Playlist:

❶ "Jessica's Theme"—The Man from Snowy River OST

⊘ Silence

❷ "Marion's Theme"—Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

❶ Resting on his elbow, Luke Skywalker gazed at his new wife, Naluma Fau, running his hand down her arm until she awoke. Her smooth, olive-toned skin gave way under his gentle touch.

As she shook her long, black hair to the side, she mumbled, "Good morning, my love."

Luke straddled her legs, resting his elbows on either side of her face as he kissed her. His toned muscles flexed under his pale skin. "Good morning," he whispered in her ear, blowing softly. "Last night ... I can't even begin to describe it." He still was unsure if it were a dream or not.

He rubbed his nose with hers before she reached behind his head, pulling his lips to her mouth again.

"Yeah, you are certainly full of surprises."  

Luke blushed at the compliment, grateful for the warm glow that raced to his wife's cheeks, too. He ran his hand through her hair, running his fingers through the silky tresses. They luxuriated in their strengthened Force-bond, the energy that fluxed between them in vibrant tendrils.

Naluma cradled his cheek and pressed her lips to Luke's. His mouth searched her feelings with the kiss, their Force-bond flaring.

She gasped for breath. He pressed his lips against hers, bruising them. His left hand worked its way into her hair once again, caressing her scalp. He ran his lips down her neck, causing her to arch her back and expel a slight moan.

Naluma stroked his chest, palpating the rigid muscles. "Well, I know one thing."

"What?" Luke grazed her smooth cheek before tracing the scar above her eyebrow. He brushed his fingertips across her collarbone, eliciting a slight moan from her.

"Master Simikarty never experienced the way our Force-bond is attenuating, or else he would have ordered all the Jedi to marry each other."

Luke laughed. "I think you may be right. Just think, we'd have a whole bunch more Padaw—" 

Abruptly, he rolled off her and stared at the wrought-iron chandelier that hung from the dark-beamed ceiling. "Naluma, we probably should have talked about this before last night|. . ."

"Hmm?" She turned to him, resting her head on her right hand and stroking his chest with her left.

"Well, it might be something we can't do anything about at this point anyway . . ." Luke gave her an unsure smile. "How do you feel about children?"

Naluma hid her face, but she smiled at his query. "Hasn't been a question I've wanted to think about in a long time."

Luke's face sunk as he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before."

Naluma lifted his chin. "Don't worry about last night. I'm pretty sure I'm not pregnant. Besides, I didn't say I didn't want children."

She intertwined her hand with Luke's and scooted her back against his chest. Lowering their hands to her flat abdomen, she retrieved the Force-vision from over a year ago and shared it across their bond. "Remember this?"

Luke smiled and kissed her cheek. "Hope and light."

"Hope and light."

Luke ran his hands along her torso. "You are my hope and light." 

As he lowered his head for another kiss, Naluma twisted in his embrace to face him. She teased his tongue with her own and ran her nails down his bare chest, pulling a sigh from him—until the private extension for the secure line alerted, interrupting them.

Luke sighed. "Figures." He jumped out of bed and grabbed his robe from the leather armchair next to the platform bed. He spared one more look at his beautiful wife before answering the obnoxious device. "Jedi Academy, Master Skywalker."

Naluma stared at his muscled back in admiration, grinning at the incongruent hairy legs protruding from his bathrobe. Itching to run her fingers through the gundark's nest on his head, she smiled when he shivered during the call, his toes curling on the cold, hardwood floor.

Luke said, "Wish you'd change your mind about this, but I understand."

He waited a few seconds more before saying, "Me, too." He disconnected the communicator.

"What is it this time?"

"Leia."

"You've got to be kidding me," Naluma whined, collapsing onto her pillow.

While Luke dressed in his uniform with a practiced speed, he said, "Don't worry. Everything's set. I just need to find Lor San Tekka and get him off planet today."

Before he left the room, he kissed her again. "I'll bring back breakfast. What do you want?"

Naluma looked at him with a lazy smirk. "You."

Luke blushed. "Really, what do you want?"

"Ronto strips and some stimcaf." She glanced at the chronometer. "Oh, I've got to teach in an hour. I'd better get up."

"You and me both." Before he opened the hatch, he asked, "Do you think we'll have enough time after breakfast . . ."

Naluma nodded. "You're not getting away that easily. You are far too addicting, Master Skywalker." 

⊘ Luke found Lor San Tekka eating breakfast with some of the Padawan in the massive dinning room. The lofty space extended upward the entire three stories, buttressed by hearty wood beams and ironwork. Intricate pane-glass windows extended from the floor to the ceiling, depicting fractal shapes of flora and fauna, bringing inside a sense of the natural beauty of the outdoors. Triangular, wrought-iron chandeliers fitted with faux candles swayed from the rafters, illuminating the chamber in a warm glow.

Round, wooden tables with , hard-backed chairs were arranged throughout the room. While there were enough tables for each Jedi and Padawan to sit in solitude, most gathered together near the middle of the room, enjoying the warm rays of the morning sun filtering through the large, abstract window..

When Jedi Jannah Witerspah noticed Luke across the room, she approached him. The Jedi Master held up his hand requesting privacy from the blonde Jedi.

