Disclaimer: Same as in part 1. Everything is George Lucas's, Timothy Zahn's, or Joss Whedon's.
Summary: Jade's alive again, but now about 20 years post-ROTJ. If you haven't read part 1, read that first, this takes up right where it left off.
Notes: I ignore Young Jedi Knights and kind of rework Vector Prime since, as far as I can tell, the "official" timeline is way off anyway, 25 years after ANH would make the twins ~20, but it sounds like they're more 16-17... Not to mention the author took Luke's two annoying sides, his all-powerful ready to fight side, and his very internal, always philosophical side, and turned them into Anakin and Jacen. How annoying. Also, thanks to everyone who gave me positive feedback on the first story! Rereading it, there are some glaring errors I'm really embarrassed about (Booster gets his eye poked out and worries about Jade's bandages? WTF?) I might rewrite it at some point...
S T A R W A R S
Jade's Angel
"No," was my answer for Thrawn.
He was not pleased. "Jade, I understand that you've been through a lot. But we are talking about saving the galaxy here. You must put your personal feelings aside."
I rolled my eyes at him. "You wanna save the galaxy, great, go right ahead, I certainly won't try and stop you. But I don't care. You understand yet? I don't give a damn about the galaxy anymore. You know how many times I've died? Six. You've brought me back yet again for number seven, and that sure as blazes hasn't won you any points."
"Very well," he said, walking over to a computer console. "I did plan for this contingency, you see. You don't care about the galaxy, so be it." He tapped a few keys. "But perhaps you care about something, or someone, within it."
The holo activated, depicting a tall, beautiful woman with long red-gold hair and deep green eyes. "Mara?" I asked disbelievingly.
"Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand turned New Republic hero," Thrawn read off the screen in front of him. "Married to Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master." He turned to look at me. "Well, she seems to be alive and well."
"Skywalker?" My mind had more or less stuck on that point. "A Jedi Master? Married to my Mara?!"
"Yes, well, others did disapprove but they got through it. That was about five years ago. Now, without you this war may still but won but will undoubtedly last longer and be far bloodier. And your daughter's involvement would pretty much be a given. She is a Jedi, and is well aware of the danger, and even my possible involvement."
"Why?" I asked. "I thought this was all hush-hush."
He keyed off the holo turning to me with an apologetic shrug. "I once mentioned to my ally, Admiral Parck, that 'Jade' would be a valuable asset to us in our struggle. He misinterpreted that and attempted to recruit her five years ago."
"And he failed."
"He went about it the wrong way," Thrawn responded with a casual shrug, moving towards me. "But that doesn't matter. We don't need her; we need you. Will you join us?"
I'd been reaching out to him with the Force throughout his explanation of the situation. I knew he was very serious, and even a little bit frightened. The fact that he was frightened served to frighten me, too. I could tell it took a lot to get to this guy. He was an Imperial Grand Admiral even - and I couldn't imagine the Emperor handing out titles like that to an alien without being very much justified. Not to mention the fact that the last thing I wanted was Mara to become involved, and if my involvement precluded hers... then there was no choice. I nodded my head. "Yes. I'll do it."
After a little more in depth explanation now that I'd promised to work with him, we left his secret briefing room or whatever it was. It was quite a trek to the main building, over a kilometer of stairways and tunnels. I guess he really valued his privacy.
Finally, we stopped. Thrawn moved to the wall, fingers reaching for an obviously familiar niche. A slight tug, and the stone pulled up before us opening into a cavernous room. Its occupants all looked up at once. Seven blue-skinned aliens - Chiss, Thrawn had told me they called themselves - and two human men, I noted. When not on a mission, I was to be Thrawn's bodyguard, and after hearing his plans I'd pretty much decided keeping him around was a good thing so I took that job very seriously. For that reason, my eyes quickly focused on the younger human - medium height and build, but a very experienced eye.
Apparently Thrawn noticed my contemplating how best to kill everyone in the room. He glanced at me and said, "These are my people, Jade. No need to be on guard here." He turned to the others who were all now standing many of them slack-jawed. "Admiral Parck, so good to see you again."
"And you, sir," the oldest man responded, running a nervous hand through his thinning gray hair. "Some of the others didn't believe you would return. I must admit, after the rumors of your return on Bastion proved untrue five years ago, my own faith was shaken."
He sounded genuinely disgusted with himself. I shook my head, thinking "Grand Admiral Thrawn - not just a leader, but a way of life." I mean, the guy was impressive, but really...
