Here's another little Luke and Mara ditty for all you fans out
there who expected to get more out of
Visions of the Future and can't wait for the new book Vector Prime
to come out (Not that Visions wasn't
good, but . . .). This story takes place about twenty-five years
after Return of the Jedi (I'm pretty sure, but
I may be off just a bit), and is a fun read. Oh, and if you can't
imagine Luke not being a good cook, stop
reading now. And please forgive me for my ignorance of military
time.
 
Now the dedication stuff: First, I'd like to thank my fave fan-fic
authors Melissa Boberick, Jen Bakht,
Kelly Frieders, and Heather Lynn for inspiring this whole story
and all my others. I also want to thank Jen
for putting up with me e-mailing her constantly and being a
diligent fan of her writing (which probably got
REAL annoying after a while *sorry*). Secondly, I'd like to thank
Danie (to whom this story is dedicated)
for co-writing two stories with me, and putting up with an
extremely fussy writer, who had to have
everything perfect all the time! She deserves a medal for that
one, folks, I tell you! Anyway, last, but not
least, I'd like to thank Annie for inspiring me all the way, and
encouraging me to keep going no matter
what! Thanx guys!!!
 
And now, the disclaimer: All character and situations (except the
Skywalker triplets and the planet
Tir'hree) belong to George Lucas and various other pro fic
authors, including the ALMIGHTY ZAHN. I
am making no money off this piece (as if anyone would want to buy
it) and I never will. Please get my
permission before sending it to other sites.
 
E-mail me with questions, praise and candy (flowers are nice, too)
at jaded_destiny@yahoo.com
The only other story I have out right now is Mara Jade-Skywalker
and Time machine Part 1, but I'm
working on two co-written stories: Jade (we'll have to change the
title, sorry again Jen:) and a story named
Choose Title (cause we have to remember to do that before we send
it in. That one may never get
finished). If you think of any titles that would fit that sketchy
plotline, let me know, please! All of this stuff,
by the way, is, or has something to do with, Luke and Mara. Oh,
and I am working on a Luke/Mara
romance of sorts which I hope'll be finished soon.
Now that I'm done talking, you can sit back and enjoy!
 
_____________________________________________
 
 "Hey, Skywalker, long time no see."
 Luke turned toward the ship sitting on the landing pad of
Coruscant Spaceport twenty meters
away from him and smiled at the figure exiting the ramp. "Too long
for me," he told his wife, embracing
her tightly. "I missed you, Mar."
 "I miss you, too," she murmured, kissing him gently. "But,"
she added a mischievous grin, "I didn't
miss your cooking. Han is even a better cook than you"
 Luke laughed. "Now that was an insult," he said, a hurt look
on his farm-boy face.
 Mara rolled her eyes. " Dear, have you actually tried any of
your own home cooking?"
 Luke glared at her and she gave him a sugary smile, as reach
wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Oh, don't take it personally, I'm sure it just runs in the
family. Leia can't cook, either, as I recall."
 "Really, I didn't know. But that means . . . " Luke got a
look of mock horror on his face as he said,
"That means no one in our family can cook. I mean, I can't, my
sister can't, my wife can't . . . "
 At this point in his list, Mara got a fiery look in her
eyes, but before he could give a good whack
across the head, he pulled her into his arms and gave a long, slow
kiss.
 "Fine," she managed as she pulled gently away. "You win, for
now." She slipped an arm around
his waist and led him away toward their apartment.
 Mara sighed. It was good to be home, on Coruscant . . .
especially since the kids were here.
Nyisha, Nathaniel, and Loreina (or Neesha, Nathan, and Lora) were
staying with Leia and Chewie
because of business. Mara's new contracting job with NRI had her
running across the galaxy to
investigate a recent distress call from a planet out near the core
worlds with Han. Luke had had to go find
another Jedi candidate so, deciding that both trips were too
dangerous to take the children on, they had
sent them to spend some time with their cousins and aunt.
 But now that Mara and Luke were finished with their
respective missions, they could go be with
the kids.
 A great end to a very busy week, thought Mara, contentedly
leading her husband into the Imperial
Palace.
 
