Title: Luke Skywalker
Author(s): RedGold
Timeframe: anytime after Last Command
Characters: Mara, Luke
Genre: Vignette, Song-Fic, Humor, Cuteness
Keywords: Mara, Luke, song-fic, humor, cute
Summary: While waiting for clearance to leave, Luke and Mara run into each other in one of the public lounges, and guess what comes on the music channels?
Notes: The song is a GFFA version of Steve McQueen by Sheryl Crow. There are also nods to her and the video for this song in the fic.
Luke Skywalker
It wasn’t often that Mara got bored, and it usually wasn’t good for the health of those around her when she did. Luckily she had a nice big holo-screen to occupy her attention and started hitting the touch commands sending it through different news channels.
“Waiting to go up too?” a voice asked behind her.
Mara rolled her eyes and continued to cycle through the news channels, eventually running out of them and hitting the entertainment channels. “They didn’t tell me what the problem was, but I’m sure they told you.”
“What makes you think that?” The man leaned against the wall next to the public holo-screen and she gave him a quick glance. He was garbed in his gray underclothes that he wore under his orange flight-suit when he took out his X-Wing.
“Please?” Mara laughed. “Mr. Hero of the Rebellion himself asking that question?”
“You know I don’t like to take advantage of my status,” Luke frowned.
Mara raised one eyebrow.
“Okay,” he sighed, “so someone emergency crashed a heavy freighter. Lots of clean up, but we should be able to have take off clearance within the hour.”
“Well,” exasperatedly Mara let her hand drop to see what her random button pushing got her, “that explains the big orange fireball.”
“No one was hurt.”
“Good,” Mara nodded, realizing she had landed on one of the music channels.
“And coming up next we have the brand new music video from the legendary artist Shrel Croy,” the announcer cheerily proclaimed and Mara noticed Luke stiffen a bit. “It’s been over five years since her last album, but she’s proven to still be a draw as her latest has already gone Quasar!”
“I remember her,” Mara commented. “She was the first female artists to hit it big after Endor and all the Imperial restrictions on music was lifted.”
The Emperor thought that only the more classical style of music was what his people should listen to and banned what was known pop, short for popular. Then once the ban was lifted, a particular style of pop came out of Corellia that had more of a drawl to it, much like the Corellians themselves. Shrel Croy being at the forefront of that movement.
“Yeah,” Luke stood up straight, “hey, do you want to see if they have the latest slamball scores?”
He started to reach across her to hit the touch button but Mara slapped his hand down. “This is a public screen in a public lounge, and I got here first!”
“Oh that’s childish, Mara,” he said as he play-nursed a hand that she knew didn’t hurt simply because it was his right hand.
Mara was about to retort when the announcer caught her attention. “And now, here is the number one song from her number one album, it’s simply entitled Luke Skywalker.”
Blinking, wondering if she had heard incorrectly, but the sigh and Luke rubbing his forehead was all the confirmation she needed. “You know about this?”
“It’s been out a couple of weeks,” he shrugged, “Thought you would have seen it by now.”
“Been busy,” she mumbled as the music video started to play. Shrel Croy with her massive amount of curly golden brown hair was walking across a hangar bay as the guitar cords set the beat and pace of the song. Mara had to give the set designer props as the hangar was eerily similar to the holos she had seen of the Yavin 4 base before the battle.
Croy was in a typical orange flight-suit, thought it was fitted to her curves and she climbed up a ladder into a cockpit of an X-Wing. She was handed a helmet and she slipped it on, though Mara wasn’t sure how with all that hair dangling as a free mass. But hey, this was a holovid, not meant to be real.
The scene changed and it looked like Croy was standing on top of one of the Massassi Temples on Yavin. She was probably in front of a blank background with the image transposed behind her. The effects were put together very well, actually.
Croy herself had changed her outfit to a pair of tight Alliance gray trousers and formfitting under tunic that showed off her body that Mara had to admit was very well shaped and maintained. She was wearing a jacket that was also gray, but if was fully zipped would emblazon the bright red symbol of the Rebel Alliance.
Her guitar, which she was a master at playing, hung around her neck. She strummed the chords and swayed her body sensually to the music as she broke out into song with the Corellian drawl that she was known for.
