Chapter Text
A long time ago…it a galaxy far, far away…
Hyperspace: Ash Worlds; Kirrium Reaches
Sometimes light speed just wasn’t fast enough.
Mara Jade sat back and looked over the controls in front of her.
If I could boost the auxiliary power, I bet I could override the thrusters… she thought to herself.
It was only one of the irrational ideas that she had come up with in as many days.
Hurdling through space, she was given the luxury of time to think about her decisions. But she didn’t want this luxury; she wanted to be there, now, with no other obstacles in her way.
It was one thing to con Karrde into letting her off of Takodana by herself; it was going to be entirely different matter to con his sister into believing that she was behaving rationally.
Mara swallowed, looking down at her console again, trying to remember where her train of thought had gone in the blink of an eye.
That seemed to be the way things had gone since she had felt the shift in the galaxy over a month ago; she had felt the change in Luke, somewhere, star-years away.
She knew that it had to be him; who else could have impacted her so hard.
Mara, in cockpit of her Z-95 Headhunter, rubbed her forehead, trying to complete the opposite tasks of trying to remember everything and wanting to block it out.
In her cabin, aboard the downed Wild Karrde on Takodana, she had awoken in the middle of the planetary night cycle; frantic, feeling the shift… the dread…
Running to the control room in nothing but her night shift, Mara burst into the room and demanded that Aves do a search on all of their known channels for anything relating to Skywalker…anything…any news… any hint of news…
He looked perplexed and became more-leery of her as Mara became more agitated when his search yielded no results.
Mara grumbled to herself as she recalled that they had to call Karrde to come and take her away from the console as, in her delirium, she had demanded that they start the pre-fight recognition and boost the main engine, putting the Wild Karrde back into space. She was determined to go in that instant to find Skywalker…Luke.
Karrde was able to calm her down and take her back to her quarters, but sat watch with her all night.
When dawn approached, Maz Kanata was there, waiting outside the Wild Karrde, knowing that someone else had sensed it too; her eyes large and fearful, wavering. She didn’t say anything out of the ordinary, but all it took was one look at Mara for her to nod and then turn away, woefully, and head back to her castle.
That was over a month ago.
It had taken Mara that long to rebuild her trust with Karrde before he would stop looking at her from the corner of his eye; treating her like a wounded animal.
She hated pity but she hated not knowing anything that was happening. Being on Takodana had sheltered and secluded them from the outside world. The best source of information was, sadly, overhearing gossip from the other smugglers and pirates that frequented Maz’s Castle for a rest-stop.
It was disappointing, but nothing had changed since their big meeting of almost two months ago. All truces and treaties are off.
Those who were on the edge of being legitimate, had to make the swing the other way and sink deeper into the dark underground world.
Even Karrde regretted making some of the calls that he had to; dealing with those that he had no choice but to take on as clients.
Mara knew what he was doing to save his skin, and everyone’s skin who worked for him.
She knew that he was trying to avoid getting involved in the crime syndicates that were threatening to form again. Noticeably, the Hutts had consolidated their power, even though it would be just a matter of time before they turned on each other. It still bought them the biggest share of the smuggling rings; you either worked for them, against them, or in-line with them.
Karrde had, regretfully, decided to work in-line with them; being the middleman to their supplies. It wasn’t a fast way to make profits, but it kept him from getting directly involved with the Hutts. And for some reason, they trusted him where others didn’t.
It was a long game that he had in mind, but Mara could play at this.
When chaos would be done, the Hutts would find themselves with very few friends, making enemies along the way.
Karrde would have to bend, in this new game, but in the end, he would emerge stronger than before. It had been suggested once or twice that he and Booster should make a formal alliance after this war and then both would be victorious and unstoppable…and most importantly, back on the road to being legitimate.
The only action that he probably regretted the most was to down the Wild Karrde inside the forest on Takodana, and fall under the protection of Maz Kanata. It would serve as a base, and keep people guessing as to where he was hiding.
But this seclusion came at a price. Karrde gave specific instructions for his crew not to visit the Castle, should they be seen and cause suspicion.
He had caught Mara coming back from the Castle one evening, though Karrde should have known better, and that she had her ways to find things out.
That escape gave her scraps of information but little beyond it. According to rumor, The Resistance had fled their base ahead of the Imperials that were searching the Hutt territory. Knowing that Leia Organa-Solo and her family had made it out safe allowed Mara to breathe a bit easier.
But now, there were other rumors flying. Rumors that had grown legs for some time but up until now, they had no possibility of being true; the most-concerning being that Luke Skywalker was the new Emperor, commanding the Imperial Fleet and calling on systems to join him.
Knowing the improbability was one thing, but it still left her with an uneasy question: if Luke wasn’t in control of the New Empire, then who was?
Mara exhaled slowly, still watching the dizzying stars race by, wishing to be anywhere than trapped in a cockpit.
She knew those rumors weren’t true, but then, like all good rumors, they were rooted in truth somehow.
So on her best behaviour for almost three weeks, Mara had managed to convince Karrde that she should be the one to make this delivery.
Being one of a handful people allowed to know this restricted information, gave her almost full access and a long enough leash to find what she needed.
Mara knew that she was being watched; Karrde never attended the loading of a freighter. He stood by and watched as she checked off the manifest. He checked and double checked her co-ordinates; even quizzed her on the details that couldn’t be inputted to the nav computer.
That’s why when she reached her first destination that she wasn’t surprised to find the homing beacon on the outer hull. Karrde was afraid that she was going to jump ship with the delivery and make a beeline for where the rumor had placed Skywalker.
Coruscant.
He was last placed on Coruscant, running missions to get senators, and their families, off the planet safely before the Imperial siege set in.
That would be the last place that Mara would be able to get in. The planet was under embargo and the Imperial blockade made sure of it.
She knew this because prices for goods to be shipped there had gone up ten times the going rate. There were a lot of smugglers who were either going to make their reputations on getting through or make their mark in the sky as they got blasted out.
It was the second homing beacon and the tracing program that Karrde had installed that she had suspected, and found, making her smile to herself. The first beacon was too easy to find and she was sure that even though it was hidden extremely well that Karrde would have taken other provisions.
Waking her from her thought, the proximity alert sounded on her data pad, starting the countdown as to when she should pull back on the levers to bring her out of hyperspace.
Ghent had wired a new interface into her data pad that allowed for her to re-route all the co-ordinates through the pad instead of the nav computer, less she should get boarded or impounded, she could take the portable and secure information with her; these two situations had been happening more and more frequently.
Mara pulled back on the levers when she felt the time was right; if she came out too soon, then she would have to put the ship on manual for too long her liking and coast to her destination.
