Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Part One: A Family and A Secret Rebellion

Some would call it terrible timing. Some would call it providence. It really all depended on who you asked. And who was to say it couldn’t be both, from a certain point of view. It had happened when a little girl on another planet had been kidnapped, it had happened when an old hermit had been off trying to save her. It had happened, that a certain Sith lord had been out of comm reach on his way to the outer rim to oversee rumors of potential rebellion and thus did not receive the call that his former master was once again on the Empire’s radar. It had happened when the Tuskan Raiders had decided they had had enough of the little farms on the outskirts, encroaching on their deserts. And perhaps it was his proximity to the planet that had caused so much of his pain, perhaps it was the fact that he was coming up on an anniversary, an anniversary that had meant death. Perhaps it was that the shielding presence of the old master was no longer there to protect the boy. But whatever the reason, when the fires burned and the blasters scorched, Darth Vader on his ship had felt the anguish of a little boy. Though he had vowed never to return to that sand infested planet. He did, he followed the call like a tether tied to his heart. He had not been there in time to exact revenge, but he had been there to pull the child from his hiding spot, to ask his name and hear the words he had never expected.

Luke Skywalker.

Of course, Vader recognized his family when he saw him. Of course Vader saw in that face so much that was familiar. There was the face of the little boy from a shop in the desert for sure. But also the face of an angel, his angel. And Vader vowed in that moment to never, ever, let him go. But that begged the question, what to do about him?

Vader thought about the Emperor, he thought about what he would think of a child born of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. He thought about other things too. Things like lightning and red sabers and lava and suffering. And that is when the cracks in his armor started to form. He would need to do this carefully. He would have to be sure about his next moves. He would need allies. And it was that realization that shocked him in the end. He hadn’t needed allies in years. People he used, sure, but people he could trust? No. But he needed them, for Luke, anything for Luke.

And so Vader made his plans.

When Vader brought Luke back to Coruscant, it was with triumph. He had found the boy, his son, and brought him back to the Empire as his true son and heir. Even if the son part was kept secret. Certain question might be raised if Darth Vader showed up with a son with the last name Skywalker.

Emperor Palpatine, to the cameras anyways, was ecstatic. Finally, an heir, a charge that would serve his purposes. Vader brought the boy before him, and oh how eager the Emperor had been. Until he sensed the boy, or rather, sensed what was not there. No connection to the force, no potential. None whatsoever. It was like looking into a void. And Palpatine recoiled. His first instinct was to have the boy killed, then and there. He was useless after all. No gift, a complete lack of gift. It was something even he had never foreseen. Any offspring of Anakin should have shone twice as bright! But perhaps, perhaps something had gone wrong? Could it have been when he had removed the life force from Amidala to save Vader? It wasn’t like there was a lot of evidence as to what happened when a force wielder as strong as Anakin was had a child. And perhaps there could be other uses for the boy…

Palpatine was not one to throw away perfectly good resources. A puppet figurehead could be just as useful as a real one. And of course, that would mean the rule of two would be satisfied, at least for now. It was a fitting conclusion. One he could live with. One he could hold over Vader’s head. And that, at the moment had been good enough for him. So let Vader have his son. Let the boy live and grow up in the courts. He could always kill him later. So the problem could remain.

Vader had opted to take the boy to Naboo, some misguided trip down memory lane. But Palpatine knew his hold over his apprentice. Let the memories twist their way into his heart, let them work their pain on him. Perhaps it was all bad timing. Perhaps it was a girl who got kidnapped at the wrong time and a boy who was orphaned and found by his father. Perhaps though it was other things too. Perhaps it was the sun dragon in Anakin’s heart that told him to protect his son, perhaps it was Palpatine’s arrogance that took what he saw at face value. Perhaps it was the Force’s way of putting things in action just a little bit sooner than perhaps you may have originally thought. As Vader stepped off the transport on Naboo, he finally let himself breathe. Away from his master’s presence he was free to remove the mask and run a gloved hand through his thin, ragged hair. He looked then for the first time on his son, his own son, with his own eyes. Above them, stars were aligning in ways none of them, not even the Emperor, could have predicted.

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Luke missed his Aunt Beru. He missed the way she would brush back his hair and kiss his forehead at night and read him stories. He missed the way she would sing while she worked and make the best food, even with the few ingredients they could get their hands on in the desert. He missed his Uncle Owen too. He missed the rough hands guiding his through droid maintenance and the way he would tell him about Tatooine and how their names were written in this land, this desert sand that was their home. He missed the farm and his life before. But even so, his ten year old heart could not help but marvel at the vast sparkling water that was the lake district on this new planet. The man in the mask, the man who had taken off the mask and called himself Luke’s father, had told him it was called Naboo. Naboo. The name sounded funny in his ears. He shivered a little in the chill of the wind. He had thought spaceflight was cold, and sure it was, but he thought once they landed it would be warm. Of course he knew not every planet was like Tatooine. Aunt Beru had told him stories of other planets at night. But never had he really thought that other planets would be so…so different.

He still felt fuzzy around the edges. His father had given him something, something that one of the ship doctors had used. It had hurt a little and after that, it was strange, like walking with one eye closed. He still felt fuzzy, but the fog was clearing and that other eye was opening and he could see the world with clarity again. He wasn’t sure what it was. But whatever it was, his father said it had kept him safe from the strange man on the black throne that had stared at him with golden eyes. In truth, Luke remembered little of that interaction. He shivered again at the thought. Perhaps it was a good thing to have felt fuzzy then.

The warm light of the single sun, which was still weird by the way, shone down on him, giving some comfort from the cold. He could smell the smell of growing things and dampness and earth, scents he had been slowly identifying since his and his father’s arrival here. Yes, he missed his Aunt Beru, and he missed his Uncle Owen. He missed his friends and he missed his life. But standing here, surrounded by growing things, he felt a little better, maybe. However as the fuzziness wore off, the memories came back. The dreams came back. He had had them the first night on his father’s big ship (he had called it a star destroyer, why would anyone want to destroy stars anyways?). But ever since the fuzzy feeling, he had not felt those emotions so strongly. And with it being gone, the feelings came back.

The sun was setting, touching the water and sending out what looked like fire through the sky. He wondered if the water was warmer where the sun dipped below it. He didn’t want to go to bed. But he didn’t want to be out here at night either. He knew in his head that there were no Tuskan Raiders out here. But in his heart, he couldn’t quite let go of Uncle Owen’s warnings about going out after dark. Even if his father said it was safe. So he scurried back up the steps into the porch and into his room.

His room.

It felt weird to call it that. It was nothing like his room back on the farm. He had never been anywhere fancy, so he had no frame of reference to know if the things in his room were considered fine or not. He just knew they were very different from his own things. Luke was grateful for them. Aunt Beru always said one should be grateful for the things which they were given. But he wasn’t sure he liked them. The bed was big, bigger than Uncle Owen’s and Aunt Beru’s had been. The walls were high and weren’t sloped at the top. There was wood furniture that was soft, not rough like stone. And the sheets on his bed were too heavy. He felt like they might smoother him if he wasn’t careful. But without them, he was too cold. The floor was tile, smooth and soft and slick under bare feet. Perhaps he could have looked past all of that, if only he had a few of his things. Things like the model ships or droid parts he kept on his desk or even his school work maybe. Or the light, but sturdy blanket Aunt Beru had made for him herself. But that was all gone and he knew it.

It was quickly getting dark and long shadows stretched from too high windows across the too big room. Luke dove for cover amongst the too many sheets and pillows on his too big bed and tried to make himself small. He missed his Aunt Beru.

Absently, he wondered where the man who said he was his father was. Luke had a hard time believing him until he had taken off that strange black helmet he always wore around everyone else. But after taking it off when they landed, Luke had seen eyes ringed in gold, eyes that if Luke looked hard enough at, could have been his. One day, Luke would be a shining star, a sword outstretched in protection of those he loved, he would understand all that had happened and come to a peace with all that would come. But right now he was scared and he was ten and he missed his Aunt Beru.

As the fuzziness went away, so had an awareness crept inwards. And with the awareness, his thoughts, his feelings, flowed outwards. If Luke had known this, he would not have been surprised when the door to his room opened hesitantly, or when a soft light poured in from that door to show the tall form of his father standing there.

Vader didn’t sleep much these days, in truth, he hadn’t slept since Mustufar, maybe since before. But Vader didn’t let himself think about before much either. To think about before meant to think about Anakin. And to think about Anakin meant to think about…to think about…well to think about her. And that was the last thing he wanted. So Vader didn’t sleep and he didn’t think about before. Not until recently, not until he met a boy with his coloring from childhood and her face. Her face. His angel’s face. And in the Force, he felt that boy afraid as the sun dipped below the horizon. Vader shouldn’t be surprised. Fear was a natural response to what the boy had been through. In time, Vader was sure, the boy would come to learn that from fear, there came strength, he just had to learn how to wield it in his favor first.

But as these thoughts snaked through his brain, Vader felt as if he had been electrocuted, and oh did he know what that felt like. This was his son, not just a boy, his son. And a memory, a memory from before, sprang forward. Gentle hands and a soft voice in a thick Core accent.

“It’s alright, Anakin.” Said the voice.

“But I thought I heard something Obi!” a child’s voice replied.

“I know little one.” Said the kind voice, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But the Temple is a big place with lots of new noises, you will grow accustomed to it, I promise.”

“Stay with me?” the child worked up the courage to ask.

There was a hesitancy in the reply, but it came at last, sure and warm and strong. Protecting. “Of course. Do you like stories?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright then. Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away.”

Vader snapped back to the present, blinking hard. He tried to remember the story. He found he couldn’t. He tried not to think of himself as the child. He tried not to think about who exactly that other voice had belonged to. But he did remember. He remembered what it felt like to be scared and alone and small. He remembered what it felt like when someone had been there. Normally, such a memory would burn in him with an abiding, deep rage. But now, now it felt like someone had taken a bucket of water from the lake and splashed it over him.

The boy in the other room was his son. And he was scared and alone right now. But no. Vader thought purposefully. His son was not alone. And he strode towards the room, ready to walk right in. But the memory of the little boy in the strange new place persisted. He hesitated but a moment, and opened the door with care.

“Luke?” he said, hoping his voice sounded kind and refusing to think of the kindness of the voice from his memory. “Luke are you alright?” It was a stupid question. Vader knew this. Had he been alright when the Tuskan raiders had killed his mother?

A stuttering quick intake of breath came from under the mound of blankets on the bed. “I-I’m fine, sir.”.

Vader felt frustration at the timidness, the smallness in the voice. This was his son, cowering in his room. His son should never have had to cower before anyone, ever. He should be free and confident and…and…and he was ten. And his Aunt and Uncle had just died…but he was not alone.

“It’s alright if you are not fine, son.” Vader said. It felt strange to hear his own voice outside of the suite.

Stay with me?

“Would you like me to- I mean, would it help if I stayed with you?” Vader felt strange, unsure. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt unsure of himself.

But sandy hair and blue eyes popped out of the blanket mound, regarding him. In those eyes was something Vader had not seen in a long time. It looked something like hope.

“Y-you’d stay?” the hesitancy in that voice physically hurt.

Vader let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding and said, “Yes son, of course. Always.” He came to sit at the edge of the bed, his son scooting up so his back was against the headboard.

They regarded each other, just for a moment. And his son said “You knew I was scared, didn’t you?”

Vader tilted his head under the scrutiny so intense in such a way only a child can manage. “Yes, yes I did. I knew you needed help.”

And suddenly they were no longer speaking of just tonight. Luke understood. At all of ten, Luke understood stars bless the boy. Vader felt another crack form in his armor as the boyish voice said, a little more confidently. “Do you know any stories?”

Vader wanted to smile, he hadn’t wanted that in years. He wanted to smile and be able to say yes, but his mind went blank. The only stories that came to mind in that moment were not ones a little boy, especially one who was scared might like to hear. He thought of the Inquisitors and the Tie Pilots and the Emperor and the bloodshed. So much bloodshed it had turned his very saber red.

“Uncle Owen used to tell me you were a pilot.” Luke said softly. “He said you’d travel all over on a freighter.”

“Your Uncle spoke of me?” Vader asked in genuine surprise. In the whirlwind of the past few days, he had not given it much thought how Luke, his son, had ended up with his step-brother in law. Somehow his mind had written it off as some bizarre coincidence, maybe adopting a child and giving them some nostalgic last name. But the DNA had proven that false aboard his ship. And then there hadn’t been time to think. Had local authorities, wherever Luke had been born just located the closest next of kin they could find? He knew that Anakin Skywalker had been reported dead, along with the rest of the stars blasted Jedi. No one would have thought to look for the father. But Padme’s family? His mind was brought up short. Padme. Luke’s mother. Luke’s mother who had lived long enough to see him safely into the world at least. Palpatine had lied. There was no surprise there. That creature would lie about anything. But about Padme, about his angel, about the one he swore to help Anakin save…He felt the rage boiling inside him. But then Luke spoke up.

“Uh huh.” He said still staring at his father. “Not much, they said they thought you were dead. That’s why I lived with them. I guess they didn’t know.” His hands were playing with the blankets now, the thought of his lost family weighing on his shoulders like a thick mantel.

Vader wanted to stop that train of thought, to distract his son. A story. He needed a story. A good story, one about a pilot. One where there was something other than bloodshed. “Uh, alright.” Vader began scratching his head, “Have you ever heard of the Twilight?”

Luke perked up at that. “No, what’s the Twilight?”.

It had been a long time since Vader had used his voice consistently for something other than threats or ominous sentences or commands. It took a moment to find the balance, to try and make his voice sound like something a child might like to hear and not be frightened of. “Only the best ship there ever was.”

“Really?” Luke asked and Vader knew he had him in the story with him now, that his mind was distracted, that it wanted to be distracted. And even though it hurt, pain was an old friend to Vader. So he delved into the memories, he felt the pain, and he spun his son a story.

“Oh absolutely, it was the best ship in the galaxy!”

“Did you fly it? Did you have a crew?” Luke was now sitting up, eyes shining like twin stars.

“Yeah.” Vader said, and as he thought of the picture in his mind, of his crew, of a little Togruta girl and a shiny silver and blue astromech, of Padme’s smile and of Rex’s painted helmet, he felt the tears in his eyes, but in his heart, he felt a warmth he had almost forgotten. “Yeah, I had the best crew.”

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After that first night, time seemed to move at lightspeed and at a Corellian Snail’s pace all the same. Luke flourished on Naboo. It was slow at first. His grief, Vader knew, would always be with him. But in time, maybe for Luke anyways, it would fade. There were problems that still needed to be solved. His son, his beautiful, perfect son, the son that was born of all the best of him and the entirety of his mother’s heart, was strong in the force. He still wasn’t sure how he had convinced the Emperor otherwise. The Force suppressant should have been an obvious giveaway. But perhaps it was the other thing, the Light pouring in from that first crack in his armor and the fervent wish over and over in Vader’s mind as they had stood there. Don’t see him, don’t see him, please for all that is good do not let him see him. It had been a wish, a dream, a prayer. But somehow, it had been answered. And Palpatine had all but declared Luke useless. Vader knew that wasn’t entirely true. He had declared Luke useless as an apprentice anyways. But he would soon find a use for him, and that frightened Vader. And what would he do when that day came? What would he do when he could no longer shield Luke from him? What then?

The answer was clear. The Emperor had to go. But how?

It wasn’t like Vader hadn’t considered it before. It was every Sith Apprentice’s dream to one day grow up and defeat their master. To become the master themselves. But Vader, for the first time, considered it in earnest. What would that look like, how could he do it? Vader knew he was not strong enough, not on his own. His past had left him scarred. The loss of his legs and his arms in his last duel with…well, that other former master, was enough to slow him down. Maybe Luke…the thought bloomed like a rising sun in his mind. Luke was strong, Vader knew this. If he could train him, perhaps…perhaps together…the idea was one that held promise. But it raised the question as to how to go about doing it. The Emperor would surely know if he felt Luke grow strong with the Dark Side. There would be no hiding him then, no matter what. So, what now?

These were questions to be answered in time, Vader knew. For now, he had his son. Education was a priority. He started out with online examinations, testing the boy’s knowledge. He was surprised to find him well read and on par with his age average statistics. Vader had just assumed that by Luke having spent his life up until now on Tatooine he would have had the same education Anakin did at that point, which was to mean none at all in the formal sense. But Luke had been born free. For whatever other shortcomings Vader harbored hatred for in his heart at the idea of Luke not being with him all this time and potentially worse, on the backwater that was Tatooine, he felt a stab of gratitude that Luke, if nothing else, had been born and raised free. His son had never known the rule of another. He had been free to learn and grow under the care, as it was becoming evident that that was just what it was care, of his Aunt and Uncle.

The boy showed an extreme interest in all things mechanical. He loved ships, droids, all sorts of things. Vader ordered in model ships by the transport load and had a broken mouse droid from his ship brought specifically for Luke to try his hand at repairing. It was with pride that Vader saw Luke run into the dining room a few nights later, grease stains on his hands and forehead and a smile as bright as the sun on the water on his face, a repaired Mouse Droid in his hands.

“I’m calling it Mousy!” He exclaimed happily.

It was a few weeks later that it was with dismay that Vader entered the porch overlooking the water to find Luke playing with what appeared to be a rough, hand-built model of an X-Wing, making it fly and dip through the air.

When asked what he was doing, Luke beamed up at him, “The rebels just liberated Mos Eisley. They fought back against the Hutts, freed all the slaves.” His face, young though it was, became a little grimmer in that moment, “it’s going to be safer there now.”

Vader wanted to snatch the model from his hands, snatch it away and scold him. But besides the shock of it all, of his son, Lord Vader the Emperor’s right hand man’s son idolizing the Rebellion, was what he had said.

Freed all the slaves.

A pinprick of memory wafted across his brain and with it came a realization. The Empire hadn’t freed anyone, not any slaves at all had they? Tatooine was still dangerous, the Hutts were still hurting people, the Tusken raiders still killed and destroyed. Hadn’t he been filled with rage once at the Republic letting such things continue? And what had the Empire done? It was just another reason that the Emperor had to go.

When his father didn’t say anything, Luke held up the X-Wing for his inspection. “I think I got the wings right on this one.”

Vader took it carefully, the delicate craft feeling fragile in his mechanical hand. “It’s, uh, very good son.”.

“Have you ever flown one?” Luke continued on. “I want to, they’re so cool!”

Vader’s head felt like it was spinning. Did-did Luke not realize who he was with? Perhaps not, his son, his excitable, talkative son, spoke little to none about their brief time on Coruscant. Sure, it had been a painful time so shortly after Luke’s traumatic loss. He thought Luke just didn’t want to mention it. So Vader didn’t. But perhaps there was more to it. Maybe the Force suppressant made it so he didn’t remember or didn’t understand? But there would be time for that later.

Vader left without another word, leaving Luke on the balcony. In his mind, he thought of the Rebellion. They wanted to see the end to the empire too. And Vader was reminded that he needed allies. He needed them badly. But how badly? And would the rebellion really be a good place to find them? He had spent the better part of the last year hunting them, searching out rumors of them. No, he couldn’t just go to them. But perhaps he could use them. Make things a little easier for them. If nothing else, they could act as a destabilizing influence, help keep the Emperor distracted. Any distraction away from Luke was good in his mind.

But their enclave of peace in the lake district of Naboo was not meant to last. The Emperor had found a plan for Luke. He would be a political puppet, a figurehead, a Crown Prince for the crowds to adore. So they were summoned back to Coruscant and it was all Vader could do not to take Luke and run that very night. He had to use the Force suppressant again. He didn’t like to think about what it might mean for Luke if they had to stay on Coruscant long term. But maybe there were other ways to go about it. He focused his energy on shielding the boy, drawing on old reserves of strength he had forgotten. In time, perhaps Luke could learn to shield himself, to live as light unseen in the face of darkness.

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Luke felt fuzzy again with the return to the glittering planet. There was a haze about it, like a fog he longed to see through clearly. He heard the speeches and the dinners and he participated, he participated with one eye open and the other closed. His father mentioned that he was working on something, and slowly, slowly, he felt less fuzzy, he felt more clear, but still a haze surrounded him. It felt strange, he could not explain it. But then he was standing before the Emperor at the palace, at the Imperial Palace. Luke swallowed past dread in his stomach. His father had explained about the Empire, about his place in it on their journey here. Luke had hated it. He had felt fear and anger and sadness all bundled up in one big twisted ball of emotion.

But his father had held him through it, whispering words like promises into his head. “I hate it too.” His father had said. “I promise you that I am no longer a part of it.”

“But you serve the Emperor, you said so. Uncle Owen said they hurt people. I’ve seen it happen!” Luke had wailed.

“I know. And one day you will have to know all that I have been Luke, and I am sorry. I was so blind, I am so sorry.” They had cried together.

Luke had never seen his father cry, not once, not when Luke had been in the desert with him or when he woke up from a nightmare. Luke knew his father had nightmares like he did. But he had never seen him cry until now. And in that moment, something had changed between them. A bond, an understanding, forming there.

They were in this together.

It was easier now to think about standing in the Imperial Palace, not far from the Emperor himself. But he was not with the Empire, not him and not his father. They were on something like a secret mission together, secret rebels, his father and him. And one day, one day they would bring freedom and safety to the galaxy, just like he had always dreamed. But the haze surrounded him still and he was still ten. However the thought of one day, that kept his spine straight and tall as he stood beside his father in the strange mask and the Emperor.

After that, after being announced the official heir to the Empire, the next year of Luke’s life passed in a blur. He spent his time on more planets in that year than he would have thought possible in the year before. He spent time on Coruscant, attending a school the Emperor thought appropriate for a young prince, a place where he was surrounded by other promising young Imperials. Luke was, in short, not a fan.

He spent time on Naboo, his favorite time, in the green grasses and rolling hills. In dismay, his father learned that the young boy didn’t know how to swim. So a swim instructor was hired and Luke spent his summer basking in the cool water of the lake districts. He spent time on all sorts of other planets too, as the official Heir to the Empire should, so the Emperor said. In reality, he suspected that the Emperor just wanted him to be seen by others, to through others off course in whatever game they played behind the scenes.

But his favorite time, his absolute favorite time, was the time he spent with his father.

It was their secret rebellion meetings he liked best. His father had also explained the fuzzy feeling Luke had been getting on Coruscant, and everything started to make sense from there. He explained about the Force, about how people could use it and how it gave people great abilities. Luke ate up the teachings like a starving child would a meal. But Luke’s father also imparted another valuable lesson. The Force, and Luke’s connection to it, must remain a secret. Luke wasn’t sure why at first. “If the Emperor’s a Force user, and you’re a Force user,” he had said one day during their lessons, “what does it matter if I’m one too?”.

His father had just given him a strange look, a sad kind of strange look. “Because,” his father began at last, “power is something that people fear.”

“So…” Luke said, running a hand through his hair, “people would be…afraid of me if they knew? I don’t want to scare anybody. I just want to help people!”

His father hugged him then, drawing him close. “Oh my son, my angel’s son.” He whispered, and Luke wondered what he meant. But it had made his father sad, it had made him not look at Luke quite the same after. So he never mentioned it again.

He just said simply “I promise I won’t tell. I promise I’ll keep it secret.” And so the Force became just another element to their secret rebellion. And his father taught him how to hide it, how to shield it, and the fuzziness was gone. Luke saw more clearly now than ever, and he was surprised by how light and warm it felt, even deep inside the Empire.

Luke’s eleventh birthday was a quiet affair. It was not celebrated amongst the Empire in a public way. But Luke’s father ensured that it didn’t go unnoticed. At first Luke thought he might. Luke had been on Naboo for the past month, on a holiday from school. His birthday, by galactic standards, had never been a grand thing as he was coming to know them through his schoolmates. But he had always liked it. His Aunt Beru, and it still hurt to think of her, would make a cake. It was so good. It would be frosted thickly and the frosting would be sticky in the heat, but she would sing and laugh and kiss his cheek and Uncle Owen would then always pretend to have forgotten the gift. But Aunt Beru would give him that look and he would laugh and pull it out of its hiding place, a new one each year as Luke always tried to find where they hid the presents. And there would be laughter and cake and family. Luke missed that dearly.

The house on Naboo was quiet. His father kept a few serving droids that cared for their needs. But other than that, they were alone up here in the Lake district. He sat with Mousy on the cool tile floor of his room. His father had been on a mission for the last two and a half weeks. Luke had spoken with him on holo calls, but that wasn’t the same as seeing him. He had hoped that maybe, his father would be there when Luke got up, that maybe he might find him in the kitchen with the droids holding a cake or pulling a present from some surprise nook. The image that conjured, of his father holding a cake like Aunt Beru had or hiding presents like Uncle Owen had made him laugh, just a little. But no, when Luke woke up as an eleven year old, it was still just him and the droids.

But around mid-day, when the sun was high above the lakes, his father came back. Luke sensed him almost as soon as his ship broke atmosphere. Their bond had grown this last year. Luke jumped up from where he had been changing the treads for Mousy and raced down the stairs. His father met him at the door moments later, sweeping him up in his arms and holding him close.

“You came, you came!” Luke grinned.

“I’ve missed enough of your birthdays my son.” His father said. It had not been lost on Luke the hard time his farther had had at first making his voice sound comforting and soft and gentle. But it made Luke smile all the more now as he heard the affection come with ease.

His father put him down soon after and stood. “Alright.” And he had a grin on his face. “Come with me.”

Luke followed his father with an excited spring in his step to a waiting speeder. They rode it a ways away from the house until they came to the hangar. There, sat what for all appearances, was an old clunker of a ship, dented and scored in areas. But to Luke, it looked like the most amazing thing in the galaxy. It was a Corellian G9 Rigger-class Light Freighter. “The Twilight.” He breathed, stopping short so his father had to put his hand on his shoulder or run into him.

Of course Luke had asked about exactly what kind of ship filled most of his father’s bedtime stories. And of course, Luke had researched that class of ship extensively afterwards. “Not quite.” His father said behind him. “The one from the stories isn’t exactly around anymore. But this one’s pretty close. And it’s yours, son.”

Luke craned his head backwards to look up at his father. He could see the lines of pain around his father’s face, the kind he got when Luke asked certain questions, or said something about the lakes on Naboo, or said something about the Force that his father couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. But he often found redirection worked best in those cases, so he tried it here now too. “It’s mine, really?”

And his father smiled down at him. “Yes, my son, she’s all yours.”

Luke grinned and took off towards the ship. He ran his hand over the hull reverently, eyes sparkling. “What’s her name?” he asked. Luke knew the stories. All good ships had a name.

“She doesn’t have one yet.” His father explained, coming to stand beside him. “You’ll have to give her one.”

Luke thought a moment, but the names that came to mind either already belonged to other ships or just didn’t seem to fit the strange little craft. Behind him, his father chuckled. “You’ll think of one in time. For now, let’s see how she does in the air.”

Luke’s classmates had said he didn’t know much about birthdays, as they had never been the grand parties his classmates spoke of. Luke wasn’t sure how to spend this one, the first without his Aunt and Uncle. But Luke was learning other things. He may not know how other kids in the Empire spent their birthdays. But he knew he liked how he spent his just fine. And it may be the first birthday without his Aunt and Uncle, and he knew those milestones would always bring back the pain, but it was also his first birthday with his father. And perhaps there wasn’t a little cake or a hidden present. Perhaps there wasn’t a grand gala or party. But sitting, with his father’s arms around his at the controls of his own new ship, shooting up into the stars in time to see the sun crest around the planet, Luke thought that birthdays were still okay. And he had a name for his ship.

The Solar Sunrise.

Chapter Text

Luke’s birthday may have gone unnoticed by the Empire. But the anniversary of him becoming its official crown prince did not. He was summoned back to Coruscant where a grand party was to be held just for the occasion. Luke was dreading it. Something he had learned about himself in the past year was that he did not like crowds. Not one bit. Not to mention the Force shielding his father had been teaching him was exhausting. He just hoped he could make it through. His father couldn’t come with him to Coruscant this time. But he was assured by the aid that his father had sent with him that he would be joining Luke soon. They would just be traveling separately. Luke sighed and watched the starlines streak past.

The arrival on Coruscant was with more fanfare than any of his previous arrivals. There was a full media crew, there were members of the court, there were members of the military. Luke tried not to shrink back from them all. The Emperor would be mad, he knew that, if Luke did not play the part right. And oh how the past year had been about getting that part right. But it was hard. He was eleven now, practically a grown-up, Luke thought. That didn’t mean that all of this wasn’t what felt to him, a monumental effort. However, he did his best.

He wasn’t scared after all. A member of a secret rebellion against the very Emperor himself was never scared.

Even so it felt like an eternity before they finally entered the confines of the palace, away from the prying eyes of the galaxy. The Emperor himself was busy, much to Luke’s relief, so he didn’t have an audience with him. Luke wondered what there was that kept the Emperor busy. Surely he had underlings to order about and do his bidding. But that left Luke much to his own devices.

His quarters were in the private wing of the palace reserved for dignitaries and members of the Emperor’s inner circle. The atmosphere felt oppressive to him. Not at all like the cool, clear air of Naboo or the glowing deserts at sunset of his home planet.

Sighing, he felt at his shields, making sure his Force signature as his dad called it, was still hidden. Luke liked to think about it kind of like wrapping a cloak around him, a cloak that was warm and safe and kept him hidden from all else. But the process was draining. He flopped on his bed with a sigh, breathing deeply the sweet sent of the carved Fijisi wood all around him. He had a headache.

However, he had only lain there for a minute or so when he felt something, something almost imperceptible, brush against his shields. And after a year of training with his father, Luke recognized the sensation instantly.

Another Force user.

It was not so much as an acknowledgement of his presence, though similar to how the birds in Naboo flitted by a window. Whoever it was, they were aware of it, just not seeing it. It wasn’t like how the Emperor’s presence slithered around those before him. It wasn’t like his father’s presence strong and purposeful and all encompassing.

This was something new.

Forgetting his headache for a moment, Luke stood, making his way towards the door, following the sensation. He looked one way than the other down the hall. But he didn’t see anything. Yet still, the sensation remained.

Then he glanced up. Directly up. Staring down at him, through the ornately filigreed vent grating above his head, a pair of jewel green eyes shone brightly. Luke jumped a little, stepping back into the doorway. The grate swung down with a creak and from it a blur of red, gold, and green, in the form of a girl swung down without a sound. She flipped over gracefully, tucking a long ponytail of red gold hair behind her back and regarded him with a stare that made Luke think she could see right through him.

“Who are you?” Luke asked at once not sure what to make of the stare, or the way she crossed her arms eyeing him like he was the intruder. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same questions.” She said. Her words were spoken like one of the officers on his father’s ship. But she was small, shorter than him and Luke guessed younger too, by maybe a year.

“I’m supposed to be here.” He said exasperatedly,

“So am I.” she replied, maintaining her level stare and folded arms.

Luke ran a hand through his hair, trying to think as to why another kid would be here. He didn’t recognize her from his school. And most of the higher-ranking officials sent their children there. So, who could she be? And for that matter, why had she been in an air vent?

Her eyes narrowed into slits, studying him, evaluating him. Luke could only guess for what. Just then, he sensed the familiar presence of his father nearing the corridor. He did not sense her as a threat, but that was the weird thing, he couldn’t get much of a read on her one way or the other. But he saw something change in her quickly. The way her head tilted towards the door, the way her eyes snapped back to him before she took off down the hall in the opposite direction of the presence and direction where he had sensed his father.

“Hey, wait!” he called after her, but he had turned his head towards his father’s approaching presence. And when he turned back, well there was no trace of the girl. It was like she had vanished. For a moment, Luke wondered if she had ever been there at all.

Just then though, the door at the other end of the hall opened and Luke’s father, in his full mask and suit, strode in.

“Luke, what’s the matter?” His father asked, his voice distorted through the vocorder, sensing the disquiet in his son.

“There was a girl!” Luke exclaimed gesturing with his hand in the direction she had gone, “she was just here and then she left.”

“A girl?” his father asked, helmeted head turning to look where Luke had indicated.

“Yeah, she was up in the vent, I’m not sure why though. I mean, she’s got to be some general or something’s kid if she’s here, right?”

Luke felt his father’s demeaner palpably change, a gruff, almost annoyed presence taking the place of his usual demeanor. He wordlessly ushered Luke inside. They didn’t speak of the incident any more and Luke wasn’t sure they would again.

Of course that was until he ran into the strange red head again and again. And again. Of course though he could never prove that. And he never actually saw her for sure. Luke had wondered for a bit if he was going crazy, what with having to keep his guard up at all times, tip-toeing around his father whose mood seemed to grow worse with every passing day on Coruscant, and then some. But he could have sworn he saw flashes of red gold out of the corner of his eye at random intervals.

He may have left it alone if he had been on Naboo, or even his father’s ship. But no, he was on Coruscant which effectively meant that Luke was bored. He had never been here, specifically in the palace, this long. Most of his school was distance learning and he only had to attend in person a few days out of the term. But with the anniversary of his official status being recognized, Luke had been forced to endure the Coruscant social life for going on two weeks now. That meant no secret training meetings with his father, no flights on the Solar Sunrise, he hadn’t even brought Mousy with him, choosing to spare the droid the fate that he himself had not escaped. So sure, any other time Luke may have chosen to ignore the strange happenings. But he was eleven now and he was on Coruscant and he was bored. So he made it his mission to find his red headed shadow.

He started out by just searching or picking areas and being still and waiting. This produced few results. He may have tried reaching out with his feelings, trying to sense her presence. But doing so may cause his shields to drop and Luke wasn’t willing to risk that so close to the Emperor. Luke had only been in his presence a handful of times, but the memory of those times sent a shiver down his spine and the feeling of phantom pain through his nerves, like electricity. He had no desire to alert anyone to his abilities now, even without his father’s warnings. So he sought to find her the old fashioned way.

He assumed, or at least he potentially imagined, that she had caught on. She was making a game out of it. He thought at this point she was doing this deliberately. Making a slight noise here, dropping a piece of lint or something on his uniform on purpose from a vent somewhere. It was her subtle way of letting him know that she knew that he was searching for her. It was infuriating.

And then it stopped all together.

It was his third week in the Imperial Palace and Luke was sick and tired of it all, not to mention exhausted. He longed to drop his shields, to just give his mind a rest. But he couldn’t not for a moment. It was impacting his sleep. His father had offered the Force suppressant. But Luke had refused, even though it was tempting. Looking for his shadow was still fun though. However, the little signs she had been giving him stopped, the presence at the back of his mind had vanished. He wondered now if she really had been a figment of his imagination. Or worse yet, he recalled where he was and wondered briefly if something had happened to her.

That all changed of course when it was finally time to leave. He was thrilled, though trying and failing to contain his excitement. They were finally going home! They would stop on a few planets along the way sure. His father had said something about Chandrilla then maybe Alderaan. Luke was especially intrigued by the last one as he had not been there before and he at least had stopped on Chandrila with his father once last year. But then he got the news.

The Emperor himself would be giving them their send off.

And Luke’s stomach dropped. Why would he do this? He never had before. Had Luke given something away. He didn’t dare voice his concerns, not even to his father, not even in private. But his palms were sweaty, and his breath came in uneven intervals as he tried to focus on his breathing, tried to calm himself. It was hard without centering his mind in the Force. But as tired as he was, Luke didn’t trust himself to try it.

They came to the landing pad where the shuttle would meet them to take them back to his father’s ship. They had arrived separately, but they would leave together. A droid carried their luggage behind them as they emerged onto the sunny roof of the Imperial Palace.

There stood Palpatine, black robes stark in the mid-morning Coruscant sun. His hands were outstretched, encompassing father and son as they approached.

“Greetings, old friend.” The Emperor said in that voice that made Luke want to shiver, despite the already warm day. “And Young Skywalker.” He nodded his head towards Luke.

“Excellency.” Luke hoped nothing showed in his voice, that his fear wasn’t evident. He didn’t hear his father’s reply for behind the corner of the black robes, he saw the faintest glint of red gold.

“Ah, yes, Lord Vader, I trust I am not imposing when I add a last minute charge to your journeys.” And he beckoned with his left hand, “come forward, my child.”

For the first time in three weeks he stood face to face with his shadow again. She was not dressed in green to match her eyes anymore. Her clothes were simpler. Black and grey, reminding him of an officer’s colors though the cut was much more practical. Something easy to move in that would allow her freedom to run or jump or climb in an air vent, he thought with a hint of rueful amusement. He tried to meet her eyes, but she stared ahead before bowing politely to his father, and then, to his surprise, to him.

“This mission was to be diplomatic, for the celebration of Luke’s return to us.” Vader said and Luke sucked in a breath between his teeth. He had never heard his father challenge the Emperor directly like that.

The Emperor scowled, his yellow eyes hollow with disapproval. But his voice was the same it had been before “And she is to practice diplomacy along the way. Her bags are already on board, and she will be no trouble.” He gave a pointed look at the girl before saying, “you have my leave, all of you.” Turning and sweeping his robes behind him as he went to the lift that would take him back into the heart of the palace, his attendants following close behind.

Then it was just Luke, his father, the loading droids, and the strange girl.

“Lord Vader.” The girl inclined her head again, though not in a bow this time, her young voice bordering on prim. Luke could not see his father’s face behind the helmet, but he could feel the displeasure, the contempt flowing off of him. Luke was no stranger to his father’s rage. He had felt it directed at officers he called incompetent and plans falling apart due to avoidable, or sometimes even unavoidable issues. But Luke had never sensed it like this, directed towards practically a child, someone almost Luke’s age. Again he wondered who she was.

Well, as his Aunt Beru had told him, nothing obtained is gained without giving a little first. So as his father stalked towards their shuttle, cape billowing behind him, Luke stepped forward with an outstretched hand. “Hi, I’m Luke.” He said.

She leaned back a little, eyeing the hand as if it were a sand snake ready to strike. But Luke was persistent, and eventually, her eyes lifted from his hand to meet his gaze. He gave her a little smile and she slowly, reached out and touched her fingertips to his. Her voice was quiet, different from any other time he had heard her speak as she said at last “Mara”.

She quickly spun on her heels then and turned and walked the way his father had gone. Luke glanced down at his hand where their fingers had met, barely a handshake, barely anything. Then why did it feel like touching a star just then? And he smiled a grin growing as he spoke quietly after her retreating form, “It’s nice to meet you, Mara.”

Chapter Text

His father didn’t say a word the entire journey back to his command ship, the Executer, and neither did Mara. The silence was so heavy he felt he could slice it with his father’s saber. And the strangest thing was the heightened sense of animosity in the air seemed to be mutual. Mara was all outwards respect, but the coldness in her green eyes, a look that should be foreign on one so young, was telling. And his father made no effort to hide his disdain for their traveling companion. His Force signature radiated anger, annoyance, and distrust. Luke, for all that he tried, could hardly understand it. Mara could not be any older than him. What could she have done to earn his father’s, who had only ever been gentle with Luke, ire? Luke didn’t want to admit that he could guess how the reverse could be true, and how Mara could have come to despise his father. Though, that being said, it would be nice to have a reason all the same.

They arrived at last, all three of them finally having an escape from the oppressive atmosphere of Coruscant and the tension of whatever was at play here that Luke could not see. The droids unloaded their belongings and as they did so, the trio was met by one of the officers, one Luke didn’t know very well. His father barked an order for accommodations to be made ready for ‘Mistress Jade’, as he called her as he stalked off towards without another word. Luke did a double take to realize he meant Mara.

Jade must be her last name, Luke mused. The officer saw to it at once and Mara followed the gray clad imperial away as Luke followed his father.

His and his father’s shared quarters were spacious as far as ship standards went. He had his own room and even a little study. There was also a communal area where they could eat or just relax during the voyage. At last, here in the privacy of their rooms, his father stopped being Lord Vader and was just his dad again, removing the heavy mask with a clunk and setting it on the table.

He began to pace, gloved hands running through his hair to free it from the shape it had taken under the helmet.

“Father?” Luke asked, venturing to intrude on the man’s thoughts.

Vader’s eyes snapped to Luke and for a moment, Luke recoiled in on himself, he had never seen his father’s eyes so gold. They reminded him of the Emperor and that made Luke afraid. His father saw this and pulled back, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself before approaching.

“I’m sorry, my son.” His father said, crouching down to be at Luke’s level. “It has been long indeed since I have been on Coruscant for such a duration, the time is…draining.”

Luke let out an exaggerated sigh. “Don’t I know it. Those shields are exhausting.”

Now Vader snapped back, full attention on Luke and he gripped the boy’s shoulders with both of his hands. “And you mustn’t let them down, not now. Not yet.” His father ordered. “Do you hear me, Luke?”

Luke blinked, stunned a little at the vehemence of the response before nodding, not even sure why other than it just seemed the right thing to do. His father let him go and resumed his pacing. Luke let his silent query hang in the air between them, knowing his father would sense it.

At last, Vader let out an exasperated huff, taking the bait to the line of questioning Luke had silently thrown. “It’s that girl. She’s Palpatine’s creature if ever there was one.”

“Mara?” Luke asked, knowing he sounded surprised in spite of himself. The idea of her being anything in the Empire seemed strange at the mere thought. Afterall, she was his own age, or younger at most. The Emperor didn’t recruit that young, right?

Vader turned his gaze back on him with an almost pitying look, a sorrow behind that golden stare. “Trust me, son, he’s got her in the palm of his hand. She reports directly to him and only him. No doubt she’s part of his long game. But I won’t let her interfere, not with you, never with you.”

Luke felt the anger return in the Force, mounting up within his father and a shudder filled him. He didn’t know of a lot of things that went on when his father was away, but he knew the reputation the man had with his crew. Luke had heard the whispers. And an image sprang unbidden to his mind. A red saber, the kind he had seen only once on that night on Tatooine, that night he tried so hard to forget. In his mind, the image played, Mara with her red hair reflecting the light, the saber raising…he blocked the image in its entirety from his mind and asked, “You won’t hurt her…right?”

His father continued to hold his gaze, shoulders tensing, a coldness emanating from him. “Son, she may hurt you. I will not let that happen.”

“She’s just a kid!” Luke exclaimed, hands clenching into fists of their own, shoulders squaring slightly as he faced his father, summoning a courage he had felt before in times when he had seen the younger kids bullied back at school or in the spaceports of Anchor Head. “She’s probably younger than me!”

“And she’s in the service of Palpatine!” His father snapped back. “He is no doubt using her this very minute to spy on you, on us, to make sure we are loyal subjects of his order! He will use her and kill us if given half a chance! Tell me Luke, do you want that?”

Luke had never heard his father so angry before, not at him. He bit his lip and tried very hard not to cry. All the righteous anger he had felt slipping through his clenched hands like it had turned to water. He was eleven now. He was a big kid, a member of a secret rebellion. He told himself he shouldn’t cry. “She’s a girl. She’s just a kid.” He said quietly.

His father stopped. Coming once again to kneel before his son. “Luke…Luke look at me.” His voice was gentle. “I’m sorry I scared you; I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. Listen, she is just a child, and that makes her dangerous, people underestimate her because of that. Make sure you don’t.”

Luke studied his father’s face for a long, silent, blurred vision minute before he nodded and then left for his room, shutting the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t see Mara for the rest of the trip to Chandrilla. He suspected that she saw him, but he didn’t see her once. He didn’t try either. His father’s warning still reverberated through his head. She’s the Emperor’s creature. What had his father meant by that? Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t see her like that. He had seen the Emperor’s creatures before, aids and advisors surrounded by an inky cloud that seemed to cling to them. Mara wasn’t like that at all. In the long hours alone in space flight, his mind kept going back to when she had reached out and taken his hand. She was like a star, a brilliant but isolated star burning bright into space, cold and alone, but shining still. There was an intensity he thought he could sense there too, something more, something below the surface. Like a small candle of light, a flickering, pulsing, dancing flame that Luke somehow knew to be her heart.

Chandrilla was mostly boring. He had been there before and while it was interesting to be back, he mostly stood and listened politely as his father discussed recent mining efforts there. Behind his father, Mara stood at a quiet attention, unobtrusive and listening. Luke did his best to appear half as attentive. When she caught him at it, she cast him a quirk of a smile. Again Luke wondered at his father’s words.

The Emperor’s creature.

The girl who had teased him from afar, dropping pieces of lint on his uniform from vents and playing what appeared to him to be the most elaborate game of hide and seek he had ever known all around the Imperial Palace just to what, get at him? He wondered if it was her way of making friends. But of course, then it had all stopped. He had never once bothered to wonder why. What had stopped what Luke was beginning to think now, was her way of an introduction, of making friends perhaps. Perhaps the answer had been staring him in the face all along. The Emperor’s Creature…the Emperor. He just couldn’t reconcile it. But Luke knew whatever had stopped her from approaching him outright on Coruscant had begun and ended with that man wrapped in dark cloaks and stared out at the world with his yellow eyes.

He didn’t have the chance to prove his theory until they had left Chandrilla and were on their way to Alderaan. He couldn’t sleep again. It was getting harder, masking his signature in the Force. It reminded him of that time he had tried to climb a rock face near Beggers Canyon back on Tatooine and had almost fallen. He had held onto that rock for so long he thought his arms might fall off until help finally arrived.

His ship though, the Solar Sunrise sat in the smaller hangar aboard the ship. So Luke figured he could sneak down, maybe work on it a bit. There were always people awake aboard ship and there were always lights on. But no one paid much mind to Luke’s nighttime expedition. They were used to seeing him and, even if they didn’t know the full story behind his relationship to their leader, they knew better than to stop and ask him questions or try and keep him from going somewhere he wanted to. So Luke had no trouble reaching the out of the way hangar bay that was meant for just him and his father. It was deserted. A few night guards at the door nodded at him as he entered. A lone, somewhat haggard looking technician was looking over a manual for something in a side room, and all in all it was quiet. In the hangar, he was alone and a sense of peace filled him at the quiet of solitude combining with the deep scent of fuel and oil.

Luke made his way to the corner where his ship sat. It looked actually better than when his father had gotten it for him. It was a fixer upper, as his dad had called it, a ship to fly and also a project to keep his active mind busy. That is what his father said and Luke couldn’t agree more. He kept a tool kit nearby and was starting to reach for it when a little noise gave him pause, a flickering sense buffeting at his shields, unknowing and unseeing but there nonetheless.

It was high pitched, the tone kept quiet, but Luke could almost make out a sound that was something like a voice. He figured, even with what his father had said about being careful, that it wouldn’t hurt to reach out just a little with his feelings.

And that is when he sensed her.

The presence of the shining star, burning bright and cold in the sky that was the Force. There were layers there, layers beyond the cold that belayed a brighter fire. But to see it all, Luke would need to remove his shields. And that was not a line he was willing to cross in regards to his father’s orders.

But she didn’t know he was here. Not yet. And if Luke was being honest with himself, maybe there was a little bit of smug satisfaction there as he realized he, for once, had a chance to sneak up on her. He approached cautiously, watching his steps to make sure he didn’t make a sound. He didn’t know what he expected to find, maybe her snooping in the private hangar for flight reports, maybe her clacking away at some clandestine report about him and his father to the Emperor. What would it even say?

Boring meetings on Chandrilla concluded. Luke Skywalker had trouble staying awake through one?

But he leaned his head around the support pillar and saw something entirely unexpected. She was dressed in a light grey, nearly white, linen shirt, darker grey pants that looked like a soft sweatshirt material, and her red hair hung in a loose braid. Around her shoulders drawn closely under her neck, was her familiar tan cloak. She was crouched, barefooted on the metal floor before a grouping of three mouse droids, in one hand she held an oil can, in the other she held what looked like the diagnostic tools the techs used.

She spoke to them in low tones as she worked, commenting on a tread here or a scanner check there, her voice soft, caring even. He realized then that this was the first time he had ever seen her actually act like a kid. Maybe that was why, despite all his father’s warnings about the girl, he stepped forward and spoke openly, though quietly “You like droids too?”

She jumped, the oil can clutched in her hand like she intended to use it as a weapon, and perhaps she did. The mouse droids scattered, save for one whose tread she had been working on and was as such, unable to flee. Her face was white, and her eyes locked on him. He held his hands up, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me.” She replied with a snap. Glancing down at the mouse droid still spinning and trying to get traction on the slick floor. She glared at him, blaming him for either scaring away the droids or being able to sneak up on her, he wasn’t sure. “What are you doing up this late anyways, doesn’t the Empire’s golden boy need sleep too?”

“Golden boy?” Luke asked with a laugh, “Where did you get that idea?”

She huffed, shrugging her shoulders as she relaxed from her previous fighting stance. “As if you didn’t know the court adores you. The Emperor knows it too.”

The last bit, she added more softly and Luke was reminded of what his father had said.

The Emperor’s creature.

“The court barely knows me. I’m hardly ever there. But you…you,” he ventured framing the question he wanted to ask, “work for him? For the court?”

Her eyes darted away, landing on the poor mouse droid, who was now beginning to beep in concern. Luke spent enough time with his father to know a touchy subject when he met one. So rather than forcing the issue, he gave her a small smile before bending down and scooping up the little droid, running a gentle hand over its casing.

“Hey now, let’s say we get you all fixed up, what do you say?” He spoke to the Mouse Droid as Mara herself had done, in low gentle tones.

Mara watched him, watched him like she expected him to crush the little droid with his bare hands.

Luke patently ignored her. “Hand me some of that oil, would you?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the droid. Wordlessly, Mara did so.

Luke applied some to the gears. “There should be some spare tread pieces in that tool kit by the freighter.” He nodded his head in the general direction of his tool chest.

He didn’t watch as Mara walked past him and began to rummage through the kit. She came back moments later carrying the treads. Glancing up at him she said, “This one’s were broken. I was trying to fix them.”

“Yeah,” Luke replied, handing the droid back into Mara’s hands and watching as she expertly repaired the tread pieces with a careful touch. “they can get worn out. Maintenance doesn’t always notice. I tend to keep a few spares in my kit. I may, well…actually have a mouse droid at home, so it helps to keep a few.”

Mara looked at him then, a spark of genuine curiosity in her green eyes. “You have your own droid?”

“Mhmm.” Luke hummed as a response. Mara set the mouse droid back on the floor. It beeped happily once, then twice as it tested out its new treads before zooming off with a few more beeps of gratitude. Mara watched in silence as it went.

After it was gone, she turned her attention back to Luke, tugging slightly at her cloak. But the hardness in her eyes had disappeared, replaced with the softer light of curiosity that was reflected in her voice when she said “So really now, why are you up? I’m guessing you didn’t come down here just to fix mouse droids?” she gestured with one hand after where the little droid had gone.

Luke figured that in this case, honesty was the best policy, even if he didn’t dare tell her everything. “Couldn’t sleep all that well.” But honesty didn’t mean he couldn’t ask his own questions. “What about you?”

She drew herself up, shoulder’s straightening, head tilting upward ever so slightly “I had things to do.”

“Things to do?” Luke asked bewildered. “Like what, more spying on people in vents?”

She didn’t look ashamed, she didn’t even look sorry. She just met his gaze with that level stare. “Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean I get to stop training.”

Training? Luke added it to the mysteries that were Mara. But he took in her appearance. The clothes she wore were not training clothes. She looked like she had been ready for sleep. So why was she still up? Luke wondered if it was along the same lines as why he was too. For all her attempts to seem strong, older than she was, and brave, Luke knew an excuse when he saw one, especially when it mirrored his own a little too well. Maybe…maybe they weren’t so different as his father would like him to think.

“I should be going.” She said, turning to leave.

“Wait,” Luke suddenly called out, he couldn’t explain it, but he didn’t want her to go. He saw the way she held herself, the way her eyes darted as if she were looking for danger. She was a child, but he wondered if she knew that. He had known kids like her before, kids back home on Tatooine. Kids who seemed to be kids in name only, with years and cares settled on them far too early in life. He couldn’t help but feel that if he let her out of his sight, someone, with that someone being the Emperor, would hurt her and despite all that his father had said, that didn’t sit right with him. And aside from all of that, he was pleasantly surprised to find he was actually really enjoying her company.

“You like droids. How are you with ships?” At his words, he saw a light in Mara’s eyes, a want, a want for something that she didn’t dare voice. He knew what that was like. Growing up, it was no secret that while they were not poor, he and his family had not been rich. He remembered looking at catalogues of pod racers and droids and knowing they were beyond his reach. The Emperor had called Mara ‘his child’ on the landing platform. What was out of her reach? He didn’t know. But knowing how the Emperor treated those he called his, Luke was beginning to guess the answer was quite a lot.

She hesitated a moment, just a moment, before walking off and out of the hangar without another word. Luke didn’t bother to follow, but there was an ache of something like worry and something like curiosity in his chest as he turned once more to face the long night alone. But his mind lingered on their short and baffling conversation. It was with a small smile he wondered if perhaps, perhaps just maybe, this was the start of something truly wonderful.

Around the edges of his shield, the Force practically hummed with its own assent, a hum a little girl walking barefoot down a metal corridor in a tan cloak sensed like a half forgotten melody and for a moment, she looked back on the hangar before pulling herself away. No, it wouldn’t do to make friends. She had reports to finish. But space was vast and nights were long. Perhaps, perhaps there would be other nights to return to the hangar. Comforted by such thoughts, the boy and the girl listened to the hum of contentment in the Force not even beginning to understand or know how destiny stirred around them, if only Vader could have heard that too. For none of them, not a one, could have known all that was to come or all that the future had in store.

Chapter Text

The next night, Luke returned to his ship. They would be space bound for at least a week due to a few shorter stops at stations and such along the way. His Force fatigue wasn’t getting any better. And so since sleep was out of the question, he figured he may as well work on his ship. And he couldn’t deny that he hoped he might see Mara too, just maybe.

He didn’t see her approach, but she came up silently beside him as he worked. She had her usual woolen cape around her, tan and soft looking, and her hair was not currently braided but other than that she looked much the same as she had that first night.

“This is your ship?” she asked by way of greeting.

Luke looked up at her from where he worked. “She’s called the Solar Sunrise.” He said with no little amount of pride.

Mara sat down beside him on the low crate where he had been balancing to reach part of the engine. “What kind of core has it got?” she asked, and Luke positively beamed as he replied.

It had become something of a nightly routine on the voyage to Alderaan. Luke would sneak down and work on his ship, sometime during that interval, Mara would appear and they would work together. She would hand him tools sometimes, talking in low tones about which methods of boosting the hyperdrive were better than others, why certain compressors could be beneficial and why others were the bane of a pilot’s existence. Sometimes she would work beside him, her hands smaller than his and with an eye fine-tuned for detail. Sometime during those nights, Luke thought that perhaps, just maybe, they were becoming friends.

His father never mentioned it, which Luke took to mean he either didn’t know or was letting it go for now. But the words his father had said to him at the beginning of their trip remained in the back of his head, the Emperor’s creature. When he looked at Mara, he just couldn’t see it.

He liked to think he was starting to figure out when she was asking questions for a purpose and when she was asking questions as just Mara. There was a quietness to her that crept in when she was just being herself. Luke hadn’t really figured out what that other purpose could be, but he knew when she wasn’t keeping to it. Just as he knew when she asked a quiet question, “So tell me, why can’t the Golden Boy sleep at night on a starship?” Her words might have held a bite to it at any other time, but now there was a softness to her tone as she set her gaze firmly on the tools in her hands.

Luke of course knew the answer, and even if he was starting to see Mara as more of a friend than some mystery shadow, he couldn’t let this one secret go, not like this, not yet. Maybe not ever. So, he shrugged, “Guess I just have too much energy.”

“You’re tired though.” Mara said and the way she said it opened a window of insight for Luke. She understood. Mara was tired too, yet Mara didn’t sleep. He asked her why.

She withdrew shaking her head, “I’m not tired.”

“I’m not either.” He retorted. She rolled her eyes like the ten year old she was.

They had taken an extra detour; they would be in space another two days. That made it a solid three before they reached Alderaan. Internally, Luke groaned. His father said he could let his shields go more planet side. More people made it harder to pinpoint a Force User. But on the ship…he sighed and tried to not let the fatigue creep in. He thought of the Force suppressant. He could ask his father for it, but Luke dreaded that fuzzy feeling now that he knew about his powers. He hated the idea of losing them, even temporarily.

Maybe that is how he found himself down in the hangar bay a little earlier that night. It had been happening that he and Mara would arrive closer to the same time now. But he had arrived early. Maybe it was for that same reason that, without her presence to help keep him awake, he fell asleep, hunched over his tool chest. And maybe that is why, when a firm, but small hand tried to shake him awake, he reacted the way he did. He had not been sleeping much in the last few days, and when he didn’t sleep, when he let himself get this tired, the memories returned, the memories of that night. That one singular, dreadful night.

So the shields fell like a collapsing AT-AT, He reached out on instinct and pushed with all his might. He could smell the smoke, he could hear the blasters. He could see Mara where she had been thrown at a supply crate.

Luke jumped up, scrambling towards her, trying to help. But she withdrew. Withdrew from him. Luke remembered what his father had said when they had first started training. Power can make people afraid. And Luke saw it on Mara’s face, she was afraid.

“Mara,” he gasped, “Mara, I’m so sorry.”

“What did you just do?” She demanded, her tone low, her eyes wide and urgent as she scrambled to her feet and rushed towards him eyes so intense and so afraid at the same time.

“I don’t know!” He knew his voice was growing frantic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too.”

“You can’t do that again, Luke you can’t!” And now it was Luke’s turn to be surprised. He had never heard her that scared before, never seen her this off balance. “Luke, do you understand?” She asked, “no one else can know about that.” She had stepped forward, taking both his hands in her smaller ones, her frame all but shaking.

Luke looked at her bewildered, eyes shining as realization dawned, she wasn’t afraid of what he did, she was afraid that he did it at all. She was not afraid of him, she was afraid for him. She was afraid because of one simple fact. She knew. “You know about the Force?”

“What is the meaning of this?” It was his father’s voice, booming above the hangar.

Mara froze, her face becoming a blank mask, but her eyes pleading with Luke. He heard it then, a silent entreaty clear as day within his mind. Say nothing.

“Lord Vader.” She turned and bowed as he made his way down to the main level and strode towards them in long, sweeping strides, his cape billowing behind him.

Vader took in the scene, the displaced crates, the look of confusion on Luke’s face, Mara’s complete lack of visible fear.

Luke tried to step forward, but Vader spoke, stopping him. “I sensed it, the disturbance in the Force, I sensed the fear, I sensed the pain.”

“Lord Vader,” Mara repeated subtly pushing Luke behind her and Luke felt sick at the action. She was younger than him and here she stood trying to protect him, but from what? From his father? “My apologies for the disruption.” Her wording was beyond her years, sounding strange in such a young voice. “I was getting in some late night practice when-”.

Vader cut her off with a wave of his hand. “By attacking my son!” He roared at the same time Mara whispered “Your son?” before giving a strangled cry as his father lifted his hand into a fist, Mara’s feet left the ground and she gasped for breath, hands flying to her throat.

“Father, wait please that’s not what happened!”

“Luke, don’t.” Mara hissed between strained gasps.

Images flashed through Luke’s mind like a fire blazing across dry brush in the desert. Red sabers arching high, pain, suffering, many lights going dark, one by one. A shimmering obsidian tower surrounded by a murky darkness. Golden eyes staring into his soul. Glittering palaces and swirling colors all overshadowed by an inky haze. And in his mind there was a voice, a quiet voice of a little girl and the image of a mouse droid held in her careful hands. Say nothing.

“Luke, go back to your room.” Vader ordered.

Luke’s eyes scrunched shut against the tears, ignoring Mara’s pleas, his father’s commands. It was too much, too much and all at once when his shields had come tumbling down. He felt the blaze that was his father’s mind and soul, he felt the candle that was Mara, a bright flame at the heart of a cold star, deep in its warmth but surrounded by a buffeting wind. It would go out. Luke knew this. It would go out and she would be no more.

“She was trying to protect me!” Luke screamed at last and that got through to the armor-clad figure. Vader released his grip and Mara dropped hard on the metal floor.

Luke ran to her, helping her up.

“Explain.” Vader commanded. “Now.”

“I was asleep, it’s been so, so hard father keeping the shields up and everything.” Luke said it all in a rush, glancing over to Mara like she could support his statement one way or the other. Of course, she couldn’t. “But, I guess I tried too long, I-I,” he faltered here, his voice catching at the memory, “I had the dream again, about the farm, about Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. She tried to wake me up. I was scared I thought I was back there.” Luke didn’t need to tell his father where there was. He knew. “I threw her into the crates. I’m so sorry, please don’t hurt her.”

“Is that all you were doing?” Vader turned his gaze on Mara once more, but the blaze it had been before had died. The hatred was diming and so was the pain. “Were you trying to wake him?”

Mara opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off again, “Don’t even think about lying to me.”

Mara was silent, closing her mouth, adjusting her stance before she continued. “Yes. He was having a nightmare when I came in.”

“See, it’s all my fault, please don’t hurt Mara.” Luke interjected. Vader, his father, stumbled backwards as if Luke had physically struck him, a shaking hand coming up to grip his mask where his forehead should be.

“I almost did it again.” He whispered under his breath. “Force forgive me, my angel, forgive me.”

Mara glanced at Luke out of the corner of her eye, but he couldn’t provide her with answers any more than he could give them to himself. He had lived with his father for over a year now. Yet still some of the things he did, some of the things he said, remained a mystery. Slowly, Vader reached up and removed the clasps that connected his mask to the rest of his suit. He removed it with a hiss, letting it drop to the floor.

Both children stared back in shock. Luke because his father never, ever removed his mask in front of others and Mara, well, because she probably didn’t know that it could be removed.

“And what happened after?” He asked, and it was just his father now, addressing them both quietly. Vader and his rage, had dissipated.

“What do you mean?” Luke countered, it was his turn to look to Mara for answers, but her eyes were transfixed on his father’s bare face, her eyes wide, her expression blank.

“There is more to the story, what happened next?” His father continued.

Another look at Mara told Luke all he needed to know. She was providing no further information. “She told me not to do it again, she was trying to help me though. I know she was, she just wanted to protect me.”

“Jade.” His father snapped, his voice harsher than he obviously meant it to come out, for he moderated it then, “Mara, why did you tell Luke not to use the Force again?”

She hunched her shoulders, the way Luke was beginning to realize meant she didn’t want to answer, like she was waiting for an attack if she didn’t. In that moment, Luke wondered if she was. “Tell me, Mara.” His father commanded, but his voice was still softer than it had been. “And remember what I said about lying.”

“It’s not safe to do what he did.” Mara said at last, choosing her words carefully.

And Vader sighed at her response pinching the bridge of his nose with the fingers of his right hand. “Why would you say that?”.

“He- wait.” She snapped interrupting herself, and the pretense was gone from her face. “You know about the Inquisitors. You lead them!” she exclaimed, a fire burning in her jewel green eyes “You know why!”

“The Inquisitors?” Luke glanced at his father, but kept his eyes on Mara.

“What do you know of the Inquisitors?” Vader all but growled, his own anger bubbling again.

“That I was spared that fate.” Mara met Vader’s gaze stare for stare, crossing her arms over her chest. In that moment, her fear was gone, only a righteous fury remained. “The Emperor saved me.”

There was a hush that followed those words, one so complete Luke thought it might never end. The Emperor’s creature. He thought now, just maybe, he might understand what his father had meant.

“Is that what he calls it?” Vader shook his head. “So, you would see Luke share your fate rather than join the Inquisitors? Answer me Mara, the choice is yours.”

He could see the moment Mara shrank away at those words, but it was less visible as it was internal, like a candle flame sputtering in the always cold winds that surrounded it. Something his father had just said had shaken the bedrock of that righteous anger to its core, exposing some deeply rooted hidden crack in its foundation.

“Answer me, Mara, you decide his fate right here, right now. Do we send him to the Inquisitors or to the Emperor? What would you do?”

Luke felt like he had been covered with ice. What was his father getting at? He pushed and he pushed, stepping forwards towards the girl, but Luke saw no more of the anger in his father, It had been replaced with something else. Pity? No that was too strong a word. Maybe sorrow? No, it was empathy. Vader had seen something in this girl that reminded him of himself. Mara gave no ground, her stance set. What was going on?

“He shouldn’t have either!” Mara finally shouted, before gasping, both her tiny hands coming to cover her mouth as if to force back the words she had said, her own private betrayal. In her eyes, he saw tears. She hadn’t meant to lose her composure. Luke knew instinctively then that that was something Mara Jade was seldom allowed in her life. But she had, and she had done it for Luke.

At last, she ended, her own quiet absolution. “He’s just a kid.”. The last part was spoken in a whisper, a distant echo of another child speaking to his father not a few days prior now.

His father’s face softened then, and he stood before Mara now, regarding her intently, but with a look that reminded Luke of that first night he had been at the lake house, when his father had told him the story about the Twilight. There was a hesitancy to his actions, a sense of unsure footing to the way he stood. He was playing at something, and Luke didn’t know what.

But his next words covered them all in a blanket of so much hurt and so much history. A lifetime of pain, generations of anguish, that neither Luke nor Mara still in the tender years of childhood, could begin to comprehend or encompass. “So are you, Mara, you’re just a kid too.”

“I’m not.” She still had tears in her eyes, but there was fire there still burning brightly like the stars above. She shook her head vehemently, gold red locks loose around her face where they had come out of the braid. “I’m not.”

“You are, and you weren’t given a choice.” His father’s voice was sad. He stood, studying her for a moment. And in that moment, Luke thought that maybe his father was seeing Mara, really seeing her, for the first time.

At last, though he said, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I thought you were trying to hurt my son, I thought that was why Palpatine sent you here.” Mara was still glaring at him, as if the fire in her eyes could burn right through his chest plated armor and into his heart. “And I will have you know Mara that anyone, anyone, that tries to hurt him will feel my wrath. But you were just trying to protect him. So, you were not deserving of it.”

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he stretched out his hands, “Come, its late and we could all use something warm to drink before we sleep.”

Luke dashed forward to grab his father’s hand. Mara still stood, like a statue watching, always watching.

“Are you coming?” His father asked.

“Do I have a choice?” she snapped.

“You are not a slave Mara,” his father replied with a heaviness to his words that Luke did not understand, “you always have a choice.” Taking Luke by the hand, he began to walk away. A few moments later, on feet as silent as a Loth Cat, Mara followed.

Chapter Text

Somehow, they ended up in the private kitchen that was reserved for cooking food for Vader and his son. It was empty at this time of night. But there was a small counter, and he ushered the two children to sit on the stools by it. He had never been much of a cook. That department had been reserved for Padme. Or more like she refused to let him near her kitchen after one too many incidents. She had always been the culinary wonder, baking breads and sweet smelling things. It was easier to think of her now, now that he had Luke back. His son. His wonderful son. But tonight it was hard. He could picture the look she would have had in her eyes if she could have seen him tonight, seen the way he had flown at the girl now seated next to his son, a hardness in her that had once been filled with tears, a hardness that he remembered in the eyes of children he had known on a sandy planet so, so long ago.

He was taking his time, studying the girl now in a way he had never bothered to before. It ate at him, the picture that was the story of Mara Jade the more he thought about it in the context of the golden haired boy beside her. It had been easy, back when could just see her as the Emperor’s creature, his Hand, as he knew Palpatine liked to call her. But now…now it was harder. Now he saw a child, a child the same age Luke was when he had returned to him.

He found himself wondering about her. Where had she come from? Where had Palpatine found a Force sensitive child? Did she have a father waiting for her, thinking her dead as he had thought Luke? Had she been stolen from her rightful family?

He poured two glasses of Blue Milk and heated them slightly before handing them to the children. Mara refused to touch it. Luke began to chug it like a pod racer after a meet. He wanted to make amends, if he could. He didn’t think he had to worry about Mara reporting Luke’s Force sensitivity to the Emperor. Not after what she had said.

He thought about his previous dislike for the girl. He thought about her own original apprehension in their earliest meetings, and then the anger he had felt from her in their later ones. He wondered how long Palpatine had been playing them off one another and how long he would have continued to do so if not for tonight. He thought about the Inquisitors. They had their purpose, but he knew their brutality. And really, did they have their purpose for him anymore? He thought about his stop on Chandrilla, the subtle feelers he had put out with a few bounty hunters, the reports that he planned to pick up from them at their extra stops to Alderaan. There had been no word about any Jedi. The Inquisitors’ work had been thorough. His eyes returned to the two very Force sensitive children sitting in his kitchen.

Very thorough.

Looking at Luke, he felt the pit that that knowledge had been making in his stomach for the last year grow. Luke had to be trained. It had not been an easy decision, but he knew it had to be done. And it had to be done in the Light. If he were to train Luke in the ways of the Dark Side, the Emperor would surely feel it and know. But in the Light, in the Light there was a chance. The Jedi had once had their vision shrouded by the dark. Perhaps the Emperor could be blinded by the Light? Perhaps Luke could be safe long enough to grow strong and bright. He had to put his own hatred for the Jedi aside, for like Mara, sitting silently next to a chattering Luke, he knew in his heart what choice he would make for his son. But it was looking like his Inquisitors had done their jobs too well.

“Mara,” he began, again being sure to keep his voice as soft as possible “are you alright?”

She looked away stubbornly, “I’m fine.”

“You were thrown into a lot of crates and nearly choked.” Luke’s voice was small but powerful in its insistence. “I wouldn’t call that fine.”