"Be thankful that Mara Jade stopped you from turning all that we have achieved over to them." He was good, reprimanding his subordinate and subtly praising my daughter in one breath. I liked him. "But I don't blame you. I told you to look for my return in ten years, and you did - even I can miscalculate." He moved further into the room and I followed closely. "Regardless, the time is nearly at hand. We have lost much time, but that's why I made sure all of the pieces were in place before my failed attack on the New Republic."
Parck nodded. "We are ready, Admiral."
"Good. We will leave immediately for Vura Prime."
"Sir," the younger man prompted, moving beside Parck. He was eyeing me, obviously suspicious of the newcomer.
"This," Thrawn said, gesturing to me, "is our newest ally, Jade. Jade, meet Admiral Voss Parck and General Baron Fel."
"But -" Fel started.
Thrawn waved away his objection. "If you had not invited Mara Jade here, things would have been very different and I would not be here now. So. Vura Prime?"
"Your ship is prepared," came a Chiss voice. Apparently they'd been busy while the humans wasted time talking to Thrawn.
"Excellent."
We took the most odd-looking capital-sized starship I'd ever seen to Vura Prime. It was composed of a spherical command center/shield generator with dozens of appendages shooting off at random points at random angles loaded with turbo lasers, ion cannons, and warhead launchers.
Vura Prime was a small but economically proficient world just inside the Outer Rim, and apparently loyal to Thrawn. It was to serve as our base of operations since the Unknown Regions were way too far away to be useful in case of an emergency. Vura was apparently common and uninteresting enough to be completely overlooked by the New Republic.
Thrawn didn't waste any time. The moment we were on the surface, he began making preparations, contacting his various groups and receiving assurances that they were ready for the coming battles as well. After putting the installations considerable computer and reconnaissance resources to work looking for every instance of a particular energy frequency in the galaxy, which had most of the workers slack-jawed, he and I went to a standard Imperial shuttle alone. We were going to Coruscant. Thrawn had impressive resources, but we'd need far more.
It was remarkably easy to get into President Organa Solo's outer offices. There was so much going on in the Palace, so many people, that security didn't even try to check everybody's story. We stood, Thrawn beside me completely covered in a large brown robe, goggles blocking the light from his eyes under the hood, myself in a loose white tunic and pants, my light saber hanging at my belt as we waited to speak to the receptionist, a young human woman who looked like she was new to the job if the panic-stricken look on her face meant anything.
Finally we were at the front of the line. "Hello," I said with a disarming smile.
"Um, hi," she said. Her breath seemed to halt before she caught herself. "I mean, um, can I help you?"
"Yes, you see I'm Jedi Ketal, and I don't have an appointment, but I really need to speak to Master Skywalker's sister. Jedi business," I added with a light laugh and a shrug.
She glanced at my light saber. "Oh, of course! You can go right in then, sir, she's just going over some papers and I'm sure it's real important."
"It is, thank you," I said, still smiling as Thrawn began walking toward the door. Falling into step behind him, my smile disappeared. When we reached the door, it opened, and we stepped in.
The President looked up from the work on her desk. Something was off - I could feel it. Looking around a moment, I didn't see anything out of place. I didn't really want to spook her, so I kept the Force tightly wrapped around me and didn't probe. "Yes?" she asked, one eyebrow rose inquisitively. "Jedi Ketal? I don't believe I recognize the name -"
"No reason you should," Thrawn responded. Organa Solo's expression quickly turned to one of surprise as Thrawn removed his hood and goggles.
"Thrawn," she breathed. "I don't believe it."
"Believe it. It will make things much easier," he responded coolly.
"What do you want?" she asked him suspiciously. I was wondering why she wasn't calling security. Why did Thrawn's presence freeze everybody up? It'd only hurt in the long run, and I knew it wasn't his intention - at least not this time.
"Hasn't your brother told you? I know he put my copy of the Caamas Document to good use," Thrawn said.
"Luke didn't get it from you. Han did - or thought he did, anyway."
"No," Thrawn said, shaking his head. "You misunderstand. Your husband received an altered copy from Flim as part of Major Tierce's crusade against the Republic. Your brother, on the other hand, retrieved the unaltered copy I had in my own databases. It doesn't really matter, though. May we sit?"
She nodded hesitantly and we sat in the seats facing her desk. "I'm supposed to believe you're really Thrawn? If you were, you wouldn't be here," she started.
