Chapter 2
Jan Ors stood outside Kyle Katarn' s bacta tank, scowling as she tried not to think about the time being wasted. She couldn't help worrying about how worn-out he looked, even under heavy sedation. Facing General Mohc and his Dark Troopers took a heavy toll on him, and not for the first time she wished Kyle did not feel like he had to do everything himself. He was courting a young death, and, despite his uncanny luck, it would eventually be wooed. Jan knew she needed to figure out something to do about it, but for now the Alliance needed his suicidal efforts. The Galaxy needed them. Even this treatment wasn't quite sufficient for a full recovery. Jan really should have taken him someplace that had a serious medical facility. The Moldy Crow was a great little ship, but there was only so much room on a personal transport, no matter how heavily modified.
At this rate, by the time they found the Rebel Alliance Fleet's rendezvous point and arranged for payment, the Alliance would have forgotten all about the mercenary contract! As she clenched her fists at the thought, a green light on her wrist comm started blinking. Finally, Jan allowed herself a brief smile. They had the new coordinates.
She glanced at her recuperating partner one more time and decided she would ask for double – no, triple – the original price of this contract. Perhaps that would even be enough to encourage Kyle to go someplace nice and relax for a while.
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Her dark red hair almost glowed in the grey mist that shrouded the swamps of Dagobah. Why the Emperor thought Vader needed her help¸ she had no idea. But he needed her here - there was no question about it - and that was enough. She had not been back to Coruscant – the Emperor had somehow discovered a technique to speak directly to her mind through the Force. Others might have been disturbed by such a thing, but this had been her life since she was a toddler. Aside from a few fuzzy memories, the Emperor was the closest thing to family she had ever known. Her name was Mara Jade, but she was happy to be merely the Emperor's Hand.
Even in the Empire, very few knew her by name or title. This was the Emperor's wish, of course, so here she was Councilor Delarra, aide to a Corellian Senator. Every Imperial soldier accepted that nothing else about her or what she was doing here was any of their business.
"They are not here." Vader knew who and what she was, of course.
"How can you be so sure? You can really just… feel them?" Mara had never quite believed all of Vader's claims. She could use the Force too, after all – sort of. Surely the Emperor would have known if she could do more, but she still disliked the idea of abilities beyond hers.
"It is not a matter of training, it is a matter of instinct. You would have known too, if you had thought to listen to your feelings."
Mara snorted. "Feelings can lie."
"Perhaps you listen to the wrong ones."
"I'm going to look in that cave. Unless you have any more sage advice?"
Vader waved her off, and she resisted the urge to stick her foot out and trip the Dark Lord of the Sith. Lecture her like a schoolgirl? He didn't know half the things she'd done in service to the Emperor! Even wasting all that time on Tattooine, that stupid wasteland of a planet. She would have bet the Imperial Palace that Lord Vader had never had to visit such a place in his life.
The cave had a heaviness to it that Mara thought was oddly familiar, though she could not have said why. It reminded her of the Emperor's presence, which comforted her a little. Approaching the cave felt almost like she was coming home.
After a few steps, a familiar sight greeted her. The thought that it was strange to see the Emperor on his throne melted away almost immediately, and she smiled as she approached it. He had never had to discipline her for failure, and there was no reason to think this time was any different. As he started to speak to her, however, his attention was diverted to one side. Mara stopped and watched a tall young man wearing a black robe approach her Master. She couldn't see the young man's face – only that he had short, light blond hair. The Emperor smiled and greeted the young man, and then they both turned to look at her. She recognized the face: this was Skywalker, the target she had been sent to Jabba's Palace to kill.
Skywalker gave her an evil grin, then pulled the hood of his robe up and turned back to the Emperor. In an instant, a light saber was in his hand, and before Mara could react the young man struck the Emperor down where he sat.
"NOOOOOOO!"
Mara's grief and anger surged through her, just as her Master had taught her, as she activated her own light saber. Skywalker turned to face her, but he could not withstand the fury of her attack. With swift, savage strikes she backed him against the wall of the cave, where his slight stumble was all she needed to run him through. She watched in satisfaction as his body fell to the floor, but as he fell, the hood of his cloak fell back, and Mara had a momentary glimpse of a face. Not Skywalker's, but her own.