The star-lines came to a halt, peacefully, and the little blue-green planet in front of her still seemed too far away, but such it was when using manual controls.
There was nothing she could do about the distance other than wait it out and keep heading to her destination.
Planetoid S4-315 was known to be habitable but as yet wasn’t claimed by any governing body. It had no resources that anyone wanted, and because it’s trajectory, it was out of communication alignment with most of the known services.
Those who knew about it just called by its code name, or by the moniker New Alderaan. And now, it was home to the band of Resistance fighters that had fled the Hutt world of Da Soocha.
Given that this region of the galaxy was almost foreign to her, Mara had spent time getting to know what little was written on the area.
The planetoid was too small for any sort of militarization, too far away to be affectual and although there was life readings, the population never concerned anyone.
It was perfect for Rebels, pirates and smugglers.
Thinking about all that could go wrong, Mara now wished that she had asked Maz Kanata to give her back Luke’s lightsaber; she would feel safer having it.
Grumbling to herself in the cockpit, she thought of her misguided attempts to construct a new lightsaber in the days after she felt the shift in Luke. It was just another act of desperation, but it felt like something that she could control, one thing that would keep control of her.
Only, it didn’t.
When she couldn’t sleep- which was often -Mara would go to her work bench and hover over the tiny components, directing her energy into making a new lightsaber.
The copy of Kenobi’s journal that Luke had given to her before he departed for Coruscant, had all the instructions inside it, along with Luke’s own notes.
When she first opened the instructions, Mara had to choke back her feelings at seeing his writing in the margins; the heartache had lanced her so hard, and without any expectation.
At the loneliness of missing him, at the rumor that he had been captured, at the loss of any valid information, only fueled on her anxiety.
When her exhaustion overtook her, that was when it started to unravel. There was even a night when she tried to convince herself that she didn’t love him, never loved him, never could have loved him; only to avoid feeling the sense of loss that she did when she felt the shift in him.
There was no reason to it; no way to explain to someone who couldn’t sense the Force. She tried explaining it to Karrde; a tipping of the scales…that’s what she had called it. The Dark Side had gotten stronger.
And it was more-evident when she tried to meditate; her mind wouldn’t allow her to see anything but death and destruction, leaving her with a chill that she just couldn’t shake.
Since then, Mara had tried not to touch the Force unless she needed to.
That, was the real reason that she failed each and every time that she tried to make her new weapon.
She hadn’t cut herself off from the Force, and she wasn’t hiding either, in case Luke would try and reach out to her, but she wasn’t reaching out, for fear of what she would find.
Yes, there was her other truth.
Mara was afraid of what had made Luke actually turn to the Dark side. Whatever made it possible would have had to been stronger than she was aware. If it had the power to turn him, then it would certainly have the power to turn her.
She had known that power, at one point in her life. It was the contempt for her victims that kept her going. It was a well in the pit of her soul that spurned her on, and it only got refueled when she received praise from her Master when a task was completed. Her Dark circle had no end, but it also had no roots.
Contempt could masquerade as hatred but it wasn’t well-founded. Her aggression and passion were only for the praise that she sought and desperately wanted.
She could admit that she had only felt true un-abiding hatred twice in her life; once, when she had blamed Luke for her downfall, and second when she learned the truth of all of Palpatine’s lies.
She still wasn’t consumed by the Dark Side, as some might have been, but she certainly did linger under its cloud for the majority of her life.
Luke…Luke had become her light… the way out. He had awoken in her something that she thought was dead and could never be recessitated. Her numbness had started to lift, and she could feel things that she never felt before. Surprisingly, she had even learned how to love…him, of all people.
The blue-green planet was closer now, and she guided the craft to coast to the correct hemisphere of where she needed to go. Latching onto the only beacon in the area, she sent the correct codes across, announcing her arrival. By planetary time, it should be just after midday on their solar cycle.
Soon, she would be with the only other person who could sympathize with her.
Loving Luke felt wonderful and awful at the same time. As glorious as being with him felt, at the back of her mind, Mara always believed that the time would come when she would be punished for all that she felt for him. It was a constant ‘check over your shoulder’ type of feeling that she could never shake.
But nevertheless, she chose to love him.
She wanted to feel his reassuring kiss; the touch of his skin on hers. She yearned for him physically, wanting the chaos around to cease for the moments that they could be together. It surprised her on how much she had come to rely on his presence and knowing that they would be together…. How much she loved him; thoroughly and utterly in love with Luke Skywalker; like the world would end without him.
And how she could not be so affected by feeling the change in him; like they were connected, that their meeting was not just some random occurrence.
A year ago, Mara would have hated it, hated herself for feeling this way. But since revealing her love to him, it had been more than she had ever thought to hope for. It wasn’t the pitiful experience that she thought it would be. All her life, she had never thought that she would want a relationship like this, nor did she think that she was capable of having one.
Now, she couldn’t think of herself of being without it, being without him.
Missing him now was getting harder and harder by the day. Routinely, she had to pull memories of him just to be able to get as little sleep; remembering their guided meditation dreaming.
It wasn’t as effective without him- but it was something.
The controls on the Headhunter shuddered as she approached the atmosphere. She checked the distance inside the gravity well, and saw that the pull was larger than she thought and adjusted her controls again to allow for the difference.
The Headhunter ducked underneath the clouds of the atmosphere to reveal more detail about the planet.
Lowering down, it could skim over the terrain and follow the co-ordinates in.
As she got closer, Mara felt it; she could feel the itch in her senses crawling up her neck.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling to her; Luke could feel the same way when he was unhappy about something. If Mara was sensing his sister, then there’s no reason as to why Leia would be any different from her brother.
And why shouldn’t the former princess be tense? She had every reason to be.
Pinnacle Base on Da Soocha was evacuated rather quickly, causing the Resistance leaders to go scurrying for cover. It was about to be flushed out by an advantageous Hutt with no morals.
The rumor was that Organa-Solo went into labor shortly sometime after that. Now, in fear of her life, her family’s lives, and her brother’s…Leia went to hide among the people she knew and trusted.
New Alderaan was their haven; a secret colony, named for the former world, and used different synonyms to protect its hiding place.
With her hands on the controls, Mara was satisfied that she would make the delivery and get the answers that she came for. At least, she hoped that she would get them; she hoped that Leia would have the answers. But there was always the possibility that that she was just as much in the dark as Mara.
Lowering the Headhunter still, she was coming up on the where the landing pad should be. Odd, that there seemed to be no technology around; the life-form readings spiked but not dramatically so; there was definitely a congregation of people down there.
In a clearing of forest, a landing pad appeared.
Mara sent out her senses; soft, like the tendrils that she used to use when she spoke to Luke.