“I said, I’m fine. It could be worse.” She glared at Vader as she spoke. The Inquisitor thing was going to be a problem, that he knew. And he was just too tired to address it tonight. But why did she keep bringing it up? Did she think he would really send Luke to them? Or her? Maybe that last part, he admitted to himself. She had no reason to trust him.

They left after a little while, Luke with his shields down now was growing tired. A few times when Luke had first come into his life, Vader had had to carry him back to bed. That had not happened in months. But even at eleven, there were only so many reserves to call on. So he hefted his son into his arms, marveling at how big he was even now compared to a year ago. He walked with him, Mara at his side, steeling occasional glances at Luke, as if assuring herself he was okay. Vader rubbed a hand protectively on his son’s back, feeling a sense of awe that he, his dear child, had won over this girl so quickly, made a friend out of one practically raised to be his enemy.

That would be your influence, my darling. He thought of his Padme with a smile.

They had reached the guest quarters, where Mara had been staying. She turned to him before entering. “Are you going to send the Inquisitors after me now?” She asked, head held high and for all accounts looking very brave for only ten.

Vader was surprised that the sight created another crack in his armor in a way he had thought only Luke could have done before. Perhaps, he thought to himself, maybe it was because he was seeing Mara now through the eyes of his son. The boy who had befriended this girl. And perhaps it was that he saw her through the eyes of another, distant memories of a young girl with a warmth in her eyes and a fire in her soul, a girl who had stood before a senate and saved a people. His heart ached and he wondered in a flash of perception what it might have been like to have a daughter, if the girl before him maybe had soft brown curls and the same upturned nose and eyes that smiled but could brew a storm just as easily. He shook his head, focusing instead on the red gold child before him, the steel in her green eyes and in her spine trained into her practically, Vader knew, since birth.

He was a little surprised by her question, but knew it was best to put it to rest now, even though he doubted his reassurance would do much good. Somehow, he knew Mara to not be the type to be placated by mere words. She would want to see those words backed up by action. Still, he said, “No, Mara Jade. Nor am I going to report what you have done this night to the Emperor.”

He caught the look of shock on her face before she caught it herself and schooled her features. She was strong, Vader realized, and he wondered for a moment what she might become, what she might be capable of, if left in Palpatine’s care. She would be a force to be reckoned with regardless, but in that moment, he caught a glimpse of the assassin he knew his master hoped for. She wasn’t there yet, but such control over oneself, at such a young age…

And yet another possibility loomed. He recalled a distant recollection of Jedi warriors of the past, Bastilla Shan, Revan, others from the archives. He recalled the stories of their strength, their brilliance. What an ally such a person could make. He glanced once more at the sleeping Luke and back to Mara. Yes, there was another possibility. And it would call for care and precision. Two things he had never been particularly skilled in. But it had to start somewhere. He would need allies, and so would Luke.

“You protected my son from one I know you perceive as a threat, even though you had no cause. For that, you have my thanks. If you need for anything, you are resourceful. I’m sure you can figure out how to contact me.”

With that he left her, his son still asleep in his arms as he continued on to their own rooms. Behind him, he felt a ripple of something in the force emanating from the girl. He felt emotions, distrust, disbelief, lingering fear, uncertainty, but at its last there was a single ray of glistening light. And he knew what it was called.

Hope. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke didn’t think he would see Mara the next day. He had half wondered if she would be mad at him, maybe even blame him for what had happened. He was sitting in the cockpit of the Solar Sunrise contemplating these things, an oversized sweatshirt from his school was big enough that he could tuck his legs up into it as he sat in the pilot’s seat. When she came though, he heard her coming, and Luke knew that to be deliberate.

It wasn’t much noise. Soft footfalls on the metallic floor. But he turned and saw her there, red hair in its usual braid but not in sleep clothes. She wore an outfit similar to the one he had seen on the landing platform back on Coruscant. She still wore her tan cape though. Luke was now beginning to wonder about that. Was it a part of her daily outfit? But then why hadn’t she worn it planet side at all?

She stood in the entrance way, looking uncertain as to how to proceed. He had seen Mara afraid, he had seen Mara angry, he had seen her at least somewhat happy, even shy, but he didn’t think he had seen her uncertain.

He gave an encouraging smile. “Hey there!”

Whatever test she had been posing to him, Luke obviously passed because her shoulders relaxed and she walked towards him with her usual ease. “Permission to come aboard?”

Luke rolled his eyes fishing a snack from the bag in his hand and popping it into his mouth. “Would you listen if I said no?”

She chuckled, taking the co-pilot’s seat and looking out over the hangar bay. “Probably not.”

They were silent in each other’s company then, letting the coolness of the hangar lights bathe them in its glow. But it wasn’t a tense silence, there was a steady peace to the quiet that Luke was beginning to associate with Mara’s presence. Now that he could fully see her in the Force, he felt like this was just…well, a part of her.

Luke would have been happy to let it last, but he needed to talk with her, preferably before they landed on Alderaan in two days. So he fished out another snack bag and handed it to her. She took it with a smile, opened it, and only after she began to eat the salty contents did he say what was on his young heart.

“I’m sorry about last night.” She didn’t change at all, not outwardly. But in the Force Luke felt the palpable shift in her emotions. Her guard went up like a blast door slamming on its barring. She said nothing, so he continued. “I’m sorry too if my dad scared you. He…well, I would like to think he’s not normally like that, but maybe just not with me? I don’t know.” Luke ran a hand through his hair, absent mindedly spreading crumbs in his wake.

He didn’t think she would respond with the length of time that passed. So he was a little startled at her quiet answer. “I didn’t know he was your father.”

There was no accusation in her tone, not like Luke might have thought if he considered the question. Then the reality of her words sunk in and he visibly jerked in his seat as it hit him. “Wait, you didn’t?”

She shook her head. “You were declared the Heir to the Empire.” Mara stated matter of factly. “No one said who your father was. I assumed the Emperor put Vader as your personal body guard or something while you went around the Galaxy.” Here her brow furrowed. “I should have known.”

Luke had not considered people in the upper levels of the court, which Luke assumed Mara was, not knowing that the Emperor’s second in command was his dad. But then again, it made sense if he thought about it. No one ever referred to them in a familial sense, except maybe some of the serving droids back on Naboo. Even here, his title was used and nothing more.

“I assumed,” Mara continued, waving her hand in the air as she spoke, “that you must be the son of that famous Clone War’s general at first, but I would have thought that would make you pretty strong in the Force…maybe.” She didn’t say she did not know, but Luke found himself wondering now how much about the Force Mara really knew. “It was a surprise when the Emperor told me you weren’t. And then to have you through me into those crates.” Her eyes narrowed as she said this, making Luke look a little sheepish until her glare relaxed and he knew she was just teasing.

“Clone Wars General?” Luke asked, and now it was Mara’s turn to look visibly surprised.

“You’re saying he’s not him?” she quipped.

“I’m saying I don’t know who that is.” Luke replied, turning in his seat to face her directly. She followed suit and soon they sat cross legged in the two too large seats studying one another.

“General Skywalker, the Hero Without Fear?” Mara said it, drawing out the words as if that might jog a memory.

“Mara,” Luke leaned forward, hands planted at his sides on the seat. “I have no idea who that is.”

Mara leaned back, tapping her fingers against her cheek as she thought. “I guess it could be a coincidence, maybe.”

“Yeah.” Luke answered a little breathless. His father, a general, in the Clone Wars? Luke had studied the Clone Wars in school. But he had never heard of a general with that name. Luke wondered now. Maybe that was how his father lost his arms and legs?

“That being said, it’s not like Skywalker is that common of a name.” She fixed him with a pointed look.

“Why would you think some kid of this general would be strong in the Force?” Luke asked, leaning back in his seat so it rocked and letting it spin him in a lazy circle.

“Because generals for the old republic were Jedi, duh.” Mara replied, leaning back in her own seat to copy Luke. “Don’t they teach you anything in those schools?”

“Not about the Jedi.”

Mara huffed a breath of air, causing hair to dance around her forehead. “Figures. I guess I am lucky with access to the Imperial Databases.” The latter bit was said more quietly.

“Father doesn’t like to talk about before the Empire.” Luke said by way of answer.

Mara planted her feet on the ground, stopping the spinning. “Not even about your mother?”

“My mother?” Luke asked letting his chair continue to bob until it circled back to face her.

“Yeah, you’re mother. Surely he’s told you something about her, right?”

Luke ducked his head, golden locks flopping into his eyes. He would need a hair cut soon. “I-”, he began unsure where to go. “I don’t ask."

Mara watched him waiting, but for what, Luke didn’t know. “Why not?”.

“Because it upsets him, I can tell it hurts. He doesn’t talk about before the Empire right?”. Luke said drawing out the last part, making his point, “And I’m eleven.”

“And so is the Empire.” Mara concluded, nodding her head.

“Was,” Luke sucked in a breath, a little afraid of the answer he would receive, “was that General Jedi guy married?”

Mara shook her head, “not that I could find records of. But a lot of stuff was lost back then, and people don’t have to be married to have kids with the father’s last name.”

Luke squirmed, he could feel heat rising to his cheeks, “Uh, yeah, right.”

“You did know about that right? You’re the Imperial Crown Prince, the Court’s Golden Boy, and you don’t know about some of the basic tenants of court intrigue?” She was grinning now, “I could tell you about half of your classmate’s parents aren’t their actual ones.”

“No.” Luke actually gasped. Was that what life in the courts was like? “It’s not like I was always the Golden Boy as you put it.”

Mara nodded, “I know. You weren’t raised in the courts. But, even before?”

“My father would have married my mother.” Luke said furrowing his brows as he spoke. “He wouldn’t have not, right?” It was hitting Luke in this conversation with Mara that there was a lot about his father that he didn’t know.

Mara was quiet again, but when he could finally meet her eyes, she gave him a strange look, nodding to herself as if she was surprised by her own next statement. “Yeah, I think he would have.”

Luke let out a whooshing breath. “My Aunt always said it was the honorable thing to do if one could in that case, like when it happened with our neighbors back home.”

Mara tilted her head curiously in a way that reminded him of the birds that perched in the tree outside his bedroom window on Naboo. “Aunt?”

“Yeah, my Aunt Beru.” Luke smiled as he said her name, though the memory of her still hurt as it brought with it the memory of her death. He hadn’t realized how much he missed talking about her. His father listened of course, but he didn’t seem genuinely interested in his aunt and uncle, not in any way other than how it related to Luke.

But Mara had seemed interested, really and truly interested. And Luke was happy to oblige. He leapt into his little story, telling about what it was like growing up on a moisture farm, about how the twin suns glowed in the sky at sunset, and how the heat was enough to kill but how his aunt made the best cooling drinks at mid-day, he talked about his Uncle Owen and how he learned to fix droids. He told her about Beggar’s Canyon and learning to fly. He had thought she might grow bored, disinterested even. But Mara listened with a rapture that he had never seen in her, or really anyone else, since Tatooine.

It warmed his heart.

 About four snack packs each later and a quick trip to the Pilot’s Lounge off the hangar for juice, they were still in the cockpit of the Solar Sunrise, Mara sitting cross legged on the floor and Luke hanging upside down on his chair. “What’s your family like?”

Mara glanced away, her shoulders hunching, she pulled her tan cape closer around her. “The Empire is my family.” Everything about her tone, the conviction in her voice, told him she believed that. She was resolute, but Luke felt he was starting to know her well enough to see the gaps in her disguise, to see where Mara Jade, Imperial Agent in training (as his father told him) ended, and Mara the girl began.

“You’ve got to have parents.” Luke said, coming to sit right side up in his chair.

“I’ve been given a home in the Imperial Palace, I have training and people to guide me, I am luckier than a lot of kids my age.” She said with as much conviction now as she could muster.

Luke didn’t know that the next question would stick with her for the rest of her life, but it did. “But do you like it?”

Her green eyes snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“Do you like it?” Luke asked again. At her continued confused stare, he elaborated. “Do you like training? Do you have friends? What do you do for fun?”

“Fun?” Mara asked, glancing downwards at her hands.

“Yeah, fun.” Luke continued, growing more concerned about his friend by the second. “I have to do all of those boring court appearances and go to school and wear a uniform. But I also work on this ship and I repair droids and I go for swims in the lake at my father’s and my house on Naboo.”

“I like to dance.” Mara said simply, and Luke wondered if the waver in her voice meant she wasn’t sure she liked to dance or if she wasn’t sure she should voice that there was an aspect of her training she enjoyed.

Luke knew absolutely nothing about dancing. Not a thing. But it was the one thing she said so he grabbed hold of it. “What kind of dance?”

And now Mara grinned, “the kinds that you see at the balls. Ballet’s good too. I like the gymnastics of it.”

Luke was hoping she might elaborate, continue onwards to carry the conversation in which Luke was way out of his depth. But Mara, he was finding, was a girl of few words when she was unsure of herself. “What about friends?” He asked though when it seemed she was done.

“Well, networking and making contacts is all very important in my line of work.” She drew herself up, straightening her spine with evident pride.

Luke rolled his eyes, “I didn’t mean contacts. I meant friends, people you just…hang out with.”

Mara glanced around the ship, thinking about his statement, forming her reply. “You mean, something like what we’re doing now?” her core accent slipped through he noticed when she was nervous. The rest of the time, she sounded a little more like him. But he could hear the Coruscant style she spoke with planet side if he tried.

“Yeah.” Luke replied with a smile. “Like this. Because we’re friends, Mara.” But then he caught himself and wondered. Would Mara want to be friends? “That is, if you want to be friends.”

A pleasant little smile crossed Mara’s face, she didn’t hold her cloak so firmly in her hands anymore. “Yeah Luke, I think I’d like that.”

“Good, me too.” Luke replied with a grin and held out his hand to her across the small room. “Friends.”

She took it with that same little smile, her voice soft, “Friends.”

Chapter Text

Being friends with Mara was probably, Luke mused, one of the best things to happen to him in the last year. He wasn’t sure his father was totally pleased with the new development. But he didn’t try to stop it, which was good enough for Luke and Mara. The rest of the trip to Alderaan, they talked about everything and anything. He told her about Tatooine and Naboo and what it was like to go to school. She told him about the Imperial Court, the senate, and fortunately for him, helped him understand the politics of it all.

And perhaps best of all, they got to discuss the Force.

Luke could talk to his dad about it, but that wasn’t the same as having someone his own age to talk about it with. Mara was amazing, he would go with her to the training rooms and they would practice together. Little things mostly, levitation, meditation, Force assisted jumps, but with her, it could be a game. Who could run the fastest, jump the highest, even meditate the longest?

If his father had any misgivings about Luke’s friendship with Mara Jade, he began to put them aside as the friendly rivalry that had developed between the two started to produce results. Luke was growing stronger. And that was good in Vader’s book. The sooner he did the sooner they could be rid of the Emperor. With such thoughts though, Vader began to wonder what that would mean for Mara. What was life for an Emperor’s Hand in training with no Emperor to serve? Or worse yet, would she stand in their way in some misguided bid to protect the one she saw as her rescuer? Neither he nor Luke had yet mentioned their secret plans to her.

Their games turned to other areas too. Mara had been teaching Luke espionage. Slight of hand, how to take something from a crowded room and not be noticed. They played hide and seek all across the Executor too, with Mara teaching Luke the strategy of not being found when one chose not to be. Though Vader had to put a stop to it when they tried, and succeeded, to break into the data vault aboard ship.

Mara even ended up joining Luke and his father for meals sometimes. There was still a heavy animosity between her and Vader, though Luke sensed more of it came from Mara now rather than his father. Even so, the dinners were cordial, and Mara even seemed to enjoy them by the time they arrived on Alderaan.

Alderaan was a jewel of a planet in the Empire’s crown, Mara had explained to Luke as their shuttle landed. She was back in her regular day clothes, her hair braided securely. Her cloak nowhere to be seen. Luke was in his uniform, trying not to squirm, which was getting harder as Mara had kept finding ways to make him laugh.

He sensed that there was something she wasn’t exactly telling him about Alderaan, but he didn’t push. Mara would keep her secrets. That was just the way things were sometimes, he was finding.

When the shuttle landed, they emerged, his father first, Luke second, and Mara coming in third. He watched her where she stepped just out of the corner of his eye and tried to mimic her. Head high, steps purposeful and long as he could make them without looking like that was what he was doing. She smiled a little smirk as he did, puffing out her chest a little and he followed suit.

On the landing platform there stood a man Luke had not met before, but he seemed familiar somehow. Maybe from the holonet? Luke couldn’t recall. Beside him, in brilliant white and silver, a woman stood finely arrayed in silks. Her rich brown hair was done up in braids atop her head and she smiled graciously as they approached. But there was a tenseness to them both that Luke did not quite understand. He felt the man’s eyes on him in particular and Luke tried not to stare back. He hoped Mara was studying the situation with her infiltrator’s eyes and that she would give him a breakdown of the situation later. She had done that last night about their visit to Chandrilla. It had been very informative. He tried now to see a little more with her eyes, but it was proving difficult.

“You honor us with your presence, Lord Vader.” The woman said, inclining her head in a way that was almost a curtsy. Luke wondered how the braids didn’t tumble down from her head in the process.

“My company shall require quarters. I trust sufficient arrangements have been made?” Vader more ordered than asked, his voice distorted behind the mask in a way that Luke was never fully comfortable with.

“I assure you,” the man stepped forward this time with a slight bow, “everything is in order. If you would like to follow my aid here, he will see you to your quarters.”

“The children may go, I have further business to attend to here.” Vader turned and nodded to Luke and Mara. It was not lost on either that he addressed Mara in this statement too. Typically, Vader either referred to Mara as Jade or not at all and never before in the same company as Luke.

“Of course.” The man said.

Luke glanced towards Mara and another change brought about by their friendship was made evident. Before, she might have just glared at him or not acknowledged him in the slightest. But now she gave a half upturn of her mouth, not quite a smile and a little tilt of her head in the direction of the aid. Luke felt a knot in his insides beginning to loosen. Maybe with Mara’s help, navigating these court meetings would go better.

His father never cared for politics or if he was even appearing polite. But Luke had been raised to be kind if not courteous to all. Maybe Mara could help him fill in the gaps.

They followed the aid to their quarters, a whole wing that had been reserved just for them. Luke and Mara both had suites to themselves. He grinned at the marble arches, high ceilings, and sweeping balconies. The aid had been explaining Alderaanian architecture as they walked but Luke had long since tuned him out. As soon as the door to his room was open and Luke caught a look at that view, he grinned and raced towards the edge of the balcony beyond.

The aid made an exclamation of concern, reaching for Luke but it was lost on the boy. Alderaanian air was fresh, with a smell that reminded him of mint and something almost fresh and spicy all at once. Mara later told him it was something called Alpine, a type of tree that was prevalent here. Having breathed nothing but recycled air for the last several days, letting the breeze blow down the mountain, over his curls, and into his nose was as good as sliding into clean clothes after wearing the same for days on end or sinking into a soft mattress after a long day. It was beautiful.

“Check out this view.” He breathed; the scent of pine pricked his nose.

“Uh, thanks.” He said to the aid, realizing the man still stood there. He wished Mara was here to tell him what he should do now. But she had entered her own room. “You can, uh, I guess go now?”

The aid looked unsure, his eyes shifting about the room a moment longer before he simply bowed and backed out the way he came. Luke heard his feet clicking on the floor and then the door to their wing closing. Luke walked back to the open door to his rooms and tried to remember which one was Mara’s.

He didn’t have to wait long, because the door that was across from his opened slightly as her red gold head popped out from behind it. “Yeah?” she asked coming to stand in the hallway. “You were broadcasting your thoughts pretty loudly that you were looking for me?”

“Oh right.” Luke remembered to reinforce his shielding a little. Mara had been working with him on that. It was something she had been taught since her arrival at the Imperial Palace, which Luke took to mean basically since she was born. He grinned again, happiness bubbling in his chest, “you’ve got to see this view.”

He beckoned her through his open door and rushed back to the balcony. The sun glinted off the mountain tops beyond and Luke breathed in that fresh, fresh air. It really was great to be planet side again. Mara also grinned as she came to join him, shielding her eyes from the glow of the sun as it hung suspended almost before them. It was a little past this planet’s mid day cycle, which meant Luke’s apartments would give him a wonderful view of the sunset.

But that was not what had captivated his attentions. “Look, Mara.” He grinned, “Mountains.” Mountains were a thing on Tatooine. But there was a difference, in Lukes’s mind anyways, between sand on level ground compared to sand on higher ground, and green sloping fields that gave way to purple and grey peaked heights. “What do you suppose that white stuff is?” Luke asked. “It looks like clouds.”

“That’s snow, Farm Boy.” Mara smacked his shoulder lightly. He chuckled at the nickname. She had taken to calling him that after he told her about Tatooine.

“But it’s not winter.” Luke protested.

“Not now.” Mara replied. “But it feels like winter up there.” And her hand reached out, fingers spread as if she could sweep the snow with her fingertips. “There, where the air is thin, it is always winter.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night they were treated to a state dinner with all the trimmings. The grand dining hall in the palace of Alderaan was beautiful to Luke as the mountain air was beautiful. It was equal parts elegant, modern, and yet traditional in all the hallmarks of the Alderaanian style. Luke was seated near the head, close to the senator and the queen. His father was sat directly across from him, to the right of the senator himself. Mara was a seat removed from Luke, an advisor or aid or something taking the seat between them. Luke didn’t really care. He would have preferred to be able to spend the evening talking with Mara. But a glance at her, lifting her soup spoon with an elegance that rivaled the queen’s and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Luke knew that she was in her ‘operative mode’ as he called it, taking everything in.

In all reality, Luke was only taking in portions of the conversation, such as between his father and Bail Organa.

“I was disappointed to hear that the princess would not be in attendance tonight.” His father spoke through the rasping technology of the mask. Luke’s ears pricked up at the mention of a princess. He remembered Mara talking him through the Alderaanian court, he just couldn’t remember exactly what she had said. How was one meant to pay attention after the fifth cousin of the royal house was named in the fourth of his line? Really, Mara.

“Ah, it is such a pity, especially with the presence of the Heir to the Empire with us.” Organa replied, sipping a purplish red liquid from his crystal goblet.

“What could have detained your daughter given such an occasion?” Luke tried not to visibly wince. Really, couldn’t his dad make anything sound nonthreatening with that mask? For the first time Luke wondered if maybe he couldn’t.

“A special academic trip, one that had been arranged now for quite some time. I extend my own deep sympathies though on her missing this occasion.”

“It seems you put much stock in your daughter’s education.” Vader drawled. “seeing as she was absent from the festivities on Coruscant as of late.”

Luke did not have time to pay attention to any reply that came as a question was broached to his side.

“We hope you have found your rooms comfortable, young prince.” A woman’s voice spoke very near. It took Luke a moment to remember that the queen sat basically in the seat to his left, which was the head of the table. He tried not to drop his own spoon in his soup in his haste to turn and respond. In the Force, he felt a burst of amusement and knew it had to be coming from Mara.

“Uh, they’re very nice.” He said, trying to hide his discomfort by smoothing the napkin in his lap.

If the queen was offended by his informal reply, she didn’t show it. She smiled at him, a tender smile, but one that was sad in a way. It stirred something in Luke, like the whisperings of a half remembered dream. Something he could sense but something that was out of his grasp. He wanted to hold on to the sensation and chase it where it led. But the queen was speaking again.

“And how are you enjoying your trip? It was a momentous day for the Empire when you were brought home. You must have had quite the year.” Her words were kind, her voice soft and low as if they could have been talking in a quiet living room rather than a grand dinning hall. But Luke didn’t miss the way her emotions seemed to flutter a little as she said home. Did she disagree with him coming to live with his father? But why should she?

Luke didn’t know. He stored the question away for later. Maybe he would ask Mara. “It’s…it’s been an adventure your Majesty.” He replied, thinking of all the planets he had had the chance to see and the people he had met. His mind chose that precise moment to finally recall some of his lessons in diplomacy and he continued. “It has been an honor to serve the people.” Even with all his lessons, Luke could not bring himself to say ‘Empire’.

That earned him another of her half smiles and he felt the sadness a little more clearly. “I am not often at court.” She replied and he knew he meant the court on Coruscant rather than Alderaan. “But I imagine it is quite the place. You must be learning so much!”

She said it like a compliment, but he felt the question lingering there. However Luke could not guess at what kind of answer she expected, so he chose not to answer at all. She hadn’t worded it like a question anyways.

Seeing as she was getting no response, Queen Breha tactfully maneuvered the question to other topics. She asked him about his knowledge of Alderaan and answered questions from him about the culture with an amused, but happier quality than she had before. He asked what it was like to be a queen and she had asked what it was like to be the imperial heir. Neither seemed very interested in answering the other’s questions, so it moved back to safer topics like starships and industry and what kind of fish were native to the lakes he had seen.

The dinner was over soon enough, though not soon enough for Luke. He bolted just as soon as he could do so politely and still keep some level of decorum. He had excused himself and the court of Alderaan had smiled in sympathy and cooed about how children needed their sleep.

He arrived back on their floor as the stars began to shine in the heavens above. Mara’s door was open, which was a strange sight. On Chandrilla, he had not even known where she was staying. But on the starship, her cabin door was always bolted fast. He poked his head in and found her dressed for sleep, her tan cloak settled on her shoulders and seated on the floor in the middle of a great circular carpet the color of the night sky. There was an array of datapads spread before her.

He wondered how long she had been here and felt a stab of jealousy when he realized that he could hardly recall seeing her at all after the dinner. She had been able to sneak away. He had had to endure all the politics. He was beginning to understand why his father hated that word.

“You can come in.” She said, not even looking up from her work. He entered and came to sit beside her on the rug, his ceremonial wear feeling scratchy with every movement.

“What’s all this?”, he asked, reaching for a datapad. But before he could pick one up, Mara’s hand darted out fast as the darting fire flies that dashed over the surface of the lakes on Naboo and snatched the datapad away. “Hey!” he protested.

“Luke.” She turned to him, green eyes intense and focused. “Remember when I asked about your father?”

Luke’s mind easily recalled the casual afternoon they had spent in the cockpit of the Solar Sunrise. “Yeah?”

She flicked her gaze away now, down turned towards her hands where she held the datapad she had pulled from him. “Well, since my report to the Emperor is going to be…different…then it might have been, I decided to turn my attention elsewhere.” She was speaking primly and properly, more of her core accent slipping through. “I’ve been trying to find out who your mother might be.” Still she did not meet his eyes.

Luke let her words settle around him like rain falling gently from the sky, soaking him through. He had wondered, of course he had wondered about his mother. All his life he had wondered. His Aunt and Uncle told stories about his father. But details about his mother were few and far between, if they ever came at all. And here sat Mara, surrounded by datapads, up late and using all that infiltrating, spy in the making training, that she had been given to try and put a stop to that wondering. “Really Mara?” he felt the warmth settle in his chest as he reached now and took her hand in his. “Thank you.”

It was only then she dared to meet his gaze and it was in that instance that he realized that Mara had been unsure of herself in those moments before. Had she been afraid he would reject this action, this gift? Luke could not fathom that.

“But, you’re not mad?”. She asked.

“Mara, family means everything to me. I thought I had lost all that I had. But then my father found me.” His grip on her fingers tightened ever so slightly then, smiling at her, “then I found you and now you want to find my mom. How could I be mad?”

Mara looked at him as if he had just announced that the Emperor was dead and he himself had just been coronated at the dinner.

“So what have you found?” Luke asked when it became clear she wasn’t going to respond. He reached for a datapad and this time, Mara didn’t stop him.

A quick glance told him a lot of this was about Clone Wars history. He skimmed through battle reports, news headlines, and more. “You really think my father was some sort of Jedi General?” he asked skeptically.

Mara was back in her operative mode when she answered, entering a key command on her own datapad. “Maybe. Or perhaps someone affiliated close enough with him to take his name. There are many possibilities. Jedi had apprentices. People they taught. Maybe he was one of those.”

In his mind, an unspoken sentence was shared between the two, yet clear as day as if Mara had actually said the words aloud. You are strong enough in the Force to be.

“Did this General Skywalker guy have an apprentice?” Luke asked, thumbing through a news report that spoke of a battle on Chistophsis.

“Maybe.” Mara replied. “A lot of those records are lost most of those generals don’t even have reliable surviving pictures for identification.”

There was something in the way she said that that made Luke wonder, he glanced at her out of the corner of his gaze. “Most?”

“Call it all.” She replied. “Except…” and Luke knew that that exception had been coming, “those that survived the initial rise of the Empire. There are wanted posters. Wanted posters that an Imperial Agent could access quite easily and cross reference with the archives here on Alderaan.”

“Or an Imperial Agent in training…” Luke grinned, as a sparkle danced in her eyes. She had spoken about her work before. Brief mentions here, a slip of speech there. But never had she seemed to enjoy what she spoke of. Not like this. And even though a nagging in the back of his mind spoke of danger, the less sensible side, the side that was forever a child, was excited at the idea. It was like she was part of their secret rebellion! But now she and Luke were their very own rebel cell. And they had a mission, a mission to find his mother. Luke was ready for this, he had been ready for a long time. And he couldn’t wait to get started.

“I have a free hour for studying tomorrow after lunch.” Luke spoke, his voice low.

“And there is no better place to study than in one of the best libraries in the sector.” Mara grinned back. They were in this together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deep in the palace, in the private quarters shared between the Queen of Alderaan and her husband, Bail Organa took Breha into his arms. “My love,” he spoke into her hair, “you’re shaking.”

And she was, the armor of queen discarded in favor of the reality that hid underneath. The reality of a scared mother. “He’s here.” She whispered into her husband’s chest, drawing strength from him.

And Bail tightened his grip around her, thinking of the darkly clad figure, and not just in regards to his fashion choices. The haze that had seemed to come over the palace at his arrival had been tangible. “I know.”

“And that poor, poor boy.” A dampness entered her voice, staining the front of his shirt.

And for this, what words did Bail have? The boy, that sweet innocent child, Padme’s child, in the clutches of a monster. All evening his wife had sat with Luke, asking him about his life, looking for the signs they both knew must be there.

Obi-Wan had said Luke was strong in the Force, surely someone like that would not be spared the brutal training that the Emperor would no doubt inflict upon him in the hopes of a new apprentice. Breha had found him guarded, not open to talking about his life and both knew that did not bode well.

“He’s here.” She pulled back from her husband now, a steel in her eyes. “Luke,” she said meaningfully, “is here.”

And Bail understood the resolve, had felt the same fire his wife now felt the moment that shuttle had touched down on the landing platform of Aldera. But in his mind, he saw a girl with chocolate curls and a laughing smile as she played with her droid under the summer sun. He saw a Padawan fall, gunned down where they stood and blasters held against the innocent. He thought of the boy with the sunlight of two suns still wreathed into his hair, and he forced his mind to turn away.

“No, Breha, we can’t”

She pulled back now almost out of the circle of his embrace. “We may never get another chance.”

Bail shook his head. “We don’t have a chance now. If anything happened, the Imperials would know. There is already suspicion cast on our people. We cannot risk more, not here on Alderaan, not in the palace, not like this.”

Breha looked like she wanted to argue, but his wife was a brilliant politician and queen. She understood her argument was mute before she even gave it voice. “They will destroy him.” She allowed herself at last to be taken into his arms again.

Bail sighed, nodding. “But not her, not our Leia.” He said and felt Breha’s arms tighten around him and heard the strength return to her as she answered back.

“No, they won’t.”

Chapter Text

Ever since coming to live with his father, there had been no secrets between him and Luke. Well, that was how Luke liked to think of it anyways. He knew in reality his father had to be keeping many things from him. But those were things that they never spoke of to begin with, so Luke had found his way of compartmentalizing them by pretending that his father just didn’t know about those topics either. Even if that wasn’t true. But there was nothing in Luke’s life that his father didn’t know. There had been things they had not spoken of, like his meetings with Mara early in their voyage. But this was different. This was about Luke’s mother. And Luke knew the topic caused his father pain, Luke knew that to ask would be to tear open a wound that had festered far longer than Luke could imagine. So he didn’t ask. But that didn’t mean Luke didn’t want to know.

So, Luke rationalized, this wasn’t a secret. Absolutely not. This was just gathering information. Information that Luke had every right to know. Gathering that information with Mara was just a smart way of going about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to involve his father, it was just that his father had more important things to do with his time right now than reliving painful memories when Luke could answer his own questions. It wasn’t like his father would be disappointed if he found out.

His palms were sweaty though, as he pushed open the massive doors that led the way to the room that held the archives on Alderaan. It wasn’t even like he wasn’t supposed to be here. Why was he nervous? Queen Breha had been so nice to him at dinner that when he ran into her after breakfast, he felt he could ask if he could use the library to study during his study hour. She had knelt to his level, smiled and ran a hand over his cheek even as she did, telling him that he was more than welcome. Of course, Luke realized, she probably didn’t think that eleven year old Luke would know how to access or slice into anything with higher authorization than he currently had. But she didn’t know that he planned to meet up with Mara and he highly doubted that even if she did know, that she would know Mara could get into most any system she wanted to. Or at least, Luke hoped Mara could. It would be a wasted trip probably if she couldn’t.

Taking one more breath he steadied himself, letting the Force soothe and surround him, before entered the grand royal library on Alderaan. Datapads lined most every wall in towering bookshelves that swept towards the ceiling. Little tables, nooks, and comfortable looking chairs were interspersed here and there. Tall, floor to ceiling windows curved before him, letting in the midday light diffusely as if through a frosted pane. Luke wasn’t sure he had ever seen so many datapads in his life. Of course, he had never bothered stopping by the library in the imperial palace.

Luke shook himself from his awe and walked further in, a satchel on his shoulder, presumably containing his school work, should he be stopped. But no one stopped him. There was hardly anyone. An elderly curator was at a large central desk close to the center. But Luke avoided him and he was either content to not bother the young boy or had not noticed him entirely. This suited Luke just fine. He had agreed to meet Mara near the east wing of the archives and he did so.

She was already waiting for him, dressed in a pale white tunic that made her red hair stand out vividly in its twin braids that were twined together down her back. The clothes were nicer than ones he typically saw her wear and looked a little familiar even. It was with a start that Luke realized that her clothes were of traditional Alderaanian cut and resembled the clothes he had been seeing on many of the locals. He didn’t ask where she had gotten them, for all he knew she had brought them with her and had just never worn the set before. But he smiled a little at the cleverness. Unless anyone knew her on sight, they would likely assume she was a local girl herself, some member of the palace staff or household.

She nodded at the satchel on his back and Luke slung it over, pulling out one of her own datapads that she had given him last night, and they set to work. The library was quiet, so talking was hard to do freely. But Mara’s fingers flew over the datapad. Luke had not noticed the cord around her neck until she tugged the long strand of what he had originally thought to be some corded necklace free and reveled it to be a connection cable. She plugged it neatly into the datapad before accessing the port near their nook. And suddenly her datapad was alive, pouring in vast quantities of dates and files. Mara’s eyes were electric as she took it all in.

“This is incredible.” She breathed. Luke squirmed, coming to sit closer to the edge of his seat, attention rapt. “Most of these aren’t even in the Imperial Databases.”

“And?” Luke asked, “are you finding anything.”

Mara shook her head, “there is mention of some kind of court preceding here. A one ‘Anakin Skywalker’ was mixed up in it. Mentions of evidence tampering. Some kind of bombing in what’s now the imperial palace. There is mention of an apprentice to a high ranking general, but most of these files are missing key components. A presiding senator acted as legal council.” Here, Mara turned the datapad to face him, “Padme Amidala it says. Have you heard the name before? Maybe your father mentioned a case with a senator as legal counsel?”

Luke stared at the name and shook his head mutely. A name, two little words. Yet words had power, names had meaning. Somehow he felt drawn to this one, he wondered about the senator who would choose to stand up for some apprentice. They must have been really special. “What do we know about the senator?” Luke asked at last.

Mara keyed a query into her datapad, her brow creasing. “It’s strange, there’s a fair amount of information here, but it’s skewed, like someone went through and took out pages in her autobiography.”

“What makes you say that?” Luke asked, rubbing his thumb across the wood of their table.

“Lots of erratic information for one.” Mara continued. “There are reports of her showing up all over the place. Like Geonosis, Mandalore,” her eyes met him, “Tatooine. Says here she was instrumental in rescuing Jabba’s son when he was kidnapped years ago.”

Luke tried not to think much about Tatooine these days, especially the Hutts. He wondered why this senator would work to help them. He wondered what she had thought about that planet and all that happened there.

“What about a connection to the general? Anything?”.

Mara shook her head, “That’s what I mean, half of these missions she is reported to be on were not strictly diplomatic, she would have had a military escort. But there are few, if any reported names. The 501^st division comes up a lot. And guess who their general was.”

Luke didn’t have to answer, it just felt too convenient. It all felt a little like it made too much sense and yet not enough. His father couldn’t have been a Jedi, could he? And if he was a Jedi, a Jedi that fought as general for the Republic, why would he help the Empire? It made no sense. Luke voiced these concerns to Mara.

“It is a little too suspicious, the missing information, the lines cut out of the stories.” Mara admitted. “If I could find a picture of this general, would that help?”

Luke wanted to say no, that there was no way this Jedi Hero was his father. But He glanced once more at the name of the senator. Padme Amidala. He pictured Queen Breha, her gentle, almost sad smile, he felt Aunt Beru brushing back his hair with the tender words ‘Love you Luke’, he tried to correlate these images, tried to wonder how they might relate to the woman who had given him life. The name somehow seemed to click, it resonated with him and it sang in the Force, a sad and distant melody. But there were undertones, within the discord, he knew somewhere, there had once been joy. He couldn’t bring himself to answer Mara out loud, but he nodded.

He would have thought Mara’s line of questioning would continue. But in a fluid movement, one Luke was quickly realizing was made to look natural, she had brushed the datapad into her lap under the table where she and Luke sat, hidden and out of sight from a blue and silver astromech as it came around the corner.

Luke watched in fascination as the droid trundled up towards their table, whistling a greeting. Luke grinned back, his love for droids abating any questions that might have arisen from this one’s inexplicable presence.

“R2-D2, huh? It’s great to meet you, I’m Luke Skywalker.”

Under the table, Mara kicked him and he spun to her, annoyed “Hey, what was that for?”

Mara, whose face had been fixed in a glare just sighed, shaking her head but before she could speak the droid was back to its beeps and whistles of binary language that Luke had spent so many hours painstakingly learning over the years. He wondered fleetingly why this droid was here. Did Alderaanians use them as archivists? It was a puzzling thought.

“No,” Mara replied to the droid curtly. “thank you but we have everything we need.”

The droid, R2-D2 beeped a string of indignant tones as Mara made to stand and he blocked her way. “Cut it out!” Mara tried to side step but the droid was surprisingly agile.

In a moment, the droid had plugged into the terminal and there was nothing either Luke or Mara could have done to prevent it. And then in a moment more, the droid was gone, out of sight with nothing but the distant sound of treads against marble floor and trilling whistles to be heard.

“Okay…” Luke looked after the strange little droid. “That was weird.”

“Yeah,” Mara replied, but her voice was distant, she had pulled the datapad back out from under the table and plugged it into the terminal where the droid had been moments before. Her eyes flashed fire at what she saw, an electric intensity like the snap hiss of a lightsaber glowing green rather than his father’s red. The image it cast in Luke’s mind spoke to him, evoking an image of a sleek blade of light and the design of a hilt. He shook his head, storing the details of the schematics that had burned across his mind for later.

“I think…” Mara shook her head, “it doesn’t make any sense but I think that droid may have just helped us out.”

“What?” Luke leaned across the table, “how, why?”

Mara tossed him a glare from over the rim of the datapad, “Keep your voice down.” But she turned the datapad around to face him.

On the screen, a holo played, showing what must have either been the setting or rising sun. over an eerily familiar lake. Two figures stood, silhouetted against the radiant light, their features lost in the long shadows they cast. But it was obvious what this was.

A wedding.

“Are there names?”Luke asked, barely above a whisper, barely able to breathe.

Mara shook her head again in the negative. “Not for the man. But for the woman…”

There, next to a time stamp in the lower right corner of the screen, was the name Padme Naberrie.

Luke felt suddenly light headed, like the archives were spinning about him. A wedding, the senator with no official marriage licenses on record was married. She had been married in the Lake district, and oh stars did that balcony look so familiar. If he closed his eyes, Luke could step into the holo and right onto the cool marble floor to walk down all the way to the lake without once opening his eyes to see where he was going. “Does this mean…” his voice sounded small and far away.

“It doesn’t mean anything. Not until we know more.” Mara said, switching off the datapad and reaching across the table to take his hand. “Hey,” she spoke, compelling him to look up at her. “We don’t know what this means yet. We have to be careful.”

“Right…” Luke nodded, eyes fixing on the top of her red gold hair. Had his father been a Jedi? A hero? What had his Aunt and Uncle known about this, if anything? And his mother…Mara had described it like missing pages being taken out of the senator’s file. But Luke realized, maybe fully realized for the first time, that there were missing pages in his story too. So, so many, and the places they had been ripped out ached.

“Come on, if that droid reports what we were doing, or what we just saw, we could be in big trouble, we need to get out of here.” Mara was speaking, gently pulling him to his feet and guiding him out of the Archives. But all Luke could think in the back of his mind was of a secret wish he had harbored in his heart since he was a child, right next to wanting to be a pilot. He wanted to be someone who protected the galaxy, defended the innocent, like that hero he and Mara had just read about. At last, that childhood dream had a name, and it echoed in his head like a clarion.

He wanted to be a Jedi, and now he couldn’t’ help but amend the dream and think, a Jedi, like his father before him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke and Mara both would have liked to have said that the remainder of their time on Alderaan was informative if not fun. But unfortunately neither could say that either were true about their remaining days planetside. They didn’t get a chance to go back to the archives but Mara promised to look into the holo the strange droid had apparently left for them. Her urgings of caution always followed each such promise, a quiet entreaty that so echoed the one from that night back on the Executer that Luke couldn’t help but listen.

Say nothing about what we saw.

So he didn’t and the unanswered questions tugged at his soul. But it was obvious the answers they sought were not on Alderaan, but a road was laid before them, pointing to the stars, pointing towards Naboo. So it was with some relief that the children boarded the shuttle that would take them back to the Executor and once more into the stars.

It was a relief echoed by one Bail Organa as he waved a hearty wave next to his brilliant, beautiful wife. They watched together, hand in hand as the shuttle rose into the sky, became smaller and smaller, and all at once winked out of view.

It was only then that he felt like he could breathe again. His shoulders visibly slumped and suddenly Breha was at his side, supporting him, loving him, in ways he could only hope and pray he was doing for her in return.

“They are gone, my love.” Her gentle words held a fire behind them and it warmed him inside out. But still the cold lingered on his skin. The cold resided in every memory of a hopeful smile on a young face with blonde hair half covering blue eyes. The cold resided with the sensation of hair rising on the back of his neck at anything that even remotely sounded like that breathing he could hear even now in his mind if he let the memory come. The cold resided in the enigma of a red haired child standing resolute beside the boy.

The boy. How had he failed so much?

No. Bail Organa told himself emphatically. He had not failed. Not entirely. And he would not. For this reason he waited a total of a standard day and night cycle after the departure of their imperial guests before making the all important comm call.

It spun, it beeped, it twirled the blue connection light before him three times, three agonizing seconds as he imagined the worse. And then there was a connection! “Hello my friend.” Organa released the last of the breath he had been holding the last seven days.

“Hello there.” A still thickly accented core voice responded under the hood of his cloak. “I trust all is well?”

“As well as it can be. How do you find the valley lakes this time of year? Breha and I long to see them ourselves. Soon.” It was a pass phrase, one prearranged and preset the meaning preordained.

A smile formed on the face of the one on the other side of the comm. “Thriving, in these beautiful climates. I know you will see them soon. I have to go now.”

Organa saw the other person reach to flick the comm off, but he spoke before the other man had a chance to complete the action. “My friend, I thank you for your help once again. I knew you would find the perfect retreat.”.

The man on the other end of the comm understood the words perfectly. He nodded and bowed, “Of course. I know you will love seeing what I see very soon.” And with that, the transmission ended.

Slumping into the plush chair in his office, Organa scrubbed a hand over his face, down his nose and over the skin that was growing rough in need of a shave. The fingertips that had traced over his eyes came back wet, but he felt the smile that had caused the tears to curve around his cheeks.

He understood the words perfectly too. Leia, his Leia, would be home and safe in his and Breha’s arms tonight. In that, he comforted himself, he had not failed.

The peaceful silence that had fallen over him in those moments was shattered by his comm beeping and not just any comm. His encrypted comm. The channel that only two people in the galaxy had. And since he had just hung up with the one…his heart clenched as he picked it up, knowing the conversation he had been dreading for the past year was finally at hand.

He thumbed the connection open and said the appropriate pass phrases and received the appropriate return ones before it began. He had expected a storm, instead, he got a whisper.

“His name is really Luke Skywalker?” The quiet voice he hadn’t heard much from in the past few months came over the comms.

Bail allowed himself a moment to breathe before he answered what he knew would be an unsatisfactory response. “Yes.”

There was a much longer pause, a shuddering feeling that even Bail Organa could understand without the Force and heedless of the distance as the voice responded finally “He was on Alderaan.”

Bail sighed, grateful at least Breha wasn’t here for this. This conversation that promised to be nothing but difficult. “I know.”

“He was on Alderaan. For three days.”

“I know.” Bail replied. What else could he say?

“Why in the name of all things good didn’t you call me?” And there it was, the built up hurt and anger, the pain this caller had channeled for so long into helping others now breaking over them.

Bail could practically hear the crashing waves. “Could you have promised me you wouldn’t have tried to take him back? Could you have promised not to risk everything, put my people in danger, my family in danger?”

There was a moment of quiet static once more over the line. “I could have found a way. You know if anyone could it would be me.”

And Bail didn’t have a retort to that. A small voice in the back of his head nagged at him, saying that she was right. There might have been a chance. And he could very well have doomed them all by not taking it, all because he was afraid.

A longer pause followed by a sigh and then, “Just tell me if it’s true.”

Bail closed his eyes, picturing the blonde hair and the bright blue eyes that still smiled. How long would those eyes keep smiling? “You don’t need me to tell you, anyone who has seen a holo of him could know.”

And the storm was back. “Not anyone who’s seen a holo knew his parents. I need to hear it. From you.”

Bail wanted in that moment to lie, like he had convinced himself to lie to this one friend so many times before. But no, not with this, not when there was nothing anyone could do now. “Yes, he looks so much like them both.”

“You should have called me!” The voice on the other end spoke with their conviction not in volume, but with a growl behind their words and that was almost worse.

And suddenly Bail was afraid. What if the caller decided to take matters into their own hands? What if they tried something very, very foolish in an attempt to sway their grief? “Whatever you’re thinking,” he began, gripping the comm, “it’s no use. The Empire has him. You would be throwing yourself at an army.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” The response came back as a quip with a bite at its edges.

“You’ll get yourself killed. People are counting on you. The Alliance is counting on you.”

“And who is Padme counting on to protect her son?”

Bail felt like he had been slapped and couldn’t bring himself to respond before the caller continued, a fire in their voice. “Tell me I’m wrong. I was at her funeral; she was pregnant when she died. That is her son that was in your house…and Anakin’s.”

Bail heard the wetness creeping into that strong voice and it nearly broke him too, memories of that night playing back in his mind in a flash. “Their legacy,” And it hurt to say ‘their’ knowing what Anakin had become even if the caller did not. “is more than their child. We protect that legacy by keeping the Rebellion alive.”

“I can’t accept that he is lost.” The voice conceded. But Bail wasn’t foolish enough to see this as defeat. He could almost hear the planning taking place right now.

“If you do this, the Alliance cannot support you. We are not ready for a full front attack on the Empire. And that is what this would be.”

A huff of annoyance came clear as daylight over the comm. “You’re not the only ones who hate the Empire.”

Bail felt his heart breaking. This sounded suspiciously like goodbye. “Don’t do this.” He pleaded again. “You’ll get yourself killed. You’re my friend, the galaxy needs you. The Alliance needs Fulcrum.”

There was a lingering pause, the words striking a chord, but Bail knew his words had not had the impact he had hoped for as the caller finally replied. “And my teacher needs me to save his son. I have to try.”

The call disconnected.

Chapter Text

Back in the swirling blue of hyperspace, it was with a somewhat heavy heart that the children aboard the Executor continued their travels amongst the stars. For it was nearing the end of their voyage. Luke would be returning to the lake district with his father for a few short weeks before returning to school, at least part time, in person. Mara, on the other hand, was Coruscant bound for the foreseeable future. And they both knew that once she was gone, there was little hope of contacting the other. Not, that is, if they didn’t want the Emperor knowing every spoken word. She would travel with them to Naboo and then catch a shuttle the Emperor had prearranged out of Theed, the capital city.

Luke was sprawled in his usual chair in the Solar Sunrise, Mara in what had become hers near the comm panel. She was wrapped in her tan cloak, flicking absently through a datapad. Luke stared up at the ceiling, the only sound made between the two was the creaking of their respective chairs.

He wanted to ask what Mara was working on. But the deep knit of her brows and the way her eyes became focused like lasers as she read told him she was working. He knew better by now than to interrupt. But his father, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

“Luke, Jade, I know you are in there.” His voice through the helmet reverberated and made Luke jump. Mara stilled, her hand freezing over her datapad, but that was the only visible representation she gave to being at all startled.

“I should go see what he wants.” Luke said, rising to his feet.

Mara followed in kind, “He asked for both of us.”

So side by side they shuffled out of the cockpit and down the ramp onto the hangar floor. Vader stood there, imposing in his armor, arms folded and for all intents and purposes looked as if he might be about to scold the children. But Luke knew the suit was designed to intimidate and the sense of the Force flowing from his father was more resigned than angry. He hoped Mara was picking up on this too. She seemed fine, despite the usual animosity she always projected around Vader.

“There has been…a change of plans.” Luke’s father began.

Luke bounced on the soles of his feet, eyes flicking to Mara. “Yeah?”

“The Emperor has contacted the ship and told us that Jade’s shuttle has been delayed due to a hyperdrive malfunction.” Luke tried not to role his eyes at the way he said Jade. In private or when they were in smaller crowds, his father had taken to calling her Mara. But there were appearances to maintain, or that is what his father said. If the Emperor was to suspect the status quo (whatever that meant, Luke had wondered when his father explained this to him) remained, his dislike of Mara had to appear to still be an issue too.

His father continued, “As such, he has requested that Jade be permitted as a guest at the lake house.”

Luke dug his nails into the soft part of his palm, biting his lip to repress the smile that threatened to spill over and split his face. Mara wasn’t leaving right away once they got to Naboo! He would be able to show her his home and the lake and his model ships and the books his dad had gotten for him, oh and the hangar where they could work on the Solar Sunrise some more! Maybe they could even go swimming!

A glance to Mara on his left showed well, almost perfectly schooled features. She bowed at the waist towards his father and as she did Luke caught the glint in her eye. “You are a gracious host, Lord Vader.”

Vader made a noise between a grumble and a snort. “The Emperor requests you contact him directly, but has instructed me,” and he said these words as if they were bitter in his mouth, “to tell you not to expect the shuttle for a minimum of four days.”

Now Luke was openly smiling. Four days. They had all the time in the world!

“Then I best be doing that. With your leave?” She asked, inclining her head as she straightened.

“You may go.” Vader huffed, sweeping his cloak behind him as he marched between his son and the girl before ascending the bridge into the Solar Sunrise itself.

Luke looked after Mara then back where his father had gone. Mara was already maneuvering out of the hangar bay but she tossed her head back once more, their eyes meeting for a second. We’ll talk later. She said in his mind before leaving his line of sight.

Luke turned and followed after his father.

The blast shields were up by the time Luke reentered the cockpit. His father, shielded from any potential outside views by the shields covering he window, had removed his helmet.

“I know you are happy by my news, my son.” His father said in a quiet voice, one gloved hand pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I am.” Luke let himself relax, feeling his emotions rather than suppressing them. “I’m happy to have more time with Mara.”

Now his father met his gaze. It was a heavy stare, one laced with meaning that made Luke stiffen.

“She’s my friend.” Luke said in retort to the silent communication. “Whether she’s the Emperor’s creature or not. You admitted yourself she wasn’t who you thought she was!”

Vader shook his head. “My son, your heart is bigger than you know. I don’t want to see it broken. Mara…she may not be all that I thought, but that doesn’t mean her loyalty is to you exclusively. She was raised by the Emperor and he has fostered fear, distrust, and animosity in her towards me.”

Luke bit his lip, frowning at his father’s words. “She said he rescued her from becoming an inquisitor?”

Vader looked away, out towards the blast shielded windows. “She would never have become an inquisitor. They do not recruit children.”

“What are they?” Luke asked.

“A mistake.” Vader snapped, hand gripping his mask so tight Luke feared the plastoid may snap.

“She seemed…she seemed…not afraid of them, but something.” It was a matter Luke had not really puzzled out.

“Remember when I spoke to you, about the Force, about the Jedi?” Vader turned back to his son. Luke nodded eagerly in response.

“The inquisitors are made to hunt them, kill them, or turn them to their own ways.” The way Vader spoke was harsh, blunt, and unforgiving.

Luke sucked in a breath. How could this be? A personal force of his father’s trained to kill Jedi. But his father said he would walk in the Light and that Jedi walked in the Light. Did that mean they would kill him? Mara said Vader led the inquisitors. What did that mean for them then?

“They served a purpose as objects of my anger. Back when I saw through the lies of the Jedi and knew them to be corrupt. But that can change, you have shown me that, Luke. And so they have outlived their purpose.”

“Are you going to kill them then?” Luke’s voice was small, he hunched his shoulders, his eyes on the floor. This trip had taught him much, much about the galaxy, the Empire, and those that lived in it. But it had also told him much about his father. He was learning, learning by how people reacted to him, responded to him. He knew his father to be dangerous. He was now learning that to many, he was someone to be feared and not in the way that Uncle Owen had said when talking about loving respect.

A gloved hand came under his chin, tilting it gently to meet his father’s gaze. “Is that what you think I should do?”

Luke thought about it a moment. Mara was afraid of so little. She wasn’t afraid of the dark when they played hide and seek. She wasn’t afraid of heights when they had practiced jumping together. She was not afraid of the Force or his power to wield it. But she was afraid of the inquisitors. That he knew. He recalled the flash of vision he had felt in that moment between Mara and his father. Jagged red blades framed against an inky sky. Pain and suffering, so much suffering, and finally broken pieces of what once had been something more, never to be the same. The dark tower looming above the water. Maybe it would be better if they were gone. Maybe it would be better for everyone. But they were people right? A little reminder said. Maybe they could be helped. Maybe he could help change them from whatever that twisted image had shown him. Maybe Mara could help him. After all, it was Aunt Beru who told him he had to face his fears when he had been small and afraid of the dark as a little boy sleeping in his own room for the first time.

He remembered back to how Mara had called that Clone Wars general. The Hero With No Fear. Maybe he could be a little like that. “I think you shouldn’t hurt them anymore.” Because Luke knew behind Mara’s fear of the inquisitors’ brutality was a fear of their leader. And Luke didn’t want that for his father.

Vader stiffened, stepping back a little from Luke. “Maybe they can do good, find Jedi and other Force sensitives and give them somewhere safe to go, like you did for me?”

Vader smiled a little, running a hand through his hair as he regarded his son. “Maybe, maybe that could work.” Now his face clouded again as his mind returned to the original topic of their conversation. “You, my son, know our end goal. Mara’s may be different. She may not understand how the Emperor has used her.”

Luke wanted to protest, to defend his friend, but in his heart he did wonder. Mara may have voiced disagreements with members of the court, even the Imperial Navy. But never the Emperor. But in that moment, Luke couldn’t bring himself to even imagine a future that didn’t have him and Mara on the same side. Even against the empire. Only time would tell though and Luke determined in that time to be the best friend to her he could be. And in time, maybe that would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her name was Mara Jade and she was ten and on her first real mission. Sure she had had smaller ones, into the court, even once into the upper sections of the great city planet on her home world, Coruscant. But this was the first time that she was on her own, trusted with a real mission. And she had already failed. She had been sent to observe and report back. A simple enough mission really, she had done it before to several high ranking members of the court. It shouldn’t have even been a problem. But that had all changed with one small encounter, one that should have barely stood out in her mind. But in her heart, a quiet corner of it where she remained a memory of something long forgotten, buried under tutors and training and practice and the ever present demand for perfection. A little corner of her still pulsed with the heartbeat of a person that had once been and maybe still was.

Mara Jade was a child of the Empire, taken in by the good graces of the Emperor himself. She had the best schooling, access to the best libraries, tutors to teach her the complexities of court life and the skills to navigate them. At ten she was good enough to spar with the guard in their flowing red capes. She really did have everything. That is what she told herself when she was woken by another nightmare.

She had always hated the color red, not red like her hair. No, that she liked, it was not an overly common color in the galaxy and even though she was taught to blend in, she liked the little part of her that made her uniquely her. Uniquely Mara. But when she rose from her bed, shaking and shivering and pulling for the tan cloak she always kept with her, she reminded herself that she really should be grateful. Knowing she wasn’t going to fall asleep again, she had made her way to the hangar deck. Ships were something in which to take comfort and refuge. You could go anywhere with a ship. If you wanted to go back somewhere or away from someone, you could. A ship meant freedom.

Mara really did have everything. So why did her nightmares fall under a backdrop of deep crimson? Why did her memory begin with a scream? They were questions that went unheeded, shoved firmly back into the little corner of her heart that refused to remember. She was on a mission. Her first. And before it had begun, it had failed. And it had failed the moment she met him.

When she met him, met Luke Skywalker on that first night, she felt the same as she had since meeting the boy in person, or well, observing him through the ventilation shaft. That, well…that hadn’t been a mission. It had been practice, that is what she told herself, but it hadn’t been ordered practice. But the feeling of enigma still remained as she watched him. He felt blank, like a polished silver box. The surface was glassy, but there was something underneath, something she couldn’t quite see.

Her master had told her that he was not sensitive to the Force like she was. But she wondered if he doubted this, she wondered if that was why he had given her this mission. But reaching out to him now, she felt the same glassy reflection of herself come back to her. A blank slate, not just blank, a deflection. Which should have been her first warning. It should have told her to stay away.

But she had taken what she had seen at face value. A prince, but a malleable one. One she knew her master would seek to mold and create along his own designs, despite his lack of skill or perhaps because of it.

And then came that fateful night. And his shields had dropped and Mara felt like that time she did when the Emperor had ordered live ammunition be used in her training and that time a flashbang had gone off to close. She was blinded by his light, blinded by the brilliance and the noise, like a floodgate being thrown open. She wondered after how he could have possibly contained it all for so long.

And then he had come. In all his state, black billowing cape and all and she had thought in that moment only of Luke. Memories of red played across her mind, memories of when her master had ordered her to observe the inquisitors for a day’s training. Memories of crimson blades and crimson blood, armor streaked in red in stark relief against black. Memories of guardsmen and frantic cries, an echoing scream, and something dear fading away so fast. She had shaken the memories back, one word penetrating her thoughts.

Luke.

It couldn’t happen to Luke.

Kind Luke, funny Luke, the boy who helped mouse droids and loved ships. And in that moment Mara didn’t think, she just acted. It went against everything she had been taught, everything she had been meant to do on that mission. But it was pure instinct born of a part of Mara she herself barely recalled and would not think about again until Luke would ask her that one fateful question.

What’s your family like?

And in that moment she had failed. She stepped in front of Luke, ready to defend him from the looming figure that she had thought to be the monster under her bed all this time, the reason she and Luke shared so many sleepless nights. But it wasn’t until she stood there and faced him that she saw the memories, the emotions, didn’t line up. He might have been the shadow in her corner, but he wasn’t the monster under her bed that plagued her dreams. He was just another glimpse of something worse, but standing before him Mara Jade at ten knew there were things beyond any of them all, things that were much, much worse.

And then miraculously, she lived through that night, she had faced her fears and found, of all things, some strange ally. Or at least an offer of one. Mara didn’t think she would ever trust Darth Vader enough to take him up on it. But she had gained a friend in Luke and she had failed her mission. For one impossible choice made for one impossible boy. When Vader had posed his question to her she had been forced to question everything. Her training what she knew of the empire, everything. And she knew the fate she’d chose for Luke in a split second.

So now here she stood, Mara Jade at ten in a place she never should have been, on the lake shores of Naboo under a crystal blue sky. A green hill sloped before her down towards the water where it became sand and then soft as it was kissed by the waves. Luke had run ahead of her, sun glinting off of blonde curls, bouncing as he kicked off one shoe, then the next.

“Come on, Mara!” He grinned, stumbling a little as he ran backwards for a second, beckoning her onwards with that smile on his face.

A serving droid appeared, collecting the shoes and overcoat that Luke had discarded before coming over to Mara herself.

“May I take your bags, Mistress Jade?” It inquired of her.

Mara blinked a moment, feeling the presence of Darth Vader behind her, watching her. “You know my name?”

“Of course, Mistress Jade.” The droid replied. “I was alerted to your presence and told to ensure your comfort. Please, if you require anything, you need only ask.”

Mara did not turn back, did not look at the dark presence behind her. But she nodded, and handed her bags to the droid. But she wrapped her tan cloak around her.

Behind her she felt the presence of Darth Vader moving towards the house, still watchful, still careful. Before her Luke was now knee deep in the waves, trouser legs rolled up as far as they would go and still wet at the hems. “There is a place we can watch the wading birds down a ways!” He shouted when he saw her watching him “you in?”

Mara glanced once at the droid as it trundled its way up the walk, towards the sweeping patio that looked over the lake, and then back towards Luke. It was high summer on Naboo, and there were no wild flowers in the fields at the moment. All around her was the blue of the sky and the green of the grass and the tan of the stone that made the house behind her. She could still feel the presence of Vader at the back of her mind. But here, for this moment, there wasn’t any red to hang over the world and the memories were dim again, but not in the way they were when she trained. This was different. There was a darkness here, she felt it seeping at the corners, a pain so deep it might as well have been built into the stones. But there was also light, a light so bright that it made the darkness feel small and far, far away. Mara couldn’t explain it, but for the first time since she could remember, she felt the light surround her, like the arms of someone kind embracing her in a hug. Unbidden to her mind came the name of one Padme Amidala and her mind darted back to the research she and Luke had done on Alderaan. Eyes glancing back towards the patio, a flicker of recognition swept gentle fingers over her mind, overlaying with images she had seen in the holo of a wedding after that strange Astromech droid had shown up. Wasn’t this Padme person from Naboo? It was a good question.

But one for another day.

Right now there was the sun and the sky and the glistening water before her. She undid the clasps of her tan cloak, letting it fall behind her and the wind caught it as she ran, hair coming out of her braid. She shouted after Luke on the beach, “Hang on a minute, I’ll come with you!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late the following night that Vader sat in his home, the one he shared with his son. His son who had spent the day playing in the lake with the girl the Emperor himself was raising in the palace. He was trying not to think of her like that anymore, and to Vader’s surprise, it was getting easier. The more he saw her with Luke, the harder it was to see the assassin Palpatine so desperately wanted. He wondered at his master’s plan here, in keeping the girl in the Lake District of Naboo for a few days. He knew it to be a plan, there was nothing else it could be. There wasn’t any other shuttle that could take her back to Coruscant? He knew that the Emperor had been trying to get eyes in here ever since Luke arrived. But there was a tenuous balance between his master and him. At the moment, they needed each other, and so he couldn’t just send in a spy and be done with it. Except he had done it. He had sent Mara.

What was his end game here?

As if on cue, he felt the brushing of a quiet whisper at his mind. He turned to the doorway of the kitchen in which he sat at the table. She stood there, her tan cape around her shoulders, dressed for sleep but wearing her boots. Vader wondered if she was seeking him out directly or had planned to go outside.

If she were seeking him out, it would be a first. As far as Vader knew, Mara still despised him. It surprised him as it had since his revelation of her that the feeling was not mutual.

What she said in her strange, quietly confident way that seemed misplaced on one so young, caused him to stand so abruptly that his chair fell back.

“You’re Anakin Skywalker, aren’t you?”.

His hands clenched into fists at his side. It was hard to see Mara as the assassin in training anymore. But that just meant it was easier to see other things, and that name on her lips brought images to mind of another red head with a core accent and a way of saying things like they knew better and best. But he reminded himself that she was just a girl, and Luke’s friend at that. It took great effort to reign in his temper. And yet his voice still came out as a growl.

“How do you know that name?” Had the Emperor told her?

In her defense, she didn’t flinch back from him, she stood her ground like the night he had found her defending Luke. “There are reports of Anakin Skywalker acting as a guard to a senator from this planet.”

Her words, every syllable felt like a knife to his soul. But still she continued “They stayed together here for some months. Records on Naboo are mostly encrypted, but a records check shows a marriage with fake credentials around the same time, taking place in this very house. I couldn’t think why else someone like you would choose to raise their son here.”

He was silent, hands clenched into fists. How dare she mention his angel, his Padme? How dare she even be looking into her past? His past? Their past? But her next words doused the flame of rage.

“Luke wants to know who his mother is, he deserves to know.”

Of course. Luke, his Luke, his angel’s Luke. He felt cold at the thought that the boy knew nothing about her, that her precious son didn’t even know her name. And here stood the girl with hair the same color as the one who had turned his angel against him, the girl being raised by the Emperor to be all that could vex Vader. And it all felt like the Force was laughing at him. He sucked in a breath.

“You are Anakin Skywalker.”

“That name,” Vader seethed through clenched teeth, “no longer holds any meaning for me.”

“It does for Luke.” She said it so simply, like that could turn back the clock and change anything.

“Another thing to put into your report to the Emperor?”. He turned in time to see her flinch. And a pang of guilt, a concept that was starting to become less foreign every day, stabbing at him.

“I-I wouldn’t, I’m not going to do that.” And Vader knew as she said those words that she wasn’t lying. And for all the things he had felt surrounding Mara Jade, anger, fear, distaste, and then with her friendship to Luke fear of her and the hope to secure her as an ally. All had been emotions shaped in thoughts of how she stood in his way, one way or another. But now a new emotion was added. He feared for her. If the Emperor ever found out what happened on this trip, in this Lake House, Luke would likely be killed, or worse. And it was something he and Mara shared in their knowledge of the galaxy at large. There were things much worse than death, things they would neither of them like to witness Luke suffer. And if the Emperor ever found out…

He shook his head. Luke was all that mattered. He shouldn’t care what happened to the girl. But an echo of her words resonated in his mind. She mattered to Luke too. And it was with a blaze in his mind the Force sang. He was going to have to protect her too. He would have groaned with the irritation of it all. Why had things had to become so complicated? When had he ever asked for this?

She remained silent through his own internal struggle before turning on her heels and marching from the room, saying one more parting remark over her shoulders. “Luke deserves to know who his mother is.”

Vader was silent for some time after she left, he wasn’t sure how long he sat in the kitchen. But after a while he rose and made his way towards the fresher off of his own chambers and faced himself in the mirror. There were scars there, scars from sabers and from blasters and from fire. Streaks like lighting traced part of his face and he traced them then with a mechanical hand, wincing at the memory they held.

Anakin Skywalker.

The name felt strange in his mind. He felt it like one might feel an old coat. It didn’t quite fit anymore, it grabbed in places it shouldn’t have and hung loose where it should have fit well. It was a cover on a book that it didn’t belong to anymore. It held no meaning or context to the pages within. It was a sham, a weakening covering, a remnant of a story that had been a life that didn’t exist anymore and never would again. It held no meaning.

It does for Luke

Force, that girl, why had it seen fit to throw her into his and Luke’s path? He could not escape the feeling that she was a balance for their futures, a choice she would make might very well hinge the outcome of the galaxy as they knew it. The choices of one could very well be what they would all live or die by. She was just a child now, but he had been just a child once too and the galaxy was forever changed by his choices. She would perhaps play a subtler role than storming a temple or waging a war. The name Mara Jade might never even appear in an official record, but Vader knew that there would be a choice one day, and Mara would have to make it and it could spell the end for them all.

But right now she was a child, he reached out with his mind and confirmed she slept in the room in the guest quarters not far from his own son, his son who slept securely. Their fates were intertwined whatever may come. And whatever may come, Vader knew that until that choice presented itself, he would have to protect them both.

Ever in motion, the future is. Those words made bile rise to his throat as he remembered the one who had spoken them.

He was done trying to force the future to meet his will, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t work to shape it just a little. And he knew if it was to work, it had to come from the Light. Let Palpatine mold the girl, shape her into what he wanted her to be. Vader smiled as a plan formed, yes let her training continue. She was strong in the Force and under the Emperor’s careful gaze would surely grow stronger, more resourceful. A wonderful ally. But let her be the Emperor’s supposed eyes and ears into Vader and Luke’s lives. Let these be the little stolen moments that maybe, just maybe, he could carve out for the girl who had never been allowed to just be a child. There would be the Lake House and there would be other trips too. He mentally laid plans to take both children into Theed tomorrow. He saw how she had smiled, how she had played with Luke. She would have more moments like that one, even if it irked him to share his son. Vader told himself it was all for his plan, an ally at court for Luke, his own eyes and ears as it were. But memories were resurfacing through cracks in armor, memories of a golden haired boy who had longed for the simplicity of a childhood he never knew, the quiet longing of a once gentle heart. A wish that had never been granted.