 * * * * *
 
 Gavin Darklighter groaned as his comm beeped. He was still
on ship time, and he hadn't quite
adjusted to Coruscant time yet. Having so many time shifts to deal
with was the fault of his decision to join
Rogue Squad in the first place.
  He sat up in bed and slapped the answer switch on his comm.
"Darklighter," he muttered into his
comm link.
 "Hey, kid, been a while, you know," a familiar voice came
from the comm.
 Gavin was now fully awake. "No way. Fixer?"
 "In the flesh, more of less," his old friend drawled. "We
thought we'd, you know, come visit the
center of the universe."
 "We?" Gavin repeated incredulously. "Yeah mean..."
 "Right. Deak and Me and Cami and Windy and the Kids . . . "
 "Kids? Okay . . . I think I'd better meet you somewhere so I
can catch up. How 'bout the Grand
Corridor in Imperial Palace at 0100?"
 "Sure. See ya, Darklighter."
 The comm shut off. Gavin pulled himself out of his bunk, and
set to work getting dressed, still not
quite believing it. His friends from Tatooine, as far as he knew,
had never even left the planet, yet, here
they were. Wow, he thought, as he headed for the door.
 
 * * * * *
 
 Another Inner Council Meeting. Just what everyone needed,
Han thought wryly, glancing around
the chamber and trying hard not to look as bored as he felt. He
and Mara had been called in to be
debriefed about their mission to the planet Tir'hree, but first
the Chief of State had to go over about twenty
other issues concerning NR government and planetary workings.
 Finally, Han heard his daughter clear her throat and call
out, "Next on our agenda, we have the
issue of the investigation on the planet Tir'hree. Mara Jade and
Han Solo, leaders of the investigation have
that report. Dad?" Jaina may have been the leader of the galaxy,
but that didn't keep from setting a
relaxing tone to every senate meeting.
 Han nodded to his daughter. "Thank you, President. As many
of you already know, Jade and I
were sent to Tir'hree to investigate a distress call from a
village near the equator. What we found out is
very alarming. It seems the whole village was either evacuated
quickly or completely slaughtered with the
bodies removed to remove evidence by whomever's responsible. We've
seen evidence that the latter could
be the case. At any rate, it's vital that we find out what
happened to that village, so we can prevent it from
occurring in the future to the other villages on the planet." With
that, Han sat down and Mara stood.
 "Your dad and I would like to go back and get to the bottom
of what's happening, Jaina," she said,
eyeing all the council members. "Their native reps trust us, and
we know quite a bit more about their
culture than most people, having spent quite a lot of time with
them. We’d like the your approval to take
control of this investigation personally and see it through." She
sat back down next to Han, knowing what
the Jaina's next argument would undoubtedly be.
 "That's a generous offer, Dad, Aunt Mara," Jaina said
carefully, eyeing her aunt thoughtfully. "But
what about your . . . uh, confinement, Aunt Mara? Won't that put
it and you yourself at considerable risk?"
 Mara sighed. She had been feeling guilty about the unborn
child herself, but they all knew she
could fight well enough. She'd proven that when she'd carried the
triplets. She'd be fine. Plus, she was
barely three months pregnant, and was hardly showing at all yet.
The only problem was that she hadn't
discussed it with Luke yet. But they wanted her answer now, so
Luke could wait till later.
 "I've already considered the risks, Jay. But I would remind
you and the Council that  your dad and
a task force will be there with me and I have proven my ability to
defend myself during a pregnancy
before. Myself, and the child," she added, for effect as much as
anything else.
 The young leader nodded slowly. "Very well. We will take
your request into consideration and
discuss it in a private session later today. Thank you for your
report. Now, onto other matters . . . "
 As Jaina continued the meeting, Mara leaned over to Han. "Do
you think I'm taking too much of a
risk, Solo?"
 Han glanced over at her and saw, to his mild surprise, the
lines of worry on his sister-in-law's
face, and he realized how much she had changed since he'd met her
in Talon Karrade's smuggling base on
Myrkr. He also realized he understood exactly how she was feeling.
"Don't worry about it, kid," he
assured her, reaching over to squeeze her arm. "We'll make sure
nothing happens to you or the child while
we're there. Besides, Jaina’s a little paranoid herself, for
obvious reasons. And she's still working, although
she's almost due. You'll be fine."
 Mara nodded and some of the lines left her face. "Thanks,
Han."
 He waved the thanks away, reaching over to squeeze her hand
briefly. "No charge."
 The council meeting ran on for several more hours before the
young Jedi Knight finally called it a
day.
 As Han and Mara moved to exit the chamber, they noticed
