~@~Euphoria and Foreboding

   Laus' young aid keyed in the frequency for surveillance, then relayed the audiovisual link up into his boss' private study. "The feed's set. Whenever you're ready, Boss," he finished, his voice holding the barest edge of suspicion. 

   "What's the last on Karrde?" Laus asked, stating his more urgent concern over that of the anomious individual who was waiting on the other end of the audiovisual link up.

   "Nothing," the Altevarian responded. "We've still been unsuccessful in finding anything past the initial 'incomplete' status on the dump."

   "Fine," Laus grated. "Keep on it." 

   There was a brief pause before his young aid signed off, almost a hesitation.  Laus made a note to himself to follow up on that, later. For now he settled himself at his communications station and patched through the incoming comm.

   "Wanton Laus," the anonymous man greeted him cordially, nonchalantly tossing his dark hair back from his eyes as he spoke.

   "And you would be?" Laus asked cooly. 

   "Darlik jag Jundst," he introduced himself, and paused a second for emphasis.  "An acquaintance of an acquaintance – in the late Fasad Imago."

   "I see." Laus' already cool reception dropped a few notches colder. "And I take it you had a more active role in the lateness that has befallen my former associate."

   "Our former associate," Darlik corrected, "for a time. Until my needs changed and he became quite a hindrance."

   "Really. A hindrance," Laus considered the word, his serious nature not quite at ease with Darlik's conversational tone. "I can see that," he conceded. "But the man's untimely demise may hardly have been necessary for a hindrance.  Especially with so much left, unfinished." 

   "Curious," Darlik remarked without a trace of curiosity is his voice.  "That sentimentality didn't prevent you from taking inheritance of his work."

   "For precisely that reason, but never-the-less.  You've got my attention, Jundst."

   "Your other interest," he stated calmly, "Karrde.  I can only assume that the Tangrene data forms the basis of that interest, and of his extended relationship with the New Republic." Laus made no move to substantiate either claim, so Darlik continued.  "Why else would such a small time fringe leader be involved so deeply with Coruscant?"

   Laus only nodded fractionally. "A question I have often asked myself."  When the other man held silent Laus offered an exaggerated nod.  "Your insight, please."

   "I can only guess that his position would make him a grave threat to you."

   "Only a temporary concern," Laus replied.

   "That's precisely where I can be of assistance, or more accurately, where we can be of assistance to each other."

   Laus held his gaze for a long moment, considering the wealth of egotism and presumption that were at work in this man.  Both were qualities he hated dealing with, but Laus was not one to throw away valuable tools, no matter how distasteful he may find them personally.

   "Again, I'm listening."

~

   It was Han's early morning visit just after he and Lara had returned to Coruscant that played in Luke's mind as he walked purposefully to the meeting room where his friends were gathering. Four months had passed since Han had spoken to him then, telling him about Karrde's increasing nervousness and reported mobilization. Han had also relayed to Luke something that Mara had told him in strict confidence.  She said that Karrde had gone so far as to hint at putting pressure on the New Republic to sanction a move Karrde might make against Laus.   

   That possibility had stunned Luke. First of all, what Karrde was planning must be far greater in scope than any of them realized: an offensive so big that he was expecting it to get Coruscant's attention.  For that reason he would want their foreknowledge and approval, as insurance that the New Republic wouldn't interfere.  But secondly, if Karrde decided to go that route, the one move would amount to a major policy change for him. Karrde was fiercely independent, and always determined to limit his interaction with the New Republic. He spoke through his actions, keeping good on his word to pass on useful information.  Usually that information came at a healthy price, but over the years Karrde's faithfulness in passing along those tips had come out of a respect for Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie.  Never for the New Republic.

   Karrde's reluctance to deal directly with the New Republic had been the whole basis behind the Coalition, and also Karrde's primary motivation for putting Mara in charge of it.  The Coalition was a way to keep information flowing freely between Karrde's associates and Coruscant; it allowed Karrde to straddle the two groups, increasing his own knowledge base while keeping him free from political obligations, and well removed from the New Republic's sphere of responsibility.

   Luke grimaced to himself as he remembered the last of Han's warning. Han had added that the combination of Karrde's increasing nervousness and reported mobilization had even Mara on edge, and both men knew that that was no small warning sign. Luke had seen it for himself yesterday.  After Leia had contacted Luke yesterday morning, they had taken a joint transmission between themselves, Han, Mara, and Karrde in the privacy of Leia's office.  And true to Han's earlier assessment both of them were decidedly nervous.  The usually unflappable Karrde had been more rattled than Luke had ever seen him.

   "This was meant as a message," Karrde had told them. "They could have done far more damage than they did." The damage was already severe, and there on the footage for all to see: the shielded ships had come seamlessly out of hyperspace at planet's orbit, interdictor-capable.  Now they could all but swarm any small planet's defense systems without warning, and that was just what they had done to Karrde.  The attack had knocked out another of Karrde's most valuable and most secure bases.

   All but untouchable now, the ships were vulnerable only for the fraction of a second after they emerged from light speed.  It was at that instant that their systems switched over in power capacity from the new interdictor-capable state to their familiar high strength shielding. It was a smart invention.  The power capacities were complementary to one another, and the timing ensured minimal vulnerability.

   Karrde already had his people designing a change in their defense systems to target the threat, but it would be difficult to actually put that defense into use.  It was easy enough to program a defense system to fire on an unannounced incoming ship in that second before it could bring its shields to full from hyperspace reentry, but that combination of automated programing and immediate response made it impossible to prevent friendly fire. That possibility was an unacceptable risk, both for Karrde and for the New Republic. 

   The memory of Karrde's haggard image and subdued persona still weighed on Luke's thoughts, almost as heavily as the dangers of this new weapon. All of the usual suave, easygoing attitude that had been intrinsic in Karrde's demeanor for as long as Luke had known the man had simply been dismissed. His image had rippled slightly over the transmission divide as he had reluctantly admitted to them that he knew what Laus was after. 

   "He knows I have it," Karrde had stated, his face and voice tight in the guarded admission.  "He intends to make sure I don't dare to use it against him."

   "What exactly does he know you have?" Han had been the one to finally ask, causing Karrde to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

   "I have all the confidence in the world in Ghent's talents," Karrde had put forward with a trace of his familiar charm, "but you'll forgive me if I'd like to keep the specifics quiet at this stage."

   That had been all they'd gotten out of Karrde yesterday. Luke paused, clearing his thoughts as he reached the meeting room.  Now he braced himself and stepped inside to face the next round.

~

   The meeting ran long behind those closed doors.  Mara had been too far away on Coalition matters to reach Coruscant today, and too busy even to join them by transmission.  Karrde realized that he acutely missed the solid support of his most trusted aid today as he quietly relayed the facts to Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie. He told them that he had recognized the interdictor shielding design, and he explained how he knew that the plans for its construction had come out of the Tangrene data.

   "You see, I learned about Bel Ibis' planned strike on the Imperial Ub base at Tangrene, and by no small feat of ingenuity and daring," he prefaced his admission, “I managed to get an information dump out of the weakened systems before the base was destroyed.

   "It was only a partial dump, but I still got a lot more than I bargained for.  Mostly I just sat tight on what I had," he admitted.  Then Karrde shook his head, at a loss.  Somehow Laus got a hold of that information too, and something must have tipped him off to what I had done.  Now he wants me to know that he knows."

   "He must think you have something that could undermine his strike against us," Leia spoke cautiously.