Reaching back with frantic recognition; Leia floundered for a delicate touch, but achieved it nonetheless. And there was something else.
Mara frowned as she flew the Headhunter towards the pad.
The rumors were right. She could sense another presence with Leia; a little mind, unable to process complexed thoughts, but an entity that had life-force of its own.
Sighing, Mara grinned briefly, thinking about the little mind; this was probably Obiwan, the new addition to the Organa-Solo household.
It should be a time of celebrating. It should be a happy time for a growing family; but it wasn’t. However, Mara got the feeling that her visit was a welcomed one.
The Headhunter touched down and it was efficient to watch how the ground crew rushed to throw a canopy over the landing pad, covering the freighter and the very existence that there was even a base here. Suddenly that explained the lack of appearance of any technology on her scopes if they were using camo-web dampening .
Mara walked to aft section to release the cargo hold. She shimmied in between the containers as the Headhunter was packed to the brim of supplies and blaster parts. Food and artillery were priorities for the makes-shift army.
She pushed the first of the palettes onto the lift and it began to lower as she rode it down to the ground.
Waiting was the ground crew; their general sense was that they were in desperate need of this delivery.
She may have been holed-up on Takodana for the past month, but it didn’t escape Mara’s perspective that rations were on the short-side here, and everywhere.
During the previous war, she had seen the remnants of many Rebel bases, and then, it looked like they weren’t in want of anything. In some case, they had too much and had to leave it behind as they made a run for it.
It was apparent that as the war dragged on, those resources depleted themselves with every evacuation.
And here, the equipment looked old, and the volunteers looked old too; like they had seen this all before.
The battle wasn’t directly in front of them. It was still in the far-reaches of the galaxy.
Mara brought her hand up as she watched a transport take off to the sky from an adjacent pad; the after-burn glowed before it shot off into the distance.
One of the grounds crew approached her for the manifest, which she handed over happily, along with the controls to the lift.
When she looked back up, familiar faces were standing on the sidelines, just watching.
Han Solo didn’t bother to smile, but as Mara walked towards him, she could see the tension around his eyes relax.
“Solo” she said with a nod as she came within earshot of him. “Chewbacca.” She regarded the Wookie.
“Jade” he replied with a twitch of his cheek, and tilt of his head asked her to follow him.
The Wookie gave her a hook of his chin and a low rumble in greeting.
It was a sombre greeting but a fitting one; Solo was not the type of person to try and make you feel at ease if he wasn’t.
He turned and led her away; she hastened her steps as Chewbacca followed behind her. She got the distinct feeling that even he was on edge too.
In silence, they passed several people; running in different directions. It seemed that everyone here had more than one job, and it took swift action to see that the job got done.
Contrary to her estimation, she was sure that the landing pad was small and only accommodated smaller shipments. As she followed Solo, she could see how wrong she was.
The canopy was actually made up of many canopies linked together and several larger ships were covered by it, crammed together; including the Millennium Falcon.
When it appeared that no one else was around, Mara thought it safe to speak. She hurried her steps and fell in line with Solo.
“I hear that you made it out ahead of time, and that congratulations are in order.” She murmured over.
In her senses, she could feel that he was indeed happy with the new arrival, but not happy with the circumstances.
“We were lucky.” Han murmured right back.
She could also feel his overall unhappiness regarding where they were, in the here and now.
Mara couldn’t blame him, to go from living in a palace, assuming your family was protected to going to this, was not something that she would wish on anyone.
Then, he said something that she would have never expected from him.
“You felt it?” He asked, his blank tone didn’t change. “You felt…Luke?”
Stopping in her stride, she wasn’t prepared for this, not yet.
Solo stopped and turned to face her; Mara looked up and met his eyes, seeing all that she needed to.
“Yes.” She said, unflinching.
He nodded once, turned and kept walking.
Mara followed quickly beside him.
It must have been difficult for him to understand it; not being Force-sensitive either, but surrounded by them. How confusing to try and explain what had happened.
To be honest, Mara wasn’t even sure that she could describe it.
Solo was quiet for the rest of the trip to their quarters, but she could sense his somber mood, if not, the entire base’s mood.
He paused at a doorway, and pressed the release. Ducking his head, he led the way inside.
Chewbacca stayed outside the door as Mara walked passed. He seemed pleased taking up a guard position for those he protected.
It wasn’t much, but the shelter had walls, and amenities.
Looking uncomfortable, and unsure as what to say or do next, Mara decided to let him off the hook now that they were alone.
“Han…” she said softly. “How are the twins?” She asked; trying to be part of the family.
He looked a little shocked that she had used his first name and then caught on that she was trying for his benefit.
“They’re asleep right now.” He mumbled. “Leia is resting too.”
“No, she’s not.” Mara replied. “She’s waiting to see me.”
He snorted quietly, and his lip twitched, almost forming his lopsided smile. Han knew better than to delay this meeting and the outcome might not be entirely unpleasant if Mara could help Leia.
Leading the way, inside the small dwelling, Han stopped at what made for a door. He rapped gently, and then pushed it aside, allowing Mara to enter by herself.
The room was dimly lit and the former princess sat upright in the cot that they tried to make into a comfortable bed.
Still looking dignified, Leia smiled gracefully over to the smuggler.
“Hi” Mara smiled and mouthed, just in case a baby was sleeping.
Leia visibly sighed. “It’s good to see you.” She whispered, and then patted the side of the cot, asking the other woman to come closer. “He just went down.” Leia said quietly as she looked over to the bassinette beside the bed.
Mara took the opportunity to walk around first and gaze down.
Asleep, on his back, with no cares in the world, the baby slept soundly; his tiny hands clutched at nothing, vibrant pink lips pursed at the open air, and just tufts of dark brown wisps of hair on top of his head.
A few more moments Mara watched, slightly envious; envious to be able to sleep like that, and envious for the new life.
“How old?” She asked, still watching the little one.
The rumor was that there had been an addition, but no further details.
“Nine days… give or take.” Leia said.
“Obiwan Solo?” Mara asked.
“Ben…” Leia corrected her.
Looking over, Mara smiled. “He’s beautiful.” She whispered.
Nodding, Leia looked proud, but tired.
Rounding back from the cot, Mara sat down on the far edge from the other woman.
“It took longer than the twins.” Leia spoke softly. “There were complications… he was early, and the medic thought that he might be a breach birth too… but then he turned himself around in the end.”
For all the trouble, the mother still looked over lovingly at the infant.
“I wish that I had brought something.” Was all Mara could think of to say.
Leaning, Leia reached over and patted her hand. “You did.”
