She would do this.
She would not fail.
She could not.
With a gulp, Siri took off her tunic, not knowing when she would be wearing one again. She glanced at the clothes spread out on her bed that she had bought for the mission. There was a tight black top, black work pants, high black boots, and a black furred cape. She put them on, not able to suppress a sigh as she did so.
Walking into the fresher, she took the bottle of hair dye and poured a handful out. She lathered it through her hair. After waiting, she rinsed it out. She braided her now reddish brown hair and put sticks through the braids. What a difference that made.
Looking in the mirror, she realized she still did not look quite like a pirate. She took a black makeup pencil and made markings on her face, tracing her profile line and cheekbones.
The girl looking back at her in the mirror was darker somehow, colder, sexier. She'd fought against being treated like a sex object ever since she'd reached puberty. Just the thought of hearing "Hey beautiful, hey chick, hey babe" called towards her sent a shiver through her. Gentlemen did not call out those harassing things.
Gentlemen had no place in Zora's life. She was a heartless, cruel criminal who only cared for money, sleeping around, and getting drunk.
Siri knew this would be a difficult, lonely, dangerous mission. But Krayn's organization was truly evil. It deserved to go down. Bringing it down was part of bring peace and justice to the Republic. She would not abandon the Jedi or the slaves who were counting on her. She would leave the Temple as a Padawan and come back as a Knight.
Siri grabbed a blaster, clipped it to her belt, and took a pack out of her closet. As she tried to decide what to bring with her, she realized that she owned little that wouldn't seem out of place among Zora's things. She still managed to fill it with some not-to-obvious keepsakes, her fake ID, and some tools for hotwiring speeders.
She gave her quarters one last look, kissed it goodbye, and walked into the empty, dark hallway.
She would do this.
She would not fail.
She could not.
Padmé knew, somehow, that she was going to get out of the arena. It didn't matter that she had told Anakin that their lives were about to be destroyed. The incredibly huge, fierce creatures and the blaster bolts coming from all directions didn't matter either. All that mattered was that her love was there. She was not going to lose him as soon as she had found him.
It didn't matter that there would sure to be a scandal when their relationship was found out, as it inevitably would be eventually. She had finally found the love of her life and he was obviously crazy about her back. If he, the Jedi, didn't care about following the Code, why should she? All the arguments she had given him by the fireplace were slowly but surely melting away. She couldn't resist anymore. She didn't want to resist and be the strong, rational one anymore. Instead, she was going to do something for herself rather than just for her people.
She climbed up the post with an agility that surprised herself. Padmé had always been petite and slender. Now she was finding that she could fight, that she could be athletic. It gave her a moment of safety, in any case. She started to pull at the chain, trying to make it come free.
That lasted until a creature started pawing up the post, its claws reaching for her. Even as it managed to scratch her back, she never paused or gave up hope. The chain came free and Padmé threw it onto the creature. Jumping on top of it when it paused for a moment seemed to stop it for a while. She went back up the post to take stock of what was happening.
She would not abandon her love or the Republic she had worked so hard to represent. Although she didn't know how, she would get out of this arena. She would marry Anakin.
She would do this.
She would not fail.
She could not.
Leia was going to Endor to help take down the Death Star. Of course Han hadn't wanted to volunteer anyone – "It's going to be rough," he'd told Chewie. Well, she'd proven herself perfectly capable when things got rough. It didn't matter that this mission could be dangerous and that the two most powerful Imperials would be nearby. It didn't matter that she still woke up in a cold sweat sometimes after having nightmares about Alderaan.
In a way, you have determined the choice of planet that'll be destroyed first.
In fact, that made her more determined to go. There was no way she would allow the Empire to destroy another planet. The Empire could not go on threatening to destroy an entire planet with a single blast the home planet of anyone who opposed them.
She put on her forest camouflage uniform, so different from anything she'd worn before. She was still used to her innocent looking, white outfits. The green and brown looked so unlike her, so un-politician like. Still, it was a relief after what had happened on her last mission. She could get back to fighting the Empire, her original enemy who had taken her family from her. She would help make sure nobody else's family got taken from them. She would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to ensure the Empire could never do that again.
Nor could she pass up a chance to be with the man she had now admitted she was in love with. She hadn't wanted to at first, being afraid he'd leave the Alliance and break her heart, afraid of falling in love with a smuggler. "I love you," she'd called out, without thinking, before he had been put in carbonite. She now knew that was true and could see it being true for a lifetime.
If he was going, she was going with him, to help make sure nothing would happen to him. She knew he was usually capable of taking care of himself, but was somehow sure she'd be there when he made a mistake. She wanted to be there when he made a mistake.
She would not abandon the Alliance or Han. She would not miss such a large chance to get rid of the Emperor and his Death Star. That shield generator would be down before long.
She would do this.
She would not fail.
She could not.
Mara looked around the Imperial Palace for the last time. She would not stay only to be reminded of what she had lost. She could never have her old life back again, so she would make a clean break. It was not that she felt she could do so much better, but she didn't have much of a choice.
Making sure she had everything she wanted to take with her, she put a blaster in its holster on her belt. A lightsaber would attract too much attention when wandering the galaxy, and she did not want to stand out at the moment. She was used to getting as much or as little attention as she wanted.
She had one last mission to accomplish. It was the one her Master had given her just before she died. Mara was determined to complete it, to avenge her Master's death and try to get some semblance of closure. It would prove that she had been worthy to be the Emperor's Hand.
You will kill Luke Skywalker.
It wasn't just that she had been ordered to kill Skywalker. She blamed him for ruining her life. She was used to thinking of herself as important, as a special, secret tool of the Emperor's. She had thought she was set for life. Now there was just a blank space when she thought about her future. Her life had been so dependent on the Emperor that no one else knew exactly who she was.
Now, just thinking about killing Skywalker made her feel much more confident about her future. She should have been more aggressive about killing him at Jabba's, even if it meant breaking her cover as Arica. Now that chance was gone forever and she did not know when she would have another one.
She would not abandon her Master or forget his dying wish.
Mara would wander the galaxy and keep one eye out for news of him. As the Rebel's precious hero, that shouldn't take long.