seven figures standing just outside the
Council with an X-wing pilot who Han could almost, but not quite
identify. He tapped Mara's shoulder.
"Mar, have I seen that pilot or any of those people before?"
 Mara glanced over at the group. "I know the pilot. That's
Gavin Darklighter, Biggs Darklighter's
cousin from Tatooine. An old friend of Luke's. I don't recognize
any of the others. Relatives, maybe."
 Han nodded.
 "Ah, so thou hath escaped the terrors of the Inner Council
Chamber," Luke's voice crowed
dramatically.
 "Yeah, sure, whatever," she said, giving him a strange look
before embracing him, then his sister
who stood beside him. "So what gives, Leia? Why weren't you in
there?"
 "I told them I had 'family business' that I needed to see to
and Jaina could tell me anything I
needed to know," Leia told her, returning the hug. "And those kids
of yours are quite a hand full."
 "Don't I know it," Mara replied, rolling her eyes. "But I'll
be more than ready to take them back
after--" Mara stopped short, realizing that she had no desire to
tell Luke (who was generally over-
protective of her and the kids) about the mission just yet.
 "After what?" Luke inquired his tone more curious than
suspicious.
 "Nothing," she muttered, throwing a warning look at Han. He
nodded fractionally and wisely kept
his mouth shut.
 *Mar, what are you hiding from me?* Luke asked silently as
the party headed toward the Solo's
apartment.
 She sighed. *I, well . . . you know the planet I was
checking out?* He nodded. *I, um, offered to
go back there and finish our investigation and find out what's
behind the--*
 "You what?" he said, throwing a glare at a certain guilty
faced brother-in-law.
 "Hey, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Han'll
be with me, so will a whole task
force."
 *What about the baby?*
"I consider him part of me, thank you."
 *You really think you're up to it yet, sweety? You're barely
into your first trimester.*
 "That's Mrs. Sweety to you, Flyboy!" Mara retorted.
 "You know," Han cut in, sounding annoyed and somewhat
amused, "it's real annoying when you
two do that. It's like Mara's raving at herself."
 "Not now, Solo," Mara said, turning back to Luke. "I have to
go, Skywalker. Those people are
trusting Han and I to get to the bottom of the whole mess."
 "Oh, so you already promised them?" Luke demanded, hotly.
Only Mara could bring out this side
of him, Han knew. That's why Mara was so good for him. About now,
he looked very much like the
psychotic farmboy he'd rescued from Tatooine all those years ago.
 *What, do I need your seal of approval?* Mara cried
silently. Managing to calm herself, she
continued, "Luke, I really can take care of myself. I did it with
the triplets, I can now." They had reached
the Solo's door, and Mara stopped, taking Luke's arm and turning
him to face her, raising a hand to brush a
stray strand of hair off his forehead. "Look, hon, if it makes you
feel better, you can come along."
 "What about the kids?"
 He had the satisfaction of seeing her wince guiltily. "They
can stay with Leia a little while longer.
We'll see them tonight and, if the Council approves, leave
tomorrow morning."
 Luke sighed. "Fine, I'll come along. What the hell, I need a
vacation."
 *That’s the spirit, Mr. Flyboy.*
 
 * * * * *
 
 "So, this is Imp Palace," Cami said admiringly as Gavin led
them through the passages and
walkways of the place. Cami had dreamed of coming here herself
before, but she couldn’t have dreamed
of anything this perfect. Most of the palace walls seemed to be
made of transparisteel, and all kinds of
exotic plants grew everywhere.
 "Mom, I’m hungry!" came the whiny voice of her five-year-old
daughter, Tahralissa.
 "You’re always hungry," her thirteen-year-old brother
admonished her, rolling his eyes
dramatically.
 "Lissa, Kieran, stop," Fixer told the children. "If we get
something now, will it tide you over till
dinner?"
 Both nodded eagerly, and little Tahralissa took her father’s
hand. "Thank you, Daddy."
 "Sure, Princess."
 Cami smiled to herself. Fixer had softened so much since the
kids where born.
 "So, Mom," Kieran said, "we gonna see Luke Skywalker?"
 "Don’t get your hopes up, kid," Windy put in. "He’s pretty
busy."
 Fixer’s face, Cami noticed, tightened just a bit. She
reached over squeezed his hand. He squeezed
back and his face relaxed slightly.
 As if to contradict Windy, Deak suddenly burst out, "Hey,
guys, look."
 They all turned, and Cami stared in amazement. Worm—er,
Luke. Luke Skywalker. Standing no
more than twenty meters away. Beside him stood a beautiful woman
with long exotic red hair (he did well
in the marriage category if that was his wife, she observed) and
standing with them were three children,
who all looked to be about the same age.
 "Oh, there’s Luke," Gavin observed, casually, as if it were
no big deal that Luke Skywalker, hero
of the rebellion and the Galactic Republic was standing directly
across from them. "Wanna go say hi?"
 "Sure," Deak said, grinning like a child.
 