Mara smirked. She thought about it for a moment, and wondered if Leia could use some practice. Sending out her senses, she relaxed and touched the other mind. <<You look tired…are you alright?>>
Jarred, Leia looked over to her sharply, unaccustomed to hearing another’s voice in her head. Swallowing, the Resistance leader let her eyes flutter, trying for that extra bit of concentration.
Mara could feel the intense push against her senses, and then it was like a giant wave that flooded over, feeling everything all at once. She stood up and stepped back; as a reflex, she covered her ears, for no other reason than she thought it could block out the noise.
The baby stirred; coughing and whimpering.
Leia gasped and looked over to make sure that everything was alright; and pulling back her senses, she soothed the little one.
Coming back, Mara sat back down to show her that she was off-put. “I guess we know what you need to work on.” She mumbled.
Leia’s shoulders dropped, disappointed in herself. “I’ve been meaning to practice.”
Nodding, Mara excused the bombardment. “It could have been worse…Luke used to do it without warning me.”
She simply nodded a reply, and looking down.
It was the bantha in the room; Mara had said the name that she swore that she was going to wait for the other woman to mention.
“Luke.” Leia exhaled, closing her eyes.
Without even trying, the room seemed to get darker as both of them knew what had happened; both could feel the other’s heart ache.
Ben whimpered again, as if sharing in the pain.
The room was silent, but Leia’s eyes said it all; sad and avoiding contact.
Finally, she was able to summon the words. “What do you know?” Leia asked; her eyes now turned up, looking determined and prepared.
It was Mara’s turn to look away; she never saw more similarities between the Skywalker twins as when they were being determined.
“I don’t know much more than you do…” Mara murmured. “I felt the change in him, but I don’t know why or how.”
Leia nodded. She started off slowly. “He was on Coruscant and they had almost completed the last evacuation. Lando told me that Luke might have figured that they were after him specifically because they brought in an AT-AT. And for Lando, it confirmed it when they didn’t come for the evacuees after they had Luke in custody.”
She sat quietly, but Mara’s eyes went wide as she listened; Luke had told her about the AT-AT attack on Ovanis… and then, the Star Destroyer that was set to capture him on Mustafar.
The smuggler swallowed hard, unsure if his sister was aware. “They…the Imperials, have been after him for a while.”
Leia dropped her head. “I know.” She whispered. “It was like the time, after Yavin, like a search, just for him, and only him.”
“Lando said that Luke surrender to them…so that the rest of the team could get away.” Leia finished. “Luke went with them…willingly.”
Mara got up from the edge of the cot and stalked a few paces. Doshing Jedi, she cursed… stupid, stupid man!
She turned back to look at his sister; she was expecting to see worry and concerning, but what she saw confirm her own valid feelings. Leia was no less angered at her brother for doing something that reckless and needless in the moment.
Leia sat with her eyes looking out at nothing until she started to relax. Blinking a few times before she turned her head, she hesitated on her next words.
“And then, I felt it.”
Mara nodded; there were no other words from what could have described that moment. A rip, a schism, a shift, a tear, a break, a split – were all very good words but still couldn’t describe it.
Inhaling deeply, she could finally say what she had avoided saying out loud to anyone. “I felt him turn…to the Dark side.” Mara said quietly.
Leia’s head dropped again, nodding and then her shoulders shuddered.
Walking over, Mara came back to sit on the edge of the cot.
“I should have never let him go back.” Leia said. “I had the reports in my hands of massing starships. I had the reports that were using his code name again and again. The directives that were coming from Imperial command.”
“There just no logic to it…as to why they wanted him so badly.” Leia rambled. “It didn’t make sense. I used to believe it was all just a revenge tactic… to strike a blow at morale…to destroy Luke would have been to destroy Hope itself.”
“But it wasn’t…isn’t.” The princess corrected herself. “There’s a play here…to win something…to gain something. I can feel it.”
Mara just simply nodded; it did feel like something was beyond this action, but without her connections, she couldn’t put all of the pieces together yet.
Leia looked at the other woman sharply. “There’s more.” She said, in a voice that reminded Mara of the Chancellor of the Republic rather than a sister or friend.
“There have been sightings of him.” Leia said.
Instead of adding in, Mara just nodded her head; yes, she had heard these rumors too. Luke was the head of the new Empire…
“…on Byss.” Leia finished.
That snapped Mara’s mind away from refuting anything. “Byss?” She repeated.
Nodding, Leia confirmed what she had just said. “In those same reports…” She paused. “We have visual confirmation of Luke…and what appears to be… Palpatine.”
Mara stood up and directly pointed at the other woman. “No.” Her tone was harsh and her words were fast. “It isn’t Him. I would have felt it. I would have known. Luke would have told me somehow by now… and he hasn’t… So it may be a clone…It may be Irek masquerading…but it’s not…”
Leia nodded reluctantly, seeing the reaction in her friend.
“It’s not.” Mara repeated strongly. “It’s not.” She repeated again, almost hearing a quiver in her own voice.
The fear, and then the possibility that it could be Palpatine was all too real for Mara to even truly consider.
She could feel her sides start to shake, and she hugged herself to keep the cracks in her composure from showing. She feared that exhaustion and the façade that she had put in place to make this trip possible, were starting to show.
The deafening silence in the room was cut by the wail of the infant in the bassinette beside his mother.
Leia turned in the direction of her new-born son to calm and soothe the child. Whispering sweet words, in the way only a mother could, she picked up the infant to shield him from the emotions in the room.
Mara stood back and watched, realizing that it was her feelings that had interrupted the baby’s rest. “I’m sorry.” She said sympathetically. Shaking her head, Mara came closer after she tried to reach out in her Force aura, knowing that it had soothed the twins before.
Leia must have sensed it too, and looked up at her, rocking the baby in her arms. “It’s not your fault.” She replied. “He’s just very sensitive to the changes around him.”
Mara came back to look at the innocent baby; so fragile, so small.
“He was reacting to anything and everything when I was pregnant.” Leia explained. “This conflict… this war has made him even more-sensitive.”
She shook her head, still rocking the little one. “The twins take consolation in each other…and somehow, Han is able to soothe them better than I could.” She looked down, feeling pity for the boy, and responsible with all the love of a mother. “Ben feels…alone.”
Mara was now determined to relax her mind and help calm the baby. She inhaled, and then sent her feelings across, mentally playing with color in the baby’s mind. Luke had shown her this method; it required no words, no deep thoughts other than to concentrate on the waves of color.
Leia looked up at her as the baby started to settle, also feeling the sensation. “Where did you learn to do that?” She asked quietly.
With a tight grin, and holding back her own feelings of loneliness, Mara replied. “Luke.”
Leia nodded, and returned the tight grin. They were both aware of the affect that the Jedi had on their lives.