Her startled cry echoed off the cavern walls as she shook off the vision.
Ah, the Dark Side has deemed you worthy, my Hand.
It was the Emperor. Rarely did he pay attention to what she saw or felt on a mission. She wondered what the vision meant, knowing she did not have to speak.
That, you must learn for yourself. But know this: young Skywalker is a threat no longer. Even now his hatred for me boils over – soon there will be no going back for him. He will be mine, just like Vader.
Mara shrugged; she never had been the meditating type. If there was any meaning to this thing, it would have to come to her while she was busy.
.
"Lord Vader, I think we've found something."
Vader took another moment to survey the tiny hut in the middle of the swamp. After all these years, it still amused him how the old Jedi prided themselves on their shows of humility. "What is it?"
"I can't say I've seen anything like it before, my Lord. An old-fashioned recording, maybe?"
Vader turned, seeing a small object resting in the officer's palm, and snatched it away. The soldier was absolutely correct – it was a Jedi holocron. "What is your name?"
"C-Craydon, my lord."
It was not often an Imperial recruit learned to think so clearly. Vader would have to keep an eye on this one. "You would be wise, Craydon, to forget what you found here."
"Yes, of course, my Lord."
"Leave me. And make certain I am not disturbed."
"At once, Lord Vader."
The Dark Lord turned the holocron over in his hand. It was not like Yoda to simply forget something. He had to assume this had been left for him to find. The likelihood that a simple holocron could be rigged to cause any harm was laughable, but still Vader hesitated. Only one subject could give him a premonition this foreboding, and he was tempted to toss it into the swamp rather than face it. But if he could see her face one more time…
He activated the holocron and immediately regretted it. There was Padme, just as his visions long ago had predicted – dying. Even through the pain of childbirth, Vader could see that the light in her eyes was almost completely gone. Chills ran through limbs long gone as he watched her screams. A hand came into view to touch her forehead, and rage consumed Vader as a familiar face came into view. How dare Obi-Wan usurp his place by her side!
The sound of a baby's cry cleared his head somewhat, and he heard Padme gasp out a single word. "Luke," he echoed, the mask stripping the utterance of all emotion. He hadn't known that name had been her choice.
The woman in the hologram screamed once more. Once he had seen what it contained, Vader had intended to deactivate the hologram before it reached the point of her death. To his horror, he found that he simply could not look away. The Jedi order deserved to be destroyed for allowing this to happen! Yoda… he would never forgive the former Grand Master for counseling him to let go of his fear for Padme. The Emperor had promised the Dark Side would prevent this! He too must be held accountable. He would never forgive any of them, not the galaxy, not the Force itself, for what was done to him!
Again a baby's cry interrupted his thoughts, and Vader supposed the holocron was set on a loop. Probably it was intended to torment him with Padme's final screams endlessly echoing through the swamps. Again the woman in the hologram struggled to find breath.
"Leia," Vader heard her whisper.
.
As far as Mara Jade could tell, the whole trip was a waste of time. The targets were long gone, and the cave could keep its self-evident visions and warnings – she would deal with Skywalker and anything else when the time came.
She came upon an officer looking bored, and knew she had found who she was looking for. "Where's Vader, Lieutenant?"
"Lord Vader is not to be disturbed, Councilor."
"Did you know, Lieutenant, that there are over twenty different ways to kill a man with one blow from a distance no smaller than the one currently between us?"
"Well… I…."
"I don't have time for this. I need to tell him what I've found so we can all get off this slimy mudhole!"
The man stepped aside. "Just over that hill, Councilor."
Mara was impressed. Most junior officers would have forced her to resort to violence. Smart kid.