 * * * * *
 
 "So, when’ll you guys get back?"
 Even though she was trying hard not to look disappointed,
Luke could tell Nyisha was. She had
always been the one who loved family time. He felt really bad that
Mara and him had been so busy lately.
 Now they all stood together in the Grand Corridor, waiting
for Han to bring the Falcon over to the
landing platform just off the Corridor.
 "Soon, we hope, sweetheart," he told her, putting a
comforting arm around her shoulders. "I’m
sorry your mom and I have been so busy lately. Just remember that
if you ever become a damned war
hero, your life will be just like this," he added, letting his
gaze sweep across the vast city of Coruscant
visible from the transparent wall of the Grand Corridor.
 "I know, Dad. I just wish we had more time together, that’s
all," she said, quietly.
 "Oh, get a grip, sis," her brother said, rolling his eyes.
"You’re always so emotional about
everything."
 "Leave her along, you insensitive nerf!" Lora cried
defensively, giving her brother a look of
disgust. "You’re just as upset as we are." She looked up at her
mother. "Men are so immature, aren’t
they, Mom?"
 "They sure are, sweetheart," Mara quipped, throwing
particularly teasing look at Luke. "It runs in
the Skywalker genes, especially." She wrapped her arms around
Loreina's shoulders and pulled her eldest
close to her. Lora leaned her head back on her mom’s shoulder and
stared out the wall sized viewport at
the early morning Coruscant traffic. Whether she admitted it or
not, she was just as troubled as her little
sister.
 Luke was trying to think of a sufficient rejoinder, when a
voice said from behind his shoulder,
"Witty family you have here, Wormy."
 Luke jumped and spun around. "Cami? Windy, Fixer, oh, my
gosh! What are you all doing here?"
 "Thought we’d come see what happened to you, kid," Fixer
said, giving an astonished Luke a
backslapping hug.
 Luke returned it, still looking amazed. "Honest? Wow, I just
can’t believe this."
 "Neither can we, Luke," Cami said, smiling at him shyly and
giving him a brief hug.
 *Who are these people, Skywalker?* came Mara’s voice in his
mind.
 "Oh, Fix, Cami, Deak, Windy, this is my family: my wife,
Mara and my kids Nyisha, Nathan, and
Loreina. Guys, these are my friends from Tatooine: Windy, Deak,
Cami, Fixer and—?" he looked
questioningly at the two children standing next to Cami.
 "Oh, these are our children—"
 "Whose?" Luke demanded, once again looking utterly
astonished. "You have kids??"
 "Sure, why not?" Fix asked. "Cami and I are married."
 "Now I’ve heard everything."
 Fixer glared at him. Even after all these years, they could
never resist verbally driving each other
crazy.  Cami added quickly, "Anyway, these are our kids. Kieran
and Tahralissa."
 After shaking hands with everyone, Mara asked, "So, you guys
here just for sightseeing or what?"
 Windy shrugged. "Pretty much. Mostly to see what the center
of the universe is like. You guys
know of any good sights to see?"
 Luke thought a moment. "Definitely. I could direct you to a
travel agency. They’ll probably have
maps and everything. To be honest, I would offer to show you
around myself, but Mar and I have a—"
then his eyes brightened. "Hey, wait. You could—"
 "No, Luke, it’s too dangerous." This was Mara, surprisingly.
 "No, not if they just kind of watch us conduct the search,"
Luke assured her.
 Mara looked doubtful, but nodded. "Anyway, what I was going
to offer," Luke continued, "is Mara
and I are going on a trip to a fairly new planet in the NR to do
some investigations, and I was thinking it
would be fun for you guys to come along for the ride, see what us
heroes do every day."
Fixer gave Luke a wry look, then turned to Cami. She opened her
mouth to voice her concerns
about the children, but Luke said quickly, "Your kids could stay
with Leia. That’s where the triplets are
staying."
 *Luke, you know how much of a hand full the triplets are for
her. You think they can handle five
kids?* Mara demanded.
 *Sure, why not? They have Winter there still, and I think
Jaina and Tenel Ka are there right now
too. Jaina is I know, cause she’s due in a few weeks and if she
goes into labor, she might not make it to
the med center in time.* Jaina and Tenel Ka were both pregnant at
this point, and Jaina was almost due.
Jacen and Zekk were out doing "Jedi stuff", so the girls had
decided to stay somewhere safe while the
guys were away.
 Mara rolled her eyes, but nodded submissively at him.
 Cami thought it over for a moment, then nodded. "All right.
Thanks. How long will we be gone?"
 "We’re hoping no more than a week, but I’d say, to be safe,
two. Before we promise anything,
though, let’s make sure that it’s okay with everyone."
 It was actually quite easy to arrange. Han was sort of
excited to have more company on the trip,
and Leia got Jaina and Tenel Ka to agree to watch the kids. Winter
even agreed to come over as often as
possible to watch them.
 It wasn’t until the next day that they got going.
 
