For the Love of a Son
Summary: Jacen's lust for power is the pathway to the Dark. Luke and Mara try to rescue their son.
Genre: drama, PG
Characters: Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, Jacen Solo
Disclaimer: I do not own Luke Skywalker or Mara Jade Skywalker or Ben Skywalker or Jacen Solo or the Star Wars concept; Lucasfilm does. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No credits have changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
"It's a trap."
Luke Skywalker knew better than to argue with his wife - he had learned that well enough in the long years since they first met - but he could not deny her reasoning. It was a trap, one they were stepping into quite willingly.
Like shadowmoths to the proverbial flame.
Apprehension slithered down his back at the grim thought but he did not allow his focus to waver. Instead, nodding vaguely in her direction, he leaned forward for a better view of their destination.
Beyond the shuttle's transparasteel window, the planet loomed dark and hot-red, glowing fiercely in the black void of space. Smoky clouds of noxious gases billowed into its atmosphere and the surface below seemed to be a chaotic wreckage of lava flows and congealing rock. Every so often, asteroids and other debris streaked past the spacecraft and then moments later, bright splashes of molten-core crimson would vomit across the obsidian-dark surface.
No wonder someone had named it Hell's Gate. It was a perfect place to trap the unwary.
Luke sat there, staring down at the planet, thinking about what to do next. The scene was beautiful in its own deadly way but he ignored it. Instead, he was more concerned with the Force's warnings, that down there on the surface was the key to success or the saber thrust of failure. Filled with a strange foreboding mixture of old pain and new, jangled conflicting whispers of dangers past and present and future, the Force was telling him - there had been desperation and death once on that fiery planet and there would be again. Soon.
He didn't like it... at all.
But he had no choice. Ben, his only son, was down on the surface and he wasn't going to allow the boy to remain there for one more day. Jacen Solo may be turning to the Dark but there was still a chance for Ben.
"Skywalker, are you listening?" Mara's irritated, concerned voice broke through his concentration.
She hadn't called him Luke in almost two weeks, ever since they had received the information about Jacen's latest killing spree and how he'd involved Ben in the murders. Her anxiety was pouring into the Force and it only added to the bitter black currents that twisted around them both.
"Mara, I know." He nodded slowly, trying to keep his own fears from blinding him. He could almost taste sour failure in the back of his throat but he fought it off. A defeatist attitude would not help him. He had to concentrate, to try and negotiate through the myriad pathways in the Force, to find a way to rescue his son before it was too late. "We need to be cautious... both of us."
Glaring at him in sharp fury, his wife spat out, "I want my son back. I want my son away from that murderer."
He wanted the same thing but Luke had to be realistic. Mildly, he reminded her, "Ben may not want to come with us."
"He won't have any choice." Mara's hand slapped the controls, tugging at one of the forward thrusters with bone-shaking force and the shuttle tilted, whining in response. Beyond the transparasteel, a large chunk of primeval debris streaked past, plunging into the atmosphere.
As the meteor hit the surface and crimson-core lava fountained upward, Luke said, "Jacen may have something to say about that."
"Let him try." Mara's voice was cold as deepest space.
Luke turned toward her. She had insisted on piloting the shuttle, arguing that it would give her something to do besides worrying about Ben but it hadn't worked. If anything, she was more angry now than when they had started on this journey. He knew that they would have to come to some kind of accord if they were to succeed, especially against Jacen Solo.
But when he looked again at Mara, for a moment, he couldn't breathe. The glow from the planet's fiery surface had stained her pale face in red-brown. Like old blood, he realized, shivering at the thought.
With determined effort, he pushed away the image, saying softly, "He has had every opportunity to turn our son into someone we may not even be able to recognize. The latest news only confirms that Ben was involved in that terrible massacre and he seemed to be there willingly. He may have already become dark, Mara."
"Skywalker..." She shot him a look of pure disbelief before turning back to pilot the ship.
Reaching over, his fingertips tried to follow the smoothness of her cheek but she jerked away. He had to be content to rest his hand on her shoulder, wordless apology in his touch. "We will bring him back but he may fight us." She stiffened under his hand as he said, "You know he will want to stay with his... Master."
Roughly, Mara shrugged him off. "Why are we arguing about this? Don't you want your son away from Jacen?"
He huffed defeat. His wife could be more stubborn than any nerf when she thought she was right. Abandoning any attempt to placate her, Luke said clearly, "Yes, but since this is a trap, we need to go into it with clear minds and a steady focus."
"Skywalker, you are... " Her eyes flashed green fire as she reminded him, "While you were playing with womp-rats back on Tatooine, I was already infiltrating operations worse than this. And succeeding."
"Mara, I know, I know." Shaking his head, he frowned at her, pointing out, "But your focus is on Ben when it needs to be on Jacen. He is the one who is likely to attack, not our son." He drew back, turning away and staring down at the molten planet. For a moment, he said nothing, just watched as another meteor broke through solid rock, liquefying it and sending core-red lava skyward. The Force shuddered with alarm.
Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out, trying to break through the anxiety that was swelling with every heartbeat, Luke said, "If we want to get out of this alive and with Ben, we must be cautious."
She was having none of it. Shoving a tendril of bright hair out of her face, Mara glared plasma in his direction. "Blast it, we have been too cautious. Allowing Jacen to do all those terrible things... torture and assassination and.. turning everything we've fought for all those years into chaos. And for what? Political gains and appeasing the fools on Coruscant?" Her voice had been rising with every word but now it fell, ice-cold and very, very decided. "Well, I've had enough. I'm taking Ben home and no one - not Ben, not Jacen, not even you is going to stop me."
"Mara..." There must have been something in his voice.
All at once, she let out a long shuddering breath, and eased back into her seat. Her hands, rigid with anxiety, opened slightly and even the shuttle's movement seemed calmer. Sending little glances his way, she was still frowning but she seemed more resigned than angry when she said, "Luke, I know that it will be difficult. I know that things might go badly down there. But I love him and I want him home. No matter the cost, I want him home."
Tenderly brushing aside her wayward hair, he said softly, "So do I. Just don't do anything foolish and get yourself killed. I couldn't bear to lose you."
She stared off into the distance, concentrating on piloting the ship but he could see the beginnings of a smile catching at her mouth. The lines there told of age and a lifetime of commitment and he loved every one of them although he would never tell her that. Even he wasn't that crazy. But she must have caught his thought because the smile deepened.
Her eyes focused on the looming planet, one hand steady on the shuttle's controls, Mara reached over and pulled him close. Gently, she murmured, " I have Luke Skywalker at my side. What could possibly go wrong?"
And then with a soft brush of fingertips, she let him go, turning back to piloting, all business and concentration as she started the landing cycle.
Luke just watched her, fiery beauty in motion, while the answer to her question clawed dread into him.
Everything.
tbc