   "So far," Karrde offered, "there's been only one bit of technology that caught my interest, and Ghent's still fine-tuning the encrypt capabilities on that." Karrde paused uncomfortably. "But I do know of several dangerous items that could be further developed, with the right minds and technical capabilities."

   They all exchanged heavy glances. 

   "Would you be willing to hand those over to the New Republic?" Luke asked quietly.

   Karrde sighed. "Part of me would like nothing more than to be rid of them.  But until now they've been safely locked away; with Laus gaining on me the way he is, moving them now would be giving him the opportunity he needs."

   Luke nodded, suppressing a grimace.  He had suspected that would be Karrde's position, and he couldn't argue with it.  The move would expose them to the very risk they sought to avoid. Maybe, with Ghent's and NRI's combined skill, they could find some way to make the transfer safely.  But Luke knew that the idea still wouldn't work for Karrde.

   Karrde, above all else, made it a rule never to negociate from the lesser ground.  He took great pains to avoid even exposing himself to that distasteful position through the information that he collected as a passion. Handing those plans over now would involve further exposing himself to Laus' attacks and bowing before the New Republic to surrender information. For Karrde, it would mean an admission of his inability to handle his own affairs and provide protection for himself and his people.

   Luke nodded again, offering his understanding. It was something that Karrde simply could not do.

~

   Atamvr held his ready position against the remote as it swerved and feigned in exaggerated motions, and when it fired on him the light blue of Atamvr's lightsaber blade moved seamlessly to intercept the bolts.

   Luke reached out with the Force and pushed the remote to a higher setting. In mid-motion, it dipped and parried around Atamvr to unleash an intimidating offensive.  Atamvr only took a deeper breath, reaching further inside to find the peace deep within himself, letting the Force flow through him. It directed his body in super-fast motions, allowing him to react with lightening-like reflexes to protect himself from the incoming projectiles of energy.

   When Luke reached out a few moments later it was to shut the remote down.  Atamvr, again, only took a deep breath, eyes closed, collecting himself. Then he looked to Luke, strong and confident; no more than a gleam of sweat and his slightly elevated breathing told of the exertion.

   Luke nodded, feeling increasingly speechless at the strength of his young student's progress.  It was a progress that extended beyond the physical and even mental to reveal much deeper underlying strengths. The weight of responsibilities that had been no more than strong words a short time before were clear to Atamvr now.  Long discussions between the two men had brought that complex reality into light. Atamvr understood and he fully accepted the responsibility.  He knew that his life would be one of service, and him called to embrace it without hesitation to his own wants or even needs.

   The dark side of the Force had also become more real through those discussions.  Luke had told Atamvr what he knew of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side, and of the Emperor's rise and eventual defeat. Luke had also told his young student all that he knew about Obi Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda. Many of their teachings were already familiar doctrine, but thus far Luke had been reluctant to go deeper, reluctant to expose his student to their fallibility and his own. 

   Luke tried to keep his own emotions in check at those times but he knew that some of their strength still came through.  Even more, he knew that Atamvr had the vision to see it... so Luke made sure to keep the promises he had made to his student at the beginning of his training. He didn't hide anything, and he answered all of Atamvrt's questions to the best of his ability.

   For Atamvr's part, he understood.  He understood why Luke had spent so much time and energy drilling in the basic concepts before explaining all the complexities of why.  A lot of loose ends made sense now, on the other side of that knowledge: Luke's loyalty to Darlik, top among them.  Atamvr understood now what he knew Lara had understood then.  No matter the risk, to turn away a student who came to him was something that Luke would never do.  He couldn't.  He had to try to teach the light because he had witnessed the power and destruction of the dark side. He had felt its temptation, in how easily the darkness came, and he knew that once it had taken its hold, the influence that power cast became almost impossibly hard to break.

   "Very good," his teacher intoned.  Luke seemed to pause in his thought, and he gave Atamvr a familiar appraising stare. He was deciding again, if it was time.

   "There's something I want to do with you," he started carefully. Truth be told, Luke wasn't completely sure if it could be done in this way. He had meditated on it.  He had spent long hours considering his own experiences, as well as the power and control of visions through the Force... but in the end Luke couldn't come up with any other, safer, way to gain the necessary experience. "It involves putting you into a state kind of like hibernation, but with awareness. Something closer to the dream state," Luke clarified after a moment.

   "I'll guide you that far, and to something within your own mind and emotional experience.  But once you reach that point, your reactions and experiences will be your own. Do you understand?"

   Atamvr nodded cautiously.  He didn't understand all the implications, but he got the distinct impression that he wasn't meant to at this point.  He could tell from Jedi Skywalker's sense that this would be a serious matter, a test, more than the physical, or mental, or even the emotional accomplishments that he'd met thus far.

   Luke nodded in return, a prompt. Atamvr held his mentor's gaze for one more moment. Then he closed his eyes and began the familiar relaxation techniques that would slow his breathing and heart rate as if for meditation or a hibernation trance. 

   Luke reached out to the Force, using it to guide Atamvr into a deeper state, one more available to hypnosis or hallucination. In that realm Luke guided Atamvr again, leading him through his own mind, reaching deep to see the places where the lingering fear lurked. It was those places that Luke would touch with the energy of the dark side, letting it breed its challenge. 

   Anger. Fear.  Aggression. The three would always create a certain temptation, the temptation to seek out the power that the darkness promised... and to act in it.

~

   Atamvr stood in a landscape of his home world, dimmed by memory of night.  There was only the dried ground beneath his feet and the cold, thin air of higher elevation.  He felt footsteps behind him. Deeper, he felt the malice in their minds.

   Atamvr ran.  He was covering the ground with long strides, running endlessly, until his muscles ached and his chest felt painfully tight with the need for another breath.

   Then he skidded to a sudden stop as the ground gave way to nothing in front of him... as he realized, horrified, that in the dark he had gone the wrong way. Now there was only a dead end and a sharp fall in front of him.

   Atamvr was trapped. 

   He turned around to find that his pursuers had arrived.  They tried intimidation first.  Atamvr could feel the pounding of his heart and the shaking of his muscles as his adrenaline kicked to a higher level.  And then, as in dreams, it suddenly occurred to him that he was no longer a helpless kid.  At his side was his lightsaber.  The Force was at his command.

   For a long moment, the temptation was real.  He could return the intimidation and push them all back with one swing of his weapon.  Or even simpler, he could push them away from him with one burst of the Force's energy.  He could already feel the sensation of his focused awareness bringing the air between them alive, even as they inched closer to him.

   Instinctively, he took a step back against their advance.  As he did, the ground under his heel crumbled.  Atamvr fully expected fear to come over him, desperation. A part of his mind and his body waited for it. But it did not come.

   He felt the Force, and instinctively he reached within himself.  Feeling the strength in his own inner peace, Atamvr stood quietly against the advance. He began patiently trying to find reason with the figures who were slowly closing the distance to him. He kept reaching to their minds, hoping for some sign of open emotion, trying to find even one mind that might have the ability to hear him. 

   There, he felt nothing.  The next sensation he felt was a sharp pain, stinging his cold skin through the light fabric of the jacket he wore.  It came again and again, pelting him with greater force and steadily increasing frequency.  Still there was no urge, no anger.  He only felt a sinking sadness that they would not listen to him, and a deep knowledge that he had nothing to fear. Atamvr drew inside himself, and the moment came.

