5: NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS and 4:FAMILY REUNION
Two entries in the Twelve Days of Ficmas prompts, combined in one chapter
Mara and Luke return to Coruscant to celebrate Life Day with friends and family, including Chewie and Malla.
Note: This is a ficlet set in the same AU as They Say You Killed a Rancor with Your Bare Hands. All you need to know is: Mara and Luke met and found romance earlier than in the EU. It's 7 ABY, and they are flying around in a SoroSuub 3000 yacht, researching Jedi history and looking for artifacts.
Mara double-checked the chronometer against the navicomputer.
“Hey, we’re not going to make it to Coruscant by Life Day,” she said. “Did we miscalculate?”
“By ‘we’, you mean me, right?” Luke entered the cockpit and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.
“I mean the droid,” she snarked.
From further down the passageway came a reply of indignant whistles and beeps.
Luke dropped into the copilot seat. “We don’t have to make it by the actual date for Life Day. Chewie will still be on Kashyyyk to celebrate with his family. Then he flies back to Coruscant, sometimes with Malla or Lumpy, and Leia throws a second Life Day party there. She likes to give Chewie his alone time with his family. He spends so much time with Han as it is.”
“Ah. So will we make it in time for this second Life Day party?” She pointed at the navicomputer.”
“Barely. But we will make it, which is all Chewie will care about.”
“Will have to be mollified with that fancy red robe you bought her, and other presents we’ve stockpiled.”
“Oh, that robe is only going to hurt our case.” She pursed her lips.
“Well, we can lay on all the compliments and gratitude for all the work she’s done. She’s chronically underappreciated.” He studied the route on the screen, looking for shortcuts.
“Which work is that? Keeping the Council from killing each other? Keeping the New Republic together?”
“Sure, but I was talking about the holiday. She tries to outdo herself every year; I don’t know how she’s going to do it this time.” He punched some keys to recalculate a segment of the trip.
“This year she’s also planning a wedding. Maybe she’ll scale back.” Mara mused.
Luke guffawed. “Leia has no idea how to scale back. She’ll do this, plan a wedding, keep the government together, and just keep going until she drops.”
The corners of Mara’s lips twitched. The Empire had painted Leia as an insurrectionist bent on destruction. They had gotten her work ethic right, if not much else.
“I guess we can’t help much, swooping in at the last minute,” she said.
“She’s not big on accepting help, either.” Luke grinned.
Days later, the two stepped into the Imperial ballroom. And stopped. Their eyes were drawn upward by strings of lit orbs reaching to the ceiling. They sidestepped a bit as more guests pressed in behind them. Ahead of them, others slowly milled about, trying to take in the whole room at once.
Drapes of blue velvet fabric hung in deep scallops along the walls near the ceiling, barely visible in the low light. Strings of lit orbs ran along the edges of the fabric, soft points of white showing through the translucent globes, adding the faintest of a blue lavender hue.
“Wow.” Mara nearly bumped into Winter as Mara’s attention followed the lines of orbs. Mara chuckled as Winter went to dodge, recognized her friend, and then threw her arms around her in a hug instead.
“Yeah, amazing to see you, too.” Winter laughed, purposely misinterpreting Mara’s remark. She pulled back and admired the work herself. “Do you like it?”
“It’s very impressive. And that’s saying something; I’ve seen this ballroom decorated in all kinds of ways. This is breathtaking.”
“I helped,” Winter stage-whispered.
“Luke said Leia wasn’t big on letting people help.”
“I know! I’m so proud of her. And me. And even Han. He seems to be the first to get through to her that she doesn’t have to do everything herself.”
“Wow—that may be the most heroic thing he’s ever done,” Luke snarked, handing both Winter and Mara drinks.
“I heard that,” Han said. “Now stop loitering back here and come see your hostess. She’s been counting down the days.”
Han continued to greet other guests while Luke and Mara crossed the ballroom to where Leia stood with Chewie and Malla, who wore their Life Day robes. Leia wore the same color in a slightly more tailored style, emphasizing her waist and expanding to a full hem at the floor.
Leia threw her arms around Luke’s neck. “Could you have cut it any closer?!” she demanded through her laughter.