Yes, the Emperor would have his assassin, but here, maybe just here, she could be a kid, and maybe that kid would grow in time to realize that she had a choice before that all important choice. And perhaps she would choose differently than a boy who hadn’t done the same.

And the Force sang as Vader sought sleep in a way it hadn’t by the Lake in many, many years.

Chapter Text

It was near the end of midday and nearing the afternoon when Vader gathered the children near the garage where the transports were kept. He had not spoken to either all day, their meals taken care of by the serving droids and left to their own devices the rest of the day. He felt the curiosity from Luke, both at his father’s absence and at the abrupt summing. He felt in equal measures the trepidation from Mara, rippling through the Force. She still didn’t trust him, a part of Vader doubted she ever would. He hoped maybe what would transpire in the rest of the day would help that just a little. But his focus was not on the girl, but on his son. This was for his son, he reminded himself as he steeled himself for the pain to come.

“We are going out.” He said, choking back the emotions. “Strap in securely, this will be a fast ride.” He gave his instructions, entering the driver’s seat of the speeder, not even looking back to make sure he was obeyed. He knew he was.

It was a few hours by transport to Theed and even farther into the heart of the Capital where the palace sat in all its splendor. Green mixed with gold and glass shining from the domed roof pricked at Vader’s heart. He had been through Theed many times since Luke came into his life. But he never allowed himself to look, never gave himself that small ounce of a memory of happier times. He couldn’t bare the pain, or allow himself to sink into the comfort of the warm memories of a happier time. He focused on the drive and the traffic. When he could, he avoided the city altogether.

But today was not that day. Today was not a day for avoidance. Vader needed to face the memories, sink into them and dive deep. For his son, for their son.

He spared a moment to glance in the rearview mirror. Luke’s eyes were filled with rapturous wonder, staring with the sun in his eyes out at the glittering city shining as prettily as every as they sped past. It was as if all of Theed knew that the son of its most beloved leader was coming home, coming to know it fully, and focused all of its energy on making itself resplendent before him. Mara, of course, was watching Vader and Luke simultaneously.

It wasn’t like someone could stop Darth Vader and his company from landing anywhere they wanted. But today, he went through official channels, actually parking the speeder some distance from the castle. The walk to the palace itself was quiet on Vader’s part. And though the city was noisy with the clang and bustle of machines, transports and speeders, droids and the voices of organics mingling as one on the streets, a hush had settled on the little party. Vader, his dark cloak flowing around him like an inky Corellian Shark swimming in a sea of tropical fish. Mara and Luke trailed behind, dressed in their Imperial Grey and talking in low voices to one another. Heightening his senses in the force, he heard Luke asking questions in rapid fire about the city and Mara answering in hushed replies as best she could.

He shrugged his shoulders in his coat. Luke, asking questions about the city, the city he should know well after a year. The city that a woman with dark curls and a warm smile should have been able to share with him.

She had loved this place, this whole planet.

He subconsciously increased his pace. He should have done this sooner. Why hadn’t he done this sooner?

They entered the palace with little fanfare. It wasn’t like they were expected. So, there was no one to great Darth Vader and the two children when they arrived. But that also meant there was no one to stop them. The guards hadn’t even tried.

Of course that meant it was now known that they were in the palace. But Vader knew where he was going, and shook off the quickly scrambling aids who tripped over themselves trying in vain attempts to offer directions.

There was a hall, one filled with holo images of the queens of the past. He strode with purpose, saying not a word to anyone, either the guards or the startled servants he passed.

At last, at long, long last, he came to stand before the one he sought. He knew exactly where it was. Padme…she had brought him here once. A lifetime ago.

Now he stood before it, the image of her, his helmet heavy on his head and tinting the world in red. He couldn’t even look at her now without the reminder of how much had changed. A fist clenched around his heart and he felt a rage bubble inside him. It shouldn’t have been this way! She should never have died! If only he had been stronger!

A small, gentle hand slipped into his mechanical one, the owner stepping forward towards the painting, there was a look of awe on the young face. Blue eyes never leaving the picture of the queen, he asked in the unobtrusive, unassuming voice of the young who just wanted to know. “Who is she?”

“She was your mother.” He said, the rage dying like water tossed on a fire, it fizzled, turning into steam, condensing into a moisture he felt in his voice, in his throat, and behind his eyes. “She was your mother.”

Luke’s gaze, wild and electric and hopeful turned back on him. “My mother?”

“Yes,” Vader answered, voice low, “she was a queen, a fearless leader who would have done anything, anything at all, for those she loved.”

Luke had turned back to the portrait, hand reaching out towards the visage of his mother. “She looks kind.” He said, his own voice strangely wet.

“She was.” It was all he had in him to say on the subject. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t impart one portion of wisdom to Luke, one gift Vader needed him to have. “And you are all hers, you are her son more than mine, Luke. Please never let that change.”

Luke hadn’t looked back at him, Vader wondered if he had even heard. “She was sad wasn’t she, when she died. I don’t think I knew that until now.” Luke’s voice came small and quiet in the grand hall of portraits.

Vader gasped, choking at the thought of his darling sad at death.

But Luke continued on.  “She was sad, but she was very beautiful and…and…” Luke’s eyes were scrunched as if trying to reach for something long past his reach and the effort was hard, “she loved me.”.

“Yes.” Vader said, letting the emotion culminate in him. “She would have loved you so much, my son.”

“She did.” Luke said at last a certainty in his voice as if he had actually known her, had had a chance to feel her love, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

It would have been easy to take all the credit, but Vader knew that things needed to change and change started in small ways. “You are a prince of Naboo, my son, your mother was a queen, there is no palace from which you will be barred. And you should also thank Mara, for reminding me that I was not the only one your mother loved. That I was not the only one that lost her.”

Luke whirled around, seeking his friend. Vader hadn’t realized she had wandered away, and was currently engaging a member of palace staff in conversation. Vader realized with a sharp eye at once the woman who Mara spoke to was a palace Handmaiden. An attendant of the current queen, dressed in robes the color of sunset at its most golden, flames of orange leaping into crimson. And she was currently not happy about being detained by Mara’s questions.

A spark of appreciation for the girl’s skill flowed through Vader. She had bought him and his son privacy, the ability to talk without extra eyes or ears. Her eyes met Luke’s and he saw the way they widened fractionally as his son, already becoming lanky with growth bounded over towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug, whispering, “Thank you, Mara, thank you so much!”

The Handmaiden took the distraction to sidestep the children and approach Vader himself. Very brave, he thought. But so they were, so they always were.

“Lord Vader,” she said in a soft voice, curtsying so that her flame colored robes shimmered in the last light of the day. “You honor us with your presence. The queen would like to extend her welcome to you and the young prince.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Vader said, his voice returning to the one he used when talking to particularly tiresome members of the imperial court. “We were just leaving. The Imperial Heir required research for a project.”

“If the palace staff may provide aid?” She said, turning to walk after Vader as he returned to Mara and Luke’s side.

“No, we are leaving.” Vader swept out of the room, Luke and Mara following behind.

He heard Luke call out, “It was nice to meet you!” To the woman as they left.

Vader knew there was more his son needed to see, the throne room, the royal libraries, the tomb where Padme rested. But this, and he looked back once more on the picture of his beloved wife, this was all that he had in him for now. However, in time, they would be back.

The flight back to the Lake district was silent, but not in the way it had been before. Luke was quiet in the Force, contemplative as he watched the darkening countryside slip by them. Mara was wrapped in her shields and Vader made no attempt to bypass them. As if a visual representation of the inner workings of her mind, she had wrapped her cloak around herself and tucked into her side of the back seat, eyes full of stars.

When they arrived back at home, it was late and past all of their bedtimes. He had picked up food in the city before leaving. It was good timing, stopping before coming directly home. It allowed Luke to have his undivided attention and allowed Vader to answer his questions in places that didn’t carry such pain. Mara, for all her own part in all of this, remained a quiet observer, occasionally asking her own questions, but mostly watching.

In time, he went to say goodnight to Luke. But when he entered his son’s room through the partially open door, he found Mara sitting in the window seat overlooking the starlight on the lake past the gardens with his son.

“I know you went and talked with him.” Luke was saying, studying his friend where she sat. “You don’t even like him. Why did you do it?”

Vader waited, he himself curious to hear her response. “Everyone deserves to know where they come from. You wanted to know about your mother. Now you do.”

She rose to her feet in a fluid motion and began to make her way towards the door. “Your father is here.” She said, halfway across the room.

Vader emerged from behind the door entering the room himself, helmet gone and regarding the two children. Mara didn’t stop until she was at the door Vader had vacated and turned once, calling over her shoulder, “Night Luke.”

Luke, smiled, giving her a sleepy wave, “Night Mara.”

And she was gone, closing the door behind her.

Luke was alone with his father, eyes becoming suddenly serious. “Mara had been helping me research my mother.” He said, his tone holding an edge of defiance and determination that reminded Vader of the red headed girl.

“Yes, she told me.”

“I know.” Luke replied. A heavy silence lingered between them, Luke picking at the fabric of the blanket across his shoulders and pooling onto his lap. “So, you are Anakin Skywalker? The Guy from the Clone Wars?”

It shouldn’t have felt like a slap to hear that name spoken allowed again after Mara had said it just the night before. But hearing it from his son, his own son, was something else. “Did Mara tell you that?”

Luke shook his head, “No, not really. She suspected, and his name came up a lot with a senator from Naboo, my…my mom.”

“Yeah.” Vader said, running a hand through his hair and coming to sit by Luke in the space Mara had occupied.

“Did you marry her?”

“I did, and I loved her very much.” Vader answered, the wet feeling returning to his eyes.

Luke just nodded, not looking surprised. “So that wedding the droid showed us was yours.” It was said quietly, as if more thought than an intentionally voiced sentiment. And before Vader could question it, he continued, “Did you know about me?”

Vader glanced at him at this question, out of the corner of his vision. Did Luke think he didn’t.

“When she told me she was pregnant, I don’t think I had ever been happier.” Vader admitted, but in truth, he also remembered the fear. He had been so happy, but never had he been so scared either. “Trust me when I say if I could have been there for you, Luke, I would have.”

“Mara said Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi. But you killed the Jedi. That is what people on Tatooine said about Vader.” Luke’s voice was quiet and far away as he gave this confession. Vader hadn’t heard him like this since the early days of their relationship. And in that moment Vader realized he hadn’t just been avoiding telling Luke about Padme because of the pain her memory brought. It was also because of this moment; the questions Luke would have about his father.

Vader had to tread carefully here. “Luke,” he began, “A lot happened in that time, a lot you wouldn’t understand.”

“But I would!” Luke insisted, “I’m not some little kid.”

Vader sighed, a sigh of long suffering that parents the galaxy over would know and sympathize with, “No perhaps you are not, perhaps you are growing up. But that was one of those times you couldn’t understand unless you had been there. You don’t know what it is like, Luke, to stare down the future and know you can change it but every change you make leads you to one terrible outcome and nothing you do matters.”

Luke’s starship models rattled on their shelves. “I’m sorry.” Vader forced himself to control his emotions, breathing deep of the smell of wood polish and flowers from the garden below. “Sometimes, you are faced with an impossible choice. I would have done anything to save your mother.”

“But I want to be a Jedi, to follow the Light.” Luke’s voice was not as much a statement as it was a question, and a part of Vader died at the unspoked query. Would Vader kill him too?

“Luke, my precious son, I…I thought what I did was right then,” but no that wasn’t quite right was it? “I thought it was the only way, but I see now there are multiple ways for things to be done. If I could change the past, I would. But there is only the future. I promise you Luke I will do everything in my power to ensure you have the future you deserve.”

Luke was quiet for a moment, fiddling with the blanket before finally, finally meeting his father’s gaze. “No.”

“What?” Vader asked, stunned.

“No, don’t do everything in your power. Not if it involves killing like that. I don’t want that for you, I don’t want that for me.” It wasn’t a plea such that one might be, it was an expression of a fact. A window into Luke’s soul.

Vader couldn’t speak, could barely breathe. He wrapped his arms around his son and held him close. His son, his angel’s son. Had she wanted what Luke wanted? It was a terrible creeping horror that told him she did. She wouldn’t have wanted what he did. He remembered when she had confronted him on Mustafar that fateful day. The fear and disbelief in her tone as she gave voice to his crimes.

He could still hear the way she had spoken of the one that had disgusted and made her fear him the most. And in a flash of dreadful memory he could see the act in his mind’s eye, the act that she had spoken of with such horror taking place in what should have been one of the safest places in the galaxy. But instead of the young faces of children he had never known taking refuges behind the chairs of the masters, it was Luke and it was Mara, Mara with green eyes filled with betrayal and yet the taunting knowledge that she had really expected nothing less. In Luke’s there was only hurt, hurt for himself and for Mara, but hurt for his father at what the action would do to him.

He shuddered at the thought, half memory half nightmare, and held Luke all the tighter, wet drops falling from his eyes. He sucked in a breath as the tears soaked his son’s hair. He hadn’t realized he could still cry, not so fully, not like this.

But pain was an old emotion now, an old ally if not a friend. He used it to plunge those emotions deep within his heart until Luke was settled, if not totally reassured, and he made his way to his own room. There, and only there, Vader finally after so many years, cried the tears that had been kept so long at bay. He cried for Padme and the life she never got to have with their son. He cried for Luke who should have had his mother with him. Even a part of him cried for Mara and the life she never got to live, either in the temple as a youngling herself to grow into the strong knight he knew she would have been in those old golden days of the Republic or to live her life with her parents, wherever they may be if they even still lived.

And at last, perhaps the part that had eaten at him the most, he cried for the temple and those he had killed or had been killed by his men and for his actions. And he cried most deeply then at last for those that had mattered so much in those last days.

He cried for a Togruta Woman, barely out of girlhood who he had told himself wouldn’t, couldn’t be hurt, not by her men, not by their friends and had. He stood at her grave and hadn’t cried. Now he did. He choked on the tears that came next. But nonetheless they came. He cried for a man with hair like Mara’s and tears in his eyes as he said he loved a man who screamed he hated him. He cried for them all. And perhaps most importantly of all, he cried for Anakin Skywalker, the boy, the knight, the husband, who never got to truly be free, free to love free to dream, free to walk away from the powers that held him.

He cried until the night stretched into the darkest part. And when the sun crested the horizon, there was at long last rest.

His eyes popped open in the morning light, a thought half forgotten in the emotion of last night forcing its way to the forefront.

Wait, what droid had shown Luke his wedding?

Chapter Text

The days until Mara’s shuttle arrived passed swiftly after that. She and Luke spoke often about Padme, but never about Anakin. At least not that Vader ever heard. Whatever missing piece Luke had sought to reconcile in his young life had at least been partially restored, granting him a level of peace the boy hadn’t had since his Aunt and Uncle had died. But on the contrary, Mara’s unease only grew.

She didn’t sleep most nights. Vader, when he checked on each child and the security of the house with the Force each night, sensed her awake, either in her room or in the library. Sometimes she was outside on the patio, staring up endlessly at the stars above her. He once found her in the hangar where Luke’s ship rested under a tarp until he could work on it once more, with her cloak wrapped around her and her knees tucked up under her chin. He didn’t ask her why the long sleepless nights, never invading her privacy.

That changed when he found her talking with Luke in the early hours of her second to last day with them. She had dark circles under her eyes and despite both children receiving plenty of food and sunshine and all the happiness of a childhood that could be offered in their unique circumstances, her appearance was weary beyond her years.

“He knows everything about me, Luke. How am I supposed to lie to him?”

Vader nor Luke had to ask who he was. The Emperor. Mara would keep her word and it could mean her death. And the Emperor may very well find out about Luke regardless. Vader knew this probably better than Mara knew it herself. Indeed, the dark lord of the Sith knew this better than the girl whose upbringing, while it had not been kind, had been carefully crafted by the Emperor such that she only saw exactly what he wanted her to see in his Empire.

“Keeping secrets isn’t as hard if you know how.” Vader said, entering the training room. Mara jumped a little, a moment of fright passing through her jade green eyes. The fact that she hadn’t sensed him was testament enough to her exhaustion.

“What do you mean?” She asked, her voice snapping with its usual bite when she addressed him, but he heard the hope underneath.

“How do you think the Emperor hasn’t learned about Luke from me? How do you think the Jedi didn’t know it was him that set them up all along?”

Luke visibly flinched at the mention of the Jedi, Mara squared her shoulders and faced him.

“He didn’t want them to know.” She said resolutely.

“And you don’t want him to know about Luke.” Vader replied simply.

She ducked her head, a curtain of red gold hair obscuring her features, but she quickly schooled her expression into one of neutrality. “He is my teacher.” Was her reply and Vader understood the depth of what she was saying and not saying. The control exerted by the Emperor’s training ran deep. It left its marks and its scars. Mara, for all her careful upbringing, knew this still. Yet she had an ace in her hand that life had dealt her that Vader did not possess.

“Which is why he won’t suspect you of using the Light or the Dark. You are something in between Mara. But you can lean a little on one side.” Vader knelt before the children where they sat on the floor of the gymnasium where he and Luke practiced the Force. “The Jedi could not see into the Dark because it went against their nature. You, Mara, walk a line between two worlds. You can see into both. You can hear him anywhere I was once told.”

Luke gaped at her at this revelation. She merely nodded. Vader continued, “Yet you knew what and who Luke was almost on instinct. You felt his connection to the Light.”

“It was like looking into a supernova.” Mara admitted. Luke reached out and took her hand, squeezing it in reassurance.

“As the Jedi could not see into the Dark, the Emperor…and me,” the last part was added in a hush, “cannot see into the Light. But you can, Mara. Lean into it, feel it, you know how.”

Mara shook her head, “It’s not like that for me!” she protested. “The Force is just another tool, something for me to use. It’s for missions.”

“And is this not a mission?” Vader replied. “The most important mission of all, protecting my son.”

Mara bit her lower lip, eyes darting between father and son. He felt the hesitancy. But it wasn’t fear. Mara was at that age where fear of the new had a different meaning. She was open to the Light, drawn to it in her very nature. It was why the Emperor did not seek to corrupt her fully. Her draw to the Light, manifest in her communication skills, a deeply empathic ability, made her useful. And it might just be her saving grace.  “How do I do it?” she asked at last.

“Close your eyes.” Vader said and Mara did, Luke did too, following his father’s example. “Feel the Light, it has always been there.”

A moment of silence followed by a shift in the air around them, like a cool breeze flowing through a newly opened window, or the face of a yellow petaled flower turning to face the shining sun.

“It’s so deep, so cold.” Mara shivered, pulling her cloak around her, eyes still clenched shut.

“It’s not.” Luke replied, his voice filled with wonder, eyes closed, having fallen into meditation alongside his friend, but brows raised and mouth slightly open, his expression like when he had seen rain for the first time. “It’s like…like a glittering rock or something, just below a surface of ice.”

Vader stiffened at that. Memories of a boy from a desert planet on an ice world listening to the song all around him fill his mind, a glowing crystal in his hand.

“Break the ice Mara, break it but just a little. Remember, you walk between the ice and the storm, the light and the darkness. You can reach it.” Vader coached, forcing himself to look away from the glittering light below the ice that his son described so freely.

“It’s too hard, too much ice.” Mara whispered, brows creasing in concentration and a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

“You’ve got this, Mara. I believe in you.” Luke’s soft sincerity reaching her in the Force as his hand reached for hers in the physical world.

It is hard to explain all that happened in the moments that followed, when Luke took Mara’s hand. Vader had never been a teacher. Once, once in another lifetime, someone who bore a different name had been. But never Vader. Another fracture formed in his armor as Mara reached out with her senses, with shaking hands and a hopeful heart, she broke the ice. Warmth flooded her being and Mara reached for the Light. Her eyes flew open and she gasped in a breath of fresh air from the Naboo Lake district.

“It’s- Luke it’s like you!” She smiled, genuinely smiled for perhaps the first time that either Luke or Vader had ever seen, turning towards her friend. “It’s incredible!” She was effervescent, almost appearing to glow in the soft shine of the morning light as the sun crested into dawn. “It’s not cold at all, it’s alive and bright. It’s beautiful!”

Vader allowed himself to smile too. “Good, now take whatever you don’t want him to see, and pour it into the gap in the ice. Let it pass the cold until there is nothing but the warmth of those memories to encompass it.”

Mara did, concentrating on the memories and it was easy to do. Vader and Luke and Mara together, a flood of experiences. Laughter on the banks of a sunny river. Soft grass beneath bare feet, stars and a cool breeze wafting over the water, warm food and silent careful hands building a Mon Cala Star Cruiser across a table passing paint and glue between each other, arms around her in a hug in the midst of a shimmering palace. Mara’s memories, flooding past in a wave of light, filling where the ice had once been. It glowed in all their minds. Luke was positively beaming by the end and the edges of exhaustion around Mara had eased.

“That was beautiful, Mara.” Luke was grinning ear to ear; Mara wiped the sweat from her brow, but her eyes were shining.

“You saw it?” She asked, “the memories?”

“He did.” Vader replied, voice far, far away like his memory was. This meant something, something important. And perhaps if it were not for the changing emotions of the last several days, if it were not for the fear of losing Luke and the gratitude to Mara for what she had just done, perhaps Vader would have realized all that had truly transpired. Perhaps it would have helped warn him of the things to come.

But he didn’t. And that was just another part of the story, another will of the Force. In that moment, the future could now wait a little longer, in that moment there was the light shining through the icy darkness, a cold outer layer formed in the birth of the Empire. But just as the golden haired boy with a light in his heart hugged the girl with a sparkle in her eyes that had never been there before proved in there very existence and the first steps they had just taken hand in hand, the death wrought by the empire could never fully be complete.

The light you see, it hadn’t died with the Jedi. It lived, it lived, and it lived and it grew and it grew and never would those who searched for it not find it under the cold layer that was the sorrow of its lost children. Perhaps…perhaps in time…there would be enough children with light filled eyes once more that the cold would be a faded memory. But again, we get ahead of ourselves and time must move at the pace it must.

The future would wait.

For now there was the light and a boy from a desert planet next to a girl whose heart had been covered by frost, and together they shone brightly and all seemed right with the galaxy then. If only for a moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke accompanied Mara to the landing pad where the shuttle waited to take her away. His feet felt slow and heavy as he walked beside her, almost as heavy as his heart. He had had friends back on Tatooine, school mates and neighbor kids to play with. Even though he hadn’t lost them the same way he had lost his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, he had lost them in a different way that night. He could never go back.

And he had schoolmates now back at the academy, but none he would really call friends. They either looked down on him in disgust or in jealousy or up at him or in awe as the Imperial Heir. None of them just saw him for who he was.

But Mara did. And she was going back to Palpatine now, the Emperor’s own court, carrying his secret. He couldn’t help but feel like he was letting her go to her death. Even with all the practice his father had put them through in Force shielding and hiding memories, it was hard not to worry. Luke’s existence had been marked by great happiness, joy, and life, but it had also been marked by death. Even at his young age, Luke understood loss on a deep and personal level. And he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Mara too.

As if sensing his thoughts, she reached out and squeezed his hand. “It’ll be alright. You’ll be back on Coruscant soon. Maybe we can see each other.”

Luke heard the waver in her voice, he knew she didn’t truly believe that that would be possible. But the thought of it made him smile. “Yeah, yeah that would be good!”

He looked back towards the house. His father hadn’t come and had said his goodbyes before now. He had explained to both Luke and Mara that for all their safety, nothing could appear to have changed. Vader had to be just as annoyed by Mara’s presence and distasteful of the favor the Emperor granted her as ever. Luke though, was under no such constraints.

“Just in case though, something to remember me by.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little gold pin.

Mara’s eyes widened, as he deposited it into her hands. It was small, perfect for holding back the fringes of hair around her face or tying back the edges of her cloak under her chin. The metal was golden in the light, brushed and polished but obviously not of the finest make. The design was simple but done with care and obviously hand made.

“It’s from scraps from the Solar Sunrise, so you can remember the time we spent working on it.” Luke explained, rocking on his toes eagerly.

Mara merely blinked at it a moment biting her lower lip and Luke was worried she didn’t like it at first. But then she smiled and did something she had never initiated herself. She hugged Luke. Luke grinned, closing his eyes and hugged her back.

“It’s a starbird.” He continued, pulling back and watching as she pinned it in her hair. “My Aunt used to tell me the legend. About a bird who lived in a star and it was strong and it was brave and it was very kind and filled its home with light. It reminded me of you.”

“Sounds more like you if you ask me.” Mara retorted but there was no heat to her words. With her right hand, she traced the curve of the wings. “Thank you, Luke…for everything.”

And with that, she turned on her heels and marched up the ramp of the ship. Luke watched as the hatch closed and as the engines flared. He watched as it rose into the sky and ran after it on the ground as it flew up, up and away into the brilliant blue of the Naboo sky. He reached out his hand, waving as he ran and shouted after it, “Goodbye, Mara, see you soon!”

Until all at once it was gone from sight and so was she. He felt her leaving, going farther and farther away until she winked out into hyperspace.

Luke’s breaths came in heaving gasps, fresh air burning against his throat from the exertion of chasing after a starship. I will see her again and she will be alright. He told himself as he straightened and walked back to the house, willing his thoughts to be true. Looking back into the brilliant blue, where the shuttle could not longer be seen, Luke whispered, “Until next time.”

End of Part One

The Adventures of Luke, Mara, and Vader Will Continue In Part Two: Gathering Allies

Chapter Text

Part Two: Gathering Allies

The night that Mara left, Vader woke to the sound of his son screaming. He leapt from his bed, hand reaching instinctively for his saber, reaching out with his senses in the Force. An intruder, surely it was an intruder.

But there was no one, no one but him and his son and the serving droids. He calmed, but only fractionally. It was a nightmare, it had to be. However that troubled him nearly as much. Luke had had plenty of nightmares in the early days and some even still lingering. Nevertheless, it had been a long time, a long, long time indeed since he had last woken to Luke’s screams. Most times now the boy tried to handle such things himself, not wanting to disturb or distress his father. But now, something was different.

Vader entered his son’s room, awareness alert in the Force, sensing for any possible threat. There was none. Luke shivered where he sat on his bed.

“My son.” Vader spoke, soft and low, approaching the bed. He felt the fear in the Force, he felt the way it trembled and shook about his son. “I’m here, it’s alright.”

Luke didn’t speak, which was also strange, usually when it was bad enough, Luke would say it all in a rush, the onslaught of memories, the pain or the fear. But there was none of that. His eyes were wide, and as Vader reached for him, pulling him into an embrace at the edge of the bed, Vader felt how he shook, the perspiration forming on his brow.

“I’m so cold.” Luke gasped out at last, fingers spasming around his shoulders.

Using the Force, Vader called to himself a blanket that lay discarded on the floor near the bed. In one deft movement, he wrapped it around his son.

“Was it the farm?” Vader hated to even ask. But he knew Luke enough by now to know the child needed to talk out his fears, to let them go.

He expected a shuddering nod, or perhaps a cry. But Luke shook his head instead. And then it all came out at once. “There was no time and so many people and then it was all red.” Luke was almost sobbing. “I tried to reach back, I did, I really did but I couldn’t and they…the people in red, and the people with red sabers, they were stronger and I wanted to go back to…back to…”

Luke’s eyes were wild, he clung to his father. “Back to who?” Vader asked, brow knitting in confusion.

“He wouldn’t let me go back. There was so much red. And yellow. It was all red and yellow” Luke sobbed. “And then it was cold and quiet and I was alone, so alone. It was so, so cold.”

Luke wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. “I didn’t know how to get back.”

Vader studied him, wondering at the story Luke had painted. Yellow and red, red and yellow. The colors swirled through his mind. It didn’t make sense. The dream, whatever it was, didn’t make any sense to Vader at all. When Luke dreamt, he often dreamt in memories as Vader was learning, especially those dreams that were more lifelike. But this couldn’t be a memory from Luke, could it?

He watched as his son shrugged the blanket tighter, hands wrapping to clasp it firmly under his neck, like a cape. No, Vader realized with a stab of understanding, like a cloak. A flash of memory danced before his eyes, Luke reaching for Mara’s hand as they had broken the ice together and reached for the Light as one. He knew that Luke would not be going back to sleep again that night.

“Let’s go see about some hot chocolate.” And he ushered his son out of the room, the distant thought of what had occurred this night still pricking the back of his mind. Distantly, through the fog of worry for his son, he worried also for Mara Jade and what this meant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a shuttle, somewhere nearing the Coruscant sector, a girl with red hair slept. The dream began as it always did. Red swirling in a haze of light. Golden yellowish eyes staring back at her. Let me stay, let me go back.

But right as the dream reached its icy hands around her, it was gone. She was somewhere else, plunged into a hot night with the stars shining above her and something gritty beneath her feet. There was fire, so much fire, and the smell of blaster burns filled the air. All around her she heard the battle cries of some people she didn’t know.

Tuskan Raiders? A foggy part of her mind supplied. A sudden terror that wasn’t her own gripped her and she ran. Don’t let them find me, please don’t let them find me! Her heart pounded a litany of thought. She hid, she hid and she felt the death around her. It was too much, too much. And then came the breathing and that she did know. Dark and foreboding and standing over her hiding spot.

She let out a scream and woke.

There was no one there, no one in the little cabin that was hers. She felt hot and sticky as if she had just run through the desert. Rising on shaky feet, she went into the fresher and splashed cold water on her face, once then twice. Then she cupped some in her hands and splashed it on her arms and neck, anything to get the smell of blaster fire from her nose.

She took several shuttering breaths, gripping the edge of the sink. For a moment, she worried that someone would have heard her scream and come and start asking questions. But no one did. If anyone had even heard, they would know the shuttle to be secure. They would not bother to check on one girl when they had the important task of transporting her safely back to the Emperor on their minds.

She longed then for something she hadn’t let herself want in a very long time. She remembered the way it had felt to hug Luke, to shake his hand, to hold his hand. That simple act of contact with another person. She wanted it then, to have someone hold her in that instance. A deep pang formed in her heart under an emotional scar that was so scabbed over that it was almost forgotten.

But as her mind cleared and clarity of thought returned through the haze of fear, Mara worked through the dream with a precision that would have made the Emperor proud had he been around to witness it.

The dream, it had been too real, too fraught with all the senses of a memory. She could not recall ever being on a desert planet though or one sandy enough to have that kind of terrain. And why the Tuskan Raiders? With a gasp, hand flying to her mouth, memories returned, little things Luke had said, things she had seen in the news. The violent deaths of his family.

She staggered back to her bunk, cloak discarded in a corner and tucking her knees up to her chin. What did it mean?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The former apprentice listened to the voice on the other side of the comm before she spoke herself. “Look, I know we’ve had our differences. But I’m asking this as a friend. You know why.”

There was a long pause before the gravely voice replied. “I do. What I want to know is why your precious Alliance isn’t helping.”

The former apprentice bowed her head. “I asked, they said it was too risky, that there could be too many casualties. I know you don’t have such concerns.”

“I get why you care, but you are asking me to risk my own men, my fighters. I need to know why.”

The former apprentice thought before she spoke, taking a moment to form her arguments. “Hope.” She said at last. “He could be the last hope for the galaxy.”

There was a scoff on the other side. “Hope, you sound like my sister.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

Another long pause. “She would have thought like you do, like your Alliance does.”

“Listen,” the former apprentice continued, “I know you get it. My contacts tell me you have a daughter. You understand the need to protect a child, especially the ones you care about.”

A sigh like static came over the comms. “You really want to do this?”

“Yes.”

She could picture the look on his face on the other side of the comm, across a galaxy as he replied. “Alright then, it will take time. Even we can’t storm Coruscant. And my sources say he is guarded by a shadow.”

The former apprentice shivered at the mere words and the dissonance they crafted in the Force. “Leave the shadow to me. If we play this right, we won’t even have to fight him, it, whatever he is.”

She wasn’t totally convinced yet that the rumors of the black clad figure behind the Emperor and always at Luke’s side wasn’t a droid.

“When are you thinking?” Asked the other person.

The former apprentice felt the relief wash over her at his words. She had an ally in this and it suddenly felt all the more plausible. “It will take some time, I need to find out where he goes besides Coruscant. Tracking his movements shouldn’t be hard, it will be finding a pattern. And then something will have to be done about that shadow to get them out of the picture. I will be in touch once the required recon is done.”

“I understand. I hope you will too when I say the recon is up to you.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly. She had anticipated this. But her time would have been cut significantly if she could have relied upon the network the other person had built over the years. But this wasn’t a mission that could be thrown together in a day. The time may be extensive. But she was determined to cut it back as far as possible. Every second Luke spent in the Empire felt like a personal betrayal to Padme…to Anakin. But she knew that it would do neither of them any good if she or even he got killed trying to get him out.

“I understand.”

“Good.”

She paused a moment, knowing it was time to disconnect the call. But a part of her didn’t want to, didn’t want to disconnect the lifeline to another person. So much time had been spent in solitude this last decade. When she remembered before and how many others there had been…it hurt and the solitude grew all the more painful.

“How’s your daughter?” She asked instead.

The surprise that came with the fighter’s voice was pleasant and she could hear a smile as he spoke. “She is thriving. A strong fighter. If we get this Luke kid,”

“When.” The former apprentice amended.

“If,” the fighter persisted stubbornly. “maybe we can introduce them. She could use some friends her age…I…worry sometimes…her growing up so isolated.”

The former apprentice hummed, leaning her head against the window of her ship that looked out over glittering stars. “You adopted her a few years ago. What’s her name again?”

There was another long pause and then, “Jyn.” He said the name fondly.

“Jyn Gerrera.” The former apprentice said to herself. She hadn’t met the girl, but Bail had. She was of no two minds about what she was doing. Rescuing Luke would mean a life on the run, hiding, escaping, staying one step ahead. But still, she told herself it had to be a better life than growing up surrounded by the inky darkness.

Yes, it would be good for Luke to have friends.

She closed the comm and her eyes, shielding them from the stardust outside and when she dreamt, she dreamt of children laughing and Kyber crystals singing. In her dreams, it was all stardust.

Chapter Text

Despite best intentions and what Mara and Luke had told one another back on Naboo, it would be over four months before they saw each other in person again and nearly a year before they actually got to spend real time together, away from the courts and the academies. But that didn’t mean they were as far apart as at first it might have seemed. At night, Luke’s dreams took on a new dimension. He dreamt of training with rifles he didn’t recognize and by night felt his arms ache with the weight of them. He dreamt of the vaulted walls and splendor of what he knew to be the Imperial Palace. He heard music and saw luxury with light in his eyes and a song to his step. That didn’t mean he understood what was happening. But maybe, just maybe, he was starting to guess.

And who was to care if while he practiced with the Force on the lake shores near his home, his movements had a more rhythmic quality. When he worked on the Solar Sunrise or on his homework assignments, perhaps he hummed the bars of a half remembered song. But it was very distant and very far away, an emotion only partly realized.

Perhaps then maybe there was a girl in a glittering palace ornately designed and held as a fortress who dreamed of the desert and the lake, two elements that should never have met but did. Perhaps she found it easier to take apart and reassemble droids and blasters and even encryptions with the precision of a mechanic. Perhaps she found it just a little easier to find that balance between the Light and the Dark. And if her teachers wondered, they attributed it to her past success growing with her in age. If her teacher, her primary teacher wondered, he attributed it to giving her more freedom on her first mission. She had succeeded in his eyes after all. Reporting back on the discovery of Luke’s parentage was quite a success in her research skills. Even if the information was already known to him.

So time moved on and the seasons changed. The clock ticked and the chrono turned and the suns rose and set above a desert on another planet somewhere far, far away. In quiet, the children grew, in quiet they learned, and they learned from each other.

It was strange, Luke often found himself thinking in that nearly half a year that stretched since he had seen her since their last meeting at a court function. Half a year without seeing Mara after spending nearly a month in her company and fleeting interactions at court and even once or twice with her undercover at his school, it was perhaps strange one might think that he should not ever really feel far from her. But it was stranger still when he thought about it, when he saw her in dreams or felt maybe a stab of pain that wasn’t his or a thrill of joy on a random midday, that there was still something missing. Something important. He thought it would be resolved, that lingering tug he had always felt in his chest, when he found out about his mother.

But it wasn’t. Luke tried to find out why, reaching back into the recesses of his memories, researching everything he could on Padme Amidala and even Anakin Skywalker, without involving his father of course. Some things, Luke knew, were just still too painful. He searched and searched and reached and reached, but still the ache, the tug on his heart, remained unanswered.

But there was school and there were imperial diplomacy matters to attend to and all the regular things that fill a now nearly thirteen year old’s mind, so the ache receded. He wondered when he would see Mara again, in person this time rather than in dreams. Maybe then they could puzzle it out together, like they had before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time moved and the galaxy moved with it. And time moved once again to see the paths of Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker intersect. Why she had been kept secluded to her training on Coruscant for so long, no one could readily tell you. Vader had his suspicions, so did Luke, and really so did Mara. It was a test, a test of loyalty and a test of skill. Plus her surprisingly increasing Force abilities, which her teachers had not accounted for.

Palpatine grew troubled by this, as he watched the young girl move through practice katas in the training rooms. Her increased apparent adeptness in the Force had been…a new development. One notably accompanied by her return from her first mission. He had searched her emotions, searched her mind as best he could without taking unnecessary measures for a reason as to why. It wouldn’t do to cause damage to the mind of his precious future hand.  But he had found nothing out of the ordinary, like gazing into a smooth lake. It was almost disturbing and the paranoid part of Palpatine’s heart, such that it was, would have worried that the girl had somehow had her loyalties changed in her short time away from him. But she was ever herself, the loyal child he had raised her to be.

Loyal and strong. And such strength too. He could sense it now, a flowing current like electricity in wires in the walls. Steady and strong, but cutting out at times. With time, she could be even stronger, that Palpatine knew, that he feared. Strength was something sought after by Dark Side users in their quest for power, for control. But when one had it, they held it with a tight gripped greed.

He watched her, her red gold hair darkened by the dark grey and black walls, only partially illuminated by red and deep yellow lighting. Her green eyes flashed and he knew she sensed him watching her. His lip curled down in displeasure, like one might watch a prized Nexu they had raised since infancy, only to see it eye you as more than a care giver, but rather something it may turn its claws on.

His hands moved towards his own lightsaber where it rested on the balcony ledge. It would be easy, so easy. A flick of the wrist, a red arc flying out, red gold hair flickering in the light as she fell. It would be easy to end the threat here and now. A filmy, slippery thought skirted his brain, a whisper.

Do it.

It would be so easy.

But power was an addictive thing and he sensed power in the girl he had raised to be unquestioningly loyal to him. Could he give up such a source?

So much power, unlike the Skywalker boy.

The sudden, unbidden thought about the child of Anakin Skywalker jerked Palpatine from his thoughts with disgust, the same recoiling disgust he always felt when he allowed his mind to go to that useless boy.

Such a waste, such an utter waste of the potential in the Skywalker bloodline.

The Skywalker bloodline…

Palpatine’s eyes returned to Mara. She had moved on from katas and was now running the obstacle course her trainers had set for her.

Mara…strong, capable, loyal Mara. With the Force in her veins and the strength of it in her heart accompanied by a determined sense of justice and the ambition to see justice through. As long as it was his justice of course. With disdain the irony was not lost on him that she would likely have made a fantastic member of that groveling, pathetic order that had once been the Jedi. But she was his and in her blood, there was the Force, strong and there.

His mind returned to the boy, to the child that had so much potential only for it to, in some cruel twist of fate, choose not to manifest. But perhaps there would be another…The Force was known to skip a generation or two even. It could happen.

He had heard his shuttle pilot’s report as to the friendly embrace shared by Mara and the Skywalker boy on her departure. It was said they appeared as friends, talking together on the way, sad to see the other go. The boy had even chased after the shuttle on launch.

Friends, childhood friends, Palpatine knew, could become more one day. It had been that way for another young boy from the Skywalker line not too long ago. Yes, he thought, watching as Mara neared the end of the course, dodging a laser and slipping over a ledged wall, it would require patience, but he hadn’t become Emperor out of haste. He was good at patience, he could wait, and he would have his knew apprentice, however long it took.

The thought pleased him. And even if it didn’t work out in the end, he would still have his assassin, his Hand. And if her training continued well, he may even be able to give her the order one day to take out the Skywalker boy once and for all and she would do it without hesitation. Yes, he liked his plan for the future, not to mention it would irk his current apprentice to no end. It was a source of amusement for the Emperor to watch the antagonism and disdain between the two, a loop he planned to foster for many years to come.

But he could make this work. Plans within plans formed in his mind, plots forming plots around one another. He could start by encouraging the friendship between Mara and Skywalker. It wouldn’t take much, even if Mara, who seemed to have no interest in friends as a proper assassin in training should, was reluctant to the idea. He would tell her it was a mission to befriend the boy as the Heir to the Empire of course. Skywalker himself seemed open to the friendship. So it would just be a matter of encouraging more time spent between the two. He could perhaps, in time, once she was older and better trained, he could even give her more standing in the court, an official role as her cover to stand at Luke’s side one day as consort. All the while she would be the strings which he would use to maneuver his puppet prince, to control the boy that was so useless in all other respects. By then, the groundwork should already be well established.

Mara finished the course, her eyes flicking up to meet his. He forced the frown from his face and gave her his usual, approving smile. She nodded back, almost in a bow, but it wasn’t lost on him the coldness that had crept into her eyes when she regarded him. And he felt the power flowing through her, and even though he wondered at the change he had noticed in the girl, he had a plan now for the future, a plan that would one day be his ruin for he could not see beyond it.

He couldn’t have known that Mara was seeing the palace through new eyes these last few months or known her new nightmares of the Emperor as seen through another’s eyes. He couldn’t have known the changes that were occurring in her heart, for as she walked in two worlds, it was easy to cast a shadow with the Light, a shadow to hide what one did not want another to see.

But he felt the power, he saw the strength.

In another life, in another universe, Palpatine may have seen her strength and weighed it in the balance of threats to find it lacking. Yet, this was not another universe, and Mara Jade would live.

A wicked grin twisting over his face, Palpatine called for his apprentice, the one he had crafted and molded for so many years. “Lord Vader,” he waved the man forward from where he stood in the shadows.

“Yes, my master.” Vader replied, head bowed in deference, just as it should be.

Palpatine quirked a finger towards his hand, “Teach my young Hand what saber work really looks like. You are in charge of her dueling technique.”

He felt the rage boiling off his apprentice but a flick of lightning was all it took. His apprentice obeyed.

Yes, Mara Jade would be very strong indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long, difficult term for Luke at his school. So it was with a lighter heart than he had had in quiet some time that he made his way to the shuttle that would take him home, home to Naboo and the Lakes and time with his father…hopefully. He hadn’t seen his father much more than he had seen Mara of late. He was away on missions more and more. Increasingly words of Rebel Cells were spoken about in hushed whispers.

Luke was, admittedly, excited about the prospect. Hie and his father shared their secret rebellion, but it was just theirs. And even knowing his father’s strength in the Force, and Luke beginning to understand his own place in it, he still doubted just the two of them could do it all alone. It was the Empire after all. Maybe once he had thought just the two would have been enough. But having lived it, lived on Coruscant, gone to school there, seen the courts and the shipping yards and the navy…even Luke was starting to have his doubts.

So school bag thrown over one shoulder, he walked to the hangar bay the school’s headmaster had instructed him to report to. He always had guards when he was on Coruscant and his father wasn’t with him. But they were impersonal, hanging back. If Luke focused on not focusing too hard on it, he could almost forget they were there.

And then he felt it. He felt her. It was her usual candle presence in the Force, a flame buffeted by the dark. But where had once been a sputtering candle over a year ago he felt a strong, and steady flame.

Luke’s pace picked up, the permacrete flying beneath his feet. Living with so many people on this planet, it was hard to distinguish one from another, even though Luke knew in theory she lived on the same planet he did during the school year. So to be able to sense her like this…she was very close.

He rounded the corner and there stood the shuttle, and there stood Mara, hair slightly longer, stance slightly taller, her growth matching his in the past year, and the tan cloak around her shoulders. In her hair, pinned as it had been the day he had said goodbye to her, the last time they had really been able to talk, she wore the Star Bird pin and he knew she was still his friend.

“Mara!” He said with a shout, running towards her.

She smiled, her usual small smile which Luke knew to be the equivalent of a face splitting grin, “Hey, Farm Boy.”

He tackled her in a hug, laughing as she hugged him back. Around them, the Force sang. “It’s been so long!”

“You’re taller.” She remarked, pulling back.

“You too!” He was shrugging his back pack on his shoulders where it had slumped off partially in his rush to see her. “Are you coming with me to Naboo?”

“Yep.” Mara said, he watched as she waved the guard off, who nodded before leaving rather quickly. No doubt, Luke thought, pleased to be rid of what he must have thought to be a boring assignment.

“Come on, shuttle’s all prepped.”

They entered together, side by side, up the ramp and into the sitting area. Mara pressed a comm key connecting to the pilot and spoke, “All aboard, go for takeoff.”

“Copy that.” The shuttle doors sealed shut with a hiss and they began to ascend.

Neither child spoke to the other until they were well into the sky and Luke felt the telltale jolt that told him they were now in hyperspace.

Mara herself seemed to uncoil at the action, her shields dropping just a little as Luke’s own fell free. They were leaving Coruscant behind them.

For a moment, they merely studied each other, reacquainting one another with the other’s presence. It had been over a year, since they had last been alone like this, free to talk, free to be. And yet, somehow, it felt as if those days on Naboo had been just yesterday.

“You seem…” Luke tilted his head as he regarded his friend, “different somehow.”

Mara tilted her own head in a mirror of his, crossing her arms, “Oh yeah? Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“No, no it was.” Luke’s hands shot out in front of him, waving them as if to ward off her statement. He settled back as she gave him another of her small smiles. “But really, you seem different, more sure of yourself maybe? Yet conflicted. It’s strange. You feel warmer.”

“Warmer?” She tucked her cloak closer around her shoulders.

“Yeah, like when you sit by a fire after the rain.”

Mara’s head ducked slightly, a hand coming up to brush the pin in her hair. “You seem the same. Same bright, sunshiny Luke.”

Luke grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You still build model ships?” She asked, leaning back into her seat.

“Do Jawas still steal droids?”

“Fair enough.” She reached by her seat and pulled out a kit for a Star Destroyer, the same class as the Executer.

Luke’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

“It’s a long flight back to Naboo.” Mara offered in way of explanation and they immediately set to work.

Outside the window, starlines stretched to infinity. Sitting across from each other in the shuttle, a table between them and a model ship to build, Luke felt lighter than he had in months. Yeah, term break had finally begun and it was better than he could have hoped for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Out in the farther reaches of space, stretching like shadows cast long by the looming and imposing figure of the empire, a ship’s comm light pinged.

“This is Fulcrum.” The voice on the other end said, answering the receiver.

“I have received word that the boy is enroute to Naboo as we speak.” The voice of one who had been and always was brave, came over the comm.

Fulcrum sighed, a little puff of air carrying with it so much relief. Over a year of planning, of watching, of waiting. She had her moment. “And the palace?”

“On guard and ready should an opportunity present itself. We are ready.”

Fulcrum nodded, feeling again the gratitude for the one on the other side of the comm. Without her, she would never have been able to do the recon she had had to do all these months. If it weren’t for her, she would not have known how much time Luke spent on Naboo or that he was often in the palace. “What about Vader?” The name took effort even to speak. But she did. It had to be asked, it had to be done.

“His movements are unpredictable. But our sources say that the Executer isn’t due back to Coruscant for another week at least, which should buy us time. However, the gala that is to take place in the coming days may prove difficult. He may be there regardless of where his ship is. There is no way to confirm.”

The former apprentice let out a sigh “It may prove to be for the best. The reception planned at the palace is supposed to be a grand one I take it?”

Her friend’s voice replied. “Yes, some kind of promotion ceremony. Festivities will be going on all week.”

“A large crowd means more cover. Gerrera’s men can work up some way to work the crowd to stop any pursuit. That’s what they are here for after all.” Despite Saw’s promise of help, Fulcrum had her…concerns…about those he had sent her. The nearly dozen men he had spared were rough around the edges to say the least. But appearance aside, there was an anger to Saw’s men that was unsettling to Fulcrum. Keeping them on mission these last few weeks of preparation had been a challenge. They were brewing for a fight.

“There is another matter.” The agent added, Fulcrum could hear the edge of concern.

“Oh?”

“According to our sources Coruscant side, a girl was seen leaving the landing pad with him. Our sources cannot confirm her identity. It is suspected she is a member of the imperial court in some capacity. But repeat, no ident confirmation.”

Fulcrum took a moment to simply breathe, recalling that plans changed all the time, that this one would likely change twice and twice again before it was completed. And it had to be completed.

“If she is with the imperials, it should be assumed that she is dangerous, or at least valuable. Could be an officer’s daughter or someone within the Emperor’s inner circle. Either way, she could be a liability.”

There was a pause on the line. “Should we consider her…a loose end.”

Fulcrum heard the disgust in the voice, heard the distaste to even think it. It hurt in a way, hearing a voice that was so similar to a voice she had once adored, who had taught her and trained her in so many things away from the Jedi order and in ways her master never could teach her. Fulcrum took a steadying breath and forced herself to remember that the speaker was not that friend. It was time to turn her attention to other things, like saving that friend’s son. Like that girl that had left with him.

She conjured an image, a girl with dark curls standing beside a blond headed boy. She had no way of knowing what the girl who was accompanying him looked like. It was natural to picture a daughter that might resemble the mother as the boy most likely resembled the father. But even without the mental image, the thought of following through the actions that the agent implied were more than reprehensible, especially to Fulcrum.

“No, we will take the girl too if we must. A child in the imperial court cannot be any safer than Skywalker is. She is not the priority. But if there is no other way, bring her too.”

“Acknowledged.” Said the voice that wasn’t, the friend that wasn’t, and the agent that was. “So, is it plan waterfront?”

Fulcrum shook her head, Lekku flicking slightly with the movement as she answered. “Hold for now. If we move in there, it would be too obvious, too exposed. Recon suggests the Lake House is locked down tight regardless. His last few trips to Naboo have him visiting the palace at least once and more than likely he will be involved with the gala happening there. We will wait as long as we can for that. If you haven’t heard from me in three standard, proceed with Project Waterfront. Is the rest of it a go?”

“Affirmative.” The person on the other end spoke. There was a pause, static floating over the line in the absence of anything else. Fulcrum thought the agent had perhaps hung up, but then they said, “Fulcrum…may the Force be with you.”

Fulcrum closed her eyes, picturing what was to be done, what had to be done. Within the week, the son of Skywalker would be safe at last. Closing her eyes, she moved her finger toward the switch to end the call, replying simply before she hit it, “With all of us.”

Chapter Text

It was fall by the lake shore of Naboo when Luke and Mara’s shuttle touched down on the little landing pad near the house. The sun was shining through leaves who had given up their bright green for the vibrant colors of the waning year. Mara stepped out, bag in hand, and breathed deep the scent of the air over the water mixed with the leaves. If you have ever been on Naboo in the fall, you know exactly what smell I am referring to. However, if you haven’t, it smells something like falls on other well forested planets, but the air has a deeper sense of chill to it, like that first burst of spring in a clean and clear and crisp back drop of autumn mixed with lake water. It was like someone had gathered the sparkles on the water in summer and chilled them before infusing them into the air all around you.

Mara had never been to Naboo in the fall. She didn’t believe in magic either. But at just twelve, with the wind combing her hair and the water sparkling against a backdrop of golden leaves, she was pretty sure that this was it.

Luke came to stand beside her, closing his eyes, his chest expanding with his own deep drinking in of the air.

“It’s good to be home.” He said with a sigh, opening his eyes.

“Come on,” Mara nodded down the path, beginning to walk towards the house, the late season grass crunching beneath her half boots. “let’s go put our stuff away before the droids come and find us.”

Sun glinting off his curls and accenting the suddenly mischievous smile, Luke said, “Race you!” and took off like a wild tooka.

“Oh you’re on Farmboy!” Mara shouted, legs lengthening with a recent growth spurt still slightly ungainly but making up lost ground quickly.

“Last one in is a Wamp Rat!” Luke shouted over his shoulder with a laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Through the trees far on the lake’s other side, all of this was observed through a pair of binocs, eyes focused on the two children. With a grunt barely above the sound of the creaking branches overhead, the owner sat back on his heels as the children disappeared into the house.

He still thought this whole idea was insane. The Partisans and the Rebels didn’t work together often and for good reason. The last few attempts had not gone…well they hadn’t gone well. And that was all he would say on the matter, even to himself.

But this…a chance at the Imperial Heir himself. It was too much to pass up. He just hoped those foolhardy idealist Rebels wouldn’t go wasting this opportunity. According to the intel Saw had given them, it had been over years in the making.

His hands clenched into fists at his side. When he thought of all that the Empire had taken from him…

Inwardly he cursed at the memory of Saw telling them to treat this like a rescue mission and not the hostage situation it so clearly should be. And he knew he wasn’t the only one that had come with them that felt this way. But Saw called the shots. Who was he to argue?

Then again…Saw wasn’t here…said that little voice in the back of his head.

Silently, he stored the binocs, rising and clearing the evidence that anyone had ever been there, he made his way back along the two mile trek to where he had left his speeder.

Yes, this was too good a chance to pass up. Who knew if or when they would ever have such a chance again? He just knew it couldn’t be a waste.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mara sat at the grand dining table with Luke, dinner past and on their second (or was it third?) helping of desserts. The serving droids were there to take care of them, but their programming only went so far. So with Vader away, that meant unlimited Alderaanian Forest cake.

The house was quiet, a certain stillness falling with the loss of light early in the afternoon now. The sound of cutlery and friendly chatter. Luke had spent the better part of the dinner catching her up on all she had missed in his life during their time apart.

Luke, bless him, had asked her and she had told him what she could about her own time and appreciated his understanding when her story reached its limits. Though his brow creased in concern over the parts she left unsaid, and he knew that whatever she said about not minding, that regardless she was still troubled by some events.

“So why did the Emperor send you here?”

Mara snapped back to the present at Luke’s question. “Excuse me?” She asked, picking up her fork and scooping up a helping of the fluffy white icing on the cake.

Luke, unperturbed, was diving into his cake like some kind of military general leading an attack against desert. “I mean, not that I’m not happy to see you, but the Emperor doesn’t let you off Coruscant for just anything. He would have had a reason.”

Mara ducked her head, folding her napkin. “He knew you were getting off school before Vader,” she caught herself, “your father could get here, I think he wanted to make sure you weren’t alone.” Infusing humor into her voice, “Probably to keep you out of trouble.”

Luke snorted a laugh, picking up his glass of blue milk and taking a long sip before setting it down, blue eyes locking on hers. “I’ve spent lots of time here on my own, Mara. What aren’t you telling me?”

When Mara didn’t answer, he continued, “Is it because…is it because of the dreams?”

At this, Mara who had been trying to avoid his gaze, snapped her head up. “You’ve been having them too?”

Luke nodded, uncharacteristically solemn. “Yeah, it’s like what I saw that first time I used the Force around you. The red, the sabers.”

Mara gaped at him, finally finding her voice, “I see a farm, there are blasters and it is so hot. Luke, it’s terrifying.”

Now it was Luke who ducked his head. “I didn’t know you saw all of that.”

“Did you hurt your knee?” Mara asked suddenly.

“When?” He replied, quizzically this time but he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“Like five months back. The left one.”

Luke nodded, “Yeah, I tripped playing a game with some of my classmates. Bruised it really bad.” His eyes scrunched, “Did you hurt your arm about two weeks ago?”

Mara’s hand instinctively went to her left arm, rubbing at the spot where she had accidentally cut it in training. It was almost all healed, just barely a scratch now. But Luke had known.

“What do you suppose it all means?” She asked by way of answer.

“I’m not sure. Something. It started when we both reached for the Light, close to your last day here, remember?”

“Yeah,” Mara nodded, “it felt like, like we did it together.”

“That’s because we did.” Luke replied, “We worked together to reach for the Light, like me reaching out with one hand and you with the other.”

“Do you think,” Mara allowed herself to approach the problem with the logical mind of a tactician, as her teachers would want her too. “that that somehow…connected us?” She knew about her Force connection with the Emperor, but that was different, rooted in something different. It wasn’t what she shared with Luke.

“Maybe.” Luke replied, “I’d have to ask my dad.”

Mara stiffened at the thought but voiced no complaint. Vader was a tough subject for her, she suspected he always would be. “Does he know about the dreams?”

Luke shrugged, “He’s asked, I’ve talked to him some, but I don’t know if he’s put in the context of you know…us.”

Us, Mara liked the word. It was strange, but this last year had been one of the hardest in Mara’s life. She had never thought much about her upbringing before meeting Luke, never questioned if it was strange or out of the ordinary. It just was. It was what it was.

But then there had been that trip through space and the late nights. And those days by the lake. Leaving had been like leaving a part of herself behind. For the first time, Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand in training, knew what it meant to have a friend. And this realization put everything in a new light. Ever since then, she hadn’t been able to see her old life quite the same.

All of that to say though, Mara knew she hadn’t answered Luke’s original question. “I don’t think the Emperor does either, not about us. He knows about us being friends that is.” She said hurriedly.

“He does?” Luke’s jaw dropping, a spoon full of cake halfway to his mouth “And he’s…okay with that?”

Mara nodded, “He wasn’t at first, but a few months after I got back, he seemed to actually be happy about it. He was the one that gave me credits and even let me go buy a model ship with them to build together on the flight back here. But I don’t think he knows about the dreams or the shared feelings sometimes. But to be fair, I wasn’t sure I wasn’t just imagining things until just now.”

Luke nodded, humming in agreement around his food, swallowing and asking again, “So why did he send you now?”

Mara sighed, sitting back in her chair and pushing away her plate, not able to eat another bite. “There have been rumors, rumors about certain groups seeing you as a more vulnerable target.”

“What, because I’m a kid?” He asked, sounding suddenly surprised by this knowledge, “Wait, does my father know about this?”

“I don’t know.” Mara replied. “He didn’t tell me, just told me to come here, keep an eye on things.”

“No offense, Mara,” Luke began, “but unless you have a secret army stashed in your bag you brought with you, what does he expect you to do against some groups of people determined to get me?”

Mara huffed, “You’re awfully calm for someone who has just been told they might get kidnapped.”

“Well, you’re awfully tense for something that will probably never happen, not if my father hasn’t even been told.”

Mara chuckled, but soon grew serious again. “No, really Luke, we should try and think more practically about this. Plus, if you don’t think I can do much, then maybe whoever it is that is after you will think that too, it may very well buy us time.”

It felt strange to Luke to be having such conversations, such grown up conversations. He sometimes remembered the things he used to talk about with his friends back on Tatooine, back when he had just been Luke Skywalker. It had never involved possible kidnapping and Imperial Training or troop movement.

“You’re right, Mara, sorry.” Luke’s shoulders slumped as the droid cleared away the cake. He didn’t ask for another helping.

“Hey,” Mara said after a moment, her tone softer and when Luke looked at her again, she had changed from the tactician to the girl again. “It’s going to be okay. And we still have a little bit before your dad gets here tomorrow morning. Let’s have some fun in the meantime. You pick.”

That brought a smile back to Luke’s face. “Anything?”

Luke could feel the wariness that now was creeping over Mara in the Force.

“Well then, Mara Jade,” Luke stood, planting his hands on the table top. “I challenge you to a very serious, very practical game of hide and seek!”

Mara’s nose scrunched “Hide and seek? Really?”

But Luke saw the moment she began to understand as he stepped around the table, “Come on, let’s go see how well this Force bond thing works.”

Mara’s eyes glinted like stars, “Oh now this, is going to be fun.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vader arrived late that night, or early the next day, depending on how you looked at it. He had stopped in to check on Luke, but found his son not asleep in his room. A moment of panic took over at that, but a quick check through the Force found his son, in a fort of blankets and pillows with Mara Jade, asleep hand in hand, in the library of the lake house, a large picture book on native birds spread open next to a book on ship mechanics. In the corner of the fort was a completed Mon Cala star cruiser. So the Emperor had sent the girl after all. Vader tried not to think what his master was planning, and despite his annoyance at having to share Luke with this girl, he shifted his mind back to his former resolve regarding the Emperor’s Hand in training. He would do his best to see she got to be as normal a child as ever while she was here.

And Luke, based on the pillow fort and empty plates of what looked to have once contained Alderaanian Forest cake, was doing his best to achieve just that. Vader left them and made for his own chambers. There was a long day of celebrations tomorrow for a promotion ceremony that was being held at the palace. He was dreading it, the boring pomp and circumstance. But it must be done, and at least Luke would be there too.

Chapter Text

“And now we thank Officer Jordo Flant of Coruscant for his bravery in reporting the suspected rebels.” The Master of Ceremonies droned on to polite applause.

Luke stifled a yawn from where he stood in his itchy uniform, watching the proceedings with bored indifference.

“And now we thank Lieutenant…” Luke tuned out the boring man in boring imperial grey and search through the crowd of boring imperials. Really, whoever decided grey equaled formal in the Empire should be brought up on criminal charges. They were in the heart of the Naboo palace, surrounded by towering glass windows and shimmering marble. Which brought them to the question, how many imperials did it take to make even the most grand building in Theed look gloomy? Luke scanned the crowd again. Probably about a couple hundred.

Oh, they were clapping again. Luke clapped politely. As the Imperial Heir should, watching as his father pinned a medal on yet another honored officer or another. It was amazing just how many promotions took place in such a large military, really. At least there was a celebration dinner tomorrow. The promise of food was probably the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. Well, that and Mara.

She was seated on the other side of the stage, dressed in the same uniform as his school, no doubt posing as one of these people’s daughters. As there were so many imperial officers here tonight though, he doubted any would actually bother to wonder whose kid she was supposed to be. It was strange, seeing her in the same outfit of his classmates, though she had gone undercover, as she liked to call it, in his school a few times already. Those had been the high points of his semester.

Reaching out a questioning thought, he tentatively tugged at their Force bond. What had first appeared a strange occurrence had turned out to be a truly marvelous gift. Being able to communicate any time anywhere made boring functions like this at least a little less boring.

Her jade green gaze flicked towards him and she smiled a little, sending back a mental image of a mouse droid in a chef’s hat baking Alderaanian forest cake, which made him snort with laughter. He had to turn it into a cough, which only made him want to laugh more.

Politely, he excused himself, stepping away from the celebrations. In the quiet of the back hallways, Luke found a moment to relax, feeling the weight of nearly a thousand pairs of eyes lifting from him. He wondered how long he could stay away without causing an issue. The palace was a big, beautiful place, and it wasn’t somewhere he had got the chance to explore very much. He wished that that were different.

Perhaps it could be!

He reached for the bond with Mara again, and felt her own bored disinterest in the proceedings. You alright there? You got pretty choked up by all the pomp and circumstance.

Oh hush. Luke thought along the bond. Can you get away do you think?

He could practically see the way her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room. Definitely. Why?

Everyone at the palace is at the ceremony. Let’s say we do some exploring.

He felt a spark along their bond and knew she was smiling. I’ll be there in a minute.

And she was, her skirt and high stockings as grey as ever against the backdrop of tan marble.

Luke grinned, “Come on, we can be back before anyone even knows we are gone.”

Mara nodded, but her eyes clouded slightly as she glanced behind her at where another round of applause was taking place in the great room. “Alright, just let’s stick together, okay, remember what I told you.”

“Mara,” Luke shook his head with a grin, “we are in the palace with thousands of Imperials including guards, my father, and I’ve got you, what could go wrong.”

Despite the teasing tone meant to disarm her fears, Mara’s brow crinkled in the middle in that way that told him she was worrying. “Still, we can’t be too careful.”

Luke began walking with her in step beside him down the corridor away from the droning on and on of it all behind them. “Sure, we will. Hey, hasn’t my dad been helping you with your training? I think he mentioned something about that.”

Here, it was Mara’s turn to look perplexed. “Yeah, but he never tells me why the extra training besides what the Emperor told him to do. If he wants me to be an Inquisitor, it’s not happening.”

Luke linked his arm through Mara’s. “Hey, none of that. That’s not going to happen. Now let’s go exploring!”

Mara gave his arm a squeeze and she smiled at him as they skipped down the hall together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The palace was a strange old place, he hoped there would be secret passageways and tunnels they could explore, despite Mara’s warnings that they would likely be hard to find. They were in a hall filled with statutes and busts made of marble with large marble pillars all around them. Luke had wandered off a little ways, staring at a thickly hung ancient looking tapestry that depicted the lake district of Naboo in vividly colored threads.

There was a hush over this wing of the palace they had meandered too, as if he and Mara were the only two creatures alive in it, everyone else being at the ceremony. Perhaps they were?

“Whoa!” Luke breathed, pointing a glow rod he had acquired up at a large marble pillar with intricate vines carved into it. “Check this out, Mara. Mara?” Luke turned, suddenly realizing his friend was nowhere in sight.

They must have gotten split up somewhere. “Mara?” He turned about, flashing the glow rod around the chamber only lit by the filtered light coming through the stained glass windows on the far side of the room.

Dropping his shields a bit, Luke tentatively began to reach out, but something stayed his thoughts. A swirling of…of…of something. It was hard to pinpoint, anticipation, fear, relief maybe? But the thoughts were distant. Behind him, he heard the faint whooshing of air being displaced, and when he turned, a section of wall that had once held a long mirror now stood ajar, a black portal in its place.

“Mara?” Luke asked, stepping back away, hands gripping the glow rod with a new strength. “If that’s you, it-it isn’t funny.”

A shape began to emerge from the inky depths of the once hoped for secret passage.

“Stay-stay back!” Luke called, edging away. Then they came into the light and Luke’s hands began to shake, the arm raised with the glow rod fell at his side. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be. But what other explanation was there.

“Luke?” The woman’s voice was soft and warm, low and sweet like the warm memories of Aunt Beru, the wish of Queen Breha so soon after the loss of his aunt, and the half recalled dream of another he had never known, never dreamed he would be able to know…until now.

“Mom?” The glow rod fell from his hands forgotten.

“Oh my darling boy!” The woman stepped from the portal, taking tentative steps into the room, eyes sweeping left then right before she approached him. “My dearest one.”

“Mom.” Luke stared into her face, unbelieving. He must have fallen asleep, wandered into a dream. She looked like the portraits he had seen, though she was less done up, no thick makeup of elaborate hair style. She wore a simple blue dress, a silvery over jacket shimmered in the half light. Her hair was down in curls. The same chocolate curls he had seen in the pictures. Her eyes were a bit different, but he supposed that must be how it always was. No one ever looked exactly like their holo. But though they were different those eyes held a light and warmth, love even, in them that Luke had craved so dearly since the loss of his Aunt Beru.

She stepped up to him, cupping his cheeks in her hands, looking him over. “Are you hurt, are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine.” Luke stammered. “Are you…are you real?”

She smiled a tender smile, brushing back a lock of stray hair. “My dearest Luke, of course I’m real.” A deep sorrow flowed over her in the Force, echoing the one memory Luke had ever been able to conjure of the woman who had given him life. “I wish I could have been there for you sooner. Oh my love, I am so sorry.”

Luke broke at the words, the pain, the sorrow, the missingness of it all. Something in the back of his mind, where the Force hummed and flowed through all of him pulled back, but Luke surged forward, falling into the woman’s outstretched arms. “Mom,” he cried, “I’ve missed you so much!”

She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back, his hair, placing a tender, motherly kiss onto the top of his head. And then all at once she pulled away. “I know my dear, I’ve missed you too, but we must go, it’s very important.”

“Go?” Luke asked bewildered. “Why? You just got here, my father-”.

His mother placed a finger to his lips. “Hush my son, I know. Your father…I’m he loved you dearly. But I am here to keep you safe now. You must come with me.”

She had taken hold of Luke’s arm and was now leading him towards the secret passage. “But…” Luke protested. “He would have told me you were alive!”

The woman looked at him sharply then, not at all the tender looks she had given before. This was calculating, shrewd, and perceiving. “Your father couldn’t have done so.” She said decisively, “Because he didn’t know I lived either. Come, I will explain everything once we are safe.”

Luke felt that pinprick in the back of his head clamoring for attention. “Are we in danger?”

“The one’s who tried to kill me will try and hurt you too. I must get you away from here.” They were almost to the portal now, but Luke put on the breaks.

“I’ve just got to tell my friend, we were exploring together…she could come with us, she was the one that helped me find out about you!”

The woman shook her head, “I’m sorry, but there is no time, Luke. I’m sure your friend will be fine. And soon you will have new friends.”

“Wait.” Luke stilled completely, forcing his arm free of the woman’s grip. She hadn’t expected it, so she hadn’t held tightly enough to prevent the sudden action. “You’re trying to take me. You don’t ever want me coming back here.” They weren’t questions. They were statements. And looking at this woman, the way the Force danced around his, an illusion, a secret, a friend, but one thing for certain. “You aren’t my mother.”

The woman sighed, shoulders dropping. “I’m sorry, Luke, I’m really sorry.”