  * * * * *
 
 Kieran stared around him in wonder, taking in every detail
of the Solo house’s living area. He’d
been taught to respect and admire them for all of their heroic
deeds and feats. Now here he was, about to
live two weeks in the famous Solo household. Not only that, but
the Skywalker triplets, already famous,
would be staying here too, along with the Hapan heiress and
princess Tenel Ka Chume Ta` Djo Solo (or
something like that). Wait till all his friends back home heard
about this!
 And then, into the living area glided the former Chief of
State, Leia Organa Solo, somehow
managing to look regal while only wearing a drab jumpsuit, a too
big shirt that probably belonged to
Captain Solo, and a pair of fluffy black slippers.
 Leia greeted them all, introduced herself to the Tatooine
crew, and told them to "please, call her
Leia", and showed the children to their quarters. Kieran, the
whole time, was staring in wonder at
everything, until finally the Chief of—er, Leia, said kindly, "You
think this is something. Just wait till you
see the upstairs."
 Kieran blushed softly at being noticed, but smiled shyly
anyway, and followed her up the stairs.
 Their rooms were amazing. The central room had chairs in a
circle around a blue glass table. A
wall length window (there seemed to be quite a few around here, he
noted) gave them a breathe-taking
view of the city-covered planet. There were two adjoining rooms to
the living area, which, Kieran found
later, were identical. There was a large bed in the corner, a
refresher unit in the other, a spacious closet,
and a large window set into the wall, giving another spectacular
view of the city, and the distant Manarei
Mountains.
 When he and his sister were settled in, Leia said, "I hope
you two will make yourselves at home to
anything you need. I need to go make some arrangements with your
parents." She smiled at them and left.
 As she had told them to make themselves at home, Kieran
decided that exploring the suite wasn’t
out of the question, so he left his sister exploring a shelf full
of hologames, and wandered off down the
hall.
 At the outside of the door at the end of the hall, he heard
soft music. The door was glass so he
could see through into the room.
 The Skywalker girls (Nyisha and Lora, he remembered vaguely)
stood in the middle of the tangle
of cords and various wires that attached to various machines in
various parts of the room. The room itself
was filled with tons of equipment (expensive, Kieran noticed),
speakers, recording devices of various sizes,
headphones and mikes lay askew around the edges of a blue staging
area.
 One of the girls glanced over at the door, and looked
slightly surprised to see him there. But she
waved him into the room, putting her finger to her lips,
indicating that he be quiet.
 As he entered, he could finally hear what they were singing.
Both girls had soft tenors' voices that
seemed to echo softly off the walls of the room, he noted with
some admiration.
 When they were done, Neesha pulled the headsets off her ears
and pressed several buttons on a
large recording device, then she turned to Lora. "It’s done. Your
first album is done." This news was
followed by lots of squeals from both girls and hugs all around.
Finally Lora noticed Kieran standing there.
 She smiled brightly. "Hi. Sorry we forgot about you, we’re
just excited cause I finished my first
album."
 Kieran was surprised. "You’re a recording artist?"
 She nodded slowly. "Actually, this’ll be my first album.
Tendra Calrissian, my agent, says this one
should go over well with the critics and I should be able to start
on my second album in a month or so."
 "Soooooo," he said, taking this news in with stride, "I
guess I can say ‘I knew you when . . ."
 She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she said, but she
didn’t sound that convinced.
 Neesha rolled her eyes. "Lora, you’re good and you know it!"
 Lora blushed slightly, then suddenly turned serious. "Are
Mom and Dad still downstairs?"
 Kieran shook his head. "No, they dropped us off and then
headed for the spaceport. They're
supposed to leave in an hour or so."
 Both Lora and Neesh seemed to hunch slightly, sinking onto
the stools they had occupied while
recording. Kieran looked concernedly at both of them. "What’s
wrong?"
 "Oh, nothing," Lora said quietly. "It's just that, well . .
. we hadn't seen them in a while, and then
they get back, then they take off again. We'd just like them to be
around a little more often, that's all."
 Nyisha sighed and stood. "Well, I've got some homework to
finish, so I'll be in my room. Make
yourself at home," she added, almost as an afterthought, to
Kieran.
 Lora stood and followed.
 Kieran watched them leave. The Skywalker girls had certainly
given him enough to think about.
 