"Wouldn't I? I never believed in the Empire, Madame President. At the time, it was the power in this galaxy and the New Republic was horribly unstable." He shrugged and continued, "It still is, frankly. I could once again wage war against you, attempt to consolidate a firm government that can withstand what's coming. But I no longer have the luxury of time. In fact, thanks to your brother and his wife, I'm five years behind schedule."
"So sorry to inconvenience you," came another woman's voice from the side door that opened a moment earlier. Mara. Oh, blazes, this wasn't in the plan. Maybe it was time to rethink Thrawn's tactical abilities. She scowled at the both of us as she walked into the room.
"Mara Jade, a pleasure to see you again."
"The pleasure's all yours," she responded with a snicker. "Not here recruiting, are you?"
"I must apologize for any inconvenience visited upon you by Admiral Parck's mistake. You were not the Jade I intended to recruit," Thrawn informed her.
"Oh really? And how exactly are you here, anyway?" she asked disbelievingly.
"Redundant systems," Thrawn responded simply.
Glaring, Mara walked forward. When she passed my seat walking to Leia's side of the desk, she hesitated, turning toward me. She reached out with the Force. I deftly sidestepped her inexperienced probe, diverting it to a "clean" spot in my mind - an old Jedi trick I doubted she knew anything about.
My Force senses off standby, I felt something coming. No, someone, someone that - "Force sustain me," I whispered as I stood up, turning toward the door which opened that same instant. Everyone's eyes were on me, but I didn't care as my jaw gaped.
Framed in the doorway was a vision of beauty and innocence. 'Nira!' my mind screamed in agonizing bliss. She was a couple of inches shorter, had brown hair and chocolate eyes, and looked a little younger, but everything else... I quickly disabled a good percentage of my brain. Two Jedi in the room - three if my initial impression of the girl was accurate - and I didn't want to make things awkward. Not explosively awkward at least.
"Mom -" the girl started before noticing everyone else. "Oops, I thought just Aunt Mara would be here." She looked me over curiously. When our eyes locked she blushed and looked away.
"Jaina, this is a bad time," Leia said. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief; apparently she hadn't noticed my reaction. I casually sat back down like nothing happened. "What is it, honey?"
"Um, I just wondered if I could stay over at my friend's tonight, and-"
"Sure."
"But, mom! Daddy said I..." she frowned for a moment before realization sunk in. "Ok!" she said excitedly and disappeared back out the door.
"Now," Leia resumed, looking at Thrawn. "What's all this about exactly?"
Thrawn cut me loose, assuring me he'd be safe. I was happy to oblige, I didn't want to hear the gory details again. Wandering through the crowds of the Imperial Palace, I lost myself in my thoughts.
In my distracted state, I ran into a large, burly man. "Sorry," I said, not really caring as I moved to continue on my way.
"Jade?" he asked. He shook his head, turning away from me to the younger woman beside him. "Mirax, I think I've finally gone senile."
"Mirax?" I asked, my attention finally on the two people before me. Looking closely at the old man, with his mechanical right eye... "Boost? You look like crap!"
"Blazes engulf me, it is you! How the - !?"
"It's a long story," I said with a grin. "And Mirax, wow. You're all grown up."
"Do I know you?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I haven't seen you since you were like five, but, yeah."
Hey eyebrow rose. "There's no way you're less than ten years younger than me."
"Like I said, long story," I laughed. "Glad I ran into you, Boost. I've been meaning to look you up."
"Have you, now?"
"Yes," I said seriously, glancing at Mirax.
He caught my hint. "Mirax, why don't you go pick up Valin yourself? My friend and I have some old business to discuss."
"Sure," Mirax said hesitantly, and walked away.
Booster and I stepped into a nearby conference room and locked the door. "I don't get it," he stated.
"I know, and I'll explain, but later. Right now, you know what I want. Tell me you got it, Boost. Please," I begged him.
"I had it," he said nervously.
"Had it? What do you mean had it? Who has it now, Boost?"
He sighed and fell limply into a chair. "Five years ago, Karrde, that's Talon Karrde, wanted to buy from my Jedi collection. He's an old smuggler chieftain, turned independent intelligence leader -"
"I've heard of him," I interrupted. "He has it? You just let him buy Nira's light saber off you?!"
"No, of course not. It's just there was a lot going on, business was booming at the time and I just let him pick for himself without giving it a second thought."
"So he has it. Where is he?"