Luke opened his mouth to scream just as a lightening fast hand jabbed the needle into his arm. There was no time for sound, no time for the cry that died on his lips. But there was time for thought, one desperate call.

MARA!

And the world went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mara’s Imperial Preparatory Academy standard issued shoes clacked with every step she took. It was near impossible to walk silently in these things. The whole outfit felt rather ridiculous. But undercover was undercover. It would seem a bit odd if a random child in Imperial Navy dress kept showing up at Luke’s side. One other school girl wasn’t supposed to draw as much attention. It gave her the perfect cover to stick close to Luke. Which was just the problem, where was Luke?

The last she had seen of him, they had been standing in the portrait gallery by the private library that they were totally not supposed to go into but had anyways. She had been gazing at a picture, an oil painting of Naboo Lanterns floating into the night sky. It sparked something in her, like a deep sense of longing looking at it. A memory of a very young girl’s happy laughter echoed after a man and woman’s gentle voices.

She shouldn’t have let herself get distracted. There were a few doors leading out of the gallery so Luke must have taken one of them. One, the one that led to a hall of pillars and statues, Mara found to be locked from the other side. No issue, just meant Luke hadn’t gone through that one. There was another locked one, and then a third besides the one they came in, that was unlocked. Mara poked her head through it to find a sitting room, sans Luke.

Huffing, thinking about what she’d say about wandering off when she found him, and began to reach for their bond. It would be quicker than searching the regular way for who knew how long.

But as soon as she reached, she heard him, like a yell in her mind:

MARA!

Flashes of imagery played through her thoughts, a door in a wall, a mirror that wasn’t a mirror and a woman who wasn’t a queen…standing in a hall of marble pillars.

“No!” Mara gasped, darting for the door that was locked from the outside. How had she been so foolish, how had she slipped up so spectacularly? She worked through the lock without a second thought or care for if someone could tell if the lock had been picked or not, sprinting into the room. It was empty, of course.

Kicking off those ridiculous shoes, Mara sprinted on sock feet towards the place she had seen in Luke’s mind. There, she found a discarded glow rod. Picking it up from the ground, Mara found herself looking at her own reflection in the mirror.

“Well, I guess you were right about the secret passageways, Luke.” Mara gulped and stepped forward, touching the mirror frame. Nothing happened of course, but there must be a way to open it.

Closing her eyes, Mara drew on the reserves of that sparkling warmth under a layer of ice. Breathing deep, she concentrated her energy towards the mirror. “I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” Mara repeated the saying Vader of all people had taught her. The mirror clicked free.

Mara hesitated only a moment at the threshold. She knew she should tell Vader somehow. She didn’t have a bond with him though like she did Luke or even the Emperor. She wasn’t sure she wanted to try opening one. But, and here she reached for the metal cylinder she had kept hidden under the ends of her shirt, he had…not necessarily been kind to her recently, he had been helpful, and nothing more. With a slightly trembling thought, Mara opened her connection with the Emperor, but broadcast it wide, opening her communication along another bond she knew the Emperor shared with the dark lord of the Sith.

Master, someone’s grabbed Luke, I’m in pursuit.

The mental answer came back with pride and encouragement. Good my child, good. Do not fail.

Stepping into the passage, Mara turned to face the darkness. I won’t

The connection ended and a snap hiss echoed down the corridor moments before it was filled with a violet light.

“Hang on, Luke. I’m coming.” She could only hope Vader had heard too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The comm chimed at the waiting ship and the one who had been waiting practically pounced to answer it. There had been no word since her agent’s call to say she had managed to get Luke alone. “Sabe? Tell me you’ve got him.”

“Ahsoka.” The voice came back strained. “It worked, I have him.”

Ahsoka felt like tight bow strings had been holding her up this whole year had finally been cut. Luke was safe, he was going to be safe. She wasn’t naive enough to think that just because Sabe had him that they were out of the woods, but it was the closest she had ever been. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

There came a huff over the line. “Don’t thank me. I did this for Padme as much as for you or for him. You don’t think I haven’t wanted to do this since I saw him on that news feed two years ago? If anything, I owe you and Saw one. I take it his men have cleared my escape?”

“Yes, once you are free of the palace, they will make sure the roads are clear.”

“I’m already out. Haven’t seen his men though.”

Ahsoka felt a twinge of concern at that. Saw’s men should have been there to help Sabe the rest of the way in case she ran into trouble. They also happened to be their backup plan in case they needed more of a distraction than clearing the roads. The palace was full of imperials, Saw’s men weren’t above going in there and starting some chaos to give Sabe a chance to grab the prince and run. Or at least, that is what they discussed at the briefing.

“If they gave you up or if they had been caught, you’d be surrounded already. Focus on getting here. The edge of the meadow lands, by the forest. You know the place. And Sabe…thank you.”

On the other end there was the sound of a speeder powering up. “Again, don’t thank me. I get why a Togruta couldn’t sneak into the palace these days. With any luck, it won’t always be like this.”

“Maybe not luck.” Ahsoka grinned, feeling lighter and happier than she had in years. “But maybe Luke.” Perhaps with Luke, there would be a new hope for the galaxy after all. They just had to get him here safe.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t hard to follow Luke, even drugged as he must be. His Force signature felt fuzzy, but it was still distinct along their bond. Mara traced them into the back ways of the palace near where the speeder bikes of palace staff were often parked. Thankfully, hotwiring speeders had been part of Mara’s training this last year. Piloting them…well, that was another story.

But how hard could it be?

Pretty hard, Mara found, but the controls were simple enough even if they weren’t designed with a nearly twelve year old human child in mind. Still, it was for Luke. So she did what she did best, learn and learn quickly.

She let herself fall into the Force, enveloping the Light around her like her cloak which she sorely missed right about now. The farther Luke got, the harder it was to trace him and whoever had him was moving fast. But they didn’t know a Force sensitive was on their trail, let alone a Force sensitive who had a Force bond with their captive.

Mara worked to keep her distance while not falling too far out of reach of Luke’s presence. She knew it would never do if the kidnappers saw her following them. It wouldn’t be wise to give up her element of surprise, because Mara Jade was currently doing what her trainers had always told her to avoid at nearly all cost. Going in blind.

She didn’t know who she was up against or how many. The impressions she had gotten from Luke had just been one person, who looked like his mother, which was concerning enough as it was considering Mara and Luke both knew her to be dead. But Mara would bet her lightsaber that the kidnapper, Padme Amidala look alike hadn’t come alone. So, Mara had to be prepared for that.

They sped away from the city, which made sense, hard to escape a city as large as Theed with any due speed. Not if you didn’t want to get shot out of the sky. So they made towards the edge of the forests. Mara shuddered, recalling reading about a mission back in the Clone Wars that took place somewhere close by. Something to do with a horrible plague. Some said it still lingered in these woods. Though Mara was sure that was just superstitions.

She ducked low over her speeder and prayed to the Force that she knew how to stop the bike, that she would know what to do when the time came about more than just stopping speeder bikes. For all her training, it had never prepared her for this, the kidnapping of her best friend. She figured it out, stopping the speeder, hopping off and continuing on foot. She missed her shoes now, but the thick socks still served better than nothing as she padded over soft early autumn grass in the direction she had felt Luke’s presence last under a canopy of auburn and orange leaves.

It was a little ways away, towards a ship. And Luke’s senses were steadily growing clearer and clearer. Whatever they had used to knock him out must be wearing off. Small mercies, Mara thought. There was no way she was going to be able to carry him out of this.

Mara ducked behind a tree, spying a small shuttle craft in the clearing ahead. The speeder bike with the palace staff markings she knew must be stollen was parked a little distance away and a woman in a blue dress and silver cloak was helping a swaying Luke walk towards the ramp of the waiting ship. If he boarded that ship…it would have to be now or never.

Mara reached out with her senses, there were others nearby, but she had no way of knowing if they were with the kidnappers or just local Gungans out in the meadows. But the Force moved strangely around some of them, like it did sometimes around the Imperial Guard, or even Vader. She wasn’t sure what it meant and she honestly didn’t have time to care. They were not an immediate threat as far as she could tell.

The two figures, the one in the blue dress and the other one on the ramp, a Togruta woman, had Luke, and that was all that mattered.

But what to do? Mara gripped her saber, watching the slow progress they made with Luke stumbling. She felt the metal in her hands, cold and somewhat sweaty against her damp palms. These were people. Sure, she had fought against training droids, severed mechanical limbs and stabbed through metal chest plates. But those…those were droids. These were flesh and blood. People, those she could feel in the Force.

And she was probably going to have to kill them. But surely these kidnappers wouldn’t let Luke go so easily, surely they didn’t care about the distinction between alive or not.

Closing her eyes tight and sucking in a sharp breath, Mara called upon the Force right as the blue dressed woman walked under a perfectly placed hanging tree limb. It was as if the Force itself had placed it there just for her. Somewhat weak from an autumn storm, easily snapped, and heavy enough to knock the blue dressed Padme imposter out cold, while angled perfectly not to hit Luke as Mara called it down.

That just left the Togruta woman who sprang towards Luke as he wavered, eyes scanning the tree line. Mara didn’t have time to think before she leapt into the clearing. If she had she would have known that her little trick with the tree branch hadn’t fooled the older woman. Her play was known before she had even made her move.

A snap hiss, and Mara was sprinting into the clearing, air flowing past her like ripples of water, she raised her saber, stealing herself to take the blow, when it met in a clash and a hum. Mara opened her eyes to see amethyst clashed on white. An orange face with white markings and set with Hyperspace blue eyes filled with wonder and bewilderment.

The older woman threw her back easily. And for a moment, both were shocked enough to stare at each other, Luke flopped groggily in the middle.

“Who…” The Togruta with the shining white twin sabers leveled her gaze on Mara, “are you.”

“The person whose best friend you are trying to kidnap.” Mara retorted, changing her stance, breathing hard. “I-I won’t let you.” Her resolve was faltering ever so slightly. She needed to protect Luke. But now that the initial rush, the adrenaline that had forced that one desperate attack was over, she was once again faced with the reality of having to take a life. It was with a pang of self awareness that Mara realized, she didn’t want to.

She planted the balls of her feet firmly in the loamy soil, the smell of meadow grass and earth mixing with the dampness of autumn leaves and the scent of lightsaber polish and ship fuel. “Get away from him.”

The older warrior considered the girl, and after a moment, her sabers extinguished. “You don’t have to fight me, young one. There is bravery in your heart. I sense your concern for your friend.” And she was stepping down the ramp, closer to her, closer to Luke. “You don’t have to be separated from him. Tell me, where did you learn to build that saber?”

Mara gulped, eyes shifting. She sensed those other presences, those other beings in the Force edging closer, the Force around those strange other presences continued to swirl darkly and thickly and wrongly. “No, I’m warning you. I will fight if I have too. You aren’t taking him!”

As if sensing the intentions of the other, knowing and gauging in a way neither expected, but the Force in both of them anticipated, their sabers again ignited and collided as one. Despite the older warrior being short by most organic species’ standards, she was still taller than Mara and she was stronger too. Where the girl had only had a year’s training in saber combat, the Togruta with the white sabers had had decades.

It was strangely exhilarating, and if she were not afraid in the moment for her own life as well as Luke’s she might have enjoyed the gymnastics and sheer style of this duel. The older lightsaber wielder fought with an elegance and skill Mara had never fully seen before. It wasn’t the raw power of Vader, nor was it the brutal efficiency of the Inquisitors. It was like dancing, spinning, deflecting. In that moment, Mara learned something valuable about her opponent. She wasn’t aiming to kill. Her blows were meant to disarm or deflect exclusively. But why? Surely this must be a rogue Jedi or Rebel or maybe even turncoat Inquisitor. And yet, she didn’t feel the overwhelming darkness from the older woman that she had felt from other Force users. It wasn’t the blinding Light that was Luke either. This woman was something different. Something in between. Not unlike Mara was herself. She felt the balance, the dance between the ice and the storm. This woman walked it too.

It was never supposed to be a fair fight, they were nowhere near evenly matched. But then again, Mara never planned on it being fair either. Her mind flashed to her training with Vader, the way he had pushed her through the exercises again and again. His words ringing in her ears.

If you want to take down a larger opponent, use their advantages against them.

So, use their height against them too. Mara spun and flipped, kicking her opponent in the face and rebounding off a nearby tree, landing close to the ramp near Luke.

The warrior stumbled back, drawing a shaky hand across her jaw.

Stunned. Mara thought to herself. She didn’t think she had hit the warrior that hard. But either way, good.

Mara hurried to Luke’s side, he was blinking sluggishly up at her. “Mara?”

“Luke, come on, we are getting out of here.” She began to heft him up, swinging one arm around her shoulders when the Togruta woman spoke.

“Your technique…where did you learn to fight like that?” Her voice sounded distant, yet serious, a storm brewing in her deep blue eyes and echoing in her words, like the sound of thunder heard echoing over the lake.

Mara ignored her. But then she heard the snap hiss of the saber. “I said, where did you learn to fight like that.” An edge had crept into that voice, not a deadly one, no, but something else. Maybe a desperate one? A disbelieving one?

Mara, still trying to hold on to Luke, faced her again, trying to balance Luke and still hold her saber at the same time. “A master duelist, my best friend’s father taught me.” She didn’t know why she said it other than she hoped it would buy her time, edging backwards towards the speeder the other woman had brought. If she could just get to it.

“Impossible. It’s not possible.” The woman was saying in almost a daze, stepping closer. “You’re too young, You’re not even ten.”

“She’s almost twelve.” Luke chose that moment to chime in.

“Aside the point.” Mara glared, they were almost there. But just then the forest seemed to erupt. Mara cried out, stepping back towards the center of the clearing dragging Luke, who was nearly steady on his feet, along with her.

The woman was suddenly at her back and Mara had a sinking feeling that they had just been caught, surrounded by nearly a dozen men. But a hand came to rest on her shoulders and a white blaze of light came to cross in front of hers and Luke’s chests dazzling and of all things protective. “I was beginning to wonder where you all had wandered off too. Saw’s not going to be happy when he hears how you abandoned your mission.” A tone of command had crept into that voice, her combatant, the wielder of the twin blades was someone used to speaking and being listened to in a way that spoke of command and respect.

A tall, rough looking human man sauntered forward, a blaster in hand. “We’ve not abandoned anything, unlike you, Imp lover.” He spat. “Treating this like a rescue mission. Did you even listen to the news coming out of Kashyyyk this morning? Do you know how members of our Cadre were slaughtered there? Or were you two focused on the Imps?”

Mara’s eyes glanced quickly up at the warrior and then the man with a blaster in his hands. He held it carelessly, loosely, almost spinning it lazily. This was not a man that cared about who lived and who died. And the Force moved darkly about him and the others who were most of them nodding in solemn, angry agreement. Some didn’t look so convinced. But they were obviously in the minority.

“Don’t you see, this kid is our ticket to getting the Empire to back off for good. Let’s see how long the politicians last once their precious Crown Prince is treated no better than any of our captured friends.”

Mara’s grip tightened on Luke’s arm. It was then she noticed he was standing mostly on his own now. His Force signature was clear though a deep sadness had crept over him. “The Emperor won’t bargain for my life. If you killed me, the Emperor wouldn’t care.” His tone was quiet, serious in a way that wasn’t like him, his blue eyes clear of the drugged fog, but now filled with that deep sorrow.

“Hah, that’s what the whelp says.” Barked the ring leader, laughing cruelly. His gaze turned to Mara. “And what of this sweet little thing? Some Grand Moff your papa then?” He taunted. “Fetch us a fine credit in ransom I bet. Might just buy us off this world.”

The hand on Mara’s shoulder tightened now, a wave of reassurance flowing from the taller woman and towards both her and Luke in the Force. “I won’t let you harm these children. Whatever the Empire has done, these two are innocent.”

The man’s eyes turned cold, he raised his blaster and leveled it. “Give it up Fulcrum, you are out numbered. And we both know, there are no innocents in war.”

“You’re wrong.” That commanding voice held a ringing resound of steel in it, a conviction deeply and strongly held. “There are heroes on both sides of any war just as there are innocents, those that do their best against impossible odds. You shed that blood then you are no better than the Empire you hate.”

The blaster fired.

Fulcrum, whoever she was, deflected the shot easily and soon multiple weapons were trained on them, blasting and firing. “Deflect the shots!” Fulcrum shouted, and it took Mara a moment to realize she meant her.

Raising her saber, Mara wove an arch of light around her as Vader had taught her to do.

When you are faced with multiple opponents, don’t get bogged down. It’s okay to run once you get an opening.

Mara kept Luke at her back, the taller Togruta weaving her twin sabers above them both. Heros on both sides…

Why was this rebel Jedi protecting them? Why not do exactly what those other men said? It’s what Mara would expect from rebel scum. It is what she had always been told they were like. She swung her saber wide, deflecting a volley of shots.

She felt Luke move behind her, turning her head slightly, she saw him grip the side of his head, eyes scrunching shut.

“Luke?” She did her best to divide her attention between the immediate threat ahead and her friend.

“My father-” Luke groaned, “he’s coming. And he’s very angry.”

Mara felt a weight drop in her stomach. Luke’s father was coming. Vader was coming. And there were people trying to kill them. No one in this clearing, with perhaps the exception of herself and Luke, was going to survive what came next.

She felt it, the wave of cold sweeping towards them quickly. She wished for her cloak, shivering in the cold. And her distraction was costly. A stray bolt found its way through, grazing Fulcrum’s arm but it was only at her gasp above hers and Luke’s head that Mara realized something.

It wasn’t her distraction. It was Fulcrum’s. Fulcrum, had faltered. She had felt the cold too. Craning her neck up, Mara was able to see a haunted look in the older fighter’s face, a disbelief, a horror, that Mara had never seen before. But she recovered in an instant, and was now fighting with a renewed vigor, the Force was at her side as her sabers blurred together.

Luke realized what Mara did in that exact same moment. If they were leaving, it had to be now.

He reached across their bond, opening it fully to her. She struggled not to lose her focus again at what she felt there, Luke…to put it plainly, didn’t feel like Luke. His presence free of the sedative felt like the mind after a migraine, bruised and sore, painful from a hurt so deep it blurred one’s vision. He shook off her concern, I’m fine. The thought came clear as day.

Before Mara could retort that he wasn’t she saw his intentions before they happened. Feet running across grass, a speeder on the far side of the clearing.

“Luke, wait!” She called a moment too late as Luke bolted from the protective cover of the twin white sabers and Mara’s own violet. She took off after him, bolts coming fast and furious along with shouts from the men.

Fulcrum had turned too, and it was only then that Mara’s mind recalled that mere moments ago, this woman hadn’t been the protector at their backs. She had been trying to kidnap Luke too. Mara couldn’t allow herself to get so sloppy, turning, she tried to cover their retreat, spinning her violet blade in an arch.

Luke was at the speeder, starting it up. He paused a moment, the crumpled form of the woman Mara had taken out at the start still resting there. In the Force, Mara felt her steady beating presence that spoke of life. But the deep hurt in Luke’s eyes as he gazed at her, his hands flying over the controls with a finesse that Mara had lacked, made her wonder if she should have taken the shot she had hesitated from. Whatever pain the blue dressed woman had caused went deeply.

Climbing on the speeder, saber still raised, Mara felt the cold continuing to come, closer now. “Hurry, Luke.” Mara urged. But then there was another presence, a shifting song in the Force that reminded Mara of what Luke had mentioned about the absence of something. It was like a harmonic line that was lost in a song before coming into the forefront. The hyperspace blue eyes of Fulcrum met the gaze of the two children and for a moment, time seemed suspended.

A hundred emotions existed in that moment. Greif, regret, fear, pain, but also hope, wild and unspeakable hope. Mara knew she didn’t want to lose them, she didn’t want them to go, but she felt what was coming too, and Mara knew that somehow, this woman understood that in a way that neither she or Luke fully did. She looked at them both for one fraction of a moment suspended in time with a clarity in her eyes, she was letting them go as much as there was little to be done in that moment to stop them as there was much that could be done by Fulcrum, whoever she was. With the two children out of the way, the need to protect no longer there, Fulcrum nodded once to Luke and Mara and turned on their attackers, covering their escape.

But not before the speeder turned, barreling into the forest in the direction of the cold and one man turned, blaster raised, eyes sharp, and a shot found its mark. Mara slumped against Luke’s back and she never heard his cry of alarm or felt the hands that held her on the speeder as she fell.

Chapter Text

Luke raced the speeder as fast as he dared through the trees, towards the cold, cold presence that he knew must be his father, though he had never felt such rage before. His mind, his heart, it was a jumbled mess. And then Mara had cried out, he felt her weight on his back and had scrambled to grab at her arms that had been wrapped around his neck, holding them in place. Most of her weight had fallen into him, and he could only pray she would stay on long enough to get away. They had to get away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vader was seething, anger flowing through him like he hadn’t felt in years, perhaps ever. He had thought he had felt anger before. But this was on another level. His son, his precious son, had been taken from the very heart of the Naboo palace, under the noses of nearly a thousand imperials, troops and all. He had heard Mara’s message like a whisper over his bond with the Emperor. The girl reaching out like that was as deliberate as it was unexpected.

But he promised himself he would be sure to thank her for this action once he got his son back. This was twice she was risking her life for Luke, if one didn’t count the countless times she stood before the Emperor and lied. Yes, once Luke was safe and those wretched beings who weren’t worthy of the breath they drew were dead, he would make sure to do something nice for Mara as a thank you.

He had followed almost immediately, though it had been harder than it had been for Mara. He had been deeper in the palace and the closest exit had taken him right into the middle of a speeder crash on the main road. No doubt the kidnappers had caused it to block any chance of pursuit.

But Vader was strong in the Force, strong with the Darkside and nothing could have stood in his way for long. Soon he had acquired his own speeder and following the same path Mara herself had taken.

With every moment that passed without Luke in his arms, the rage only grew. He knew he was close, very close when he saw that a speeder bike, one that looked like the ones used by the palace staff, was racing towards him at head long speed.

His heart nearly stopped at the two figures aboard it. The one at the controls, dressed in Imperial Grey and with blue eyes standing starkly out against the backdrop of green and autumn gold was flying with one hand, the other was desperately trying to secure the limp figure whose red gold hair fluttered in the air behind them like a signal fire.

“Father!” Luke cried out, both of them bringing their speeders to a screeching halt.

Vader was out of his speeder car in an instant, his long strides eating up the ground as he went to meet his son. Alarm spread through him when he saw the red staining against the grey of his son’s uniform. It took his mind only a second to realize that his son was animated, almost frantic and Mara…Mara law motionless.

Luke struggled to get out from under the dead weight of his friend, and Vader came back to himself, taking the girl’s shoulders and moving her so Luke could come to standing.

“We have to get her to a med center!” Luke exclaimed, hands fluttering over her limp form as Vader hoisted her into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder hoping she could breathe easier nearly upright.

Vader saw the scorch mark that tore through her mid left side, leaving blackened edges to her fake school uniform, the same school uniform worn by students at Luke’s school. As he held the girl in the forest, Luke’s pleading eyes staring up at him, all Vader could think was this could very easily have been Luke he was holding.

“Your attackers,” Vader began, the rage still there unforgotten. “who did this? Where are they?” Luke looked back the way they came.

“There’s no time!” Luke exclaimed. “Mara’s hurt!”

He said the words like Vader didn’t know. This girl, who had saved his son before Vader himself even got there, was hurt. Luke was shaking, his presence in the Force skewed with pain, hands trembling, shirt soaked through with the blood of his friend. Whoever did this needed to pay.

“She will be fine.”

“She won’t!” Luke was almost crying now, but a determination in his voice was keeping the tears at bay. “Please father!” At the same time he gasped himself, reaching for his side, the exact place Mara herself was hurt.

In his arms, Mara began to cough, eyes shut tight and then opened blearily, “Luke?” She asked, words slurred with pain. Before Vader could answer, despite his rage making it near impossible to work his voice into anything close to reassuring, she spasmed, coughing again thickly. To both Vader and Luke’s horror, red the color of Vader’s saber, trickled from her pale lips, staining Vader’s black armor with it.

He recoiled from the sight, the wound Mara sustained must go deeper than he thought. Luke was right, despite his rage blinding him to the fact at first, Mara was hurt. Very hurt. And she would die without care. And Luke, his precious son, somehow felt it too. Vader wanted in that moment to let the rage out, to decimate those that had put that look in Luke’s eyes and the blaster burn in Mara’s side. But a voice seemed to whisper, like a gentle touch on his forehead.

Let it go.

It was all he could do. Vader turned, physically forcing himself, to turn away from the kidnappers and back to the speeder. “Get in.” Vader bit out.

Luke scrambled into the back seat, and Vader laid Mara down, with her head in Luke’s lap, grateful he had brought a bigger speeder than the speeder bike his son had come on. There was no way they all would have fit.

“You aren’t hurt? You are alright?” Vader finally found the voice to ask his son as he turned the speeder on and sped back towards the city.

“I’m fine.” Luke’s voice was shaky, but Vader didn’t sense any physical hurt coming from him in the Force. “It’s Mara I’m worried about.”

Vader felt the boiling rage, it would need an outlet and soon. But if he didn’t want Mara Jade to die as his thank you for saving his son, he had to get her to a med center, and he had to get Luke to safety.

Vader didn’t trust the palace after what happened with Luke so he went to the Imperial Garrison instead. They would have a top tier med center and Luke would be literally surrounded by stormtroopers. When he brought the speeder to a stop, Luke was already opening the doors and trying to pull Mara out. Vader took over instead, taking the girl back into his arms. Had she grown paler in the short drive?

“This child requires medical attention.” Vader snapped at the first aid he saw.

“Right away, Lord Vader!” The poor officer, too lowly to have been at the celebrations at the palace stammered, literally running down the halls shouting for a medic as he did.

Within moments, Mara had been handed off to the medical staff who swarmed her with Bacta and bandages, only taking a moment to listen when Vader said. “If she dies, you die.” Before he swept his cape around him and stormed from the room.

Luke had wanted to stay with Mara, but the medical staff wouldn’t hear of it, so Luke scrambled after his father. “Where are you going?” He cried, hand outstretched as if he meant to stop the darkly clad figure.

“To go after the ones that did this, my son. They will answer for their crimes against you.”

Luke was shaking. “Don’t go. Please don’t leave me. Mara…” Whatever strength had sustained Luke this long was leaving him. Tears were welling up in his eyes and Vader recalled for all Luke had been very brave this whole time, he was still just a child. Almost a teenager, but a child still.

Vader came and knelt before his son. “Mara will be fine. Those doctors will see to it. You have my word.”

Luke shook his head. There was something more going on here. Luke was obviously distraught and unsettled in the Force by his friend’s injury and his almost kidnapping. But there was something more to this, something deeper. And it ate at Vader. What had happened in the few hours it had all taken to be over?

“Don’t leave me.” Luke said in a whisper.

Vader felt the conflict within him, the need to let out his rage, the need to make the kidnappers pay, and the knowledge that they were probably long gone, and here stood his son, begging him to stay.

Closing his eyes, Vader breathed in deeply, once than twice, then opened them again. Picking up his comm, he gave orders into it for someone to go to the clearing he had pictured when he had reached for Luke. Then he clipped the comm to his side, beside his saber, and held his arms out for his son.

Luke fell into them, sobbing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vader pulled the blanket up over his son where he slept on the extra hospital bed that had been brought in. Luke had been restless for many hours, tired but refusing to sleep, not touching the food he was offered. At long last, after holding on to Vader’s hand for hours, his eyes had slowly, slowly, drifted shut. And now he rested, bathed in the blue glow of Mara’s Bacta tank.

Vader’s eyes found the girl, looking almost peaceful where she floated suspended in blue liquid. She had been in surgery until the sun had sank below the horizon and then immediately put into Bacta. If Vader concentrated, he could feel her presence in the Force, she too was disquieted, even in sleep. But she had calmed significantly when Luke had been brought into the room. That was the only reason the medical staff had allowed Luke to stay. The children, despite their collective heightened fear in the Force, were seeming to draw comfort from the close proximity of the other, even in their slumbers.

Vader caressed one hand over his son’s hair, with the other, he hovered it above the glass of Mara’s tank. He hadn’t used his powers for comfort, not in many years. However, a memory persisted.

“I’I’m fine, Master.” Said the girl when he had found her, curled up in a corner of one of the hangars after the battle.

“Come on, Snips, you should have been in bed hours ago, we rendezvous with Obi-Wan in twelve standard. It’s important we get sleep when we can.”

Her eyes had flickered, a fear dancing in them at the mention of sleep and he had stilled, recalling that this girl was, after all, just a child. And despite her bravery, she had just seen some of her first combat with serious casualties.

“Come on.” He held up his hand and she took it gratefully. “It’s okay to sleep.” He said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Rest,” he let the Force flow through his words, “and sleep well.” Behind his words, he had infused a memory, a memory of the room of a thousand fountains. The girl had smiled a sleepy, unsure smile, he had walked her to her door and given her a hug before she went inside, a settled peace having fallen over her like a blanket. That night, the girl slept after the battle and her dreams were sweet.

Vader pictured the Lake District and summer air tinged sweet with flowers. Around him, Luke and Mara both settled into the memory made dream and Vader knew they would sleep peacefully for the next several hours.

He left the chamber, nodding to the creatures that stood at the door with their long noses and grey, shadow like appearance. “Stay here. None but the medical professionals are allowed in. No one.”

“Yes, Lord Vader.” The gravely voice spoke softly, the creatures bowing in unison.

Vader left, sweeping from the room to the speeder. It was night, the moon had climbed high into the sky, full and bright, casting enough light to see by.

He knew his likelihood of finding anything in the clearing other than what his agents had already reported was next to useless. A few dead humans had been found. Their own shots had been deflecting at them by a lightsaber. He wondered if Mara had done it. Luke hadn’t mentioned, but then again, there wasn’t much Vader had been able to get from Luke on the topic yet. He could only hope that time would resolve the matter.

One positive note, they had a responsible party now, thanks to the killed men. They were identified as members of Saw Gerrera’s freedom fighters, as they liked to call themselves. Saw Gerrera had done this.

He walked through the clearing, seeing scorched grass and trampled areas where multiple figures had stood. Small footprints, Luke’s and Mara’s, next to larger ones.  Someone had stood at Luke’s and Mara’s back. Someone had protected them. Vader wondered who and why. Was it a dispute between the kidnappers? Had something gone wrong in their plan?

He felt nothing, but there was a trace of something, something distant and long forgotten. Once again, his mind was drawn to one Anakin Skywalker had known, the one whose dreams he had eased in those early days of war. Why was he thinking of her now? He hadn’t allowed himself to do so in so long. It hurt too much.

In one of the trees at the edge of a clearing, a bird called. He looked up through red lenses at a convor, green and white, perched amongst the trees. It flapped its wings at him, regarding him with an almost knowing stare. He had seen a similar bird before, circling a snowy scene, littered with graves.

“Leave me.” Vader growled at the bird. “Go torment someone else.” The bird just continued to regard him for several long moments. At once though, it took flight and Vader felt it meant him to follow. He didn’t know why he did, but a curiosity had over taken him so he did.

The bird flew along the path that Vader knew Luke had taken to run into him. He could picture it, his son’s frantic flight, Mara flopped against his back, bleeding from the wound in her side.

The bird swooped low, wings almost skimming the forest floor, before it took off, soaring into the night. Vader watched it go, before a gleam of metal in the grass caught his eye. A silvery hilt reflected in the moonlight.

Vader knelt, picking it up and brushing dirt and leaves from it. Mara’s saber. He knew it well after so many hours spent training her to use it. She must have dropped it when she had been shot. Giving it a once over for damage, Vader clipped it to his belt and looked once more about him. It was quiet, not even the gentle calls of the convor up above could be heard anymore. Only the gentle sounds of the night remained.

There was nothing for him here. It was time he returned to his son. He should be there when he woke up. And he had to return Mara’s saber to its rightful owner.

Chapter Text

When Luke awoke again, the sun was still pale and rosy with the light of the morning. The memories of the day before came creeping in slowly, drawing attention to themselves unobtrusively. He was grateful for this, for them not all crashing back at once, just as he was grateful for the deep and restful sleep that had mercifully found him. He blinked a few times, opening his eyes, and sitting up slowly.

There, sitting next to his bed, was the black clad shape of his father. Noticing that Luke was awake, he turned to him and asked “My son, are you alright.”

“I’m fine, father.” Luke replied, shocked in that moment though by how small his voice sounded, even to his own ears, in the medical room. It had been an automatic reply, one born of a desire to see the worry taken from his father’s presence. Luke hadn’t really allowed a moment yet to take stock of how he felt. He did so now. His mouth felt horribly dry, and his tongue felt odd and a little heavy, as did his limbs. His head felt stuffed with Bantha wool, and it ached when he looked towards bright lights. But other than that, it really felt no worse than that one time he had had a mild cold one winter back on Tatooine.

His father visibly relaxed, hands unclenching, sighing in relief. Before he could speak again though, Luke asked, “What happened? What about Mara?”

Vader’s head turned and there Luke saw Mara, resting in a cream colored linen shirt that made her hair stand out vividly against her shoulders where it lay, the slickness of the Bacta having been washed out and dried, tucked into a grey bed that matched his own. As if she could sense the scrutiny, Luke could see her nose scrunch and her brow furrow, eyes squeezing. For a moment, Luke thought she might wake up. But the moment passed, and her face eased back into the blank nothingness of unconsciousness, not even broken by a dream.

Luke could feel it in the Force, when someone was about to tell a lie. Mara was particularly skilled in that area and she had been teaching him since they had been back together. He could feel the conflict in his father then, the weighing and the balancing and at last the giving in. It was the truth then. “She sustained a blaster to her side and required surgery and a Bacta treatment. It left its mark, but she should be fine.”

A blaster shot…Luke shivered at the thought. And she had done it for him. He knew that if it were not for her, that shot would have hit him. Mara could have run. She was fast, agile, she could have easily made it out if she had abandoned him to do it. She didn’t even have to come in the first place. And yet she had. When she had had the chance to run, she hadn’t. He remembered the blade in her hand, the fierce way she had swung it out, the smell of something burning and the pain radiating through the Force. He remembered the arc of light she had spun for them.

“She saved me.” Luke’s voice was at a whisper now. Images, sharp and hard darted over his mind. A blaster not set to stun, a charring hole through flesh, angry cries in the night, hot sand under bare feet.

Sensing his son’s distress, Vader moved in a motion as fluid as mechanical limbs would allow and scooped Luke into a hug. “She’s alive. And she saved you from those that would have taken you from me. That is all that matters.”

Luke shook his head against the hard plating of his father’s armor. “I’m tired of people getting hurt to protect me.” A blaster bolt hitting an unprotected side the thud of something heavy hitting the sand, the weight of his friend hitting his back. “I hate it, I hate it!”

Luke was crying now, crying like he hadn’t in over a year. His father held him all the tighter. “You can use that hate,” His father spoke now, almost hesitantly, pulling back to look into Luke’s eyes, “you can use it to make you strong. You can use it to protect yourself.”

Luke felt a slithering cold at those words, at what his father meant. He felt it, like an oily slickness over the brightness he could feel around him. There were lives beyond the walls of the garrison, living breathing beings. Their life forces shone brightly. But he could also feel that oily sense too, like an invasive vine growing over a ledge and cracking it down. And new images darted through his head. Blaster bolts suspended mid air, turned back on those responsible for them, his Uncle Own never hitting the sand, his Aunt Beru not locking him in the panic room before going out to protect him, Mara, never being hurt. Could he have saved them?

 He felt the edges of the storm like Mara did, when she talked about Coruscant. But he wasn’t like Mara, was he? When Mara felt things, she felt them intensely, but she reacted to them softly. She felt her way through each emotion and each decision like a dancer moved across a stage. Sometimes her movements were full of slow grace, other times they were energetic and striking. But always calculated. When Luke felt things, it was with his whole heart, with his whole being, there was no pulling back. He was like a starship in a hyperspace lane. Once he was headed in a direction, there was no stopping until they reached the destination. To not do so was to go against his very nature. He knew, he knew if he were to reach out and touch that storm, he would not stop at skimming its surface, he would be pulled into it, sucked into the winds and the currents, until he was at its very center, with all the rage and destruction around him.

And where would that leave the ones he loved? On the outside, out of his reach, out of his sight, unable to reach him and him unable to reach back. Luke recoiled from it. “No, no I can’t!” He cried, unable to form his feelings into proper words.

But Vader understood. He sat there, rubbing circles into Luke’s back, letting the emotion roll over him and through him until it finally rolled out of him and beyond him. “Then let it go, my son. Let it out. It’s alright.”

That is how Mara found them sometime later when her eyes fluttered open. In her mind, she had been drifting, a little skiff tossed at the edges of a hurricane. She wasn’t sure if she could make it, she wasn’t sure if it would pull her in in the end. But she knew, if she could focus on the guiding star, somewhere there, in the glittering of the ice, she could make it. She just had to follow its light. And when she woke, she saw Luke, smiling at her like the lake after the rain.

It was going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The medical staff insisted on Mara staying another night for observation, just to be safe, they said. Mara wondered at this and the nervous ways they seemed to hover about her and check on her nearly constantly. She wondered if her wounds were worse than she had been originally led to believe, if she were not in fact dying. But she felt fine, steadily growing stronger in the Force.

The Emperor had contacted her, as she lay in her hospital bed, infusing his words with praise, hope for a quick recovery, and promises that he would teach her how not to let her guard down and get hit like that again. Mara rested in the praise, but a part of her mind was still working over all that had happened. The Togruta woman…Fulcrum…she had protected her and Luke from those other kidnappers. But why and what did it mean? Was there honor among rebels after all?

Her musings were broken by the door opening. Luke came in, smiling at her his usual sunshine smile, though she still saw the edges of distress there that she had noted since the attempted kidnapping. “You’re awake!” He said, pulling something from behind his back and handing it to her.

Mara took it a little bewildered at first. It was a stuffed creature, large enough to take up most of her arms, brown and furry with curly horns and a stitched on smile and shiny black button eyes. Around its neck was tied a jade green ribbon. “You…got me a Bantha?” She asked, turning the stuffed animal over in her hands.

“It’s a get well soon Bantha.” Luke corrected in all seriousness and, meeting each other’s eyes, both burst out laughing. It wasn’t because it was necessarily funny, but because they both needed it. The knowledge of what they went through was still sinking in. They both knew they had faced a grave danger, but had survived it. And there was something cathartic about the sheer knowledge that the other was alive and able to give such a simple gift.

Luke sat down at the edge of her bed, resting his hand on her knee. “Mara…” he began, all laughter gone from, his voice now. “I’m sorry, I should have listened. We should never have gone off alone. If I had stayed with you, or listened and not left in the first place, none of this might have happened.”

“Hey,” Mara quickly laid her hand atop his. “we can’t know that. Whoever tried was going to try anyway. If not then then some other time. At least we got away.”

Luke was nodding, “I guess. But you still got hurt protecting me. I-I don’t know how I would live with myself if you died.”

Mara gave his hand a squeeze. “But I didn’t.”

His eyes met hers again, that strangely solemn look still on his face. “No, you didn’t.”

“I’m guessing your father was the one to find my saber?” She asked, eyes glancing to the vase of hothouse flowers sitting at her bedside table, the silver saber hilt that she had woken to find, polished and oiled, tied with a silken bow the color of her blade resting beneath the colorful petals in the early hours of the morning.

“Yeah, I think it’s his own way of saying thank you. You saved my life.”

Mara shook her head. “It wasn’t me, Luke. I’m not…I’m not that good with a saber yet.” She took the get well Bantha in her arms and gave it a little squeeze, “If not for Fulcrum, we both wouldn’t be here right now.”

A shiver ran through Luke. “If not for Fulcrum, we might not have been in that situation to begin with. The…the woman who took me from the palace was working with her.”

Mara picked a little at the brown fuzzy fur. “True. But she saved us in the end…and let us go.”

Luke’s gaze became distant. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ve felt,” Luke continued slowly at first. “that something’s still been missing, since finding out about my mom. But I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe my dad had an apprentice or someone, something like that that might explain the missingness. When I faced Fulcrum, it was like…”

Mara interjected, voice soft and far away, in the clearing in the woods. “Like a portion of a missing part of a song being played.”

“Exactly!” Luke really appreciated the Force bond they shared.

“You think she was your father’s apprentice?” Mara asked a little skeptically. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Luke, she had felt it too. And Fulcrum most obviously had been a Force user. And then there was the eerily familiar way she had fought…

“I don’t know.” Luke sighed, letting his feet swing over the ledge of the bed.

“Luke,” Mara began the question she hated to ask but had been worrying her since she had seen the lady in the blue dress with Luke. “about the other one, the woman who took you.”

Luke flinched as if Mara’s words had struck him, ducking his head. “I’m alright.”

“That’s a lie.” She said gently, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you need to talk with your father about all of this. If you thought, even for a second, that she was still alive, you need to talk to your father.”

“She wasn’t my mother.” Luke said barely above a whisper. “She looked like her, but she was all wrong in the Force. She wasn’t lying exactly. Whoever she was, she cared about me. But she wasn’t my mother.”

“I know.” Mara answered, for what else could one say to such a heartache, a dream thought impossible, made possible for one shining moment, only to have the illusion shattered was almost crueler than never having dreamed the dream at all. Giving his hand one more squeeze, and hugging the Bantha to her chest with her free hand, she spoke once more, “Talk with your father.”

Luke nodded, sighing in defeat. Mara, like most times he was finding, was of course right. He stayed with Mara through lunch, which they ate together and then left her with the plush Bantha curled up in her arms as she slept.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke found his father outside the garrison in the shining sunlight of the Naboo day. He washed his palms against each other, trying to think how best to start the conversation that had to be had. He knew it would hurt, both him and his dad. However, Mara was right. He wouldn’t feel peace again until it was done.

“Father?”

His father’s helmeted head turned towards Luke. The man hadn’t removed the mask once since Luke’s almost kidnapping and Mara’s injury. “My son.”

A silence fell between them like a chasm Luke didn’t know how to cross. Thankfully, Vader met him halfway. “You want to ask me something.”

Luke nodded, ducking his head, eyes finding the scuffed stones beneath his feet. “It’s about, about what happened.”

Vader straightened, standing and drew Luke to his side, ushering him away from the garrison and towards a little park that the Imperial forces had taken over as a place for the officers to relax on their break. He led Luke to a bench beneath a large tree with its autumn leaves in full color, the smell of damp air promising rain that night. “Tell me, my son.” Vader compelled.

Luke had been reluctant, unable to speak on the events until now. And Vader hadn’t pushed him or let others push him for answers. In the moment, Luke was safe and that was all that had mattered. But he knew his father wanted answers as to what had transpired.

So Luke began the story. He told about him and Mara going exploring, getting separated, the secret passageway, then the woman in the blue dress. “She…” the words stuck in his throat, “she looked like mom.”

Vader’s arms tightened around his shoulders. “What do you mean?”

Luke dashed his hands against his blue eyes, “She pretended to be her, but I knew she wasn’t. She talked like you were dead. I don’t understand who she was, why she did it.”

Luke could not have known the inner workings of his father’s mind in that instance, the memories playing of girls that his beloved angel had been friends with, who had helped her, had laughed with her, and protected her. He had never bothered to find out what happened to them. Would it be so strange that members of their number would have joined the rebellion?

Instead, the only reply Luke received was a gentle hum, “I am so sorry my son. To see her face on another, to think her alive, I can imagine that devastation.” And in his voice Luke knew he bore an understanding deeper than empathy.

“My mother is truly dead.” Luke felt the tears flowing anew. “If she were alive, she would have come for me, right?” His head tilted back, causing the tears to form rivers on his cheeks which a careful gloved hand wiped away.

“Yes, oh my precious son, yes, she would be here with you if she could.” There was a long pause, a sense of turmoil coming from his father before he spoke again. “Luke, I must show you something. Come with me.” He rose to his feet, beckoning Luke after him.

Luke followed, hand wrapping in his father’s. They took a speeder back to the palace but Vader led them to a part Luke had never been to, a little ways away. There were many stone buildings, erected in groupings, taller than they were wide in most cases. All around it was as if they walked through what must have been a practical garden of flowers in spring. Right now, late autumn blooms filled the walks near little bubbling fountains. Vader came to one building, opened the grated door and let them both inside.

It smelled a bit musty, but not damp, more like a cave. The smell of cool stone infused with that of flowers. On the walls were intricate designs, mosaics and stained glass letting in the light, which fell on a lone place, a resting place, made of stone.

“What is this?” Luke asked in a hush, but he thought he knew. No, he knew he knew. He knew just as he had known that woman in the statue halls was not his mother.

A trembling gloved hand brushed against the stone. “This, this is where your mother was laid to rest. This is her final resting place, this is where…this is where family comes to remember her. I…I’m so sorry I never brought you here, my son.”

Luke came to stand at his father’s side, resting his hand atop the stone as well, gazing up at the stained glass visage looking down on them, a woman regal but kind. His mother.

Luke bowed his head. Tears dropping on the cool stone, staining it darker before drying quickly. But in a way he hadn’t expected, a peace washed over him here. His mother was dead, but she had loved him. And she hadn’t tried to take him, she hadn’t been the reason Mara was hurt. He wanted her back, he wanted her in his life so dearly. Though standing here, he thought maybe he could tell that she was happy, happy that he was safe. She was sad in her death, but maybe in the after, maybe she was happy now. Luke thought she was.

He breathed deep the air and tucked his hand into his father’s. “Come on, let’s go back.”

Hand in hand, father and son left the crypt where his mother lay, Luke looked back once more, and knew the grief would always be with him, just as he would carry the grief for his Aunt and Uncle, but as they climbed the stairs, there was light above them, shining on his head and reminding him that there was a future. In the back of his mind, he heard an echo like a word spoken there, toneless and unbidden but not foreign to him. The words, were a part of him.

There is no death, there is the Force.

Whatever may come, Luke knew he was and always would be loved. And in that love, there was life.

“Let’s go check on Mara.”

Chapter Text

Fulcrum rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sat on her ship. She had dropped Sabe off with a group of rebels who would protect her. It was best they weren’t seen traveling together. Word surely would get out with a description of Luke’s would be kidnappers and then they would be in worse danger than they were already. As for the remainder of Saw’s men…she had sent them on their way, with a warning and a promise that if they tried to hurt an innocent child like that again, they would be hearing from her. Her resulting conversation with Saw hadn’t gone any better. He had not been happy to hear about what his men had done, but he had not disagreed with their assessment of the situation. He, deep down, felt Luke would make a more valuable hostage than a rescue. It was needless to say that the call had not ended with them on great terms.

And at the end of the day, Luke was still in the hands of the Empire.

She had heard along her channels the beginnings of the outcry over what she had done. The disappointment at missed opportunities by some, the fear over the new scrutiny this had brought to the Rebellion at large, and then by those she was closest with, the disappointment at the loss of Luke, potentially forever now. But they could not understand the depths of her own stinging disappointment. Fulcrum was a planner, a preparer, one who made decisions carefully, tried to plan for all outcomes. She hadn’t survived this long without those skills. In the back of her mind, she could remember a child that would have laughed at the woman who now called herself careful. But those were different times. Very different times.

In all honesty, she was barely paying any attention to the comms at all anymore. She knew she should. Not to mention Bail Organa was already furious at her for this attempt. There was a reason she had gone to the Partisans rather than the Rebellion with this. And that, she knew, had been her first problem. If she saw Saw Gerrera in person again…she wasn’t sure what she would do but she would give him something to think on for sure.

There was a lot that had to be done now. The rebel cell that had been operating out of Theed would likely need to go to ground for a while, if not be scraped entirely. Reports flooded her terminals, Vader was on the ground, the palace was on lockdown, as was much of the city. She had done what she could, moved people out that she could, given orders to hide to those she couldn’t get out. And cut the codes for those she had already lost contact with. There would be time for that grief later. Right now, she had larger, more pressing griefs clamoring for attention in her mind.

Skywalker.

It was a name, it was an ideal. It was so much to so much of the galaxy. Or at least it had been…once. To her…to her it was a memory, a loose end, an unanswered question at the top of a list of many unanswered questions. And there was a boy now who bore that name, and he had almost, almost been in her grasp, after years of careful planning. And now he was gone. She knew the likelihood of getting another chance was slim. And at the heart of it, she knew, she had been the one to let him go.

She wondered at all that had gone wrong. Sabe and the Partisans had worked their parts beautifully at the start until it all went wrong. Getting there and getting Luke out of the palace had all gone too well. That should have been her first clue that something was going to go wrong. And then the branch that fell, knocking Sabe out cold, then the fight in the clearing. She had prepared for much, even Vader. But another lightsaber wielding combatant, one that came in the form of a young girl, that was not something she had expected. That posed its own…interesting question. The color of the blade, the way the girl had wielded it…That is what had troubled her originally. Sure styles could be similar, but the way the girl had moved, it was familiar, it was like reading the handwriting of a family member or seeing the stride of a dear friend. She moved like herself, but also like someone else. At first she couldn’t place it, but then she knew, in one quick motion, Fulcrum knew. This girl, obviously of the Empire was no Sith, but she wasn’t a Jedi either, and she moved in the style of the most powerful duelist the old Order had ever known. She should know, he had trained her too after all. So where had this girl, no older than the Empire itself, learned to move like that?

And puzzle pieces had only started further falling into place from there.

A boy with her former master’s last name and the shared features of an old knight and a senator. A girl with a saber the color of the evening sky and the influence of a master in her form, what had become of the lingering question that was Skywalker was proving to be nothing good. The first thought that had run through her mind was that Anakin must be a captive somewhere, being forced to teach these children under the threat of his son’s life. But then Luke had said those words.

My father is coming and he is very angry.

His father.

She had felt the cold down to her soul. If she thought about it too long, it caused her to shiver anew. And suddenly a captive Jedi was not the worst thing she could picture as a fate for Anakin Skywalker. Suddenly she knew, there was much, much worse that could have happened to him. She couldn’t admit it in that moment though. And there had been so much else to focus on, like keeping herself and the two children alive.

In the end, she had had to let them go, to a fate unknown, but to a fate nonetheless. They lived, and she couldn’t help but feel that because they did, she, Sabe, and the remaining Partisans did too. Yes, there was something over the horizon, something shrouded in darkness, but behind it, maybe, she thought she caught the glimpses of a rising light, rays of sunlight piercing the dawn.

She wanted Luke safe, she thought he never could be in the Empire.

But maybe, just perhaps, he was exactly where he was supposed to be. All is as the Force wills after all.

And what of the shadow that guarded him? What of the girl with fire in her hair and in her eyes that stood beside him? She didn’t know. But she knew there was work to be done, repairs to be made for her actions. She trusted that in time, the answers to her lingering questions would come.

Her comm light blinked and barely thinking of the action, she flicked it on. “This is Fulcrum.”

“Fulcrum listen.”

She startled at the voice, sitting up a little straighter. “Senator Organa, I didn’t expect to hear back from you so soon.”

She could practically see the twitch in her former friend’s eyes, the frustration she heard in his voice. She had damaged their friendship out of loyalty to another friendship, but he had called her. Perhaps there was a chance.

“Look, I may not have agreed with your most…recent actions. But what matters is still the Rebellion. We can’t afford to be at odds with one another and I may very well need to call upon you again soon.”

Breathing deep, steadying her emotions, Fulcrum leaned against the comm panel. “I am probably at the top of every most wanted list, but if I can I’ll help.”

“That’s just it, the other rebels in your group are, but there is no mention of you. Not even as a description.”

She sucked in air between her teeth, processing his words as the shock they were. “How is that possible?”

“Either you were never reported, or someone is keeping things very quiet. One of my sources say there are stirring from an imperial base on Nur, forces that were being martialed almost within hours or the kidnapping attempt.” She heard a distant drumming over the comm, like someone tapping their fingers against wood. “You are likely still in danger, perhaps more danger than the others, but either way your name doesn’t appear to be out there for the moment and so we need Fulcrum.”

“What’s the situation?”

“The Empire is up to something.”

She forced herself not to roll her eyes at the response. “Aren’t they always?”

A huff of air not quite a laugh came over the comm. “This is different, some kind of building project. Saw…brought it to my attention before you two…joined forces. But he’s obviously not sharing now. Its barely whispers, hardly talked about. But the Rebellion needs Fulcrum’s networking listening. If what they are building is even close to the scale Saw seemed to imply, we can’t afford to not to investigate.”

Fulcrum nodded. “Understood, I can have my people on that, but I sense…” She closed her eyes, bridging her fingers before her. “there’s another reason you called. Something else is troubling you.”

A long pause, Fulcrum thought he may not answer at all, until “We may very well have a situation brewing with one of our Rebel Cells.”

Fulcrum’s eyes opened once more in mild surprise, the Rebel Cell’s hardly interacted these days “Where?”

The reply came, a simple one word response. “Lothal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This had been a very, highly successful plan. Palpatine, in his dark throne room actually allowed himself to smile after being given the report of the attempted kidnapping of the young Skywalker. It really was such a success, a glowing success. Sure, the Skywalker boy still lived, but that wasn’t actually a bad thing. He had anticipated both outcomes, planned for both outcomes, ensured that both outcomes would have met his needs. Alive really was preferable. He wouldn’t have sent his precious Hand in training if it wasn’t. In fact, after this, he wasn’t sure she would even need the disclaimer of ‘in training’ with her title. His Hand had performed exactly as he had hoped, if the reports were to be believed.

She had defended the Skywalker boy, thus showcasing her abilities, her resourcefulness, and of course, the brilliance of his training. Years of careful planning finally coming to fruition. Was there anything quite so sweet? The reports of course had also included reports of her being injured, but that was of little concern. The girl lived, no limbs had been lost in her first real fight with a lightsaber, and even if they had, that too was easily remedied. Anything else, she would recover from soon enough. And why not let her recover on Naboo? Vader wouldn’t do anything to the girl who had saved his son from those wretched Partisan Rebels or whatever they called themselves these days. And Luke would no doubt be grateful to the girl, bringing the two closer together.

Really, this was a brilliant plan. A truly wonderfully successful plan. Those rebels actually thought they had a chance? Oh the thought of it! Who did they think had allowed the travel plans of the Imperial Heir to become known? Who did they think had allowed them access to the palace uncontested? Who did they think started to sow the seeds on unrest amongst those loathsome Freedom Fighters as they called themselves? He knew who pulled the strings. And it was all going according to plan. It was just exhausting that there were no easier ways to test abilities and loyalties, or to further pull the strings of his current apprentice. Kidnappings were rather delicate things to arrange after all. But there was nothing quite like a job well done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mara had recovered enough to leave the med center pretty much after her Bacta tank treatment. Even so, the medical staff had insisted on a full three days of observation and physical therapy as a precaution. But finally, finally, she was being let go.

She balanced the Get Well Soon Bantha under one arm, clipping her saber to her hip with the other while tucking a tote around her shoulder with a literal stack of get well cards, all of which were from officers and officials present at the promotion ceremony, that, in light of what had happened, had had to be cut short. It had somehow gotten out that the schoolmate of the Imperial Heir had witnessed the kidnapping and not only bravely alerted the authorities, but personally led Lord Vader himself to the kidnappers.

Mara rolled her eyes. Not even the gossip magazines could get it right. At least her identity was kept out of them under the auspice of not wanting to expose an innocent child to public scrutiny. She suspected most of the cards and flowers she had been sent were out of gratitude for the never ending, and unyieldingly boring, ceremonies being cut short, as instead, all in attendance got compensatory time off for their troubles.

The flowers had already been piled into a speeder and sent to the lake house where she was told the droids had spent much time arranging them. “Ready to go?” Luke asked, picking up another tote of get well cards.

“Never more so, I never want to see the inside of a med center again.” She smiled as she said the words, coming to stand beside Luke. As they walked through the doors hand in hand. The Emperor had given her a whole month to recover, stating that it was only right after she had done so well. Mara had preened under the praise, a more cathartic healing agent than all the laying around had been.

“You told your father everything then I guess?” Mara asked as they walked.

Luke nodded. “Yeah, it took some time, but I did, even about Fulcrum. I don’t think he knew what to make of her any more than we did.”

Mara hummed, turning the question of Fulcrum over in her mind as they walked. “I didn’t see her name in the wanted posters that went out after, not a description either.”

Luke just shrugged, “He said something about having to take care of it personally, whatever that means.”

Mara chuckled at his Vader impersonation before becoming serious once more. “If that’s the case though, that does actually support the idea that she was once his apprentice. He would probably want to be the one to bring her in, he must have cared for her at some point.”

Luke’s eyes were fixed in the far distance, contemplative. “I suppose. He seemed upset, almost angry when I told him.”

Vader was waiting for them at the speeder, saying not a word as they all piled in, Mara still holding onto the Bantha and Luke taking the seat beside her in the back.

They were away at once, speeding into the countryside, with the brilliant colors of the fall laid out in all their glory. Upon arrival, Vader helped unload their things, but stopped the children before they could reach the house.

“There is something I must tell you both.” Vader said, and both children stilled, suddenly serious under his attention. Once he realized that they were well and truly listening, Vader continued. “With all that had happened, I have been made painfully aware of the need for stronger security. As such, you are to have new bodyguards.” He said this to Luke. “They are to protect residence of the house while they are here. This includes you too, Mara.”

Mara, still holding the Bantha, somehow made herself look as obstinate as ever. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

Vader leveled his red lensed stare at her. “Even so, you will have one. You are still recovering from your injuries. While you are here, you are not an agent, an Emperor’s Hand, or anything other than Mara Jade. Your job, as is Luke’s, is to be safe.”

She was stunned speechless by these words, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar. It was so foreign to anything she had ever heard in her life.

Vader continued. “They are not human, and are of a species most are not familiar with. So I did not want either of you to be frightened when you saw them.” He waved a black gloved hand and out of the shadows of the house emerged a shadowy figure, long nosed with sharp teeth, grey and moving silently even over the crunchy late season grass.

Luke jumped despite himself and Mara reached instinctively for her saber with her free hand. But they were both stilled in an instant by the soft gravelly voice. “It is an honor to serve, the offspring of Lord Vader and most honored guest, Mara, Clan Jade.”

“Clan Jade?” Mara gasped out, between shock and confusion.

“I will leave you to introductions.” Vader spoke dismissively, paying no more attention to the strange grey creature than he might have an insignificant droid, entering the house.

Luke, ever the one for making friends, took a tentative step forward, extending a partially shaking hand out in friendship. “Uh, hello. I’m Luke Skywalker.”

The creature then did something very unexpected, it took Luke’s palm in his hand, raising it to that long nose and sniffed deeply, before rising. “Indeed you are of the line of Vader. It is an honor to serve and protect.”

Luke glanced back at Mara uncomfortably for a second and she, on shaky legs, stepped up and followed Luke’s example. “I’m Mara Jade.”

Their strange guard repeated the proceedings. “Clan Jade, you will be remembered by the Noghri and protected also.”

“Noghri?” Luke asked. “Is that your people.”

“Yes.” The Noghri replied in that strange gravelly voice.

“What’s your name though?” Luke persisted, growing more at ease as the unknown became known.

The Noghri looked taken aback at this, as if no one had ever bothered to learn his name. Luke wondered if perhaps they hadn’t. “I am called Cakhmaim, of clan Eikh’mir.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Luke inclined his head at Cakhmaim. “Thank you for protecting us, Cakhmaim of clan Eikh;mir.”

Cakhmaim seemed to smile a little then, revealing the sharp teeth. “Cakhmaim is fine, Son of Vade and Clan Jade.” He nodded to both Luke and Mara in turn.

“Only if you call me Mara then.” Mara spoke up, she herself feeling more brave. This new person, frightening as they might have first appeared, was on their side. And if she was as taken aback by him at first as she was, perhaps anyone that tried to hurt Luke again would be too.

“And you can call me Luke.” Luke chimed in happily. And peace reigned.

Chapter Text

The hand of time moved and lives shifted and rearranged themselves. On a cold and crisp afternoon, looking out over the distant snow capped mountains, a queen and her husband stood worrying, a tension between them born of love and in the shape of a girl with chocolate colored curls and her father’s determination shining in her eyes. He had heard about what had almost happened on Naboo. If it had succeeded, perhaps things might have been different. But now the Rebellion was under more scrutiny and pressure than ever. A distant thought, a distant hope, had died the day Fulcrum had returned to them, returned after a failed mission that he himself had refused to help with. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so stubborn…but no, the past was the past, the now was the now and there were more pressing matters that required his attention.

“Having her trained is out of the question, Breha.” The husband said and was thankful to turn to see his queen nodding.

She was rubbing at her forehead, eyes shut. “I know, I know. But what are we to do? Pretend nothing is different? Send her to junior council? Train her up to be a politician?”

Bail crossed the room to her, gently running his hands the length of her arms. “Wasn’t that our plan all along?”

“But that was before…” Her eyes grew distant and he knew she thought of the boy with the blonde hair and kind smile.

Bail shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. What matters is protecting our daughter. There is nothing more that can be done for the boy.”

A steel formed in his queen’s eyes. “We cannot let her fall into the hands of the Empire, not like he did.”

“We won’t.” Bail said, matching her conviction.

Just then, the door slid open and a new presence entered, head bowed, a deep sorrow seeming to radiate off of them. “I take it it is decided then?”

 Bail felt a stab of regret. But he wasn’t about to put this man’s feelings above his daughter’s wellbeing. “It is.”

“Please, I ask you to reconsider.” The fight was not out of his old friend quite yet, he believed in what he had spent nearly the last two years doing and Bail and Breha could very well be putting an end to it all.

“We cannot do that.” Bail said, taking his wife’s hand. “Do you want her to be taken from us? To end up in the Empire? Have you forgotten,” here he lowered his voice, pitched to a whisper, “have you forgotten Luke so easily?”.

He saw the impact of his words written not on the man’s face, ever the schooled master of his own mind and negotiator, but in his eyes, in the set of his shoulders, in the small way his hands curled inwards. It had been a low blow and Bail knew it.

“Of course I have not forgotten. But she is not just to be a Jedi, she is to be a galactic leader, a hope for the galaxy. Perhaps its only hope.” He said this last bit quietly, the sorrow returning to those eyes.

“And she will be.” Queen Breha spoke, her voice leveled to be gentle, yet firm. She understood what they were asking in all of its implications. But there was no softening this blow to the old man with whitening hair but a smoothness of gait that betrayed his years, years that had not been kind. Yet his eyes still smiled slightly when he spoke these past few years. Bail was afraid they were taking the last of that smile away.

“She will lead them in what matters most.”

The old master visibly deflated. He knew his argument was lost. But still he said, “She has learned much already.”

“And for that, you have our thanks, old friend.” Bail said and truly meant it. Master Kenobi had been invaluable, teaching his daughter to shield her mind, her presence, even how to better defend herself. But to go further would require much more than either he or his wife were willing to ask of her, to demand of her. And he wouldn’t risk it, not when her rise in strength could very well equal a rise in the threat to her life. “Can you tell me if she grew stronger in the Force that she wouldn’t draw more attention to herself, that…others…wouldn’t be able to sense it?”

A fire flashed through Master Kenobi’s eyes. “I would protect her.”

And Bail doused that fire. “Like you protected Luke?” Sighing, Bail continued. “Look, I know you would have if you could. I know if you had been there, things might have been different. But I cannot take this chance. You cannot ask it of me.”

Master Kenobi turned, facing the window of the mountains beyond. “So that’s it then? What hope for the galaxy is there?”

Breha looked to her husband, weighing their options carefully. Finally, it was Bail who spoke again. “You told me Yoda himself fought the Emperor, you…you fought Vader. If two of the greatest masters the galaxy has ever seen couldn’t stop them, why do you think Leia can?”

“It is her destiny.” The simple, matter of fact way, that Master Kenobi said it made Bail see red.

“You would ask a girl a quarter of your age to do what no Jedi master could? You would through her at him like a wall of troops to die? I won’t let you. If it is her destiny, are you saying it is her destiny to die? Like those children in the temple, like that padawan?” His mind flashed, a saber drawn in defense, a blaster finding its mark, a young child falling without so much as a person to mourn them save for the one they had given enough time to get away.

“Bail, I-” Master Kenobi began.

“No, enough. This will not happen.”

Breha stepped in then, the queen, the mother, the leader of a world. “Master Kenobi, you are welcome in our home of course, but these are our terms, you must abide by them. Leia is to be a leader in her own right, not as a Jedi. That is final.”

The hurt on the older man’s face was evident. “I can understand you not trusting me to be the one to teach her, but perhaps another can be found.”

Breha shook her head. “No one is blaming you, Obi-Wan. However, we must protect our daughter. You have done enough already. Her mind is protected, her presence is shielded. She will be safe enough if she stays as she is, safe as she can be as a daughter of a rebel world and a rebel herself. If you can tell me she won’t be in greater danger than that which she already is if you train her, then we may discus that. But otherwise, it is final.”

The old master turned away, there was nothing he could do to argue that. The fire in his eyes died fully. “I believe in her training. I believe she has the makings of a great Jedi. It is the destiny of a child of…a child of…” he choked on his words and it about broke both the Organa’s hearts to see it. “A child of Anakin’s to restore balance. But nevertheless, Leia is our only hope, she must be protected.”

“Then we are in agreement?” Bail asked.

The master shook his head. “No. But if this is what must be done, then I trust her to your care. My presence may only prove a greater danger. With your leave, I will depart Alderaan before sundown.”

Breha gasped, extending her hand. “Master Kenobi-”

But he shook his head. “I do not mean this to say that I am no longer your friend. Nothing could ever be further from the truth.” He gave them a sad smile. “And if you need me, you need only call. I will be there.”

Bail nodded, steeling his heart. “Perhaps it is for the best.”

Later that day, after the old master had departed the planet, Bail sought out his daughter. She was sat in the gardens under the statue that she had loved since she was a little girl. He looked up at it, the carved visage of a young queen, dressed in full Naboo royal regalia, taking a deep breath, he approached the girl dressed in white, reading a holopad.

“Leia?” He asked, coming to sit beside her.

She smiled as he approached, setting down the holopad. But the smile soon vanished when she saw the concern on his face. “What’s wrong father?”

“You know that Old Ben… he had to leave.” He said the words measuredly. Obi-Wan had taken the time to say goodbye to Leia at least, though he had not granted Bail the same courtesy.

Leia’s eyes darkened stormily the same way Bail remembered another’s doing. “I don’t get why he has to go.”

Bail tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, pulling her into his side in a hug. “My dear princess, sometimes people have to leave us so we can become who we are meant to be. Like you, you are growing up, and you are finding your place in the world, learning how you can make a difference.”

Large brown eyes met his, an unguarded hopefulness reflected there. “I want to do good. I want to help others, just like you do, father.”

He smiled back a weary smile, feeling the weight of responsibility of what she had just said. With Obi-Wan, there had been an excuse if Leia had not turned out to be the leader for freedom and justice in the galaxy that he hoped she’d be. But now it was him, him and Breha alone, who were to be her role models in this fight. “You will be better, my darling. But only if that is what you truly want. You know…you know what I do in the senate, and…away from the senate, is dangerous work. You remember when Aunt Mothma had to go into hiding?”

Leia nodded.

“There are risks. People can get hurt. But if you learn how to work within the system to change it, even while you work against it, you can change the whole galaxy such that not even the stars will see you coming. It can be dangerous, doing what we do. It may not mean you are always here and safe on Alderaan. It may not always be safe at all.”

Leia met her father’s stare holding it for a long measuring minute before speaking “I never thought it was. So, when do I start?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in space, while an old relic of a bygone age departed to journey amongst the stars and a girl with a fire in her veins stepped into the world of politics and rebellion, an imperial ISB agent typed a report with a heavy hand and a heated anger. He couldn’t believe those, those rebels! It was bad enough that they had gotten away, but to take the Wookies with them? It wasn’t as if he really liked the idea of slave labor in the Empire, but he trusted that they wouldn’t have been there if they hadn’t done something. At least, that is what he told himself at night.

He tried not to think about the youngest Wookie that had been there too along with the adults and instead on the Rebels that had saved him. That was perhaps the most interesting factor in his report. He remembered being a boy, hearing tales of the Jedi. Who hadn’t? But to actually see one? He hadn’t shown it, but he had been a little afraid. There was no telling what those traitors were capable of.

He tried not to think of the boy as he saved the child Wookie. He tried not to think of the man that had saved the boy. He tried not to think.

So, he filled out his report and sent it off with special instructions to see it delivered via a special channel to an agency designed just for this. He would be back on Lothal soon enough. The ISB agent clenched and unclenched his fists, banishing thoughts of bravery and child Wookies who were given a death sentence from his mind. Let the Inquisitors make of this what they may.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vader sat in the library, which doubled as his office when he was in residence on Naboo. Outside the window, on the terrace, under the careful gaze of Cakhmaim and his fellow Noghri, he could hear Mara explaining to Luke for the second time, “No, right over the middle, then left.” As she taught his son to braid her red gold hair in the golden autumn light.

It was their third attempt.

Vader shook his head with a bemused smile and returned to his datapad. Mara would be leaving soon, in two days. He was glad they had moments like this. As he scanned the contents, a scowl began to form. His reports were mostly futile it seemed. The search for any surviving Jedi was coming up empty. Again.

