Out of the Shadows 10
Dagobah
Luke’s return to Dagobah with the carved box
containing the Jedi artefacts passed without incident. But as he popped the
hatch on the x-wing after landing safely beside the familiar swamp, there was no
diminutive Jedi master there to greet him. He hastened to Yoda’s home and
found the old Jedi resting. Luke pushed away his worry. Yoda was weakening –
he could feel it - his sense in the Force flickering. The old creature appeared
considerably frailer in just a few days and Luke knew that he was going to lose
his mentor to the Force very soon. It was something that Luke didn’t want to
think about. He would be alone once more.
The old master opened his eyes and struggled to his
feet. “Never alone with the Force are you, young Skywalker.” It was as if
Yoda had read his mind.
“I know,” Luke said quietly.
“I will always be with you.”
Luke smiled wistfully. “I know that too.”
Yoda chuckled, his eyes widening. “He-he. Learned
much you have, young one.”
“I’ve been taught by the best,” Luke admitted
with a sly grin, although it tore at his heart to see how the old Jedi was
fading away in front of his eyes. “You must rest, Master.”
“Soon I will forever sleep. Rest I can then.”
“Of course, but I insist.” A muscle twitched in
Luke’s cheek as he helped Yoda back into bed and covered him with a warm
blanket before placing the carved boa-wood box beside him. “I admit to some
curiosity,” he said. “But I only had time for a quick check to see if the
things in here looked vaguely like they’d once been in the hands of a Jedi.”
Yoda’s little green claw slid the lid half open. He
gave a wheezing gurgle of laughter. “Promising this looks, young one.” The
wrinkled face stilled into sorrow. “Recognise the lightsabers and the
lingering presence of my old friend, I do.”
“Mace Windu?” Luke asked. “So he did save these
things for the Jedi.”
Yoda nodded as if the motion cost him much effort.
“Powerful Jedi and wise he was. Kept these safe he did. Gave his life for
good.”
Luke took the lid and placed it aside. “There are
six lightsabers in this box, Master Yoda. Can you identify who they
belonged to?”
Yoda’s chest rose and fell with a shuddering breath
as if this was hurting him. Luke knew that these memories had to be painful.
Mistakes had been made that had cost many lives. He did not want to repeat those
mistakes. He had to be ready.
“A lightsaber is built by a Jedi at the point of
Knighthood. Each has an individual signature in the Force. This lightsaber
belonged to my good friend, Mace Windu. See the way the handle was crafted to
fit his grasp. This one to his padawan learner…”
‘Padawan.’
Luke let his mind investigate the unfamiliar word.
Yoda had never called him a padawan. The word held so much pain and promise.
He’d merely referred to Luke as his apprentice. Perhaps the trappings of his
old life were too painful to relive, yet that didn’t sound like the fiery Jedi
Master that Luke had lived and studied with for the past three years. He was
Yoda’s padawan. Luke Skywalker was Master Yoda’s last padawan.
“And this one…” Yoda’s eyes sharpened. “Not
listening you were.”
“Of course I was…well no, I wasn’t.” Luke
sighed. He never could lie to Yoda. The old Jedi always knew when he wasn’t
paying attention.
“Strong these Jedi were,” Yoda said.
“Not strong enough,” Luke murmured sadly.
“Strength is not always enough,” Yoda rebuked.
“I know,” Luke said gravely. “I saw the Emperor
die.” He made his point in return. He was not as wise or as learned as Yoda
but he wasn’t as ignorant as he once had been. He found that Yoda respected
him more now if he held his ground.
Yoda smiled with satisfaction. If there was one
lesson Luke had learned easily, it was the one about the misuse of power. He had
seen the supposedly most powerful being in the galaxy die – Emperor Palpatine.
He had also seen his own father die. Yes, the young man had understood
that truth only too well. Power and strength without goodness, justice and
honour were nothing. “Teach me you still can, Luke. A good thing this is.
Complacent we cannot become or our undoing it will be.”
“What else have we got here?” Luke peered into
the box. “Books and…” His gaze fixed on the small objects Yoda pulled out
of a bag made out of a soft beige cloth. “What…?”
“Training toys, for the younglings these are.” He
held up a glass sphere filled with glittering silver sand. “Make it change
colour,” he told his apprentice. “Focus and happen it will.”