"Umm, it's a little more complicated than that," Booster said cautiously. "You see he wanted a Jedi item to give to Mara as a wedding present. She used to be his second-in-command, and -"
"Mara has Nira's light saber?!" I yelled. "Obviously you didn't decide to burden her with what you know, for which I commend you, but you just accidentally let her have her own mother's light saber?! Boost..."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am. But I don't think she ever even realized it, she never uses it, only that blade Skywalker gave her."
"I saw it," I said, rolling my eyes. "That's the same blade Anakin stabbed me and took your eye with."
Booster shook his head. "I knew it looked familiar. But look, I have something else for you. C'mon."
"What are you doing in a place like this?" I asked Jaina as I walked up to her. She was sitting at the bar in some dark, dusty cantina. She gestured for me to sit beside her, and I did.
"What's wrong with me in a place like this?" she asked innocently.
"You're what, fifteen?"
"I'll be sixteen in two months!" she protested.
"Still a bit under age," I said with a grin as I picked up the glass of ale someone had placed before me. After taking a swig, I continued. "A sweet little thing like you shouldn't be this deep in Coruscant all alone."
"But I'm not all alone," she said demurely, slipping off her stool into my lap. "That is," she continued, running a finger lightly down my chest, "if you're up to protecting a 'sweet little thing' like me."
"Oh, I'm definitely up to the challenge," I replied with a light laugh.
She jumped off my lap, taking a few steps backwards. Beckoning me with a finger, she grinned wickedly and said, "Come on, then."
Savoring the moment, I nearly missed the tall, cloaked figure that quickly walked up behind her. Before I could move, he grabbed Jaina around her chest pulling her back into his other hand, coming up - with a vibroblade. It's point stuck out the front of her chest. Her face contorted with pain and surprise, a whisper escaped her lips, "Jade."
I was on my feet, though I knew I was far too late. As I angrily rushed the cloaked man, he dropped Jaina's body and his hand came up, only instead of a vibroblade, he held a crystal. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground, like I'd run straight into a wall. I looked up at him, perplexed, as he pulled back his hood to show himself.
"Palpatine," I breathed.
Holding the crystal in his fingers for my appraisal, he laughed, that same maniacal laugh from all those years ago.
And I awoke in a cold sweat, that laugh still reverberating in my head. Looking around, I quickly regained my bearings. I was still aboard the shuttle, where I'd gone to get some rest after finishing up with Booster. So much for that.
I got up and dressed. Thrawn needed to know what I'd seen.
"Who are you?" my daughter's voice came from behind me as I walked down one of the Palace hallways.
I was on my way to tell Thrawn of my dream and its likely implications, but I turned to her. "Can this wait?"
"No, I don't think it can," Mara said forcefully, glaring.
"What do you want to know?"
"I already asked the question."
"You don't want to know that," I said, shaking my head as I turned around and resumed my pace.
"Daddy?" she practically squeaked, causing my body to completely tense up. "You are," she breathed. "Oh, blazes, I didn't actually think -"
Slowly turning back to her, our deep green eyes met. "I told you you didn't want to know."
"Were you even going to tell me?"
"What, does your life need more complications? I'm back, don't ask me how -"
"You're a clone," she said accusingly.
"This body is, yes," I said, gesturing to my chest, then tapping my forehead, continued "but I'm not. The Emperor didn't want me to rest, I guess, so he shoved me in another clone, in stasis. Somehow Thrawn acquired it."
"Like Palpatine did for himself," she said, trying to understand.
"Yes, and a few of his assistants, Bevel Lemelisk, for instance."
"You were one of his assistants?"
"No," I responded with a short laugh. "Just one of the many thorns in his side."
"Then why did you give me to him?" She sounded genuinely hurt, her previous vehemence forgotten.
"I had to," I said, looking away. "That's all the explanation I can give you. I'm sorry." I turned and walked off - she didn't attempt to follow.
Thrawn was actually pleased when I told him I thought one of the crystals was on Coruscant. He told me just to keep my eyes open; he'd have some of his men buzz by with their reconnaissance ships to verify the crystal's presence.
I had nothing to do and I knew I couldn't sleep. So I did something that I'm not proud of. I lurked. Maybe a more accurate word would be stalked, but I'll stick to lurked.