He got several false reports sure, but none were actually real and it was beginning to appear to him that the Inquisitors may actually have outlived their purpose, though thoughts still flicked through his mind at the words Luke had told him in the early days after the kidnapping attempt.

She was a Togruta, they called her Fulcrum and she had two lightsabers, oh and they were white! You never mentioned white ones before…

No, Vader squelched the thought. It was impossible. He had seen her grave, he had personally been there. This must be some other Togruta, some clever twisting of the Force to bring him more pain. If she were alive, she would have come to him, she would have. And she hadn’t. So the person in the clearing with Luke and Mara hadn’t been her. Still, that didn’t mean he hadn’t sent word to the Inquisitors to keep their eyes and ears open for reports of her. Though, with each new report he read, it just served to reinforce the idea, the Inquisitors had been thorough, the galaxy seemed as devoid of Jedi as the Force had felt devoid of Light in those darkly dawning days of the Empire. Once such a thought might have made him feel satisfied at a victory over that nearly forgotten order. But now…

He heard Luke laughing along with Mara as she looked in the hand held mirror at his latest attempt. There was so much more at stake. Luke needed a teacher and so did Mara for that matter, if they wanted to keep hiding from the Emperor that is. Besides, Luke deserved a real teacher, a better teacher. Not just the trifling’s of half remembered lessons in the Light that he could offer.

Just then his datapad beeped. Another flagged report on Jedi.

What would it be this time? Some traveling storyteller performing magic tricks for children? A fanatic trying to spark rebellion?

His eyes scanned the report, and his heart took on a staccato beat.

He read it once, then twice, then a third time just to be sure. A Jedi sighting, an actual Jedi sighting! It had been made by an ISB agent, which wasn’t an impossible occurrence. There had been a time in the Empire where, “I saw him use the Force, I swear!” Had been a popular way of trying to remove troublesome coworkers or those standing in your way of promotion. But a quick stop had been put to that, and an ISB agent was typically known to be reliable in their claims.

The report spoke of a man wielding a blue lightsaber.

Again, not an impossibility. Lightsabers were always coveted on the black market, but now so more than ever. It could be possible this man, whoever he was, had gotten one from there. But the report spoke of more, it spoke of how he stood to battle, dodging blaster fire almost casually. It spoke of how he took out squadrons of stormtroopers with barely any effort. And it went on.

There was another.

A boy, young, probably about Luke’s age by the description, maybe older. He had been with the rebels, not such a surprise. Rebellions seemed to be recruiting young these days. And he had helped free the Wookie prisoners. And he had taken out a few stormtroopers even. And he had jumped several feet in the air.

A master and an apprentice.

Vader could hardly believe his luck. Not only had he found a Jedi, but one willing to teach! Vader actually laughed at that and caught himself. What was this feeling? With horror, he realized it was joy. He had felt joy since Luke returned to his life, but only directed towards interactions with his son. This was different. This was brought on by the discovery of a living Jedi. It should have made him angry. Once upon a time it would have.

But that had all changed. Schooling his emotions, he returned his attention to the report. This was for Luke, he wasn’t grateful some Jedi had survived for any other reason. None whatsoever.

But what to do about it?

He saw the code put in to have the report forwarded to the Inquisitors. This ISB agent showed promise in their initiative. But it wouldn’t do to have Luke’s future teacher turned to the Dark Side or killed. No, that wouldn’t do at all.

But it wasn’t like Vader could just go off chasing a random Jedi himself. If this person had connections to someone he…no…someone Anakin, had once known, perhaps he could make an argument. But the physical description didn’t match anyone he, no Anakin, had known from that time. Which didn’t make him feel disappointed, not at all. It was better this way, for Luke. A clean slate.

The description had the man in his late twenties to early thirties. Which, having done the math, told him that the man now would have been a padawan or a very young knight at…well at the end of the war. This was a little disappointing, but Vader had never really thought he could find a true master, not after all this time. Not after the trail of that one headache of a former Padawan by the name of Kestis and that troublesome Cere Junda he seemed to continuously get into scrapes with, had gone cold the same year he had found Luke. But still, this new Jedi would know something or two, master or not, and that was better than nothing, better than what he could offer Luke.

Which brought him back to the question of how to get to this Jedi. Vader doubted finding him would be easy. If he had managed to avoid detection this long, the man was good at hiding. And even if Vader did find him, he doubted very much that this Jedi would be fine just scheduling a time to talk with Vader, the one known to kill Rebels and Force sensitives alike.

So, capture it was then.

He could order the Inquisitors to do it. Make it a capture and not a kill order. He could use the excuse that they needed to buffer their numbers and so turning the Jedi would be the preferable tactic here. It wasn’t a bad idea. Yes, Vader rather liked it actually.

It would raise no wrinkled eyebrow with Palpatine if he sent his Inquisitors after a reported Jedi and then went personally to oversee the turning of him. He could even give the order to have the Jedi transported to Mustafar upon capture without raising any suspicion. From there, he could talk to the Jedi, convince him to train Luke. Smuggling him to Naboo would be no trouble at all.

It was such a neat little plan and Vader was feeling downright pleased with himself as he input the comm codes for the Grand Inquisitor personally.

Luke would have his teacher and all would be as it was meant to be.

Chapter Text

So apparently sending your very own Grand Inquisitor wasn’t enough to capture a Jedi these days. Weeks went by, months, nearly a year, and still no progress. Sure they had come close, several times actually. But never close enough.

And as infuriating as it was, Vader soon had other things to occupy his thoughts.

He had been summoned once more to Coruscant and now entered into the throne room of the Emperor, just as Mara Jade was giving a report. The girl had grown tall and strong in the time since he had seen her last several months past. She must be thirteen now.

He felt her flicker of acknowledgement as she felt his presence enter the room, but her focus remained on the figure seated at the dais which she stood before, hands clasped behind her back as she spoke with a level of confidence beyond her years.

To speak so in front of the Emperor…it spoke of his confidence in the girl. A confidence Vader had been beginning to hope was misplaced. But had Vader been wrong about the changes he thought he had been perceiving in Mara in the time she had shared with Luke? Had he missed something? Did the hold the Emperor have on her run so deep as to dispel any question of her loyalty? Was this why he had ordered Vader now? It wasn’t like the man to mix two meetings, especially with his hand in training. Could he even say that of Mara anymore? Or was she just his Hand now?

“Director Krennic’s reports are consistent with the work output reports coming in from Eadu.” The girl’s clear tone spoke, no data pad before her. She gave her reports from memory.

“And your thoughts?” The Emperor questioned in his rasping voice, though his tone was surprisingly gentle in a way it never was with others.

Vader mentally recoiled from it. This wasn’t gentleness brought forth from caring. It was a possessiveness. He wondered if Mara knew the difference too.

Mara was silent a moment, gathering her thoughts. Smart child. “Evidence is showing delays as well as requests for more funding to overcome delays. Primary requests are being made by the Chief Scientist on the project. Galen Erso.”

“Speak your mind child. Don’t let Lord Vader’s presence stop you.” The Emperor didn’t even acknowledge Vader’s presence with a glance, he kept his golden gaze solely on his precious Hand.

Vader’s hands clenched into fists. The Emperor was deliberately making him wait, the ever played game he was setting up with him and Mara as the game pieces.

Mara herself glanced back at him now where he stood a silent sentinel near the center of the great room. Her green eyes held a question, but neither dared to speak it.

Luke was back on Naboo, safe. And Vader wondered about the girl. Was she safe? Last he had seen her, her head had been thrown back laughing, standing knee deep in water during Luke’s summer vacation, holding a water lily in her hands. What a different picture she posed now.

“I believe someone on the team may be deliberately stalling.” Mara said at last, turning back to the Emperor. “Perhaps one of the other scientists maybe even Dr. Erso or even Krennic himself. It is hard to say.”

“Hmm…” Palpatine stroked his chin, eyes closing deep in thought. “And your assessment of Krennic.”

Vader could feel Mara’s signature in the Force stiffen, like a sheet being pulled taught. “Krennic is…Krennic is a valuable asset to the Empire, my lord.” Mara said, her words chosen with care.

“And your opinion of him?” Palpatine asked, opening his eyes. He dared her to speak, all but willed it. It was a compulsion, it was a command, it was an invitation as much as an order. Vader felt sick.

Mara did not seem to notice, but a slight pallor came to her cheeks, stark against her red hair as she gave her answer in full. “He is a man without honor save his desire for power. I believe he is toying with Dr. Erso. Though I am not sure why. This,” she ventured to say more, “may be directly influencing the delays.”

Palpatine nodded, a smile on his face. He had been expecting such an answer. Vader scowled under his mask. Palpatine knew very well what kind of man Krennic was as did Vader. Power hungry and  loyal as long as it served his purpose. The question never even needed to be asked. This was some kind of test for the girl.

“Very good, my child.” Palpatine’s praise oozed like a slimy oil over the room and Mara bowed in deference. “You have done well. Report to the guard for your training and then rest. You are dismissed.” He said the final bit with a wave of his hand.

Mara bowed once more, walking backwards towards the door for three paces before turning and walking out. She strode past Vader, barely making eye contact with the red lenses of his mask.

“Emperor’s Hand.” He used her title now for the first time and saw the way her eyes widened just a fraction, a slip of a mask, a glimpse of her as he knew her last, young and unafraid, on the lake shore and smiling, though her stride never broke.

“Lord Vader.” She said simply exiting the room.

Palpatine hummed again to himself after she had left. “A talented girl.”

Vader stiffened. Palpatine did not often speak to him of Mara. But when he did, it was always for a purpose. This was no different. “Suited for her purpose.” Vader let a tint of annoyance creep into his voice. “I’m sure.”

Palpatine grinned, “And unquestioningly loyal.”

Vader forced himself to think nothing. For Mara’s sake and for Luke’s, think nothing.

“A child of the Empire.” Was all he could bring himself to say.

“Yes, yes.” Palpatine replied. “And your son,” he spat as he said the word son, “I hear they are still quite close.”

Vader had known for a while now that whatever angle the Emperor had for Mara now somehow involved Luke. But even though he had his guesses, Vader was not sure what end game the sith had in mind.

“My son forms his attachments too freely.” Vader hated to speak any form remotely ill of his precious child. But he could not appear to approve, not for a moment.

“Ah, attachments.” Palpatine latched onto the word like a desert cobra. “A gift he is able to give and receive so freely thanks to the hard work of you and your Inquisitors. Tell me, I hear reports of Jedi in the outer sectors.”

Vader had to suppress the sigh of relief that threatened to escape at the change in topic “My inquisitors are handling the situation.”

Palpatine rose from his throne and gestured for Vader to walk with him. “I trust that they will. In the meantime, there is another matter.”

Vader waited in silence and when it was clear he would give no reply, Palpatine continued. “There have been…delays, to my project.”

“And which project would this be, my master?” Vader did his best to keep his patience. He had better things to do than play guessing games with this man.

“Project Stardust.” It was simple, two words. But they sent a shiver through the Force when Palpatine spoke them.

Vader ran quickly through his memories, recalling in passing mentions of projects and plans currently in action. Project Stardust rang a faint bell, but there was no context behind the name other than a planet. Eadu. The same Eadu in Mara’s own report?

In the midst of Vader’s own musings, the Emperor had continued talking “I believe it would, shall we say, benefit moral, to have an Imperial visit to Eadu to remind the scientists of their importance to our glorious empire.”

“Of course, my master.” Vader replied, inwardly seething. He was going to be sent to grandstand and put some fear into some scientists? They could send anyone for that!

“You will report directly. I want this project back on track as soon as possible.”

“At once.” Vader nodded, feeling the sense of the conversation wrapping up as Palpatine returned to his throne and Vader made for the door.

“Oh, one more thing,” Palpatine said with a casual air which told Vader what was coming would be anything but. “Take my Hand with you. She had been investigating Director Krennic’s handling of the project remotely and her insight may prove useful with an in person investigation of the matter. You may go.” And with that, there was no room for argument.

Vader, hands clenched into fists, departed the room without another word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He wasn’t sure how he was going to find Mara. Then he realized he probably wouldn’t have too and after such a realization, was not surprised either to find her waiting at his shuttle, as she had been the first time they had traveled in the same party. She was quiet in a way that might have appeared as sulking on another child. But Mara was not another child. And Vader knew that whatever the strangeness of Mara’s upbringing in the Imperial Palace, it did not allow for sulking.

She was just keeping her distance, as she tended to around him. But Vader noticed with more than a little gratitude that her awareness towards him in the Force held less of its usual hostility. He wondered again about what he had felt in the throne room. If he had been Luke, he might have asked her how she was doing, how she was really doing. But he wasn’t Luke and he did not pretend to share a closeness with the girl, even if he had taken on the burden of concerning himself about her wellbeing as he might have for Luke, as much as he could given the circumstances. Even so, he was gratified at her more relaxed Force signature. If she could trust him, even just a little, it would make looking out for her so much easier. But progress was progress.

In fact, once they were safely aboard the shuttle and out of Coruscant’s orbit, he watched as she seemed to now visibly relax, like a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Was it possible she was beginning to find the place as oppressive as he and Luke did?

Furthermore to his surprise, she spoke first.

“How is Luke?”

Vader had been so taken aback by her unexpected overture that he took a moment before responding “Well, he is very well. He is safe on Naboo.”

Mara nodded, slumping back a little in her seat and crossing her arms so her cloak fell closer about her shoulders, and she said no more for the remainder of the flight to his ship.

Almost immediately upon boarding, Mara practically disappeared. Vader did not see her again until they arrived in orbit around Eadu. He had considered going to look for the child, to ensure she was alright. But he remembered her tendency to go off on her own before, which was how she had ended up being friends with Luke, strangely enough. So, he thought it best to give her, her space. Her presence in the Force did not seem unusually distressed, though her shielding techniques had improved. So really, it was hard to tell. Protecting her, Vader was starting to realize, was going to be more of a headache potentially than protecting Luke.

At least the boy asked for help most times when he needed it.

Mara was there though and ready for the shuttle to the planet’s surface early and looking ready for anything. She wore her grey uniform, long sleeves with the cuffs turned in in the Imperial style. She wore her cloak too, pinned back with a pin tucked into the excess fabric, hiding it from sight. At her hip, a silver cylinder gleamed. He recalled the hours spent teaching her to use it, ensuring she didn’t accidentally cut off one of her own limbs and in time, training her to be more than just proficient. He hadn’t gotten the chance to check on her progress with the blade in months and he wondered who had been overseeing that in the meantime, recalling moments when Luke had said his arms were sore and tired, the way his son would mention Mara more in her absence around those times. Whoever was teaching her, Vader felt a stab of worry and the strange sensation of hoping whoever it was, they were kind. Given that it was likely the guard with which she sparred now, he doubted it.

He had no time to ask and he wasn’t sure Mara would even answer him truthfully if he did. They soon boarded the shuttle and were making their way towards the planet’s surface. As soon as the shuttle ducked below the cloud layer a distinct thrumming sound could be heard over head.

Mara’s head tilted upward for a moment, just listening, and then turned to glance out the view port that was over Vader’s shoulder.

Vader had hardly noticed the sound or what exactly it meant until he had seen Mara’s eyes widen and felt a gentle warmth emanating from her in the Force. All of the sudden memories came back of water droplets falling onto a lake like diamonds and Luke laughing as he ran in it. He remembered Mara, still so hesitant on Naboo in those days standing to the side, under the overhanging part of the roof. And then she had joined him and they had spun and splashed and laughed until they couldn’t anymore because they were so filled with laughter and so soaked through with fresh rain water.

And such memories sparked other memories.

Blonde hair and wide blue eyes and a warmth emanating from wonder. Red hair glinting in the light coming through the window.

“What is it, Ani?”

Silence and wide blue eyes and then, “What is that, Obi?”

A beat and a moment more and a gentle hand resting on a small shoulder. “That’s called rain, Anakin. It falls on Coruscant every few months.”

“We don’t have it on Tatooine. Why is no one gathering the water? Won’t we need it?”

A longer silence and a heavy sense of pain. “There will always be enough water here, just like there will always be enough food, Anakin. You don’t have to worry about that anymore. There are some planets where it rains all the time.”

Wide blue eyes staring at a red haired man turned back to the rain. “I love it.”

Narrowed gold tinted eyes stare through a red tinted visor at a red haired girl. “You like the rain?”

Mara sunk into her seat, arms crossing. “We don’t get it very often on Coruscant. Only every few months.”

“Yes.” Vader nodded. He felt the engines shift telling them that they were on their final approach for landing.

“It’s almost always raining on Eadu.” She added, eyes returning to the window over his shoulder.

Looking at Mara, that old now familiar pain welled up in him. He could still remember exactly how he had felt when Padme, his angel, had given him that all important, galaxy changing news. And from that moment, in the moments not plagued by images of her death, those moments he could have pictured a happier future, he was ashamed to admit now the child he had seen hadn’t been Luke.

He had pictured a girl, a girl with all that was the embodiment of good in her, that meaning she was all her mother’s. She would have had her dark hair and sparkling eyes and quick wit and compassion. Padme had always insisted it was a son, and of course she had been right, though she might have guessed the temperament wrong. She had guessed a boy with his father’s fire in his veins and the need to protect and love. Mara, Mara had become in many ways the flickering piece of memory in his heart that would have loved his daughter. And that would have surprised him and maybe even Padme both.

Ever since finding Luke, he had never wanted for anything more. But he couldn’t help but wonder about a girl, a daughter. Thanks to Mara, a lot of those questions had been answered. Watching her now, her defiance, her spirit, and above all else, her devotion to Luke, he knew that Padme would have loved her like a daughter. It was such a truth that every time he looked at Mara, it hurt.

The ship landed with a thunk and then the hatch was opening, exposing them to the sound of rain directly. Mara rose on silent feet, walking towards the hatch but stopping before exiting.

Vader exited first, protected from the pelting rain by the overhang of the shuttle. Mara exited behind him, and he could all but feel her sizing up their welcoming party that was already soaked through after just a few minutes.

Director Krennic himself was front and center, thin hair plastered to his face, making his features stand out sharply under the glaring flood lights that illuminated the landing pad. Behind him were arranged several haggard looking figures in lab gear, equally wet but shivering slightly as their attire was far less suited to the elements than Krennic’s. The only ones of the party that seemed oblivious to the rain were the death troopers in their armor, the rain making it gleam with a sinister shine under the lights.

Vader marched out with confidence towards the party, feeling the steady plunk, plunking of large rain drops on his helmet. Mara followed not far behind, and he winced inwardly a little, now regretting not staying below the protective shielding of the ship as she had no such protective armor to shield her from the rain.

But she didn’t show a sign of discomfort, either from the rain or the cold. She was a statue, a picture of imperial discipline. He mentally suppressed memories of sunlight glinting off of red hair and a bright smile lit up as the owner spun in a summer rain next to a golden haired boy. There was no sunlight here, it was only grey.

Director Krennic stepped forward at once, inclining his head in an almost bow so that water droplets rolled down his cheeks and nose and chin. “You honor us with your presence, Lord Vader.”

It was all Vader could do to keep from choking the man where he stood. It was the same feeling he always got from self-serving, power hungry, imperials, which was to say most of them. He settled instead for “It is an honor then to have your…mistakes…acknowledged, Director?” Krennic visibly blanched under the bright lights. “I trust that once my investigation is completed that perhaps you will have proper perspective as to what constitutes an honor of this kind.”

Krennic straightened, squaring his shoulders. “Any help in routing out traitors is always appreciative.”

Vader smirked under the mask. So, this is how this tiresome little man had risen to such state, such as it was, in the Empire. Cowardice disguised as bravery, guilt cast as blame, and cleverness being nothing more than ambition.

Vader acknowledged him no more, deciding it was best to get him and Mara both out of the rain. He swept down the walk, scientists going unintroduced jumping out of his way.

As he passed, Vader felt a flicker, like a head glancing up in a crowd of terrified people, like eyes glittering in the fog of fear. There was defiance here. If Vader had taken the time to focus on it then, he might have found it. But as quick as it had come it had vanished and Vader knew there would be time enough for all of that later. He wondered briefly if Mara had felt it too and wondered if he would get the chance to ask her.

In his time of hunting rebels, one thing he knew, they never stayed hidden for long. Which also meant, he had realized not long after Luke came into his life, his clock was ticking too. For the man who had once hunted rebels was now a rebel himself, at least, from a certain point of view.

Perhaps this sense of unrest would prove to be another ally to his cause. Or perhaps it would be his doom, he thought as the Emperor’s Hand marched a half step out of the rain behind him.

Chapter Text

An aid showed Mara to her guest quarters which were down the hall from Vader’s own rooms. Eadu was a small base, perched on the side of a mountain. All night long, the rain hammered the roof and Mara laid awake to listen to it.

She had always loved the rain, just as she had always hated the cold of space but loved the idea of ships. It was something Mara knew to be true. So naturally, it was a part of a game she had been playing in recent months with herself.

The rules of Mara’s game were simple, like untangling a ball of yarn was simple. The goal was to sort the threads of her thoughts into categories, one for things she had been told, one for things she really thought were true but hadn’t been able to confirm independently, and one for things she knew to be true.

She tucked her cape around her as she lay on her bed and realized how small that third set of threads was. Even so she listed them one by one.

She loved starships, specifically small ones built for small crews. Not star destroyers or anything that big.

She hated the cold of space and how it kept her up at night.

She loved the color red like the color of her hair and the color of the leaves on Naboo in autumn or the color of Luke’s homemade model X Wing (even though it was a rebel ship).

She hated the color red, the color of the Imperial Guard and the color of the Inquisitor’s lightsabers.

She loved the rain and it kept her up at night, listening, listening, always listening. Even after standing out in it, she hadn’t felt cold, not really. She loved the memories of playing with Luke by the lake and watching as the drops make ripples and the ripples made waves. She liked also coming back in from the rain where it was warm and there would be hot chocolate, Luke’s favorite, and a spot on the carpet by the fire in the library just for her, and a green blanket woven with the colors of the sea…

No, that wasn’t quite right. She knew that the blanket had been knit, but Luke didn’t have such a blanket and neither did she. But instinctively, a part of her wanted that blanket whenever it rained. A sense of warmth and comfort was in the memory. But as much as Mara pulled on that thread, there were just some knots that wouldn’t come loose. So that was a thought for the unsure pile. Fact, there had once been a blanket, but where was it now? What had happened to it?

There were others, other memories and thoughts Mara Jade wanted desperately to add to her “for sure” pile. Like that the Emperor cared for her for who she was, something she hated to even think was not true. To think that he wouldn’t hurt Luke ever and to think he would never hand either of them over to the inquisitors. But Mara knew in her heart if the Emperor were to ever, ever find out about Luke, it would be game over. She didn’t know how she knew, but that was another thought for the “for sure pile”, right next to the knowledge that Luke was her friend.

Her best friend.

And she was thirteen and on a mission and far away from home. And that one thread would always inform everything she did, from here on out. That, Mara Jade knew to be true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Vader and Mara were given a tour of the facility. Vader questioned and demanded, Mara was quiet and observant. But both knew the other to be running their own operations. And even if there was still some dislike, at least on one side, there was a mutual trust in a mutual mission.

Project Stardust.

Vader had heard whisperings of it, but had paid it little mind. Mara, had never heard of it before her most recent mission. Now they had a director who was trying too hard and showing them rooms for laser testing, and mineral refining, and even a room dedicated to Kyber Crystals. Vader gave no visible reaction to this room. But Mara stood, staring, expression unreadable behind the safety glass looking into the room where the scientists worked.

One met her gaze briefly and Vader took note of him. Brown eyes, hair greying around the edges. He looked old, old beyond his years with bags under eyes that darted away quickly.

“I require to speak with the lead scientists on the team.” Vader spoke to Director Krennic at last.

“Of course.” Krennic nodded, glancing at the scientist that had been watching Mara, “I will arrange the meetings personally.”

“See that you do.” Was the only thanks the man got as Vader swept out of the room and onwards with the tour.

The whole tour was a combination of very informative and very opaque. And the picture it was painting was creating a pit in Vader’s stomach. It was the Kyber Crystals that bothered him. He could hear them, hear them crying and so many in so small a space, it was almost overwhelming. Also, it served as an explanation for his poor night’s sleep. He hadn’t inquired about Mara’s own rest the night before, but judging from her reaction to the crystals, she knew.

There was something terribly wrong in the Force at work here. In a time gone past, Vader might have paid this as much mind as he paid the sense he got on Mustafar or in the Fortress Inquisitorious. But things had changed. Something this steeped in the Dark Side had the Emperor’s personal interest. And that was enough to concern Vader. Because if the Emperor was involved, it was likely a danger to them all.

He met with the head science teams while Mara went off with one of Krennic’s underlings to no doubt begin her own investigation. The interviews with the head scientists bore little fruit. And Vader was disappointed. He had not once felt that same rebellious spark in any of them. Fear for sure, even some of that power hungry slimy sense from Krennic. But not rebellion.

Of course, that was when Krennic informed Vader that there were some scientists not present in the interviews. “We had tests scheduled for today. You must understand, there are still schedules to meet. Our chief scientist, Dr. Erso will be in tomorrow’s round of interviews course.” Krennic had tried to placate.

Vader had barely dignified him with a response.

By this point, night had fallen again and it was the time he should have been resting. But rest would not come.

Project Stardust.

 It haunted him like a waking dream. The Dark Side was a familiar feeling after all these years, and yet, something here lingered that made even Vader feel something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Fear.

He had to know what it was. He felt for Mara’s presence in the Force but pulled back at once from what he felt. He had expected to find her asleep, or maybe awake and working on her report. This was different.

She stood like a figure in the center of the worst sandstorms on Tatooine. Her Force presence was buffeted. Whatever was happening, it was powerful, and Mara was at its heart.

Long strides took him towards her room. The door was locked shut and though it would be easy to slice through with his saber, the evidence that might leave and cause others to question was too great a risk.

He activated the chime.

No answer.

The storm continued, shielding Mara from him. And then it was all at once gone. And it was just Mara beyond the door.

He hit the chime again.

A few moments later, Mara herself answered. She was tugging on her cloak, eyes somewhat dazed. “Lord Vader?”

Her surprised tone told him he was the last person she had expected to see. The honorific she used worried him. She only called him ‘Lord Vader’ in the presence of the Emperor.

A sense of understanding formed. “Emperor’s Hand.” He responded, “Your report to the Emperor is complete?” The Emperor had always boasted the Mara was the very instrument of his will, that she could respond to him and carry out his commands faster than anyone, or at least she would, once her training was complete.

Vader was starting to understand what that meant.

She blinked, eyeing him with narrowed eyes, “He sends his regards.”

Vader gritted his teeth. Was the girl to always be at the Emperor’s beck and call? Could she communicate with him anytime, anywhere? And what did this mean with her connection to Luke?

“I require a report as well.” Vader said, arms crossed, “Tell me what you have found.” Mara did not question this, though he felt the question at the edge of her mind. “Tell me about project Stardust.”

Mara shrugged, stepping out into the hall with him, her door swishing shut behind her. “It is a weapon’s development project.” She said at last, keying in commands on her datapad.

“We knew this.” Vader replied. “Why is it that the Emperor has a personal interest in this one?”

Here, Mara hesitated again. Her hand wandered briefly to the pin still secured on her cloak, tracing the starbird design Vader knew to be there. “He said it would bring peace at last to the galaxy. He said it would save lives in the end.”

That chilled Vader to his core. If the Emperor thought it would save lives…What kind of catastrophic level could this weapon operate on?

“I have been running a scan of the systems here, file transfers.” Mara was saying, returning her attention to her datapad. “The schematics show a super structure for housing the weapon.”

Vader at once turned his attention to the datapad, taking it from her hand, “Schematics you say?” It had been a long time since Vader had looked over technical documents and design schematics. But there was still a part of him that recalled his love for engineering, a part that bled through the cracks in his armor.

It wasn’t obvious to the untrained eye. He doubted that Mara or even Luke would have known what they were looking at if they were handed these blueprints. But Vader knew and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

His respirator took over, he felt Mara’s mind brushing his in something almost like concern. Light years away, he felt Luke doing the same. What he felt had been intense enough to reach them both.

It surely wouldn’t escape Palpatine’s notice.

It was this thought that forced Vader back to the present. His eyes glanced at the watermark on the blue prints, eyes catching the name of the chief scientist. One Dr. Galen Erso.

Clutching the datapad so hard in his gloved hands that it cracked along the edges, Vader turned, cape flaring behind him, leaving Mara in his wake.

He heard her comm ping, he heard her answer quietly as he made his way down the hall. “Yes, Luke?”

And then he was out of range and heard no more. Vader kept one thought in his mind. Find out if what he had seen in these schematics were true, find Galen Erso. The thoughts repeated like a litany. It was all he could do to keep from tearing the place down around them. A passing guard in the hall was the unsuspecting target of this ire. Vader seized him with the Force, lifting him in the air.

“Where is Erso?” Vader seethed, watching the terror behind the man’s eyes with little emotion.

“I-in th-e, the-lab. Thir-d, l-level” the man choked and Vader released him in a heap on the floor before storming off.

It took little time to reach the lab the guard had said, the halls were quiet save for the perpetual thudding of rain. The night cycle of the planet had brought with it an even heavier rain if one could believe it.

He entered the master control codes he had seen Krennic use into the control panel and entered the lab with little more than the whisper of cape on air. But the feeling of rage, of hate, of pain, swirled around him so heavily that even those not attuned to the Force would have felt him like a walking cacophony.

The lab had a single occupant. The older man from earlier, greying hair and wrinkled eyes, dark circles growing darker. The one who had been watching Mara in the Kyber Crystal Testing Chamber. His head whipped up as Vader entered.

Vader saw the fear there, but it wasn’t the same fear as seen on the face of the guard. This was the fear of someone who knew they had done wrong and knew that the game was up.

Erso scrambled to his feet as Vader strode into the room, turning a small equipment table over, sending tools scattering and clattering across the floor.

“Lord Vader-” Erso had begun to say but Vader grabbed him with the Force, shoving him hard against the wall several feet behind the man, and cutting off his words.

“Tell me…Dr. Erso…tell me about Project Stardust?”

Chapter Text

This had to have been the question Erso had expected. His eyes widened even more so, hands grasping for his throat. Vader eased the pressure just enough to let him speak.

“I serve-I serve the Empire, my Lord.” The man gasped and Vader shoved him again, this time causing the man’s head to bang against the window with an audible crack.

“A planet killer?” Vader seethed. “You have been using the power of Kyber Crystals to create a planet killer?”

Vader had done many things in his life in the service of the Empire. He had killed, he had destroyed, his acts had even bled his own Kyber Crystal, causing its hue to break into red. But an entire planet destroyed? And by the tools used to power the very weapon of the Jedi? The thoughts were unfathomable. This weapon, if one could even call it that, weapon was too kind of a word for what this thing was, it could strike anywhere with devastating power. It could strike Naboo…Naboo, where Luke lived.

“The Emperor ordered it.” Erso gasped with a wheezing sound, dark eyes blurred and unfocused.

Then Vader’s senses returned to him in full clarity. Of course. Of course this was the Emperor’s doing. Seeing Erso’s name had filled him with a blinding rage towards the man who had built such a weapon. But the man had not ordered it built. He followed orders. But did that make it right? What were orders followed if not orders complicit?

How many had died because people had followed orders? How many yet would still die for the very same reason? How many would curse the name Erso and the planet killer he created? Would anyone care if it was the Emperor’s own signature that had signed the death warrants of millions?

Vader could now think more clearly, see Erso for exactly who Erso was. This man had been afraid. But not afraid of building the super weapon. Sure, Vader sensed fear of the man’s own creation inside Galen’s heart. But no, the predominant fear, the fear that permeated all else in this man’s mind, it was all encompassing, all compromising. He had been afraid for something else. Or someone else, a nagging sensation pricked the back of Vader’s mind. This was not a willing participant, despite how history might remember them both one day, despite orders followed, an understanding began to form. And the puzzle pieces fell into place.

Galen Erso, here was the source of that rebellious spark Vader had felt. Hadn’t Mara even mentioned the man by name in regards to the problems with this project? She thought it was because of Krennic.

Vader now knew differently.

“You are sabotaging the project.” Vader said in a growl, dropping the man to his feet. It was not a question, it was not an order. It was simply a state of being.

Galen gasped, hands rubbing his throat, air coming from him in strangled sounds. But he raised his head and in those eyes, there was a blaze, an anger so deep, a pain so thoroughly rooted, that if this man had been a Force Wielder, Vader wondered at what his power might have been.

“So kill me.” Erso spat, “End all of it.”

Vader wondered for a moment if Erso might attack, if he might try something very foolish. His hand twitched for his saber. But he did not draw it.

“You people have already taken everything else from me.” Now Erso was almost shouting, though the rasp in his voice made the sound garbled. “You took any chance of me ever knowing my daughter, you took the life of my wife!” he was heavying for air, hands spasming by his sides. “Go on, take my life too.”

But Vader hadn’t heard anything past those fateful words Erso had spoken. Those words that had changed everything. The Empire had taken this man’s wife and child. Just as they had cost Vader his. Like a still pool of water, there was nothing left in Vader to hate this man.

“What are you waiting for?” Erso said in a quiet whimper now. The fight was dying like a fire in his eyes “What else can you take from me?”

“You lost your wife too?” Was Vader’s only reply, his own voice pitching low, even hearing the hurt there himself caused his chest to ache with a familiar pain. But with that acknowledgement came something akin to a form of peace. This was someone who understood his own pain deeply and personally.

“What?” Erso stumbled back, gaping like a stranded fish, eyes wide and unbelieving.

“The Empire took your family too?” Vader needed to know. He knew the answer already, he knew what the Empire was capable of better than anyone. But he needed to hear it. He needed this scientist to say the words.

Erso stood, back to the window behind him for several long moments. Dark eyes met blue gold through a red tinted mask. “Yes.” Erso replied at last.

Vader turned away from those eyes, those haunted eyes now filled with more than pain, now bearing curiosity. In that moment, Vader knew that Erso understood him as Vader had understood him.

“I’m sorry.” The man said after a long time and neither spoke for some time after that. Vader did not need to ask what Erso meant by sorry, or his shared sympathies. They understood, as only people who have stood in their shoes could understand. The cost of that understanding was paid in a price too high that reeked of blood.

Erso slumped against the thick transparasteel window, letting his head rest against the cool surface. Vader still stood, working through the revelations that had all come crashing down in such a short span of time.

“What was your wife’s name?” Galen at last ventured to ask.

Vader didn’t respond. Didn’t dare speak that name allowed. Galen didn’t try asking again and for a while nothing existed in that moment save for silence.

But what Vader asked at long last made Galen’s meager mental defenses come flying up. “You said you had a daughter?”

Galen wanted not to respond, but Vader pushed. “Answer me.” Unlike Galen, some questions Vader needed answers to.

The man gulped, drawing himself upright though he still sat on the floor. “Jyn.” He replied as if just saying the name was like someone physically punching him in the stomach. “Her name is Jyn.”

Vader let the name seep into the air between them. A simple, one syllable name. But it held so much in it, a weight of destiny shimmered in the Force, undying and unyielding around that name, this Vader knew. “She still lives.”

It wasn’t a question but Erso reacted so intensely, staggering to his feet, unsteady and almost falling before Vader himself reached out to steady the man in an action unexpected to both. “What have you done to her?” Erso growled through bared teeth. “What do you know about Jyn?”

Vader drew back, but not in fear or the outlash of the scientist. It was because on an instinctual level, Vader understood this visceral fear that Erso displayed. The intense need to protect a child. This was the type of fear that would make a scientist go toe to toe with a Sith lord. “Only that you did not refer to her in the past tense. Your wife may be gone. But your daughter still lives.”

Erso slumped back, there were tears forming in the man’s eyes. Such suffering. Vader wasn’t surprised to find the Emperor, and probably Krennic behind it.

“You came with a child, is she yours?” Erso asked, swiping at his eyes.

Vader was taken aback by the question. Mara really hadn’t been introduced as anything. Even so, having arrived with Darth Vader, no one had questioned her own authority either. Which is why Vader assumed she had not played ‘the Emperor’s Hand Card’ yet.

“She is under my protection.” Vader replied. It was a danger to admit this much. But if Erso sought to betray Vader with this information, it would be a small matter to kill him or have him targeted as a closet rebel. Discrediting his statements would be too easy.

Erso fixed him with a leveling stare. “Then you understand.” He said at last. “That a man would do anything for his daughter.”

It was a feeling Vader knew all too well. “Yes.” He said at last.

“Were you sent here because the Empire has her, has Jyn aren’t you?” There was fear in Erso’s tone, but also something similar to hope, despite Vader’s earlier words, that fear for his daughter remained. “Is she even still alive?” A war waged across his face. On one side of the battlelines etched around his eyes was the desire to see his daughter, to know for a fact she was alive by looking into her eyes, to hold her close. On the other was the intense desire to keep her away from all that was his current state, for all that was the Empire.

“I have never heard of a Jyn Erso in the Empire.” Vader answered, hoping to ease the man’s mind in regards to his daughter a little, though for all current and former reassurance, Vader was beginning to understand that nothing he said would fully reach the scientist, not about his daughter’s life. Vader knew that if ever he found himself in such a horrible similar state, he would value information on Luke above all else.

Galen hung his head, a mixture of disappointment combined with relief.

“You don’t want to work on this project, you never did. The Empire tried to use your wife and daughter against you.” None of Vader’s spoken words were questions, just cruelly understood facts. “Why do you still work if the Empire has neither?”

Erso glared at the Sith lord, eyes burning holes into his mask like the weapon he built. “Don’t you think I want to stop? Don’t you think I hate this with every fiber of my being? Don’t you think I want to march into Krennic’s office and tell him everything that has been on my mind all this time? But if I do, if I stop, then Krennic-“ and here Erso cut himself off, a look of horror flashing across his eyes. “Aren’t you here to remove obstacles to the project? Won’t you kill me for what you have found out?”

Vader sighed, inwardly exhausted. He just wanted his bed now. Better yet, he wanted off this planet and back on Naboo with his son. The anger that had brought him here had totally deserted him. In its place was nothing more than an all encompassing exhaustion. “The Emperor himself took my wife from me.” Vader let the remaining portions of this night’s and the nights’ of so many before them filled with rage pour into his voice with every ounce of hate the memory still brought. “I could care less for his pet projects.”

Something gleamed in Erso’s eyes then, something he had not seen on Eadu once.

“If you tell me why you have not refused to work on the project, I will see about letting you live.” Vader knew his vocorder combined with the chosen words and the mask made for an intimidating picture. But in Vader’s experience, intimidation was a powerful tool. And he needed this done quickly.

Erso gulped, nodding once, “If I stop, Krennic could likely find others to finish my work. They could still build this…this Death Star, if they wanted. And how many planets would they kill? How many fathers would lose their daughters and their wives then?” There was conviction behind Erso’s words, a conviction that made Vader understand just why the rebellion was so dangerous. “If I stay, I could slow it down, make it take longer. Cause delays. Maybe even create a chance at stopping it.”

Vader nodded, it made sense, all of it made too much sense. Is this why Palpatine had sent him here? Is this how Palpatine saw Vader? Like Galen Erso, bruised and broken with nearly all he loved gone? At least he had Luke, what did Erso have? Did Palpatine even suspect the hope that somehow survived even here? Vader doubted it. The Emperor thought that what once was beaten stayed beaten. And suddenly there was a kindred sense that Vader felt completely unbidden for this scientist. This scientist, not so unlike himself.

It was then something shifted though. Like a curtain falling away and letting in the starlight. Oh, oh Force above no. He knew that she had become skilled, not just skilled, prodigious, at hiding her Force signature, her thoughts and intentions from even the Emperor himself. Even so, to hide herself from him…the dread took hold.

From a vent overhead, he sensed her, sensed Mara. And Vader’s heart dropped like a stone. There was no doubt in his mind, she had heard everything, Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand, personally trained to dispatch traitors, had heard, she had heard and she knew.

“Mara,” Vader called, “Mara come down from there.”

Chapter Text

Mara did not listen at first, and for a moment, Vader thought she meant to run. He was just about making calculations on how fast he would need to move to go after her to do what exactly he had barely even thought of, if the Emperor could hear her anywhere, any when…then surely if she chose to do so, they could all be doomed in an thought, in an instant. If Mara chose to. But by some miracle of the Force, at last she did come down, swinging from the vent with the silent grace he had come to associate with her, watching her play with Luke, dance on the lake shore, teaching her to use her saber. And then there was a snap hiss and a violet flame before her, in her hands she held the silver hilt of her saber, the one he had taught her to use.

“Mara,” Vader spoke doing his best to keep his voice calm and even, “put the saber down.”

“You first.” She snapped, holding her defensive stance. It was only then that Vader realized that upon sensing her, he had reached for his own saber, the thought twisted a knife that had been buried in his chest for nearly thirteen years.

Mara knew, she knew about his rebellion to the Emperor now, she knew he had no intention of turning Erso over. It went against everything she had ever been taught. Of course she would stand to fight it. But Vader knew that with all her training, she would be no match for him. And he also knew that should he have to fight her, she would not relent. He would be forced to kill her. And that…that action would destroy everything. Luke would never forgive him or understand. And Vader wondered briefly if he could forgive himself. Luke’s words from that night aboard the Executer, with Luke standing in defense of this girl, when she had first stepped to Luke’s side as a friend, echoed in his mind overlayed with memories of slashing sabers and incredibly young faces once so full of trust. She was still just a child. If this was going to work, he needed Mara to change sides, a hope he had long since harbored. But he had hoped he would have had more time before this choice, this all important choice. Though it seemed the Force had other plans.

For they were out of time.

“Mara,” Vader said, raising his free hand in the air as he returned his saber to his side, “Mara listen, you have to understand. This is what is right, it is what must be done. What you have been told, it isn’t what you think it is.”

“What I think?” In her saber’s light, Vader saw the reflection of tears shimmering there. “You are a traitor, he,” she swiveled her saber towards Erso, “is a traitor. You have both committed treason to the Empire here tonight!” And then a horror passed over that young face, set into stark relief against her saber’s light. “It wasn’t just tonight. You’ve been traitors all along haven’t you? All this time I’ve know you…known Luke.” The tears were falling freely now as she stared in horror at Vader.

“And what do you think that means, Mara?” Vader was beginning to angle himself between Mara and Erso, looking for an avenue to focus her attention. She was spiraling and without focus would soon lose control. But then again, diplomacy and negotiation had never been his strong suit. That title…had belonged to another. And oh the Force in all its irony, had willed it to be he who stood here, absolutely not the Negotiator facing a girl who, not for the first time reminded him of that other person, that other friend from so long ago. Well…Mara reminded him of that man in looks and not much else. She was a skilled tactician already and she was already well on her way to becoming a skilled negotiator. However as of now, she was not thinking like a negotiator, she was thinking like the Emperor’s Hand.

“I’m the Emperor’s Hand.” She replied, as if she had read his thoughts, echoing the direction his mind had taken, voice quavering a little as she spoke, eyes never leaving his through the mask, “It is my job to deal with traitors.”

“You handed me those schematics, Mara.” Vader answered the challenge she had issued him with her words, hands still raised, he felt Erso come to stand behind him, and Vader tried to wave him back. What did this man hope to do in the face of a Force sensitive in the midst of a crisis?  “Do you know what they meant?”

Mara’s eyes darted to the left. It wasn’t really a tell, but it was something Vader was beginning to associate with Mara in high stress situations. He had seen it shortly after the kidnapping attempt and in those early days of her friendship with his son whenever Vader himself was around. Now of course it was totally logical that Mara must be stressed, holding a weapon to her best friend’s father’s throat was not helping matters at all. Even so, Vader was starting to think he might know Mara a little better than that. She didn’t believe herself. Mara knew lies and liars as the air she breathed. And when she herself spoke a lie, she knew it too. “They are for a weapon, a weapon to bring peace to the Empire.” Mara repeated what she had said earlier.

“It is a planet killer.” Erso’s voice came softly from behind Vader, a gently spoken word that spoke the promise of a storm. “A weapon capable of destroying an entire world. A literal death star.”

Mara shook her head, red gold locks falling across her eyes. “No, the Emperor would never, he would never use such a weapon. It’s a deterrent. Nothing more.” And here her eyes darted to the left once more before locking again on Vader. “It’s got to be.”

Vader’s heart had been cold for so long, but then there had been Luke, warm like the suns of Tatooine in the cool of the morning. And Vader’s heart had started to thaw. Now, he felt sympathy for this girl, where once he had only held contempt. And he saw her as she was, just a girl, a girl who thought despite everything she was alone in a world that only made sense based on the lies she had been told and in this moment she was pleading with him, begging for this all to be a nightmare and for it all to be over. But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t wake her from this reality any more than he could wake Luke from the reality that his beloved Aunt and Uncle were gone. It was the reality in which they lived. And he had to help Mara see that. He had to try. So he appealed to what she knew.

“Would the Emperor do that? Would he sink so much into this project to never use it? Would he do that with you?” Vader asked at last, voice soft. He knew Mara saw herself in many ways as a skilled and prized resource of the Empire. She took pride in that fact that brought so much sadness to Luke. He knew she would not question it, and so he leveraged it against her logic now.

From her belt, her comm pinged, a voice could be heard, small and faint from the other end. “Mara, Mara are you still there? What’s happening.” Oh Luke. Vader felt pain seeping deeply into his chest. He had to hear all of this. And if worse came to worse what then? But maybe, just maybe, Luke could reach her. Or maybe he could help him and they could reach her together, as father and son, as the friend…no…as the family, to the girl who was meant to never know either.

Tears continued to well in Mara’s eyes, spilling over and onto her cheeks. The comm went unanswered. “How could you?” She turned, saber pointed at Vader. “How could you do this to Luke? Who will protect him after this?”

“Protect him from what Mara?” Vader grasped the lifeline she had unknowingly thrown to him. “If the Emperor is good and caring as you say, why does Luke need protection from him?”

Vader was stepping forward now, hands still held out, Erso remained where he stood. Mara didn’t answer, her eyes were wide, scared, disbelieving. But Vader saw it, in her stance, in the way her saber dipped. She knew, in her secret heart, a part of her Palpatine had long believed he had killed, Vader knew Mara believed him.

“You are scared of the guard.” Vader began, speaking slowly with each small step he took.

“Stay back!” Mara yelled, but her voice had lost conviction. Now there was only fear. Again her comm pinged and went unanswered.

“You are scared of the guard and at night, you remember red and something else. You remember gold. It’s his eyes isn’t it? All of your first memories begin with red and gold. You hate space travel, but you love ships. Have you ever wondered why, Mara? Why does a ship mean freedom to you when you hate the cold of space?”

“How do you know that?” Mara asked, swinging her saber before her, arms beginning to shake with the effort. “You can’t know that! No one knows that!”

“Because you dream it almost every night. Your first memory is of a scream. You still hear it when you sleep. Luke hears it.” Vader was saying, he reached up, hands moving slowly he unclasped his helmet, letting her see him, see the pain in his eyes, the lightning scars that lingered there. “You fear the guard Mara, because you remember when they took you. You remember that it was wrong. You remember it all and you were just a child. You are just a child. And that is okay, to be the child you never were allowed to be. What Palpatine tried to turn you into is not. What Palpatine will do with this weapon is not.”

Mara was shaking her head, her arms trembling, her knuckles white where they held her saber.

“Mara,” Luke’s voice came over the comm, “Mara, please, whatever is happening, it’s okay. Please, we can figure this out together!”

“He raised me!” Mara shouted at last, the fight leaving her voice all together to end in a quiet whisper “he saved me.” How often had she repeated those words on the cold lonely nights to justify her life?

“He stole you.” It was Erso who spoke now, an understanding forming in his sorrowful gaze. “He took you from your home just as I was taken, just as my daughter would have been taken.”

“Mara, please listen to them. You’re my friend, you don’t owe Palpatine anything.” Luke’s voice, small and powerful came from the comm once more.

“He is going to destroy more than just the course of a person’s life with this.” Erso added.

“He will use it, Mara, like he has tried to use you.” Vader was standing at her saber tip now.

And he felt it, the moment Mara’s choice was made, like a searing pain across her mind. Mara cried out, one desperate cry, before crumpling to the floor, her saber’s light going out as she fell. Vader was quick to act, catching her before she made impact with the hard surface of the ground beneath her.

She was dazed, eyes fluttering and half closed.

“Mara? Mara!” Luke was all but shouting into the comm his voice nearly loud enough to fill the room now. Vader grabbed it and answered.

“Luke, it’s alright, she’s alright.” Vader hoped that was the case, that he hadn’t just lied to his son. He felt the Force flowing around Mara and through her. A change was happening, like a wave washing away art in the sand on the lake shore.

“Why did he do it?” Vader’s attention was instantly drawn back to the girl.  Her eyes were open now, brilliant green and staring at him. “Why did he take me?”

Vader glanced towards where Erso stood gripping the side of a cabinet to stabilize himself. Turning his attention back to Mara, he replied, “Because you are strong with the Force, because you are capable of communicating with him across the stars, because he could use you. It’s as simple as that.” It was a cruel reality. And Vader knew a lot about cruel realities. He himself was something of a walking embodiment of that, a pain that no one had ever really bothered to acknowledge. So he offered her what no one had offered him. “I am sorry.”

He helped her to sit up, her back to a cabinet. Her eyes clenched shut. “I want it all to stop, the fighting, the pain, the suffering, the-the guards, the Inquisitors…the cold,” here Mara tugged at her cloak, “I want peace. This weapon-”

“Won’t do that.” It was Erso that cut her off, he had come to stand above where Vader still knelt crouching down to be at eye level with the girl. “It will only cause more fear, more death.”

Mara was silent for several long moments. No one said a word. Static hummed over the comm where Luke waited. “He would use it. He really would, wouldn’t he?” She knew he would, Vader saw it in her eyes. But she needed the confirmation. For a girl who had been lied to so much of her life, she needed to hear something true.

So Vader replied, speaking nothing else.  “He would and he will.”

And here a resolve formed in those green eyes, a resolve replacing the pain and the fear and the uncertainty. A fire that had died when she had collapsed was reborn before his eyes, like the Starbird. “Unless we stop him.”

Behind him, Erso let out the breath he had been holding. Over the comm, Luke gave his hearty assent. Vader, for the first time since he had known the girl, pulled her into a hug, and to Vader’s surprise, after only a moment, she hugged him back. “That’s our girl. We will stop him, you have my word.” He said.

“How do we do it?” She asked, pulling back now to take in her surroundings, the startled scientist and the Sith Lord.

 “Together.” Luke chimed in. “We do it together.”

And the Force sang.

Chapter Text

From that night on, the rest of the trip changed. Nightly meetings between Mara, Dr. Erso, and Vader were now regular occurrences. But they were only scheduled to be here two more days. They had to resolve their plans quickly. For there was no telling when or if they would be able to be in contact again.

Vader had been trying to make a point of checking in with Mara too. What she had been through had been a shock to her entire system, even her Force signature seemed to change. But after that first night, she had not opened up as she had, the walls she wrapped herself in were not the same as before, but there was obviously something on the young girl’s heart that troubled her. She was not hostile anymore, her apparent disdain for Vader had fled with her allegiance to the Emperor. Even so, she was withdrawn, preferring to keep to herself. Vader would have pushed for an answer, asked her what she was thinking. However, she had had enough boundaries pushed and crossed for a lifetime. As a person who knew what this was like deeply and first hand, he also understood the importance of choice. He gifted that to Mara, and worried. Maybe Luke could ask her?

Mara was sitting on a spinning stool, watching the rain fall outside the long windows in Erso’s lab on their third night there. Vader and Erso were discussing the matters of the death star, chiefly what to do about it.

“I can keep stalling, coming up with new mineral restrictions, or testing delays.” Erso was saying, “But Krennic gets impatient.”

“Not suspicious, I trust?” Vader asked. It wasn’t that the idea of doing away with Krennic displeased him per say. In the course of their stay, Krennic had proven to be all Mara had said in that throne room and more. But it would be messy and probably more of an issue at the moment than it was worth.

“No, he thinks me totally under his control.” Erso’s lip curled at the statement.

“Then we cast suspicion on him.” Both were startled to hear her voice. Since that first night, Mara had barely spoken a word.

Erso glanced towards Vader, and Vader sensed the well of patience that swelled in the scientist. This was one who had the heart and all the cares of a father. Mara may not have been the daughter Erso had lost, but helping Vader look out for her since that night seemed, at least for Erso, his small ways of making amends for the crimes he had committed in the name of the Empire.

“Mara,” Erso began.

But Vader cut him off “Let her speak. This is what she is trained for.”

Erso looked as if he might protest but a glance towards Mara silenced him in whatever it was he saw in those green eyes.

“It would be easy,” Mara said, rolling smoothly to her feet. “I already had my suspicions of him, he’s a relatively easy mark. I could splice the data, sway it to look more like Krennic’s hands in the delay rather than Dr. Erso’s.”

“Would it hold up to official scrutiny?” Erso asked.

Mara looked as if she might have snapped at him for that, but Vader once again stepped in “They will.”

“What would that mean for Krennic?” Erso crossed his arms, eyes darting between the two like a nervous convor. “It’s not that I hold any love for the man, quite the contrary. But if we cast suspicion on him and he is killed, I will still have to continue my efforts.”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Mara replied with the old adage. “Krennic is at least a very known quantity at court. The Emperor may even act to control his supposed actions to his own interests.”

As her words sunk in, Erso’s eyes widened, and he stroked his chin beginning to nod. “Yes, that could work, if we play it very carefully.”

“With suspicion on Krennic, he should be scrutinized more carefully, which would keep his scrutiny off of you, Dr. Erso.” Vader too seemed pleased with the plan.

“I would have to start the splice at once to make sure it is as good as I can get it before leaving.” Here, Mara tugged her cloak tighter around her shoulders, a small hand tracing the starbird pin. “The Emperor will expect a data upload from me as soon as we break orbit. So it has to be done before we leave.”

“You can use my office.” Erso nodded, “I can set you up a work station no one will notice.”

Mara glanced to Vader, whether seeking permission or for him to deny her plan, Vader wasn’t sure. “Then begin at once.” He said at last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Mara worked while under the guise of continuing her investigation. She held her own interviews with Director Krennic disguised as casual conversations, she worked long hours in Erso’s lab at night.

Dr. Erso, to his credit, stayed with her and Vader on those long nights, forgoing sleep more than usual.

These were quiet nights. Erso worked, the rain fell, Mara worked, Vader kept watch.

“Tell me about your daughter.” Vader said on one such night, eyes on the rain falling in the wilderness beyond the lab.

To his right, Mara’s hands stilled on her datapad.

Erso took a moment, Vader could feel him composing himself, setting his tone before he spoke. “Her name is Jyn, and she is…was, a wonder to have on the farm. Loved working on the garden.” Erso’s voice was very far away now, a wetness creeping into it.

“You lived on a farm?” Mara had swiveled in her chair to watch the Dr. as he spoke.

“Heh, yes, yes we did.” Dr. Erso said with that sad sort of smile, “On a planet called Lah’mu. It rained a lot there, and the ground was so lush and green. Perfect for growing things. Mara, I think you would have liked it.”

Mara turned quickly in her chair back to her splicing. “I wouldn’t know.” She said, her Coruscant accent thick as she spoke.

There was a long pause, nothing but the sound of Mara’s stylus tapping, the sound of the computers running, the sound of the rain falling.

It was Mara who spoke up next, her hands not stilling a moment. “What happened to her?”

Erso’s immediate intention was of course not to say, his shields slamming up. But when this caused both Force sensitives to glance back to him, he sighed, shaking his head and dropping his shoulders. “I suppose there is no point in hiding it now. The two of you hold my life in your hands. There is not much you could do with this I suppose.”

So Galen Erso composed himself to tell his story. “We used to live on Coruscant, long ago. But when Jyn was still quite young, we moved to Lah’mu. We were…well we were very happy there. But then,” and here Dr. Erso’s hands clenched into fists, “then Krennic found us, I told them, I told Lyra and Jyn to run. It was the plan for them to run. But Lyra, my Lyra, she came back, she came back and tried to kill the troopers, to kill Krennic.”

Here he laughed a choked little laugh, “a woman against an army practically. And Krennic, Krennic shot her where she stood. He ordered the soldiers to find Jyn. It was two years before he confirmed for me that they never found her.”

“So…she was still on Lah’mu?” Mara asked, before answering her own follow up question. “She can’t possibly still be there?”

Here, there was another burst of hesitation from Erso. “I sent word before the Empire came to…to an old friend…he had helped us off Coruscant. He was supposed to help Lyra and Jyn should the time come. I can only hope that the Force saw fit to see her safely into his hands.”

“You seem to put a lot of stock in the Force.” Mara turned her attention back to her datapad, her stylus working swiftly once more.

“Lyra did.” Dr. Erso said quietly. “That was enough for me.”

“The friend,” Vader began, “a rebel, I presume?”

“Would it matter if I said yes?”

“It may help us find her. So yes, I would say it would.” Vader said the words so simply, But Erso’s reaction was anything but.

The man lept to his feet, his chair clattering and rocking before finally coming once more to rest. “Find her? You mean to find Jyn? Why? Why would you do that? “

Vader faced Dr. Erso steadily, the matter had been one he had given much thought over the last few days. “I know what it is like to live without your child because of the Empire. I would not see an ally suffer it.”

There were tears in Erso’s eyes, real tears and a wild hope shining in them.

“Not to mention,” Mara said from where she sat, “if Krennic does figure out what we are doing, he may try and find her himself, use her as his ace card against us.”

“True.” Vader gave his agreement.

The mist in Erso’s eyes filled and swelled, falling like gentle rain upon his cheeks. “I have dreamed of this, so many times. Never could I have imagined…” He let his words die, eyes clear now landing on his two most unlikely allies. The Emperor’s Hand, and Darth Vader himself.

“It was a man named Saw, Saw Gerrara.”

“The Partisan?” Mara’s nose scrunched as she said the word, “You are aware he tried to kidnap two children almost a year ago?”

“Yes,” Erso replied absently, “The Imperial Heir and a girl, a schoolmate I think. I saw it on the news.”

Sitting back in her chair, Mara crossed her arms. “That girl was me.”

“Oh.” Erso ducked away, turning back to his work.

Vader made no mention that the boy, the Imperial Heir, was really his son. But Mara could feel the anger flaring. “And this…Partisan…has your daughter?”

Erso, relieved that no more was to be said in regards to Mara’s statement, nodded quickly. “Yes, he was meant to pick both her and Lyra up, take them someplace safe. But with Lyra…” Erso choked on the words, “gone, I cannot begin to guess what might have become of her. Saw always seemed fond of Jyn. He would have helped her.”

Neither Vader or Mara were convinced Erso meant the last part of his sentence or if it was just what he told himself on those long lonely days in the lab.

“Then that is as good a place as any to start. Tracking down a list of known associates shouldn’t take too much time.” Mara said easily.

Erso stared at Mara as she spoke these words as if she were handing him his own freedom. To Erso, they might as well have been.

“How will we stay in touch?” Erso asked, for the night was growing long and his visitors would be leaving tomorrow at the first light. “After you have gone?”

“Leave that to me.” Vader said, rising from his seat, “It will be easy to convince the Emperor of my desire to keep watch over this particular assignment, A code,” and here he glanced towards Mara, “for the messages may be somewhat harder but still doable.”

“Well, I guess that is it then. And in case I don’t get the chance again, thank you, thank you both so much. May the Force Be With You.”

Vader, who had been almost to the door turned, slowly, as if in a dream, “What did you say?”

Erso blanched slightly, eyes growing wider. “It was, it was something…Lyra used to say. She meant it as a blessing, at least I always thought she did.”

Mara stood transfixed, as if listening to something very far away, there was an openness to her face that neither man had seen since that night she had made her choice. It was something akin to wonder. In Vader’s heart, there was a stab of memory, a knife twisting, widening the crack in his armor.

“It is…it is an old saying. It no longer holds meaning for me.” Glancing back towards Mara, he concluded “Perhaps for others.” And Vader swept out of the room.

Mara would have followed. But those strange, old words remained in her ears and something stayed her movements towards the door. Her plans, where she had been planning to go tonight, what she had been planning to do before they left tomorrow, were suddenly halted. She could have done what she meant to do this night on her own. But perhaps there was a better way.

Turning to Dr. Erso, Mara asked her question, “Dr. I could use your help with something. It’s for a friend.”

Chapter Text

The next morning dawned surprisingly dry on Eadu. Mara and Vader walked back to their shuttle in near silence, only the clicking of their boots breaking the stillness of the hour. Krennic, who had hoped for commendations from such Imperial guests, was perplexed by the coldness of their going. He hovered and tried to ask after their trip without sounding desperate. Mara paid him no heed. Her mind was too occupied with other things.

As for Galen Erso, he was just a bowed head of well subdued scientists in the crowd. Mara could sense him behind them as she boarded the ship. Even so, she did not look back. As she left Eadu, she knew with a deadly certainty that she was entering a far more dangerous field of battle than this.

Only four days on this little planet, and so much had changed.

The Emperor…the man she had admired, building a planet killer. He would use it too, she knew that from the moment she knew what it was, as much as she wanted to deny it. Ever since she had known Luke, it had been hard to see the Emperor and all that he stood for in the same light. Now, now all she saw, all she felt was an inky blackness.

How could she ever go back? How could she ever stand in his service or kneel before his throne again? Would she even live to do so?

Their ability to communicate was a troubling matter. What if she couldn’t hide this new rebellion? She knew the answer, she knew what the Empire did to traitors. It was what she herself was being raised to do.

But in all the storm that was Mara’s mind on the shuttle flight back to the ship, one thought remained. Her favor asked of Dr. Erso and what it meant sat heavy in her heart. Whatever happened, she had to see that through before she went back to Coruscant. If she died, that was one thing, if she died before completing what she started on Eadu, that was another. She didn’t regret her choice, not for a second. But that didn’t mean she didn’t understand the consequences of it.

She was broken from her musings though by the chime of a comm link.

It was Vader’s and he reached for it quickly with his mechanical hands.

As he thumbed it on, Mara felt her stomach drop to hear the voice on the other end.

“Greetings, Lord Vader.” It was the Grand Inquisitor.

“You best have good news. I grow impatient with your failures.” Vader replied, his voice the one Mara recognized from Eadu when he spoke to Krennic or on Coruscant when he spoke to the court. It was not the voice of the man who spoke to Dr. Erso of shared grief or talked kindly to Luke at dinner. It was the voice of the Emperor’s own agent. Mara would never admit that it scared her.

“Then it is with pleasure that I can announce my success.” The Grand Inquisitor replied, his voice oozing with pride. “We have the Jedi in custody and are enroute to Mustafar as we speak.”

If the mask had been off, Mara would have sworn that Vader was actually smiling as he said, “Excellent, Grand Inquisitor. I will meet you there.”

“Of course.” The Grand Inquisitor replied before the comm connection ended.

There was an electric energy in the cabin of the shuttle. Vader was shuffling through comm codes until he found the correct one and tuned to it.

“Lord Vader?”

“There has been a recent development. “Mara’s eyes narrowed as she listened to the conversation. The voice on the other end was one of the ranking officers aboard the Executer.

“Send orders to Naboo. Luke is to be brought to my fortress on Mustafar without delay.”

It was all Mara could do to suppress her shock from rippling out in the Force. Luke, on Mustafar? A captured Jedi? What was Vader thinking?

She listened to the flurry of arrangements being made and they were almost to the ship when Vader seemed to even notice she was still there.

“Oh, of course this will change some things.” Vader said as if that explained anything. “I will arrange a shuttle to take you back to Coruscant from Mustafar.”

Coruscant. The thought made Mara shudder and she did her best not to let her fear show. She wasn’t afraid, she was the Emperor’s Hand. Emperor’s Hands couldn’t feel fear, couldn’t feel at all. And that was who she was, wasn’t it? But even that thought made her recoil. It had been the thought that had sustained her through so much, her training, her status, her purpose. What was it now? She had betrayed her Emperor.

Vader sighed then, sitting in front of her with a huff “What’s wrong?” voice surprisingly gentle, kind even, the voice he used when he talked to Luke. The hug he had given her in the lab after she had made her choice, the way he had promised to protect her, he had used that voice then too. Was this…was this what Luke meant when he spoke about having a father to protect him? It was something less than a week ago she had thought beyond her.

Was it still?

She wasn’t delusional, she may be young but that didn’t mean she was stupid. Mara knew she wasn’t like other kids and especially not like Luke. Luke was…Luke was…he was easy to love, a good kid just by the virtue of who he was. Mara…who was she without her training? Would Vader change his mind and leave her behind when he realized how much more trouble she was than Luke? That’s what her trainers had called her in the early days, where she had questioned every order, challenged decisions that seemed wrong, before she had learned better.

Don’t be difficult Mara, don’t be a troublemaker, they had said. The words still echoed, even now. I guess I never did learn my lesson there.

Crossing her arms, Mara met those tinted lenses head on, “Nothing.”

Shaking his head, Vader glanced out the window at the growing ship. “Listen, we don’t have much time till we are aboard my ship and from there we will likely not get a chance to speak until we reach Mustafar. So tell me, Mara, what is wrong. I want to help.”

She felt the frustration bubbling up inside her, like the undercurrent of stardust in her veins demanding to be let out. Did he not understand? “What’s wrong? What’s wrong! Your Inquisitors have captured another Jedi, you are taking them to Mustafar, you are taking Luke to Mustafar, there is a traitor to the Empire building a super weapon, you pretend you care because you see me as what, some kind of ally? Everything I thought I knew was a lie and I – and I…I’m going to die when I go back to Coruscant.”

She hadn’t really thought those words before let alone gave voice to them, but now that she had, it all felt real. She had known since her decision to not take Erso in that as soon as she was back within the Emperor’s presence, it would be all over. She hadn’t realized she had risen to standing, hands balled into fists at her side. She hadn’t realized she was trembling until a strong steady hand rested hesitantly on her shoulder.

Vader was very quiet for several seconds, only the hum of the engines and the sound of the respirator in his mask making any sounds.

“You have hidden things from him before.” Vader offered at last, his voice quieter than Mara had ever really heard it before, a sorrow deeply rooted there.

But his words didn’t help. Sitting down once more, the hand left her shoulder only to be replaced by that same hand drawing something warm and soothing about her shoulders. It was her cloak, which she had folded on the bench beside her earlier. Mara drew up her knees to her chest, tucking them under her chin and pulling her cloak around her. Space had never felt this cold before. “Hiding individual things in the Force is one thing, but this, this is everything, it is not just a secret, it is rebellion.”

“There are worse things than being a rebel, Mara.”

She just huffed at that, a humorless laugh. “I’m sure that will be a great comfort when he has me killed.”

“He won’t. He will never know about what happened here.” Vader’s response held such conviction that it made Mara look up. And he continued, “You’ll be able to learn properly now. You and Luke both. The Jedi will teach you.”

Mara sat up a little straighter, her legs swinging over the edge of her seat once more. “The Jedi? The one you captured?”

“The Inquisitors will relinquish him to me and he will complete Luke’s training and yours if he values his life.” And there it was, that hint of darkness behind the words that made Mara pull away from him.

“Luke wouldn’t want that. The…the Empire, it has caused so much killing.”

“So you would rather die?” Vader snapped.

Mara shook her head, “I would rather no one did. This is one of the Lothal Jedi, right? I read reports on them. He had a student. What happened to him?”

Mara knew that Vader knew that this was a test, that she was seeing how much he was willing to take his plan of breaking the Jedi if needed. She needed to push these limits. Would he leave if she did? How far could she challenge him before he realized just how much more difficult she was than Luke? And even if she didn’t know the age of the apprentice, Mara had memories of being ripped away from those she loved, she wouldn’t wish to see that repeated not to anyone ever again.

Vader crossed his arms, leveling her with a stern regard. “You will be pleased to know that I have no idea. The Grand Inquisitor’s reports state that he escaped with the rest of the Lothal Rebel Cell. But it does not matter. Soon the Jedi will have two new apprentices, ones stronger than whatever apprentice he could have had before.”

Mara knew the words were meant as a compliment, but they chilled her more than space could. She let a silence fall about them, Vader would pull back now, she knew it. He had to. That was what adults did, even the trainers she had liked once. Only the Emperor had ever stayed and now she had left him. Vader would leave too, and things would go back to how they were before.

The Force shifted around her, brushing against her emotions with understanding. The severity of Vader’s darkness faded, he sighed, slumping a bit in his seat. “I know we disagree on many things. But know this, Mara Jade, I care very much what happens to you now, just as I care what happens to Luke. Not for your training, not for your skill with a saber or strength in the Force, but for the conviction of your heart. And it is that conviction that causes us to disagree. You will not face what happens next alone. Whatever fear you are harboring…it is the Emperor’s voice, not mine.”

Mara wanted to believe him, with all her heart she did. Even so, the Emperor’s voice, the trainers voices, all them swirled together in a dark haze. Until all at once, Mara plunged her hands against the ice, against the voices. Convictions, Vader had mentioned. But what were convictions without backing? “I don’t know if I believe you, or if I just want to believe you are telling the truth.” Mara spoke very quietly into the shuttle. They were almost to the ship now.