Lor San Tekka, cleric of the Force, looked up at him from his breakfast tray. "Master Skywalker, good morning."

"It's time."

"When do we leave?"

"This afternoon. Can you be ready by then?"

"Yes, Master Skywalker."

Luke was grateful the cleric had not only agreed to the mission without knowing any of the details but had also confided with him that he felt the Force was guiding him into this new phase of his life. Luke could not pick another person he would entrust the safety of Leia to, except Han.

When the Jedi Master finished his conversation, Jannah approached him.

I hope she's not going to ask about last night. Oh, Jannah.

"Master Skywalker."

"Yes, Jannah." Luke hoped the warning glare he gave her would prevent any embarrassing situations.

"Did you open the card we gave you?"

"Not yet," Luke said with a blush. "We were a little busy."

Jannah gave him a coy smile and a wink. "I suggest you do that as soon as possible. Now, what can I get you for breakfast?"

❷ When Luke returned to the suite, Naluma had already showered and changed into her uniform. She had even made the bed and picked up their formal robes and broken dishes from the floor. She waited for him, lying on a blanket in front of the fireplace.

Framed by chunky, hand-hewn beams of kedari, the fireplace heated the room with efficiency. A pile of hand-split logs sat on the stone bench to the left of the hearth. A small vase with fresh flowers nestled amid hologram frames of Leia, Han, and Ben on the mantel. A few wedding presents were scattered on the mantel and the right side of the fireplace. Above the hearth, a landscape painting of Tatooine's binary suns graced the hood.

Luke handed her the breakfast tray before grabbing the cards from the mantelpiece. While they ate, he opened the card Jannah had mentioned.

"What's that?" Naluma asked while slurping her stimcaf.

"A card from the kids. Jannah told me I needed to open it immediately." Luke gave her a soft smile, his eyes glazing over. After a slight reverie, he removed the card from the envelope, dropping some papers to the blanket.

As Naluma scooted next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, he read the card aloud to her. "Dear Master Luke and Master Naluma, We cannot tell how thrilled we are for you. You have been our guiding lights these years, and we are ecstatic that the caring love that we always saw between you two can now be proclaimed to the world in marriage."

Naluma looked at the writing on the envelope. "Sounds like Jannah wrote this."

Luke nodded and continued reading the card. "We know how little free time you actually get together. Our gift to you—four weeks off—a true honeymoon. Kallay and Wei'ahtt will teach your classes while the rest of us run the missions."

He looked up to see her wiping tears from her eyes. He nodded at her in agreement. "They knew the one thing we would cherish most."

"What else does it say?"

"Each of us has chosen our favorite things to do on Hosnian Prime. Enclosed are hotel, dinner, and reservation chits. The rest of the time, you're on your own.

"Love with all our hearts, Jannah, Wei'ahtt, Kalder, Kallay, and Tandolleau."

Naluma picked up the papers that fell and read them to Luke. "Five nights at the Hosnian Prime Hotel, Penthouse Suite. Dinner at a different location each night, including one night at Chinot's. Dancing, two plays, a concert, and a museum. The kids must have blown their savings on this."

Luke smirked. "If I know Kalder, he got a good deal on it. Probably won it in Sabacc."

"You're probably right." Naluma giggled.

"So, discounting transit time, that leaves us about two weeks left after Hosnian Prime. What do you want to do?"

"You really want to know?" Naluma asked with a sly grin. "Camping—somewhere it doesn't snow."

"On our honeymoon?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but not here. Somewhere else. Forests are great. I want to be able to feel the Force flowing around us." She stood in one smooth motion. "By the way, if it's going to take us four days to travel to Hosnian Prime, we'd better leave today. The hotel reservations start in five days."

"I guess we could drop Lor San Tekka on the way," Luke said as he stood.

"Two days with a chaperone? On our honeymoon?"

Luke wagged his eyebrows at her as he smirked. "We can always put him into a Jedi trance."

"You wouldn't."

"No, but I'll convince him that traveling through hyperspace is the perfect opportunity for meditating in his cabin, even if I have to use a Jedi mind-trick."

"I love you." Naluma shook her head at his deviousness. "Let's get packing."

Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a rough kiss. "We don't have to leave for a few hours."

Naluma grabbed his head, returning the kiss with more fervor.

Luke tugged at her uniform tunic, pushing it off her shoulders once he undid the front closure. Expecting to find her uniform tank top, he pulled away to stare at her. "And you think I'm full of surprises. Where did you find this?" he asked as he ran his finger under the lacy shoulder strap.

"You like?"

Luke nodded with a sultry look and kissed her again before unwrapping the rest of his surprise. 

Did you know . . .

● Han not only brought in the monthly supply shipment, but he also picked up private shipments for the academy at a shipping point on Zaxyn. The Padawan's families, as well as the Jedi themselves, could place orders from around the galaxy and have them shipped to that location. Next time Han had a delivery, he brought the mail, too.

Tell me what you think . . .

● Do you think Luke would actually use a Jedi mind-trick on Lor San Tekka?

● Why do you think Naluma enjoys camping so much that she would want to camp on her honeymoon?

● How has Jannah changed over the last year since the mission on Castell? 

● What do you think the comm call represents for the rest of the story? It carries more than one foreshadow.