The Twilight circled around the casino station, looking for a place to land. Once they were safely on the ground, Mara had finally changed out of her disguise and into an elegant ball gown. Leia and Luke were most impressed. "Heh. Talon has a bit of an acquired taste." The pilot explained. "Which means you should probably put this on, hair-buns." Leia caught a beautiful white dress that sparkled in the light.

"For me?" Leia smiled and held the dress up to her frame, checking the size.

"It's an old dress from when I was working with Karrde." Mara said. "It might be a little snug, but it'll do for now." With that, Mara exited the ship to talk with the landing pad's valet.

Leia went back to the cargo bay to change. By the time she got back up, she saw Luke doing his best to straighten out his own outfit and rub out the stains. As he did his best to clean himself, Leia noticed a small piece of wood tied to a string sticking out of his coat pocket. "What's that?" She asked.

It took a second for Luke to find what she was pointing at. "Oh, this." He replied with a sad smile. "It belonged to my mother. My real mother. She told me it was a gift from my father when they were younger. Supposedly, it brings good fortune."

"Your real mother?" Leia sounded confused. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain another time." Luke dismissed. "Let's not keep Mara waiting."

Leia gasped in pure delight as she saw the city with her own eyes. Growing up, she had read stories about fancy dinner parties where the wealthiest men and women in the galaxy would come to discuss politics and business. She had always dreamed of being able to experience the same pleasures and festivities the upper-class was so familiar to. "It's beautiful…" She breathed.

"Yeah, one thing's for sure; Talon knows how to show folks a good time." Mara nodded.

The trio kept walking until they came upon the largest hotel building of the entire city. The marble steps led to dual golden doors, opened by a pair of neatly-dressed gentlemen. The inside of the build was even more spectacular than the outside. Leia was in awe of the crystalline chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, the silver fountain in the center that overflowed with sparkling water, the lavender draped that adorned the beautiful stained-glass windows, and most of all, the people.

Everywhere she looked, she saw people of different races talking, laughing, eating, and drinking. One man sat near the dining area, filling the air with the melodious sounds from his grand keybed. A Rodian woman offered her a refreshment from a silver tray, which she graciously accepted. By the time Mara had found the person she needed to speak with about Talon Karrde, Leia had decided this place was simply wonderful.

However, she noticed that her royal friend didn't seem to share her sentiment. "Luke, what's wrong?"

"Look at them." He answered. "How can they be so calm, so carefree, when there is a war that's tearing the galaxy apart? Don't they realize what's at stake?"

Suddenly, Leia didn't feel so happy anymore. In all of her excitement, she had almost forgotten about their mission. She remembered the deaths she was determined to avenge, allowing her mind to clear. They'd find a way to the Rebel base and stop the Empire. They had too.

Suddenly, a menacing bark came from the elevator, and two large canine beasts treaded over to the three of them.

"Vornskrs!" Luke called out. He and Leia backed behind Mara as the canines closed in on them. Mara knew why they were attacking; vornskrs hunted Force-sensitive prey, including potential Jedi. Luckily, she knew just what to do. She planted her feet, firmly, and pointed to the ground.

"SIT!"

Terrified, the vornskrs obeyed her sharp command, and everyone went back to their activities. "Sturm! Drang! Where are you?!" A voice called out. Mara smiled and crossed her arms as she spotted the source. A human man dressed in a sharp tuxedo froze in place when he found his pets, and the people with them. Talon Karrde laughed, heartily, stroking his beard as he proceeded.

"Oh, my goodness!" His smile spread from ear-to-ear as he welcomed the tall woman with a strong hug. "Mara Jade! It has been far too long!"

"It's good to see you, too, Talon!" Mara replied. The two old friends kissed each other's cheeks before breaking the embrace.

"Uh, Mara…" Talon suddenly looked nervous. "I can't help but wonder why you've come back after so long… please tell me there is not a five-year-old child waiting in your ship for me?"

"He's six." Mara corrected. Karrde nearly fainted from shock before Mara playfully punched him in the arm. "I'm kidding!" She laughed.

"Oh, ho ho ho!" Talon chuckled in relief. "You never fail to tell a joke, my dear. Come! Come! Let's take this private party to my private quarters!"

They followed the suave connoisseur into his office at the penthouse suite, where he invited them to sit down. "I don't believe you've introduced me to your new friends, yet, Mara."

"I am Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan, Mr. Karrde." Luke extended his hand.

"Oh, ho ho ho!" Karrde chuckled as he returned the greeting. "My boy, 'Mr. Karrde' was my father. You may call me Talon."

"Nice to meet you, Talon." Leia smiled. "I'm Leia. Leia Skywalker."

"Well, hello there, my dear…" Talon kissed her hand, gently. "Always a pleasure to have such a lovely lady like you in my presence." After the formalities were out of the way, Karrde turned back to Mara. "So, have you told them what you did for me?" Mara shook her head, enticing another infectious smile to spread across his lips.