  * * * * *
 
 Neesha sat quietly, alone in her room in the dark. She hated
the dark, because she couldn't use her
sense of sight, which tended to frighten her a bit, but now she
didn't care. She was upset. Her mind was
on one thing. Her family.
 It didn't really seem like she had a family anymore, though.
Not now that Mom and Dad were
gone so often. Plus her unborn brother (she wasn't quite sure how
she knew that, but she did), who she
hadn't been able to sense, due to her mother's distance from her.
This feeling of separation made Nyisha
feel . . . depressed. Alone. Ignored.
 Tears came to her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe them
anymore than she did with her pain. She
felt awful. Eventually she fell asleep.
 She awoke to a quiet knocking on her door. She rubbed
furiously at her eyes, then called, "Come
in," cursing her horse voice from crying. The door slid open to
reveal Kieran and Nathan, both looking
somewhat concerned.
 "Are you all right, sis?" Nathan asked, coming to sit down
next to her on the bed. "You and Lora
are causing quite a Force disturbance, you know."
 Kieran came to kneel beside Nate, staring up intently into
her eyes. "Is there anything we can
do?"
 Neesha was about to say no, but thanks anyway, when suddenly
she had an idea. An idea Nathan
wasn't going to like one bit. "There might be, but--"
 Nathan, of course, knew right away what she was thinking,
and said, "Oh, no, Nyisha Mariah
Skywalker, you are not going to even think of doing that."
 Nyisha Mariah Skywalker pursed her lips defiantly and said,
"Too late! Ha, this is my best scheme
yet! Kieran, how are you at getting into trouble?"
 "Oh, I'm the best," he hurried to assure her. "What's the
plan?"
 "First, Nate, please, please don't tell Aunt Leia. Or Lora.
They'll freak out. Can you cover for
us?" She stuck out her lower lip, blinking her eyes pleadingly.
 He sighed. "You owe me. Big time."
 