   There was the lightest touch, a hand to his shoulder.  Atamvr felt himself drop. The Force spread around him to cushion his fall, as he knew it would. Atamvr opened his eyes as the hand tightened against his shoulder and arm, as if trying to pull him back.

   It took a moment for him to realize that the hand was real.  The fall was only in his mind.  Atamvr opened his eyes again, in reality.

   Luke carefully released his grip on Atamvr's arm and placed both hands on his student's shoulders, steading him.  "Are you all right?" he asked softly. Luke's gaze rested on Atamvr steadfastly as he kept a relaxed hold on his student's shoulders.

   Atamvr took a deep breath, determinedly clearing the haziness from his mind. He nodded in answer to Luke's question; he could feel the Jedi's concern.  Then Atamvr's brow furrowed as his mind started to slowly assimilate the vision he had just experienced with reality.

   "I was always afraid to fall," Atamvr finally felt his way through the words.  "I used to have that dream as a child, especially when I was away from home.  It would wake me, the feeling that I was falling and falling... and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

   "But you didn't panic this time. You're not afraid anymore."  Luke smiled as Atamvr looked to him, a questioning expression in his eyes.  "You've learned to depend on the Force," Luke explained.  "It gives you peace. And it won't let you fall." 

~

   "It was amazing," Luke shared the sentiment with Lara as they sat quietly together that evening. "He faced his deepest fear and he trusted completely, instinctively, in the Force."  Luke shook his head in mild wonder. "He has an innately peaceful core.  When he gets to that place, nothing can shake him from it." 

   Lara smiled, reaching out to her husband.  "I know," she said softly.  "I've seen it too, in glimpses."

   Luke shook his head again. "It was truly amazing." 

   She only smiled. "He'll make a strong Jedi," Lara finished softly, surely.

   The comm sounded, drawing their attentions toward the console at the edge of the living area.  Luke stood to answer it.  "It's Karrde," he reported tightly over his shoulder, surprise obvious his voice.

   Luke patched the communication through worriedly.  A couple of weeks had passed since their meeting here, and Luke hadn't expected Karrde to be making contact again so soon, or to be using their home frequency to do so.

   "Luke," Karrde's voice came through a second before his image flickered into view as well. "Sorry to intrude on you at home."    

   "Don't think of it," Luke returned easily, the show of hospitality not quite covering up his concern.  "What do you need?" 

   "Nothing urgent, just a little insight actually. Tell me, is Lara around?"

   Luke glanced in her direction, then turned back to position the visual receptor feed so that it extended into the room, allowing Karrde to see her.

   Karrde bowed slightly though the transmission divide, his usual air of bravado greatly watered down by the increasing stresses on him. Then he smiled in spite of himself as Luke returned to sit beside his wife.  "The two of you will be parents very soon, I see." 

   Lara only smiled dryly in return, trying not to let herself blush at his forwardness.  That was probably the desired intention, hidden beneath that novel graciousness. "Did you say you needed something?" she asked dimly.

   Luke grinned and lifted his eyebrows, not trying to hide his amusement as Lara was able to handle Karrde with ease.

   Karrde laughed.  "You're unshakeable," he complemented her earnestly.  "I admire that. In all seriousness, the best to both of you.  Now," he continued, abruptly businesslike and contemplative.  "I've been stewing over Laus' motives, the way he's been targeting me.

   "I take it he doesn't want to give himself away, and this hit and fade strategy has worked well for him in the past, but part of me keeps asking, why doesn't he try to destroy my records outright, or at least pull a dump? What do these multiple hit and harassments gain him, but minimal damage and maximal aggravation?"

   "First off," Lara answered quickly, "don't underestimate that as a major offensive tool. He seems to value that approach. Like you said, it has worked quite well for him in the past with the New Republic–" she hesitated.  "And if you don't mind my saying it, objectively, he's been able to get to you." 

   Karrde grimaced, an unusual gesture for him. "Of course not," he conceded with none of the usual graciousness, only an unabashed acceptance.

   "He must be trying to find out how much you know," Lara returned to her thought.

   "And have shared," Luke added grimly.

   Lara nodded in agreement.  "For the amount of energy he's expended harassing you, he must be worried. This offensive has continued well beyond the hit and fade time lines he's played out before–"  She stopped unexpectedly.

   "What?" Karrde asked. 

   "When did this increased interest in you begin?" Lara asked.

   Karrde considered it for a moment. "Not long after I lost my operation at Odgar: a month, maybe two after that."

   She looked to Luke.  He saw it too.  "Imago," Lara breathed; "I should have thought of it sooner.  A former Imperial technical advisor," she explained hurriedly to Karrde.

   "What does he have to do with Laus' timing?"

   "His untimely death," Luke offered, "was right about the time Laus gained new interest in you."

   "I take it then, that this was someone who could have spent time at Tangrene."

   Lara nodded. "A lot of time, and he had a lot of ambition for the sort of work they did there."

   Karrde nodded slowly, finding himself speechless for a moment as the rest became clear.  "Laus probably killed him to get his hands on that information... only to learn that someone else also knew," he finished his own thought.

   "It goes even deeper than that," Lara said softly. "Laus and Imago were in league for a long time.  Years."  She could see Karrde's understanding that the stakes had just been raised again. 

   "Then Imago was most likely Laus' source for developing weaponry," Karrde reasoned, and he took a deep breath. "In Laus' mind, this could make me a threat to years of his work... an unwelcome party to his deepest secrets."

~

   Lara shifted her weight and looked to the chrono again.  She cringed a little. It was hardly an hour since she had last woken, and the third time in as many hours. She cringed again at the idea that she was actually getting used to the intermittent sleep pattern – not that she was feeling any more rested, just that she no longer expected to sleep any more than a few hours at one time. 

   But she had little choice in the matter at this point. Along with most of the rest of life, Lara was finding sleep to be increasingly uncomfortable as she neared the end of her pregnancy. Despite her best efforts at relaxation, it remained a restless process of trial and error.  If she didn't need to get up for one reason or another, the challenges just in finding a comfortable sleeping position were vast enough to keep her occupied for some time.

   She shifted once more, and as she closed her eyes to try again she felt Luke roll over beside her. With a sleepy sigh, he pulled himself close to her back and reached his arm around her.  His forehead brushed her neck as he nuzzled against her, making her smile.  She could feel him, content in that fuzzy space between peaceful sleep and wakeful awareness.  That peaceful emotion reached easily into her own feelings, leaving her captivated with its soft warmth and simple intimacy.

   But it was a more wistful edge that crept begrudgingly into her smile; part of her envied his peaceful rest a little more than she intended, a little more than she liked.  Luke only pulled a little closer, pushing sleep away for another moment to let his hand rub over her belly.  An unabashed and amazed sense of affection joined the peaceful feel in his emotions.  And those feelings, too, were joined by a familiar pang of cautious awareness. She had felt it more often in his touch over the past few weeks: his delight and elation at knowing the imminent nearness of the twins' arrival clashing with the conscious recognition of her discomfort. 

   Lara felt that conscious emotion again tonight.  It lightened his touch and pushed him to show her greater tenderness.  He kissed the back of her neck as his hand moved soothingly over her belly, and the entire feel of his body seemed to soften against her.  She found that she had to sternly remind herself this time not to mistake the warm feel of his sympathy for an excuse toward self-pity. Lara sighed and paused for a moment, reminding herself to simply enjoy the feel of his touch before relenting again to the pull of the ever-present weariness in her body. 

