Aboard the jade shadow

Luke had not intended to sleep long, but he was weary from the time on Dathomir and a short rest would refresh him more than simple meditation. Having sent Dyon off with the two teenagers to gather supplies, he felt, for the moment, that it was safe for him to grab a nap.

He had not told Ben, but he had opted not to remove Mara's things from this cabin that they had shared. It was Mara Jade's ship; it somehow seemed right that her personal effects stay for the duration of this unsought but vital journey that her husband and her son were embarking upon.

So it was that her clothes still hung in the closet, and from time to time Luke would go in there to dress, hesitate, then reach and touch a jacket or tunic or dress she had once worn, remembering when he had last seen it adorning her lithe, graceful body.

He murmured her name in his sleep, and turned over.

In his dream, he opened his eyes and looked out at the stars streaking past. And he felt the press of a warm, living, female body against his back. He did not dare to breathe, did not dare to move, to turn over and take his wife in his arms and kiss her fiercely, whispering what a terrible nightmare that was, love. I dreamed I lost you.

And she would laugh softly and whisper back, You've got too lively an imagination, farm boy. Come here and I'll show you how real I am.

He knew it was a dream, and yet it seemed so real. He could hear a soft sigh, the rustling of the sheets as she nestled closer to him. But something was not quite right. It wasn't Mara. It couldn't be. She was dead, killed by Jacen Solo.

I'll show you how real I am.

"I am real," the faint whisper came from behind him.

And Luke Skywalker, desperate to believe it, flung himself on his other side, reaching out to take her into his arms—

Nothing.

He blinked, knowing he was awake, even though everything seemed as if he had been awake a few moments earlier, though of course he couldn't have been.

He realized he was shaking and that tears stood in his eyes. This surprised him. He had not wept for Mara in a very long time, not even when he had been able to see her…ghost?…in the Lake of Apparitions inside the Maw. Why, then, did he feel so raw, as if the wound had been made only a few days ago instead of two years? He was at peace with her passing, he knew it. And yet…

He reached out a hand and smoothed the pillow, cool to his touch; not warm as it would have been had a living woman lain upon it seconds earlier. With a sigh Luke rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

It was the ship, he decided. And the recent vision he had been granted of his beloved, late wife. He suspected Ben felt it, too. The Jade Shadow was a part of Mara, a part that held them, kept them safe, and took them on their journey to, he hoped, find answers that would help heal the mentally wounded Jedi Knights.

And determine what exactly had happened to Mara's killer, Jacen Solo.

Too, another female presence was aboard the ship—Vestara Khai, Sith apprentice. And Luke was not so old that he couldn't see the first hints of a budding romance when it was happening right under his nose. Ben would deny it, of course, but Luke had seen how his son's gaze followed the young woman, how he found excuses to be in her presence. It concerned him, and he knew it would concern Mara.

It was no wonder he felt her strongly.

But still.

Even the brief, dream-heavy sleep had refreshed him. He had wanted that, wanted to feel more rested and alert, before he talked to High Lord Sarasu Taalon again.