Timothy Zahn - Survivor's Quest

"I'm going with Rosemari and Evlyn," he corrected. "Since they insist on staying with the rest of the Colonists, I guess that's where I'm going, too."

"I wish you'd talk to them," Luke said. "Nothing against the Empire of the Hand, but they don't have any way to give her proper Jedi training."

Jinzler lifted his hands, palms upward. "The Colonists don't want to go to the New Republic," he reminded Luke. "It's got the word Republic in its name, and it's got Jedi. End of argument."

"I understand," Luke said. "I just don't like letting Evlyn go off without a proper instructor, that's all. Keep working on them, will you?"

"For whatever good it'll do." Jinzler smiled lopsidedly. "Actually, I suspect that Commander Fel's going to be working the opposite direction, hoping that Evlyn's presence will induce you to come over to his side and set up an academy there."

"Did he say that?" Luke asked, frowning.

"Not in so many words," Jinzler said. "But he did ask me to tell you that Admiral Parck's offer of a job is still open."

"Right," Luke said, throwing another sideways look at Mara. "Be sure to thank him the next time you see him."

"That may be a while," Jinzler warned. "I understand he and the Five-Oh-First have already left with General Drask."

"Probably gone to join up with the Vagaari attack force," Luke said.

"Probably," Jinzler agreed. "Both Drask and Fel strike me as the sort of people who like to see things through to their conclusion."

"Rather like you?" Mara suggested.

"Hardly," Jinzler admitted, glancing around the ancient metal corridor. "I may have come here to see the end of Outbound Flight, but I didn't do a very good job of being there for the middle. Or the beginning, for that matter."

"I was referring to your decision to stick with Rosemari and Evlyn," Mara said.

Jinzler blinked. "Oh. Well... maybe. I guess we'll see how I do."

"Anyway, keep in touch," Luke said, taking Mara's arm. "The Chaf Envoy's taking Formbi out of here in about an hour, and we need to say a few quick good-byes before we take off."

"I'll try," Jinzler said dubiously. "I don't know how well any messages would get through, though."

"They'll do fine," Luke assured him. "I know Parck has some contact with Bastion these days, and after this I think the Nine Ruling Families may be willing to discuss diplomatic relations with Coruscant. We should get anything you send."

"Provided some hotshot in a relay station doesn't intercept it along the way," Mara added.

Jinzler felt his face redden. "There's that, of course," he conceded. "Another good reason for me to sit out in the Empire of the Hand for a while."

"Don't worry, we'll square things with Karrde," Luke assured him. "You just take care of Rosemari and Evlyn."

"I will." Jinzler held out his hand. "Good-bye. And thank you. For everything."

The trip back through the Redoubt was, thankfully, uneventful. By the time the Chaf Envoy emerged at the Brask Oto station, the news was waiting that the Chiss strike force had successfully located and attacked the Vagaari warships gathered together for their anticipated rendezvous with Estosh's team. General Drask reported that the enemy had been taken by surprise and destroyed.

Of course, Luke reminded himself privately, that was probably what Thrawn had reported fifty years ago, too. Whether the Vagaari would still be a threat somewhere down the line would remain to be seen.

He and Mara took their leave of their hosts, accepting one final thanks from the still bedridden Formbi, and headed for home.

The Jade Sabre was cruising through hyperspace, and they were lying together in bed in their stateroom, when Luke finally asked the question he knew his wife had been expecting for days. "So," he said, deciding on the casual approach. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"Decision?" Mara asked, apparently deciding to play it coy.

"You know what decision," Luke growled, not really in the mood for coy. "About whether you're going to take Parck up on his offer to join the Empire of the Hand."

"That would certainly be something, wouldn't it?" Mara commented thoughtfully. "All those people on Coruscant who never really liked or trusted me would have a Harvest Day special with that one."

"I'm being serious," Luke said.

"Hey, relax," she soothed. "I'm joking. You know I'm staying with you."

"I know that." He braced himself. "What I meant was... if you really need to be there, I'm willing to go with you."

"I know," she said quietly, reaching over and taking his hand. "And you don't know how much it means to me that you are."

She hesitated. "I won't deny that the idea has some attraction," she admitted. "Ever since this whole thing started, I've been fighting some strange survivor's guilt over the fact that I lived through the Empire's destruction when so many other people didn't. I kept wondering if I was just lucky, or whether there was some other reason behind that."

"Of course there was," Luke said.

He felt the subtle muscle movements as she smiled. "I meant some reason besides completing your life and making you happier than you ever thought possible."

"Ah," he said dryly. "And what did you conclude?"

"I don't know," she conceded. "All I know is that I was given about as clear a choice as anyone could hope to have. On one side was the chance to again serve an empire, this time an empire that had all the strengths I'd always admired but none of the evil. A chance to give back some of my time and ability to the heirs of the people who'd spent so much time and energy teaching me those skills in the first place."

"And on the other side, you have the New Republic," Luke murmured. "Squabbling, political brushfires, Bothan back-blading, and an occasional diehard who still doesn't trust you."

"That was the choice, all right," Mara said. "But no matter how nice and ordered and comfortable the Empire of the Hand might look, I've decided that my place right now is with the New Republic."

"You're sure?" Luke asked, one last time.

"I'm positive," she said. "Besides, how could I drag you away from your sister and everything you fought so hard for?"

"It would have been tricky," he admitted. "But I could have adapted. I guess I'm just surprised that after all this time you would still even have to make such a decision."

"I wondered about that myself," Mara agreed. "But I could feel the Force in this, right from the very beginning. Maybe it was that lingering survivor's guilt that had to be dealt with. Or maybe the New Republic is in for some rough times and I needed to be clear in my own mind exactly where I stood before it happened. Good enough reasons for the Force to send us out here."

"Not to mention the fact that we were needed to keep Formbi and everyone else alive?"

"There's that, too," Mara agreed. "I always like it when I get to accomplish three things at the same time. It makes life so much more efficient."

"Yes," Luke murmured. "And I'd be the first to say that the New Republic is certainly where you're needed the most. So is that finally settled?"

"It's settled," she confirmed. "We're in for the duration, dear." She squeezed his hand. "I'm just sorry your own quest didn't turn out so well."

He shrugged. "No, but it's not really over yet. I still think there must be useful records of the old Jedi somewhere aboard Outbound Flight. We're just going to have to wait until we get hold of the entire thing and can go through it console by console."

"Which could be a while," Mara warned. "It could take the Chiss years to dig it out of that rock pile, especially with the shape it's in."

"That's okay," Luke said. "We've lived this long without it. We can wait a few more years if necessary. Patience is a virtue."