“Sorry. Artoo and the navicomputer are still getting their communication worked out.” Luke had the grace to look sheepish.
“Sure, blame the droids.” Leia turned to Mara and hugged her enthusiastically. “Welcome back.”
Han returned to Leia’s side and passed her a drink. Winter, Tycho, Iella, Wedge, and Lando trailed behind, taking up positions next to Mara. The group fanned out into a semicircle facing the room.
“That’s better,” Han declared. “Together again.”
The group chatted happily, catching up on recent events and laughing at silly jokes.
An aide approached Leia. “Right, it’s time. Ready, Malla?” Leia gave Han a quick kiss on the cheek and ushered Malla away from the group.
A small stage had been set up on one side of the ballroom. After they reached it, Leia conferred with Malla briefly and stepped up to the microphone.
“Thank you all for being here to celebrate Life Day with us. Life Day is about sharing joy and light and freedom together. Tonight we are honored to have Mallatobuck with us to sing.” Leia adjusted the microphone up a meter and stepped away.
Malla’s elegant robe shimmered slightly in the low light.
Mara had never heard a Wookiee sing before. It was a more melodic sound than she would have guessed. Malla’s voice soared through the traditional Life Day song. She drew out the last note, her tone lilting around the pitch. Silence followed as the crowd savored the sound.
Applause thundered throughout the room while Malla nodded appreciatively.
Beside Han, Chewie growled in relief. “She sure didn’t look nervous,” Han responded. “Hasn’t she performed a lot on Kashyyk?”
Chewie’s answer was obviously affirmative, with some explanation.
Luke frowned. “Did I catch something about…being self-conscious around other species?” he asked Han.
“Yeah, she’s comfortable with a mostly Wookiee audience.”
“What’s the song about?” Mara inquired.
“Celebrating peace, harmony, joy, light, freedom.”
Chewie left the group to meet Malla as admirers gathered around her.
“You all went to Kashyyk one year for Life Day, didn’t you? During the war? What was that like?” Winter asked. Her face reflected only curiosity, but Mara sensed an underlying mischief.
Luke’s sense, on the other hand, slammed shut. Han’s became a mixture of suspicion and panic.
“A lot like this,” Han replied, gesturing around.
“Oh, really? Rumor has it that Leia sang the song.” Winter pressed.
“No, she didn’t,” Han and Luke chorused.
Mara and Winter exchanged a look.
*Tell me later?* Mara asked Luke through the Force.
*We’ve been asked not to talk about it*, came his response.
“So you were on Kashyyk on Life Day during the war, and you can’t talk about it?” Mara asked once they had made the jump to hyperspace.
Luke’s shields slammed shut again.
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just…confidential.” Luke was suddenly very absorbed in the navicomputer controls.
“Sure. I’m just surprised Wookiees are that private about Life Day,” Mara mused.
Something passed through Luke’s sense that made her reconsider.
“Or was it not the Wookiees who asked you not to talk about it?”
At this, he did turn to her and make eye contact, his chin tucked down and his eyebrows raised.
“You really can’t talk about it. Right. OK, consider it dropped,” Mara agreed.
She wondered what could have happened to inspire such a reaction in both Luke and Han. Winter’s sense had been playful when she’d brought up the subject. Mara would have to remember to ask her friend what she knew when no one who’d been on Kashyyk that day was there to shut down the conversation.
*Rumor has it that Leia sang the song*, she recalled Winter saying. Mara had never heard Leia sing, nor had she ever heard that Leia could sing. Could she be so self-conscious that Leia had sworn everyone to secrecy? Fear of Leia’s wrath would explain the men’s reticence.
Mara turned to her datapad and keyed in Winter’s message address.
To: Winter Retrac
From: Mara Jade
Subject: Ladies’ Night
Next time I’m back, let’s have a Ladies’ Night of karaoke.
We’re getting to the bottom of this Life Day secret.
A satisfied smile crept to Mara’s lips.
“What’s that smile about?” Luke asked, searching for a new topic of conversation.
“Sorry, that’s confidential.” Mara’s smile widened.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
discoholicmusic
yousharknotpass
origamiaround
kaledo-art
janainaart
stormborns