"So, there I was; in the Outer Rim, hopelessly lost…" Karrde spoke, dramatically. "When I was cornered by at least ten pirate ships! Just when I thought I was done for, this ugly bucket of bolts, piloted by two women, one human and one togruta, soaring through space and blasting their ships to pieces!" Mara rolled her eyes. "Afterwards, I demanded that they let me give their ship a much needed upgrade, and told them that I was forever in their debt."

"Good, 'cause I'm here to collect." Mara cut to the chase. "We've got the Empire on our tail and need a clean ship."

"Is that so?" Talon almost sounded pleased. "Is it possible they are following you, right now?"

"Most likely." Mara shrugged.

"Excuse me one moment…" Talon opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a commlink. "Attention, this is your host, Talon Karrde. I have just received word that the Empire will soon be invading this city with the intention to kill. Please proceed to the emergency escape transports at docking bays 4475 through 4489 in a calm and orderly fashion."

The building practically shook from the sound of people scattered across the asteroid, screaming as they rushed to evacuate. "Well, now that that's taken care of…" Karrde stood up. "Let us retreat to my private garage. It's been a long time since the Wild Karrde got some exercise. Prince Organa? Why don't you and Ms. Skywalker go on ahead. I need to talk with Mara."

"Whatever you say, Talon." Luke nodded and led Leia out the door.

Mara looked at her old friend, unsure what to make of the odd look on his face. "What?"

"Mara… I recognize the prince. He's with the Rebellion, isn't he?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"I can see the look in your eyes…" Talon carefully took Mara's hands into his own. "The look of a person who just wants to run. I am no Jedi, but I can't help but feel like you belong with the Alliance."

"Are you kidding me?" Mara scoffed. "Why should I risk my life for anyone? Nobody ever risked their life for me."

"Garrus did." The moment he said that, Mara froze up in shock. Her eyes twitched, slightly, from the tears trying to break free. "When you were a child, you and your brother fled to Dantooine, where you were finally cornered by a Mandalorian in green Death Watch armor. He hid you away, gave you his lightsaber, and that was the last time you ever saw him."

"I told you that when I was drunk and vulnerable!" Mara snapped. "What right do you have to bring it up?!" Her voice cracked a bit. "I watched the Republic he swore to protect turn against him! I heard him die at the hands of that bounty hunter, and it's haunted me, ever since!"

"And what do you think the last thing Garrus felt was?" Both of Talon's eyebrows lifted up. "Fear because he was about to die? Or contentment knowing that he died protecting his sister? Having something worth dying for?"

Mara wiped her eyes and stood up. "We have to go. Now."

By the time the Death Star arrived out of hyperspace, the Wild Karrde had already lifted off. Mara flew the Twilight into its cargo bay, and the group sped off. "So, your majesty, where to?"

"Are you certain that they can't track us?" Luke asked, cautiously.

"Indeed." Karrde nodded. "Not only will the escape ships have left plenty of hyperspace trails to throw their scanners off, but my ship has a ghost chip connected to the hyperdrive. They couldn't track us even if they tried."

Luke thought for a moment. If he were to make the wrong decision, he would jeopardize the sanctity of the Rebel Alliance, and all of their efforts would be in vain. But at the moment, he had no other options but to trust this man. "Yavin 4." He said, at last. "The Rebel base is hidden on Yavin 4."

"Then sit tight!" Talon punched the coordinates into his nav-computer and activated the hyperdrive just as the dwarf planet exploded. "It will take us at least half an hour to get to Yavin. So, rest while you can."

Luke sighed, heavily. No turning back, now. He turned his attention to Leia, the humble woman who saved his life. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a kinship with her that almost seemed to be missing his whole life. "So, uh…" He tried. "How-when will you become a Jedi?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Leia blushed, slightly. "I mean, Master Kenobi died on that battle station, but he told me to find a woman we met on Tatooine… Ahsoka, I think. He said she would take me to somebody named Yoda."

"Ahsoka Tano?" Luke's face brightened up.

"You know her?" Leia smiled.

"My father told me she's a secret operative that recruits others to the Rebel cause." Luke spoke with genuine admiration. "She uses the codename 'Fulcrum' to hide from the Empire. She is a hero."

"That's a shame." Mara entered the control room. "Heroes die. And then, people forget about them."

Luke's eyes flared with anger. "My parents risked their lives to put the Rebellion together!" He snarled. "They have spread hope across the entire galaxy! That hope will be what takes down the Empire and restores the Republic!"

"Luke, calm down!" Leia tried to act as a mediator, but now Mara was growing angry.

"What good is hope when you're up against something that can blow up a fucking planet?!"

"There's a weakness!" Luke refuted. "There has to be!"

"Yeah?!" Mara looked as if she were about to hit him. "And what if there isn't?! Where's your hope, then?!"