It was easy to find Jaina. She was walking with two of her friends, a brunette and a redhead, around one of the Palace's many shopping districts. I followed them for quite some time, ducking behind something or someone whenever one of them, almost always Jaina, looked up toward me. I caught little more than snippets of the conversation, but I learned her friends' names. The brunette was Charisma and the redhead Aly. After several hours of shopping, they sat in one of Coruscant's many trendy coffeine houses. I managed to find a seat from which I could see and hear fairly well.
The three girls sipped their drinks while chatting about something, I couldn't tell what. Every now and then Jaina would look in my direction, but I always sensed it first and hid behind a datascreen I'd, uh... borrowed. After the third time, Charisma went off. "Ok, what's wrong with you, Jaina? Are we being followed or are you just being your freaky Jedi self?"
"I don't know," Jaina replied with a frown.
"Hey, now, it's not freaky. It's..." She bit her lip when Jaina's head flew up again. "Ok, well, just a little."
Jaina sighed. "I know. I just have this weird feeling..."
"And I can see why," Charisma said, rolling her eyes.
A young man approached the group, a goofy grin on face. "Hello, ladies."
"Hi, Jacen," Jaina and Aly said.
"Get lost," was Charisma's response.
"Hey, now, I just wanted to see how Jaina was doing," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
My eyes narrowed.
"You guys are fraternal twins, not Siamese," she responded with another eye-roll.
I sighed in relief. I thought they looked kinda alike. Luckily not that like, though.
"I'm with her today," Jaina said, pushing his hand away. "Go away."
"C'mon, he can stay-" Aly started.
"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted!" Jacen interrupted her, throwing up his hands. "I'll just go home and sit in the dark."
"Good. I'm sure "pets" will keep you company," Charisma glibly replied.
Jacen glared at her, but walked away.
Aly sighed. "Well, we'd better get going, too," she said, gesturing to her chrono. They all nodded reluctantly, cleaned up and started heading away from the shopping area.
They turned down onto a deserted hallway, forcing me to stay well behind them, although I could hear their laughter clearly. Suddenly I heard a scream and ran forward. Charisma ran past me the other direction still screaming. When I made it around the corner, my heart nearly stopped. Jaina was there with three cloaked figures like in my dream, Aly unconscious on the ground. Two of the figures held Jaina, struggling, by the arms while the other stood before her, a vibroblade in hand. "And with the blood of his flesh, the sire shall be reborn," One said in a deep, resonating voice.
"Not today," I said, grabbing him by the back of his head and sending him nose-first into the wall. He kicked back, catching me in the ribs and sending me sprawling backwards five feet. "Oh, stang." I Forced the pain away before returning to my feet. My opponent came at me, vibroblade at the ready, as I realized I'd forgotten my light saber in the ship. "Oh, stang!"
"No!" Jaina shouted, breaking one arm free as she nailed Two in the groin, putting him down. She managed to sandwich Three against the wall, but he held her arm strongly.
Two got up and joined the one coming after me, pulling a similar vibroblade. "Look, guys, can't we talk about this?" I tried, not too intent on fighting without my primary weapon, especially with Jaina in danger. In response, Two threw his blade at me, which I caught easily. "Thanks." One threw himself at me, swiping with his blade. I blocked, grabbing hold of his arm and throwing him over my shoulder. I leapt at Two with a scissor kick to the neck, snapping it, and landed facing Three angrily. I threw the vibroblade into the wall beside his head. "Let her go." He dropped Jaina and came at me - but never connected. One had snuck up while I was distracted, shoving his vibroblade into my side making me fall away as Three landed on him heavily. Both were unconscious. Holding my wound with one hand, I grabbed Jaina's hand with the other. "Come on," I said, starting to pull her away.
"Who are you?" she gaped at me.
"Jade. Now come on!"
"But Aly!" she protested.
"Security's coming, I can hear them. They'll take care of her, and I don't want to call attention to Thrawn or myself. C'mon." I pulled gently on her hand.
"No, this way," she said, pulling me down a different hallway. Silently I followed as she guided me down the Palace's maze of hallways. Finally, she opened a door and stepped inside. "Get in."
"I don't know why I came here," I said, fighting to steady my voice. Jaina had an apartment? It had its own entrance, but there was a side door that probably opened into her parents' home. Inside were just a bed, dresser, and a chair. The walls were covered with posters from holonet shows and such.
"Because there could me more of those guys still out there," she responded.
"Exactly, there probably are, and killing people, too."
"Security has an alert out by now. Besides, you're hurt," she said, pushing me to sit, mercifully, on the chair. "I have a med kit, just take off your shirt." She moved to her closet and started digging through piles of junk in search of it.