As Ben allowed himself to be put back to sleep, Leia offered him over to the other woman. “Do you want to hold him?”
Mara looked surprised that she would be trusted with the child, and held up her hands and shook her head. The baby was just too new; what if she did something to hurt him…her feelings had already upset him.
Leia seemed to accept her reaction, and turned to place Ben back in his bassinette.
Peering over, Mara did watch as he returned back to his sleeping position. She sighed to see that her affect didn’t stay with him.
Both women stayed enthralled by the sleeping infant; their peace fed into his peace, and so on.
It was a welcomed distraction, one that Mara wished she could stay in for longer, but she knew the new rules of the temporary base. Staying too long or showing activity could tip off anyone in the area as to an unchartered settlement.
Mara reached over to stoke the cheek of the infant by means of bidding the baby farewell.
In that instant, Leia reached out, clutching the other woman’s hand, and sending out her feelings. <// Please? Please help find Luke?//> She begged.
They back away in unison from the bassinette.
Looking into the eyes of desperation of his sister, Mara nodded, knowing that she had her own reasons for wanting to find the Jedi.
Leia seemed to relax when she got the assurance that Mara would try to help, by the means that she was able.
But the smuggler could see that her visit was taxing on the other woman, and made her quiet departure with pleasantries.
Walking back through the compound, her mind started to work; what was the best method and how she would go about getting through the forces at Byss.
Mara was half way up the ramp to be inside the Headhunter when she heard his voice behind her.
“Leia told you, huh?” Han Solo asked.
Mara turned around to come down a few steps, looking at him. “Yes.” She answered simply.
“About Byss?” He asked.
She got the feeling that he wanted to take off with her and bring Luke back from wherever he was.
“Yes.” She replied without any preamble.
“So what are you planning to do about it?” Solo asked, probably already guessing the answer.
Mara looked into his eyes, unflinching. “Oh, you know.” She said firmly, not wavering, her voice clear and resolute.
He shook his head once, knowing that she was crazy for evening thinking it. But then nodded, as knowing it was the only solution. “That I do.” Solo replied.
Neither of them was much for words; words meant nothing, actions did.
He looked away once and then back at her, knowing the only words that would have any meaning to them, holding the fate of the mission that she gave herself. Solo dared to utter them. “Jade, May the Force be with you.”
Giving her a hap-hazard salute, he turned and walked away.
Mara watched him go back inside the makeshift base before she turned and head into the cockpit.
**
Hyperspace: in the Deep Core Region
It took almost two days, and two jumps to reach the Core.
In that time, Mara used all the information that she assemble to form her her plan. If Luke was there, then she was going to find him and bring him with her.
Her first stop was Neimoidia. In the Colonies Ring, she knew that there was an active spy unit. They weren’t loyal to anyone unless you had the credits.
A payoff for information, a payoff for the supplies that she would need, and one more payoff for the instructions that she needed to get her there, bought Mara all that she would require.
Reading through the sliced security files, gave her more details about the attack on Coruscant.
The Imperials, always one to keep files, reported exactly what she knew.
The city hub of Corusta, in the shadow of the Manarai Mountains, was under lockdown, due to suspicious activity in the area. As the ban was about to be lifted, orders came to prepare for a large-scale ground assault, without directive or determined target.
It was unclear under whose authority that the orders were given, but it seemed to be largely based of insight and without reason to those that had filed the report.
But Mara understood. So many times, she had made orders under her instincts in the Force, without any cause or reasoning to those around her.
If there was another Force-user in play, this would make perfect sense.
The report outlined the attack by troopers and AT-AT; it seemed to be an elevated response to the rumor of just one person, and then it was revealed that it was the Jedi, Luke Skywalker as their intended target.
Had this been one event, it would have been out of place. But in the weeks leading up to this, the new Imperial infraction had made several attempts to capture him.
From the report, Mara was sure that Luke had sacrificed himself, knowing he was being hunted, to save the innocent lives that were with him.
She grumbled under her breath for that one. It never ceased to amaze her just how selfless he could be; to the point of destroying himself in the process.
In truth, she knew that she should see it as admirable, but at the cost of the bigger picture, she just saw it as a waste.
You live to fight another day. Pick and choose your battles.
She had to hide herself on her missions, for the greater good of accomplishing what she needed to. There were sacrifices that needed to occur, both lives and property, but in the end, in served a purpose that was higher than self-preservation.
Yes, it made her cold to the lives that were around her. It made her jaded to the value of life, but it always resulted in success.
Luke, on the other hand, acted in the moment, not seeing past what was occurring. He could sacrifice himself today, but what would be the result tomorrow? He would end the fighting momentarily but the fighting would still continue with or without him. What did he gain? -nothing.
Although she loved him, she was beginning to resent him and his actions.
Her second stop was inside the Deep Core Region. As close as she could get to Byss, without actually entering the System. She stopped on Relus, the only other planet in the area that shared the same pulsating sun as Byss, Beshqek.
It was from this sun that gave the whole system a general uneasiness.
Byss and Relus had closed themselves off to outsiders since the before the forming of the Galactic Empire. Both worlds had riches that didn’t need any help from the outside planets.
They allowed themselves to fall under the rule of the Empire by sheer obliging will. They had thought that the new Empire was the latest form of regency and regality that they liked.
The last time that Mara had been in the system, she was onboard one of the Super Star Destroyers, Eclipse, touring with the Imperial Regatta.
Liana was a special guest of the Emperor, dancing nightly for those dignitaries that were falling under the spell of the Imperial might.
But Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand, was aboard, collecting information on the guests that she would then turn over to her Master; including the details of those who were receiving bribes from senators who harboured Rebel splinter cells.
Now on Relus, she could recall the same feelings that she was having now. The whole system felt like a pressure cooker for her; pressing in against her Force senses.
When she had first experienced it, the Emperor scoffed at her discomfort and berated her for not being strong enough in the Force to be securely immersed in it. He questioned her loyalty which only made her defensive and furthered her desire to prove her worth.
As the regatta came closer, the Emperor took a select few to join him on Byss; she was not included.
Later, she found out why.
The planet, with the radio activity from the pulsating sun, had become an amplifier for Dark energy. Those who had meager Force talents would experience heighten powers. The Emperor was rewarding them, in a sense, by showing them what they were capable of.
Stopping at Relus was bringing back all her memories of the area. This was as far as she had come to Byss the last time she was here.
It served no other purpose than to check that her cover and her sources still worked. There was nothing to buy or acquire here; doing so would only tip off the authorities to unusual purchases.
The other purpose was that, for the first time in weeks, in her senses, Mara could feel him.