Luke concentrated on the orb and immediately, the
grains become red and then blue. Luke grinned. If he thought hard enough he
could…
Yoda snorted as the contents became multicoloured as
Luke merrily danced them around the insides of the tiny globe. “Much, much
older than the younglings are you. This is not so impressive.”
Luke chuckled, not at all put out by Yoda’s set
down. “What else?”
Yoda pulled out a square box. Inside was a four-sided
pyramidal shape filled with a thick liquid. “Change this into a cube or a
sphere the students did. Hard this was as the liquid not easily controlled. This
you want to do also?”
But Luke was staring at something else he thought he
recognised. “This is a puzzle…a game of logic,” he said slowly.
“That’s what it is – isn’t it?”
“This is so. Seen one of these you should not,”
Yoda answered, a puzzled expression on his face.
“But I have…I know I have. These little struts
moved to let the balls run unhindered through the maze and eventually drop
through the slots but remove the wrong one and the game is over. I remember
seeing one of these.” He frowned. “How could I remember seeing one of
these?” He glanced at the old master.
Yoda was thinking and then he slowly gave a nod.
“Remember I do now. Your Aunt Beru gave you one when you were a baby. Bought
in market on Tatooine. Knew not she did, that it was a Jedi toy.”
“Nor did Uncle Owen, I bet,” muttered Luke.
“Wish I could remember what happened to it.”
What had happened to the inoffensive looking but
highly dangerous toy? Yoda frowned and then his face cleared. “Removed it on a
visit to your home Obi-Wan must have done when the Empire became a permanent
fixture on Tatooine. Yes, remember, of this I do. Forget things sometime I do
– old have I become.”
“You forget things?” Luke shook his head. “I
don’t think so.”
“Obi Wan couldn’t risk someone recognising it.
From your mother it came.”
“My mother?”
“A strong willed woman was she. Very like your
sister. Hid the toy on a market stall. Forgotten about this I had. Much fear
this caused in Obi-Wan when found out he did.“
“My mother resembled Leia?” Luke didn’t realise
it but the naked yearning displayed on his face told the old Jedi a lot. He
hesitated to say more because of the damage it could cause although unlike his
father, Anakin, Luke had never known his mother. But old habits die hard and
Yoda decided to say no more.
“Very like.” Yoda closed his eyes.
Luke wanted to ask more but something on Yoda’s
face told him that his master had said all he was going to say on the subject of
Luke’s mother. The young man wondered why it was such a secret. “They’re
so small,” he said instead, referring to the toys.
“That is why they exist. Easily hidden these could
be. Not considered a danger are children’s toys. Remember young one,
size matters not.” He wheezed into a laugh. “Small am I.”
“Perhaps,” Luke agreed. “But not in the Force.
There, you have a very large presence.” He stuck his hand into the box and
pulled out one of the books. “Hey!” he exclaimed, his face lighting up. “I
have this one – I’ve even read it. This was left to me by Obi-Wan. It’s
been very useful over the past few years.”
“Required reading it was at the Jedi temple during
the
“With the information contained within its pages, I
was able to build my own lightsaber. I don’t know if I could have done that
without it.”
“The final test of a true Jedi Knight it is. A Jedi
you are, Luke. Believe you must, for my time is short.”
“Don’t say that, Master.”
“The truth you must face. A Jedi you are and a
powerful one. The first of the new order are you. I leave the Jedi in your care.
A gift, yet a heavy burden to place upon your shoulders. Faith in you I have.
Succeed you will.”
Luke clenched his right hand, the one his father had
maimed. Yoda was right. He wasn’t a boy any more. He was a man and a Jedi
Knight. He’d had three extra years he hadn’t expected to have. He was
luckier than most and he had already faced his fear at losing Yoda. It was a
fear he faced daily but the old Jedi lingered on through sheer stubbornness.
The box was nearly empty now. All it still contained
was a couple of glass recording rods, a chipped holocube and some data cards.
Yoda gave a great sigh. He had hoped for more.
“No holocron?” Luke had guessed what his Master
had wanted to see.
“Destroyed they all must be,” he said. “Hoped I
had.”
He looked tired and defeated. Luke couldn’t ever
recall seeing the old Jedi like this not even when Yoda had despaired of Luke
ever reaching the rank of a Jedi Knight. “Maybe the information you were
hoping to find could have been stored on one of the recording rods or in the
holocube.”