   "The rest of this beautiful experience, nobody warns you about," she teased half-heartedly.  But Lara could hear the exhausted strain and guardedly cynical edge that came through in her own voice.  

   "What can I do Sweetness?" Luke offered the familiar question with a soft smile, bending to touch his lips to the crook of her shoulder before once more leaning his head against her.

   A smile crossed her, and she turned her head to him. Lara felt his hair brush her neck as Luke tilted his head to meet her eyes. "Go back to sleep, Luke," she offered gently.  "There's no use in both of us being up."

   He kissed her lips and pulled closer to her. "You know I love you," he whispered, reaching to touch her softly. 

   She closed her eyes at his touch and smiled at the honest flow of emotion. She realized she should have known that he would refuse, but she hadn't realized how much she had needed the reassurance.  With her body reminding her so loudly of its physical discomforts, it was too easy to let herself forget that he was just as nervous, and excited, and restless, and happy, and even as vicariously uncomfortable as she was.  And it was good to remember again that they were going to be parents, together, soon.

   She leaned back into him gingerly, letting her tense muscles slowly relax against the warmth of his body.  "I love you too, Luke," she said softly, and she reached a hand to caress his face. "Thank you," she added quietly.  

   One of the twins squirmed against her, making his or her unhappiness with the situation known to Lara (she had long ago assumed that they had run out of space in which to kick). Lara winced against the sudden motion, but her voice and sense stayed calm. 

   "I know," she whispered soothingly as she worked on taking a slow, deep breath.  "It won't be much longer."

   Luke rubbed her belly again. He was soon talking softly to their unborn children, adding his reassurances and promising the little lives that soon they'd be with their mother and their father.  Soon, he promised, he'd be holding them in his arms.

   Lara closed her eyes, smiling, as she listened to Luke's voice through the weariness that seemed to pull at her every fiber. The sound of his voice betrayed the warmth of his love, and that warmth soaked through her, filling her heart with comfort and reassurance.... 

   And for all of its discomforts, the shared moment suddenly felt magical. She let go her breath and reached for his hand, joining him in the quiet conversation.

~

   It was only a few days later that Lara turned to her husband, a strange look crossing her face for a moment before she grinned at him.  "You're not going to panic on me when I'm in awful pain to bring these children." She half asked it, teasing him with the possibility, and half stated her deeper assurance of him. 

   Luke smiled at the ribbing and started to go back to his work at the living room data station. Then his expression changed as he looked back across the room to where Lara sat quietly by the window, a hand absently resting to her belly. 

   "Why?" he asked suspiciously. 

   "I think it's time," she answered frankly, grinning at him again. 

   He nodded blankly, aghast for a moment in spite of himself. 

   "Luke," she warned him, half sure that he was teasing her now. Another contraction came, this one decidedly stronger than the previous twinges she had felt. Lara winced against it as she tried to concentrate on breathing. 

   He was already up and at her side by the time it had passed. Luke knew that the pain had startled her that time. He had reached out to Lara instinctively, feeling her pain and her worry, and he had sensed her reaching out to the twins.  She was worrying about them, wanting to comfort them through her own slight anxiety – which was probably the more distressing factor for them than the slight muscle tremor that their mother had just experienced.  

   Luke knelt down at her side, his hand over hers. She blinked and took another breath, more easily now that the pain had receded.

   "They're coming," he said softly. 

   She smiled and nodded to him, her expression filled with hope and determination. Now it was a reality.

~

   Luke shifted his grip on Lara's hand and brushed a light touch against his wife's forehead.  She lay still, just breathing, her eyes closed as she waited in the space between the last and the next contraction. When they had begun to come closer together, Lara had begun to lay quietly for that short time, looking to ease the strain by conserving her energy and concentration for the next effort. She had also fallen into a routine of holding contact with the twins after each contraction, relaxing her own mind as she tried to keep peaceful thoughts and to share with them the comforting emotion that they would be with her soon.

   Within the last few minutes the first twin had come into position and her contractions were becoming noticeably more sustained. The nature of the labor was starting to change from her body's preparation to give birth to the actual business of delivering a baby.    

   Luke reached out to her again, feeling the contact that she held with their children, the mental and emotional effort she was keeping, building, as she moved closer to the time when she would need to give them more.  Birth.  Life.

   He stroked her hair, gently bringing her attention to him. "Is this the part where you start cursing my name?" he asked from beside her, trying to hide the intended humor behind an expression of measured curiosity.

   She spared him an easy, if tired, smile. "I thought we passed that about five hours ago," Lara returned wryly. 

   Her cool head and a healthy tolerance for pain had prepared Lara to cope well with the sustaining contractions.  The length of the labor had been another challenge. It worried her that the consistent effort of working through hour after hour of contractions might start to drain her before the labor could start in full, but to her great relief she was already starting to feel a second wind, realizing that the birth would come soon now.

   Luke affectionately reached a hand to her belly, and she smiled as she felt him once more adding his love and comforting strength to the contact Lara was keeping with their children.  She could feel the little minds relax further as they recognized their parents' touch, and an indescribable feeling of warmth passed through her.  Lara squeezed Luke's hand as she smiled at him.

   He kissed her temple, smiling back as he reached an arm behind her, rubbing her shoulders reassuringly.  As the next contraction came Luke held her hand tightly, and supported her to half sitting.

~

     The pressure receded again as another contraction faded, and Lara lay tired again.  She was trying to steadily even her breaths and find focus once more through the incredible toll of weakened, stressed muscles. Luke had slid behind her as she had pushed with the last contraction, leaning into her back, supporting her shoulders, and she had leaned back against him gratefully when the effort was done.

   "How you doing?" Luke asked softly.

   She smiled when his fingers moved reassuringly around hers, and Lara nodded weakly.  She was glad to have him there, his body strong against her back, his hands holding hers... even the closeness of his voice to her ear was unexpectedly comforting.

   "How 'bout you?" she asked.

   Luke grinned haplessly.  "Good, for those broken bones in my hand," he said, half wiggling only a few fingers for emphasis.

   She laughed. "You lie," Lara accused lightly, tilting her head to look back at him.

   Luke smiled at her, suddenly madly in love with his wife.  "You're doing great," he whispered and leaned his head against hers.

   "I knew there was a reason I married you," she smiled, genuinely amazed that he could make her laugh in the middle of all this.

   "I love you, Sweetness," he offered, and softly kissed her lips.

   She closed her eyes against him, just letting herself feel.... "I love you," she whispered to him, trying to ignore the familiar sensation, the growing pressure, for one more moment.

   Luke pulled close to her back again as the contraction started, and Lara leaned forward as the pressure grew. She pushed with it until the baby's head could be seen.  And then, with another push, the child was born. 

   She fell back against Luke, breathing hard, equal parts exhausted and relieved.  And Luke enfolded her in his arms protectively, their hands still clasped tightly. They both held their breaths for waiting as the seconds grew long. Nothing else mattered in that long moment before they heard their child cry, awaiting the reality of their firstborn child's new life and well-being.

   The sweetest sound.  They laughed and held each other tight. Luke kissed her cheek and gingerly unwrapped himself from her to meet their new arrival.  She nodded to him, letting him go, wishing she could go herself.  She wanted with everything in her to hold her child.

   Lara watched through tears, almost from outside her own self and her own joy, at the moment her beloved husband held his son in his arms.  She could see an unmatched love in his eyes, and face, and awe-filled sense.  Luke slowly returned to her side as he wrapped a soft blanket around their son, and he knelt down to gently lay him by Lara's side. 