Luke was alive, somewhere in this system; Byss was less than three light-years away. As they were once able to test the limits of their communication abilities; she knew that the distance was within their scope.
She didn’t dare contact him, or reach out. If he was on their side, if he was compromised, she had no clue if he was going to be with, or against her.
And besides, what state was he in? She asked herself.
The Dark Side had found him, but it didn’t need to search far for him; it felt like Luke had welcomed it, succumbing to the constant pull that tugged at him during every waking hour.
The shroud had descended on the galaxy and shift had been felt in the exact moment when Luke turned.
During the time that had led up to her current trip , Mara shook her head, remembering how pathetic she had become.
That night- that same night that Luke turned, she had begged Karrde to let her go. She pleaded to him, even before the sun rose. Crying before him, Karrde reached out and held her firmly, rocking her to calm her.
He was right not to let her go immediately. Karrde pointed out that she didn’t have all the details and trying to find Luke without a plan was reckless and counter-productive. It would be futile to act when she didn’t have all the information that she would need. For once, someone else had the perspective that she needed.
Mara cringed when she thought she wanted to act with her heart instead of her head.
Instead, Karrde waited until he could arrange for her to make a delivery to the new Resistance Base on New Alderaan. Letting her go, only after he was sure that her emotional state was back in place, and knowing it was the only way for Mara to find more answers.
Leaving Relus, felt like she was closer to accomplishing more than she had in the past few weeks; she had a plan and the resources to execute it.
Pulling out of hyperspace, Mara was approaching Byss at the beginning of their night cycle, but she also knew that she would be entering a system that was a war zone.
All Imperial-held systems were war zones. She had experience with this sort procedure; it was familiar and rote.
The star lines came to a halt as she pulled back on the levers, and the little freighter shook as it came out into an unexpected debris field.
What came as a surprise was the amount of Star Destroyers massing in one area.
Unlike a regatta, these ships were not leisurely floating in orbit around the planet, like they used to, around the Death Star. These ships were on high alert.
The armada of fleet ships would have once instilled an amount of pride in her. Now, Mara only saw them with distain. She wouldn’t admit to anyone, but part of her wished she feel that pride again; she wanted to feel like belonging to something bigger than herself, she had sadly missed it.
The nearest Star Destroyer hailed the Headhunter and asked for the proper identification and recognition codes. As a registered Imperial Importer, her false ID gave permission to land, with very little question, and only paused to check her credentials.
Byss might be closed system, but the residents still wanted the supplies from their home-worlds, and a registered importer would gladly be welcomed.
From what Mara knew, and from what she could learn about the current situation, Byss was extremely secretive system, and dislike foreigners; they were courting the Emperor’s favor and found it acceptable to host Him, giving Him a royal residence for His convenience.
Aside from the Regatta, she knew that the Emperor would take regular sabbaticals here. Since her presence wasn’t needed, she had decided read up on the customs and culture in the area, for the eventually that she knew that she would need that information.
As the Headhunter made its approach, Mara could feel the change start to come over her. She was sure it was the effect of the long-standing Dark side. Inside the cockpit, the fear, the anxiety was manifesting as a twittering in her stomach, and the shadow increased. She wondered if Luke could sense her from here but dared not to try until she could control herself and her environment.
Pinpointing the nearest spaceport to what she presumed would be the Imperial Palace, the freighter touched down easily.
Mara raced to shut down the controls and get as far away from the freighter as possible. The twittering in her senses was now like a constant nagging that the world was about to descend on her.
Gathering her gear, Mara started to question what type of mission did she think that she was on. Was she here to get Luke and bring him back to the fold? Was she here to fight her own demons that still plagued her from her former life? Was she here for his benefit or hers?
At the hatch, she paused, feeling another shiver over her senses, a sweep that she was sure was purposeful but chose to ignore it as a distraction.
The air was heavy, she noticed. It was somewhat stale, and odd fragrances of food drifted on the wind. She sealed the ship and left to join the general populace among the corridors and avenues of this unusual world. Covering herself with her deep brown velvet cloak, she drew the hood close, over her flaming hair.
Byss was affluent, for a closed-in society. The population kept their wealth secluded. Much akin to Coruscant, Byss was heavily populated, and its glory still shone bright. The buildings and homes were stately and decorated in lush swirling colours of violet, teal and an eerie green.
Her feelings fit with the peculiar glow of the city. Her anxiety had now evolved into an ever-present headache.
Mara wrapped her cloak tighter around herself in order to stop shivering from the cold. No, on second observation, the air wasn’t cold, but cold had permeated her skin just the same. She pushed her feelings aside-- they were not going to interfere with her mission.
Pulling her hood a little further down towards her face; this was going to be one of those worlds where she would be recognized immediately. The citizens of this planet were aloof and wary of those who didn’t fit into their standards.
Mara walked the streets with cautious impunity, as keeping with her character would behave, blending in. The corridors were busy and bustling, even for later in the day. Moving in and out of the other pedestrians, she was headed towards what would be, presumable her lodgings.
In a moment of weakness, her thoughts broke through her concentration.
Luke, she called out in desperation with her mind, where are you?
Suddenly, a shroud of the Force came around her.
<Leave!>
The order came through her like she had been struck by lightning. Emotion and over-whelming fear shot into her.
Stunned, Mara stopped in her tracks, clutching her chest, breathing hard, fighting to stay upright, and fighting for consciousness.
It wasn’t going to sit well with her ego if she were to faint in this public place, even where she knew no one and no one knew she was here.
Taking a few deep breaths, she stayed grounded enough to move over to side, letting others pass, and holding on to the nearest support. She watched from under her hood as the crowd went by without so much as noticing her.
It was him!
Luke! Her heart cried, but she dared not to call out.
Her heart leapt, knowing that she had sensed him, and he had sensed her. It was relief and anguish at the same time.
A wash of anger at him caught her off-guard. Why shouldn’t she be angry with him for doing something as stupid as allowing himself to be captured.
But now was not the place for further examination. Surely, her reactions would be out of the ordinary and target her as different.
The hotel was only a few blocks away and she was determined to make it there.
It had scared her; she felt his fear, his struggle, his anger, and moreover, it was directed at her.
She had felt his emotional struggles before, but she had never been the root of it. It was unnerving to be at the center of that storm within him.
It was extreme and raw, but then, Luke always felt things intensely. It irritated her that she usually felt them too, especially whenever he was near.
As a person who had been numb to such things for most of her life, Mara was still learning not to find them unpleasant and uncomfortable.
The stoic had it easy. Why would anyone want to feel things when they could have the option not to?
She could blame it on him, but she could also lay the blame on herself.
Training with him had put a crack in the wall. Removing her implant on Roche was the final step to agreeing that she wanted to learn how to feel again; she wanted to be normal.