Vader regarded her, those tinted lenses reflecting the starlight beyond. “I know, Mara. But trust that I will be here when you figure it out, Luke and I both. And you will be a Jedi.”

Tugging her cloak tighter around herself, Mara closed her eyes, centering herself. She did not respond to Vader. But maybe, just maybe, she was beginning to believe him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trip to Mustafar was short, a hand full of days at most. And true to Vader’s words, they hadn’t had a chance to speak since boarding his ship. But Mara set an alert on her datapad to alert her when they dropped out of hyperspace. Which is perhaps why she was surprised to be woken from a near dead sleep in a cold sweat.

Gasping, like she had been underwater, Mara began to shiver from head to toe. Hands grasping, she reached for her datapad. But no, there was no alarm. That had not been what had woken her. Then what had? What was the cold?

Datapad still in hand, it suddenly chimed the alarm code she had entered and Mara felt the jolt of the engines as the ship exited hyperspace.

And as it did, it was like a hammer hitting her in the chest. Mara doubled over, grasping at her night shirt, choking on air. But she forced herself to calm, to center herself in the Force once more. If she reached out, if she focused, she could feel Luke across their bond. He was there, a dazzling spot amidst the dark, warm and bright.

Slowly, her breathing evened out. Standing on shaky legs, Mara changed and wrapped her cloak around her shoulders before exiting her quarters. Her mind felt sore, like the times she had trained too hard with Palpatine. But this was different still. Mara had only felt something remotely similar twice. Once, on a watery planet near a dark tower when she was very young and very new to the world that had enveloped her. Another time when she was deep in the heart of the Imperial Palace. But both times, the Emperor had been there with her, and she had known he had taken the brunt of this feeling. Why, she didn’t know. But he wasn’t here now and the feelings swirling around her were so oppressive she thought she might suffocate under them.

Fear, anger, hatred, all of it a swirling, writhing mass of cold. Mara knew it had to be coming from where they were going, a place she had never been, a place the Emperor himself had never taken her even when he went personally.

Arriving on the bridge, she saw it for the first time.

Mustafar.

If there ever was a planet so completely opposite from Naboo, Mara thought it would be this one. From space it appeared an undulating ball of dark obsidian and deep dark orange. Mara knew the orange to be lava. Where Naboo glittered blue with water, here the waterfalls flowed with molten substances that would burn and kill and destroy. Even the air was said to be mostly toxic to humanoids.

Vader was also on the bridge, but he didn’t acknowledge her presence. He was barking orders, anger flowing from him like lava from the planet below.

To his right, a poor comm officer lay gasping, nearly blue, hand around his throat. A communications array had been totally crushed as if gripped by a massive fist.

Mara hurried over to the young officer’s side, giving him a once over. Force healing was actually a skill that Palpatine had encouraged her to explore in recent years. It made sense, if she could heal herself, it was less likely that a mission would be disrupted by a trip to medical.

The officer would live, but he needed attention best given in a med bay. “Go, get yourself taken care of.” She spoke quietly to the young man who looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes which darted quickly to and then away from the ominous presence of Vader.

Before the young officer could protest, Mara, even though several inches shorter than the man, was helping him up. “Go now.”

And he did. She placed herself in his path in case Vader noticed, but he was too distracted.

Mara now was able to take in more of the viewport beyond. There was debris everywhere. Pieces of wreckage floated through space like asteroids and Mara knew them at once to be parts of ships. “What happened here?” She spoke quietly and to no one in particular.

One of the more senior officers must have taken that as their cue, for he came to stand beside her, hands clasped behind his back. “The Rebels, Ma’am.”.

Mara did not turn, did not give more than a nod in recognition as to what he said. But inside her mind, a storm of information was building.

The Rebels…The Rebels…The Rebels did this?

Mara did not concern herself much with Rebel affairs, at least, she hadn’t until she met Luke. Luke had changed everything, key amongst them her own allegiances. She knew that it was more than just possible, but likely Luke would need to be far, far away and out of the Empire’s grasp one day. The Rebels, for better or worse, in Mara’s mind, presented the best potential possibility to make this happen.

But they were splintered, fractured shatter points of cells scattered across the galaxy. Nothing cohesive, nothing like this.

Jade green eyes scanned the wreckage. This had to be the result of multiple ships, multiple attack runs. Nothing less could pull something this…this devastating off.

What about the Jedi?

The question entered her mind softly and left with a cacophony. What of the one person who was meant to teach Luke?

“Sir, there is a communication coming from Grand Moff Tarkin. Do you want me to put it through?” A very brave communication officer asked.

“Send it to my ready room.” Vader swept from the room. A second later, Mara followed uninvited. She slipped through the door moments before it closed behind them both.

Chapter Text

Mara did not approach the main holo communications board. Rather, she hung back, keeping to the shadows at the edge of the room, close enough to hear but not to be seen. Vader activated the comm with a flick of his hand.

“Tarkin.” He spoke, his words an ominous outpouring of barely contained anger. “What has happened here?”

“Lord Vader,” the man on the other side of the holo began with a slight bow of his head. “it was a coordinated rebel attack. They managed to take some of the ships unawares. Trust me when I say that those responsible for this oversight, that are still living, are being dealt with as we speak.”

Mara suppressed a sharp laugh that threatened to escape. Tarkin spoke like he himself had no hand in this. Vader would know that too, but he didn’t mention it as she knew he would not. Tarkin was valuable in his own way. For now anyways.

“And the Jedi?” Vader all but hissed.

“Escaped, I am sorry to say. It is also my regret to inform you that the Grand Inquisitor is dead.”

At this, Mara couldn’t stop the little gasp or the hand that came up to cover it too late. The Grand Inquisitor was dead, She could picture him clearly, a figure that had haunted her dreams since she was very small. And he was dead. The Rebels, and their Jedi, had killed him.

Oh Luke needed this Jedi as his teacher, the sooner the better.

“And what of the Rebel Cells?” Vader asked.

“Dispersed back into the woodwork from whence they came. I assure you there are ISB agents and investigators already tracking their movements. These rebel scum will not illude us for long.”

“See that they don’t.” Vader’s hands were clenched in fists by his side as he spoke.

Something shifted then and Mara felt it, like the brushing of a branch against a fence post. It was the mental touch of another mind, but not like Luke’s never like Luke’s. This one was more skilled, more stealthy, slithering in its approach, but infusing a sense of warmth and approval in its wake. It was the Emperor, there was no doubt in her mind about that.

Mara hadn’t had mental contact with him directly since Eadu. And now…with everything that had happened, the touch made her want to recoil, to run away, to hide. Once it might have been welcome, something she actually took pride in. But now, now it just made her sick.

Vader must have sensed the presence, or at least sensed Mara’s discomfort. For he turned ever so slightly to face her in the shadows. Of course he knew she was there, he had known all along.

“I await your report, Grand Moff.” Vader said as he disconnected the call.

At the same time, a chiming sound from the panel alerted them both of another incoming transmission. And from the distance of time and space, Mara heard her name spoken as a whisper in her mind, laced with concern, with inquiry, and something more Mara could not identify. Suspicion perhaps? Force, please let it not be that.

Vader opened the comm and there he stood, hood over his face, but even so, even across the distance, she could feel the fire in those burning yellow eyes that stared darkly from under his cloak.

Vader, as was his custom, fell to one knee.

“What is thy bidding, my master?” Vader’s voice was the monotone it always was when Mara heard him utter those words.

“Rise, my friend.” The Emperor said almost kindly, the kind of voice Mara had ever really heard directed at her.

Mara didn’t know if she should leave or stay herself, this was surely a private audience. And yet, she still felt the Emperor there, at the back of her mind. Her knees shook, she did her best to build shields around the past few days, around Eadu. She thought of Luke, of Luke and the Lake and the sun on the water. She thought of the garden by the house, the one Luke’s room looked over, she thought of fixing Mouse Droids and working on ships, she thought of Alderaanian Forest Cake and the way Luke smiled when he saw her for the first time in a while. She poured the last few days into that feeling, with everything she had, she wrapped the Light around those thoughts.

Don’t let him see them. Let the Light blind the shadow, may the fire be doused in brilliance. Don’t let him see.

Mara felt her knees stop shaking, felt her spine straighten as Vader rose to his feet.

“Come forward, my child. I know you are there.” The Emperor spoke, and there was still that undercurrent of concern from him in the back of her mind.

Careful steps, like the first steps taken on a newly healed limb, Mara approached the hologram. It felt different now, everything felt different, far away and faint, but also there all at once. His presence was still there, but the darkness no longer made her feel like she might be sick. Even the pain and anger emanating from the planet below her felt less extreme.

She bowed before the hologram. “Master.” She managed to say, though her throat felt dry at the words. They were a lie now and she knew it.

“Rise, my child. Stand where I can see you both.” He outstretched his hands towards them as Mara rose and she stepped into the ring next to Vader.

“I have heard of the misfortunes with the captured Jedi.” The Emperor continued. “Most unfortunate, I know how you hate to lose the opportunity to extinguish such a fire that must have been in that one.”

Mara did not flinch at the words directed at Vader. Maybe once they had been true, but now, now Mara was beginning to wonder.

“He will soon be in our grasp once again.” Vader spoke with determination, hands clasped behind his back.

“Indeed.” The Emperor stroked his chin as if in thought. “But where would he be, I wonder.”

Mara felt the pressure at the back of her mind. She was expected to speak. Clearing her throat a little, she did so. “The Rebel Cell the Jedi was a part of was based on Lothal. It is likely he returned there.”

Vader would have normally hated her speaking up in a private audience with the Emperor. But things had changed. Silently, she begged him to play his part. Nothing could appear out of the ordinary. It couldn’t.

And Vader obliged. “He was captured there. Do you really think he would be so foolish to return?”

The words held an edge like the edge of a sword. But Mara felt the slight flick of mental apology directed her way.

The Emperor just chuckled. “My young Hand may have a point, Lord Vader.” He said at last, “Jedi are such…sentimental creatures…Lothal must hold a soft spot for the Jedi. His apprentice is from there after all. I foresee that he shall return.”

When it became clear that Vader was not going to respond, he continued. “You will go personally to oversee the operations on Lothal and ensure this spark of rebellion is snuffed out.”

“Yes, my master.” Vader replied and made to disconnect the call, but the Emperor raised his hand.

“A moment, I will speak with my Hand, in private.”

Vader did not hesitate, not a moment outwardly. But through the Force, through that bond that was a part of Luke as Luke was a part of Vader, Mara felt the flicker of concern. This could be it. This could be it for all of them.

Vader left the room.

Mara did her best to school her features. Don’t see it, don’t see it, you can’t see it. She willed all that had happened the last few days to slip into the oblivion of the Light, to fade and fall and become distant until they were invisible. She felt it then, like a slipping of an invisible cloak about her shoulders, warm and comforting, protecting and singing. This…she all but breathed in her inner heart, this must be what the Light is truly like, even if I can only see it a little.

She approached the comm panel, an invisible mantle of Light surrounding her like a royal robe.

“My child.” The Emperor said at last. “You are troubled.”

Mara placed herself as steadily as she could, taking every microsecond to gather strength. It was one thing to lie to him by omission, simply not telling him about Luke. It was another entirely to have so fundamental a change and expect it to go unnoticed.

“Tell me,” He said, his voice gentle, inviting her to speak, “what troubles you.”

“It is this place, my lord.” Mara spoke at last, choosing her words carefully. There would have to be an element of truth or else this would all fall apart. “The Jedi, the one who escaped, they were going to turn him over to the Inquisitors.”

Palpatine grimaced, a hint of something darting behind those eyes. Mara had never noticed it before. She recognized it for what it was now, amusement. He, this man she had once followed unquestioningly, was amused by the mere prospect of other people’s suffering. How had she ever been so blind?

“An unfortunate reality my dear. I am sorry you had to be subjected to such painful reminders. If I could but rescue them all as I did you, believe me that I would.”

Mara thought she might be sick. And she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Why can’t we? Rescue them all I mean.” She ducked her head at the last bit, infusing her words with deference.

“Oh my child.” And here Palpatine was all soothing compassion for those less informed than himself. “You were found as a mere child, without the taint of the Light. You could still learn. These older Force users,” here he shook his head, “they just cannot let go of their blindness. If there were any other way… but it is the only way. If not, they would rise again and steal other children as you almost were. Did you not know it was the Jedi who tried to take you? Some misguided crusade to rebuild the order. They might have succeeded if not for my intervention.”

Mara actually took a half step back at his words. Never had the Emperor spoken so openly about her past, about how she came to be in his service.

He gave her another of his sad, sympathetic smiles. “Yes, the Jedi, in their desperate attempt to rebuild the order sought out young, innocent children such as yourself once. To take you from your families. The Inquisitors, twisted as they are, tried to stop them as only they can. But it was too late for your family then. The Inquisitors didn’t know what to do with you, of course, but thankfully, my Guard stepped in and realized that you were not like a Jedi to be freed the only way we could. I felt…responsible…in a way, for not having put a stop to the evil of the Jedi sooner. So I took you in. Of course then I realized your potential. I fear the Jedi would have used you very badly, Mara.” He actually shook his head, his voice full of a mockery of tender pity.

She was silent for a long time, taking it all in, absorbing all the information and comparing it to the memories in the fog of time in her mind. Was it true? Had the Jedi come for her, killed her family? Had the Inquisitors killed them? And what of the Guard?

“With this in mind,” The Emperor continued, “I can understand why you might feel…disturbed by Mustafar. Trust me, you are safe there, no Jedi exist there. I will send a shuttle for you soon. Unfortunately, it may take some time. But know that you are as safe as you would be back on Coruscant.”

“Of course.” Mara said numbly, only the soft caress of the Light, shielding her from the darkness giving her the strength to stand but a moment more. “I-I never really knew how far the evil went until now.”

Palpatine nodded, but his eyes, his yellow glowing eyes, narrowed ever so slightly. “Yes, that is the problem with the Light, it blinds those around it, taints them and makes them unable to see what is really there. Kidnapping children.” He said the last bit with such a sigh. “If I could have but saved your parents, Mara, I am sorry.”

“I understand. I understand everything. Thank you for telling me.” Mara replied, straightening her spine, forcing her legs to hold her just a little longer.

“Of course, my child. You will be home soon.” And here, the call ended.

Mara collapsed in a heap on the floor. Tears had welled up in her eyes and now flowed freely down her cheeks. Her stomach heaved and it was all she could do to reach for a nearby can before her stomach emptied its contents into it.

Space felt cold, like grasping hands at her shoulders, reaching and tugging at her heart, trying to rip at the cloak of light that had settled around her. It had never felt so cold, so empty, so loud and yet so quiet. Spasming hands reached for her actual cloak, grasping it and trying to tug it around her. Even still, even in the cold, the Light remained.

Her mind wheeled backwards in time. Memories of red, red sabers and red cloaks and red masks.

An echoed cry, her name shouted, someone telling someone else to run. A blaster to a back.

A voice spoken on Eadu. “You remember when they took you.”

And Mara did, or at least she thought she had. She did not have clear memories of the day. But one thing was clear, violence and red. So much red, so much death. It made her cold to go back there. She tugged the cloak tighter.

And the Emperor said it was the Jedi? But she remembered no Jedi, no sense of the Light like she felt from Luke or when she reached for it to hold back the darkness.

She remembered the red and the fear and the cold and the cry echoed endlessly. Those memories, they were true, whatever the Emperor said, it didn’t match up. He was lying

It was that thought that gave her the strength to rise. She didn’t remember wrong. He was lying. He had to be. Because if he wasn’t then she was helping Luke become the very thing that had destroyed her life. But no, it wasn’t true. If the Jedi had been involved, even a little, she knew it couldn’t be in the way the Emperor had said. The Light hummed around her, comforting and warm against the cold. Nothing from it could have caused the memories beyond the fog.

Mara exited the room onto the bridge where Vader stood.

He turned to look at her, ashen face and shaken as she was, but standing and surprisingly defiant, he did not say anything except for the simple words. “Our shuttle leaves for the surface soon. Report to the hangar bay.”

And while his spoken words were sharp and jagged, she heard in the mental tone, the flicker of a bond, Well done, valiant one.

With a little nod and a half smile, she spoke back a whisper, not quite a bond in the Force but a half connection born of the one she shared with Luke. Thank you.

She had faced death and had not yielded. What could have broken her spirit didn’t. What was there to fear now? As she walked to the shuttle, head high as an Emperor’s Hand should have been, but with a cloak of Light on her shoulders, she had never felt more brave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke didn’t know what to think at first when the alarm bells started. He hadn’t been sleeping well to begin with, he hadn’t really since that night a few days back when he had heard a different form of alarm bells, ones distinctly bearing Mara’s Force Signature. He had felt her distress, rippling out to him like shockwaves in the Force across space and time. He had felt her fear, her disbelief, her despair. And he had heard her sobs as his father had held her in his arms. And then he had felt her determination, her hope, her rebellion.

He had worried at first if he had felt it, then surely the Emperor did too. That he would know and he would understand exactly what had happened and that he would kill Mara and his father just because he was the Emperor and he could. But that hadn’t happened.

Whatever bonded him to Mara and Mara to him was totally separate and whole in reflection to what the Emperor shared with her.

But even still, even knowing that Mara was really and fully on their side, he couldn’t sleep.

And now the alarms bells went off again. At first, he thought they really were alarm bells, his hand slapping against the chrono in annoyance. But then he realized, the sound clanging through his mind was not that of his alarm clock waking him up for school or some other boring task.

It was something much worse.

He couldn’t have known that it was at that instant Mara had woken, gasping in orbit above a red and black and grey planet. He couldn’t have known the way his father had destroyed a whole comm relay or the way Mara had collapsed after her talk with the Emperor only to rise with a new found strength in the minutes that followed.

He couldn’t have known about the Jedi and his apprentice, about the knight and the captain he loved reunited that same night. He couldn’t have known about the family restored to one another aboard a ship that slipped through the stars unseen like a ghost.

He had been supposed to leave to meet his father today for reasons unknown to him. But that wasn’t supposed to be for another, he glanced at the chrono, five hours.

Scrubbing a fist across his eyes, Luke rolled out of bed and onto his feet. There was no chance of going to bed again, not with the Force feeling so unbalanced. He walked to the window, hands reaching for the vibroblade he kept on his nightstand as he went.

His window looked out over the garden, still cast in the long shadows of night. Was there going to be another kidnapping attempt? He wondered vaguely if that was the disturbance in the Force he had felt.

But no, the garden was quiet, wreathed in sleep.

There was a knock on the door and a familiar form stepped in, light pouring in after him from the hallway beyond the door.

Luke spun, hand gripping the knife. But he relaxed some as his mind caught up with his eyes and he noted the familiar grey figure.

“Forgive me, your Highness.” His personal guard said, bowing. “I have orders that we are to depart at once.”

Luke blinked, then nodded. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Noghri, he did nearly implicitly. But whoever had given the order for a change in schedule…that could be different. “The pass phrase?” He asked, not relinquishing the knife, not yet.

The pass phrase would have been a new one today, a precaution put into place by his father to at least try at preventing a kidnapping from someone claiming to be a friend. It was always something personal, something only Luke and his father would know.

So when the Noghri spoke next, Luke felt the shock.

“Well, you see…” Cakhmaim fidgeted nervously, “Farmboy.”

Luke, with a quick hand reached for his datapad and entered the encryption for today’s code. It was correct. And Luke knew that in the past three hours he had been asleep that something was very wrong.

The order to leave now hadn’t come from his father. It had come from Mara.

Luke didn’t get the chance to comm either his father or Mara on the transport ride to Mustafar. And the Noghri who stood as silent guards said nothing that helped him to understand what had happened.

However, something told him he would find out soon enough.

Chapter Text

All in all, the trip to Mustafar didn’t take long at all.

When they came into orbit around the planet, Luke had been awake for some time already, but even alertness hadn’t prepared him for the feeling when he saw the ominous planet for the first time.

It was like the feeling of dread, right before a test you hadn’t studied for or the feeling of dismay when you realize you don’t know exactly where your loved ones are in a crowd. It was the fear of the dark when you are very small and in a place you have never been before.

Luke suddenly felt an acute ache in his chest, and deep sense of unease, that something was terribly, terribly wrong about this place. He wondered where Mara was and what she was doing right now and where his father was and if he was alright.

They landed on a private landing pad near a tall, dark structure that Luke had never been to before and he was suddenly grateful he never had for it surely would have haunted his dreams had he been younger. Even so, the sight of it out the viewport made him physically recoil. Looking at it was like listening to half remembered screams or smelling the smell of ozone and blaster fire mixed with sand and night.

What was this place?

The ramp lowered and Luke tentatively stepped out into blistering heat, heat unlike anything he had ever known.

In the past few years, Luke had grown accustomed to the cool of Naboo, with the fresh air rolling in chilled waves off the surface of the lake to kiss his face. On Coruscant, the temperatures were so regulated he could not recall even a stuffy day, let alone a hot one, even if it wasn’t the same freshness as Naboo.

But even on Tatooine, Luke had not known heat like this. It was sharp, like knives and oppressive like a heavy hand. Breathing it burned his lungs, and he began to cough, raising his arm up to breathe in through the fabric of his suddenly too heavy shirt.

A whirlwind of scorching air followed and from the tears forming in his eyes from the blistering temperatures, she emerged from the red of their surroundings. Steady, slim hands grasped his shoulders, and something was being pressed to his face.

A rebreather.

He gasped a fresh gulp of slightly cooler air and focused through the tears on red gold hair and green eyes.

Mara.

Around thirteen, smaller than him by a few inches, her face young and bright but her eyes filled with concern beyond her years, brow furrowed.

She too wore a rebreather, her customary cloak flung back leaving bare arms exposed to the hot air.

“Let’s get you inside, Vader’s waiting.”

Luke just nodded, coughing once more into the rebreather before following her.

“Mara,” he managed to ask at last, “what happened here?”

She didn’t glance back at him, setting a pace that was almost a run towards the looming black structure. “I don’t know.”

And Luke knew as she said that neither was talking about his summoning’s. They both felt the deep pain in this planet and the additional layer of wrongness. Luke shuddered and now wished he had gotten more sleep on the shuttle. He would surely not be getting any here. Here, where he could surely feel that something truly terrible had happened, something separate from why he had been called.

Inside the structure, the temperatures regulated. It was much cooler and the change caused Luke to gasp, the cold air feeling almost as intense as the contrasting heat.

Mara closed the tall, narrow, double door behind them, and they were alone in a long hallway obsidian hallway that smelled vaguely of cleaning solution and charred rock.

She removed her rebreather as Luke did.

“What is this place?” Luke asked, studying vaulted ceilings that met smooth floors.

“Your father’s castle. Gifted to him by the Emperor when he came into his service.” Mara replied, drawing Luke’s attention back to her. She looked small, standing under the expanse of their surroundings with long windows on either side of them showing the flowing lava spilling over molten rock beyond. But she stood with a tall bravery, a difference marked not necessarily in the way she held herself, but in character.

Perhaps, maybe a year or so ago, Luke might have rushed to hug her, to exclaim with happy tears, his joy at her change of heart. But Luke was older now and he knew his friend better. He knew exactly what these last few days, what her choice, had cost her. He came to stand closer to her, leveling his gaze until crystal blue met jade green.

“Are you alright?”

Mara didn’t have to ask him what he meant. She knew. She always knew. Green eyes flicked away for a moment, studying the outside world with the same unease in her heart that was in his. “I’m fine.”

“Mara…” Luke sighed.

“No, really Luke, I’m fine.” Her hand reached up and traced the star bird pin at her neck where it still held her cloak. Her eyes returned to him, a small smile gracing her face, there was a light in her eyes, one that even in this darkness sparkled like stars and more brightly still then he could ever recall seeing. “I have my friend.”

Luke grinned and pulled her into a hug then, knowing it was okay, and she came, hugging him back with a sigh. It wasn’t the kind of hugs they had shared in the past, the happy, excited to see you hugs, or the take care and see you soon hugs. This was a weary hug, a hug born of exhaustion and pain and having to face too much too soon in life.

For a moment, they both allowed each other to rest. And Luke made a silent vow, to himself, to the Force. Mara would always have him, always. And he sealed the vow as he said to her, “You’ll always have me, Mara, now and forever. That’s what best friends are for.”

Mara pulled back, smiling now, a real smile not a half-baked fake one. But she didn’t respond for a while, studying him.

“Come, your father is waiting.” And she led him into the castle.

It occurred to him as he followed her that he had forgotten to ask why she had been the one to call him here early.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke had never felt such anger from his father as he felt in the moment Mara led him into a foreboding chamber where his father stood on a dais.

He understood now the unease he had sensed in Mara and the wrongness of the planet. He did not know how, or even why, but he intrinsically understood in that moment, watching his father stand there, that this was where it had begun, this is where Anakin Skywalker had truly become Darth Vader. Luke had never felt the need to hide from his father. But in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be gone from this place, back to the sun and the warmth and cool air of Naboo where things made sense.

A hand grasped his, tight and spasming at first and then gripping hard and steadying.

Mara.

He turned his head to see her out of the corner of his eyes and saw the determined set of her jaw, the way her gaze was fixed, and the small smile she wore for him. She was not scared, not of Vader. And that made Luke realize that she wasn’t afraid of his father as she had once been, not anymore. Perhaps she never would be again. What had happened on Eadu had changed her in a fundamental way, something that went soul deep. And he had never been more proud of his dearest friend then when he saw her there, surrounded by an oppressive darkness and yet unafraid. Not even of the place where a once Jedi had become a Sith. Then again, both children knew that there were Sith much worse than Vader and there was darkness that reached farther than the roiling lava outside.

Luke, hand in hand with Mara, approached the Dias. “Father?” His voice sounded small, fragile, echoing in the large room in a way he had not felt since he was ten.

“My son.” Vader turned, his cape billowing around him. “I have failed you.”

“Never.” Luke replied at once, no hesitation. “You could never fail me, not as long as you are my father.”

“The Jedi has escaped.” Vader said in lieu of an answer. “Your teacher, is gone. I have failed you. I have failed you both”

Luke sucked in a breath. Mara squeezed his hand. He had known his father was seeking a Jedi, but to teach him, to teach Mara? That was…unexpected. Or was it? Perhaps it made sense, from a certain point of view.

“You freed me.” Mara spoke up and Luke thought her very brave for doing it. His friend had changed so much in such a short amount of time.

“And you will die for it!” Vader exclaimed in his fury, turning on her. Mara did not flinch, did not step back, even as Luke did.

Mara, die? Be killed? Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. He had forgotten. How could he forget…the Emperor. Luke had felt only joy at the news of Mara’s change of heart on Eadu. She was now in on the Secret Rebellion. He had been so happy he had all but forgotten the Emperor. How could he have been so blind?

“Don’t you see, the Jedi could have taught you before going back to Coruscant, perhaps even found a way to spare you.” Vader’s hands were clenched into fists.

“I’ll be fine.” Mara replied, her voice still high and pitched barely out of young girlhood. But her words were spoken like ice flowed through her veins, an echo of the ones she had spoken to Luke in the hallway.

“You’re thirteen!” His father snapped. “You are a child, you are both just children, and he will kill you where you stand.”

Luke didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to feel, Mara was going to be killed and him…it was just a matter of time too wasn’t it? If he didn’t share Mara’s impending fate, he would wouldn’t he? He had never felt safe around the Emperor, but then again, the Emperor hadn’t had much to do with him, not when he saw Luke as useless in the Force. But Mara and his father…they hadn’t been so lucky.

“Fourteen.” Mara said softly, letting go of Luke’s hand. “I’ll be fourteen in four months. The Emperor said he didn’t know my birthday, so he made it four months from today, close to when the Empire was formed. Not that we ever celebrated it. I don’t know why he did it. Not really.”

Vader laughed a merciless laugh, a kind Luke had never heard from his father. “A cruel joke to be played for sure. Let me tell you then, the day he declared as they day of your birth was the one that saw the death of the Jedi. The death of traitors.” Vader snapped that last word with a hiss. “And fourteen or thirteen or thirty he will kill you all the same for the light you wield.”

“Then teach her how to hide it!” Luke found his voice at last, “You can do it, you’ve been hiding me from him all this time. Surely if anyone knows, it’s you. You can teach us, father. I know you can.”

Vader’s shoulder’s slumped at his son’s words, he turned away from them. “You would see me turn you into me? A creature of the Darkside?”

“Is that all you see yourself as?” Luke asked, reaching his hands palms up in front of him, stepping towards the dais. “You’re my father, you love me, I came from you, you say I am good, but if I came from you then you cannot be all bad.”

“Your mother once thought that way.” Vader’s voice was quiet. “I can only offer you what I have and even then, it may not be enough. I could get it wrong.”

“More wrong than us dying at the Emperor’s hands?” Mara’s voice was deadpan; a frown etched onto her face and her arms crossed below her chest. “It’s not like we have many options.”

“Father,” Luke was nearly at the foot of the dais, “father please, please you have to help us. Mara dies if you don’t, I will die if you don’t.”

There was a shift in the room at those words, something subtle, unobservable, but palpable and tangible and there. Mara and Luke felt it, like the change in the wind over the lakes on Naboo when a storm was moving in in the high summer.

“I,” Vader turned slowly, hands clenched tight, regarding the two children. “will never let that happen.”

“So, you will teach us?” Mara hadn’t moved, not an inch, her arms remained crossed, but there was a hope in her eyes that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

A silence stretched a chasm between them, the two children the Emperor would kill if he even thought this conversation was taking place, and the Fist of the Emperor himself. At last, he replied. “I will. I will teach you what I can, but not of the darkness, never. It will not touch your lives more than it already has.”

Now, in long, sweeping strides, he descended the dais and came to stand face to face with Luke, a gloved hand coming to rest on the boy’s shoulders.

Luke regarded his father, his mask and the red tint that seemed to glow in the reflection of the Lava outside. But it was not that thought that stuck with him. It was how he didn’t have to tilt his head so far back to look into those red lenses. It was that he was taller, that he stood taller in that moment than he thought he ever had before.

“But on this, you have my word. I will find that Jedi, and he will be made to teach you if it is the last thing I do.”

Luke gulped, sucking in the hot air around him, suddenly feeling lightheaded at the words. He had never seen the full force of his father’s brutality. Luke knew it existed, he knew Mara had even seen some of it in the way she spoke of the Inquisitors. But Luke had seen glimpses, and this was one that scared him more than the others had.

“Father,” he began, but was cut off with a wave of the older man’s hands.

“Leave me, I must have time to think.” Luke stood a moment, not wanting to leave his father like this. But Mara had spun on her heels and was already walking towards the doors.

Over her shoulders she called, “Come on Luke. It’s time to go.”

Luke looked once more, his father had turned to climb the dais and a darkness swirled about the black clad figure such that made Luke shiver despite the heat.

Quickly he turned and followed after Mara, sending a silent prayer to the Force, don’t let the darkness of this place take him. Send him help if you can. Send him hope.

Chapter Text

Luke did not see his father again that day. He spent the hours that followed instead alone, in a room that had been assigned to him or talking with Mara.

Mara was quiet though, not much interested in discussing the last few days. But it was a comfortable quiet, one he was well familiar with at this point.

That night, his predictions of earlier came true. He didn’t sleep. Well, perhaps it is better to say he tried.

Luke had tried to sleep in the stifling heat that even the climate controls couldn’t seem to shake. When he did manage to lapse into slumber, what waited for him there was far from pleasant.

He saw fire and hate and rage and pain. He saw a man with hair like Mara’s glowing in the light of the lava, tears in his eyes. He saw a woman, face wreathed in shadow, begging for something he couldn’t quite understand.

He saw other things too. He saw men in armor, marching and marching, an unending wave of death and destruction. He saw a blue saber and he saw something like lights going out across the galaxy.

He saw a ship, a ship being torn apart and a Togruta girl and a man with white and blue armor. He saw helmets on sticks and helmets in snow.

He felt he might go mad for all the swirling images. But there, amongst the death and amongst the pain, a bird circled overhead, white and green and golden, wings shining off of reflected snow.

It looked at him and Luke thought for a moment that it looked at him and knew him. But then its eyes turned skyward and it called once, a piercing note, and the scenes and images around him shattered. Luke woke with a gasp, hands grasping at the thin sheets of his bed.

“What was that?” He asked himself, the images’ flickering remains now in his mind’s eye. Well, one thing was for certain, he wasn’t getting any more sleep.

Stretching, he reached his toes to the hard floor and stood, popping his neck and letting himself recenter in the Force.

He reached out for his father first but drew away. The memory of the darkness and the pain from his father mixed with the whispered memory of the dream and wondered if it would not be best to give him a bit more time before trying to have the conversation they so desperately needed to again.

Luke shuddered and reached instead for Mara. Her, he found with ease, her Force presence singing over their shared bond. She was awake too and he sensed she had been for some time. He flicked a sense of awareness her way and, like tapping someone on the shoulder, he felt her attention turn to him.

A brief flicker of acknowledgement came as a reply and an invitation. He saw it clearly in his mind, a picture of her, wrapped in her cloak, sitting on a windowsill ledge overlooking the lava from a floor above his.

He made his way there quickly, not bothering with a cloak. It was far too hot, even for him. He didn’t know how Mara bore it.

He found her just as the image in his head had told him he would. But unlike the image, there was sound. Over the faint undulating sound of lava flowing over rock outside, came a voice.

Young, Luke thought, maybe around my or Mara’s age, but deep enough to be a boy in his teens.

“It’s only going to get worse, unless we stand up and fight back.” The voice spoke with a conviction that resonated with something within Luke, something he recognized in himself.

“It won’t be easy, there will be loss and sacrifice, but we can’t back down just because we’re afraid. That’s when we need to stand the tallest. That’s what my parents taught me.”

At the word “parents”, Luke felt the familiar ache. He had his father, but that never stopped him from feeling the ache at missing all that could never be and almost never was. And he had never known his mother, not aside from news clippings and paintings. While Luke could hear the connection the boy on the other end of the transmission had with loss, with the sacrifice he spoke of, Luke knew that this was a person strengthened by the conviction brought to them by the love of many in his life.

“That’s what my new family helped me remember.” The transmission ended there, abruptly, sharply, like an explosion and then static.

Mara clicked her hand-held transmission receiver off.

Luke wasn’t sure he could breathe. The other boy’s words echoed in his head and flooded his very soul. It was the first time he had heard anything like that and it made him feel something…something like that maybe, just maybe, they had a chance. Maybe the galaxy could be free, maybe he could grow up and one day live in a world where he didn’t have to be always watchful, always afraid that the Emperor would puzzle him out. Maybe Mara could live without the constant threat to her life and in the service of one who just saw her as a weapon. Maybe his father could finally find peace.

In the boy’s words, he glimpsed a future for all of them, he found a resolve to see it one day for himself. He found hope.

“Was that live?” He asked, at last finding his voice.

Mara shook her head as Luke came to sit on the ledge overlooking the vast expanse of lava through the window. “It’s a recording.” She said in way of an answer. “Went out a few days ago. Around the time that that Jedi was captured.”

Luke felt the air around them, heavy with unease, but still, that flicker of hope remained. “How far did that go out? How many people heard it?”

Mara fiddled with the device in her hand, turning it over and over. “It’s hard to say. I think most of the outer rim, maybe even some of the core worlds. Monitoring transmissions is something I do for training. I hadn’t gotten a chance to check the recordings until now.”

“Do we know,” Luke wasn’t sure how best to ask, how best to even think this. He had only heard the tail end of the message, but it was clearly one meant to ignite action against the empire. Not many lived long after such an act. Luke knew this. “Do we know who sent it?”

“It came from the rebel cell on Lothal.” Mara began.

But Luke jumped in, her words like a jolt across his sleep deprived brain. “The same one the Jedi came from!”

Mara’s face took on that scowl he came to realize she wore when he said something specifically obvious to her. Even so, her jewel green eyes danced with a faint tint of humor. No humor was truly possible in such a place, but it was not something that could be smothered entirely. “Obviously. Though I think this was the apprentice. A boy named Ezra Bridger. He came across my radar almost a year back now. Claimed to be the Emperor’s nephew to try and escape custody if you can believe that.”

Luke snorted, trying in vain to get the mental image of a nephew of the Emperor out of his head. Best he could picture was a boy, a few heads shorter in matching robes and same rasping voice as the Emperor himself. “Please tell me that was a lie.”

“Oh absolutely.” Mara was smiling again, leaning back on her hands, planted firmly on the sill. “Still, stranger things have happened in the galaxy. It’s not impossible the Emperor could have had a secret twin or something no one knew anything about.”

“Like that could ever happen.” Luke chuckled, leaning forward, bracing his arms on his knees, eyes fixed on the flowing lava.

A comfortable silence followed, hanging between them in a familiar way. Usually, it was Luke that broke such silences. But perhaps to both of their surprises, it was Mara that did.

“Hey,” she began, her voice unusually soft, open, with a vulnerability there that Luke was not used to hearing from her. It drew his immediate and full attention.

“When I,” she looked down at her clasped hands, the transmission device set aside. “when I was on Eadu, I thought I was going to lose everything. I thought I would have to turn in Vader as a traitor and Dr. Erso, that I would have to tell the Emperor. And then he would kill you and he would finish that…that weapon and all I could picture in that moment was Naboo burning, the lakes boiling, the planet, just…gone.”

Luke reached out a hand, laying it atop hers. “But you didn’t. Naboo is fine, I’m fine. You didn’t report me to the Emperor.”

Mara gave him a weak smile. “No, I didn’t. Because in that moment I knew I had a choice. I could choose, and it was my choice to make. I wasn’t afraid anymore. But I figured I would die and then who would be around to rescue you when you got yourself into trouble again?”

Luke knew she meant it to be funny, but even he couldn’t bring himself to laugh at the idea of her potential death at the hands of perhaps the most feared person in the galaxy. She hurried on before he could comment on her statement.

“So I asked Dr. Erso for a favor and well, here.” She opened her palm, all in a rush like she was afraid she would not be able to do this if she thought too hard about it.

In the palm of her hand sat a very small, almost delicate looking rock. No, Luke’s mind told him, not a rock, a crystal. It was clear and shone a brilliant hue of rainbow iridescence in the lava light. But within its heart, it hummed, and Luke knew if he touched it, it would be warm, and not just because of Mara’s own body heat from where she held it tight in her hands moments before.

“Wh-what is it?” Luke asked, eyes locking on hers.

“It’s a Kyber crystal. They power the Jedi’s lightsabers, just like one powers mine.” Mara replied. A slender hand reached out and took his, turning it gently palm up, she up turned her own hand, tumbling the contents from her palm into his.

The moment it touched his skin, it sang, like a half-remembered lullaby, like a gentle caress on his forehead. Like the light at the dawn of day shimmering over the lakes. Like the relief of a nightmare finally over. “Mara.” Luke breathed, eyes not leaving the crystal.

“Erso let me pick.” Mara continued, “I tried to choose one I thought you would like, one that reminded me of you, of our bond. But there wasn’t much time.” A calm washed over her now that he had it in his hands and her nervous energy that he had felt since his arrival seemed to abate some. “Now you can build your own saber and you will not have to be defenseless against an attack. Very few can stand to such a blade. You will be safe.” Her words matched the conviction of the boy’s from earlier in a way, a fierce protectiveness. She sounded like a Rebel.

“Mara,” Luke tore his gaze away from the crystal at last. “I don’t know what to say.”

She leaned into him then, their shoulders touching, her head bent so that he couldn’t see her face anymore. “Say you’ll build one and soon.”

Luke nodded against her head. “I will. I promise.”

Against his shoulder, he felt her sigh, and knew she had closed her eyes but wasn’t asleep, neither of them would be able to as long as they were here. “This is why you sent the message for me to come early. Just in case you didn’t get a chance to give this to me before you…before you go back to Coruscant.”

She nodded against him, humming softly in confirmation. A warmth filled his chest, tinged with sorrow for one of the people dearest to his heart had been so sure she was going to die, but also a warmth fed by gratitude, she had thought of him and done this, given him such a priceless gift. There were no words to adequately thank her for it, for her sacrifice, or for the strong conviction she had obtained in the hours after her summoning him to come to Mustafar early that she might yet live. So he didn’t try, he rather let the feelings flow over their shared connection, letting the melody of the Force tell the story that there were no words for.

Luke didn’t know how long they sat like that, cast in the light of the lava beyond, but at last a thought flitted across his mind. “Mara,” he asked. “could you play me the rest of that message?”

She didn’t reply with words, a calm almost like though not quite sleep having draped itself about her in the Force, but he felt her move, one arm reaching out for the device at her side and he heard the click of the switch to turn it on.

The boy’s voice, Ezra Bridger, began again. “We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you.”

Luke rested his head once more atop Mara’s, gold and red on gold, he allowed his eyes to close, his thumb tracing over the smooth edges of the crystal in his hands.

This fight was not over, it was only the beginning. And he would see it through to the end. For all of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unbeknownst to the two children, Vader too had heard that message. And unlike the two children, it filled him with rage. How dare this voice on the radio have what his son did not? How dare he be safe and likely in the presence of his teacher right now while Mara was about to be sent back into the Sarlac pit? He had crushed the radio in his fist then stumbled back, lungs burning.

It was too hot, far too hot and his lungs were burning, the rage filling him like lava being poured into a cauldron. He gasped, ragged breaths tearing from the mask.

Too hot, too hot. Nowhere to go, nowhere to run. How could he run? His legs were on fire.

NO! A shout in his mind, a cool draught of water on his soul. He wasn’t on fire. He hadn’t been in nearly fifteen years. He was alive and his child, no his children, for Mara was his now too, sat safe a few floors down. He clung to that thought like a lifeline, pulling him through the lava in his heart agonizing pull after agonizing pull.

Until suddenly the lava was no more.

He was on the lake shore of Naboo, and he could almost feel the breeze on his face, smell the scent of cool lake water.

And that is when he heard her.

“Ani.” A voice like bells, like a gentle breeze over spring flowers, like a soft rain soaking the rich earth. “Oh my Ani.”

He sobbed, not just cried, sobbed. He sobbed and clenched his eyes shut against the sweet balm of that voice.

This wasn’t real, this wasn’t real. If he opened his eyes, she’d be dead, and he would be on fire.

But, like that gentle breeze, a feather touch graced his cheek. “My Ani.”

And she felt so close, so real, he opened his eyes. She was as beautiful as she ever had been. “My angel.” He gasped and she smiled at him, really smiled as he had not seen even in their final moments together.

“It’s alright.” She said, a soft hand caressing his cheek. “It’s alright to let it back in.”

Even after all this time, he knew what she meant, he didn’t have to ask. Neither of them ever did. “But my hands,” He choked, pulling back from her, scared to touch her lest he stain her perfect visage with the crimson that coated every inch of his mechanical limbs. “There is so much blood. I, I can’t be what they need me to be.”

He thought she would have pulled away too, given him that same heartbroken look she had given him when her dark hair had been cast in red and her face in shadows, begging him to come back to her.

But she drew closer, he could almost feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. “Oh my Ani, we can’t undo the past, but there is still work to be done for the future, our children need you.”

Vader’s heart broke a little more at that. Our children. She had said. Often had he thought about Padme and Luke, the way she would have hugged him or tucked a loose strand of golden hair behind an ear. How she would have sung him to sleep and taught him all about right and wrong in that gentle, powerful way of hers.

But never had he really considered her with Mara, not in the simple things, the day to day of life. How she would have smiled with admiration at the young girl’s stubbornness, how she would have braided hair and picked out dresses and taught Mara to climb trees in elaborate ball gowns.

Our children. Because for whatever the future may hold, that is what Mara was now.

She would have loved them both.

“Luke and Mara.” Vader choked back a sob. “I’ve failed them.”

A sort of sad smile crossed her face, and she bit her lower lip in that oh so familiar gesture. She wanted to tell him something, though she held back, kept her words tucked away in her mind. In another universe, he might have asked her why she looked so sad when he spoke Luke and Mara’s names, he would have questioned the ache of something missing there. But this was not that universe. And so he didn’t ask.

“You have failed none of the children, none of them, not yet. You can help them.”

Her words, spoken with such surety, he wanted to believe her. “How my angel, please tell me how?”

She stood, her smile still sad, and he wondered if it always had been sad like that and began to back away. “Let it back in, Ani, let the Light back in, and save them. Save them all. Take the time to do what must be done, I will be waiting for you here by the shore, always.”

“No!” He gasped, lunging onto unsteady feet, reaching for her, grasping for her, but she was fading quickly into a soft glow, like the sunrise after the longest night of the year.

A whisper in his mind followed the last visage of her fading outline. “I’m always with you, Ani, let it back in.”

And she was gone.

On a cold stone floor, Vader woke with a gasp, eyes darting around the room, landing on his mask where it lay haphazardly a few feet away. He must have tossed it aside.

Breathing in deep, shaking breaths, he steadied himself, running a mechanical hand through his hair. What had that been?

He didn’t know nor could he even bring himself to care.

Let the Light back in, she had said.

He knew what he needed to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The time spent on Mustafar was far from pleasant. The children didn’t sleep, barely ate, and were restless. Vader was no better. But the shuttle would come for Mara soon and they had very little time. So, Vader tried to teach, pouring over memories of half remembered love and half recalled light. He tried to grasp at the strings of a life that once was and even though they slipped through his mechanical fingers as he did, he persisted.

Mustafar was not the most conducive place to learn about the Light. Then again, neither were the places Mara and Luke would be going. In a strange way, Vader mused to himself on those long, hot, sleepless days and nights, there was an almost balance in that. Light within darkness and darkness blinded by light.

Mara and Luke both proved to be quick studies. The girl was already adept at walking the line Palpatine had set before her. Between the ice and the storm, she had often called it. And he taught her more on how to break the ice. She would reach in, pluming the fridged depths until her mind ached.

Luke was also quick, but struggled to find the balance. His boy, his precious son, liked absolutes. And Vader tried not to consider what that meant. Luke liked the strict code of right and wrong, good and evil. Balance for him was as elusive as the past was to Vader. But in the end, Luke called upon his own past to reconcile it.

“It’s like the desert.” He said one night after the second day of training. Mara was slumped into his side, eyes half lidded but sleep still far off. “The desert storms can be harsh. But the nights can be cool and bring dew which gives people water so that they can live.”

Vader didn’t think it was all that simple, though he couldn’t argue with the results. At the end of their last day together. Luke had gone off to hide in the castle and as much as Vader searched, he could not find him by his Force signature. Mara, looked him in the eye and seriously declared that she was in line to the throne of Mandalore and the long lost niece of Satine Kryze herself and Vader could no longer tell if she was lying. Her Force signature betrayed nothing. It wasn’t perfect, and the effort it took was extreme. Mara’s green eyes held a fatigue that no fourteen year old should ever have had. And she often suffered nose bleeds now from the sheer effort of will when she tried too hard to conceal her thoughts. Luke too felt the toll, exhaustion rippling off of him in waves and he found his concentration often faltering. But both children stood before him, tall, strong, and most of all determined.

On the landing pad, near the waiting shuttle, Luke had pulled Mara into a fierce hug, holding her close, eyes closed against the radiating heat of the nearby lava. “I’ll see you soon.” He said it with such conviction that it brokered no argument.

Mara pulled back, nodding and as she did so, she reached for his hands. Luke met her gaze before quickly muffling his own surprise. “Until next time.” She said, shaking his hand once before turning to board the shuttle, never once looking back.

Luke stood there in the hot air of the surrounding lava planet, eyes fixed on the shuttle until it was out of sight. Only then did he unclench his fisted hand, the one Mara had taken. There sat the Starbird pin. It wasn’t a goodbye. It was a promise. There would be a next time. And he would give this back to her then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so began a time of separation for the members of the secret rebellion against the Empire. On a rainy planet far away, a man thought to be broken worked and as he worked he unraveled the progress made. But no longer was his soul as heavy as his tired mind. For he knew he had friends.

In the quiet of the Lake District of Naboo, a golden haired teen sat hunched over his work bench, eyes calculating, careful, and tuned to the steady movements of his hands. Every now and then he would glance out his window where the starlight shimmered through to wonder about the others of their little group. And then he would be warmed by the song of the glittering crystal at his side. He had made a promise. He had to keep working.

In the heart of the galaxy, at the core of its corruption, there stood a girl, brilliant like a solar flare, before the Emperor. Through the hammering of her heart, she wove lies like artisans wove tapestries, a powerful barrier of silken threads between her heart and the one that would seek to destroy it. She stood in the face of an onslaught, and the onslaught didn’t even see her. For now.

In the hangar of a distant, grassland planet, a hunt began anew under the personal observation of one who no longer held their original hate that had once fueled the hunt for all they bore an angry red saber and a darkness that not even the growing light in their soul had yet to overcome. Now the chase was one born of desperation, desperation and something foreign to the man.

Hope.

Loth Rat, Loth Cat, Loth Wolf Run, the saying said but never did the saying say that which they ran from. Across the planet the chaser chased them into the stars. And when he reached out, when he sought to catch them, these lights, a memory reached back. A memory long thought dead. And his conflicted soul didn’t know how to feel about that.

Chapter Text

And so passed Mara’s fourteenth and Luke’s fifteenth years. Meanwhile, the Emperor wove his own plans. Mara with her strength grew ever before him in ways even he had not foreseen. Her communication skill, annoyingly, seemed to waver as she grew, no longer being able to form the mental connection across time and space as effortlessly as she had once been able to. However, such things were trivial really. He knew that how a youngling presented in the Force early on often shifted, so really he should have anticipated this. And it wasn’t as if the girl had lost all uses. She was still a talented agent, skilled in diplomacy as she was combat and stealth. And in the Force, she still grew, saber combat, meditation, healing specifically was a skill she showed a strong propensity for. Annoyingly rooted in the light though it was, healing did mean she would not have to waste time in medical should she be injured and so he reluctantly encouraged the practice while also encouraging the other aspects of her power. A tantalizing idea had crossed his mind of even taking her as his apprentice in place of Vader, should she continue to progress so exceptionally, despite the downward turn of her ability to communicate through the Force with him. But such thoughts were long thoughts and such plans were long plans. There would be time enough to make that choice. He thought of the Skywalker blood lying dormant in a useless boy. He thought of the future, and he smiled. So now things were different. And original plans were changed, rearranged, and ordered to follow the path of new stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week Mara turned fifteen found her sitting on the lake shore of Naboo bathed in the warmth of the summer sun. Her pants legs were rolled up so that her legs up to the knee were dangling into the water where the waves lapped their coolness over her, red gold head thrown back to cast fire down her back where the light hit it, a strange peace settling over her as it hadn’t in months.

Luke was swimming, out in the waves. Who would have thought the farm boy from a desert planet would grow up in the water, arms used to the exercise of plowing against the cresting currents. Vader stood on the porch, the ever-present sentinel, the watcher, the bystander of other’s happiness. But Mara barely noticed the foreboding sense of his signature in the Force. She knew him well enough to know his anger was never again directed at her. She was Fifteen, she had changed and so had her world. Who would have thought that the home of the one who had been her greatest fear as a child, a fear stoked and manipulated by the Emperor himself, would be the place where she felt safest? Who would have thought the son of such a creature would be her best friend? Who would have thought that at dinner, there was always a place at the table for her or on the evenings in the study, a chair sat by her favorite window which no one else would take for it was hers?

Watching Luke out there, smiling and radiating light like the sun as he basked in the joy of knowing everyone he loved was safe, Mara couldn’t help the warmth that crept into her heart, or looking away to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Her best friend, her best everything. Luke was simply, and complexly, and infinitely that. Even now, he was everything.

Here, under the careful attention of the Naboo summer, she felt months slide off of her like years, and stress fall from her like water rolling off her skin. Even so, even now, braced against the grassy lake shore slopes, her hands still burned. They still itched from the other results of her changing life. They were clear and clean unstained or scathed to the eye, but if she looked at them under shadow, she swore she could see red. See picked locks and stolen datapads, seen a lightsaber held in her hand, but never able to use for the kill strike. It wasn’t like the people she had killed hadn’t deserved it. The Emperor only sent her on missions where the traitors she doled out justice to genuinely deserved it, those that even under a kinder galaxy would have met a similar fate. They were slavers and those who profited in the suffering of others. In all accounts, when Mara left a planet, it was to the inhabitants thanking her, shaking her hand, and wishing her well. But that didn’t justify it fully in Mara’s mind. She knew the galaxy was a better place rid of those that had met their ends at her hands, but still, her hands itched in the soft grass.

No one here would mention it, Vader knew. She knew he knew. And through her bond with Luke, through their shared dreams, their shared joys, and shared pains, she knew he knew too. But no one would dare to ask without her permission, even as she knew no one would dare to blame.

Even when she had left the transport onto the soft grass of the lake district shaking after that first mission three months ago, brushing past Luke, even when she had barricaded herself in the fresher, shaking all through dinner and most of the night, as Luke sat outside the door, questioning at first, pleading, then silent and waiting until she let him in right before the dawn. Even as they sat there, on that fresher floor together as she told him everything, not able to meet his eyes, until he had asked one question, “Can I hug you?”

She hadn’t believed it, not even when she had nodded her head yes, or when he had pulled her into his lap, or even after she had started to cry and then to sob and then finally to sleep. He hadn’t blamed her, not once.

Still, Mara’s hands itched. And she couldn’t convince herself to get fully in the lake water, lest it wash it all away from memory to skin and she would forget. What would happen if she forgot what she was really fighting for? What would happen when the next mission couldn’t be justified away?

All in all, the Emperor hadn’t sent her on many missions with the objection being to eliminate a target and that, to her was unexpected. She was of no two minds what her purpose, her training, had all been about. But when the time came, the Emperor seemed to prefer a spy to an assassin. She had attended balls and charity galas, social functions, and even black market auctions, she had aliases that gave her access to the highest echelons of the social stratus of the Empire. In fact, she was pretty sure she was technically enrolled in Luke’s school under a fake name with fake parents with fake credentials and Imperial ranking. And she liked the silken dresses and the dancing under crystal chandeliers. But then there were the other missions, or the missions that left her no choice. And for those, no silk gloves could ever make her hands feel truly smooth again. Was this change in the direction of her life, the fewer kill missions and assassinations the unexpected benefit for her shields blocking her ability to communicate with him? Or was it going to get worse? She didn’t know, she never would until it happened. Or didn’t.

Despite this, despite the burning of her hands, none of that mattered here. Here, there were no aliases, no disguises, no playing a part, or fear of adding to the stains on her satin gloved hands. Here, she was simply Mara, and here she could feel the peace of those she loved radiating around her like a shield, the dark foreboding presence by the house and the sunburst of light amongst the waves. Mara closed her eyes and drifted on a memory until she slept to the song of Luke’s laughter on the banks of the lake. Here, she was Mara Jade, and she was fifteen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vader’s hands clenched into fist, watching Mara slide onto her side in the green grass, hair spilling out over her shoulders starkly in the noonday sun, making sure she was safely away from the water as she fell into a deep slumber. His shoulders tensed at the sound of Luke’s happiness. Such moments of peace felt stollen now days. Mara came infrequently to Naboo in the past months, and Vader knew why…the missions the Emperor sent her on. He knew Luke seldom laughed quite so freely. Sixteen had aged him unlike any other year the boy had known. Luke was being introduced farther into the court, spending more and more time on Coruscant. As a bright side to all of this, Luke saw more of Mara than ever in his time on the city planet and the two grew closer and stronger in the Force with each day in the other’s presence.

But the gift of seeing Mara more regularly was tempered by his being ever more exposed to the duplicity and the treachery of the Empire like never before. And Mara…Mara was being sent to its front lines, to the glittering court’s darkest corners. He hated this. He hated the age he was beginning to see creep into Luke’s blue eyes, the sorrow at each new holonet report magnified tenfold, the crushing weight of political pressure slowly, ever so slowly trying to turn him into coal or a diamond. He hated the way Mara would jump ever so slightly at a loud sound, how she never sat with her back to a door if she could avoid it, how even now sleeping under the summer sun, in the tall grass he could still see the silver glint of her lightsaber hilt curled protectively in her outstretched hand, hands she had scrubbed raw in the kitchen mere months ago. He hated he wasn’t strong enough to do anything about it. Not quite.

But no, while he hated all these things, Vader knew there was something more, the fuel to the fire of his rage had been stoked high this past year, a name burned like a brand in his mind ever since he had chased those rebels from Lothal. A name he had long since forced himself to forget and bury on a snow-covered planet amidst rows and rows of helmets on sticks. Even after Luke’s almost kidnapping, even after the reports and rumors. He had refused to believe it, couldn’t let himself even think it.

And now it was back…she was back. Like a ghost come back to haunt him. And why shouldn’t she? Hadn’t he failed her too? But then again what right did she have to come back now? After so many years. She had left him! She had left him alone! She had left the order…she had left him. Did she even care?

Vader could not find an answer that made sense and so the rage built, fighting against the light that whispered quietly into his heart, until it flowed like the lava from Mustafar. And he knew he couldn’t reach for it, that growing rage, not while Mara asleep in the grass, and Luke playing in the waves, relied on him to train them so that the Emperor didn’t reach his gnarled, lightning wielding fingers into this hard one peace.

Though…if the Inquisitors he sent this time actually did their jobs, that could all change very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke hauled himself up from the water, laughing and spluttering, flopping down into the thick blanket of grass beside Mara. “Did you see those jumping fish?” He grinned, water dripping from his hair as he pulled a towel around his shoulders. But Mara gave no reply save for a soft, sleep thickened hum, red gold lashed eyes shining more gold than red in the sun, a smile on her face as her sleeping form moved towards his voice, her Force signature tugging the bond they shared around her like her cloak, even in sleep.

Luke just smiled, reaching out, he pulled her discarded tan cloak up and over her bare shoulders, protecting pale skin, prone to burning, from a bright summer sun and flopped down next to her. For all the world, he wouldn’t dare wake her, not when she looked more peaceful than he had seen her in years.

She had spoken to him, two nights into her stay here after she had said through sobs what she had done on the fresher floor that first night, now in hushed tones as they sat under the stars together of all that had happened to her since they had last seen each other three months ago. Three months…three missions. And Mara had sat there looking at her hands as if they were covered in blood and asked if he hated her. The question was as ridiculous to Luke now as it had been when she had asked it. How could he hate her? She was his best friend, his best friend and so much more. Or at least, in his heart, he was beginning to wonder about more. Mara wasn’t just his friend, she was the feeling of building a model starship in the golden twilight hours of the day, she was the feeling of coming in from the snow to sit by the fire, she was the feeling of taking his ship to the stars and the exhilaration of lightspeed, she was the feeling of coming home and loving life. What was a word appropriate for that? Surely friendship was lacking, even love…when he dared to wonder at that word and wonder if she felt it too, seemed somehow insufficient in light of all they had gone through together, hand in hand already. And so he lay in the grass next to her as she slept, his own eyes growing heavy. There would be time enough to figure out that word later, at least he hoped so anyways.

Three months…she had changed in that time, but not in the ways that truly mattered. He could feel the storm around her candle still, but he could also feel the ice, crystalline and beautiful at her feet, grounding her, steadying her, sliding her away from the storm. It had been a year since they stood in Mustafar’s throne room together, determined and brave to face the galaxy. She had changed. And he had changed too. Perhaps an earlier version of Luke wouldn’t have been able to see past Mara as the Emperor’s Hand and Mara as the girl he had grown up with. But now, in the long soft grass of Naboo, the sun tugging him to sleep, weighted down by muscles still feeling the fight against the waves of the lake, the only thought Luke could think was that he had never thought of Mara as anything other then the best thing to ever happen to him, and though not the first time, he thought that he had never seen anything more beautiful than her. Tucking a strand of red gold hair behind her ear, her head leaning in responsively to his touch on instinct, he smiled and said, “Sweet Dreams, Mara.”

Chapter Text

Okay so the fact that Malachor sounded a lot like Mustafar could not be a coincidence. As the Solar Sunrise dropped out of hyperspace, Luke felt the cold hit him square in the chest, recoiling from it, he shuddered, gripping the controls white knuckled. Beside him, Mara was only slightly better composed.

“Another Sith world.” Luke said through gritted teeth, guiding the ship into atmosphere, tracking the coordinates his father had received from the Inquisitors. The coordinates Mara had so helpfully lifted a handful of hours prior.

Mara keyed in the landing gear sequence from the copilot’s chair. “There have got to be some Jedi planets or something somewhere.”

Luke chuckled because it was that or cry. “What do you suppose they are like?” He asked, focusing on steady breaths.

He could feel Mara’s tension in the Force across their bond ease fractionally. “Sunny. Warm, somewhere with little sea birds with big round eyes that live in the cliffs on an island or something.”

Luke laughed a shaky sound, “Yeah, an island sounds good. We’ll find it someday.” But for now they were on the desolate world of Malachor, a battle field, a graveyard. It was like death personified, like breathing in the air of a dying forest and ash. It was all of the cold and the dark. And soon they were landing there.

How had they found themselves in this mess? The day had started so well, swimming in the lake, resting in the sun, sparring with Mara, pairing his newly constructed saber against her brilliant blade in the open air of the lake shore, Luke had thought little could break the peace that had tentatively formed in the new normal of their lives what with Mara on missions and Luke more and more being drawn into the orbit of the courts. But no, no, that would have been too easy. The Force, it seemed, had other plans.

Plans that had begun with a comm call. It had come in the middle of dinner, which was just rude because they were meant to have Alderaanian Forest cake for dessert. But all thoughts of dessert had vanished when his father answered the call and an Inquisitor’s voice came over the line.

“We have tracked the rebel Jedi to Malachor, Lord Vader.” A female voice said, oozing pride and the thoughts of praise she was sure she would receive for such a report.

Unfortunately for the Inquisitor, or perhaps it wasn’t all that unfortunate for them, they could not feel the sudden uptick in the undercurrent of rage Luke had felt emanating from his father in the Force for the past few weeks. “And what of Fulcrum?” He said to the comm.

“Her too.” The Inquisitor replied smugly.

Mara had gone very still, watching Luke across the table, eyes darting to Vader with the same concern he felt too.

“I’m on my way.” Vader replied, pushing back so hard his chair rattled to the floor. At once, Luke and Mara sprang to their feet in an instant.

“Father.” Luke began but was cut off with a wave of the Sith lord’s hand.

“I must go. There are matters that require my personal attention.”

Mara reached out to stop him, but the he jerked sharply, pulling from her grasp before she could say a word and stormed from the room. Sharing a silent look, Mara and Luke had wasted no time before running after him. And they had to run for how fast he was moving, all the way to the hangar.

Vader was prepping his ship, a few droids scurrying about. He turned, helmeted head facing his son and Mara more annoyed than angry. “You should not be here.”

“Yeah, neither should you.” Mara retorted, her loss of animosity towards Vader with their alliance as Secret Rebels and something more than that, a bond formed as a family, seemed to be matched in an increase in her lack of regard for how she spoke to the Sith lord. For Vader’s part, he never corrected her, whether he was amused by it or just glad that her fear and hostility had abated at last, Luke never knew and never meant to ask.

“You know not of what you speak, Mara.” Vader was seething behind his vocorder, Luke had barely felt such unbridled emotion from the man since Mustafar.

“Tell us then.” Luke appealed. “Make us understand.”

Vader’s hands were clenched into fists, but he turned away, climbing into the ship. He left without a word.

Luke and Mara watched, the cool night air whipping about them as they shielded their eyes, watching his ship break atmosphere.

“I-I’ve never seen him so unbalanced.” Luke choked on the words, a hollow feeling creeping into his chest. His father wasn’t just angry or upset, afraid or overcome with emotion. All of that, Luke had seen before. This, this was something more. This was like a fire raging, out of control and without direction. It would consume all in its path.

Mara squared her shoulders turning back towards the house but not walking yet. “What do you think could cause that?”

Luke tried to think, tried to come up with the answer he somehow suspected Mara already knew. But then again, when he searched his inner heart, Luke knew that he knew too. Deep down, he truly did. “Family.”

“The only family left alive that you and I both know of…” Mara trailed off, fidgeting with something in her hand as they said as one “His apprentice!”

“We haven’t heard from her since well…since she almost kidnapped us.” Luke looked back to the stars thoughtfully. “Father was furious then. If he’s found her…”

“He may very well kill her.” Mara spoke the brutally honest truth.

A decision formed in Luke’s mind in an instant. “The comm message said they were on Malachor.”

Mara nodded, flicking her wrist up to show the contents in her hand, a slender comm device. “And we have the coordinates.”

Luke’s mind flashed to when Mara had grabbed at his father’s arm, trying to stop him he had thought. But no, clever Mara was too smart for that. He laughed out loud, Force how he loved her. His brain stuttered a little at the thought. Love, did he just think that?

But there was no time. Mara was looking at him expectantly. This was his call. And he knew the one they both wanted to make. “We’re going after him right?” He asked.

“Oh absolutely.” Mara answered and they both broke for the Solar Sunrise.

And now here they were, landing on yet another desolate Sith planet.

There was no time to waste. Even without an open connection to his father, Luke could feel the turmoil boiling off of him and rising into the Force like steam. Hate, anger, rage, sorrow, longing, hope, regret. The Force swirled around him darkly, like the swirling above the dead battlefields below. There was murder in his mind’s eye, blinded by rage he would offer no middle ground, only absolutes. And Luke had learned that absolutes almost always got someone killed.

“Come on.” Luke clipped his saber to his belt, tugging a charcoal gray poncho over his head he all but sprinted down the ramp, Mara hot on his heels, tan cloak billowing behind her. His father’s ship had landed below them; Luke having chosen a ledge on the rise of this pyramid like structure on which they stood. He wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but whatever it was, Luke did not want their presence known right away. As Mara liked to remark, the element of surprise was their greatest ally.

He crouched low, Mara doing the same at his side, they came through an overhang of megalithic structure to suddenly stand inside the pyramid, gazing down at a room that looked for all the world how Luke’s father felt in the Force at that very moment. Angry red lines, jagged cut gold and raging, pulsing and angry. Electricity flickered all around them, sparking and arcing from a central part. Mara tapped his shoulder urgently, her hands moving in succinct signs, gesturing his attention down and to their left.

A boy, who couldn’t be older than Luke was struggling against Vader, a saber bright and blazing blue in his hands

“Is that?” Luke breathed, eyes wide in horror. What was happening?

Mara just nodded, red gold hair blending with the surroundings “That’s Ezra Bridger.”

From their vantage, Luke and Mara could hear the words his father spoke.

“You unlocked the secrets of the temple. How did you accomplish this?” The voice, that voice, filled with menace and malice. Beside him, Mara’s fingers dug past her saber and into her palms.

“You’re smart, figure it out!” The boy retorted.

Mara shook her head, “He’s going to die, we have to do something.”

“No,” Luke held out his hand, “father’s playing at something. I can sense it.” Luke didn’t know what was going on, but it was as if the hand of destiny herself held him back. And then perhaps she really did.

A soft call, barely heard above the noise below drew both teenagers’ attention up. There, perched on a ledge above them, was a convor, softly colored in an almost luminescent cream with green accents. She swooped down, landing on the nearly touching shoulders of Luke and Mara both. Eyes wide, Luke and Mara turned towards one another.

“What’s this?” Mara hissed, eyes darting to the bird.

Luke on the other hand, couldn’t look away from the creature. “I don’t know, but it’s like…it’s like I know her.”

Meanwhile, down below, Vader still fought the boy but though he was skilled, it was obvious he was no match for the likes of Vader who disarmed him in one swift motion, saber rattling to the ground, damaged but intact. “Where is your master, child. I will not ask again.”

“Like I would ever tell you.” Ezra spat and though he no longer held his saber, he used his words like a weapon. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“I thought your master would have trained you better. Perhaps I was wrong.” Vader seethed, lifting his saber but there was no force behind the action, no intent. To swing it down would result in a clumsy arc, both Mara and Luke could see that from here. What was he playing at?

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” All eyes, those below and those aloft, swiveled to the right of the room where she stood. Tall and defiant, though short in stature, twin sabers raised behind her glowing white like newly formed stars. She stood like a shield, a protector, determined to the last.

And the Force around Vader spiked like a crescendo. “It was foretold that you would be here.” His voice echoed in the cavern. “Our long-awaited meeting has come at last.”

She moved forward, this firebrand that was a Togruta woman, light seeming to crackle off of her like sparks of fire in the Force, “I am glad I gave you something to look forward to.”

Luke could barely watch, this was the person, the person who had caused such a change in his father these last months. So much emotion swirled in the Force it was almost tangible. This was the one who had almost kidnapped him so many years ago, who his father still mourned even if he thought Luke didn’t know.

Please, he closed his eyes, willing his hope to become reality. Please take a moment and think, don’t hurt each other.

And for a moment, the maelstrom seemed to abate. “We need not be adversaries.” His father said, now stepping forward and away from Ezra where he still lay on the floor. “I only seek the remaining Jedi.” His words were measured, careful.

“There are no Jedi.” The woman retorted. “You and your Inquisitors have seen to that.”

Again, Luke felt Mara tense beside him. The Inquisitors were still a raw subject. He supposed they always would be.

Again, the uptick of rage, now tinged with despair moderated by desperation filled the space that was his father and it made Luke’s head spin. Once again Vader turned his attention to Ezra. “Then perhaps this child will confess what you will not.”