“Possible it is but I feel no stirring within the
Force telling me to look.” Yoda held his little clawed hand over the remaining
items. Luke could feel him reaching through the Force but the effort was too
much for him. His hand was shaking with the strain.
“Master Yoda…” Luke was about to offer his
help.
Yoda shook his head. “Rest I need...rest.”
“I agree.” Luke again tried to hide his fear and
must have succeeded because Yoda didn’t call him on it as he usually did.
“I’ll go and try to read these in a more traditional fashion. I spent quite
a bit of my off-duty time building that data scanner.” He helped pull the
covering over Yoda’s tiny frame and dimmed the lamp.
“The information we seek is not there.” Yoda’s
voice was weak – a thread of sound.
“It could be hidden somewhere else and we only need
to know where to look. The Force kept this safe for us to find,” Luke
declared. “It will show us the way.” With a gentle yet firm smile, Luke
instructed his master, “Please try and get some sleep.”
But the smile vanished when he emerged from the hut
into the damp air. Artoo Detoo beeped concernedly. “He’s failing, Artoo, and
there’s nothing I, or anyone else in the entire universe with all the power of
the Force at our fingertips, can do about it. I don’t think he had the
strength to divine what is in those data storage devices.”
Artoo trilled a question.
“Yes, I’m going to look. The information may not
be there but there could be clues to where it is.” He stared at Yoda’s
dwelling and sighed. “It’s almost time for me to return to my other life –
if it’s still there. I can’t go back to what I was. Everything will be
different.”
He moved into the more modern structure constructed
in the small clearing next to Yoda’s home, under the spreading branches of a
knotted gnarl tree. “I’m going to see if I can get any information out of
the finds. You coming?”
Artoo beeped his affirmative. ‘Of course he was
coming. Master Luke couldn’t think that he would let him sift through
important information on his own. You could never trust biological life forms to
do things properly although Master Luke was better than most.’
Luke had managed to rig up a basic data scanning
device from the bits and pieces he’d scavenged on his infrequent trips off
world. He was still good with his hands and he’d seen the best rebel techs in
the galaxy construct even better ones as well as pretty powerful homing beacons
out of less. He’d picked up a thing or two from his friends in the rebellion
over the years. It was amazing what could be built and maintained from piles of
electronic scrap.
Artoo tootled another question.
“What was Master Yoda hoping to find?” Luke
shrugged. “Information, I guess. Words are more powerful than weapons. Maybe
Mace Windu collected records of the Jedi at the time the
The little droid twisted his domed head and beeped
with concern.
“I had considered that, Artoo. The rest of the Jedi
were all killed. Leia, myself Yoda and Obi Wan are the only ones I know of that
survived. But of course, if I knew about others they couldn’t have been well
hidden.”
The droid blurted out a pithy observation.
“I hadn’t looked at it from that point of view,
Artoo. Yes, we did find the box in a cupboard and anyone could have found it at
any point in the past twenty-five years or so. No, from what I’ve heard, this
Mace Windu would not jeopardise the safety and future of the Jedi like that even
if he was in danger of being caught. No, the future of the Jedi has to be hidden
elsewhere but I do think that this is an important clue.” Luke paused in the
act of loading a recording rod into his scanner and turned to look at his
faithful droid. Artoo had come through for him so often in the past. Perhaps…
“Do you know any information about Mace Windu? Have
you even heard of him?”
The droid cooed sadly.
“You had a pretty big memory wipe some years back.
All you can remember is your time on the Alderaanian Consular ship?”
Artoo sputtered his agreement, his little head
rotating gently back and forth and Luke subdued his little spark of hope.
“You must tell me about that sometime. It must have
been some wipe. Oh, Artoo, the Jedi are ready to step out of the shadows and
into the light. The trouble is…” Luke’s shoulders sagged as he turned to
stare at the faint lamplight shining from the window of Yoda’s home. “I must
and will undoubtedly lose a friend and guide when I do so.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Coruscant – Talon Karrde’s office
Talon Karrde walked over to his safe and punched in
the security code. There were a couple of faint clicks, a light shone across
Karrde’s face and the door swung silently open. “Here.” He reached inside.
“You’ll need this.”
“I’ll need this? Why?” Mara asked slightly
startled.
