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It wasn't her first choice for places to train, but Mara had the feeling she was welcome here. At least as welcome as she would be anywhere else. She wanted to be out and moving, not staring at walls and thinking. The Sensorium was too much of an escape right now. She needed to concentrate on things she could control, and that included her body and her skills.

Her lightsaber was in hand as she tried to run through the mental patterns that Luke had taught her, before she had even heard of a ship with a name and personality. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Movements slow and collected, the smuggler lifted her lightsaber with her eyes closed, fighting an enemy that only she could see. This was something she could concentrate on and lose herself in. The Jedi Temple made an appropriate backdrop, doors thrown wide open to keep her from feeling caulstrophrobic. She was already tired of being closed in. The humm of her weapon and the brush of her feet on the floor was the only sound as she continued to practice.

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With a hiss, Mara turned her light saber off. Possibly one of the shortest spars she'd ever engaged in, but clearly it was over.

"I'm sleeping fine. I just over did it today." There was a pause before her senses brushed against him, so soft that it was barely noticeable. She'd taken to keep her senses pulled in and her presence minimal, but there was now a feather soft touch from her mind. "I don't like leaving my mind idle right now."

Luke did the same, returning his weapon to his belt. Come to look at her, Mara looked thinner, the bones of her face standing out more than usual. And that mental touch--that was surprising and reassuring all at once. "I know," he said gently, and his mental touch was just as light as hers was. The very last thing Luke wanted to do was scare her away with being too enthusiastic.

"It's difficult, but we have to keep up hope that we'll be able to get it all back," he said. "Without it... well, where are we, really?"

"You need that hope. I need a reason to hope."

And that was the real problem. While the passengers of the ship wailed for the things they had lost, Mara couldn't manage to feel that level of despair. The universe hadn't gotten along with her in a long time, and she had very few lasting connections. Her company, some co-workers that she would go out for drinks with, a few names from the Academy she would recognize. Her ship was lingering in her mind more than most of the beings she knew.

The only name that rose up as someone she would genuinely miss was here. There was something wrong about not truly mourning the passing of an entire universe, and it kept her awake more than missing things. She had cut so many ties in an attempt to keep herself safe that when it all disappeared . . .

"I don't have much to miss, Skywalker." And that was what kept her up at night.

"Mmm..." Luke absently brushed some sandy hair out of his eyes, thinking. "It's not about the people or the things we may have lost, I think--though that's got the biggest impact. It's that an entire universe that we called home--all the people we've only met in passing, all the places we never even went to--all that's gone now."

He looked up at her, thoughtful. "You don't have to be a Jedi Master to want to restore all that."

"Maybe. There are things I regret that I won't get to see. The moon rise on Torbit 5. That I miss, even if I only saw it once."

Her lightsaber went back to her belt while she rubbed at her temple. Everything had become such a tangled mess. She kept waiting for something to sink in, to make her mourn the way the others were. Shouldn't there be people she missed, rather than landscapes?

"It still seems wrong somehow. To want to save a universe because of a moon rise. There should be something else, with that many life forms wiped out."

"Maybe as you go along you'll find more reasons." Luke smiled at Mara, giving her as much support as she needed. He wouldn't impose on her--he knew better--but he gave what he could and hoped it was enough.

"But we can't spend all our time dwelling on the past or things we miss. We can take heart from knowing we'll see them again if we succeed in getting our home back." Luke paused, then ducked his head a little. "Sorry, I know you hate lectures like that. It slips out sometimes."

"It's not about dwelling on the past. I still feel like I'm supposed to care more. Like I don't care enough."

Mara crossed her arms, gaze shifting down to the ground. It was hard to explain to someone that was so connected to all living things. He revelled in the connections that she had brutally cut off. Even with him, she was cautious to build more. Tentative touches where the Jedi were so comfortable to connect with each other. She consciously eased some of the tight control she held over herself, letting him see her unease, confusion, feeling of being adrift.

He felt his chest constrict a little bit. No matter what she did or didn't remember or where she was from or when, Mara would always command the lion's share of Luke's heart. Feeling what she was keeping inside, locked away from everyone, made him want to take her in his arms and make it better. And after a moment, that was just what he did--still giving her the opportunity to get away if she wanted, but holding her close.

All the appropriately 'Jedi' things he could say would just have to wait.

There was a quiet sigh before she leaned into him, rather than trying to get away. Mara was far more tired than she had been letting on. Luke was a warm, comforting presence, and her arms wrapped around him almost out of reflex. Shock and stress had driven them together over and over throughout her stay. It was becoming normal to be this close to him, and from what she could understand and see, he was more than happy with that situation.

Her forehead was resting against his shoulder, her voice muffled against his robe. "Maybe I'll get a second chance. To figure out what I'm not missing."

That made him squeeze her tighter. "I hope you will," he replied. "Until then, I'll just have enough reasons to hope for the both of us."

Luke turned his head a bit, smiled into her hair. This he could do, now; and he would be there for her, back her up now. He'd failed her at home and now that they were together here, Luke promised himself that she wouldn't have to face any foe alone if she didn't want to.

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