On Roche, the surgeon had removed the tiny locator implant from her lower spine, she had discovered its true intent. She had always been told that it was to locate her corpse, should she ever go missing. However, tests proved that the device was also sending trace amounts of testosterone and adrenaline into her bloodstream, causing her bouts of insomnia, anxiety and aggression; suppressing any true emotions that she could possibly feel.
The second step proved to be another matter entirely. Her special-forces tattoo was located on her left foot, between her toes, a small Imperial insignia that had been stamped into her body with titanium ink. No one, legitimate or otherwise, would chance removing it. It was going to be her mark for the rest of her life.
Her last step to becoming “normal” was to have her reproductive system reinstated. Years of being chemically sterilized had done their damage and this was all an attempt to start a new life.
After having the implant removed, she slowly felt her anxieties recede, and sleep had returned to her. But the sleep had been restless.
Her growing Force abilities, awakened by Luke, had caused her more trouble than assistance.
With her mind clearer than it had ever been, she was able to experience Force visions when she meditated.
She could see things so vividly and in precise detail…but that was then… this was now, after the shift.
If she tried to meditate, her mind wouldn’t allow her to go to the place that she needed to see. It wouldn’t allow peace and tranquility to come to her.
If she was able to set her mind, Darkness would invade her visions, converting her into someone she did not recognize. A shadow in the distance ordered her total obedience, and she gave it, with terror in her heart.
Visions of tall beings, dark corridors and ominous figures haunted her mind. A mocking laughter and a presence eluded her search. Among all these images was Luke, begging for help, yet rejecting it.
These images had caused her to wake screaming and sweat-stained from her meditative state, but also with the lingering urgency that she needed to find him.
She knew that she had seen Byss before in her visions.
The planet had the same inner glow that did not sit well in her consciousness.
The green glow of the city suddenly irked her, as the tall citizens rushed past her, in their high collars, heavy cloaks and sleek green skin.
Outsiders were extremely noticeable and, as she took note, extremely rare.
The distance between her ship and the hotel wasn’t great, but she could count on one hand how many human and non-Byssians she had seen on her way there.
The hotel was clean and quiet, and check-in was relatively painless, yet her growing fear, that at any given moment, a squadron of Stormtroopers was about to descend on her, would not leave. She looked around the empty lobby and silently agreed to herself that she would spend her nights and days with a blaster close at hand.
The room was small but sufficient.
In the ‘fresher, she took the off-chance and looked at her own reflection.
Her green eyes looked faded and worn-down.
Her hair was still vibrant and it shone as she removed her hood; it had grown past her chin since the unfortunate haircut that she was forced to give herself, and she could now pull it back in a functional manner.
Her cheeks had sunken in and she knew that she had lost weight since she had lost contact with Luke.
Mara reached up to her hair, and stroked what ends had escaped her braid, remembering how Luke loved to look at it, and stroke it whenever he got the chance.
She closed her eyes, and thought of the hot sun from their shared dream-visions, she needed the warmth from the vision now; like a sunset, he had described it once.
Oh Luke… she allowed herself to pine for him where no one could see.
With a jolt of pain, she felt her muscles seize up, and she gripped the edge the counter, gasping.
<I said, Leave!>
Mara, never to be the one to shrink away from one of their fights, was struck by her own reactionary anger. Angered by her lack of control, when her breath returned to her, she reached out again and yelled into the empty air, “I’m not leaving until I see you!”
No reply.
“I can find you, you know…” Her voice lowered, and she tried to keep her courage in the face of his possible reaction, feeling like lunatic, talking to the air. “You’re easy to find on a world full of green-skins and non-sensitives…”
<Leave… >
The shock hit her again, only this time the sense was of him begging, not ordering.
Oh Gods, please leave… the words, coming from him, weren’t formed, but she could sense their intention.
Desperate, Mara reached out, wanting to find his sense again, realising just how much she had missed it while they were apart.
But he was gone. Sheltering, shielding. She could help but feel rebuffed by his abilities; after all the attempts that she had tried to teach him how to shield, he chose now to actually use it.
Something had taken hold of him. Something his sister either forgot to mention or refused to discuss.
It was not going to be a restful night.
Mara had decided that she wasn’t going to sleep; there was no point to it. She didn’t trust the planet and she didn’t trust the room.
Instead, she used survival techniques and crouched in a corner of the room all night, allowing herself to doze in thirty minute increments, keeping herself alert.
At the break of dawn, she dressed in a grey bodysuit, fixed her blaster into its sleeve holster, another blaster rested on her right hip and a set of vibroblades in her boots. Admittedly, this would be the point at which she would attach a lightsaber, if she had one.
Mara draped her cloak around her shoulders and left her room. According to her chrono it was very early in the morning, even for the citizens of Byss. The streets were empty, which gave her a good chance to get the lay of the land.
The buildings seemed cleaner somehow, almost cheery, if they were to stand anywhere else but here. It was an opulent city to say the least.
The sun was beginning to rise through the orange clouds, it cast a shadow over the buildings, causing the outer walls to glow, and increasing the uneasy feeling inside her.
Just then, a feeling came over her; she was being watched. No, the street was being watched.
Mara’s eyes covered the avenue, trying to find the area or thing out of place. Nothing moved, nothing stirred.
She held her breath and listened.
Not a sound.
Unconvinced of her safety, she moved from the unprotected openness of the avenue to an adjacent alleyway. She felt it again, more intense than before, as if the world was going to topple on her. Then she heard it…
The unmistakable sounds of marching; the rhythmic steps in military precision beating like the rhythm of her heart.
She pressed her body up against the wall, hiding in the shadows, watching what could and would come down the street.
The footsteps approached, getting louder, and she recognized the steps before they came into view.
Stormtroopers.
But why? Byss wasn’t under siege.
A small squadron would be easy to follow. They were obviously out on a perimeter patrol.
What was the perimeter they were protecting?
Cautiously, Mara followed behind them, ducking into alleys and doorways.
Like most patrols, they were only concerned with what lay ahead of them and would only pause at intersections of the street to check their position. In other words, a serious patrol would exhibit more suspicion, more force.
When it was decided that their circle was complete, the squadron marched in unison toward the large fortress.
The Citadel-- its high towers and impressive walls rooted the city’s glory. The majesty of such a grand fortress was not lost on Mara’s sense of aesthetics. As she followed the syncopated troopers, her senses tingled—Luke was near.
Rather than reach out for him again and be shunned, she watched the squadron march toward the side gate of one of the towers. The bright white armoured column led the way to a possible entrance.
If Luke was in there, she was going to find him.
