Mara walked calmly past... then slowed to a halt at the realisation of his glare; after a very rocky start they'd settled into a polite routine, but in the last few months that had seemed to slowly change and she had no idea as to why. As direct as ever though, realizing they were alone and in a room wich Luke routinely moved all surveillance from, she decided to find out.
"Do you have some kind of problem with me, Hallin?" she asked abruptly without turning back, hoping to knock him off-guard.
His eyes narrowed just slightly, though his voice remained very polite, accustomed as he was to the word-games here. "I hate to disappoint you Commander, but I really haven't given it that much thought.
Despite his civilized tone, Mara was speechless at his audacity considering their relative rank. "I think you should say what you have to say," She invited curtly.
To say anything would be a mistake, Hallin knew; it was precisely the wrong thing to do.
But Jade turned slowly toward him, green eyes ablaze, and remembering Luke's recent admission Hallin couldn't hold back, feeling in some way responsible for the present situation; hadn't he asked that she be reinstated after her failure to protect Luke from the assassination attempt? She could have been long gone by now; a distant memory. This was his mistake- he'd kept her here... it was his decision Luke was having to deal with now.
"I'm watching you." He said simply.
Mara frowned, "Watching me what?"
Hallin tilted his head to one side, his eyes hard, expression caustic.
Mara remained, unfazed, "Seriously, Hallin- what do you think I'm going to do? Go Ahead?"
"Please," Hallin said dryly, "You think this gives you some hold over him?"
Mara was shocked at Hallin's implied knowledge. Did he know; had Luke confided in him? He'd always known her interest in Luke; had seemed quite indulgent of it in the past- kindred spirits, it always seemed- so what had changed?
"I'm not looking for any hold over him."
"Liar."
Mara shook her head; "Has it ever occurred to you that I may actually care about him?"
Hallin half-smiled, tone still polite and gracious even if his words were not, "How very generous of you. You put him in direct conflict with the Emperor's wishes, knowing what will happen if he finds out... on the off-chance that you may care for him."
Apparently the gloves were off. Now it was Mara's turn to scorn, "Don't get high-handed with me- I know what you're really thinking."
"I am serving the best interests of my friend. What's your justification?"
"I don't need to justify anything to you."
Hallin played his ace, "And the Emperor?"
Mara's heart skipped a beat at the implied threat - but she recovered impressively, "Don't even try to pull that one, because I know you wouldn't do that to Luke."
The medic said nothing but she could see mistrust boiling behind that cultured, polished manner. He could so easily stop this situation before it had a chance to develop. If she was to continue meeting Luke, then the fact was that she needed Hallin's trust. Mara took a step forward, consciously taking the sting from her voice, "I'd never hurt him, Nathan - you know that."
There was the slightest of pauses, though his cool expression softened not a whit. "Then leave."
"What?"
"Leave. If you want to help him - to protect him - leave. Request another assignment."
Mara shook her head, "I can't do that."
"Ah!... I see." He feigned polite realisation, "You claim genuine concern but when you're asked to relinquish, suddenly it's no longer convenient."
Mara could only shake her head, "I don't know what you think I'm doing, but I promise you I have no intention of ever hurting him."
"You already are."
Mara cracked just slightly beneath the utter conviction in his voice. "You're wrong."
"No, Commander; I'm not wrong. You'll destroy him... and deep down I think you know it - because he does."
Mara twitched, disturbed by his words; even more so by the subtle revelation of their source, having no comeback to that. He turned slowly away, eyes delivering one last warning, and walked from the room. She could only watch him leave, lost in a cloud of uncertainty.
The door had slid quietly closed at the far side of the room before Mara spoke again, very quietly, "You're wrong."
.
Hallin had taken several paces past the turn in the corridor before he allowed his composure to slip just slightly, his step faltering though he kept walking, aware that he was in sight of the surveillance lenses now.
Was she telling the truth - did she really care? And did it matter anyway, given Luke's prediction.
What Hallin did know was that Jade was Palpatine's agent; his informer. She was, by definition, Luke's sworn enemy. Whatever else she thought she felt, her true loyalties were clear; she reported to the Emperor every few days, like clockwork. That was her job; it was why she was here. She had informed on Luke's actions in the past, knowing what the severe consequences would be, and yet she claimed that she would never hurt him... how could he believe that she would do any differently now?
Given Luke's admissionn it was surely more likely that she was lying, manipulating him to some pre-arranged plan. And even if she wasn't, there was still a dangerous truth to Hallin's words; she was playing with fire- and she was persuading Luke to do the same.
.
.
.
Unsettled, Mara made a conscious effort to avoid being alone with Hallin over the coming weeks. His wary enmity didn't seem to wane but she grew used to it; it was after all, just one more obstacle in a whole galaxy of them, and hardly her greatest problem when she and Luke were here at the Palace.
Still, his words had bitten deep- deep enough to make her wonder again at her split loyalties; or were they that at all? She had after all never hidden from Luke the fact that her allegiance lay with the Emperor. The time they spent together was completely separate to that in her mind; a self-contained reality which required no closer scrutiny.
Certainly Luke seemed to consider it the same. Aside from that single, explosive argument onboard the Peerless, by some unspoken pact neither ever mentioned anything of the real world or its demands when they were together. Nothing ever encroached, the realities of their situation never mentioned, either in terms of their reckless liaisons or their split loyalties. Ignorance was bliss, and in the absence of any opposing allusions from Luke, it was all too easy to persuade herself that the loyalties of the man whom she now regarded as very much a kindred spirit would be no different to her own.
Yes, Luke argued and challenged and occasionally even squared off against the Emperor, but he was still here, and even though Palpatine was a master of manipulation, Luke was one of the most obstinate, wilful, intractable people she had ever met, and if he didn't want to be here he would be long gone. Something was holding him here.
The weeks went by excruciatingly slowly when she was here in the Palace now, her mind always drifting back to the relative freedom they enjoyed when safely away aboard the Peerless. Here, there was no closeness save in stolen glances and momentary contact hidden beneath accidental touches as they passed each-other or walked side by side.
But she knew that soon they'd be gone again. The Invincible's launch, the reason they were here, was imminent now. Just two weeks and they'd be free again, taking the new Super Star Destroyer on its shakedown voyage to the shipyards in the Farlax Sector, weeks, perhaps even months of refinement requiring an extended stay free of the stifling surveillance on Coruscant.