Now a new maelstrom, one filled with light at its eye but rising with grey clouds all around her spoke up, “I was beginning to think I knew who you were behind that mask. But it’s impossible. My master could never be as vile as you.”

“So we were right.” Mara whispered.

And that, that struck a chord deep and to the core of who and what Vader is and was. It took the chunks in his armor and ripped at them like claws. Luke heard it in the word she spoke next. “You think me vile? You think me a monster? I do what Anakin Skywalker could not do. If he lived, others would be dead now.”

“Others like the Jedi? Like the clones?” With each word, she may have well sliced at his father with her lightsaber. And then came the final cut. “Like Padme?”

“You dare speak her name?” They advance on each other now, circling. The convor on Luke and Mara’s shoulders flexed her claws, agitated but refusing to let them move.

“You speak of life, but what life has Darth Vader ever brought anyone?” she snapped. On the ledge with a convor perched calmly their shoulders, Mara and Luke flinched as one.

“You know not of which you speak. Anakin Skywalker is dead.”

And here the woman paused, her own storm not held at bay, but billowing and building and with each word she spoke next, it grew stronger. “Then I will avenge his death.”

Vader seemed taken aback by this, eyeing her behind that mask. Regret played across his emotions, regret, remorse, disappointment. “Revenge is not the Jedi way.”

And here the woman took a fighting stance. “I am no Jedi.”

She charged and they clashed and now Luke reached for his own saber, prepared to jump, prepared to intervene, but the convor dug its claws into his shoulder fiercely once more, pulling him back. It’s swirling eyes met his and for a moment, Luke swore he heard the voice of a woman.

Watch and observe, Children of the Force, a history learned is a history avoided.

And then it all happened in an instant and in an eternity. The two fought, dragging Vader away from Ezra and Luke and Mara followed the fight with the convor keeping watch, missing the arrival of a scarred master, with an old republic mask over his eyes and the anguish of the apprentice at the sight but the joy of having his teacher back, they saw the woman fall, the convor on their arm giving a mournful cry when she did, they turned back in time to see Vader reenter the pyramid in time to reach for the holocron effectively pulling both master and apprentice towards himself. In his heart, Luke felt sorrow, despair, regret laced with a deep sense of mourning, a litany over and over in his father’s head, the thoughts of his father threatened to overwhelm him as they seemed to repeat over and over She would never forgive me, ever how could she forgive a monster?

And so Vader  tugged at the apprentice and teacher both, dragging them to himself in a last act of desperation that made Luke want to cry for in that moment he understood. His father was doing this for him. He wanted him and Mara both to have a teacher. And this was the cost.

But then in a flash, a blur of white, orange, silver, blue, and grey, she returned, sabers wielding and striking true. Vader reeled back, crying out in anguish. As one Luke and Mara choked back screams.

“Father!” Luke cried, he was ready to through off the convor, but this time, it was Mara who pulled him back.

“Look.” She said in almost awe, gazed fixed below her. There was a tide turning here in the Force, and Luke felt the ice that Mara always described as shielding the light beginning to thaw a little.

And for the first time, Luke and Mara heard her name. “Ahsoka.” It was like a prayer, a plea, and for a moment the two, former master and former apprentice both, stood there with nothing and everything between them.

“Ahsoka.” His father said again, sorrowful and his cracked mask revealing a pain in his very soul through one glowing yellow eye.

“Anakin.” Ahsoka said the name like one would say the word home, like one would reach for the familiar to find it gone. And there she stood, resolute, determined. “I won’t leave you. Not this time.”

And that was the wrong thing to say. Luke knew it the moment she said it. He may not know everything that had happened, but Luke knew enough. He felt the rage, the anger, the hurt, that whatever memory she had conjured invoked within his father.

“You left me!” His father cried out. “You left us all to die.”

And it may have very well come to blows again. But the convor looked into Luke’s eyes and seemed to nod at him, taking flight and in that same instance. Mara and Luke jumped as well. They jumped down, using the Force to guide their landing. Luke opened himself into the Force, strengthening his bond with Mara, using her sight and lending his own to her so that they stuck the landing perfectly, back to back, sabers raised. The convor swooped up, circling over their heads.

“Enough!” Luke shouted, saber raised, he faced his father. “This has to stop.”

“Stay back.” He heard Mara command in her best Emperor’s Hand voice. “That’s enough.”

“Luke,” His father spoke in the seconds after the shock wore off. “you shouldn’t be here.”

Luke shifted his weight, the realization that he held a blade at his father’s throat making him feel sick, the words Mara had spoken in the hangar echoed in his ears and he responded in kind. “Yeah, well if you hadn’t noticed neither should you. Why are you fighting her? She was your apprentice!”

Vader recoiled, as much as a snake does to strike. “She was Anakin’s.”

“Listen,” Ahsoka was saying to Mara at Luke’s back. “Put the saber down. Let’s talk about this.”

“You want to talk now? Look around you, the temple is about to collapse.” Mara fired back, holding her saber steady in a one-handed grip.

Somewhere in the near distance, a door was nearly shut, Ezra and the other Jedi stood calling to their friend, begging her to come with them. But it was as if they stood in a bubble.

“Luke, leave.” His father commanded.

Luke gulped, glancing back to the rebels outside the pyramid before fixing his gaze firmly on his father. “No, father, I’m not going to let you both keep hurting each other. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate.”

“Father?” Ahsoka’s saber’s faltered where she stood. “He’s really your father?”

“He is.” Mara confirmed for Luke, forcing Ahsoka’s attention back on her and leaving Luke to deal with his father.

“Father please.” Luke pleaded. “The temple’s coming down, we stay here, we die. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Behind him, back-to-back, Mara’s free hand fumbled for his own, and he grasped at it, drawing strength from her touch. “We’re not going anywhere unless you end this right here and now.” Mara finished the thought Luke had begun.

“Ahsoka, please!” Ezra called one last time. The doors were almost closed.

There was a frantic moment, a moment Luke couldn’t help but wonder. Would his father really let him die to prove a point, to hold a grudge?

“Then it’s over, my son.” Vader, cracked helmet and cracked armor, hung his head in defeat as he extinguished his saber.

“Anakin,” Ahsoka reached out but a tremor raced under the flooring, and they all knew they were out of time. As one, they all sprinted for the door, diving under and through the remaining opening.

“Stay back!” Ezra shouted, holding his hands out as the older man at his side tried to pull him backwards.

“Come on,” Luke tugged at his father’s sleave. “My ship’s this way we have to go.”

“I’m coming with you.” Ahsoka was already falling into step beside them.

“Like hell you are.” The older Jedi, the one with the mask seemed to draw strength in that instance, stepping to intercept his friend. “I don’t care who you think he is. He’s going to kill you.”

Ahsoka made to argue but Luke and Mara locked eyes, a conversation in a second. Another tremor from the temple. They were out of time.

“We don’t have time for this.” Mara snapped, unhooking her lightsaber from her belt and practically throwing the unlit hilt at the younger Jedi’s head, who fumbled to catch it, eyes wide in shock. “Hostage swap. I’m going with you if you want to see your friend again, you’ll keep me alive, right?”

“Uh, what now?” Ezra was gaping at her. But the older Jedi seemed to grasp exactly what was happening.

A silver mask met a black one. “How can we know she’ll be safe?”

And Vader watched, despair filling him as he watched Mara already boarding the ramp of the little shuttle behind the Jedi. “The girl who just gave her life into your hands is like my daughter. You harm her, and there will be nowhere you can hide.”

“Mara.” Luke called and she paused on the ramp. “Stay safe, May the Force be with you.”

She smiled slightly, nodding, “And also with you.” She entered the ship but not before calling out. “If we don’t all want to be one with the Force soon we better leave.”

“Come on.” The older Jedi tugged at Ezra, making to follow after Mara. He cast one last look towards where Ahsoka was already following Vader and Luke. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

“I do.” She said, and then at once they all went their separate ways. Within moments they were off the surface and both ships rocketed towards the stars as the old Sith temple imploded behind them. What the future would hold? Luke couldn’t help but think only the convor knows.

Chapter Text

Mara sat on the bench in the transport, the beginnings of a headache forming deep behind her eyes. The cool durasteel hull behind her was only a minimal comfort.

“I can’t believe we just let her go!” The boy, Ezra Bridger, was exclaiming, pacing in the small space, arms waving wildly. “And, and what about Maul? He’s still out there. And you, you need medical support!”

Here, Mara cracked open one eye to see him gesture to the man who sat closer to the cockpit door on the bench opposite from Mara. He still wore that strange mask and now she wondered if it was to hide an injury rather than for the aesthetic.

“Ezra, you need to calm down.” The man, Kanan spoke, voice level, but with an edge to it in the Force that Mara could sense.

“We can’t go back to base, not with her.” Ezra tossed a look at Mara who closed both her eyes again against his glare. She really did have a headache.

It was sinking in what she had done. She was a prisoner of the Rebellion. What if the Emperor tried to contact her? She was only supposed to be on Naboo a week, what if this took longer than that? But no, she didn’t have time for what ifs. She had done a good job on her last mission, breaking up a black-market smugglers ring that had been costing the Empire trillions and dealing in things that weren’t exactly in the best interest, or health, of either side. She had done well that mission, even made a valuable contact, one she had added to her growing list of potential Secret Rebels, a one Talon Karrde who had provided her with valuable information on the dangerous smugglers who didn’t care what innocents got in their way. A smuggler with honor…Karrde had been kind to her, which was something she hadn’t expected amongst those she might have considered little above common thieves hardly a few years ago.

She had done well.

The Emperor had promised her time with Luke, time away from the courts to relax after that mission. And while he was a liar of the highest order, he had never broken a promise like this one. So she had no reason to worry, not for another week at least.

“Ezra, I said calm down, focus, center yourself. This is getting us nowhere.” Kanan ordered bringing Mara’s focus back to the present, but it wasn’t an order like any Force instructor she had ever known.

Opening her eyes fully, she watched as the man drew the boy closer, pulling him gently to the bench beside him and into a hug, a warm embrace, but not one shared between a student and teacher. No this was one between a parent and a child. In her heart, Mara felt that familiar ache, the longing for something half remembered.

She didn’t know what to say. But she suddenly wanted these people to trust her, wanted them on her side. Or perhaps more accurately, she thought, she wanted to be on their side. “Are you injured?” She finally settled on.

Kanan was quiet for a moment, that unnerving mask seeming to look at her but not. Rather than answer her question though, he responded with one of his own. “I don’t think I caught your name. Did the other one there, the boy, call you Mara?”

Mara huffed, bracing her hands against the bench and leaning forward, tucking her legs under the seat. “Yes, my name is Mara. But that didn’t answer my question, are you injured?”

Kanan tilted his head, and she felt it then, the reaching of the Force, the testing against someone’s mind. He hadn’t known who she was or what she was, therefore, his attempt to read her was open, unguarded and simple really. If he had seen her saber, if he had seen her in action, he would have known and his probe against her shields would have answered in kind. He had not anticipated mental shielding. That left only one option. He hadn’t been able to see her before and he couldn’t see her now “You-”

He began to form a question but Mara cut him off. “I have training in advanced field medicine. I might be able to help.”

Ezra snapped back, his found calm slipping from him. “And why should we trust you?”

It was strange, hearing a voice she was so familiar with thanks to countless times relistening to that recording from over a year ago targeted at her with such fire, such defensiveness.

 “I came willingly.” She retorted. “And honestly, I want to help, because…” And here she paused, how much did she dare give away? But the Force tugged at her, singing in her ear of comfort. These were children of the Force, just like she was, but unlike the Emperor, unlike Vader, they were filled with the Light side, warm and glowing, a sense of peace in their presence she had only ever felt around Luke. They were Jedi. “because I need your help too.”

This pricked the boy’s interest. But Kanan still watched her with that uncanny mask and unseeing gaze. So, she continued. “I know other…Force sensitives. They aren’t safe in the Empire. I need your help to protect my friend.”

Kanan nodded, perceptive. “The boy, the one who came with you. Vader’s son.”

Mara shuddered, tugging at her cloak. “No one else knows. You can’t tell anyone.”

Kanan seemed to relax, a sense of calm coming from him in waves, slowly but rising. “You said you are good with medicine? We have Bacta, but not much”

Mara stood, and Ezra stood too, standing in her way, electric blue eyes flashing. But while there was the intensity of his feelings, Mara didn’t feel the darkness she had come to associate with such intensity. He seemed to war with himself for a minute more before he closed those electric eyes, shoulder’s slumping, he stepped aside. “Just help him, please.”

“What are we dealing with?” Mara asked, taking the seat next to Kanan.

With shaking hands, the man removed the mask and Mara saw it then. The angry red line slashing shallowly, but nonetheless damagingly, across the eyes, leaving redness and clouding in their wake. Mara hissed in a breath at the damage and knew at once that her earlier suspicions were confirmed. The man before her could not see her. So, as she raised her hands, she glanced between him and his apprentice, “May I?” she asked the permission of them both. Kanan, sensing what she was about to do, and Ezra seeing it, sensing the trust and bond between the two.

“Go ahead.” It was Kanan who responded.

Mara raised her hands, fingers brushing lightly over the wound obviously made by a saber. She felt it then, the damage singing discordantly in the Force. Frayed edges around frayed nerves, burned tissue and damaged eyes. In total, this type of wound was severe and staggering. Under the best medical care the Empire had to offer, he might recover. However the best they had at the moment were the few Bacta patches the man’s apprentice had scrounged up and her. But thankfully, Mara knew herself to be the winning card in the hand that life had dealt them in this twisted Sabbaac game they all collectively played.

She concentrated, reaching past the ice until she felt the warmth like the warmth of the lakeshore of Naboo enveloping her. And then, as she had done every time she had done this, she let the light flow through her and over the injuries of the other person. Of course, never had the injuries she had worked on before been so extensive. Even so she felt it working. Nerves recently severed hadn’t had time to fully fray yet. And the tissue had yet to scar over. Another hour more and she might not have been able to do anything. But time had been on their side just this once.

When Mara pulled back, she was exhausted. Force healing was a skill that had been encouraged but never really enforced or trained with any degree of precision and so the stamina it took was always extreme. And this case had been the most challenging one she had ever faced. The headache had taken hold. She did her best not to groan and lean back against the cool hull. The dim lighting of the ship pricked at her vision in a fuzzy glare that hurt.

Kanan blinked a few times, lifting a hand up to run over his face, grazing his eyes.

“Kanan?” Ezra asked anxiously, hovering over Mara’s shoulder.

“Your hair,” Kanan began slowly, looking at her, seeing her for the first time “it’s red.”

“Yep.” Mara chuckled wearily, giving in at last to lying her head back against the hull, it’s cool firmness offering something that couldn’t quite be called relief, but was soothing all the same.

“Your nose is bleeding!” Ezra exclaimed, coming to stand in front of her, eyes darting between her and Kanan. “Can you really see?”

Kanan nodded. “It’s blurry still around the edges, and…and I think my distance might be off, but yeah kid, I can see.” His eyes, newly healed, found Mara’s and he himself smeared Bacta over the bridge of her nose. “Are you alright? That…that was a lot of Force energy you used.”

“M, fine.” Mara slurred, eyes rolling shut, “jus tired is all.”

Kanan’s steady hands stilled, pulling back from her. “How did you learn to do that, who taught you?”

Mara really was tired, but here, in the presence of two Jedi, light radiating off of them both in the Force in never ending waves, she felt so, so safe. “Emperor.” She managed at last, tears pricking at her eyes, stinging at the stringent smell of Bacta. “Figured it was easier if I could heal myself.”

Ezra sucked in a breath, Force signature indignant and blazing, but not against her. “The Emperor?”

Mara, tired and over exerted, couldn’t stop herself from flinching at that name. “It’s alright.” Kanan was saying all at once, hands slightly raised, backing away just a little but hovering close. She guessed it was in case she really did pass out.  How bad did she look to warrant such a reaction? “It’s alright. Thank you, thank you for healing me. Get some rest now.”

“You’re rebels.” She said, but her eyes were already closing. She didn’t mean that as an accusation. She didn’t think they’d hurt her now that they knew for sure that she was only technically with the Empire, as if showing up with the Imperial Heir who wielded a green saber didn’t do that already.

But they must have taken it that way, because suddenly someone was draping a blanket around her shoulders and speaking softly to her. “It’s alright. I promise you are safe. No harm will come to you. Listen to me, Mara, you are safe here. No one can hurt you. No one.”

And Mara drifted off to the sweet rest of sleep, a comforting light in the Force glowing and warm around her, evoking a memory she couldn’t quite grasp and promising rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was tense in the cockpit of the Solar Sunrise, Luke took them out, lifting them into atmosphere and rocketing away into the night. No one spoke, no one dared to even breathe. Except for the rasping of his father’s broken mask, there was nothing to break the silence. Luke hunched his shoulders, focusing on the task of flying, but reaching out for Mara all the same.

He felt her presence, easy to identify amongst the stars and space around them. Luke held the connection until it abruptly ended and he knew she had jumped to hyperspace. Force, Mara, please be alright. He had hated that split second decision they needed to make. He had heard it all, her half-baked, half hoped plan, a last-ditch effort to get them off that horrible Sith planet. He hated being separated, her handing herself over to strangers. But there wasn’t time to come up with a better plan. And while Luke knew his father cared for Mara, he also knew that if it was a choice, there was no way he would have let Luke leave with the Jedi. Mara, at least, had a chance to get away before that knee jerk reaction of overprotectiveness from his father could kick in.

It was, surprisingly, Ahsoka who finally broke the silence. “Anakin.” She said that name again and it felt strange to hear a name Luke had thought so much in quiet spoken allowed so openly, so vulnerably.

His father pulled back. “Your Rebel friends better not hurt the girl.” He hissed, his voice sounding like sandpaper mixed with Tatooine sand and rock.

Now safely in hyperspace themselves, Luke turned to watch the interchange in time to see Ahsoka draw back, a look of deep sorrow etched across her face. “They wouldn’t hurt a child, Imperial or not.” And despite the sadness in her words, there was an accusation there too. But once again, she reached out, stepping forward. “Anakin, what happened?”

His father drew back from her outstretched hand as if it were a live saber. He coughed, the mask failing and turned, drawing his cape around him in a whirl. “I need to make repairs. You would be wise not to follow me.” And he was gone.

And then there were two. Luke couldn’t help but think. He was in the presence of Ahsoka Tano. The Ahsoka Tano. He recalled reading her file that Mara had pulled from the Inquisitorial database about a year after their almost kidnapping. He had suspected she was his father’s lost apprentice. But now he knew it. And she was a legend. The silence hung suspended for a moment and Luke couldn’t take it.

“Sorry about him…he’s been through a lot.” Luke knew it was a lame explanation for his father’s actions, but it brought Ahsoka’s full attention on him, breaking her from the daze that seemed to overtake her.

“I’m sorry, young one. I guess it’s time for…proper introductions.” She drew a shaky breath, turning to face him. “My name is Ahsoka Tano, I was your father’s student.”

Luke nodded, giving her a small smile. “I know. And I know you probably couldn’t tell based on my father’s reaction and well, everything that happened down there, but I am so glad to finally meet you, properly I mean. I’m Luke, Luke Skywalker.” Here he extended his hand.

She blinked at it for a moment, as if not comprehending what she was meant to do before her shoulders relaxed, a real smile coming over her face as she took his hand in hers and shook it. “It’s so good to meet you too, Luke. More than you know. I also owe you, my thanks. If it were not for you and your friend intervening back there, well…I imagine things would have gone much worse.”

Luke glanced away, turning back towards the controls slightly, fidgeting with a lever.

Ahsoka could sense his disquiet, Luke wasn’t exactly trying to shield against her. So she took it as an invitation. “What is her name, your friend?”

“You tried to kidnap us years ago and you never learned her name?” Luke muttered under his breath a little annoyed but shaking it off quickly. There would be answers to all of that in time. “Mara.” He replied allowed, not meeting her eyes.

“It was very brave, what Mara did, stepping in like that to defuse the situation. She would have made a brilliant Jedi Consular in her own right back in the day.” Ahsoka’s words were spoken softly, gently, accepting of Luke’s own anguish over the uncertainty of when he would see his friend again, over the depth of the emotion of what they had just done together. He had stood up to his father, held a weapon to his face. Luke had never done that. He hoped he never had to again. If Mara hadn’t been there, he would never have felt sure enough of himself and their plan to do it.

“She’s brilliant. She’s the best person I know, that plan was all hers. She doesn’t hesitate, not about stuff like that, things she knows are right.”

Ahsoka hummed. “She was like that in the forest all those years ago. Sounds like she has a strong sense of justice. They won’t hurt her. You have my word on that. I don’t know what the empire has taught you about rebels, but trust me when I say there is more honor to those that now have your friend than I have seen since even before the Republic fell.”

“I know.” Luke answered, but let his gratitude shine through his voice and flow into the Force around them, despite the agitation of the reminder of his and Mara’s narrow escape in the woods that day. “I wasn’t always with the empire. Where I came from, rebels were heroes and legends. I was ten when my father found me on Tatooine.”

Ahsoka sucked in a breath. “Did you say Tatooine?”

Luke looked up at her, under the fringe of hair that seemed to be forever flopping in his face now. He’d have to get it cut soon. “Yeah, my aunt and uncle raised me there. I always thought they didn’t know about my father…but now I wonder if they did.” He had not thought about that really, not truly or deeply before. It was easier to think they didn’t know rather than they deliberately kept the truth from him. “My father found me after the sand people killed them. He saved my life.”

Ahsoka sat back, taking in all he said and weighing it against something in her mind he couldn’t see or comprehend. It was starting to sink in that this was someone who knew his father infinitely more than he did. But maybe that wasn’t quite right. This woman knew Anakin Skywalker. She obviously didn’t know Vader. Which is what prompted him to speak. “Listen, my father…he’s done horrible things I know. But after he saved me, I think he changed. He doesn’t hunt the rebellion like he used to, I know he turns a blind eye to most of their operations now. He didn’t turn me into the Emperor. He hid my Force sensitivity and even encourages me to reach for the Light rather than the Dark. He lets Mara stay with us and he is kind to her and teaches her about the Light too. He protects us both. He loves us.”

“Love?” Ahsoka choked. “He’s a Sith.”

Luke felt fire flash in his eyes. “He’s my father.”

Ahsoka slumped as if invisible strings had been cut from her shoulders. “I should talk with him. I need to before we leave hyperspace. If nothing else, we need to plan what happens next. Would he be open to that?”

Luke reached out with his feelings, sensing his father in the cargo hold of the Solar Sunrise. He felt the turmoil, but the boiling point of his emotions had subsided to a simmer. “Yeah. I think he would. He’s in the cargo hold, just through that door and to the-”

Ahsoka was already on her feet and almost to the door when she turned with a sad smile on her face to cut him off. “I know the way. I used to fly on a ship very similar to this one.” And all at once, Luke was alone in the cockpit with nothing but hyperspace before him.

And then there was one.

Chapter Text

Vader felt her presence, like a flickering of a memory or a familiar melody he had once known. He had been working on his helmet, and it had been off when she emerged. He didn’t think he had ever felt so exposed, as if all his secrets were laid to bare at his feet.

Her soft footfalls stopped a few feet away across the room of the small cargo hold. He heard her suck in a breath, no doubt at the sight of him. He could only imagine how he must look to her. “I didn’t know you could take that thing off.”

He didn’t acknowledge her words, didn’t turn to look at her. He just stood there, head bowed, mask in hand.

“Anakin, please, won’t you look at me?”

“Don’t,” he choked through the pain. “don’t call me that.”

He felt her Force presence pull back, no longer pressing. The silence lingered between them thick and taught. “Alright.” She relented at last. “What do you want me to call you then?”

“Vader.” He answered at once. It was automatic, he may as well have been a droid.

He sensed a tinge of annoyance and sorrow rise up in her. “That’s the name the Emperor gave you, isn’t it? I’m not using that.”

Vader stiffened, hands clenching around the mask. “Then don’t call me anything.”

Again, the silence, the quiet that wasn’t still. So much pain, so much heartache hung in the space between them. Could he ever cross it to stand by her side again? Did he even deserve to? Did she even want him to?

What she said next was as much an answer as it was a proverbial punch to the chest. “What about Skyguy?” Her voice was watery, and an old instinct resurfaced. Memories of war and blaster fire, of lost friends and fallen comrades. Of a child caught in a war, trying so hard to be brave as she tried not to let the tears fall. He had pulled that child into a hug then, a need to comfort, reassure, and protect so strong it was almost overpowering. He had felt that since with Luke and with Mara, that same need to protect against the world.

He turned to face her.

There were tears indeed in her blue eyes. Blue like Luke’s, blue like his had once been blue. Padme, stars bless her, had liked to remark that Ahsoka had the family blue eyes. The Skywalker blue eyes. And now those eyes held tears in them. Not tears from the war. No, these were tears he had placed there. And it made him feel like he was being struck by lightning over and over just to see it.

“Oh Anakin.” She breathed, taking in his scarred face, the lightning scars, the lava scars, the yellow eyes. The marks of who and what he was evident before her.

“Ahsoka.” He choked through the suddenly thin air, gasping. “Ahsoka please,” he didn’t know what to ask, he didn’t know what to say. His shoulders shook against his labored breaths. And in the end, she crossed the gap to meet him, without thinking, without trying, she pulled him into a hug.

And the water gate burst. She was crying in his arms, and he clung to her like a lifeline. This wasn’t the first hug that Vader had received since he became Vader. With Luke in his life, his brilliant son, hugs were a common occurrence. But this was different. Luke didn’t know…he didn’t know about the Clone Wars and the years upon years of fighting. Even though Luke was older now and he knew that he and Mara read most every mission report of his they could get their hands on, Luke never seemed to fully comprehend the gravity of who and what Vader was.

But Ahsoka did. She understood it all and she hugged him all the same.

“Please.” He was barely breathing through the wetness in his lungs. He would need to put the mask on soon, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at Ahsoka once more through those red lenses. Last time he did, the rage had been so intense, the regret, the swirling of so many emotions, he feared what might have happened had Luke and Mara not shown up. Force bless those children. “Please, don’t leave me.”

She tightened her grip on him, and though nearly two heads shorter than him, she bore his weight, letting his head sag onto her shoulders. “Never. I’m never leaving you again. I’m so, so sorry Anakin.”

“Sorry?” Vader could hardly believe he was hearing this. She was apologizing to him? In what galaxy was that right? “Ahsoka no. I’m the one that’s sorry. I-” and here he felt the words, the ones that had been in the back of his mind since he had stood on that snow covered planet looking at rows upon rows of graves, holding a pair of carefully maintained saber hilts in his hands. “I should have left when you did, if I had then maybe-maybe.” He couldn’t bring himself to finish.

Ahsoka shuddered, a sob wracking her frame but she didn’t let go. “We can’t change the past. There is only the future, and it is still in motion.”

Vader almost laughed at that, almost. But he couldn’t. His heart was still too heavy with pain. “When did you become wise?”

Here she did pull back, forcing him to meet her gaze. “I had a really good teacher.”

He knew she meant the words as a comfort, he knew she didn’t know the stab of pain they caused until she saw it on his scarred face. “You should have been…” He forced the words that had echoed in his mind for so many days and nights to come past the sobs. “you should have been Obi-Wan’s Padawan.”

He felt the shock from her in the Force, felt it ebb and flow out like a wave before her features softened. “I survived,” Her tone was measured, he saw the truth in the words she spoke next before she gave them life. “because I had Anakin Skywalker as my teacher. If not for the lessons you taught me, I would be dead.”

A crystalline memory flashed across his mind then. Training halls within the old temple, Droids are too predictable… He saw Clones and stun blasters and a sudden sense of clarity as to what she meant, a sudden clarity of what she had been through.

Rows of graves, helmets on sticks, lightsaber hilts in the snow…

Ahsoka, his-no Anakin’s-Apprentice…she had survived Order 66. He could almost picture it, the way she must have fought the Clones. Rex had been with her…Rex…had she killed him to live? Had he drawn his blaster on her, tried to end her life after fighting by her side, watching her grow up, for years? Rex…his-no Anakin’s-captain…he had found his grave, hadn’t he? Why couldn’t he remember?

He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a wheeze, and before he knew it he was doubled over coughing, choking on air. Ahsoka grabbed at his shoulders, steadying him, he could hear her asking questions rapid fire in a way that even through the coughing his mind registered the persistence of memory triggered by her voice. Oh how he had missed her.

“Your mask!” She exclaimed, reaching for it from his slacking hands. “You need this to help you breathe, don’t you? Here.” And her hands fumbled with the latches, lifting it up and over his head where it sealed him shut once more with a hiss of sterile air. At once, the coughing stopped and Vader breathed easier.

She took a step or two back, regarding him and he realized in that moment he still knew her well enough to register the fear she tried to hide.

“Ahsoka.” He reached out, his voice altered through the vocorder. He expected her to pull away, to flinch in fear as so many did. But she held her ground.

“It’s okay.” She said at last. “It’s okay. We will figure this out. Together.”

Vader wondered when the last time he had heard such hope, such conviction from anyone other than Luke or Mara was. He tried not to let the despair smother him. “It may be too late for me.”

“It’s not.” Ahsoka shook her head hard enough her Lekku shook slightly with it. “We are going to figure this out together, Skyguy.”

“Can I still call you Snips?” He didn’t dare hope to dream of such a possibility before. But right now, standing here in a cargo bay so familiar to another one now lost to time, one could almost forget the years and the hurt.

Something seemed to break and be reborn in Ahsoka all at once, hearing that name from one she never thought to hear it from again spoken this side of the living Force. “Yeah, yeah you can.”

There was still a lot to be discussed. Over a decade of hurt could not be swept away in a moment. Even so finally, the cracks in Vader’s armor had taken their hold until whole chunks of black metal were dissolving into nothing around him. What was left underneath wasn’t quite Anakin Skywalker anymore. Perhaps it never would be again. But in this moment, hearing her call him Skyguy, knowing that his son, his precious son, was safe in the next room, and that Mara, brave Mara, would also be safe soon and that the children would in fact have their teacher, and that maybe, just maybe, he could have his little sister again in all of this, he was beginning to believe that the person below that armor, had the right to live too, not just Vader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They took Ahsoka with them back to Naboo on a bright, sunny day when the summer had drenched the shoreline of the lake in all of its warmth. Ahsoka had looked about her in wonder as Luke gave her the tour of the beautiful gardens and house where the child of her former mentor had essentially grown up.

It was with tears in her eyes though that she stopped in front of a painting. She knew it at once to not be an original. Such priceless pieces were kept in the palace in Theed. But it wasn’t just that point that told her this was not an original. This painting was not formal enough. There was no thick makeup or elaborate hair. Chocolate curls were left loose, flowing in a cascade over a dress the color of sunsets on the lake. Her smile was as effervescent as she remembered and the artist had captured her eyes so perfectly, Ahsoka felt for a moment that they could have almost been the real thing staring back at her.

“Father had it made.” Luke spoke up quietly from behind her, noticing her pause at the painting hung in the study by Luke’s own work bench. “Had it commissioned off of one of his own archived pictures. He says it’s a good enough likeness.”

Ahsoka heard the hope in that young voice, though she could also hear in the words Luke omitted that he wanted so very much to sound grown up. At all of sixteen he was too young to appreciate his youthfulness but too old to wish to be anything but an adult. So, she humored him and said, “It is a very good likeness.” Turning to face the golden-haired teen, she smiled. “I see her in you. And your father. You are so like them both.”

Luke beamed, Skywalker blue eyes twinkling. “Father says I’m like her too, but…I never had anyone else who knew her. Would you…that is if you don’t mind, tell me more about her sometime?”

And here, Ahsoka couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and grasping his upper arm, to feel and know that he was real, that this was real. She wasn’t sure yet how he would feel about a hug, but this felt like the next best thing. “Of course, she was like the older sister I never had. I would treasure the chance to share my memories with her son.”

A sense of something flickered over the boy then, something not quite grief but deeper than memory. Longing perhaps? “If she was like your sister, that would make you my Aunt, wouldn’t it?”

Ahsoka met his level gaze, feeling out the tangle of emotions around him in the Force, a deep longing and grief but scabbed over and well bandaged. Whatever memory hung heavy for Luke in his words was formed by a wounded bandaged and tended some time ago despite the fact it still bled sometimes. “We weren’t really blood you know.” She gave him the out he didn’t need but she felt the need to extend nonetheless, with a half-smile.

Luke shook his head. “Family is more than blood. I love Mara, but she’s not related by blood.”

“Not like a sister either.” Ahsoka couldn’t help but tease. She had suspected after hearing the way he talked about her. And now seeing his ears and cheeks turn bright red, she felt a warmth blossoming in her chest. Chuckling, she let it go. “I would be honored to be your Aunt, if you’ll have me.”

Luke just grinned back at her, that mop of blonde hair flopping in his eyes. “Alright then, Aunt Ahsoka.”

A quiet fell between them and Ahsoka knew it was her place to break it. “I suppose I owe you an explanation. I am not sure if you recall, but Malachor was not the first time we met.”

Luke huffed, “Like I could forget almost being kidnapped.” But his words held no heat, just an acknowledgement of what happened. Ahsoka knew in that moment he had come to peace with it in his own way.

“I-” Ahsoka continued, a bit unsteadily. “I was trying to save you.”

He studied her, prolonging the quiet, giving her room to say what was needed.

 You see…” taking a deep breath, she continued in the only way she knew how. “I had a friend before and…well he was a lot like you.” She took one of her sabers in her hands, studying it where it sat cradled in her palm. “We fought together, side by side through war. I would have gone to the end of the galaxy for him and he for me. And we did on occasion, there was no lengths we wouldn’t go to save the other.” She let out a huff of air. “But there was a darkness in him, one I didn’t let myself see. One I should have seen. We…grew apart in those days. I…I left him when he needed me most. When the war ended…when we were so close to peace at last, I thought maybe…” she shook her head, closing her eyes. “Then I felt his light go dark and well…I thought he was gone. In those first years, I can’t say there was much I wouldn’t have done to change that.”

Turning back to Luke, she smiled a sad smile, she continued. “So I thought maybe, if I could help his son, save him from that darkness that I couldn’t spare my friend from, then…then life could be okay again. That the darkness would fade just a little and some of the brightness would return. Maybe that way, I could finally sleep at night again.”

Luke was quiet, not judging not angry, not any of the emotions she thought she deserved. Instead, he spoke quietly into the storm that had been her thoughts for so long now. “You wanted absolution. You didn’t understand that I was safe, loved. I can’t hold that against you. Force, in your shoes I probably would have done the same thing.”

Ahsoka felt her shoulders slump as she closed her eyes against the warmth of his gaze. How was it he was so compassionate, growing up in the Empire as he had?

“But Mara was hurt, she was shot by one of the men there. I thought she was going to die.” Now there was the fire Ahsoka remembered in another voice, another friend. “So if you ever start thinking like that again, put us in a position like that without looking at all the angles, I can’t promise the same understanding. The past is the past, none of us died that time. And even so…I’d like to be your friend, just…don’t pull something like that again. I know my life is…dangerous at best, I know the line I walk.” Here was a quiet strength, not the fire she knew in a knight or the passion she recalled from a senator, this was something all his own. It was a kindness, a warmth…a radiance.

He continued on. “The Force has not abandoned us yet, it can’t have. Look at how far we’ve come. Somehow…I can’t explain it…but something tells me that I know we will be fine, and…” she felt him lean against her shoulder, there before the picture in the study, gently reassuring her that he was there and alive and whole. Not one with the darkness, but wholly in the light. “I know it’s light you’ll find.”

Ahsoka opened her eyes again, nodding, letting the wisdom from such a young age settle over her. “Yeah, I think…I think I’m starting to see that now.”

Luke relaxed nodding, holding out his hand for hers. “Friends then?”

“Friends.” She replied, taking his hand in hers. And they walked arm and arm out of the study.

“You’re a good kid.” She said, looking over at him and meaning every word. This kid who had been the product of a forbidden love some would say doomed to fail, raised in the heart of darkness, and yet he still radiated a warmth and a light Ahsoka had not felt in years.

“Thanks.” Was all he said with a bright sunshine smile. Things really were going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was not even a day before Ahsoka’s comm pinged and she recognized Kanan’s codes instantly. She thumbed to answer it and soon his familiar voice filled the dining room where she sat with Luke and Vader both.

“Phantom to Fulcrum, ident please.”

Ahsoka entered her ident codes from memory, but before Kanan could continue, a younger voice, Ezra’s voice, piped up. “What was the first thing you said when you met our crew?”

Ahsoka laughed a little but couldn’t help Ezra’s caution. He was a child raised in a war, as had she been once upon a time. She understood him in ways she doubted he understood himself and she hoped he never had to. “The protocol has changed.” She replied and heard a sigh of relief over the comm.

“Where are you, we are coming to get you.” Kanan was back now, and she could hear Ezra protest at the comm being taken from him in the background.

Ahsoka glanced to Vader, who nodded at her and she answered. “Naboo, I am transmitting coordinates now.” And with a few clicks she did.

“Hey, wait a minute, my turn.” Luke was suddenly up and scrambling, leaning over Ahsoka’s shoulder and speaking into the comm. “Is Mara there? I want to speak to my friend.”

A few moments of silence later and a clear girl’s voice came over the comm. “I’m here, Luke, you can calm down now.”

Luke’s eyes held a worry to them beyond his years, one hand clutching the back of Ahsoka’s chair, the other braced on the table. “What’s your nickname for me?”

Ahsoka could almost hear the eye roll over the comm. “Farmboy. And I am fine.”

Luke sighed, visibly deflating.

A shuffling sound was heard over the comm and then Kanan was back. “Ahsoka, we can be there by the end of the Naboo standard day. Hang tight.”

“To quote your friend over there.” Ahsoka replied, “I’m fine.”

“Good, stay that way. We’re coming.”

And with that, the comm ended.

Chapter Text

Vader, Luke, and Ahsoka were out to greet the Phantom as it landed on a grassy rise a little ways from the house. Luke was bouncing on the soles of his feet as they watched the small ship land, a nervous anticipation radiating from him.

The ramp descended and out came Kanan first, and Ahsoka had to stifle a gasp at the sight of him. His mask was gone, and despite a long scar over his eyes, and the way he seemed to wince in the bright light of the setting sun, he seemed fine. But most importantly, he seemed able to see as he scanned the surrounding countryside for possible threats before landing on her with visible relief. Ahsoka was sure his eyesight was gone for good. Thank the Force for such miracles. She would need to ask him what had happened.

Then came Ezra, sticking close to Kanan and looking for all the world like he was ready to leap into combat at a moment’s notice.

Finally, then came Mara and Luke bolted as soon as he saw her. The feeling was mutual because she rushed down the ramp, a firecracker trail of red gold flying behind her, and met him halfway. The two melded into a hug so tight it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

In that moment, Ahsoka was reminded of the moment the two of them had jumped down between her and Vader, how they moved like they were one person, how they had grabbed each other’s hands, how they seemed to draw strength from each other.

“Are you hurt?”

“Are you okay?”

 They both asked at once and were suddenly talking a mile a minute.

“When you jumped in front of your father like that, you were so brave.”

“I can’t believe you faced off against a Jedi like that.”

“But you talked him down.”

“But you gave yourself up so we could get out of there in time.”

“I can’t believe we did that!”

And they were laughing with tears in their eyes all the while.

“Uh, is this normal?” Ezra asked under his breath coming to stand beside her.

But before Ahsoka could answer that she had no idea, Vader spoke up. “They are each other’s best friend. And what they did that night was not something they had ever done before. Even at their young ages, they have faced much. What they both did scared the other. Let them have this.”

Ahsoka hadn’t really thought about what the day before had meant for Luke. He had drawn a saber on his father, a girl he obviously cared for had put herself in the hands of potentially hostile strangers, and they were now harboring rebels in his family home. And yet, even in all of that, he had been kind to her.

As soon as they began, they finished and, Mara’s hand in his own, Luke turned towards the other new arrivals. “Thank you for not hurting my friend. I’m Luke Skywalker, it’s nice to meet you.”

Kanan gave a small, guarded smile. For all of Luke’s charm, he was still the Imperial Heir. “Thank you for not hurting mine.”

Ezra crossed his arms, glancing towards Chopper who was trundling his way through the tall grassland. “So, what happens now?”

Vader, looming, shadow stretching and casting long in the setting sun stood next to the two teens who, in the Force in that moment, glittered like ice against Kyber and if Ahsoka didn’t know it before, she knew it then, the Force bond they shared was strong.

Her focus was turned away from the pair as Vader spoke, “Now we plan how to bring down the Emperor.” And in the perfectly dramatic Skyguy fashion she remembered so well, he pivoted with a sweep of his cape to walk back towards the house, leaving them all to follow. Or not.

A moment of silence followed until “Well I’m in.” Ezra said with a grin and a challenge in his voice.

“Ezra!” Kanan exclaimed and they all collectively moved as one to enter the house on the lake shore of Naboo where they sat in a study under a portrait of a woman in a sunset dress with intelligent eyes smiling down on them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They all sat in the study in plush chairs by a warm fire that somehow managed to be cozy even in the midst of high summer. Vader sat in the armchair nearest the window, hands steepled before his dark mask, a cup of tea sat on the side table next to him, untouched, with curls of steam rising lazily from it. Kanan was in the armchair opposite Vader, glaring at him over the rim of his own tea cup. Ezra meanwhile was trying to drink the drink too soon, causing him to cough at odd intervals from a sofa he shared with Ahsoka next to Kanan’s armchair.  Luke had taken his preferred seat, an ottoman by the fire with Mara perched on the other side not occupied by him, leaning against each other as they sipped their own cups of tea.

“Okay.” Ezra, never one for the quiet and ever the one to break the silence, obliged them by doing so again. “Having tea with literal Darth Vader and the Imperial Heir was not on my to do list for this year, just saying.” And here he threw a glance towards Luke “no offense.”

Luke just smiled, shrugging. “None taken.”

“So, what exactly do you have in mind.” Kanan asked, setting his cup and saucer aside. “I’m assuming you don’t plan on me and the Rebellion moving into your family home. And if you think we are joining the Empire I want to stop you right there, it’s not going to happen.”

Vader tilted his helmeted head, red lenses looking almost blood like in the light of the fire. “I assumed a former Jedi apprentice would have been overjoyed to grow their dwindling Order with two powerful students.”

Kanan stiffened at the mention of the Order. Laying a hand on Ezra’s forearm where it rested on the sofa arm rest beside him said, “I already have a student.”

Ezra smiled up at his teacher. But not before turning his eyes to his teacup, a sense of self-awareness and wisdom that seemed beyond his years and previously shown attempts at bravado overcame him in the Force. “Kanan, he’s right. Not that I think he went about all of this the right way. But the galaxy needs more Jedi. If we can help them.” And here he nodded to Luke and Mara where they sat with their backs to the flames. “Isn’t it our duty, not just as Jedi, but as Rebels?”

Now it was Ahsoka’s turn to sigh, shifting in her seat. “Your apprentice speaks wisely. But you have a point, Kanan. This won’t be easy.” And now she turned her attention to Vader. “You and I both know, probably better than anyone else here, that training takes time. None of us can afford to leave the Rebellion to devote all of our time to teaching. Therefore we cannot teach them in the Empire.”

“Are you suggesting we…defect?” Mara asked, hands white knuckled on her saucer, green eyes flashing something like excitement tempered by hesitation and disbelief.

“It’s only defecting if you’re currently pro Empire, isn’t it, if not, you’re just deep cover Rebels.” Ezra supplied almost too happily for the guarded look on Mara’s face.

“We’ve been Rebels then for a while I guess.” She said quietly and Luke put down his own cup to take her free hand in both of his.

“I will not let my son go, not if there is another way.” Vader interrupted the tense quiet before it could fully form again. “Nor do I believe it would be wise to let Mara go with you. They need to be trained so that they can be safe. But as the Imperial Heir and an agent of the Empire, their presence in your numbers would put a target on your back that even I could not dissuade.”

Kanan settled back in his seat. “So, it would appear we are at an impasse then.”

In the Force, a palpable shift could be felt, Vader paused, seeming to contemplate his next words carefully before he spoke, sizing up the man before him. “What if I told you there was a way to train them within the Empire without leaving the Rebellion?”

Ezra scoffed but beside him Kanan became very still. “I would say your Sith powers are great indeed, allowing one the ability to be in two places at once.”

To anyone that knew him well, they could hear the smile in Vader’s voice as he responded with words almost like a threat. “That is exactly what I am offering, Jedi Knight.”

“I don’t follow.” Ahsoka interjected. “What is it that you are offering us?”

“Thanks to your exploits on Malachor and the past year, the Fortress Inquisitorius stands nearly empty. Only a handful of Inquisitors remain, an of them none are of the caliber or…shall we say inclination…you may have faced before. They can be taught to be powerful agents of the Rebellion if it is your wish. Their base could become yours.” Vader spoke the words with a lethal level of calm and composure.

“What!” Ezra exclaimed, his cup and saucer tumbling to the floor and spilling tea across hardwood and plush carpets alike.

“You can’t be serious.” Kanan’s eyes sparked fire. “We’ve been doing everything in our power all year to stay out of that place.”

Ahsoka though, was deep in thought. “The base has other Imperials stationed there, administrators and technicians. What about them?”

Vader shrugged. “I am in the habit of seeing those on staff there rotated out frequently. It would not be strange to do so again. And,” here he let a bit of humor sneak into his voice. “no one would notice if those that wore the Imperial uniforms were Rebels or not.”

“Ahsoka, no.” Ezra turned to her, head shaking as he waved his hands in the negative before him. “Think about this, it would never work. We would literally be in the heart of the Empire.”

“No,” Mara spoke up, jade green eyes shining with excitement and that distant look that Luke knew to mean she was forming a strategy. Luke felt her leaning into the Force, her conscious pressing into the ice as she liked to call it. “no this could work. The Emperor never checks up on that place. He hates the Inquisitors and leaves them to you.” She said the last part to Vader. “He would never have any reason to suspect if it was turned into a Rebel base.”

“And,” Luke piped up beside her. “if you do replace all the support staff with rebels, it couldn’t be a trap. You would outnumber any Imperials we tried to place there, which we wouldn’t, by at least twenty to one.”

“You would,” Vader continued, “control the base for yourselves. It would no longer be under any form of Imperial command or control.”

Kanan blinked, running a hand across his scarred eyes. “And we would what? Run missions out of there? Train other Force users there?”

Vader replied cooly. “You may do with it whatever you like, its weapons, ships, armory, defenses, all of it would be yours. As long as you train my son and Mara as Jedi.”

Ahsoka breathed in a deep, steadying breath. “You are offering us a base, the resources of the Empire, all of it, just to train these two?”

“And one day I would ask that when we go to fight the Empire, your Rebels would be there.” Vader finished. “That is my offer.”

“It sounds too good to be true.” Kanan shook his head, but on his face he wore a small, hesitant but hopeful smile. “This has to be some sort of trap. You do realize we would have access to all of the resources of the Inquisition if you did this?”

Luke was grinning, absolutely beaming. A happiness radiating from him in the Force that was contagious. “Not just that. You are all Force users. Put on a set of Inquisitor robes and use their ident codes and you can go anywhere in the galaxy, finding other Force sensitives and rescuing them from right under the Emperor’s nose. You would even be free to train anyone you find, claiming you are training new Inquisitors.”

Mara let out a little laugh at that. “And you would be doing it all technically above board. Just the term Inquisitor would have changed from a Dark Sider to a Light Sider.”

Ezra seemed to grasp what that meant. “It always felt like they never ran out of ships or fuel or anything when they were chasing us. They could go anywhere they wanted on to any Empire base. It could all be ours?”

“Yes.” Vader replied. “The Fortress and all that goes with it, would be given over to the Rebellion.”

Kanan nodded, fingers drumming the armrest, and by the look in his eyes they all could tell plans within plans were forming there. “We would need to be careful. Anyone in on this would need to be only those we trusted with the highest level of trust. We couldn’t risk any Imperial spies finding out about this.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard.” Ahsoka replied, settling into her Fulcrum mode as most of the Ghost crew liked to call it. “Most of Chopper Base is already vetted and there are enough there to staff a place like the Fortress.”

Kanan pulled out his comm, already fiddling with the controls. “We cannot make this decision unilaterally. We will need to contact the rest of our crew and the other Rebels back at base. But if they are in…”

Ezra grabbed at his master’s arm, “Kanan, this could be a way to rebuild the order.”

A chill seemed to sweep through the room as Vader stood at the boy’s words. “Rebuild it better.” His gaze landed on Ahsoka. “You know that of which I speak.”

And with that he left the study.

“What does he mean?” Ezra asked, glancing between Kanan and Ahsoka.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, shoulders sagging. “He means that the Order had its flaws. They were blinded by how closely they held to the code.”

Kanan looked away, towards the fire, eyes skirting over Luke and Mara whom he seemed to have forgotten were still there, that they hadn’t left with Vader. “The code…the code it was something we lost our way with, in the war. It was ultimately what blinded the Jedi and led to our own demise.”

Now it was Ezra, Mara, and Luke who shared a look, mirrored confusion on all their faces as they turned back to the older Jedi and spoke almost as one in a way that would have caused the others to laugh if their question wasn’t so jarring.

“What’s the code?”

Kanan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Ahsoka just blinked a few times, eyes wide as she said “Did we really forget to teach Ezra that?”

“Is it like the Sith rule of two or something?” Mara asked. “Because if it is, that’s going to make this arrangement pretty hard.”

“The code was something the Jedi lived by.” Kanan continued at last. “It contained many things, like not hurting the innocent, standing up to injustice. But it also but boundaries on relationships. In later years the Jedi council grew afraid and interpreted it as meaning a Jedi should never know love.”

Ezra shook his head in disbelief. “That’s…okay that’s actually really messed up. What about you and H-”

But Kanan swiftly cut him off. “It was a flaw that the Jedi paid for with their lives. It is a mistake the galaxy still pays the price for.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Because without the Jedi, there were none to oppose the Sith.”

“But you can fix that now.” Luke said quietly, standing up, glowing like a star in the light of the fire.

Mara nodded, rising to stand beside him. “He’s right, this could be a new dawn for the Jedi, for all of you.”

A kindness filled Kanan’s eyes as he took in the boy before him, the child of the man he thought had tried to kill his family, this teenager filled with the Light that shone through his eyes. And the girl, the one who claimed the Emperor as her teacher and sensed of cautious hope in the Force, the girl who had healed his eyes and wielded the Light like his own Sabine wielded a paintbrush, with elegance and with art.

“It is a new dawn for all of us, young Jedi.” He said rising to his feet as Ahsoka and Ezra did the same, and motioned the two newest Rebels in the group forward to stand and fill in the circle formed on one side by outcast Jedi and on the other by secret rebels. But all of them stood, children of the Light and of the Force.

And a warmth of light and life filled the room as it hadn’t done in a generation. For in so many years, there had not been so many followers of the Light in one place before. It felt like a beginning, it felt like a promise, it felt like home, but most importantly, it felt like hope.

Chapter Text

Of course the Rebels couldn’t stay on Naboo to make their decision. As Kanan had said, they had to return and get consensus from the other rebels back at their base. But Ahsoka, before boarding the Phantom, gave Anakin one more promise.

“Whatever they decide, I will be back. Luke and Mara will have their teacher as best as I can do it.”

Vader took the tentative hand she outstretched, a peace offering. It wasn’t a hug like they had shared in the cargo bay of the Solar Sunrise. They hadn’t hugged since then and both knew there was much still to sort out. Even so, with an outstretched hand and a promise given freely, Ahsoka had extended the first olive branch that they both knew would be the foundation upon which they built their relationship moving forward. They weren’t Master and Padawan anymore after all. Even so, all that history still was there. And with the former bond not quite gone but changed, there remained only one thing they could be to each other. Family, as they really truly always had been. A brother and sister, in all ways but blood.

“So…” Mara spoke as she watched with her left hand shielding her eyes as the shuttle launched into the rising sun. “What are we going to tell the Emperor?”

That was something Vader had spent the better part of last night pondering. “He surely sensed the turmoil from both of us these past few days. What you tell him is up to you.”

Mara glared at him under the sun, “Our stories will need to match. We will raise suspicion if they don’t”

Stars help him, this girl. She was as stubborn as anything. “I intend to tell him that Ahsoka is dead. That I killed her in my anger for…for her abandoning me.” It hurt to say it out loud, as he knew it was closer to the truth than anyone here would like to admit. “I will say the two Jedi were captured and I will be going to the Fortress Inquisitorious to personally oversee their turning.”

“Except,” now it was Luke who spoke up as they walked back towards the house, hands in his pockets and sun at his back. “the Jedi in question just left on a shuttle off planet.”

Vader shrugged, “The Emperor will hardly care to check and if he does I can always claim they died in the process of turning Inquisitor. It has been known to happen.”

He felt the sharp uptick of distress in the Force at his words, coming from his left where Mara walked through the long grass, her eyes averted, her hands clenched. “I won’t actually turn them, you know that.” He spoke gently. He often forgot how the Inquisitors had been used to fuel Mara’s own fear of him and push her closer to the Emperor.

“I know.” She said quietly, not meeting his gaze.

They were in the house now, the quiet of the carpeted hall enveloping them. Vader felt the gravity of that moment and knew then that another matter he had been contemplating was the right call to make after all. Taking off his helmet, he turned so that he was standing in front of both teenagers and met their gaze. “What if I promised you that the Inquisitors would never be ordered to hurt anyone ever again?”

“I thought you already promised that?” Luke asked confused.

Mara said nothing.

Vader sighed and pressed onwards. “You are sixteen now, my son. And sixteen is an important age, one that requires a special gift. But not just a gift, a responsibility. If you will take it, I name you Grand Inquisitor of the Fortress Inquisitorious, charged with safeguarding the people against Force users.” It was an old saying he had instigated years ago but now, saying it to Luke, it held a much different meaning in his heart.

Luke’s eyes bulged wide as if they meant to fall clean out of his head. Mara’s mouth actually hung partially open. He had managed to surprise them both and that brought to him no small measure of satisfaction.

“Me, Grand Inquisitor?” Luke spoke the words like he couldn’t quite believe them. Perhaps he couldn’t.

Mara crossed her arms, eyeing Vader with that hopeful disbelief that Vader had come to realize if Mara was giving him that look at the same time Luke was smiling then he must be doing something right. “You’d do that? You would just hand the Inquisitors over to Luke?”

And now it was Vader’s turn to smile. “Yes, without a moment’s hesitation.”

The next moment and Vader didn’t have time to think as he suddenly had his arms full of teenage Luke, who was hugging him like a Mon Cala Octopus. “I’m going to take such good care of them, I promise I won’t let you down.”

Vader just closed his eyes, smiling, letting his cheek rest on the top of his son’s golden hair. When had he gotten so tall? “I know you will do so well, my son.” And then he did one more slightly unexpected thing, he uncurled one of his arms from around Luke and held it open, a silent offering of peace for a fear so long held.

And perhaps to his surprise, he felt the hesitant at first, but returning hug of Mara, a group hug that seemed to be the beginning and the end of so much. Perhaps it was because their Secret Rebellion was no longer just the three of them. They had allies now, or at least the start of allies. Perhaps it was the dawning of the age they all felt in the Force at this alliance. But perhaps it was also the fact that the children who had once known only fear were now beginning to know peace, even in war and at long last the terror of the Inquisitors over the galaxy was finally coming to an end.

Hugging his children close, even Vader allowed the peace to settle deep within his soul. They were together and they were not alone.

For this moment, there was peace for the three founding members of the Secret Rebellion. Now Rebels in full of the System’s Alliance.

Even without the Rebels’ official agreement, Vader felt, with one arm around his son and the other around the girl that, for all intents and purposes, had become his daughter, that for the first time since he had found Luke on that desert planet that everything was really truly going to be okay. One way or another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, Mara and Vader made their separate reports from their respective rooms in the Lake House.

“I killed the apprentice of Skywalker. She would never have joined us. She would have left me as she did Skywalker.”

“Luke would have gone after his father alone after seeing how upset he was. I was on Malachor to protect him.”

“The two Jedi are already on their way to the Fortress Inquisitorious.”

“I saw him kill the Togruta named Tano and take the two humans into custody.”

“Yes, your Hand was there.”

“Luke was shaken by what he saw.”

“She was distressed about the Inquisitors.”

“Nothing else happened.”

“No other Rebels showed up in the fight.”

The Emperor had smiled as he spoke to Vader, pleased and not a little pleasantly surprised to hear the swift actions of his apprentice. Killing the old apprentice of Skywalker’s was something he had long foreseen in Vader’s future. The fact that it had caused such unrest and turmoil as he had felt these last few days was only an added benefit. But the report he had received earlier from Mara was slightly troubling.

She had gone with the Skywalker boy who had seen his father’s distress and insisted on following him to Malachor. Mara should never have done such a thing without consulting him first. It pleased him to know that the connection between Skywalker and his Hand grew, especially with the plans he had formed for both of them. But this new loyalty was unsettling. Humming to himself, he drummed his fingers on the arm rest of his throne. Perhaps the girl was overdue for a reminder of to whom and where her loyalties lay?

“You will take my Hand with you to Nur to oversee the turning of these two Jedi. See that she understands the process fully.” The Emperor smiled as he cut the transmission with his apprentice, quite pleased with himself.

Of course, Mara could never know he was the one that had ordered this. Fear was a powerful tool but it could so easily turn to hate if one was not careful. However, there was one he would be quite content with her hating if she chose to. So he decided at once that he would not be the one to apparently give the order. He would be her rescuer in the end, as he always had been and all would be as it should. Let her think Vader took her in his anger for her following him to Malachor. Let her think the Emperor thought her safe on Naboo, none the wiser to her leaving for the planet that he had filled her head with fear over for years. Let her hate Vader for this, and in time, let her be grateful to the Emperor for saving her from his apprentice when he would finally, after a few months at least, check in and happen to discover she was not on Naboo. Then he would send for her, and she would be grateful.

He contacted Mara once more after dismissing Vader, telling her kindly that of course he understood, having spoken with Vader, why she had been so unbalanced in the Force and how grateful he was to her for protecting the Imperial Heir from harm, even from his father. It showed such loyalty and strength he told her. He showered her with praise and then even offered her extended time on Naboo. Take weeks, he had offered, months perhaps. Take the time to recover.

And as the connection died, he smiled. Yes, he offered her rest, but ordered Vader to take the girl to Nur. They would leave the coming weeks hating each other all the more. And the Emperor couldn’t stop smiling to himself. Oh how good the power felt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The general consensus of the Rebels that made their way to Nur nearly five days later was no one could believe they were actually doing this. When Kanan and Ezra had come back to Chopper Base, they were greeted with hope and apprehension, fear as to what had delayed them, excitement that they had all returned.

Rex had hugged Ahsoka in a gentle hug that lasted for nearly as long as the group hug the Ghost Crew had.

“What happened, dear?” Hera had asked softly, tracing the scar on his eyes with a feather light touch.

“It’s a long story.” Kanan smiled, taking the back of her hand in his and pressing it into his cheek, relishing in the fact that he could hold her and be with her and see her, the sheer joy of being alive when they had all come so close to almost not being. “I promise I will tell you everything.”

“But right now, we have a report to make.” Ahsoka interrupted and nodded her head in the direction of the base.

There they told all the other rebels everything. It took nearly two hours to calm down the following pandemonium. Everyone had an opinion, most of which echoed Ezra’s earlier fears that this was a trap. But after a time, they began to see the potential that Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka now saw in the situation.

Rebel Command was not so easily convinced though. After nearly a week of deliberations, a compromise was decided upon. They would send half of Chopper Base, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. And if it turned out to be a trap after all, then they would join up with the rest of the fleet and jump out before you could say Loth Cat.

And so that is how the Ghost Crew, plus Ahsoka and Rex, who had had a lengthy talk afterwards in private, the content of said conversation no one knew but them and had left both in tears, on their way to Nur.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this.” Zeb grumbled, checking his weapons for the umpteenth time.

Sabine was even fidgeting slightly, checking and double checking the detonators she had brought.

The planet they now orbited was a whirling blue ball before them. For all accounts it looked almost pretty from orbit. But there was a darkness to it too. However, as the Jedi regarded it, even they could tell that the darkness had faded, like the aftershocks of a storm. The Jedi aboard thought if they looked hard enough they could almost make out a proverbial light starting to emerge from behind the broken, blackened clouds.

They landed in a hangar bay nicer than any they had ever landed in without it being for the purpose of a mission. The facilities were nice, very nice. Hera had remarked, trying to keep spirits up. Afterall, if wonders upon wonders found this place to not be a trap, it could very well be their new home.

Zeb had just growled that Imperial Nice didn’t count as nice.

The hangar though was deserted until the rest of their party started landing too. Even after they had landed safely, none left their ships, not even as Kanan, with Hera’s hands entwined with his, Ahsoka standing in close formation to Rex, and Ezra, who stayed close to Hera and Kanan, descended the ramp.

There to greet them were two figures dressed like the nightmares that had plagued the rebel crew for so long. A tall, lanky form in dark Inquisitor leathers, with a plated helmet covering their face. A slightly shorter figure, standing beside the taller one, also masked with their cape billowing behind him. At the neck of that cloak was pinned a glittering gold pin, the shape of which was barely discernable from this distance.

The taller figure spoke, voice distorted through the helmet. “Welcome to the Fortress Inquisitorious, Rebels.” And here, both figures removed their helmets and there stood Mara and Luke grinning ear to ear, Mara’s red hair shining in the hangar lights, one hand resting on her hip and Luke beside her, an almost laughing joyous look in his eyes as he brought his arm to wrap around her shoulders continued on, voice now clear and free, wholly his own. “I’m Grand Inquisitor Luke Skywalker and this is my second, Inquisitor, Mara Jade. We’re so glad to have you, welcome to your new base, the Fortress Inquisitorious.”

“Don’t mind our cover story.” Mara said, nodding to the helmet in her hand, “this base, the resources, and requisitions lines of it, is all yours.”

Hera was the first to speak, stepping away from Kanan and extending her hand to both of them. “Captain Hera Syndulla. I believe you are the one that healed Kanan’s eyes.” She said to Mara. “And you stopped Vader from killing Ahsoka.” Luke ducked his head, suddenly sheepish under the praise. Hera just smiled at him all the more for it. “Welcome to the Rebellion.”

Luke took her hand in his, all honest smiles and genuine happiness. “Thank you so much for having us, Captain.”

“Both of us.” Mara echoed, and the rebels moved in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t complete smooth sailing. Certain matters had to be attended to first and foremost. It was with solemnity that the Jedi, both older and more recent additions to their number had walked the lowest levels of the Fortress in silence.

Ezra had tears in his eyes, Mara gripped Luke’s hand, face unreadable. Kanan looked to Ahsoka, a heaviness to him as he said what both the oldest Jedi amongst them had been thinking. “We will give them proper burials.”

“At once.” Ahsoka answered. And they did. It was the first act of the new Jedi Order, to lay to rest their fallen after so long.

“Do you think,” Ezra had asked, “we can rebuild from this? There were so many of them.”

Kanan, eye’s transfixed on the pyres they had built was silent for a moment before answering. “There are legends that the old Jedi Temple was built atop a place so dark only so much light could hold it back.”

Ahsoka nodded. “That’s true. And the Light restored that place, even with all of its darkness. The Fortress has seen many dark days indeed.”

Luke, more grim faced than any had every seen him stepped up, “That ends today. You have my word.”

Kanan smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know. We rebuild, starting now. In their memory.” He nodded to towards the pyres.

“And in the hope of a brighter tomorrow. For all of us.” Ahsoka echoed.

And it was so. There was much to mourn, but there was also much to celebrate, as Ahsoka found when she met the head of the Fortress’s medical center. The Mirialan who worked there bore the scars of the harsh lives the Inquisitors had once known, but had taken a shine to Mara ever since the red haired teenager had moved in a few days prior.

She, unlike some of the other remaining Inquisitors, took the change in leadership much more in stride rather than fear and distrust. In Mara, she had found a talented healer who was eager to learn. Which, when Ahsoka went to get Mara for training, is how she met the healer.

“I haven’t been able to reach it in years, but…in the past…I often found tranquility in the Force helped to make sure I didn’t exert more than the necessary Force energy. If you can manage it, you should find yourself less drained in future attempts.” An eerily familiar voice was reciting.

There in the door, she stopped dead in her tracks, there she saw the dark blue eyes rimmed in thick dark lashes, the eyes that last she had seen had looked at her with such hate and yet such remorse, the eyes of her friend.

The datapad, Ahsoka had carried clattered to the floor.

The Mirialan woman went very still, causing Mara to glance up at her. “Barriss?” She asked, glancing between the two women.

Barriss began to shake, starting in her hands until it traveled to her arms and then the rest of her, her legs no longer being able to hold her upright. Before Mara could react or even think, Ahsoka darted across the room and caught the other woman as she fell, and then both were sobbing, both were clinging to each other.

Mara had seen similar reactions from the other remaining Inquisitors, the few that there were, who realized that all the pain, all the torture, it was finally over. But this seemed different. Barriss had been kind to her, though a heavy shroud of regret always seemed to settle over the woman that, in the last few days, had become her teacher. Now though, that shroud seemed to lift, like the burning away of the morning fog.

“Force forgive me, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Barriss choked into Ahsoka’s shoulder.

Ahsoka fared little better. “It’s alright, I’m alive, I promise I’m alive, it’s alright.” Ahsoka’s eyes found Mara’s a silent question, to which Mara nodded and quietly stood and left the room. This was a conversation not meant for her, and she could only hope it would bring peace to the former Inquisitor in some small way.

As Mara exited the medical bay, on the day the Rebels moved in, she thought to herself, yes, the darkness was strong here, but even the smallest point of light could chase back the shadows. And with each step she took, the old grey walls, the darkness that seemed to cling to them, felt just a little weaker. That pin prick of brilliance would grow, until there was nothing left but the luminous brightness.

And that is how they would win, as Rebels, as Jedi.

Chapter Text

Vader didn’t want to see him. He didn’t. He didn’t need to. He didn’t need to see anyone at the Fortress. Not really, which was fine. He was just here to check on Luke and Mara. Mara and Luke had been there about a week and were settling into their roles of Grand Inquisitor and Intelligence well, or so the messages Luke sent said. But the messages also said something else, something the dark caped figure tried not to think about as he stalked silently through the dimmed halls of the Fortress’s night cycle.

He kept away from the Fortress, he…he wasn’t needed here. Luke and Mara had it in hand. He trusted the Jedi to keep their word and not to hurt his children. Even so…even so…memories that he had not allowed himself to touch in years flitted through his mind. Laughter, planning…brotherhood. Voices that had to some sounded all the same but he could pick out in startling clarity when they whispered in his dreams like cruel, mocking specters.

Then there had been Luke’s letter.

Things are going well here. Oh, one of the rebels, a Captain Rex, showed me how to use a blaster today. He keeps asking about you. Did you two know each other?

Vader hadn’t answered that. Luke hadn’t asked again.

Rex…of course Rex was alive. He hadn’t found any trace of him after the fallen venator, the helmets on sticks and helmets in snow. But Ahsoka had survived even when he had thought she was dead. So why shouldn’t Rex have survived too?

And of course Ahsoka would tell him who Vader truly was…under that armor…who she thought he was anyways.

So why did Rex ask Luke about him?

He knew Ahsoka, with the heart of a Jedi for forgiveness and compassion, had understood. Well…understood might have been too strong a word. She had forgiven, and that was more than he could ever have hoped for.

But Rex was a soldier, a good soldier, one of the best. And Vader…Vader saw the rise of an Empire that had destroyed his brothers. For years, Vader had not been able to look for the Clones, every time he heard those voices in the early years, every time he saw the familiar helmet, all he could see were the blank Force signatures of his men as they marched on the temple. Eventually, he had stopped looking for them…and when he had again, he hadn’t found anyone. He could have pushed, used his resources to find what remained of the 501ist, but what was the point? Torment himself more than he already did?

So he had stopped looking.

Surely Rex knew, surely, he had heard what the rest of his brother, his legion, had done, what Vader had made them do.

Ahsoka had forgiven him as a Jedi.

Rex was a soldier.

He could only think of one reason Rex would be asking Luke about him. He wanted to do what good soldiers did, protect their squad. And he knew Rex had seen the Jedi as part of that squad. And Vader had led Rex’s brothers, his squad by origin, against the Jedi in their own home, his squad by choice.

There could be only one answer.

Rex wanted to kill him.

The thing was, Vader couldn’t even blame him. Would he feel any different in the Clone Captain’s combat boots? He doubted it.

There were a lot of people who would choose revenge on his life if given the chance, Vader knew this and he didn’t condemn them, not anymore. He had done much deserving of it. He didn’t deserve Ahsoka’s forgiveness, despite how she insisted on it over and over. Rex, he knew, would see things more clearly.

He was a soldier, a good soldier. He didn’t just follow orders blindly.

So he skulked through the corridors of the Fortress in its sleep cycle. He would see Luke, see Mara, and then he would be gone.

He didn’t belong here.

He followed the pulse of Luke’s Force signature through the heart of the Fortress, grey walls looming on either side. He heard the laughter before he saw them. It was one of the training Salles, one Vader had no memory of specifically which meant it was likely one that wasn’t used very often back when he had been the fear in the shadows here.