He handed Mara Jade a blue jewelled entry chip to one
of the most exclusive leisure and gym clubs in the whole of Coruscant. “You
did say you needed a proper work out. You’ll get one there.”
“This is quite a ticket,” Mara muttered. “How
did you manage to get me a membership to this little place?”
“I bought it.”
“You what?”
“Bought it.”
Mara gazed at her boss in stupefaction. She was
missing something important. Karrde was a benevolent employer, but… “You
bought me membership to the most exclusive gym in the Core Worlds? That’s some
amount of credits to part with just to keep me in shape.”
“No, I bought the facility.” Karrde gave Mara his
most charming smile. “That way I can use it whenever I want, and so can you.
It is the most convenient one for us to use.”
Mara was suspicious. “Are you sure there’s not
more to this than you are telling me? This gym is located in what used to be
part of the
Karrde was impressed at her perspicacity. He returned
to his safe and again reached inside removing a single data card. “I only
received this a few weeks ago. I didn’t give it to you before now
because…”
“You didn’t trust me,” Mara finished flatly.
“No and yes.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I can understand that. The
feeling is mutual.”
“I mean what I say,” Karrde said firmly,
“…and if you still can’t believe that, the door is that way.”
“Sorry,” she apologised hastily. “I didn’t
mean it like that. I’m staying,” she said equally firmly. “So what does
that data card contain?”
“More information on Luke Skywalker.”
“You said you didn’t have any more.”
“That’s because I didn’t…Well, I did but you
weren’t ready to receive it.”
“I wasn’t?” Mara’s voice dropped dangerously.
“No. You would have left on the first flight out of
here and set off to kill him. I have news for you. I don’t want him dead.”
“You’re sure he’s still alive?”
“You don’t think he’s dead any more than I do.
As you said, the rebels honour their dead and Luke Skywalker hasn’t been given
that particular distinction.”
“Why don’t you want him dead?”
“As you know, I’ve just accepted a lucrative deal
to find his whereabouts. It’s easier to locate the living. They leave more
trails to find than the dead ones do.”
“Even if they don’t want to be found?” Mara’s
laugh was cynical. “I managed to evade the forces of Ysanne Isaard.”
“You would not have done so forever.”
“I would have killed myself rather than be her
captive again,” Mara hissed.
Karrde held out the data card. “This is temptation,
Mara. A test of faith, if you will. See if you can find Luke Skywalker for Han
Solo. See if my trust in you is not misplaced.”
“Why does Solo want to find him so bad? This boy is
his rival for the favour of Leia Organa.”
Karrde smiled. “There’s information on that data
card that very few beings know about. I would even be unsurprised if the High
Command of the
Mara snorted. “It would save time if you had
foregone the dramatics and just told me now. What could possibly damage
Organa?”
“I have a meeting with a client,” Karrde said,
refusing to answer her question. “Read the information and then I suggest you
go and have that work out. You seem very tense.”
Mara sighed and held out her hand, whereupon Karrde
dropped the data card into it. “There’s a part of this puzzle hanging out at
the gym isn’t there?” she muttered. “I used to be able to walk in and out
of that gym without anyone lifting a finger to stop me and now, the security is
so tight...” Mara bit off the rest of what she was going to say as daylight
began to dawn. “Alright, you win, Karrde. I’ll go home and look up the
information on the data card like a good little girl.”
“I would be very interested to know your views,
Mara. Very interested indeed. This could make a difference.” Karrde walked
towards the door, stopped and turned around to look at Mara. “You are my best
chance of locating Skywalker.”
“But you have a network second only to the
Bothans.”
“Better than the Bothans,” Karrde said. He
wasn’t boasting; he was stating a fact. “They have no idea at all where the
Jedi has gone and believe me, Mara, they will have looked.”
“I do believe you.”
“Find him and we can tell Solo. You can do the evil
deed later.”
“Evil deed?” she echoed. “Oh! Kill him.”
Unbidden, his face as she’d seen him weeks ago in her strange dream came to
mind. He hadn’t seemed like the most dangerous being in the galaxy. He’d
seemed…nice.
“By all accounts he’s a nice man.” Karrde’s
words unknowingly mirrored Mara’s thoughts.
“Who?”
“Skywalker.”
“Not from where I’m standing,” she growled,
annoyed more at herself than the fact that Karrde thought that Skywalker was a
good individual.