   Of all the times he'd cried with her... Lara had the sudden, inexplicable feeling that this was the first time she'd ever truly seen Luke cry. The tears came not for a release of pain but as a natural result of his own uncontainable emotion. They were beautiful tears that filled his eyes as he knelt down beside her to show Lara her firstborn son.

   She felt her breath catch as her heart seemed to swell, filling her to overflowing.  Tears streaked down her own cheeks as she reached to touch him, the most perfect thing she had ever seen. The little hand flailed against her as he found his voice again, asking more urgent matters from his mother.  She responded in instinct, carefully guiding him to his first feeding.

   The long awaited moment was cut a little short as the strength of the labor resumed, his twin ready to join older brother.  But the momentum of the labor had broken with first birth, and for Lara there was a distinct feeling of being off rhythm with her own body now that labor was resuming and her baby was taken from her, even temporarily.  She fought to make herself concentrate again on what she had to do as another contraction hit her, and Luke slipped behind her again, taking her hands, waiting for it to pass. 

   Then he whispered to her in the space after, reminding her that they had a beautiful son.  She felt her laughter echo against his, proud and happy with him. Then he reached out to her in the Force, and she could feel him searching, reaching past the sensations that tried her exhausted body and mind to touch something much deeper. Luke whispered softly in her ear, reminding her of the beautiful feel of their second child, waiting to join older brother. She nodded against him, feeling herself smile at the thought. Her own great desire to see her second child born helped offset the physical stresses and renew her strength. 

   It took all that she had, and Lara gave all of her strength, all her concentration.  She cried out with the effort of the final push, feeling the tears and the trembling muscles, feeling the telling effort of giving beyond what she thought she had left.  Then the intense pressure passed, and she fell back again. 

   Luke held her tightly, kissing her, whispering that she did it.  Through the numbness of having nothing left of reserve, she tried to concentrate on the pride and relief that she felt in him.  She tried to listen through her tortured breathing and ignore the protests of strained and trembling muscles while they all waited in the building silence.... Then their child cried.  Another son. 

   Lara felt her entire body begin to shake with sobs of joy as Luke held her against him.  It was an indescribable wash of emotion, like nothing she had ever felt before.  They were both laughing, both crying freely.

~

   Leia and Han sat close together, talking quietly, with Chewie hovering just a few steps away.  Atamvr stood again and started walking, though he only took a few steps before abruptly realizing that he had nowhere to go. Han ribbed him for his restlessness while Leia elbowed her husband in warning.

   Atamvr was quick to laugh at himself, and Leia added her reassurance that there was no need to worry. But they had been here, waiting, the better part of the day and well into the night. The labor had been long, and they were all a little nervous for the twins to arrive.

   Despite Han's earlier ribbing, Atamvr still couldn't make himself sit still. He stood up to walk another turn around the med center halls, but stopped as one of the med nurses came toward them. Almost unconsciously, he reached out to the woman's sense, and he immediately sighed in relief that he could feel no worry or dread emanating from her emotions. 

   Leia came to the same awareness a moment later, and she reached out further with her fledgling talents, trying to feel just a touch of her brother's joy, his awe at becoming a father. Leia smiled as she found Luke's familiar presence in the Force. She had never felt so much love and joy in him, and the awe was there too... Leia couldn't help but remember the hope that Lara had once expressed to her about this very moment.  Leia felt her presence too. Lara was weary and drained, but she was proud and happy... content.  Leia was happy for them both. Lara had watched her husband become a father, and she had made Luke unspeakably happy.

   "Mother and children are fine," the nurse reported, smiling widely.  "The proud parents have two beautiful sons."

~

   His face and his sense were aglow as Luke laid their children by her side and kissed them each, his family.  Lara was entranced and awed by the simplicity of the tiny lives as she touched and kissed them each, everything else forgotten, completely in love with her children. Instinctively, the younger of her two sons flailed at her, and she gently positioned herself to feed him.  His brother, as if having vicarious knowledge that there was a meal in progress, soon followed suit.

   The turmoil they had experienced entering the universe slipped away as they found new comfort and security.  They felt love and warmth, and their most essential needs for food and physical contact were met. Luke gently took up the first twin as he fell asleep, having had his fill of the meal. Lara looked up, smiling again at her husband.  She could see the pure joy in Luke's face at holding his son. Even the basic practicality of rubbing his back and patting him softly, waiting for a burp, was a source of awe and delight.

   Then Luke felt himself further melt as his son settled back against his father's shoulder, content, to sleep. After a moment of enjoying his first born's utter peace, Luke laid him against Lara's protective arm and took up his brother for the same. 

   Lara took a breath and closed her eyes as her body reminded her that it wasn't quite over yet. But that small factor did nothing to dampen her joy as Luke laid her second son back between them. Lara smiled at him, feeling aglow from the love deep inside her as she watched their sleeping sons, drinking in this incredible moment and hating the lurking exhaustion that she knew would overpower her too soon.

   Luke stroked her face and leaned to kiss her lips softly.  "I love you." Luke smiled and shook his head in disbelief. For the first time, those words were utterly inadequate to express what he was feeling.  Words couldn't explain this incredible moment, couldn't capture his unbelievable range of emotions. 

   She smiled its echo. "I love you too," Lara answered, and she smiled uncontrollably down at their newborns.  "And I love you," she whispered to them, watching as Luke leaned down to kiss them each again.

   The med nurse regretfully intruded.  Seeing that the twins each had dropped off after their meal, she and Luke moved them to the bassinet near Lara's bed as the finality of the labor started to demand her attention. She smiled despite it, watching as Luke leaned over the bassinet's side, unable to take his eyes from their children. 

   Luke glanced back to Lara, smiling.  He saw her eyes growing heavy with weariness and the effort to ease her body through the last of the birth, but Lara smiled back and reached for his hand.  Luke went to her; kissing the hand she offered him, he sat down beside her to hold her hand once more.

   Luke touched her softly as she finally settled back against the pillows, truly exhausted.  She opened her eyes to look up at him as he stroked her face, his hand resting softly at her neck.  Her face was soft, and her eyes were still sparkling with the expansiveness of everything she felt....  He could feel her fighting to stay awake, just a little longer.  Luke kissed his wife and bent to rest his forehead against hers.

   "Rest, Sweetness," he whispered gently, smiling. "We'll be here with you when you wake up."

   She smiled back wearily as Luke kissed her lips and slowly leaned away from her. Lara managed one more deeply contented breath before she closed her eyes and fell soundly asleep.

~

   Lara awoke early the next morning. She was more than a little tired and sore, but the twins were ready for their first feeding on their first morning, their first day of life. Their needs far outweighed her own, which were soon forgotten as she held her children and watched their eagerness fade into contentment as they found the comforting nourishment they needed. 

   She looked to Luke curiously as the first fed. They were still calling them first and second, and she teased him for it, surprised that he hadn't given them their names.  Luke was quick to protest, innocently, that he had wanted to wait for her.

   Lara smiled. "Good answer," she couldn't resist kidding him further. 

   He only grinned back, glad to have her awake and in good sprits, and sharing this moment with him.

   "This is our firstborn," she said softly, seriously, as Luke took him from his finished meal and held him gently. 

   "Mark," he said to her softly as he studied his firstborn son.

