Unexpected Consequences Teaser 01

[klcthebookworm]

My current writing project (aka actually working on the first draft) is a rewrite of the Thrawn Trilogy with a new original character and changed back story for Luke and Mara. And since I'm only concerned with the scenes of the Luke and Mara subplot that I changed, all of that works in outline as a novel-sized hunk. I don't post until everything is written and edited, but I don't mind giving out teasers while I'm working on it.

To set the scene, Luke successful stole a Skipray with the intention of running away from Karrde's Myrkr base before he's ransomed to the Imperials or the New Republic. Mara Jade chases after him because he pulled this stunt instead of sitting tight and trusting her while a Star Destroyer is in orbit. Luke causes them both to crash into the forest. Also in this AU, Luke and Mara met shortly after the Battle of Yavin but haven't seen each other since then until now when the Force helped Mara stumble upon Luke's disabled X-wing.

Luke didn’t hurt as he staggered back to consciousness. This was actually one of his better crashes, considering the splintered trees outside the fighter’s twisted canopy. The fighter must be equipped with an emergency acceleration compensator along with the restraints and crash balloons. Its nose had plowed into the ground and now the aft section was higher.

He and Artoo couldn’t linger here. The fighter chasing him probably had reinforcements coming from Karrde’s base or worse, the Star Destroyer in orbit above the planet. Leaving had been the best option; company for dinner, yeah right. He brushed the leaves and twigs away from himself and the instrument panels in front of him. The scopes were dead.

Artoo moaned behind him.

“You okay, Artoo?” He unlatched his restraints and leveraged himself out of the seat.

Artoo warbled at him. {Passenger. Can’t scan status.}

“Hang on, I’m coming.” Luke climbed up the slanted floor. It could be a worse incline if they had came straight down to the ground.

The droid’s scomp link had broken off cleanly and Luke made sure the remains retracted properly. And a couple of dents, but Artoo wasn’t fussing about them. {Passenger. Can’t scan status. Check on passenger.}

“What are you talking about?” Luke untangled the seat restraints from around the droid. Then he heard it, a choked off sob that in no way could be mistaken for metal giving way from stress.

Artoo magnetically latched onto the deck plate and swiveled his dome to aim the photoreceptor at the cockpit door.

Luke climbed into the passageway and into the main cabin of the small ship. The sob choked off again, but this time it sounded like a hand was slapped over a mouth. But he didn’t see anybody, just magnetic crates still stacked together next to the hull. A hull wall that probably had benches that folded up out of the way like the other side.

He crossed the cabin to look between the crates and the hull. The seat was down and a little girl was curled on it, hiding her face against her knees. Her shimmering red-gold hair was plaited in two braids curving above her ears with the braids falling onto her shoulders. And he only knew one woman with that shade of red; he had ran after enough of the wrong ones to know the difference now. His aching heart thudded. He hadn’t sensed this child at all, couldn’t sense her now. Was she hurt? He knelt next to the bench. “Are you hurt?”

Her head snapped back and blue eyes reddened from crying glared at him. “Why should I tell you anything?! You stole from Captain Karrde. This was his Skipray and you wrecked it ‘cause you’re a bad pilot!”

“That move works better in an X-wing,” he conceded. Her tear-soaked face was red from the yelling, and her neck and arms moved freely. “But if you’re hurt, you need to tell me so we can use the medpac before you move a lot and make it worse.”

Artoo twittered. {Torso contusions. No internal structures or systems damage.} The scan finally done, the droid turned and rolled into the passageway with the main hatch.

The little girl blinked at him. “It hurts where the restraints caught me like I hit it real hard, but I can walk.”

“Can you undo the restraints?”

She scowled. “I shouldn’t listen to you. If you’re willing to steal, you’ll do worse things to me.”

Artoo whistled in squeamish-sounding awe before elaborating. {Other ship crashed worse than we did. Slipstream pull down probably.}

“One problem at a time, Artoo.” He called over his shoulder.

Curiosity crept across her suspicious face. “How do you know what the droid is saying?”

“I know Binary. I can’t speak it; human throats can’t make all the same sounds.”

“Nobody told me I could learn it.”

“Artoo taught me. Let’s all find somewhere safe to go and I’ll help you learn some. My name is Luke.”

“It’s safer to stay with the Skipray. Everybody on base said that.”

“That’s true if the Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit didn’t see us go down.” He hoped these smugglers were raising her with a healthy sense of fear of them along with suspicion of strangers.

Her blue eyes widened as she struggled to breathe. “They came back?”

“I’d show you the scopes but the crash took them out.”

She stared at him and Luke wished he could soothe her fears of him through the Force. Her hands shook as she unlatched the restraints and swung her legs out to the side of the seat. Luke stood and stepped back to give her room. She skidded a little and then scowled up at him like he had caused it on purpose. “Just because I don’t like stormtroopers doesn’t mean I like you.”

“Fair enough. Do you know where the safety supplies are stored?”

“In a compartment above the main hatch.” She went through the doorway first and stared at Artoo. “You look familiar.”

Before droid or man responded, a female yelled from outside. “Sithspit, Skywalker, if that stunt didn’t kill you, I might finish the job!”

If Luke had any doubts over her lineage, the child’s reaction confirmed it. She shrank back from the hatch with a muttered “Blast it.”

He smoothed out his twitching lips that wanted to smile before scooping her up in his right arm. She squeaked and grabbed his shoulder. “We both have to face this music, kid.” The wing that he had to push Artoo over to get him to the hatch had been sheered away, leaving a clear path to the ground not too far below.

Luke swung out of the hatch and dropped to the ground. The little girl squeaked again as she fisted his tabard for support. He straightened his knees and looked into the holdout blaster’s barrel. He shifted his focus to the icy cold face behind it.

The little girl perched on his arm trembled. “Mommy?”

Mara’s glittering green eyes were focused on Luke. “Aren’t you the perfect Jedi Knight now?” Cold venom laced her words. “Already stealing children. Put her down.”

Comments

[klcthebookworm]

Luke is Lucinda's father, but other people will be just as clueless as they are about it for a while. ;)

And poor Mara's had a really bad few days. And she didn't need to see all the bad stories she was taught as a child about the Jedi right now.