Vision of the future

air. Perhaps they were great in the easily dazzled eyes of a Qom Qae, Splitter Of Stones put in dryly from another stalactite a few meters into the chamber. Those who have earned their names are more difficult to impress.

'They're talking again, aren't they?' Mara muttered.

'The Qom Jha are wondering if this chamber is going to be a problem for us,' Luke told her.

'Child Of Winds is defending us.'

'Decent of him,' Mara said, unhooking her lightsaber and hefting it in her hand. 'Shall we give them a little demonstration?'

Luke frowned at her. 'Are you sure you can—I mean—'

'You mean can I do it?' Mara cut him off. 'Yes, I can do it. Just because I haven't graduated from your precious Jedi academy doesn't mean I can't use the Force as well as anyone else. You want high or low?'

'I'll take high,' Luke said, a little taken aback by the heat of her retort. He got his own lightsaber in hand and gave a quick look around the chamber, fixing the position of each stalactite firmly in his mind. 'You ready?'

In answer Mara ignited her lightsaber, the light from its blade adding a blue tinge to the neutral white of her glow rod. 'Anytime you are.'

'Right,' Luke said, trying to hide his misgivings as he added the green of his lightsaber to the mix.

'Go.'

In unison they cocked their arms and threw, sending their lightsabers windmilling across the chamber, their blades snicking neatly and efficiently through the protruding rock spikes. Or at least Luke's did. Mara's...

She tried. She really did. Luke could sense it in her stance, in her outstretched hand, in the mental strain he could feel like a static discharge all around her.

But as Master Yoda had once said, Do, or do not. There is no try. And in this case, as it had been then, there was indeed no try. Halfway across the chamber, Mara's lightsaber seemed to falter, its rhythm breaking and the blade tip dipping to carve shallow furrows in the rock floor. It would recover and fly true for another second or two, only to slow or dip again as she again nearly lost her Force grip on it.

Twice Luke was tempted to reach out and help her; on such an easy task he could handle both lightsabers without any problem. But both times he resisted the temptation. Mara Jade angry and frustrated was bad enough; Mara Jade angry, frustrated, and feeling like she was being patronized was not a combination he felt ready to face.

Besides, the job was getting done, if a bit erratically. And as far as the secondary purpose of the demonstration was concerned, the subtleties of the performance were completely lost on the audience. The cacophony of squawks and chirps from the Qom Jha filled Luke's ears and mind as the stalactites dropped from the ceiling around them to shatter on the rocks below. But neither the crash of rock nor the startled exclamations from the Qom Jha were able to drown out Child Of Winds's delighted squeals. I was right— you see, I was right, he crowed. He is a great Jedi warrior, as is Mara Jade beside him.

Luke felt a twinge as he called his lightsaber back to him, timing it to arrive at the same time as Mara's slightly more sluggish weapon. 'War doesn't make one great, Child Of Winds,' he admonished the young Qom Qae gently as he closed down his lightsaber and returned it to his belt.

'Battle is always to be the last resort of a Jedi.'

I understand, Child Of Winds said, the tone of his thought making it clear that he did not in fact understand at all. But when you destroy the Threateners—

'We're not destroying anything,' Luke insisted. 'At least, not until we've tried talking to them first.'

'I'd give it up if I were you,' Mara called over her shoulder as she picked her way across the chamber toward the narrow opening. 'He'll understand after he's seen a couple of his friends die in battle. Not before.'

Luke felt his throat tighten. Obi-Wan, Biggs, Dack—the list went on and on. 'In that case, I hope he never understands,' he murmured.

'Oh, he will,' Mara assured him darkly, her voice echoing strangely as she leaned her head into the gap and waved her glow rod around. 'Sooner or later, everyone does.' She leaned back out and unhooked her lightsaber. 'You can come on ahead—there's only a short neck of extra rock here. Just take me a minute to cut it away.'

* * *

Six hours later, Luke finally called a halt.