Well I went to bed in Coronet
And I woke up in Coruscant
I got a credit in my pocket
And I'd call you if I could
But I don't know why
I gotta fly
Quickly the image of an X-Wing breaking atmosphere flashed across the screen, then it came back to Croy standing on top of an X-Wing. Her guitar was gone and she moved her body to the music and her words, dancing in her own way.
I wanna rock and roll this party
I still wanna have some fun
I wanna leave you feeling breathless
Show you how the Core was won
But I gotta fly
I gotta fly
As the held out the word ‘fly’ images of her in her X-Wing shooting across space being tailed by two other X-Wings danced across the screen.
If Mara had bothered to watch the next few seconds she would have seen a collage of images from Croy on top of the temple, on top of the X-Wing dancing, or flying across space in a dog-fight, but Mara’s eyes tracked instantly to the semi-blushing man next to her.
Like Luke Skywalker
All I need's a fast machine
And I'm gonna make it all right
“Luke…”
“Don’t.” Luke held up his hand and just shook his head. There wasn’t like there was anything he could do. He was a public figure.
Like Luke Skywalker
Underneath your radar screen
You'll never catch me tonite
More images of Croy pulling some fancy maneuvers to lose the other X-Wings played with the music.
Croy was once again on top of the X-Wing and danced sensually in a semi-dominating manner. The woman was a good signer, no doubt, but there was other reasons both boys and girls plastered her image on their bedroom walls.
I ain't takin' fodder off no one
Baby, that was yesterday
I'm an all Corellian rebel
Makin' my big getaway
Yeah, you know it's time
I gotta fly
“Why not Solo?” Mara asked, thinking that the Corellian singer would go for the Corellian Hero of the Rebellion.
“She likes me, I guess,” Luke shrugged.
Like Luke Skywalker
All I need's a fast machine
And I'm gonna make it all right
Like Luke Skywalker
Underneath your radar screen
You'll never catch me tonite
The music started to slow a bit and the dogfight got even dicier.
“Did you have any say in this?”
“I heard about it.”
Like Luke Skywalker
“So you’re just going to let her use your name and reputation like that?” Mara shook her head.
“It’s just a song.”
Croy’s X-Wing nearly plowed into one of the others but she pulled off a twist that made Mara’s head spin. The pilot of the other X-Wing had to turn and spin as well, but it was uncontrolled and he lost his afterburner, so he dived back into the atmosphere.
Like Luke Skywalker
“Luke—”
“Just a song.”
The music hit the hardest it had been, picking up the strong Corellian beat.
We got vid stars in the Senate
And all our teen stars look like porn
All my heroes hit the highway
'Cause they don't hang out here no more
Croy danced and stamped hard on the X-Wing cockpit and Mara worried that it might break. Then Croy was back on the temple roof, attacking the cords of her instrument, but stopped and looked right into the holocam as she started into the next verse.
You can call me on my comlink
You can page me all night long
But you won't catch this free bird
I'll already be long gone
She drew out the last two words with a smirk and the holovid cut to her X-Wing pulling away from the last X-Wing chasing her and she hit the hyperdrive, gliding into space.
“Truth be told, Mara, I kinda like the song,” he smiled at her then turned away, walking back across the lounge.
Like Luke Skywalker
All we need’s a fast machine
And we're gonna make it all right
Mara shook her head and turned back to the ending holovid. Some days she just couldn’t understand that man.
Like Luke Skywalker
All we need's a fast machine
And we're gonna ride it, all right
By now Croy had landed her X-Wing and jumped out. The other X-Wing landed beside her, the canopy opening up to reveal the pilot.
“No way!” Mara gasped.
The pilot held two fingers to his brow and gave her a short salute in recognition of her besting him. It was hard to tell with the helmet on, but Mara could have sworn it was Luke himself. His eyes were distorted from the orange shield, but the cleft chin and facial scaring was spot on.
It could have been one heck of an impersonator.
But then whoever was piloting Croy’s X-Wing in the actual dogfight was good, very good. And the settings were so real...
Like Luke Skywalker
Underneath your radar screen
You'll never catch me tonite
Sensing something Mara looked over her shoulder and saw Luke leaning against the open door to the lounge. He smiled at her and gave the same little salute, then grinned as he turned and disappeared.
Like Luke Skywalker…
― pher (pher), Friday, 29 September 2006 08:06 (nineteen years ago)
three years pass...