Force
or Fate
By
Ash Darklighter & Rhea
Jedi Knight
The
characters and situations in this story are all part of the Star Wars universe
and as such, belong to Lucasfilm Ltd. No credits Republican or Imperial are made
from this joint effort.
Chapter
1
"Mara!"
At
first, she believed that she had imagined her name being called above the volume
of the torrential waters. She was nearly deafened by the
noisy violence of the tumultuous river as the water plunged past the jagged
rocks and swept the small raft along its furious current. The river was sided by
steep jagged cliff walls. If she was dashed against these rocks Mara didn't hold
out much hope of her survival. The water was shallow in some places, extremely
deep in others. The sun was shining - a bright orange ball in the sky - making
everything appears slightly burnished as if it were about to ignite.
"Mara!"
There
it was again. No one on this entire planet called her
anything but Mistress Jade. Who could be calling her across the raging waters?
Mara
had spent weeks convincing the vice-mayor to trust her and to allow her to
traverse the river system to prove to the people of Iania that they could be
used as a cheap if somewhat primitive transport system. There
was a fortune to be made in a huge ore of fire gems, but the natives could
barely even mine it let alone transport it to the single city large enough to
support a spaceport.
Mara
couldn't believe that such a valuable resource had lain undetected by both the
Empire and the
The
Ianians still did not believe that a person could traverse the treacherous
waters, and Mara had finally received permission to prove to them that it could
be done. Mara glanced at the large camera that was plotting
her course and providing as entertainment for the amassed Ianians. She
was fairly certain that they were more interested in seeing her certain demise,
then of establishing the possibility of a trade route. She would prove to them
that she could master the turbulent waters.
"Mara!"
His voice rang out above the roar of the water and the vast cheering
crowds of Ianians. There, out over the upper ledge, leaning out precariously was
a darkly robed figure - a darkly robed familiar figure.
She
could feel his concern for her even at this distance. She
couldn't make out his features, he was still too far away, but she knew it was
he. She could feel it.
"Skywalker!"
Mara bit out the word as if it was something foul and tried to gesture to
him to go away, hoping that the audience would not witness this interference.
What was he doing here?
*I'm
fine. Just go away! * She tried to project to him through the Force but he
wasn't receiving her thoughts. For the first time in ages she regretted not
taking him up on his constant stream of offers to further her Jedi training. He
was a Master, damn it, surely he should know when he wasn't wanted. That damned
Jedi was going to ruin everything.
Luke
Skywalker leant over the edge of the precipice and gazed down at the river as it
raced over the rocks. Just ahead the channel diverged into two waterways split
in two. If Mara chose the wrong route she could fall to her death - the
waterfall fell one hundred feet or more. What madness had possessed her? Making
his decision instantly, he leapt over the edge and crashed into the icy waters.
What
the hell was he doing? Mara stood up, trying to see if her
would be rescuer needed assistance. He came up sputtering and for a moment she
feared he couldn't swim. That's what came of being brought up on a third rate
desert world. He didn't know what water looked like.
Fool!
She thought.
Then
he dipped below the waters disappearing into the murky cold of the deep. Mara
caught her breath leaning further over the edge. Force!
Where
was he? She was so distracted by his dangerous leap and subsequent disappearance
beneath the foamy water that she failed to see a jagged rock before it was too
late.
Mara's
craft impacted against the rock flipping the vehicle through the air and landing
into the water topside down. Mara managed to jump free of the wreckage, inhaling
a large amount of icy water in the process. The sensation of drowning made it
difficult for her to determine the way to the surface. She managed to curb her
panic and not inhale any more water, fighting against the pain burning in her
lungs at the watery violation.
The
current continued to drag her further down the river at a frightening pace, and
she silently cursed Karrde and his money making scheme - ignoring her own major
part in the decision making process. Karrde hadn't been too keen on this part of
the negotiations.
"I
can do it, Karrde," Mara had argued.
"You
sure? I'm not convinced, Jade. I think it's too dangerous." He closed his
eyes. He knew he had just said the wrong thing. Nothing was 'too dangerous' for
the former Emperor's Hand. "Mara…"
"I
can do it," she had affirmed, her mouth straightening into a determined
line.
"Be
careful," Karrde cautioned and received a steely-eyed glare as a result.
"Have you checked all the facts about the waterway?"
"All
that I could," Mara was nonchalant. She thrived on this kind of test. It
gave her the thrill of danger that working with the smugglers sometimes lacked.
Karrde
had tried to reach her before the race had started. He'd been shouting something
furiously at her but she had already disabled her com and with the crush of
excited Ianians around her, he'd been unable get close.
They
should have left the backward Ianian people to their own devices. There had to
be easier ways to make a living. Mara slammed into a rock bruising the side of
her body, exhaling the last of the air in her lungs, and for the first time
began to fear that she wouldn't make it to the surface. She
was going to die here, and it was going to be all that damned Jedi's fault.
She
should have trusted her instincts and killed him the first time she saw him.
Instead of saving her, that Sith spawned Jedi was going to be the death of her.
At least the Ianian people would be properly entertained.
Mara
held onto the rock, clawing at it with bloody fingers and tried to pull herself
up toward the surface. Her chest felt as if it was on fire and she could see
sparks of light blurring her vision of grey churning water. Mara knew that she
was about to lose consciousness but something within her being made her grip
even more tightly to the slippery rock. "Skywalker!" She called to
him, wondering if he could hear her in the dark.
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