As she approached the spot where Vader secluded himself, she thought she could hear a woman's screams. Could he have actually found someone here? She spied his black cape and clearly heard a hoarse female voice whisper "Leia". That name sounds familiar, Mara thought as a holographic image came into view. Two young men faced the recording device; a rather dark man – handsome, with black hair and a neatly trimmed goatee – and a more rugged looking fellow with reddish-blond hair. She recognized the dark man as Senator Bail Organa, much younger than he looked the few times she had seen him in person before his death. An odd green creature with ridiculous ears had its back to the recording device, and they were all looking at a young woman, apparently on her deathbed. "My wife and I always wanted a girl," the image of Organa was saying, and suddenly Mara knew where she'd heard the name "Leia" before. So the Princess of Alderaan was adopted? That hardly seemed to matter now that Alderaan was so much particle dust, but perhaps the information could be useful to the Empire somehow.
"Lord Vader…" The Dark Lord whirled around to face her before she could finish. Strange, she had never seen Vader startled by someone else's presence before.
"LEAVE ME!"
Just like that, she was lifted into the air by the Force and hurled across the swamp. She tried focusing her rage, her hate, even her fear the way the Emperor told her she should, but she felt none of that – only bewilderment. And curiosity. What could unwind the Emperor's Prized Pupil so thoroughly? She would have to get her hands on that hologram somehow.
A tree finally ended Mara's tour of the swamp, and despite the considerable distance traveled, she still hit it with enough force to knock her unconscious.
.
Craydon heard the shout, but he didn't see the woman leave Vader's presence. He heard squelching footsteps and turned to see the Dark Lord of the Sith approaching.
"You were to make sure I was not disturbed, Craydon."
The officer started to explain, but found his throat muscles too constricted to speak.
"The Empire has little use for soldiers who cannot obey one simple, direct order."
Craydon's body fell to the ground, his neck completely crushed.
Vader had to wonder how much of the holocron Mara had managed to see. He was tempted to kill her just in case, but the Emperor would be far too curious at best, or would seek retribution in the form of Luke's death at worst.
So… he had a daughter as well. Twins. Why hadn't the possibility occurred to him? He could feel the old conflict within him beginning to stir again – his Master was not likely to see any use for Leia whether she could be turned or not. And the years of leadership and the strength of her convictions made her much less likely to turn to the Dark Side than her brother anyway.
Could it be a hoax, intended to unsettle him? That would have to be his own explanation if the Emperor were to somehow hear about this and wish to discuss it. A shaky story, to be sure, and largely the product of wishful thinking. Still, if there was one thing the Emperor was always willing to believe, it was the possibility of someone trying to deceive him.
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"Yes, Artoo, it is good to be back with the fleet. I've missed everyone too." Leia smiled at the droid's next comments. "Yes, even Threepio."
She shook her head in amazement as she watched Yoda's tiny vehicle land from the deck of the Mon Calamari cruiser. She should have known he'd had a starship hidden somewhere in the swamp, but it just didn't look large enough to be real. "Once we contact Chewie and the others, we can start making plans for rescuing Han." Leia wasn't sure how such an operation would fit in to Yoda's training, but she would make it fit. Somehow.
"Princess?"
Leia turned to find a soldier standing in salute. "At ease, trooper. What is it?"
"A de-briefing. Mon Mothma requested your presence there as soon as she heard you arrived."
Leia nodded. "As soon as my… Tutor joins me, we will go."
"Tutor, princess?"
"That's right, soldier. I'm sure he will be just as interested as I."
When they arrived at the briefing room, a serious young man was addressing the leaders of the Alliance. He stopped and looked up at her as she entered, but Leia met his eyes and motioned for him to continue.
"General Mohk's personal ship, the Arc Hammer, was the final stage of production. Now that it's been destroyed, there should be no more attacks from those 'Dark Troopers' of his."
"How do you know there were no other Dark Troopers deployed while you were doing all this?" someone asked.
The young man smiled. "Well, I don't. That's why Lieutenant Ors, here, so thoughtfully uploaded their full schematics into the Alliance database." He spread his hands to present the young woman standing next to him, who gave a polite bow. Leia could see her give the man a quick scowl, however, and had to grin at the girl's modesty.
Leia could feel Mon Mothma - the Alliance's political leader and one of its founders – approach, and turned to greet her.
Mothma indicated the young man at the front of the room. "Impressive accomplishments for one so young. Almost reminds you of someone else, doesn't he?"