"It's barely a scratch," I protested, though I obediently removed my shirt. "It'll heal on its own, and with a little Force..."
"Just let me help you, ok?" She found the med kit and turned back toward me. I could see her muscles tighten when she saw me, and I couldn't help where my mind went so I was sure to carefully control the Force between us. "Nice scar."
I glanced down at my stomach, at the mark that Skywalker's blade had made on my original body and for some reason had manifested itself on each of my clone bodies after that. "I like it," I responded offhandedly.
"I'm lucky you happened to come along," she said as she put some synth flesh over my cut.
"I was in the area. A bar nearby I used to like," I lied.
"Oh," she said as she finished up and pulled away. "So you weren't following me. I had this feeling you were." She looked into my eyes, and I nearly got lost in them.
"Why would I do that?" I just barely kept up.
"You tell me. Not that I'm not happy about you being around today, but I'd just like to know why," she said. When she saw I wouldn't answer, she shifted gears. "How'd security know about it anyway? You don't have a comlink on you, and there wasn't much time."
"Your friend, Charisma, must have gotten them."
She raised an eyebrow. "And you weren't following me?" At my stricken look, she shook her head and gave me a little smile.
By the Force, why did she have to be only fifteen? I stood up suddenly, causing her to jump back as I moved over toward the large window, opening it. I needed air. Looking outside, I tried to catch my breath. Basically all I could see was down, since right outside was another building, and even down all I could see was the unending side of this building right down to where light was swallowed into utter darkness. Not a viable escape route. Damn. "Look," I said cautiously. "I really can't be around you -"
"Oh," she said dejectedly, looking away and biting her lower lip. "That's ok -"
"-Because when I am -"
"-I understand, you like -"
"-All I want -"
"-Women, tall and probably busty, and I'm -"
"-Is to kiss you."
"-Not." Her gaze jerked to me, her face purveying her confusion. "Kiss me?"
"I should really go," I said quietly, making no move to do so.
"Maybe," she responded, coming nearer me. Our faces drifted nearer painfully slowly until finally meeting in a gentle kiss. My arms quickly wrapped around her waist as hers came up around my neck, pulling my lips down harder onto hers.
As we kissed with increased fervor, time seemed to slow while my pulse must have hit an all-time high. Holding her body, feeling her through the Force, I knew absolutely that this young girl could be none other than my Nira. As memories began sprouting up uncontrollably, my attention was elsewhere.
Suddenly Jaina pulled away, her hands holding her head as she screamed. I gasped, clamping down on our Force connection as I belittled myself for slipping up. I slowly backed away as she curled into a little ball in the corner sobbing uncontrollably.
The door opened and her mother walked in. "Sweetie, what's - You!" Leia exclaimed when she saw me. "What did you do to her?!"
"I - I didn't -" I struggled to respond.
"Get out. And don't ever come near my daughter again!" she shouted opening the front door and pointing the way out to me.
As I walked, frightened, out the door, I could hear her asking Jaina what horrible thing I did to her, and I could just barely hear her whispered response of, "Close your eyes."
"I don't know what to do," I said to Booster as I gulped down some more Corellian brandy. "I mean, first of all, she's fifteen. Personally that doesn't bother me -"
"We are Corellian," Booster interjected.
"-And so's her father, so... Ug. What in blazes am I thinking?"
"You're in love, my friend," Booster laughed, slapping me on the back.
"No," I said belligerently. I shook my head. "She isn't Nira."
"Funny, you said she was about five minutes ago."
I glared at him. "Whose side are you on?" With a sigh I turned on the stool, looking out around the bar. "No, Boost, it can't be."
"Why can't it be her? I thought you Jedi believed in this stuff," he replied.
"We do - kind of. And it could be her, it's not that, it's just that -" I took another long swig of brandy, "-When we're together... I hurt her, Boost. I don't mean to, I would never mean to, but I did then, and I did today. Like I told her, I can't be around her. I just can't."
"That's right," came a voice from right beside me. My head jerked to the side, making my slightly drunk brain hurt. I saw it was Mara. 'How long had she been there?' my foggy mind wondered. She looked like she'd rediscovered her anger, too. "You can't be with her. It's one thing to have your clone father come back from the dead, it's quite another to have your clone father come back from the dead and diddle your fifteen year old niece."
"I -" I started, but she was already making her way out of the bar. I dropped the empty glass of brandy on the counter.