  * * * * *
 It took some ingenuity on Kieran and Neesha's parts to get
down to the spacedock before the
grownups (Nyisha hadn't slept more than fifteen minutes, so they
hadn't lost too much time) and aboard
the Falcon without being noticed, but once aboard it was easy.
Uncle Han's "secret" smuggling
compartments provided more than enough room for the stowaways to
be comfortable for a few days, and,
with a special mental pattern Nyisha set up through the Force to
block her parents from picking up on
Kieran or her sense, they were set.
 The only problem was that she couldn't hold the barrier and
sleep at the same time, and by the
second day of the trip, she was starting to feel weary. No,
utterly exhausted.
 Kieran, of course, was able to sleep, but did not know
Neesha was not. Neesha knew that if she
told him, he would refuse to sleep himself and they did not need
two exhausted stowaways.
 Now, he snorted softly, sitting up sharply. "Ugh," he
muttered. "What a dream!"
 Neesha was too tired to ask what it was about, and she could
barely muster the strength to turn
her head and ask, "Did you sleep well?"
 "Yeah, I guess, but what a dream! I--" he glanced over at
Nyisha. "Are you all right? You look
awful."
 "I'm fine," she said, but she knew she wasn't convincing
him. He leaned over and rested his hand
on hers, making her blush slightly. Thankfully, it was too dark
for him to see her too well. "You didn't sleep
very well at all, did you?" It wasn't really a question.
 She sighed. He'd dig the truth out of her sooner or later.
"I can't sleep, Kieran. If I do, I can't hold
up the mind block, and Mom and Dad will figure out I'm here."
 "Nyisha!" he cried, but she clamped her free hand over his
mouth. "Sorry," he murmured, much
quieter this time. "But, Neesha, why didn't you tell me? I would
never have agreed to this." He said softly,
"I don't want you to get sick from sleep depravation, Nyisha. I
don't . . . I don't want you to get hurt
because you can't concentrate. Do you understand?"
 She barely managed to nod. She stared into his eyes for a
moment in amazement and weariness,
before Kieran reached out and pulled her into his firm, strong
embrace, where she practically collapsed,
finally having to drop the barriers and fall asleep from pure
exhaustion. Kieran kept his arms around her,
not wanting to let go, enjoying the feeling of her against him,
her soft sweet breath against his cheek.
 Tired beyond words, Kieran felt himself drift off as well .
. .
              * * * * *
Luke sat in the co-pilots station of the Millennium Falcon,
staring lazily out the viewscreen at the
mottle sky of hyperspace. So, here they all were, off on yet
another adventure, again leaving the kids for
the governmental jobs. Luke had thought that marrying Mara and
having children would help the officials
slack off a little. That had been a bit naïve, even for him.
 *Wallowing again, Luke?* came the voice of his wife in his
mind.
 *Sorry. I just miss the kids, I guess,* Luke replied
sleepily.
 *Ah, so that's what's been keeping you up so late the past
few nights.*
 *Must be.*
Luke heard her quiet footsteps as she entered the cockpit. She
seated herself in the captain's chair
across from him, curled her legs up under her, and turned slightly
to face him.
 "Speaking of which, the other night I reached out toward
home, just to make sure the kids were
okay, and for some reason it felt as if on of them was . . . I
don't know . . . like, well, one of them was
closer than they should be to us."
 Luke sat up a little straighter. "Now that you mention it, I
felt the same thing." He stopped, as a
horrible thought pushed it's way into his mind.
 Mara apparently had the same thought. The two stood in
unison, and headed for the smuggling
compartments.
   * * * * *
 Kieran had drifted off after ten minutes or so of holding
Nyisha's sleeping figure, and Nyisha was
the first to drift awake. She shook soft golden red hair out of
her eyes, then with a jolt of horror realized
that she felt two very familiar presence's standing directly over
the compartments. And she knew she and
Kieran were about to get into a swirl of trouble in about ten
seconds.
 Knowing there was nothing she could do she reached over and
shook him awake. "Kieran. Wake
up."
 He did, sitting bolt upright. "Whaaa . . .?" he strangled
off the question as the smuggling
compartment hatch popped open and Nyisha came face to face with
her parents, who's faces reminded
her very much of two intimidating rain clouds.
 After helping the two stowaways out of the compartment, Mara
fixed her daughter with a
decidedly unpleasant look, a look that Nyisha had received before.
It was the look she'd gotten from her
father the week before when she'd snuck away from her school work
to have a sun stick duel with a
friend from the Jedi Academy on the Palace roof. That had gotten
her several rather severe lectures from
both her Jedi parents. Now, with her Aunt Leia and cousins Tenel
Ka and Jaina probably going crazy
looking for her at home, she was going to get more than a couple
severe verbal poundings.
 Her mother nodded. "You bet you are, young lady," she said,
sternly. "But first, I want you and
Kieran to go get Kieran's parents, then you can explain this
venture to us all together."
 Nyisha glanced meekly at her father. He had a very troubled
look on his face, not nearly as stern
as her mother's, but somehow just as meaningful to Nyisha. She
sighed, taking Kieran's hand. "Come on.
Let's go get your parents."