and Luke weren't returning.

 

 

She sighed.  "It wasn't anything, Talon.  They were just looking for

women for their...eh...tribe."

His hand stilled on her neck for a moment and then started the soft caressing again.  "Is that so?  What happened to their own women?"

Shada shrugged slightly.  "They said that they were too young for...child­bearing."

Talon leaned around the seat to peer into her face.  "Are you telling me that they wanted you and Mara for child-bearing?"

A faint tinge of pink heightened the color in Shada's cheeks, but she nodded.

A series of emotions flickered across Talon's face: shock, anger, and finally humor.  "I hope you and Mara didn't hurt any of them too badly."

Shada shook her head.  "Actually Mara talked our way out of it.  She told them we...had men already."

Talon smiled.  "Did she?  Smart girl."

He leaned toward her, his mouth approaching hers and Shada said hastily, "The leader told me you killed one of them."

He paused and leaned back, frowning slightly.  "This leader...short, stocky guy?"

Shada nodded.

Talon sat back in his seat.  "They attacked the village.  One of them

shot Luke in the leg with an arrow and another was about to finish him off.  I took the second one out with a blaster shot."

So that's what happened, Shada thought, mulling it over.  She knew Talon would never have killed anyone without good reason.

She started when his chin suddenly rested on her shoulder.  "So...this leader, he thought you were...beautiful?" he asked softly.

Shada could feel his warm breath on her cheek.  "I don't know...he didn't say.  That's just Mara talking," she insisted softly.

"He's right, you know," Talon whispered, turning his head and pressing his face into her mass of dark hair.  "You are beautiful."

A knock on the canopy caused Shada to look up quickly.  Mara was grinning down at her and motioning for her to open the landspeeder.

Quickly, Shada pressed the button and the canopy opened.  Mara vaulted in, followed by the Jedi master.

"Sorry to interrupt," Mara said nonchalantly, as she quickly closed the canopy and activated the engine on the landspeeder.  "But we thought we'd move in closer to the mountains.  We can probably find some shelter there from this storm."

Shada opened her mouth to tell her that they hadn't interrupted anything when a huge drop of water hit the windshield.

"There's the beginning of the rain," Luke said from the backseat.  "This place will be a mud-pile by morning."

Mara skillfully guided the landspeeder through the foothills before reaching the base of a moderate-sized mountain.

They were pleased to see a large overhanging rock formation, big enough to park the landspeeder under and get them out of the some of the fury of the storm.

Shada placed her hand against the inside of the retractable transparisteel canopy.  "The temperature is dropping already."

Luke nodded.  "It's going to get cold."  He glanced out at the heavy, dark clouds.  "I don't think it will be too bad, although I have to admit I'm not familiar with the weather patterns on this planet."

He leaned back in his chair and glanced at Shada.  "I don't know if Talon told you, but we really didn't find anything worthwhile at the 'wisemen' site."  He pursed his lips thoughtfully.  "In any case, whoever destroyed their camp came over the mountains.  I'm thinking we should try and find these people, these destructors."

Shada swiveled in her seat so she could see him better.  "Do you think they have something to do with the disease, too?"

Luke shrugged.  "I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling that finding them will lead to answers to a lot of our questions."

"So how do we go about finding them?"  Talon asked.

Luke glanced up at the mountain before them.  "We'll have to go over that."

Talon frowned.  "There's no way the landspeeder can go that high."

Mara grinned.  Talon was in great physical shape.  He spent hours on keeping his conditioning at a peak, but heights were a different matter.

"Yes, I know the speeder doesn't have enough power in the repulsors to lift itself over the mountain.  We'll have to climb," Luke said succinctly.

Talon leaned back a little, his head turning up as he peered through the splattering of rain on the canopy toward the mountain.  "Climb?" he repeated weakly.

On to Chapter 14

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