Even then, he hadn't completely understood it. He'd assumed that it had sprung forth complete; that in those few hours it had brought the two of them into as deep an understanding of each other as it was possible to have. But in the three years since then, he'd come to realize that he had just barely scratched the surface. Mara was far more complex a human being than he'd ever suspected. As, in fact, he himself was.

Which meant that, Jedi or not, Force-bond or not, there was going to be more for them to learn about each other for a long time to come. In all likelihood, a lifetime's worth of time. He was very much looking forward to the journey.

And yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of uncertainty. His marriage to Mara felt right to him, in every respect... but hovering in the background behind all their happiness and success was the distant echo of Yoda's stories of the old Jedi Order during Luke's training on Dagobah.

Specifically, the part about Jedi keeping themselves out of precisely this kind of love relationship.

He hadn't given those teachings much weight at the time. The Empire was in control of the known galaxy, Darth Vader was breathing down the Rebel Alliance's collective neck, and all his thoughts were focused on his own survival and the survival of his friends. When Han and Leia had gotten married, Leia having Force skills hadn't seemed like a big deal. She was certainly strong in the Force, but she hadn't progressed nearly far enough in her training to call herself a Jedi.

But it was different with Luke. He had been a Jedi when he'd asked Mara to marry him. True, their chances of survival at the time had been somewhat uncertain, but that hadn't affected the sincerity of his proposal or the depth of his feelings toward her. And despite these occasional twinges, he'd certainly found peace in his decision and in their subsequent marriage.

Could Yoda have been wrong about how Jedi relationships were supposed to work? That was the easiest answer. But that would mean the entire Jedi Order had been wrong about it. That didn't seem likely, unless on some level all of them had lost the ability to hear the Force clearly.

Could that particular dictum have ended with the fall of that particular group, then? Yoda had also said something about the Force having been brought back into balance, though he'd been somewhat vague about the details. Could this have rendered that part of the Jedi Code no longer applicable?

He didn't have the answers. He wondered if he ever would.

"Okay, they're on us," Mara announced, leaning back in her seat. "Got an antenna swiveling for a tight beam. I've been wondering how far away a Star Destroyer's sensors could pick us up."

Luke forced his thoughts back to the situation at hand. "Though with the Errant Venture you always have to allow for malfunctions," he reminded her.

"True," she agreed. "Sometimes I think of that ship as one massive red warning light."

"It's certainly bright enough." Luke shook his head. "I am never, ever, going to get used to that color."

"I kind of like it," Mara said. "Especially given where it came from."

"You mean Booster strong-arming General Bel Iblis to refit and repaint?"

"I was thinking of the paint itself," Mara said. "Did you know the New Republic bought all of it from Karrde?"

Luke blinked. "You're kidding. Did Bel Iblis know?"

"Don't be silly," Mara said with a lopsided smile. "You know Bel Iblis. He'd have had a fit on general principles if he'd known Karrde had made any money on this deal. No, Karrde played it all very cool and through at least three intermediaries and a dummy corporation. I don't think even Booster knows."

"Trust me, he doesn't," Luke said. "Corran once told me that one of Booster's great joys in life these days is telling people how he managed this whole thing without any help or interference from the great Talon Karrde. I wonder what he'd say if he knew that was Karrde's Paint on his hull."

"I know what Karrde would say," Mara warned. "Both before and after he nailed my hide to the hull. One of his great joys is watching Booster strut around blissfully unaware of the ways he's dipped in and out of the old pirate's life over the years."

Luke shook his head. "They're a matched pair. You know that?"

"Don't tell them that, either," Mara said. There was a beep from the board. "Okay, here we go. Encrypt Paspro-nine..."

She touched a few keys. There was a second beep, and suddenly the comm display lit up with Karrde's familiar face.

He wasn't smiling.

"Mara; Luke," he greeted them, his voice as grim as he looked. "Thank you for coming so promptly. I'm sorry I had to drag you out here like this, away from your schedule. Especially you, Luke; I know how much you went through to free up time for this."

"Don't worry about it," Mara said for both of them. "The trip was getting a little routine anyway. What's up?"

"What's up is that I've lost a message," Karrde said bluntly. "Four days ago my sector relay post at Comra picked up a transmission, marked urgent, and addressed to you, Luke."

Luke frowned. "Me?"

"So the chief of the station says," Karrde replied. "But that was about all he got. Before he or anyone else could pass it on down the line, it vanished."

"You think it was stolen?" Luke asked.

Karrde's lips compressed briefly. "I know it was stolen," he said. "We even know the name of the man who stole it, because when the message disappeared from the station, so did he. Have you ever heard of anyone by the name of Dean Jinzler?"

"Doesn't sound familiar," Luke said, searching his memory. "Mara?"

"No," Mara said. "Who is he?"

Karrde shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't know, either."

"Wait a second," Mara said. "This is one of your people, and you don't know everything there is to know about him?"

The corner of Karrde's lip twitched. "I didn't know everything about you when I hired you, either," he pointed out.

"Sure, but I was a special case," Mara countered. "I thought you knew better with everyone else. Do we have any idea where the message originated or who sent it?"

"Actually, we have both," Karrde said, his voice going even darker. "The planet of origin was Nirauan." He paused. "The sender was an Admiral Voss Parck."

Luke felt his forehead creasing, a strange sensation trickling through him. Nirauan: Thrawn's private base, full of Imperials and warriors of Thrawn's own people, the Chiss. The fortress he and Mara had escaped from by the skin of their teeth three years before.

And Admiral Voss Parck, the onetime Imperial captain whom Thrawn had left in command of that base before his death. They'd had a brief run-in with Parck during their time on Nirauan, too, right after the admiral had tried to recruit Mara to their side.

"I see that name is familiar to both of you," Karrde said. "I've always had the feeling I didn't get the complete story of your little visit out that way."

Luke could sense Mara's sudden discomfort. "That was my doing," he said. "I insisted we keep most of the details from everyone except the highest-ranking New Republic officials."

"I quite understand," Karrde said calmly. "Actually, with Parck's name I think I can probably re-create most of the missing pieces myself. He was a close associate of Grand Admiral Thrawn's, wasn't he?"

"Actually, he was the Victory-class Star Destroyer captain who found Thrawn at the edge of the Unknown Regions after he'd been exiled by the rest of his people forty-odd years ago," Mara said. "He was so impressed with Thrawn's tactical skill that he took a chance and brought him to Palpatine. When Palpatine himself later exiled Thrawn back to the Unknown Regions, Parck was one of the officers who was sent out there with him."