Chapter One:
Mara Jade sat in her apartment, trying to immerse herself in her work since she knew she had better have something to show the Emperor upon his return to Coruscant. Mara felt a pang in her waist as the scars from the Emperor's Force-lightning pulled yet again.
When she had come before Palpatine admitting that she failed her assignment to kill Skywalker, he'd gone into a fit of rage. Mara had experienced Sith lightning before, and normally she did everything in her power to avoid her master's wrath.
But when she had knelt before him as a first-time failure, he'd shown no mercy. Mara had been so close to death it frightened her. Now she was covered in jagged scars that would never truly fade away.
But Mara had held firm her mind, and kept the complete truth from him. Because if he'd found out she had let Skywalker walk away from her when she'd had ample opportunity to take him out, Palpatine really would have killed her.
And now…
A sudden rush of Dark Side energy surged through her in a screaming wail, and Mara gasped as agony coursed through her entire being. Images of Skywalker and Vader pierced her mind, an view of them turning coat on Palpatine. And his angry order to her:
You will kill Luke Skywalker!
And with that final word, her mind tore as the link she shared with Palpatine shattered. Mara clutched at her head as if to physically halt the pain, gasping mightily. The misery was too much for her to bear, and the next thing she knew she was in the dark.
When Mara came-to, she didn't know how long she had been unconscious. All she knew was one thing: Emperor Palpatine was dead.
That fact, Mara knew, should have pissed her off: he had been her life, and for over twenty years she had served him loyally. But instead of anger or hate, Mara felt only a great freedom and relief.
Palpatine's last command echoed through her head.
You will kill Luke Skywalker!
Mara snorted disdainfully. "Yeah right."
Mara pushed his command away, but found her mind was still too ragged to think clear enough for that. In fact, she was certain there was at least some damage to her brain from the violent way in which Palpatine had left her. And then Mara frowned as she realized her capacity to think straight would be seriously hampered for some time to come until she healed.
Despite her injury, Mara resolved to do her best.
Mara heard a thundering boom and jerked upright. Her head spun as she made her way to the window. Down below, and surrounding the Imperial Palace were citizens of Coruscant. And while many were simply making merry their newfound freedom, Mara knew riots when she saw them.
Throngs of people moved in on the poor stormtroopers at the front doors, and by sheer numbers they won that fight. Mara felt the warning in the Force to get away, and fast.
She turned to her closet and snagged her emergency travel pack. Slinging the straps over her shoulders, Mara grabbed her weapons and raced from the room.
To her surprise, the sounds of the protestors who were ransacking the Palace had already begun making their way upward. Mara used the stairs in case they went after the turbolifts. It wasn't until she reached the fiftieth floor from her apartment on the eightieth that Mara met resistance.
At first she simply continued onward, using their masses to her advantage. Mara blended in as best she could, but when someone bumped her near the edge of the throng, she fell to the floor.
Whoever was tangled with her began to curse loudly, until he saw who she was.
"Hey…" he cocked his head, his eyes lighting with recognition. "I've seen you in court."
"No, you're mistaking me for someone else." Mara shoved him off and climbed to her feet, still fighting the effects of her pained mind.
"Like hell," he growled, turning to the people.
Mara broke into a sprint, sensing the dangerous turn events had just taken.
"Hey everyone, there goes Palpatine's little pet!" the man hollered.
Instantly several people broke from the herd to pursue Mara, who felt her heart race. She sped through corridors she knew by heart, the mad throng hot on her tail. They caught up to her on the first floor when the masses became too great to move through freely.
They seized hold of her, and Mara jabbed her fingers into one man's throat. He screamed and released her as Mara slammed her foot upon that of the second man holding her.
He stumbled back, and Mara pushed through the crowd, fighting the urge to be ill from her horribly spinning head. She lost all sense of direction and time, but heard that the angry mob was still pursuing her.
She stumbled upon something on the ground and went down in a tangle of backpack and red hair. A large hand promptly grabbed her about the arm and yanked her into an alley.
"Hello there." A deep voice purred. "I've been watchin' and following you: seems like you need a way out of town. I can get you off world… if you promise not to fight me."
Something about this man sent warning bells off in her head, and she struggled against him, but with her injury already making her queasy, it was simple for him to overpower her. Mara did know that she needed to get off planet, and soon, but she didn't like this man.
Mara was getting ever dizzier, so she had no idea where they were as he led her, trembling and wobbling up a ship's ramp. Her senses went wild as he took her aft, but she wasn't fast enough to stop him from suddenly throwing her into some sort of cage.
Mara's head spun harder upon impact, and the pain increased yet again, until she finally did vomit. Mara felt as though her brain were bleeding from the way her master had departed this life. It was possible to sever such a deep bond between a master and his apprentice, but it had to be done carefully to avoid just what Mara was experiencing.
And as such, she had no hope of retaliating as the man locked her up, though at first she felt the sting of something being shot into her neck. Mara weakly took a swing at him, but ended up connecting with the wall instead, and split her knuckles.
"Ha! You are a fiery little vixen, I'll give you that." The man chortled. "But that won't last long where you're goin'."
Mara could only lie panting on the floor until once again unconsciousness took her.