Karrde chuckled. “The galaxy is not as black and
white as you’ve been led to believe. There are many shades of grey in
between.”
“I’m not that naïve,” Mara snapped. “I’ve
lived in the shadows all of my life, my true function and identity having never
been known to others. I don’t know where I came from or where I’m going. Oh,
yes, Talon. I know about the shadows. I’m well acquainted with darkness.”
“Then isn’t it time to come out of them? Isn’t
it time to leave the darkness behind you and move forward with your life.”
Mara’s green eyes became haunted. “I’m afraid
to…and if you ever tell anyone that…” Mara recovered her equilibrium.
“…I will kill you.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that but in
the interests of a good working relationship we’ll keep it between ourselves.
Seriously, Mara. You have the Force.”
“I…I had but I told you that it disappeared when
the Emperor died.”
“But you still get warnings, flashes of
intuition…”
“Sometimes,” she said slowly.
Karrde smiled with satisfaction. “Then you are our
best bet.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Her route back to her apartment took Mara very close
to what had once been known as Imperial Centre. On an impulse, even though
Karrde’s data card was burning a hole in her pocket, Mara decided to visit the
gym facility first. Luke Skywalker could wait – he wasn’t that important.
The little voice in her head laughed at her. If she was trying to fool herself
it wasn’t working. Luke Skywalker was very important to her – very important
indeed.
She noted there were humans at the reception desk
greeting the members, even though she could see discreet protocol and secretary
droids working in the background. She observed unobtrusive but expensive
security holocams and low-profile guards. Mara had been well trained and there
was little that escaped her. Karrde had made a good buy. She approached the
desk, noting that there was already someone waiting to serve her.
“Good day, Mistress. I am Synar. How may I help
you?”
“Good day, Synar. My name is Jade - Mara Jade.”
“Are you a member, Mistress?” The attractive
female enquired politely.
Mara held up the jewelled blue chip and watched the
woman’s eyes widen in surprise. ’So this is a deluxe membership package,’
she surmised cynically. ‘Trust Karrde.’
“Have you been before?” the receptionist asked
carefully.
“No, this is my first visit,” Mara replied,
hiding her smirk.
“I will contact a member of staff to show you
around and arrange for your fitness assessment.”
“I’m quite fit,” Mara gritted, slightly
insulted that someone chose to know Mara better than she did herself.
“I’m sure you are, mistress.” The receptionist
back pedalled. “This is policy. We have the latest body scanners in the entire
Core Worlds.”
“Have you now.”
The receptionist, her efficient air slipping, shot
Mara a look of bafflement as if she didn’t know what to do.
Mara relented. “Fine…contact them if you must.”
Synar pressed a button on the desk. “Could a
fitness instructor come to reception please?“ A muscular young male with a
mouthful of gleaming white teeth had appeared beside Mara before Synar had even
finished asking for him. Her bright smile firmly in place, Synar held out
her slender well-manicured hand. “This is Kelvin D’Astro, Mistress Jade. He
will show you around the facility and arrange for your assessment.”
Mara murmured pleasantries and began to wish that
she’d gone straight back to her apartment and started on the data card. But
she was here now and might as well see what the latest inventions could do to
aid her in maintaining her fitness.
“This way, please.” Kelvin flashed her a wide
smile. Mara stifled her groan. He would soon find that she was not so easily
impressed by gleaming white teeth and firm muscles. Of course, she was a woman
and liked to look but she suspected that inside Kelvin’s head there was little
to interest her. There likely wasn’t any room for her either. It was probably
too full of himself but then she could be being unkind.
Half an hour later, Mara had to admit that she was
impressed – not by Kelvin but by the gym. She couldn’t wait to book one of
the private exercise suites reserved for the most exclusive clients which
apparently included herself.
“I’ll leave you to get changed, Mistress,”
Kelvin said smoothly. “If you could meet me here once you are ready.”
Mara nodded and headed into the luxurious changing
suites where she slipped into a black cropped top and slim fitting shorts. Her
blaster, she strapped to her thigh. She didn’t think she would need it but you
could never be sure.
As she exited the changing area a security guard
approached her. “I’m sorry, Mistress, but we cannot allow your weapon to be
worn in here. There are many important members and this would make our clients
understandably nervous. I hope you don’t mind?”