   "And Ben," she said quietly of his sleeping brother, looking back to Luke. He nodded.

   "It feels good," Lara said proudly. 

   Luke nodded again and smiled back. "It does."

   There was a light knock at the door and they looked up as Leia peeked in cautiously. Smiling, she motioned to Han, Chewie, and Atamvr behind her.  The droids even shuffled in after them, and the room was filled with proud, smiling faces as Luke and Lara introduced their new sons to their family.

~

   Time passed quickly with the twins holding their parent's attention closely. They went home, happy in a new world of family, absorbed in the joys of their beautiful children. Each new day, and week, and month was a blessing and a joy.  Mostly Luke and Lara had been left to enjoy the time alone after their homecoming.  Leia and Han were kept busy helping Karrde's investigation of Laus, but Atamvr came by steadily more often. 

   He found that he missed his friends whenever he was away, even for a few days, and it was hard to stay away knowing that they would welcome him happily. Truthfully, he also missed Luke's guiding presence.  Atamvr was more likely than not to run across Darlik in the rec room these days, and their encounters always gave him a sensation rather like crawling skin.  He tried to put it out of his mind on these visits, but he knew that Luke could see his hesitation. 

   They had spoken about it.  Luke had told Atamvr about his suspicions that Darlik's progress was being blocked by something he had experienced in his past. It made sense to Atamvr, but that didn't change the fact that he was still uncomfortable around the man.  Luke had seen that as well, and he didn't ask anything of him.  He just patted Atamvr's shoulder and assured him that he was always available, and that Atamvr was always welcome with them; he had become family now. Luke had also assured him that they would settle back into a more normal routine after the twins were closer to sleeping through the night.

   Today Atamvr laughed with his friends and doted on the twins until finally Ben started to get a little fussy. And Mark, as if purely in sympathy with his brother, chimed in half-heartedly.

   Lara quieted Ben with soft words and cuddles as she took them into the other room. "I think he's getting ready for a meal anyway," she concluded lightly as she excused herself. 

   Atamvr, glancing to the chrono, realized that he hadn't meant to stay so long.

   Luke walked with him to the door, and he stood silently there, still thinking about Atamvr for a few minutes after he had gone. A heavy sigh betrayed an unsettled bit of emotion that Luke couldn't put to rest.  He knew that this brief period of calm before the storm wouldn't last, but the rest remained illusive.... Luke reluctantly shook that feeling away and returned to his family.

   He lay down beside his wife and children and kissed Lara's cheek as he reached around her to softly touch Ben, who was still feeding.  Luke held his breath a little, smiling, as he saw that Mark slept.  It was an amazing feeling of warmth, parenthood.  It suited them both.  They had learned early on that neither liked being separated from their children, and the nursery room stayed mostly a place to keep baby things. When the twins were awake, one of their parents was usually too ready to play with them and coddle them. Then at night they slept in a bassinet by the bed, more often than not moving between their mother and father during a night time feeding and staying to sleep until morning. 

   Both were cuddly babies and their parents responded by giving them all the comfort and attention they craved, reciprocating with a need of their own. They both knew deeply the importance of security and they never intended their children to lack in it, especially not now when it was so easy.  Their demands, their needs, were so simple: food, and comfort, and loving touch, to know that they were taken care of unconditionally.

   They learned each other, parents and children. Luke and Lara were willing to wrap their lives to their children's, certain that these little beings brought into the universe through them deserved as much from them.  The twins responded, growing into quiet, happy, loving babies.  Filling their parents' hearts with a new depth of love.

   Luke and Lara both knew that there would eventually be a return to normalcy, with Luke spending more time in his teaching and other duties on Coruscant. Lara would return, at least in part, to the counseling work she valued.  But despite busy, and often chaotic, lives they were determined to make it a point that one of them be with the twins.  There had been discussions of other options, but both felt strongly that they wanted to be active in their children's lives from the start, and to always keep their family a strong priority. 

   There were other discussions too, of problems that could arise.  They debated taking on a Nogrhi team to provide a watch, much like they did for Han and Leia, but that idea was vetoed for the time being.

   "I won't say that I don't want to do it," Lara had offered thoughtfully. "Just not yet; not if we can help it.  If we feel we need to, that's one thing, but I don't want their lives cluttered with unnecessary precautions, especially not before they're old enough to understand." 

   She paused, emotion overpowering the reason in her argument as she continued.  "It works for Han and Leia, because it's an honor debt that the Nogrhi hold to her.  In my mind, I can tell myself that they're extending that debt to us. They would be," she added the correction.  Then she shook her head.  "But I can't make myself feel it that way. No matter how discrete they are, or how quickly the twins get used to them, I can't imagine it being anything other than a constant reminder that there could be danger."  

~~ ~ () ~ ~~

   The warlord and his Altevarian aid stood motionless in one of Laus' high security data rooms while Laus looked over the last of the intact information obtained from Imago's Tangrene files.  And he muttered another vicious curse directed at Darlik for his impatience in killing Imago.

   "Knowing Imago, getting control of this information would have been difficult," Laus snorted at the understatement.  "As it was, for years, he managed he to leave out that small bit of information, that the top secret Tangrene files weren't so top secret," he murmured, his attention faltering.  "But without his mind for this work, development will take much more time and effort." 

   "We have several options available to us in the Tritis sectors," his aid offered quietly.

   "Yes," Laus agreed slowly, and looked up to the boyish Altevarian, remembering again why he had called him in. "Can they be trusted?" he asked gruffly.

   "They understand the agreement," he stated certainly.

   "Set it up then."  Laus issued the command evenly, but his mind was already searching over other matters. Over the past few months as he had been investigating the Tangrene files, Laus had found that a great deal of Imago's research had its origins there.  Wether his or borrowed was anyone's guess, but much of his work and ideas were somehow attached to Tangrene, including most the items that he had sold to Laus throughout their association of almost a decade. 

   That knowledge had taken on greater meaning for Laus since he had found the initial note about Karrde's info dump, its status listed only as incomplete.  It was still an unknown, how deep into the Tangrene data that dump had placed Karrde.

   Laus' initial movement on Karrde had started as show of power, a way to gain territory and get word back to the New Republic of his advances.  A notable bonus had been that some valuable knowledge might be gained in the process, as Karrde's reputation for being well-informed was legendary on the fringe. 

   Now suddenly Laus' offensive had taken on more of a peremptory movement, and he was sure that the increasing venom of his strike would be enough to get the desired message to Karrde. Karrde's continued involvement with the New Republic, and specifically any further attempt to share his knowledge with them, would cost Karrde dearly.

   Laus allowed himself a tight smirk.  Karrde wasn't the only person who was well-informed; he would find that Laus also had a few tricks up his sleeve in that area. His spies had already gotten him two more locations.  He could afford all the time it took to track Karrde, and he certainly had the resources to make Karrde wish he'd never heard of Tangrene.

   Laus brought himself back to the matter at hand as he returned his attention to his aid. "Now, what shall we do about my would-be associate, Darlik jag Jundst?" Laus asked rhetorically. 

   As if on cue, a message alert began beeping. Laus glanced sharply to the aid who had already stepped back out of sight. He then gave the alert a few more moments before answering. 

   "I take it you finally see fit to begin?" Laus greeted the man in question. 

   "I think it's time," Darlik responded measuredly.  "Your subtleties have done their part, creating the necessary political mischief."