Now the training mats had been piled high and a boy in an orange jacket sat atop a pile of them, eating Montell Mix from a bowl perched on the top of an astromech’s dome who looked none too pleased to be playing side table by the way he used the pincers at the end of his appendages to snap at the boy’s hand every time he went for a handful of the snack.

A girl with colorful hair and a paint brush in hand was working on a vibrant sketch on a datapad before her, back to the door next to the pile of mats. And then there was Luke, eyes shining, as he watched a holoprojector on the far wall where some adventure holo was playing. Mara, red gold hair being absently braided where it lay across Luke’s legs, was asleep, breaths coming in even and deep intervals.

This was a peaceful scene. He had no right to interfere. He…he shouldn’t have come.

Stumbling back down the hall, not even paying attention anymore, he ran smack into a figure rounding the corner.

Something clattered to the floor, many somethings, someone cursed under their breath. That voice, that voice…Vader couldn’t think, could only react, he threw out his hand pushing with the Force, that voice cursed again.

He heard a familiar sound, armor hitting something solid, a wall. He knew that sound and suddenly he wasn’t in the Fortress. He was on Christophsis, or Geonosis, or Mygeeto, or any number of other planets. There was the smell of blaster fire and cries in the night and oh why wouldn’t it stop?

“General?” A voice from another age said. It had been years, but he knew that voice, that voice that others said was identical to thousands of others, who could tell the difference?

I can. Said a tiny voice from somewhere deep in his heart, somewhere that remembered a time when he had heard such voices every day and knew them each by name.

He couldn’t see, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe.

“General Skywalker.” The voice said again.

“Leave me!” He cried at the voice, “Haunt someone else.”

“Hey Rex, everything okay out here?” It was a girl’s voice, not his Mara’s, no this was that Mandalorian, the artist, he thought distantly, the one from the Ghost ship. He heard an edge to her voice, he heard the shift in the song of the Force about her, hand twitching for a blaster, a half step being taken back.

He didn’t belong here.

He heard the voice again. “Yeah kid, it’s alright. Go back to the others. I’ll be there in a little while.”

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, echoed in his heart. Footsteps, marching, always marching, climbing the stairs of the temple, they wouldn’t stop, a part of him screamed for them to stop, why wouldn’t they stop? Around him, he was distantly aware of the sense of metal. Metal. Tin…clankers. Droids.

His hands clenched into fists, he heard the sound of creaking metal.

A hand rested on his shoulder, guiding him to sit against a far wall. “Easy now General.” The voice was saying. “The fights over for now. We got them.”

He blinked at that, looking up, eyes darting, something sticky hit his gloves. He saw the source of the creaking metal, the tin. Not droids. Cans of…was that soda? His son…watching an adventure holo with snacks. The voice…they must have been bringing soda. The voice…

His eyes looked up, and there, kneeling a little bit in front of him, helmet off, face older than he had ever seen it, a white beard framing a lined face, but the eyes, the eyes were the same. He knew those eyes.

Rex.

A part of his heart melted in relief. His captain was here, and that meant that they were okay. The droids hadn’t gotten them today. He should comm Ahsoka, make sure…make sure what?

He…he wasn’t in the Clone Wars anymore? Was he?

“It’s alright, General.” His captain was saying, voice soft as he had once heard that voice talk to cadets and shinies. “We got them, it’s alright now.”

“Ah-Ahsoka.” He choked, not even sure why. He wasn’t at war, he knew this, not that war anyways and Ahsoka was far from his responsibility anymore. Even so…even so…

“The commander is safe, sir.” Rex continued and he was talking in a low, steady voice. “It was a tough battle…but we made it through…you should be proud of her, she saved my life and… and…”

The voice continued, the voice of his captain and he listened to it as he talked, low and steady, letting the voice guide him through the combat zone of his mind.

At last, he realized where he was…who he was with.

Rex.

A good soldier.

Rex, who wanted to kill him.

His shoulder’s slumped. So be it then. If it would grant his old friend some measure of peace.

“You with me, General?” Rex was asking, he still sat, back to the other wall across from Vader.

Vader was silent for some time, studying the older face of his friend. What was he waiting for?

“Get on with it.” He rasped.

“Sir?” Rex asked, eyes creasing.

“You’re a good soldier.” Vader said and he saw Rex stiffen at those words as if preparing for a blow. Vader delivered. “Take your revenge for your brothers.”

“What?” Now Rex was blinking, shaking his head. “What in all the kriffing hells are you talking about? Uh…Sir.”

Now it was Vader’s turn to sit stunned by the words. Did Rex need him to explain it? What cruel joke was this?

“Surely you know…Captain. What I did to your men, your brothers, surely you heard the tale of the 501st and how they brought…glory…to the Empire.”

A darkness passed over that familiar face, eyes clouding. “What was done at the temple was an atrocity undeserving of even that kind a name.” He said and Vader stilled. Yes, this would be the moment, Rex would never understand, as he knew he wouldn’t.

“An atrocity on all sides.” Rex continued, “My brothers would never have betrayed their Jedi, not without a choice.”

“I didn’t give them one.” Vader let what he was sure was the final knife slide between his friend’s ribs, piercing his heart.

But of all the wonders, Rex’s eyes just softened. “So you’re telling me you’re the emperor then, sir? Because forgive the insubordination, you don’t have near enough wrinkles or hooded cloak to be that sleemo.”

Vader choked what might have been a laugh or gasp of shock, he wasn’t sure which. Did…did Rex not know it was him that marched on the temple…not the Emperor?

“I led them.” He said, “It was me that led them into the temple that night.”

Rex nodded, not the look of shock he had expected, not the look of horror. Just acceptance, like he had known for years. “But you didn’t give the order. You…you weren’t the one that…that…” Rex looked as if he could barely say the words, like they were poison in his throat. “That gave the order for Order 66.”

Vader blinked, stunned, thinking for a moment he had lost his ability to comprehend basic. “What is Order 66?”

Rex’s shoulders slumped, he sagged against the wall, rubbing his hand along his temple where, for the first time, Vader noticed a long white scar. “The order given to all the Clone army. Execute Order 66.” He said the words like a mournful recitation for the dead. “It…it activated the control chips in every clone, the one…the one Fives tried to warn us about…back in the day. We should have listened.” Rex shook his head, eyes clenching shut against the memory, before opening again and meeting the blood red lenses of Vader’s helmet. “The men that followed you…it wasn’t their choice. And I believe that the man they followed, my General, wouldn’t have led them in if he had thought he had any other choice either.”

This…this was too much…too much. Control Chips…Fives…oh Force and all things sacred…Fives! Was it really control chips? It suddenly all made sense. The blankness from his men, the way they had reflected nothing but a dark emptiness in the Force as they had gunned down masters and younglings alike. They hadn’t had a choice…no choice at all…control chips…slave chips.

A memory of a young boy on a sandy planet, a chip binding him to a life of forced servitude. The moment that chip was gone…His men…his men had been treated little better than slaves on Tatooine. They had never even had the choice to try and resist. Their minds were not their own. And he knew exactly what grubby, lightning wielding, gnarled, fingers had their hand in all of it.

A hatred he had felt for his master for years now burned all the deeper in his soul. His men. His men! The Emperor had turned his men into little more than mindless droids! And for what? To destroy the Jedi of course. And he had gone along with it, unquestioning, unfeeling.

But there was one key difference. “I-I didn’t have a chip.” He said quietly to Rex.

Rex sighed, “No, I didn’t think so. But there is more than one way to a control a person. General…you know I knew about…about…about her.” He said at last. “I watched her funeral. She died.”

Vader flinched but Rex went on. “I knew you loved her…loved her more than anything. When it comes down to that, if someone could control that love, it’s little better than having a chip in your head isn’t it?”

Vader’s hands clenched into fists as he realized what Rex’s words meant, what they spelled out, forgiveness, acceptance. But why? Rex as a soldier, he wasn’t supposed to understand. Not like Ahsoka, not like Luke, or Mara, or anyone else. He wasn’t supposed to! “I could have chosen differently.”

Rex nodded slowly. “Perhaps, but perhaps that sleemo Palpatine had his claws so far hooked into your mind that it may as well have been a chip. Either way, I’ve met your son, I’ve seen you make good, teaching him, protecting him and Mara…that’s the General I followed into battle. He’s not gone, not fully.”

Vader felt hot tears sting his eyes, burning under the sharp air of his respirator. “You,” He choked out, “you don’t get to forgive me. You’re a soldier, you understand the darkness of war…you don’t get to offer me this…this mercy.”

Rex shook his head. “I never was a good soldier. Orders and following them…they were a part of life just not a part of me. But I had a good General, he understood well enough not to give me a bad order. You’re still that General, sir. And here’s a little lesson on mercy. You don’t get to decide if you’re worthy of it. That’s up to the giver to decide. And I think I can speak for all my brothers when I say you are.”

Vader’s shoulders shook. The mask felt suffocating, burning tears against his skin. With shaking hands, he ripped it off, it clattered to the floor amidst crushed soda cans and sticky liquid.

Rex remained very still, taking in the scarred face of his General, the yellow eyes rimmed blue, clouded in tears, the lava, the lightning.

Vader felt the shuddering of years in his chest, years of war, loss, combat, suffering, pain he had lived it all, led others through it, and for what? “They are all gone.” He whispered into the hall, all gone, the Jedi, the clones, what was left? A broken excuse of a Sith and an old soldier who wouldn’t avenge his men.

“Not gone, sir.” Rex had come to sit next to him then against the far wall, resting a hand on Vader’s shoulder. “Just marching ahead. We will catch up with them…when it’s time…all of them.”

Vader hoped that that was true, somewhere in the cosmic Force, that there were Jedi laughing and talking, marching ahead with their men who had killed them because they hadn’t had a choice. He hoped they were there, though he had never pictured being there to meet them one day. He didn’t get that kind of peace, that kind of mercy…did he?

The words Rex had said about mercy echoed in his ears. Rex…who had forgiven him. Ahsoka had forgiven him…Luke, and even Mara in her own way, loved him. Who was he to order them to stop? Who was he to tell them what they could and could not feel like some slaver back on Tatooine? And if they could love him, show him mercy…then perhaps…perhaps it must be true. If Rex, Rex who knew it all as a soldier could forgive him, then maybe…maybe he should too.

“Come on sir, I think the only thing keeping your kids from running out here is Sabine. What do you say we go put their minds at ease?” Rex hefted himself to his feet, extending a slightly sticky hand to Vader.

The movie night…his son. “I-I don’t belong here.” Vader thought of the joy and the laugher that didn’t include him.

Rex just shrugged. “Perhaps not, who’s going to ask? Commander Tano will want to see you. You want me to be the one to tell her you left without saying hello?”

The thought of letting Ahsoka down, even a little bit, one more time was physically painful. “I-I’ll stay a little while.”

“Good call, sir.” Rex said, helping Vader to his feet.

Rex…Rex understood mercy. Maybe he wasn’t a good soldier after all. Maybe he was a great one, either way, he was the best that Anakin or Vader alike had ever known.

Chapter Text

“So…you don’t have to go back to the Empire for how long?” Ezra asked from the newly renovated training Salle deep in the Fortress.

“Until Vader declares that the Jedi he captured on Malachor have become proper Inquisitors.” Mara replied from where she sat on the mat opposite the young rebel.

She could practically sense Ezra running his hands through his blue black hair in confusion, even with her eyes closed. “Uh huh, so I take it that means until Kanan and Ahsoka have decided your shields and training are strong enough to really hide yourself in the Force from him?”

Mara peaked through one eye, “Yep. Now come on, we are supposed to be meditating.”

In the Force, she could feel Ezra’s inability to settle back into his mediation and prepared herself for the inevitability of more questions. “So you are supposed to be watching me and Kanan…get tortured…essentially.”

“Essentially.” Mara paused, opening her eyes fully. “I’m going to have to plan to be very emotionally distraught in the Force after this, aren’t I?”

“We can work on one of those Force deflection shields Kanan talked about for that. Something to mirror the emotion.” Luke replied with a sense of calm, eyes still closed with an almost serene look on his face. Outside the window behind him, a large green and grey fish swam by.

“Okay, you do realize just how messed up this all sounds, right?” Ezra stretched, moving his arms above his head to work out the tightness from sitting still for so long.

Mara huffed a breath of air, closing her eyes and settling once more into position, legs crossed, hands resting on the tops of her knees. “It’s been our life for the past, what has it been Luke, 5 years?”

“Only if you don’t count the time before Alderaan.” Luke replied. “Then it’s been closer to six.”

“Karabast, you two have no idea what normal is, do you?”

From the ladder, towering above them, paint brush in hand, Sabine just laughed as she painted a swirl of blue the exact shade of the sky over Lothal against the freshly primed wall. “Yeah, like we’re ones to talk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Rebels moved into the Fortress hesitantly at first. Most slept in their ships for the first week at least and they all carried weapons wherever they went. But not having Vader on the base, not having any Imperials at all save for the two strange teenagers they had been warned about, might have helped smooth things over. And besides, the kids acted more like Rebels than any imperials they had ever met.

In reality, the process of moving in became quite good fun after the initial fear wore off and the darkness began to fade. The techs could not stop gushing over everything from the communications arrays, shield systems, control rooms, and more. Pilots found boxes upon boxes of spare parts of the latest and greatest technology that the galaxy had to offer just there for the taking. The soldiers found the armory and it was like Life Day how they cheered and laughed, overjoyed to have so much supplies at their fingertips protective armor, radios, so many things that would help more of their friends and family come back alive. It was more than they had ever had or could ever have dreamed of.

And the crew of the Ghost took to their new home surprisingly well too. Zeb wasn’t too comfortable being underwater in a former imperial base no less, until he had discovered the training rooms where he could practice his aim and setting up stormtrooper dummies to fight.

Sabine found on every blank imperial grey wall, a fresh canvas for her art. Soon, all save for the upper two levels which were reserved to give the appearance of a normal imperial base, were a riot of colors.

Hera took to organizing the hangars and flight schedules, delighting over all the imperial shuttles and transports they had been left. And the fuel supplies! There was enough to keep the fleet going for months if they were careful.

Chopper had been put in charge of pretty much all the droids in the Fortress and he was most often found happily reprogramming imperial K series droids and astromechs to join his ever growing chaos army, as Ezra and Sabine called it.

Speaking of Ezra, he and Kanan felt the receding darkness and sought to fill it with light. Training Salles where once Inquisitors had faced tortuous training, were now rearranged and filled with practice and study on all things light and life. And one had in fact been turned into a holo room by the youngest members of the New Jedi Order. With Luke’s help, they worked with the few remaining Inquisitor, bringing in doctors from the Rebellion who were especially skilled in things of the mind. Mara, under the careful watch of Barriss Offee, practiced her healing abilities and empathic communication skills in ways she never had under the Emperor’s tutelage. Those early days were about discovery and restoration. They poured over archives too, finding lists of Jedi who were suspected to still be alive, and mourning over those listed as dead.

Kanan’s hand traced one name in particular on a flimsi report, Ezra feeling the uptick of sorrow in the Force was by his master’s side in an instant, “Find something?” he asked, causing Mara and Luke’s heads to pop up from where they had been digging through archived datapad boxes.

When Kanan didn’t speak, Ezra prompted softly. “Who’s Cal Kestis?”

Kanan just shook his head. “He was a friend, we grew up together in the temple. According to this it looks like he’s dead.”

Mara came to stand beside him, extending a hand for the flimsi and Kanan handed it over. “This just says he hasn’t been heard from in the last decade. He could still be alive.” But her eyes saw the bounty mark and the list of activities he had been associated with prior to going missing. They were extensive, many of which showed him working with one Saw Gerrara. Mara filed that piece of information away for later, when she could work on another project and the search for another missing family member, one Jyn Erso who was also last seen in the company of the Rebel Freedom Fighter. But either way, Kanan was right, if this Cal Kestis had been missing this long, he was likely dead.

Even so, there were other names that had more promising leads. Like Quinlan Vos. Ahsoka and Rex were more helpful on that score, having settled surprisingly well into the Fortress. Both of them had contacts in the Hidden Path, as they called it, and agreed to reach out to them to see if anyone there had heard anything on Vos.

Rex, for one had been disappointed by Vader’s absence in those early days. Mara and Luke had explained he feared that with his reputation the Rebels would not truly relax while he was there. And Rex understood the reasoning. But neither teen could understand Rex’s disappointment at the absence of Luke’s father, which prompted Luke to write a message to the Sith lord about their favorite Captain. Even so, Rex took to the children of the Fortress like a porg to a seaside cliff. He spent a lot of time with Luke, teaching him marksmanship with a blaster and hand to hand combat, ordering him through training regiments like a cadet.

When Luke had laughingly reminded him that as the Grand Inquisitor of the Fortress, he technically outranked Rex, the old Clone Wars Vet had simply replied with a twinkle in his eyes, that “In my book, experience outranks everything.”

In that first week, the sorrow that had overcome the Captain at the absence of Vader faded thanks to an adventure holo night in the first week where, much to Luke and Mara’s surprise, Vader had joined in. The other Rebels had been tense at first, Sabine fidgeted with a blaster, Ezra had clutched his saber for the first hour of the film. But Rex stayed right by Vader’s side the whole time, giving commentary on the film, even cracking what must have been an inside joke, one that startled Luke’s father so much the man laughed, a strange sound behind the mask indeed. Then Ahsoka had joined them later in the night and the two formed some kind of Sith lord sandwich, Rex on one side, Fulcrum on the other and Vader more relaxed and at peace in the Force than Luke had ever felt him.

Luke knew that something had taken place between his father and the Captain in the hall prior to the movie night, but Luke never asked. Feeling the peace flowing from his father so true and full of life was enough. Some things didn’t require answers. Even for Inquisitors.

They even, in those early days, got their first rescue run thanks to data obtained from the Fortress’s Jedi hunting days. Ahsoka had gone personally to over see it and when she returned it was with a slightly beat up, ancient looking droid in tow.

She had spent the better part of that day and night fixing him up and when she brought him into the training Salle the next day, the droid introduced himself with a slightly creaky bow. “I am Huyang, it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. Ahsoka tells me you are the young Jedi she and Kanan Jarrus have been teaching?”

Ezra, Luke, and Mara are glanced at each other, uncertain who this droid was and what he was doing here before Luke, ever the peacemaker spoke up. “That’s us, I’m Luke Skywalker.”

“Hmm…” The droid replied, stroking his metal chin and stepping forwards. “Skywalker you say, no relation to the one Anakin Skywalker I presume?”

“Uh,” Luke drew his outstretched hand back uncertainty. “he’s my father.”

“Curiouser and curiouser.” The droid nodded. “Your saber,” here he gestured to the metal cylinder that hung at Luke’s hilt. “may I?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” He nodded, handing it over after getting an encouraging nod from Ahsoka.

In hands more careful than Luke thought possible for a droid, Huyang took the saber, bringing a magnifying optic down as he turned it over in his hands. “Ah yes, I see his influence in your design. Like father like son. Good craftsmanship, well made if not a little crude. No traditional equipment to build one I assume, under the current auspice of the Empire.” And here Huyang’s voice dropped almost in sorrow. “Hardly your fault though, young Jedi.” And here he brightened again. “Your work is exemplary.”

At the puzzled looks Ahsoka explained. “Huyang was the instructor for lightsaber construction for the old Jedi Order. He has taught thousands of generations of Jedi. Including me and Kanan.”

That prompted curiosity from the other two and soon their sabers were handed over as well, each in turn. Huyang hummed appreciatively as he took Mara’s. “Quality work, this is. Precision, attention to detail, hints of an imperial influence I suspect.” Here Mara held the droid’s gaze, she wasn’t one to waver, even if she held no pride in the Empire anymore. “No harm in that.” Huyang said all the same, whether reading her tells of unease or not, Mara did not know. “But there are other traces as well. Preferences of styles popular in the Clone Wars. You didn’t perhaps study the schematics of a blade used by Jedi Master Tapal, or Qui-Gon Jinn did you?”

“Ah, no sir.” Mara replied stiffly, arms behind her back at parade rest.

“Hmm…Master Kenobi perhaps?” He asked and again Mara shook her head. “Ah well, certain styles will prevail, I suppose. Now you, young one.” He said after returning Mara’s blade to her and reaching out for Ezra’s.

“This…” Huyang spoke, turning the unusual saber over in his hands, “This is most…unconventional.”

“It doubles as a blaster.” Ezra said, rocking back on his heels, smiling.

Huyang’s optics seemed to grow wider if that were possible. “What are these younglings coming to.” He shook his head. “Blasters and lightsabers? What will they think of next.”

He handed the saber back to Ezra and all got the impression, that despite the lack of facial expressions, the droid was well and truly affronted by Ezra’s saber. This, for some reason, pleased Ezra to no end.

“Want to see how I can change from a blade to blaster mode?” He asked a little too eagerly.

“Perhaps another time.” Huyang replied. “I think there have been enough shocks for one day.

Ezra, Mara, and Luke laughed at that and Kanan stepped forward. “Well your sabers may be good but can you use them? Three on one.”

The young Jedi beamed and ignited their sabers, green and blue and violet lights sparking. “Bring it.”

And all the while the children trained and learned under the careful gaze of Ahsoka and Kanan. They learned things they never had before and Mara and Luke felt the Light all around them like a warm and glowing sun shining down upon them in the lake district back home. Sheild strengthening was paramount for them both but also combat.

“If you find yourself up against an opponent you can’t beat,” Ahsoka said, swinging her twin white sabers behind her, “I want you both to promise me you will run.”

Mara and Luke eyed each other, Ezra, more sure of himself, already had his saber drawn. “And if we can’t run?” Mara asked and Ahsoka smiled, admiring the determined gleam in the eyes of the girl before her.

“That’s where I come in. My Jedi Master was the best duelist the Jedi had ever seen. By the time we are through, I hope you never face one you can’t outsmart, outpace, or outfight.” And so they began. Ahsoka and Mara at long last got to finish the dance that had begun in the forests of Naboo so many years ago where they had first tested each other’s blade. And now, as friends not on opposite sides of the field of battle, the two found a lasting friendship formed in mutual admiration and skill. Of all in the Fortress, it was they who were most often sparring partners, with Luke often pairing his blade against Kanan’s blue.

Kanan taught other things too, meditation, balance, connecting with the Force. He taught Mara to plunge past the icy layer into the warm waters below. He taught Luke how to fly closely to the sun, enough to feel its warmth but not get scorched by its fire. And so time moved and happiness reigned in the halls that had once been ruled by fear.

When Mara did, at long last, have to return to the Empire, for they had already delayed three months for training, and the Emperor would grow suspicious if it was any longer, it was with the sorrow of the whole rebellion.

“A modified communicator.” Sabine said, pressing it into the hands of the girl who was nearly her own age, but had formed a fast friendship after Mara taught her how to use the Inquisitor’s requisition lines to order paint. “If you ever need a pick up, you call us.”

“Thanks Sabine.” Mara said, and she genuinely meant it. Before this, before Malachor and the Fortress and three months’ training to be a Jedi, Luke had been her only friend. And now, staring at the others, Zeb and Rex, Ahsoka and Kanan, Hera and Chopper, Ezra and Luke, even the shadow of Vader, not wanting to disturb the other Rebels such that he stood in a distant corner, Mara realized what she had was even stronger than friendship, she had a family.

“Remember your training.” Kanan said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

And Hera came to stand beside him, tucking a loose strand of red gold hair behind Mara’s ear, smiling at her as she would have Ezra or Sabine. “Whatever he tries to tell you about yourself, remember, you are a Jedi, you are a rebel. He can never take that away from you, no matter what.”

Mara couldn’t reply past the lump forming in her throat, but Hera understood in that way all mothers and those that had become mothers to others, understand such things and she just nodded. “You’ll be home soon.” She promised, and all present knew she didn’t mean returning to Coruscant. She didn’t even mean the Fortress. She meant the Rebellion, and the family they had forged there.

She turned to walk away, to head up to the hangar where the actual imperial shuttle was waiting to take her away. But Luke ran forward then, pulling her into a hug. “The Force will be with you, Mara, always.”

“I know, Farmboy.” She whispered into his neck, hugging him fiercely.

“I’ll be there soon, you won’t be alone.” He said as at last they broke away and it was all over in a rush. Within the next fifteen minutes, Mara was starbound and rocketing towards Coruscant, dressed in the uniform of the Emperor’s Hand, an armor to protect her on missions. But under that armor, thrummed the heart of a Jedi. And Palpatine, for all his efforts, would never break that heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so time moved in snapshots after that it seemed. Snapshots in time, standing before the Emperor, going on missions where Mara did what she could to help the Rebellion and destabilize the Empire in the process. Luke attended school more and more Coruscant side at the order of the Emperor himself. He found himself in other roles too, in the Junior Senate and even at more official functions, though still kept to a minimal role. However, he was often partnered with Mara for these, as his bodyguard, the Emperor said, though her official cover was often schoolmate or aid. And that made it bearable.

They would snigger together at parties and Mara would point out important officials from the back of the Senate Chambers. “That’s Senator Chuchi, she was a senator back in the Republic Senate. And that is one of the Grand Moffs, he'll be attending today to go over the recent developments in the outer rim and try and advance his own standing no doubt. You should remember Senator Organa from when we went to Alderaan together.”

“Yeah, but who’s the girl?”

“That’s Princess Liea of Alderaan.” Mara would reply.

“I’ve never met her, right?”

“Not that I’m aware, why?”.

“Just feels like I know her from somewhere.” Luke would answer, watching the girl clad in all white as she walked side by side with her father.

When they weren’t on Coruscant though, they were on Nur, studying, learning, practicing in the Force and learning to hide all that they learned from the Empire. With every passing day, the Light grew stronger and stronger. It was only a matter of time it could no longer be hidden and for that day they planned.

Chapter Text

Bail Organa couldn’t stop pacing the empty ready room in the command ship on Home One. “Let me get this straight, the Ghost Crew moved Chopper base where?”

Mon Mothma sipped her tea and said for the third time “The Fortress Inquisitorious.”

“Why. In all the Force why would they think that is a good idea?”

Mothma took a deep breath drawing from the wells of patience that saw her survive the Imperial Senate and build a rebellion from practically nothing. “They were invited.”

“You are telling me that Lord Vader, the leader of the Inquisitors, the Emperor’s attack dog, the destroyer of the Jedi Order, invited the Rebellion into his Fortress.”

“Precisely.”

“And they didn’t think it was a trap?”

“Not after they carefully examined all the facts.”

“Why?”

Mon Mothma sighed, setting down her cup with barely a sound. This was the part of the story she had been dreading telling her old friend this whole time, why in the recent months she had put off seeing him face to face, for she feared the secret would be there plain as day in her eyes if she had come any sooner. And this was something that must be told not given away. “Because he wanted the Lothal Jedi to teach his son.”

Bail stilled, his clenched fists releasing in his shock. In the confined space, Mothma could see the senator’s hands the moment they began to shake. Her heart went out to her old friend, but she needed him to see and so she needed him to conclude what he must for himself as she had. “He wants…wants Luke…” And when he said the name, he flinched at his own words. “He wants him trained as a Jedi?”

Mothma met him disbelieving stare for stare. “Yes. That and the Alliance’s support against the Emperor was all he asked in return for the base and the safety of the Jedi.”

“It can’t be true.”

And we’re pacing again, Mothma picked up her tea and took a long draught from it. “By all accounts it is. From what I saw on my last visit there, the boy is progressing splendidly as are his friends.”

“Friends?” Bail sounded like he was choking. “There are other young Jedi?”

“The Emperor’s Hand for one.”

The corner of Bail’s eye twitched. “Intelligence said that title was a myth.”

Mothma quirked a smile over the rim of her cup. “The Empire has similar sayings about Fulcrum. I can assure you, the girl is talented and has the makings of a fine Jedi. As does Luke.” She added the last bit softer, kinder, feeling the pressing years of anxiety that had threatened to cripple her friend.

His shoulders hunched, hands curling and uncurling at his side. “And what of Fulcrum, what does she say?”

Mothma hummed, thinking back to her last conversation with Ahsoka Tano. “She is grateful for a chance that I think she associates with redemption. She has taken an active role in young Skywalker’s life.” Setting down her cup once more with a sigh, she asked the question that had brought her here to begin with. “Bail, what are you going to tell Leia?”

“Tell her?” He turned on Mothma, eyes flashing fire. “What do you want me to tell her Mon? Tell her her life has been a lie?”

Mothma shook her head. “It hasn’t been a lie. You are her father. Nothing can change that now. But she could join them, join her brother. Vader has given no indication-”

And all her time spinning words with a silver tongue revealed her error to her too late. Bail was shaking all over now, the sheer emotion for him nearly too much to bear. “Do you think Vader will forgive the Rebellion when he realizes we kept his daughter from him? Do you think he will be so quick to overlook this?”

Mothma stilled, turning the question she had been asking herself over and over in her mind. Before she could respond, however Bail continued. “Can you tell me, for all he wants his son trained as a Jedi that he isn’t a Sith lord anymore?”

And there wasn’t a good answer for that. In truth, Mothma had not met with Vader personally. All of his messages were either passed through Luke or Mara. The black-clad Dark Sider kept away from the Fortress almost exclusively and the few times he did come, he spoke only to a small group. Namely the Ghost Crew, Ahsoka, Captain Rex, and the two teens he had given so much for. And the few times she had gotten either of those children to speak on the matter of whether he walked in the light or the dark, the answers they gave were often inconclusive at best, troubling at worst. Was there a way back from the darkness? All that she remembered from her now long gone Jedi friends from the Republic of old told her no. So how was it Luke spoke of the man with stars in his eyes and Mara defended him with a fervor that was unsettling in one so young, a testament to how both had been forced to grow up too soon. And then there had been her conversations with the former Inquisitors, chiefly a Mirialan who declined to give her name but staunchly refused to acknowledge any possible good in Vader, much to young Mara’s disagreement despite being close to the older healer and a student of hers. Many of the Rebels avoided him altogether though Luke and Mara, as well as a handful of others were trying to change that. Apparent change was not enough for many formerly of Chopper Base to dissuade the nightmares formulated from whispered rumors and half understood reports of mind probes and torture, of darkness and coldness.

So, she settled on her answer. “No, I cannot.”

Bail’s eyes clenched shut and she didn’t have to be a Jedi to know what was going on in his mind. He replayed the memories that he had told her over and over. Of the temple burning, of the Jedi Padawan shot down where he stood. Of how he often dreamed that that padawan wore his daughter’s face. “I can’t risk her, Mon. You can’t ask me to.”

Mothma nodded, relenting. This was a fight she believed in. She believed Leia had a right to know her birthright in the Force. But that didn’t mean she was willing to go against the girl’s father. Not to mention, Leia had done very well serving the Alliance in different ways, ways that she took to so naturally that Mothma could hardly picture the girl she had taken on as an apprentice as anything but the skillful, insightful, passionate, and wise beyond her years politician and member of the Rebel Alliance. It was as if she had been born to it, the same way Luke appeared to have been born to be a Jedi by the way she saw him in the training Salles back at the Fortress. Maybe everything did work out the way it was supposed to in the end. So she found the balance and said, “She’s a brilliant politician. Padme would be so proud of the woman she is becoming.”

And now Bail met her eyes and there were tears in his but also hope. “Really? You think so?”

Mothma rose from her seat, smoothing her skirts as she crossed the distance between her and her friend, laying a hand on his shoulder, not saying a word as he continued. “I just want to do what’s right for her.”

Mothma closed her eyes and let the grief flow between them. “And I believe you have. Leia will fight for the galaxy in her own way as you have always said she would. It’s not just the Jedi that are the hope for the galaxy. It is the leaders that will protect and safeguard the people those Jedi will fight for that will bring about peace in the end. This does bring us to another question though.” Mothma continued, steering the topic away from the most tender of ground to perhaps yet another sore spot “What about Obi-Wan?”

Bail shook his head. “I haven’t heard from him in years. Ever since I told him he couldn’t train Leia. I tried to keep tabs on him but a Master Jedi who wants to stay lost will stay lost. Last I was able to find is that he was heading for Jedha to see about some rumors about someone trying to restore the Jedi Archives. But those Archives were destroyed by the Empire, some traitor turned them in around…around the same time we lost Luke. If he found anything, it was only ever going to be ashes.”

Mothma felt a deep regret at his words. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the famed negotiator, aside from being the teacher of Anakin Skywalker, might have gone a long ways to bringing the Fortress side of the Rebellion and the rest of the Alliance together. But alas, perhaps it was better in some ways. There was no telling exactly how Vader would react to his former master reappearing after all these years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Old Master’s journeys took him far, over sand capped dunes and jungle planets. He wandered and he listened, listened for the call within the Force, for the promise that something had changed. His grief was stark, hanging about him like a thick mantle. Those that saw him saw the haunted eyes and knew that something truly terrible must have happened to this man to put that look there. But they never asked. The Empire caused many such looks these days and people had long ago learned it was best not to get involved.

The Old Master had learned this too.

He had tried to get involved. He had saved a child at the expense of another. He had tried to make that right, tried to train the girl to take the place of the boy. But the girl’s parents would have none of it. And so he roamed, roamed the stars without a purpose. The Rebellion had been a tantalizing option early in his self-imposed exile. Though what could he offer the Rebellion? His fighting days were long behind him, the days when he had stood strong and confident with friends on all sides to face the enemy before him were as lost as those friends. Now he stood alone.

He could have been an advisor to the Rebellion and welcomed if not a fighter. But what advice would he trust himself to give? The student into which he had poured his life had become the object of nightmares on every world. The children he had placed such hope in were nearly as lost to him as that student, with one failed so utterly that the Old Master was sure that one was but a creature of darkness at this point, twisted by his father.

He could teach, on the off chance they found some other Force Sensitive. But no, after a sober reflection in his years of exile, the Old Master came to terms with the fact that just as he could hardly trust himself to give advice, he could never again trust himself to teach. It had been right when the father of the girl had refused to let him teach her. It had been for the best. He could only fail so utterly again.

And so he roamed and he wandered, helping where he could but always moving so as not to put a target on anyone’s back. The Force called to him, singing stories in his dreams of a bright eyed boy whose eyes sparkled the same color of the sky above Tatooine and never gold. He dreamed of a girl, dancing between the light and the dark, but always under a million crystal chandeliers with hair like fire and a Jedi’s heart beating in her chest. He dreamed of a boy with blue black hair and a quick wit and of a man with a scar across his eyes, eyes that were the same color as the Padawan of a dear friend and fellow council member, dressed in Inquisitor robes but laughing as they left an obsidian spire. No, the Old Master brushed the sweet song the Force sang to him aside as nothing more than wishful thinking and ignored its pleas to help its children.

The Force sang the melody of its children to him, of light and life, and the Old Master turned away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But the Old Master wasn’t the only one that dreamed dreams. In a bed soft as silk and plush as feathers, nestled amongst the mountains and alpine overlooking glittering, jewel like lakes, a Princess slept. And in her dreams she heard a similar song, though not as clearly. She looked through a mirror bright with eyes only partially opened. A power that had served her well over the years thrummed in her veins in rhythm to the song the Force sang to her. It was the power that told her when someone was lying or when a fellow senate member was about to give in to an argument. But it was also this power that told her that things were changing in the galaxy. She felt it, like the change in direction in the wind over the mountains when winter relinquished its grip and spring was on its way.

She dreamt of hope and light, of a galaxy free of tyranny. She dreamt of many things, wonderous things. Even so she also heard another call, far, far away from here.

Come find me, dreamer. The caller said, beckoning her on. And the Princess would look out to the stars and wonder.

I don’t understand. The Princess would say into her dreams.

Teach you, I can. The voice always responded and the dream would end.

Even so, the memory would never fade. She would stand in the night on her balcony, smelling the deep scent of pine and looking up towards the stars.

“What do you think R2?” She would ask the droid. “Do you think we should go?”

And the droid would whistle happily, dome pointed skyward.

The Princess would chuckle, resting her hand on the smooth silver head of her friend. “Yeah, me too. One day…”

And as usual it seemed in these every troubled times, her door would open, a familiar silhouette stood outlined in the soft glow of ember light, hair white as the snowy capped mountains that graced the view beyond her window and pointed starward.

“Well then?” The Princess would ask and the one who had been her dearest friend all her life would answer.

“You’re needed at once, Princess, it’s our friends from Yavin.”

And the Princess would look once more to the stars before turning to follow the call to war. Still, in the windows she passed in the galaxy maps she traced, the words echoed in her mind. One day…

Chapter Text

Mara breathed a sigh of relief when the transport she was on dropped out of Hyperspace. She was dressed in all black, leather gloves covering her hands, a helmet on her head. The pilot at the helm had picked her up on Ord Mantell, where she had managed to get to thanks to the new alliance she and some of the other Rebels had been forging to pick up this transport to Nur after originally being dropped off on Naboo. It was an interesting idea, some kind of agreement between smugglers, one that had been born of a strange friendship she had begun with a smuggler on a mission of hers a few months back, Talon Karrde. There had been something kind about him, something that had seen through the Emperor’s Hand persona and seen a teenage girl and offered to help. It was that day Mara had learned that smugglers could be good. So when she had reached back out, a short coded message, then a meeting, then a regular comm channel, it was little surprise that they now had a nearly well oiled machine of a smugglers’ ring helping out with the cause.

It wasn’t like they could just ship the excess equipment from the Fortress in bulk to the rest of the Rebel Alliance without question. Smugglers though, were a well known and, though technically illegal, accepted part of life in the Empire. The small group, under Karrde’s command, Mara’s coordination, and with the assistance of a rebel agent that only went by Targeter, made for a wonderful network. It was with their assistance that they had successfully smuggled Mara herself to Ord Mantell and now here she was with an imperial pilot at the helm taking her to Nur.

Officially, Naboo was exactly where she was supposed to be, helping Luke prepare for his first formal tour of planets that he would take on his own now that he was Sixteen. It was to be begun soon and everyone was collectively dreading it. But of course, Luke wasn’t on Naboo, and neither was she. So technically she was doing what the Emperor wanted her to do, just she’d also be doing Jedi training while she was there.

The shuttle pilot, a young Imperial by the name of Bohdi Rook gulped audibly for the umpteenth time. She didn’t know what unfortunate hand the pilot had been dealt to be running courier for the apparently still feared Inquisition. Mara didn’t question it. When she had ordered a pick up from the official “Imperial” Fortress channels, he had been sent. And since he had given no Rebel Ident code when he arrived, she could only assume he was one of the few legit imperials they had to keep floating around in service, if not stationed, at the Fortress for appearance’s sake.

“Uh, I hope you had a good flight, miss uh Inquisitor?” He tried at her title. Under her helmet, Mara rolled her eyes.

“Are you a regular shuttle pilot for the Fortress now?” Mara couldn’t help but ask, even though everything she said through this stars awful mask sounded like a threat.

“Uh, no Ma’am.” He answered, fiddling with his hat. “I uh, I’m supposed to be stationed as a cargo pilot for Eadu. But my orders got lost and I’m running shuttles here until they can sort it.” And then he realized what he had said. Everything with Eadu was held in the highest confidence. Of course this man did not know how the information flowed through the Inquisitors in terms of rank and of course he absolutely had no way of knowing it was Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand who was behind the mask.

Mara gave no visible show of shock when he mentioned Eadu. Her mind flickered to a report she had been working through, tracking Saw Gerrara’s Freedom Fighters, a promise Vader had made on the planet that bore that same name what felt like ages ago still needed to be kept. This man, the shuttle pilot, was strange, not your traditional imperial and aside from that, Mara had become more adept in the Force in recent months so she felt the way it moved around the pilot now. He wasn’t a Force Sensitive himself, but there was something there, like a tether of destiny.

And he was shaking in his boots.

Mara, now safely in the hangar of the Fortress let him off the hook. “Best of luck on Eadu, Lieutenant Rook.”

And she was away, with a sweep of her cape.

Once in the elevator, she let out a sigh, leaning back against the cool metal and removing her helmet, shaking out her red gold hair in the process. The elevator took her down to the lower levels away from any official imperials.

Emerging from the lift, she walked into an almost immediate riot of colors. Sabine had left her mark on nearly every inch of the Fortress since the rebels had moved in six months ago. That at first had been her way of making it feel like home. But after Master Vos came to stay, a confirmed Psychometric, he had explained that the paint had helped eliminate or lessen the echoes that lingered in the walls. And so Sabine had gone wild, painting walls and halls, ceilings and even doors in places. The walls on either side showed ships at rest under an open stary sky, leading into the lower hangar where the actual Ghost sat amid a fleet of X-Wing fighters and TIEs. As Mara made her way in, she was constantly being stopped by rebels as they passed, mechanics gave her high fives, and technicians nodded to her with friendly smiles, calling her by name, all with warmer greetings than she had ever had in the Empire.

“Hey Mara, welcome back.” one Wedge Antilles greeted, raising his hand in a high five which Mara returned obligingly with a grin and an eye roll.

Wedge had come to the Fortress in the early days and he was one of Luke’s latest friends. Mara hadn’t gotten to hang out with him much but if her best friend’s stories and her limited but spirited interactions with the pilot were anything to go by he was a good man, if not a bit much sometimes with jokes.

“Hey Wedge, do you know where I could find Luke?”

Wedge grinned, raising his eyebrows at her, “Surprised Lover Boy wasn’t here to great you himself.” he teased, turning the high five into a handshake which he used to spin Mara about. She let him, suppressing a laugh, while ignoring the heat his words had brought up to her face.

“It’s not like that and I didn’t know I was going to be coming in until I got on the ship. Mission finished early.”

And here Wedge’s eyes darkened slightly, the laughter diminished. “You’re okay right? Don’t need medical? You were limping a bit coming in.”

“I’m fine.” She retorted.

Wedge just shook his head. “It’s not your fault you still have to run missions for them, you should take help when you need it. Plus, Luke would kill me if I didn’t ask. And he probably could too, kid’s scary good with a TIE.”

Mara didn’t reply and Wedge’s face softened. “He’s in one of the Archives I think, working with Huyang.”

“Thanks, Wedge.” Mara said at last and continued further into the hangar, ignoring the limp she thought she had hidden well.

Amongst the fighters that Mara now wove her way through, another notable ship was easily spotted, a transport she recognized to mean that Senator Mothma was here personally. She had been the first Rebel Leader to be officially brought in on the immense secret that was the Fortress. However, the senator didn’t come often, preferring to stick with other, less secretive Rebel Bases. It made her an invaluable go between from the more known quantities of the Rebellion and the relatively unknown who worked and operated out of the Fortress. But if she was here it likely meant someone new was being brought into the secret and Mara wondered who that could be.

Meeting the senator had been…an experience…for Mara. She was a rebel now, she knew that. Even so, Mara was raised as the Emperor’s Hand. And staring face to face with the head of the Rebel Alliance had been more than a little jarring. However, Mothma had merely smiled, thanked Mara for her service and made no more of a big deal out of it than if Mara had been anyone else.

Mara shook her head, dispelling the memory. Of course, the senator was nowhere to be seen, but Hera was. In her flight coveralls, goggles perched on her head, Hera turned to look down as Chopper started beeping, pointing Mara’s way. Hera turned her head in confusion and when she caught sight of Mara, her face split into a smile.

Mara grinned back, raising her hand in a wave as they met halfway. “Hello, Captain Syndulla.”

Hera frowned slightly at that, eyes creasing in concern. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Hera.” She said, taking in Mara, the pristine Inquisitor’s uniform, the tired eyes, the way she favored her left leg. “Tough mission?”

Mara nodded. “Corrupt businessman. He was taking money from the Empire, actually using a connection in the Moffs to embezzle from the military. He was working as a slaver though.” And here Mara trailed off, eyes drifting left to the hustle and bustle of the hangar. “I-I had to…”

Hera cut her off, pulling Mara into a hug and smoothing back her hair. “Let’s get you something to eat and into something more comfortable. Luke will be so happy you’re back.” The famed rebel pilot redirected her smoothly. It had been nearly a year, and these people had somewhere in that time become family. What was stranger still to Mara was that the feeling seemed to be mutual. She ushered Mara neatly towards the privacy of the Ghost and sent Chopper off to find a change of clothes for her.

Mara allowed herself to be seated at the Dejarik board and a cup of hot chocolate to be placed in her hands. “Thanks, Hera.” Mara said, taking the cup and sipping it appreciatively. It was Luke’s favorite drink and it always made her think of him. There was a comfort to that she never could shake, even if she wanted to, and it all at once made her feel at home and at ease.

Chopper came back moments later, Luke and Ezra running behind him. “Is it true?” Luke was asking, stumbling up the ramp. His eyes landed on Mara and his blue eyes shone.

“Hey Farmboy.” Mara greeted softly over the rim of her mug, letting the warmth of it shine through as a smile on her face. “Missed you.”

“Stars Mara, I missed you too!” And he slid into the booth beside her, wrapping his arms around her neck and shoulders. She let herself lean into the touch, heavy eyes closing for a moment.

Ezra coughed a little and Chopper nudged him. “Hey, uh, Chopper said all you had was the Inquisitor get up, so we brought you a change.” He held a canvas bag in his hand and now handed it to Mara.

“You can use Sabine’s room.” Hera nodded in the general direction of the cabins. “And Mara, you better tell me if you need help with that leg.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Mara gave a little salute like she had seen Ezra do in the past as she took the bag and made for the room with the colorful art on the walls, closing the door behind her.

Her leg really wasn’t that bad, a slight blaster burn caused by a graze. It was already mostly healed thanks to her own efforts with just the muscle still being a little sore. But the effort to heal herself with the Force, even with Barriss’s training, had left her tired. And she was already running on fumes as it was. Two days without sleep and limited food would do that to you. It had been probably her toughest mission yet. But even so, even though she had been forced to take a life in the end, she was actually proud of what she had accomplished. She had broken up a slaver ring, had even directed some of those she rescued to the Rebels when she could. Those people she had saved, they would live free now. But still, the fatigue pulled at her like a weight, and still, even if she knew so many lives were free and safe now, her hands never quite lost the burning sensation, the itching of invisible stains at what she had done. It left her more than tired.

When she emerged, Ezra was sitting on the floor, playing with Chopper. Luke sat at the table, working on his own mug of hot chocolate. He smiled when she entered, taking in the soft green long sleaved cotton tunic she wore over brown pants. “Comfier?” He asked and she nodded, slipping into the seat beside him.

“Yeah, much better.”

“Here,” Luke set down his mug and motioned for her to turn her back to him. She did knowing at once what he had in mind and not even needing their Force bond to know it either. Years together of shared moments and memories were enough. Her shoulders relaxed as his fingers began to move through her hair as he worked it into a simple braid.

For a moment, all was quiet. Hera leaned against a counter in the galley, flicking through a datapad. Ezra and Chopper made little clicks and laughed at each other in low tones as they played some kind of game of keep away while Luke did Mara’s hair. Three weeks she had been gone on her mission and two on Coruscant before that besides, and she hadn’t felt such peace in all that time. She let her eyes close and slowly felt that peace take her.

Luke had finished the braid and tied it off with one of the hair ties he always carried with him now. He felt her grow heavier and heavier until she leaned against him fully and he turned her around gently to rest against his shoulders.

“Chop,” Luke whisper called, grabbing the droid’s attention. “check her bag for her cloak. And don’t go rummaging through her things more than you have to this time.”

The droid let out an indignant protest but did as he was told, trundling off and soon back again with the tan woolen cloak in his pincers. Luke took it gratefully, draping it across Mara’s sleeping form.

“Thank the Force for small miracles.” Hera set her datapad aside. “She was wound tighter than a bowcaster when she got here.”

“Is it alright if we stay?” Luke asked quietly, not wanting to move his sleeping friend when she so obviously needed the rest.

Hera just smiled her tender smile, the one she used on all the kids in the Fortress, which were primarily ones she had called her own crew. “Of course. I’ve got some repairs to finish up outside. Send Chop if you need anything.” And with that she was gone.

Ezra’s face darkened where he sat, having watched Hera go and now turning back to Luke. “I wish you both could just stay here. She wouldn’t have to run missions and you’d never have to go back to the court if you guys just defected for good.”

Luke understood the sentiment. He hated every time Mara left and he didn’t know when he’d see her again or if she’d be safe. He had their Force bond to tell him if something was truly wrong. But that only stretched so far to easing his discomfort. And he knew she felt the same way any time he left.

“I know.” Luke replied, pulling the cloak tighter around Mara. “But we can’t leave yet. There’s work to be done in the Empire.” Distantly, Luke’s mind wandered towards an idea he had forming there in the corners of his secret thoughts. A plan he and Mara had discussed from time to time, a bright idea, brilliant and radiant, shining like a star, maybe, just maybe, it would mean some good out of what they did in the Empire…some day.

Ezra nodded, the boy was an idealist. But he was also a realist under all of that. And Luke knew he meant it when he said. “I understand. It won’t always be this way.” He rose to his feet in one fluid motion, making to walk out of the ship. “One day, we will all be safe.”

Luke hummed, resting his head atop Mara’s and closed his eyes. One day would come eventually, but for today, for right now, they were both here and they were both safe, and that was enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Approximately four hours later, Senator Mon Mothma walked with one of their newest, fully vetted defectors from the Empire. Crix Madine was a newly minted General of the Rebel Alliance. It had been heavily debated whether to bring him into the secret that was the Fortress or not. But after several weeks of careful debate, planning, going over files, and proven rebel track records, it was deemed that Madine’s familiarity with Imperial regulations would make him an invaluable asset to the goings on within the Fortress. They did, after all, have to still keep up the appearances of being an imperial base of operations.

All throughout the day, Mothma had spent showing the new general around, introducing him to their resident Jedi, and ensuring he was familiar with and trusted by the operation. Madine’s eyes had grown comically wide when he realized where he was being taken. And throughout the whole of his tour, he kept repeating, “I could never have believed it unless you showed me.”

They were walking by the mess hall, Mothma discussing current missions that were being run out of the Fortress when she realized the general was no longer walking at her side.

She turned, looking at where the man stood, mouth agape, starring in apparent abject horror into the mess hall.

“General?” Mothma asked, gliding back to stand at his side. She followed his gaze and her eyes landed on the sight of young Ezra Bridger, head thrown back laughing as Luke Skywalker attempted to sneakily Force float a plate of Alderaanian Forest Cake from a tray across the room. Beside him, Mara Jade was grinning, shaking with suppressed mirth while Wedge Antilles goaded them on. “Ah.” She said with dawning understanding.

“You-” General Crix Madine finally found his voice. “You do realize you have the Heir to the Empire and…and the Emperor’s Hand, in your mess hall?”

Mothma smoothed her perfectly wrinkle free skirts, smiling her own rebel smile at the man. “Why yes.”

“Since when are they Rebels?” Madine exclaimed.

And here Mothma’s eyes flashed fire. “Since before you, I’ll have you know General. Mara and Luke both have been assets to the Rebellion as well as good friends to many here. Both have been training as Jedi for almost a year now.”

Madine blinked, shaking his head a few times. “The Emperor’s Hand…”

“Is a delightful and insightful young lady. She provided us valuable intel on you actually when you first defected.” Mothma knew that not every defection happened seamlessly. And she wasn’t about to risk any prejudice against Mara or Luke.

“They are really Jedi?” Madine asked, hope brimming up all at once in his clear eyes.

Mothma recognized that hope, had felt it in herself when she looked at the children sat in the mess hall now. With an understanding nod of her head she steered him away from the mess before any of those insightful children could notice. “Yes, there is new hope for the galaxy my friend.”

Madine looked back one last time, and for the first time since she knew the man, he smiled a genuine smile. “I do believe you are right, Ma’am.”.

Chapter Text

Mara leaned against the work bench feet crossed at the ankle, watching fish swim lazily outside. It was late, or early depending on how you looked at things, Luke sat hunched over his latest project at a little work bench that they had dragged in here in the early months of the Rebels taking over the Fortress. There were more training Salles then they knew what to do with, so this one had been turned into Luke and Mara’s study part work room part well…really it was a bunch of random stuff. A shelf contained a mix match of datapads with everything from court etiquette, imperial codes, and the latest issue of a drama series. Mousy, the old beloved mouse droid, who had moved in about a week after the Rebels happily investigated dance shoes tossed next to long silk skirts, wooden training swords, and miscellaneous tech pieces. Luke, when he wasn’t busy training, spent hours scavenging the Fortress, collecting odd bits of scrap he found. Given the amount of destruction the Inquisitors caused back in the day, he wouldn’t be running out of parts to tinker with any time soon.

“What’ve you got there?” Mara asked and the fact that he jumped a little brought a smirk to her face.

“Force, Mara you’re shielding is getting good.” Luke turned back, quickly trying to cover up what it was he had been working on. She caught a glimpse of grey, or maybe it was just smudged white, and red under the cleaning rag in his hands.

“Some secret project?” She leaned in close, trying to get a look but he batted her away.

“Hey now, it was supposed to be a surprise.” Luke groaned, dragging a hand across his face.

Mara withdrew, giving him space, though the teasing smile remained. “A surprise?”

Luke smiled in return now, a little, turning back to the bench. “Yeah, think about it as a late birthday gift.”

“Luke.” Mara let her voice drop, it wasn’t often they got time just them these days, not with all the Rebels about, their big, loud, loveable new family members. She loved them all, really she did, but the quiet, the familiarity of just her and Luke…that was something she never grew tired of. “You don’t need to get me anything.”

“Hey, I’ve still got to try and top the Kyber crystal, don’t I?” Luke said good naturedly.

Mara shook her head, huffing a laugh. “Alright, what’ve you got?”

“It’s almost done. I was just checking the power supply before boot up.” Luke took what he had been working on into his hands under the rag. “I found him in a scrap heap with some other odd salvage leftover from the Inquisitor days I guess. He was still pretty much intact, though someone really had a go at his memory drive. Doesn’t look like they got anything. Figured I could fix him up a bit. He may not look like much, but well…I know you like droids alright on a case by case basis.” He amended at her bemused expression before continuing, “After all it’s how we met.” Luke uncharacteristically seemed nervous and it made Mara’s heart melt just a little. “And well…he’s a BD unit, they are good travelers. Thought he might be able to help keep you safe when I’m not around.”

And he pulled the cloth away. There in his hands, still in dormant mode, sat a little droid. His red and white casing was smudged and if she looked very closely she could make out slightly different colored areas where Luke had likely had to patch sections of metal and smooth out dents. His optics looked newer than the rest of him and she could well imagine that if the Inquisitors had at one point been involved such delicate hardware had been smashed beyond repair. Luke must have found replacement parts somewhere.

But there was something about the droid, even asleep. Something that touched her heart in a way. He had been broken, beaten, lost. But here he sat, whole again, sleeping and unaware, but safe. And loved, she promised herself. Yes, and loved…like all beings organic or not deserved to be, no matter what the Empire said.

“His memory core was still intact. I don’t know if some circuits were fried though, with any luck he should have most of his old data.” Luke was saying, rubbing out a last grease stain.

“A rebel droid, hurt by the Empire, huh?” Mara kept her gaze fixed on the little droid. “Let’s wake him up.”

Luke entered the commands to do so and Mara watched as those new optics flared with life. Servos whirred and the head casing tilted. The optics dilated, flexing in the casing before zeroing in on Luke.

“Hey there.” Luke was saying. The droid let out a shrill piercing shriek. It began to kick its legs, rebounding out of Luke’s hand and charging about the room.

Mara jumped, scrambling out of its way before chasing after it, dodging as it sent a zap of electricity behind her. She darted one way, hands outstretched, jumping in front of the little droid to block his path. “Hey, hey it’s okay. Calm down, you’re safe.”

The droid shivered a little, obviously cornered, afraid. Even so it turned its optics on Mara, the sensors widening in a moment of comprehension. It beeped a query in Binary, a language Mara was happy, not for the first time, to have learned.

“Sorry?” She asked. The droid had said only one word.

Cal.

“I’m sorry I don’t know who that is. But I promise you are safe.” Mara was saying softly. Luke stood by the desk, concern written across his face watching the interaction. It was no surprise really, the reaction, however it never hurt any less knowing the fear the Inquisitors had once caused. All they could do now was to try and do better, to build a galaxy worthy of and in honor to the memories of those that had been lost.

Suddenly, a blue light engulfed Mara, a beam sweeping her from head to toe. Mara stilled under it, knowing a scan when she saw one.

I guess this is how droids make introductions, she thought before saying. “Hello there, I’m Mara Jade.” Extending her hand for lack of knowing what else to do.

The little droid cautiously, ever so slowly, extended one of his little feet, tapping her fingertips with a gentle precision. Mara breathed a sigh half laugh half relief. The droid beeped another query, nodding his head to the saber at her hip.

“Oh, this?” Mara asked, unclipping it, she held it out toward the droid who regarded it curiously, scanning it with that blue light.

Mara drew it back, standing full and safely away from the droid before igniting the purple blade. The droid, bathed in the amethyst glow looked on with, if you could say droids have expressions which Luke and Mara were adamant that they did, a look of wonder.

Another query, simple, one word.

Jedi?

“Yes.” Mara said quietly, clipping the hilt to her side once more. “I’m a Jedi. So is Luke. He found you and fixed you up.”

Do you know Cal? The droid whistled, so hopefully it broke Mara’s heart to say no.

“Was he a friend of yours?” She asked, sitting cross legged on the floor now before the little droid.

He nodded his head, letting out a mournful beep.

Mara breathed in deep, glancing at Luke, letting the emotion wash over, through her, and away. It was always hard to hear of the fallen, even if she hadn’t known them personally, a loss of a Jedi was a loss of a family member in so many ways. “I’m sorry.” She said.

The droid just tapped a foot gently on the ground, looking up at her before carefully, oh so carefully, coming to stand near her, tugging a length of red gold hair with his foot and beeping. You look like him.

Mara, reaching out her hand, telegraphing every movement to give the droid time to leave and when he didn’t she placed her hand atop his head. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The droid didn’t say anything to that. For a moment, there was silence before the droid beeped again. I’m BD-1.

Mara’s eyes creased at the corners, shoulders relaxing. “It’s good to meet you, BD-1.”

Luke had come to join them, sitting on the floor. “We’re happy to have you here. As Mara said, you are safe.”

And they filled the little droid, BD-1, in on the whole story. They told him about the Fortress, the new Jedi Order they were building, the other Jedi they had found.

BD-1 processed all this in stride, making little remarks every so often. In the end, they told about how Luke found him and his hopes about him helping Mara someday. Mara shook her head. “Luke, this guy has been through a lot, it should be his choice what he does from here. Really,” And now she turned to the droid. “No one will make you do anything you don’t want to. You’re safe here and you’re welcome to stay, but if you’d prefer to leave, maybe try and find out what happened to your friend, I’m sure we could figure something out?”

And that was how they had left it. However, when Mara made to leave the room, she was surprised to find a little droid hopped onto her shoulder. “Alright then, I guess you can come with me, until you decide.”

Luke just smiled, watching the two. Mara was big on choices, it was something he loved about her.

BD-1 became a staple after that. He spent most of his first few days awake again following Mara about, attending saber training, working in the intelligence department, hanging out with the X-Wing pilots and Ghost crew at mealtimes. Mara had found a little charging port and brought it to her bunk where he charged at night while she slept. Despite Mara’s insistence that this was likely temporary, that the droid wasn’t hers, it was clear to all that an attachment was forming.

She insisted he wasn’t her droid, he was a friend who she was helping, as they would any new member of the hidden path or anyone else that had come to them, seeking assistance.

Coincidentally, the topic of the Hidden Path was of extreme interest to BD-1. His first few days of wakefulness had seen him scouring datasources and reports, always looking for the same key words.

Cal,

Merrin,

Greez,

And other names that hadn’t appeared on any lists in many more years, names like Cere and Cordova.

It was on one such trip to the Archives that Mara and BD-1 happened to be present when Jedi Master Quinlan Vos arrived back from a mission he had been running for the path.

“Hey, Jade who’s your friend there?” He had asked with his easy smile. For all the Jedi Master had seen and been through, it never failed to impress Mara his ability to still maintain some of the carefree mannerisms, the few Jedi of their number from the old days attested to. His insistence on calling her Jade however was beyond her.

“Welcome back, Master Vos.” She cast a welcoming glance over her shoulder where she worked. “This is BD-1. Did your wife and son have any troubles along the way?”

Vos settled into a seat next to Mara’s terminal, a twinkle entering his dark eyes at the mention of his family. “They made it only an hour after me, got them all set up. Korto’s got Huyang talking lightsaber designs already.”

Mara allowed the warmth the mental image gave her to surround her, grateful for yet another reminder of something else the Empire hadn’t stolen away completely. It had taken a few months, but Vos at long last had been able to finalize some of his family’s last business with the Path and move full time as the official liaison between the Fortress and the Path, to join the new Jedi Order. “I look forward to meeting them.”

“Yeah, it's be good for them, being here, especially Korto.” Vos’s attention though was fixed on BD-1 who in turn was regarding him and beeped a trill in greeting. “So, what’s your story?”

BD-1 walked across the terminal coming to stand near the older Jedi and before Mara fully understood what was happening, Vos rested his hand atop the droid’s head and gasped as if he had been shocked by a live wire.

Pulling his hand away, BD-1 bounced between his two feet glancing between him and Mara as Vos exclaimed, “Kriff, alright, alright so…so you knew Cal? What in all the Sith hells happened to that kid?”

Mara hadn’t forgotten that Vos was a psychometric, a rare talent amongst Force users, but never had she seen it in action before. “Did BD-1 show you something?”

Vos’s eyes snapped up to her, “In a manner of speaking. It would seem we have a mutual friend.”

Mara nodded, leaning back against the terminal. “He’s been looking for a friend, Cal.”

BD-1 gave a mournful tone, head drooping as he did.

“Chin up,” Vos, with a hastily pulled glove over his hand, patted the droid’s head again. “I wouldn’t have bet on any of us surviving, and he did, just because you got separated doesn’t mean he’s not still out there. Don’t give up hope yet.”

Turning back to Mara, Vos explained. “Cal was a kid I knew back in the temple, young talented, a bit of a soft heart for a war.” And he shook his head sadly, mirroring BD-1’s earlier action so closely it might have been comical in any other setting. “Never heard what happened to him, some rumors in the Path said he made it, but there were a lot of rumors. I even heard folks say Obi-Wan survived.” And here he barked a half strangled laugh.

“You don’t think he did?” Mara’s brow creased taking it in, she had heard the stories of the practically legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi, though never had she heard speculation as to whether or not he had survived.

Vos shook his head, “No, if Obes were alive, where is he? He wouldn’t have left the fight, not even…not even after what you told me about Luke’s father. I just can’t see him walking away from this.” Vos stood, stretching and turning from the Archives, though something held him back, as if a hand had been placed on his chest making him turn back one last time.

Those dark eyes no longer twinkled as they looked back to BD-1 where he stood next to Mara in the soft blue glow of the Archives. “Cal didn’t. Ahsoka didn’t, Kriff it all, you didn’t either, kid.” He laughed a little again that strange strangled laugh as his gaze landed on Mara. “And Force knows you and the Skywalker kid would have had every reason to.”

Mara didn’t know what to say to that. She could think of several reasons one might walk away from this life, those reasons though always felt a little hollow in her throat, and so they never were given voice. Even so she heard what Vos didn’t say. “You didn’t walk away either.”

Now Vos let out a real chuckle, turning as he left the Archive, calling once more. “Force help us all. Take care of that droid, Jade.”

And then he was gone, and Mara looked once more to BD-1 who was regarding her curiously, blue optics looking almost lapis in the light of the Archives. “We’ll take care of each other, that’s what Jedi do.” And he beeped in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t long until it was BD-1 who got to put into practice what Mara had said in the Archives. One time in combat practice, Ezra had come out swinging with his training blade, while Sabine came from the flanking side, blasters set to stun. Mara had stumbled in the fight, Luke who had been on the sidelines for this one, rose to his feet with a cry. Mara never stumbled, not once not even when she made a mistake, not ever. Shaking, falling to her hands and knees, blood oozing from her nose, Mara fell. Ezra didn’t have time to change course, Mara couldn’t block.

She took the weight of the training saber, falling to the mat in a heap, still conscious, but not responding. Luke knew what it was. Of course he knew. How could he not when he hated it so much every time it happened, that the mere action haunted his dreams. “Stay back!” He yelled.

Mara lay on the ground, eyes clenched shut until the moment passed. But before she could move an inch, reach for the trashcan Luke knew she would be needing after such an incident, BD-1 was scampering across the mats, nimble feet scurrying over discarded jackets, leaping onto Mara’s shoulder. A green canister flying from his casing, jabbing it into Mara’s neck.

She gasped, sitting upright, eyes full of clarity rather than fog, the blood already drying from her nose.

Luke was at her side, as was Ezra and Sabine. “Mara, are you alright? I’m so, so sorry.” Ezra was saying.

Sabine smacked him lightly on the arm before turning her attention to her friend. “Mara, what was that?”

“The Emperor.” Mara spoke in a whisper, Luke had brought her cloak with him and was already draping it over her shoulders, a quiet efficiency that spoke of routine. He moved it around BD-1, the droid refusing to budge.

“The Emperor.” Ezra said in horror, eyes widening as understanding set in.

Sabine didn’t hesitate, she threw her arms about the other girl, causing BD-1 to jump a little to avoid getting dislodged. Luke enveloped Mara in a hug from her other side. Ezra had sat down next to Sabine, gently taking Mara’s hand in his.

“Is it always this bad?” Sabine said, voice strained with the emotion all the Force sensitives in the room could feel pouring from her.

Mara shook her head, then groaned at the action, saying. “It’s actually better with the shields Ahsoka’s been teaching me. But the effort of it over so much distance, so much power…”

The trio around her just tightened their hold all the more.

“What did he want?” Luke questioned, not accusing, not anything other than understanding as she had always known him to be.

“I’ve got a mission. I-I need to report back to Coruscant by this time tomorrow. He thinks I’m on Naboo. If I’m to make it in time, I have to leave by morning at the latest.” Mara said, surprisingly clearly as Luke knew given how she usually was after such an incident.

Her friends helped her to her feet, swaying slightly though she seemed okay all things considered. “I’m fine, thanks to BD here.” She reached up and gave the droid a little pat on the head. He beeped in exclamation at the nickname and Mara turned to try and see him where he clung to her shoulder. “Is that nickname a no go?”

The droid was silent for half a beat before saying quietly. No, it’s fine.

Mara nodded to the droid before turning to the others. “I need to go get ready.” Luke reached out and gave her hand a squeeze before she walked from the training Salle, it was time to be the Emperor’s Hand again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In her quarters, Mara took the valuable time to think, to reflect, to find peace, sitting in the quiet of the half-light from a glow rod sitting on her nightstand, bathing where she sat in a circle of warm orange light. BD was with her, sitting at her desk, watching her as she looked through the mission report she had been sent.

I don’t want you to go. The little droid said, titling his head as if guilty about the admission.

“I know.” Mara replied, “I’ll miss you.” She had grown accustomed to the droid, he had become a friend, a companion when she was alone on those long nights. More than once he had woken her from a nightmare. Not startled her awake, not nudged her rudely. Just been there for her. When she had asked how he knew how to handle organics and bad dreams he had simply replied. Cal had them a lot.

Mara had asked him about Cal from time to time, though not since their encounter with Vos in the Archives. She was beginning to think he must be the lost Jedi, the name in the archives Kanan spoke of every now and then. Cal Kestis. But she didn’t push. It wasn’t that Cal was an uncommon name after all. It wouldn’t surprise her if Vos’s Cal and Kanan’s Cal turned out to be one in the same.

I don’t want to be safe when my friends aren’t. BD continued, a stroke of defiance entering his digital tone.

Mara sighed, glancing over her work, picking up the little droid after asking for his permission to do so, she began some maintenance he would need, whether he stayed here or took her up on the offer she was about to give him.

“I have a mission I could use your help on. It might be dangerous. But you could help me take down the man that hurt your friend, Cal.” Checking the gear by his foot that had been giving him trouble the other day, Mara was pleased to find it in relatively good working order. “You don’t have to.”

What would I have to do? The droid asked.

Mara answered him. “Not much, film things, collect data without being caught. Whenever you see the man, the one with the gold eyes, you stay close to me, you don’t leave my side for anything unless I tell you too and you film everything you see. But you can’t get caught, that is the important thing. You can’t ever get caught, BD, even if that means leaving me behind.”

BD let out a string of protests but Mara just shook her head. “No, that is the most important thing, you stay by my side but if I tell you to run, you run as fast as you can and you don’t look back. The data you collect could mean more than anything to the rebellion.”

Then the droid asked a question that shocked her. More than your life?

Shoulders slumping, Mara set BD back on the desk. “Maybe. I’m just one person. I don’t want to die, but if it is my life for the galaxy, that’s a trade I’ll make, I won’t lie to you about that.”

The droid was quiet again, regarding her almost thoughtfully.

“What?” Mara asked trying not to laugh a little at the look he gave her.

You really are like Cal. The droid didn’t say it happily. The smile vanished from her face. She never had gotten it out of him what had happened to his friend. But given where BD had ended up, she could hazard a guess.

“I take that as a compliment.”

The next morning, when she boarded the shuttle back to Coruscant, BD-1 with a case full of stims and a new memory port for recording went with her.