"Another bottle?" Booster asked wryly.
"No," I said quietly, turning back to him. "I'm gonna tell her. Make her understand. I don't want her to think I'm a monster."
He nodded in understanding - he had a daughter, he knew where I was coming from. I got up and took off after Mara.
"Mara," I called to her when I finally caught up in an empty hallway. "Let me explain."
"You know what, dad," she growled, but stopped her hasty exit, "I don't care. I really don't want to know about your issues."
I doubt any other person could have made "dad" sound like a swearword. Looking sadly at the back of her head, I stated simply, "Please."
She turned around, tears streaking down her face. "Didn't you care about my mother? Blazes, did you even know her?!"
I walked up to her, putting my hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Mara, I loved your mother and you more than anything in this galaxy. I gave my life for you," several times, I thought, "and I would have for her if I could have. I'm not lying, I promise you." She looked like she was about to take off again, or maybe just punch my lights out. "Look at this," I said, pulling out the holocube Booster had given me earlier. I handed it to her.
"What is it?" she asked. When I opened my mouth to answer, she said, "Shut up, I know it's a holocube, I mean, what's on it?"
"Just activate it."
She did, the image splaying out before us as we both turned to our right to view it. It was dark. "Damnit, I can't get this stupid thing working," my voice emanated from it.
"Let me try," said a small, girlish voice. After what sounded like some pounding, the image came up with what looked like a palm. "See, I got it!"
"Good work, Mara," came Nira's laughing voice. At that, Mara's face looked slightly confused when she recognized the voice. "Now c'mere, baby. And Jade, take your hand off that thing, you're the one who wanted to record this."
"Oh, yeah," holo-me said. The picture now showed Nira and a very small Mara sitting in her lap making Mara gasp. Holo-me sat to the side, getting the picnic set up properly. "Ok, now. Food, check. Drinks, check. Daughter," he tapped her nose, eliciting a giggle, "check. Festivities," he kissed Nira deeply, eliciting another giggle, "check. Yup, we're ready to go."
The two of us just stood there, entranced, as we watched as our holo-selves, plus Nira, ate and chatted. When everyone was done, holo-me and Nira kissed. "The picnic was a good idea," she admitted.
"I told you it would be," holo-me replied, kissing her back. "Am I ever wrong?"
Nira laughed then gave me a "you want me to answer that?" kind of look. Holo-Mara rolled her eyes and whined, "Can I go?"
"Honey, we're still having a nice time. I thought you were enjoying that game?" Nira asked gesturing to the datapad holo-Mara'd thrown aside.
"Yeah, like last week," holo-Mara complained. She rolled her eyes again when Nira returned to kissing holo-me.
The kissing deepened, and holo-me pulled away. "You really wanna do this with her here?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Nira exclaimed. "Um, Mara, why don't you go play with Mirax?" Holo-Mara happily jumped to her feet. "But just over to her house, no going out, I don't care if Booster's with you! I'll be calling soon!" she shouted warningly to the eagerly sprinting away Mara.
"Not that soon," holo-me whispered, kissing her neck and making her moan.
"Um, that's enough of that," I said, reaching out and deactivating the cube.
Mara looked completely blown away. "Can I keep it?" she asked quietly.
"Sure," I said.
Thrawn had found the crystal's location. Deep down within Coruscant's infrastructure I went and found, much to my surprise, I was not alone. Mara, Skywalker, and Organa Solo stood just outside the massive doors. Mara looked - calmer, at least, while Skywalker seemed curious. Leia just glared.
"Thrawn informed us of the Yuuzhan Vong installation," she said. "We decided you could use the help since you've no idea what you're up against."
My eyebrow rose. I was not going to let her get to me. "I'm well aware of their capabilities. Meanwhile, you've no idea about mine," I said evenly. Confidently, I pushed through the doorway.
Beyond it was a massive corridor. Twenty meters wide and three stories high, it extended as far as I could see.
"Some installation," Leia muttered as the others came up behind me.
I ignored her, looking at the small pathways on the upper levels. I could see no one, but that's not what I felt. "There's at least three on the left, and at least one on the right. Pacing us."
"How can you sense them? They don't exist in the Force," Skywalker asked.
"The Force may not be within them, but it touches them. You just have to know what to look for."
The trek continued in silence. Some time later, during which we'd at least not picked up any new friends, we hit a wall.
"And now?" Mara asked.
