Aboard the jade shadow

There it was again, the strange, but not altogether unpleasant feeling as if he were being watched. Luke turned away from the control panel and glanced around, then closed his eyes and looked with other senses.

No, he was not alone. In a way, he would never be alone, as long as he could touch the Force. All living things created it, and even those Who were no longer among the living contributed. Mara would always be there, at least in part. And he would be able to see her always whenever he looked at Ben.

Luke kept his eyes closed and felt the faintest, almost imaginary brush of a feminine touch over his cheek, and sighed audibly.

I miss you, he thought.

I miss you, too. But we will be together.

One day, he agreed. A soft chime from the communications array caused him to open his eyes, and he grinned when he saw who was calling. He tapped the controls and a miniature version of a golden droid appeared. He looked extremely pleased, if droids could look pleased, and See-Threepio definitely managed it.

"Master Luke!" The protocol droid was all but bouncing in his delight. "What an unexpected pleasure. I am so very flattered you were interested in consulting me. I do not get very many messages myself, you know. Usually I am relegated to the task of conveying the identity of the caller when Master Han and Mistress Leia are contacted. This is quite a treat."

Luke found himself smiling. "Hi, Threepio. I've missed you."

"Oh, goodness, we have missed you, too, Master Luke. How may I be of assistance?"

"I need some help, and you're the droid to provide it," Luke replied, tapping the controls. "I'm transmitting a conversation. I need you to translate it."

"Oh! As you know, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication."

"Yes, I know. But not this one."

"Oh? Are you certain?"

"Very certain. It's from a completely unknown world. I don't know the planet, don't know the name of the language, or the people who created it. I need you to cross-reference it as best you can and translate it for me as soon as possible."

Technically, he supposed the argument could be made that he was in violation of the terms of the agreement he had made with Daala. Some would say that in contacting Leia's droid, he was initiating a request for information from Jedi sources. But Threepio also belonged to Han, and he was no Jedi, He'd ducked the issue entirely by contacting the droid directly. It made good legal sense, and also, it made Threepio feel good.

"Oooh. A challenge! I shall get to it immediately, Master Luke. How delightful to feel truly useful again. It does become rather tiresome to be relegated to cooking, cleaning, and answering comms. One yearns to do what one was designed for."

"I know you'll do your best. Let me know when you've got something."

"The very nanosecond," Threepio assured him. Luke had no doubt that Threepio meant it literally.

"Talk to you then," he said.

"Take good care of yourself, Master Luke. And of Master Ben as well."

Luke clicked off and leaned back in the chair, and wondered what sort of mischief his teenage son and the teenage Sith girl had gotten themselves into.

CHAPTER SIX