'That, and the changes I saw in you,' she said. 'You didn't seem interested in listening to any warnings about what you were doing, and I decided that when it collapsed around you it wouldn't do either of us any good if I got caught in the rubble, too.' She shrugged. 'Anyway, Corran was there, and he seemed to have his head bolted on straight.'
'He wasn't there very long, though,' Luke murmured.
'Yes, I found that out afterward. Pity.'
For a moment neither of them said anything. Luke craned his neck to peer to the side, wondering if the end of the fire creeper swarm was visible yet. This introspection was both embarrassing and painful; and besides, they had urgent work to do.
But the black carpet still stretched as far as the passageway's turns and irregularities permitted him to see. 'What about you?' he asked, turning back to Mara again. 'You were the Emperor's Hand. Why hasn't your life been dominated by the dark side?'
She shrugged uncomfortably. 'Maybe it has. It certainly was from the time Palpatine took me from my home till I got rid of that last command he'd jammed into my mind.' Her gaze clouded over oddly, as if she were looking into some private place within herself.
'Though it's funny, somehow. Palpatine never really tried to turn me to the dark side, at least not the way he turned Vader and tried to turn you. Actually, I don't think I was ever really in the dark side at all.'
'But everything you were doing was the Emperor's work,' Luke said. 'If he was on the dark side, shouldn't you have been, too?'
Mara shook her head. 'I don't know,' she admitted. 'But I wasn't.' Her gaze came back, and Luke could sense the protective barrier going up again, as if she'd suddenly realized her private feelings had been a little too visible. 'You're the Jedi Master. You figure it out.'
'I'll work on it,' Luke promised. Yes, the barriers were back up. But not as high as they'd once been. Not nearly as high.
'In the meantime,' she said, 'do those sustained control techniques you taught me work on arm muscles as well as lightsabers?'
Luke focused on her arms, noticing for the first time that they were trembling slightly with muscle fatigue. 'They do okay,' he said. 'But for muscles there's a better technique. Let me show you...'
* * *
It was another hour before the swarm of fire creepers finally finished its migration beneath them and disappeared down the cavern passageway. In their wake they left Artoo and everything metal or otherwise indigestible from their packs, though the packs themselves had vanished. And, of course, Builder With Vines's remains.
Mara glanced once at the scattered bones, then firmly turned her eyes away. Yes, it was the Qom Jha's own fault that he'd gotten himself killed; and yes, on one level it was merely the balance of nature at work; and yes, she'd tried her best to keep Luke from taking any of the blame on himself. But none of that meant she had to like what had happened, or wanted to look at the results. 'Good thing the food bars were in metal boxes,' she commented, massaging her fingers as she prodded what was left of their equipment with the tip of her boot. 'The water bottles didn't hold up nearly as well, though.'
'There's plenty of water down here,' Luke reminded her. He was standing near their cut, looking up at Child Of Winds. 'We just won't be able to carry extra supplies with us. It's all safe now, Child Of Winds. You can come down.'
The young Qom Qae didn't budge, that almost-voice going again. 'I understand,' Luke said gently. 'But you have to come down. You're in the way up there, and we don't want to hit you with our lightsabers.'
For a moment Mara thought Child Of Winds would decide he preferred to stay high up off the floor and take his chances with the lightsabers. Then, with clear reluctance, he spread his wings and fluttered down to a slightly awkward perch on top of the droid's dome.
'What now?' Mara asked, crossing to Luke's side. 'Back to hack and slash?' Luke shrugged. 'The wall's not going to fall apart on its own,' he said. 'Unless you think we ought to risk using the grenades.'
Mara peered down the passageway. Nothing was visible, but after that fire creeper swarm she was feeling a little spooked herself. 'Let's stick with the lightsabers for now,' she suggested. 'If Splitter Of Stones gets back with the reinforcements before we're finished we'll consider it.'
'Sounds good,' Luke agreed, pulling his lightsaber from his belt and igniting it. 'Artoo, keep an eye out for any more trouble.'
The droid warbled a slightly nervous acknowledgment and extended his sensor unit again, nearly knocking Child Of Winds off his perch as he did so. 'Okay,' Luke said, taking his position to the side of their cut again. 'Let's get started.'