I frowned at the wall. "Something's wrong here. Oh, well." I shrugged, drew my light saber and lunged at the wall, quickly carving a man-sized hole. Shoving it away, I stepped through.
Immediately, I felt the change. Suddenly my primary sense, other than the five of course, was cut off. As the others came through, I could only hear their gasps of surprise. To make the situation even more fun, half a dozen Yuuzhan Vong were waiting. "Well, I think we found them," I muttered sarcastically.
"Welcome, Jedi," the largest one said. He stood before a large ornate podium in the center of the room. "I am D'hrli, of the Praetorite Vong. It will be an honor to destroy you."
"Ysalamiri," I said, shaking my head. "And here I thought you guys would be interested in a fair fight." D'hrli just stared calmly at me. "I mean, you outnumber us and take away our natural abilities," I continued, "that's hardly fair. But..." I put my hand to my chin, looking thoughtful. "How about this. You and me. One-on-one, everybody else just stays back and watches the fun."
"I did not realize you were their leader," D'hrli replied.
"Yeah, well, neither did they," I shrugged before throwing myself at him with a kick. I took him by surprise, sending him crashing into the podium behind him, cracking it. He swung his staff at me, which I quickly blocked with my light saber. He looked surprised. "Didn't think I'd be much without the Force, huh?" I kicked again, this time hitting the pillar when he spun away.
We traded blows back and forth for some time, parrying each other's weapons, both getting in hits now and then. It didn't take me long to notice the "ring" - he never moved more than 5 meters away from the podium. Throwing myself backwards towards it as his staff again became a lithe snake-like thing trying to bite me, I pulled up my saber, slicing through the podium. Seeing what I was up to, the other Yuuzhan Vong started toward me.
I was still within the remaining ysalamiri's influence, but apparently the others were not. Skywalker attacked two Vong before they could enter the Force-less sphere - easily matching them - while Mara and Leia took on another one. That left three for me, and pushing off the podium, knocking it over, I leapt at D'hrli, knocking him over and sending his staff flying. Hurriedly, I swiped at his neck with my light saber before rolling off, away from the others' snake-like creatures. I leapt back to my feet beside the podium and swept my blade through it several times, killing the rest of the ysalimiri.
Now I could easily deal with my two adversaries. I easily blocked both their strikes with my light saber, microseconds apart, before kicking one in the side and punching the other in the head. That one's staff hissed and flew at me, and I, now between them, ducked, the snake firmly biting the other's face, who screamed in agony. Without hesitation, the first came at me, but without his staff I easily struck him down.
The others had apparently cleaned up as well - two of the other Vong were dead, and one had disappeared. They were all looking at me strangely. Silently, I went to the fallen podium, and sure enough, beside it, was a small crystal.
The door opened, and I knew, about three hours earlier, who walked in. She hesitantly came forward before she really looked at me, a curious expression coming to her face. "What are you doing?" she asked.
I was standing in the middle of the apartment Thrawn had gotten for my 'extended' stay on Coruscant with a red-hot coal sitting in my left palm. "It's recursive Force usage," I responded. "I use the coal's heat to generate Force protection from that same heat."
"Oh. Well, um, we need to talk."
"I know," I said quietly. I'd been dreading this part for days. I vaguely gestured with my right hand to the two of us, "This can't -"
"-Ever be anything. I know," she said, nodding her head vigorously. She certainly was trying to convince one of us. "For one thing, you're like, fifty years older than I am." She stopped nodding and looked like she was on the verge of tears. It took every shred of self-control I had left not to comfort her. "One of us just has to walk away from this."
I didn't think pointing out we were standing in the middle of my apartment would be quite prudent. "Yeah," I whispered, as our faces grew closer, "just walk away." And then our lips met. It wasn't filled with the unrestrained passion of before, but instead tempered with sadness; outside forces were pulling us apart. We could both spout plenty of reasons - age differences, morality conflicts. But neither of us cared about any of that. She already knew all of my deepest secrets and accepted them, although she maybe didn't understand them completely. Just then, she was letting her mother win. To be fair, though, I was letting Mara win, too.
The kiss ended, both of us slowly pulling away. "It's just -" I whispered.
"Painful," she finished for me. "I know. Seeya around?"
Slowly, she backed away, turned, and walked out the door, never looking back. I stood, staring at the door, alone again in my apartment. After a moment, my fist uncurled, and the coal fell, forgotten, to the floor.
To be concluded (or continued, depending...)...