"I suppose you'd prefer if we just run and hide, while the Empire continues to trample the people of the galaxy underfoot?! Because all that matters is our own personal gain!"

Mara snorted, pointing an accusing finger. "Oh, give me a break!" She chortled. "What the hell would a prince know about oppression?! Alderaan was one of the key components of the Empire! You and your family were rich and powerful! Sipping drinks out of silver cups and-"

"I know exactly what it feels like to be oppressed by the Empire!" Luke interrupted. This time, his voice carried more power. Everyone else, even Talon, looked startled by his furious tone. "Because I wasn't always a prince! I had to live on the streets of Naboo until I was six years old! I had to watch my mother struggle and beg for food until she died of the sickness that plagued her world! The sickness that Palpatine could have prevented but didn't because of how reluctant Naboo was when it came to his policies!"

Mara's anger had washed away. Despite having cut herself off from the Force, she could still sense the pain and agony in the young man's eyes. One of her skills that helped her survive was spotting liars, but every word he said sounded completely true. "But… that doesn't make any sense…" She stammered. "H-how did you become the prince of Alderaan?"

Luke let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm himself. He straightened his posture and looked around at the rest of his company. "King Organa…" He elaborated. "He came to Naboo to deliver the medicine after the government finally agreed to Palpatine's demands. He was supposed to meet the Queen but… he…" Luke struggled to find the right words. "I don't know… he found me. He saw my mother die right in front of me, and he did what no one else ever would have: he took me in. He brought me home. He and his wife raised me. Taught me. Loved me as if I were their own."

Leia rubbed his shoulders, trying to help him calm down. "He is the one who gave me hope when I had none. He encouraged me to join the fight against the Empire, not run away from it. And now… now he's gone…" He clenched his fists as streaks of tears ran down his face. "And so is my mother… and my entire planet… Do you have any idea what it's like to lose someone you love?! To have a burning desire to repay someone for what they did for you?! And to know that you will never get that chance?!"

Leia hugged him tightly, crying as she shared a mutual feeling about her family back on Tatooine. But much to her surprise, Mara joined in the embrace, shedding tears of her own. "Believe me…" She whispered, sadly. "I know…"

Leia wiped her eyes. "You do?" She asked, hoping that they might finally end this destructive dispute. Mara unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, and showed it to them.

"When the Jedi were outlawed… my brother did his best to keep me safe." Mara's lips trembled as she told her tale. "He took me away to Dantooine; because it was safe, he said… but the Emperor started using bounty hunters and his Inquisitors to hunt down the rest of us… and one day… o-one day, someone found us…" The woman shivered with grief, trying her best to finish.

"A Mandalorian in green Death Watch armor had been chasing us for weeks. But Garrus knew he couldn't keep me hidden forever… not when he had already been marked. So, he hid me in an old farmhouse, gave me his lightsaber, and told me to wait until he came back for me…" She looked at her companions with watery eyes, knowing that she couldn't keep her emotions held back any longer. "And y'know what…? I'm still waiting for him to come back for me…"

Mara finally dropped to her knees, burying her hands in her palms. Luke and Leia hugged her tight, sharing their grief. They didn't look up until a buzzing noise came from the control console. "Um, I hate to break up tha group hug…" Talon said, softly. "But… we've arrived."

The trio got up from the floor and sat back down in their seats. As they came out of hyperspace, Talon circled the gas giant's moon, searching for a comm-signal. After a few failed attempts, a voice that was very familiar to the young prince sounded over the console.

["Attention, unknown shuttle, identify immediately or face hostile retaliation."]

"Captain Antilles!" Luke called. "It's alright! It's me! Luke! We request permission to land!"

["Prince Luke?!"] The voice sounded shocked. ["I-I need your access code to confirm your identity before you can land, your highness."]

"Breha-2909202992!"

["Identity confirmed! You are clear to land, sir!"]

Luke sighed and leaned back in his seat. Once the Wild Karrde landed, a large group of Rebel soldiers and figureheads came out of the base to greet the crew. Among them was an older woman in white robes and an older man in a standard Rebel officer uniform.

"Aunt Mon! Uncle Jan!" Luke exclaimed as he ran to give them both a hug.

"You're safe!" General Dodonna sighed in relief. "When we heard about Alderaan we feared the worst!"

"Where have you been, Luke?" Senator Mothma of Chandrila cupped his face. "What have those beasts done to you?"

"We'll talk about it later." Luke replied. "But for now, we have work to do. We have an R2-Unit that carries the plans provided by Rogue One. You must get it analyzed at once."

The others nodded in agreement and took the astromech to the computer room. The battle against the Death Star was drawing closer. And Leia knew she would be ready for it.

To Be Continued!

To all my readers, I give you a Christmas gift with an early chapter! Merry Christmas to all and may the Force be with you!