The structures on Byss were ancient, and an accessible rooftop allowed her to get the perspective to observe the procession with relative protection.
However, Mara wasn’t as arrogant to think that a human wouldn’t generate any suspicion if her movements wouldn’t alert any spies to her present position.
So she waited, albeit somewhat impatiently, for the streets to experience new life, as the city awoke, before she decided to move.
As the street population swelled and citizens swept by her, she infiltrated herself into their movements to hide her own. Walking in perfect step among their tall silhouettes, she was able to follow the path taken by the perimeter guard around to the far side of the Citadel.
From her perspective, it was the most-obvious path into, and out of, the Citadel. But she could also see that the Citadel stood as its own protection; no outer guards were visible, which meant that all security was within the building.
Mara moved swiftly among the crowd still, keeping shrouded with shadows, making sure that if there was a watchful eye upon her, it would have difficulty locating her.
Luckily, the path of the pedestrians led directly around the Citadel, letting her observe the building as a tourist might, all while gaining some insight.
Speeders and transports were coming and going without pause from a lower entrance, which meant lax in outer security; it was too tempting not to take.
She knew standard Imperial procedure in a place like this. Byss and its Citadel must have felt truly felt safe, above reproach or attack. She had seen it on other worlds; with the right credentials, she could pass almost without question.
A stop at the nearest spaceport to procure a speeder and a change of clothing, and Mara was confident that at this level she would be able to make her way to the very breeches of the Citadel.
As per procedure, she slid her acquired speeder to a halt, as an import officer approached.
With the tones of a man who felt he was much superior then the position he was placed in, he demanded her identification. Gladly, Mara handed it over with a gentle smile masking her true intent.
It simply stated her name and occupation; Tiantra Sonep; registered Imperial importer.
She knew it was a good forgery; its price was high enough to ensure that it was not a bad one.
Dismissively, before he directed her to a docking station, he laboriously repeated the protocol procedures to her. Patiently, Tiantra Sonep listened to them.
Mara Jade, however, was trying her best effort to keep her senses about her; the resounding pressure had intensified since arriving.
She had her back-story prepared. She was to meet with the Procurement Officer in charge of obtaining a source for Coaxium fuel; Commander Celex was expecting her.
After docking, she promptly abandoned her vehicle for the invisibility offered by the various airshafts and turbo-lifts. No one had come to check her in, so her disappearance wouldn’t have gone noticed.
The Citadel was just as ancient as the rest of the city, and there was only one major turbolift shaft. If this served as an Imperial residence, there was a good chance that it would lead right to a throne room of sorts.
Up until now, Mara had refused to reach out in her senses and her abilities. But she was left with little choice but to Force-probed the hallway for any activity behind ventilation grating.
Pairs of massive droid sentinel guards roamed at regular intervals, but she got the sense that they were more for a show of force than for any actual security detail. They were a deterrent, a large obstacle without much of a sense that to blast something that moved.
Mara had kept her position until she was able to ascertain the precise timing of their sweeps.
The grating gave way easily under pressure from her vibroblade.
It wasn’t as simple as stalking through a palace undetected; her mind was immediately shot back into the past. This was all too real now.
The Citadel was either designed this way, or was cultivated, to be reminiscent of other Imperial residences with its white marble, and echoing corridors. It was the grandeur that she had learned to live with.
Finding Luke would be easy; he still shone in her mind.
Her perception seemed somewhat skewed, however; the coldness was drawing closer, the humming in her mind made her suffer bouts of distraction, but she was so close to her goal that with every step his presence grew stronger
She stopped; her senses flared. And she ducked back into the hallway from which she just came, hiding into one of the recessed doorways, and drawing her blaster.
Mara caught just the motion and the color as it paraded past.
Red…tall, red-clad, human guards.
She sucked in air quickly; the Imperial Royal Guard.
No, it can’t be. She shook her head, denying, and pressing on with her goals.
Her goals…he was her goal…to get him out. And nothing was going to stop her.
It took a few more deep breaths before she felt that she could go on.
The Citadel was designed like most Imperial palaces; the apse and the nave led directly to the grand audience chamber.
Sentinel guards roamed the hallways; avoiding them was becoming more difficult; they timing was coming closer and closer together.
Luke must be close. She wanted him to be…for all this would be in vain. Her senses knew that he would be.
Another turn in the hallway and she knew that she was there.
The doors to the chamber were large, ornate and ancient. As Mara pushed on them, with a creak they swung open, as if they were light as a feather. Apprehensively, she walked towards the portentous black chair in the middle of the otherwise empty room.
A sense of deja vu struck her; memories of being summoned before her former master returned.
Giving in to the fatigue, she let her muscles shiver as she circled around the chair to see its occupier.
Her breath froze in her chest, as a pair of bloodshot blue eyes glared up at her from under unkempt shaggy blonde wisps of hair.
“I told you to leave this world.” He growled, shaking his head as he rose to stand. “Why didn’t you listen to me?”
She had lost her voice.
His appearance was not the one she recognized; his manner was not his own.
It wasn’t possible. Had he fallen to the Dark side? Her head shook in disbelief.
Within seconds Luke grasped her by her upper arms, entering her personal space as he put himself face to face with her, slightly shaking her.
She heard his ragged breathing. His mumblings seemed urgent but, in the midst of her shock, she couldn’t comprehend his words.
“Luke…” She breathed out as she studied his face, “What’s happened to you?”
“Mara--” she recognized the pleading voice coming from him. “You must leave now. Before it’s too late. Don’t question me….if you don’t leave He’ll find you and then…I can’t help you--” Luke reasoned with her.
He ordered--“Leave now.”
He begged—“Please?”
She studied his face-- the edges were there, the contours that made up his cheekbones, the dimple in his chin but it wasn’t him, was it?
Still locked in his grasp, she shook her head again, “No…not without you….I can’t…”
As she finished speaking, she saw his face register a distraction past her shoulder; his eyes grew immediately cold. She entirely sure, but she thought she could see orange seeping in on the edges of the blue.
In that instant, Luke raised himself to full height and stern look came to his face.
A laugh broke the silence between them; a cackle that sent shivers down her spine.
Luke released his hold on her.
Mara trembled with trepidation for a moment, the blood leaving her face, her body filling with a feeling of absolute horror.
Slowly, she turned in the direction of those mocking tones. Her eyes widened at the impossible figure approaching the two of them.
“I’ve waited for you.” He rasped. “You took your time in returning to Me.” His red eyes were glaring out from under his black hood as he approached.
“Welcome, My Hand.”
Mara’s mouth dropped open as her eyes rolled backwards.
Before her mind was swept into unconsciousness, she felt the strong arms of Luke catch her body, keeping her from falling.
TBC