Mara did mind but allowed her blaster to be taken
away.
“You may collect it from reception as you leave.”
Mara scowled but could see his point. Talking of
important members… Mara let out a soundless whistle as something, or rather,
someone, caught her gaze. So that was why Karrde was so eager for her to visit
this little establishment. Leia Organa, composed and beautiful in a clinging
white bodysuit, stood contemplating one of the pieces of equipment.
“Stang!” Mara muttered. “What is
it about this woman and the colour white?” Did Karrde expect her to get to
know the princess, the symbol of the rebellion and the doomed world of Alderaan?
It seemed as if he did. But then another thought struck Mara. She would bet on a
third Death Star never being built that Leia Organa knew where Skywalker was but
not once had she ever opened her mouth to confirm or deny any of the rumours
circulating about his whereabouts.
“Mistress Jade?” Kelvin approached her, attired
in workout gear in the gym’s colours and the word ‘staff’ emblazoned on
the back. “If you would follow me please. This facility has the very latest in
holo diagnostic technology.”
He ushered her into a small room with one side
completely of glass so she could still see everything that was happening in the
main gymnasium. “Please step on the podium, Mistress Jade.”
Mara stood on the foot high platform. It reminded her
of the times she’d had to send messages to the Emperor.
“Scanning commencing,” a bland computer voice
announced and a beam of light moved over Mara’s motionless form.
Mara ignored it and stared out at the gym hoping to
catch another glimpse of Leia Organa but the princess was nowhere to be seen.
“We’re using a combination of a bioscan and
hologram projection,” Kelvin said proudly. “If you would step off the podium
I can show you exactly what it does.”
Mara rolled her eyes but did as she was instructed
– this technology wasn’t exactly new to her but this application of it was.
The gym assistant stood behind a bank of switches and flicked several of them.
Suddenly Mara blinked as a hologram of herself appeared on the podium where she
had been standing.
Kelvin asked her several questions about her
lifestyle and Mara answered automatically, shielding the truth of what she
really did for a living. “No, I don’t do spice,” she snapped.
“That’s good. What about your alcohol intake –
how many units per week?”
Mara’s eyes flashed dangerously. “None of your
business but its not heavy. I cannot afford to be out of control and yes, my job
can be stressful but I have learned to cope with it, before you ask me that
one.”
“I…”
Mara turned away from her holo and stared at the rest
of the gym. “Wasn’t that Princess Leia Organa I saw earlier?”
“Yes, it was,” Kelvin answered, relieved that his
new client wasn’t glaring at him again. There was something rather unsettling
about this lady. He skimmed over the data on his monitor. There were still
several questions he needed her to answer.
“Does she come here often?”
“She has been here several times.”
“I’ve met her once or twice. What training
programme does she use?” Mara enquired casually.
“It’s an aerobics type mix with light weights.”
Kelvin stopped suddenly, as if he realised he shouldn’t be talking about the
Alderaanian princess.”
“I prefer dance training mixed with combat
training,” Mara said. “Does Princess Leia partake in any of those
classes?”
“No, she usually reserves a personal trainer.”
“You can do that?”
“There are classes at certain times, or you can
book a personal trainer, or just reserve one of the private rooms.”
Mara could see possibilities. Dancing was something
she missed. “Sounds good.”
The trainer began checking the details and suggesting
possible pieces of gym equipment for Mara to use, highlighting the particular
part of her body that each piece might tone and shape up. “Body fat is very
low, blood pressure is normal…”
Mara let him drone on. Leia Organa was a member here.
Mara knew she had to talk to her - find out if she did know the whereabouts of
Luke Skywalker. But would that be at all possible? The power of the Force would
decide.
“You appear to be extremely flexible,” Kelvin
commented approvingly as the holo did something Mara thought was well nigh
impossible.
“I am,” Mara muttered and eyed the door
longingly. “I’ll leave you with my er… She can do the rest of my session
today. I have an appointment…”
“But Mistress Jade, we are not finished with your
assessment.”
“Yes, we are,” she stated clearly. “Input the
facts and figures into the data analyser. It will surely tell me what I need to
do to maintain my current level of fitness and if it doesn’t…get a better
one.” Mara began striding determinedly from the room. She stopped in the
doorway, turned and stuck her head back in. “And book me a private room for
this same time tomorrow.”
************