   "Please," Laus waved that assessment away. "I've seen more show of subterfuge out of stormtroopers. This exercise has been more like dropping a flag in front of a wild, bestial stag than stirring a kettle to the boiling point."

   "However you characterize it," Darlik mused with a hint of boredom.  "As long as you keep pushing." 

   Laus' eyes flashed at the idea of this man dictating his strategy, but he pushed the anger away. This extra effort had already spread his resources thin enough, and his sense of timing was telling him that he was well overdue to cool things down for the time being.

   "Still I wait to hear when I will see the spoils of this offensive you deem so worthy of my efforts," Laus returned cooly.

   "Soon," Darlik was at ease to assure him.  "Dare will be delivered to you at long last, with the bonus of her twin sons." Darlik paused, a stern gaze working into his measuredly light disposition. "After the boy has been disposed of, and I have finished Skywalker."

   Again Laus snorted.  "Forgive my bluntness," he growled, "but you may not live through a face-off with the Jedi. But I will have done my part by creating the proper atmosphere to allow you the face-off you want."

   Darlik's face was frigidly cold. In that long moment Laus almost doubted his previous assessment, that this man could not defeat the Jedi, Skywalker.  His expression was completely focused, and also utterly undecipherable.  Then his face twitched as Darlik allowed himself a trace of a smile, and he nodded, a concession of point.  

   "When the first part of the plan is in place, then," Darlik acknowledged, his expression questioning. 

   Laus nodded fractionally, giving his agreement.  They cut the comm at that understanding, and Laus' aid stepped forward from his previously unseen position.

   "Your assessment?" Laus prompted quietly.

   "You'll do well to remain, cautious. That one has a dangerous past."  He measured his desire to protect his interest as Laus' top aid with his personal desire to not give away any more than necessary. "His time in Tritis alone is the stuff of childhood scare stories." 

   "Kid's stories don't concern me," Laus brushed the last part of his aid's warning aside. "Will he follow through on his word?"

   The other paused, considering. "If things go as he intends. If not, he tends to become, unpredictable."

   Laus nodded, looking ahead.  "One more thing then..." he added.  "The serum and neural control net.  Is there any new ground to speak of?" 

   "No notable progress."

   Laus let loose another set of vicious, graphic curses for Imago's killing before he fell silent once more. A thought came to him: luckily Darlik didn't need to know that.  "In fact," he thought out loud, "don't keep me appraised of the progress. That way I can tell him flat, cold."

   The aid waited a moment more for some clarification, a little puzzled at the logic behind that odd request. But seeing that there was no clarification forthcoming, he complied and smoothly withdrew from the room, leaving Laus to his contemplations.

   No matter his own criticism of his boss's involvement with the likes of Darlik, or even his near obsession with Lara Dare Skywalker's overestimated importance, he weighed that at least this series of events would keep Laus occupied for the near future. At least this would keep Laus delegating his authority when it came to matters in Tritis and the nearby sectors.

~

   It was as if she were there. She could feel the tension in the air, sense the emotions strained almost to the breaking point.... She automatically wanted to jump in, to find some way to help, but her mind pulled her back with a strange sense of realization. It was the imposed duality that separated the real and the unreal.

   This was a dream.  Painfully enough, Lara understood the concept.  No matter how badly she wanted to intervene, she could not.  Just as in her own nightmare, this scene carried a sense of timeless reality, something that couldn't be dismissed as the workings of a sleep deprived body or an overly emotional mind.  Lara watched with wonder to see something that had not yet happened, and with an utter helplessness at not being able to affect it.

   The exotic setting was marred by a vast battle.  She could feel the two collectively holding their breaths, waiting for the next round as they sheltered under cover from the heavy fire. Luke reached for peace, for the Force's guidance, trying to get a sense of the danger that surrounded them.

   He was weary, battered, and injured. Atamvr was at his side, also the worse for wear; his breathing and emotions were strained despite his firm desire to keep himself calm. She felt surprise from Luke's sense and saw the mix of worry and determination that showed in his eyes as they opened. Luke took a deep breath, reaching further into himself, asking for more from himself.  Things were worse than he had expected a moment ago. And he didn't know how they were going to get out of it....

   Lara awoke suddenly. She met Luke's eyes as he turned to her, waking, and rolling up to an elbow.

   "Lara. What is it?" he asked softly, reaching a hand to her arm. 

   She struggled to breathe.  That feeling of imminent reality came back to her in the wake of the dream, and she shivered.  "It was a vision," she managed, still stunned by the power of it. Her eyes wandered for a moment before she looked back to him.  "I've never experienced anything like it."

   He pulled closer to her. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, concerned. Whatever she had seen had affected her very strongly.  She nodded, her face and eyes serious as she held his gaze for a long moment.

   "You were in danger," she whispered, stopping as she reached back for the details. "I don't know where. Atamvr was with you, but you both," she trailed off, looking down, trying to control her emotions.  "You both looked bad," she finished quietly.  She had to force calm into her voice as she shook her head, trying to find words to fit what she remembered seeing in the vision.  "Like you'd already been through a lot, and the end was nowhere in sight," she finished, struggling to express it.

   Luke took a deep breath, blinking at the heavy feel of her premonition.  He pulled Lara to him and hugged her, not knowing how to reassure her. He knew how real and powerful a vision like that felt, and he couldn't say, couldn't pretend, that its warning didn't hold worry for him too.

   He kissed the top of her head. "You know these things are only possibilities." 

   She felt her lip twist a little at his attempt to lighten the weight.  "I know what it means," she said softly.

   He closed his eyes tightly, feeling the strain of her worry as she tried to stay calm.

   "There was something else," she said finally, just realizing what it was that had woken her so suddenly.  "There was this feeling that something was about to go really wrong.  Or it already had – and you just didn't know it yet."  Lara sighed, her brow furrowing in frustration over the vagueness.  "I don't understand," she breathed. "What's the point of knowing that something is going to happen, with nothing to do about it, not even knowing how to prepare for, whatever it is." 

   "I don't know either," Luke whispered gently.  "We'll figure it out."

   "I hope so," she whispered back.

   They settled back under the covers, talking through it into the long hours of the night.

~

   Luke had called Atamvr up to NRI headquarters when the news had started to come through. Luke met him in the hall now, and they talked in hushed tones for a moment before entering. The room was alive with the chaos of dozens of experts trying to get the most out of a short bit of news feed and a handful of transmissions, trying to find some way to put it all together without stepping on each other's toes. 

   "This is Atamvr," Luke introduced him to the lead communications expert. "He's from the region, from Orem actually."

   The Bothan received him as politely as possible under the circumstances; his fur was already permanently flattened in an expression of great stress.  "We may have need for your assistance later, in the translation and political interpretation, but now it's just a matter of gathering as much information as we can into decipherable components."

   Atamvr nodded and tried not to be run over as the shorter creature turned quickly to another station.  "So far they only know that there was an exchange of hostilities and a communications breakdown?" he prompted Luke absently. 

   Luke nodded just as absently.  The New Republic had never considered the situation on Orem to be permanently contained, but the treaty Luke had helped them reach had been renegotiated several times since. Though New Republic mediators were careful to report that with each renegotiation the necessary concessions were a little harder to reach, they felt that steady progress was being made.  They had expressed no inordinate concern at the possibility of increased hostilities.  In other words, this was unexpected. 

   "Wait, we've got another hail coming through from Orem."

   Luke and Atamvr both turned as an incoming hail beeped for attention on the systems that had been programed to receive any transmissions from Orem and the adjacent systems as top priority.

