"Do you think he was ever one of us?" Leia asked, the slightest tremor of hope in her voice even now.
Madine slowly shook his head, "Think about it- think about what he could do and where he said he came from. His abilities and his background just didn't add up."
"Why didn't we question it at the time?" Leia asked, then in answer to her own query, she murmured, "He seemed so...genuine. So sincere."
"So did Palpatine before he took office." Mon Mothma replied, unmoved.
Leia sighed, tucking a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear, still unable to believe she had been fooled so completely, almost three years after Luke had returned to the Emperor.
Madine shook his head slowly "He has to be Vader's son - he's so like him." It was one fact they'd never managed to substantiate, rumours abounding that he was the Sith Lord's son. But then there were just as many which linked him to an even greater threat-
"No-" Mothma said, eyes narrowing in consideration, "Like the Emperor."
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"I thought you'd have been in the Command Centre today." Leia said casually to Han over dinner, sat on the pressed plassteel seats of the mess hall. They were tired to the bone, but this was their only remaining opportunity to steal any real block of time together when they were both at least partway awake. Han's promotion to A-Wing's Flight Commander had caused all kinds of complications, not least of all the fact that Leia knew he'd be Unit Commander in another year or so, which meant that even this time would be taken away by duties and commitments.
She glanced down unenthusiastically at her plate. "There were some new images of The Commander from the Bothans. He's backtracked Madine's operation to Neimoidia already. They've covered their presence there and the fact that they were supplying us with technology from the manufacturing plants at the Kuat shipyards, but losing that source will slow us down... it's months of planning up the..."
"The kid? How's he doin'?" Han turned, face lighting. He'd never accepted the truth, Leia knew; he'd always believe that Luke was... Luke.
Leia shrugged, "Sharp as ever. And he's not a kid, he's twenty-five."
Han grinned, clearly speaking of an old friend as much as Leia felt she was now speaking of an old enemy. "Ah, he'll always be the kid to me, you know that."
She frowned, annoyed more at his determination to still speak of Luke in such terms than at his belief. But it was an old fight, and everything had been argued into exhaustion long ago, leaving their only option in this instance to agree to disagree. "He's the same age as me- am I a kid?"
Han leaned sideways to kiss her on the cheek, "No, you're a doll, sweetie."
"Suckup." she teased, unable to hide her amusement.
"Pushover." He grinned, tensing his arm against her incoming fist.
They each turned to their meals in silence for a few minutes, but Leia knew Han wouldn't let it go so easily- he just couldn't. Even now.
"I'm just saying-" He glanced up from his plate, weaving the food on his fork around before him, "That he's never done a thing against us - never lifted a hand."
"Because he's in command of the Core Systems, you know that." Leia reminded easily; the Core Systems were hardly the kind of place that the Alliance liked to be operating- especially now.
Han shrugged, unmoved "Whatever. All I'm saying is its pretty convenient; the one thing that I think Palpatine couldn't force him to do just happens to be the one thing he's not required to."
"For a cynic, you have a very gullible side." Leia accused lightly.
"I'm serious - name one time that he's actually come after us. He stops us, but that's it... he never follows up and finishes the job. Which is pretty rare for him, you gotta admit - he doesn't generally leave unfinished business, doesn't leave an enemy at his back... unless it suits him somehow. This Neimoidian thing will get handed over to Vader, you'll see."
"Because Vader's in charge of the counter-insurrection taskforce." Leia said, "He always has been."
"And Luke's in charge of the Core Systems and the Colonies. Neimoidia's his responsibility- doesn't that make it his jurisdiction?" Han countered.
"I'm not going to argue with you over this again." Leia said, tired of covering the same ground. Maybe because it upset her so much; it stung that she'd trusted Luke so completely- and been wrong. Been hurt. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of beings she'd actually trusted that much - and she could count with just one finger the ones she'd been wrong about; one. Luke Skywalker.
It never stopped hurting...and she could never figure why.
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CHAPTER THREE
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Mara let not the slightest hint of triumph show on her face as the sabacc cards changed again, giving her the nine. Along with the four cards she had in the interference field, that totalled twenty-three - and a winning hand.
She was sat in Skywalker's quarters onboard the Peerless, the stars streaking past as they headed back to Coruscant, the Neimoidian incident suppressed and settled in less than four weeks - quite an accomplishment, ever for Skywalker. The price had been a month of very long days and very short nights if he rested at all, not one break taken from his duties, pursued to obsession as they always were with Skywalker. But he'd achieved the unthinkable; put down a planned insurrection, broken a specialist Alliance saboteur ring trained and re-established Imperial control with the minimum of resentment and maximum long-term efficacy.
Despite his rank in the Rebellion, Mara had held her doubts when her master had appointed Skywalker Commander in Chief of the Core Systems Military, but she'd learned to respect his judgement as again and again he'd proved his worth, both in small, frantic skirmishes and complex, system-wide insurrections. The huge amount of knowledge that Palpatine had imposed on him in his enforced incarceration when he'd first arrived on Coruscant must have crystallized it, but that kind of leadership required some innate abilities which couldn't be taught. The Rebellion had lost more than they knew when they'd abandoned Skywalker to the Emperor. But their loss - carefully manipulated by her master - was the Empire's gain, and Mara had developed a genuine respect for The Commander.
Did it make her job more difficult? No- they were both aware of what she was and why she was here, and each was professional enough to respect that. Palpatine trusted nobody; it wasn't in his nature, they both knew that- and neither were prepared to allow it to limit their friendship, which suited Mara perfectly.
Now, finally, they were off-duty - or as much so as the Commander ever was - so naturally, he was playing Sabacc... again. She glanced up at Skywalker. His expression had changed not a whit with the interference field's action. This time, she had him!
"I bet...fifty." She said at last, her voice very casual, tinged with the slightest hint of carefully-feigned self-doubt.
Which nontheless brought his eyes up, "Why, what do you have?"
"Put your credit down and I'll show you." Mara challenged, casually placing the nine face down in the interference field to freeze its value as she slid her own credits forward.
Luke looked down at it now, narrowing his eyes, "You don't have anything."
"Care to bet on that?"
He lifted his chin just slightly- which meant he was considering it, Mara knew. She knew him well now; almost three years of playing sabacc over countless tables had granted her that, as well as accompanying him on endless missions at her master's command. The Emperor had never rescinded his original order to Mara charging her with responsibility for Skywalker, and she still took it as seriously as she took every command from the Emperor, becoming Skywalker's de-facto bodyguard as well as his Aide. And his watcher of course; along with Reece- Palpatine trusted no-one. Mara still occasionally wondered who her watcher was...
"Fifty...?" he asked now, bringing her mind back to the game, her face a neutral mask, knowing he would be looking for subtle clues. He always did- in life and on the sabacc table. He played selectively, choosing with care the hands he betted on but betting aggressively when he did, not afraid to put his funds where his faith was. And every now and then, just to keep her on her toes, he'd bluff big style, always waiting until there were lots of chip-cards in the field, lots of possibilities in play. In life and on the sabacc table.