Leia held back a wince. She had almost forgotten Luke, with so many other things to worry about. "I think I've seen him before. Who is he?"
"Kyle Katarn is the boy's name. Jan Ors is his business partner. Worth every credit of the ridiculous rates they're charging."
That did remind Leia of someone, but not Luke. "Perhaps I can use his help. But first I'll need to see Chewbacca. Where is he?"
Mothma looked at her. "With you, along with General Solo, as I recall. You all evacuated Hoth together, did you not?"
Leia gave Yoda a wide-eyed glance and received a nod in return. Chewie was in trouble. Now that she stopped to wonder about him, she could feel it. "They may not have made it out of Bespin." If that Calrissian creep had betrayed them again… !
"Control us, feelings will – if control them first, we do not."
Mothma raised an eyebrow. "Wise words, though strong feelings often rise for good reason."
Leia smiled. "Master Yoda, this is Mon Mothma, Chief of State of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Chief Mothma, may I introduce Jedi Master Yoda?"
"Jedi Master? Please do not take this the wrong way, but opponents of the Emperor and Darth Vader have found Jedi Masters in their midst to be a very mixed blessing in the past."
"Correct, you are. Long we cannot stay. But called for, a field exercise may be." He grinned up at Leia. "First, however, a new skill you must learn."
.
This was all his counterpart's fault. Every time they separated – every single time – nothing but calamity followed. Yes, R2-D2 had much to answer for. Abandoning C-3PO to imprisonment in Cloud City for a second time! The human and the Wookie were getting weaker by the day – food was not delivered often. Threepio suspected the guards usually forgot. Even more alarmingly, the protocol droid's joints were beginning to show distinct signs of rust! Left here to rot – how typical. At least he was still in one piece this time… So far.
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Luke had to get out of this cell. But the Emperor would be expecting that. He had to do it in his own time, on his own terms. The Force would show him when the time was right.
He rarely thought of leaving Coruscant anymore. He knew better than to believe anything the Emperor said, but either his friends had learned to go on without him, or they were beyond anyone's help by now. He had but one way to help the galaxy – kill the Emperor. In the unlikely event he survived such a feat, he could find a way out then. Every time Luke tried to meditate, he found his thoughts turning to the Emperor. How much the galaxy needed Palpatine's death. How desperately Luke wanted to KILL HIM.
"I'm sorry, Ben," Luke muttered aloud, his voice echoing through the empty cell block. "But I don't know what else to feel anymore." In a galaxy where Palpatine ruled, what else could be felt by a reasonable person but hate? Pure hatred for all the evil being done every day in the name of order. Luke would stop it all. Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has forseen this. It is your destiny!
Luke made a fist with his new, artificial hand. Then he released it, watching the fingers spread as if they were his natural ones. Vader was right.
.
Leia hesitated at the mouth of the cave. This had to be the one. She could feel the energy in it, almost as if it were calling to her.
Inside were crystal formations of all shapes and sizes. They glowed green and blue, shining brightly even though there was no apparent light source. For a while she searched, deciding she liked the blue better, and looked for the brightest blue formation she could find. But a small glow around eye-level caught her attention, and she realized there was a ledge that seemed to reach back some distance. With help from the Force, she leaped onto it. The crystal formations up there were smaller and relatively dim. Disappointed, she turned to jump back down, and gasped. Up in a corner to her left, she could just make out a different glow. A violet color. She jumped to another ledge, then another until she could finally see the way to the violet crystals. They also were fairly dim, but the ledge led to a tunnel that curved to the right. She had to crawl to get through it, but she wanted to see what was hidden there.
At the end of the tunnel, hidden behind a violet formation much brighter than the rest, she could barely make out a hint of yet another glow – a glint of silver. It shone brightly, almost white with the metallic silvery hint. It was blinding, but Leia thought of the white robes that represented her status as Princess of Alderaan, and the silver jewelry that had been gifted to her to represent her station, and she knew she could accept no other crystal for her weapon. Reaching out to the silver formation with the Force, she found the right place to tap to make a crystal break off, exactly the size that Master Yoda had specified. "For Alderaan," she whispered with a smile.