   "It's not a call for help. This one's coming through on a private citizen's code." 

   A grim expression had taken over Atamvr's features as he made his way toward the receiving station.  He already knew that the message in question was meant for him. 

   Luke stood out of the way as they patched the message through to one of the available communications consoles, and Atamvr hunched over it, squinting in the screen's dim light.  Luke could sense the stunned disappointment in his student's sense well before Atamvr stood a moment later, dejected and deeply worried.

   "It didn't get away in time," Atamvr said softly.  "It was sliced beyond recognition.  I don't even know who sent it." 

   The Bothan approached and Atamvr turned to him. 

   "I can tell you," Atamvr stated clearly, "that that was no breakdown that cut the planet's communications.  A high power Kelcinan block will slice a message trying to get through it as it's taking effect, much more so than a normal communications block. And of course, a simple break wouldn't scramble the thing, just cut it off in mid stride." 

   The Bothan expert took the new information in, and seeing that Atamvr had no more to offer, he went back to work elsewhere. 

   "Intelligence can work on it," Luke offered, his thoughts returning to the unknown transmission, "but I doubt they could make it intelligible," he admitted.

   Atamvr shook his head and looked to Luke.  "No," he acknowledged softly, his sense heavy.  Atamvr took a deep breath. "I've got to go back."

   Luke held his gaze for a long moment before nodding. He knew that he couldn't change Atamvr's mind, and he understood the need.  Atamvr nodded in appreciation and turned to go.

   Something clicked for Luke when he watched Atamvr turn away. There was something familiar between that need for his student, not quite ready to be independent, and Luke's own past. Bespin. 

   "Atamvr," he called out, stepping to his student's side. Luke paused, looking for words.  "It's your decision," he finally offered honestly, "but I'd like to come with you."

   Atamvr held Luke's gaze for a long moment before he nodded.  "I'd be honored."

~

   Lara had been working in med that afternoon, coming in for a few hours to help out with a staffing shortage.  She felt Luke's approach, along with his serious sense, and she quietly excused herself from the patient she was working with to go to him. He told her about the situation on Orem, Atamvr's reaction, and Luke's own decision. Both of them felt uneasy with the knowledge, but Lara finally broke the silence.

   "I have a bad feeling about all this, Luke.  Something's just not right."

   He felt his gut twist at the weight of her worry, adding to his own. "I know," he said softly.

   They both knew.  He still had to go.

   Lara suppressed a sigh and looked deeply into his eyes.  "Please be careful," was all she could whisper.

~

   As was the too familiar routine, there was only a little time for packing and private goodbyes.  This time it was made even more difficult as Luke held his sons, not knowing how his absence would affect them, how many precious days, or weeks, or more, he would miss of their lives.

   Three months.  In just that short span of time, it seemed as though their precious sons had always been at the center of their lives. At the thought of leaving, he hungered for more time.  His mind filled with the soft buzz of seemingly continuous days and nights that he and Lara had spent engrossed in them, in love with them. Three months time, time marked only with the millions of little milestones in their children's amazing growth. He stepped back and closed the nursery door, but he still stood there unmoved, wishing once more.

   Lara squeezed him tight. "It'll be okay," she said softly.  He tried hard to believe her but it cut him to the bone to be leaving them. "I promise," she whispered as he turned to her, his arms reaching around her. She looked in his eyes, strong, as she drew close to him.  And her touch was soft as she kissed him gently.  "We'll be all right," she breathed.

   The gentle compassion in her touch managed to blend seamlessly into the strength in her eyes and the certainty in her voice.  He knew it was honest, and Luke could feel the strength and reassurance that she was trying to share with him, but the turmoil inside him remained, unbearable.

   Luke sighed, pained, and pulled her into his arms. He didn't have the words to ask her to keep them, and love them for him... to somehow keep him close for them.    

   "I will, Luke," he felt her whisper against his shoulder.

~

   Then later, on the landing platform, there was another goodbye.  Lara hugged Atamvr and wished him well.  "May the Force be with you," she said, smiling to him, "and may you find your family well," she added with a quiet intensity. 

   Atamvr smiled and nodded in return.  She could see that he was ready for the challenge ahead, and understanding of the responsibilities he carried.  He was calm, confident, and well-grounded.  Lara could suddenly see how he'd grown from the wide-eyed boy of two years ago, brimming with potential and hope, into a capable and strong young man, very much aware of himself and his surroundings in the Force.

   Atamvr paused in mid-step as he headed for the ship. He had been willing to place the blame for some of his discomfort on his own overactive nerves since getting the message. He was nervous at the thought of going home and all the unknowns awaiting him there. But underneath that he knew there was something more serious at work.  Atamvr had known it when the message came through, and he had seen it on Luke's face when Luke had asked to accompany him. Atamvr knew that the uneasiness in his friends was well-founded.  The worry in Lara's sense as she said goodbye to him, as she waited to say goodbye to her husband, was both real and strong... but this discomfort was something more. 

   Atamvr felt a cold feeling of dread, and he turned back to face it.  Darlik had rushed out to the platform to speak with Luke. The scene was strangely familiar.  Again, they all felt the danger in this man. It was something vague, brooding beneath the surface, but there was danger in him. With a measure of reluctance and a sense of accepting the necessity of events that would follow, Luke nodded, extending his permission to his student.

   Atamvr paused again at the ship's ramp and watched as Darlik brushed past him, coming aboard without a word.  Atamvr remained standing at the ramp for another moment.  He intended to wait there for Luke to finish his goodbyes and join him.  Atamvr stood there silently, watching the mosaic of Coruscant's sky, listening to the soft buzz of the traffic and feeling the stronger buzz of the Force that bound the millions of life forms across the planet.  He had the distinct feeling that the next time he saw it, it would look very different to him.... 

   Lara had also watched Darlik carefully, unable to take her eyes from him until he had finally disappeared into the ship. Then she looked to Luke. She was trying hard to settle her churning emotions in the wake of this series of events, to quiet the unnerving sense of foreboding dread that permeated everything that was happening.

   Luke stepped closer to her and placed his hands to her arms as he kissed her forehead. Then he leaned back from her with a soft smile that was meant to reassure her. He could still see the doubt in her eyes. 

   "I love you," she said softly. "You come back to me," she added strongly.

   For just a moment his strong facade faded as Luke's heart ached. Lara smiled now as she reached out to him, instinctively trying to lighten the harsh seriousness they were both feeling so acutely.

   Luke leaned close to her.  "I will," he whispered. His eyes flickered with intense emotion as he caressed her cheek.  Then his crystal blue gaze lifted to seek hers again, and Luke kissed her.

   She returned the kiss, deeply, lingering close to him. Neither noticed the precedent of the display or gave it any consideration. Perhaps some amateur chronographer happened to be in the right place that day... there to immortalize a hauntingly romantic image: a vivid depiction of the Jedi's pull to duty, set against the awesome Coruscant city scape.  One moment in time, as Luke Skywalker paused to kiss his wife goodbye. 

   But in that captured moment Luke and Lara didn't care about the remembrance of history or the prying eyes of a curious public. They just felt the moment, theirs. It was one more moment to hold on to each other... before they were parted. 

   At its end, Luke stepped away from her slowly. "I love you," he whispered before he let go his hand to her cheek.  Then he turned and walked to the ship. 

   With a final glance back, and the slightest smile between them, he was gone. ~@ ~ ~