14 BBY - 5 years after the Great Jedi Purge

Wobani - Bryx Sector

I crouched down on the side of the street, eyes narrowed as I watched the commotion. To my great regret and anger I didn't make it in time, as evident by the screaming child and the Inquisitor storming out of the house, practically dragging the toddler with her. I may not have been able to save the family, but I will certainly save the child from the horrors of the Emperor.

Rushing out from cover I jumped through the air, and the Inquisitor just had time to look up at me in surprise before I slammed my foot into her mask, using the Force to enhance my kick. She flew back into the wall of another house, crying out in pain and rage. The little girl was thrown into the air, and she screamed in fear before I caught her gently.

"Shhh, you'll be alright, you're safe now," I said gently, calming her mind with the Force. She instantly quieted down and looked at me with scared, yet curious eyes. I was silently struck by her fear and innocence, heartbroken that such a young girl was the target of Darth Sidious.

"Who are you?" she hesitantly asked. Before I could respond the Inquisitor leaped back to her feet.

"Jedi!" she growled out, activating both ends of her lightsaber furiously. I set the girl on the ground beside a house.

"Stay here. You'll be alright, I promise you," I said gently.

The little girl nodded her head, and I pushed her to cover before turning to face the Inquisitor.

I stood up confidently and pulled out my lightsaber, activating it to cause my brilliant blue blade to shine forth. I wouldn't need both lightsabers for this.

"You won't be taking anyone today Inquisitor," I said firmly.

"Then you will die like her parents!" she roared, lunging forwards.

I met her charge head on with my own blue blade, and we entered a blade lock before she backpedaled, swinging her lightsaber in an attempt to cut me in half. I dodged the attack before unleashing a counter with my own blade, slicing through the air. She blocked it, and we exchanged in another quick flurry of strikes and parry's, and I was slowly forcing her backwards. She snarled angrily and activated her sabers spinning feature, swinging wildly at me.

I dodged out of the way, backing up again and occasionally deflecting a strike from the twirling saber. Those spinning sabers were deadly sure, but it severely limits their movement with it.

Eventually in her rage, the Inquisitor miscalculated her next strike, causing her to overshoot her attack and stumble. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I rushed forward and grabbed her lightsaber with my left hand despite the spinning red blade. I noticed how shocked and surprised she was when my prosthetic arm forced her spinning lightsaber to come to a halt, the mechanism groaning in protest. Lifting the lightsaber up, I slashed downwards, cutting her lightsaber apart. I then swung out with left hand, and my metal fist connected with her head, sending her flying to the ground, where she was knocked unconscious.

Satisfied, the I deactivated my lightsaber with a sigh, my expression grim. I looked over at the little girl, who ran over to me happily. Her face then returned to fear, and she ran towards her house.

"Mama!" she cried out, moving faster than a three year old should be capable of. I rushed after her quickly in concern, worried about what I might find...

Shaken out of my memory of the rescue, I glanced over at Mara, taking notice of how there were still signs of grief on her face, even though she's asleep right now. R5 was piloting the ship back to the meeting point, where Bail's rebel fleet usually hangs out, and where Ahsoka currently was right now as well. Mara shouldn't have to go through something like this, but now those horrifying memories will stick with her for a long time, maybe even forever.

She then stirred slightly, starting to wake up and looked around, eyes widening in surprise.

"Mama?! Daddy?" she cried out, beginning to panic.

"Hey hey, Mara, it's alright," I say, coming to her side. "You're safe now."

She stares up at me with wide eyes, the memories beginning to come back to her, and she looks down, sniffing with tears. "Mommy isn't coming back, is she?" she asks in a quiet voice.

I look down at her sadly. "I'm sorry Mara... but it won't be forever," I tell her.

"What do you mean?" she says timidly through quiet cries.

"Even though she's gone, she will always be with you," I try to explain. "And I'm sure your mommy is watching over you right now, wishing the best for you."

She slowly looks back up at me. "You think so?"

"I do," I respond with a small smile.

She nods in response, not sure of what to say and quite frankly, I'm not sure of what to say either. I don't know how to deal with small children, especially children that just watched their parents slaughtered right in front of their eyes no less.

"What happens to me now?" she asks nervously in a quiet voice.

"I'll do whatever I can to make sure you'll be okay Mara," I tell her.

Docking with the Tantive III, the three of us entered the ship, with Mara holding on to my hand desperately, seeking comfort in the only person she has some sort of familiarity with in this strange landscape. I slowly led her through the ship, R5 rolling behind us, getting the sense that being his usual annoying self would be stupid right now. The few rebel personnel that walked by us gave me and Mara a strange, but confused look. Everyone on this ship was trustworthy and loyal to Bail, that much we had certified completely so I wasn't too worried. However Mara pressed closer to me in fear whenever someone walked by us.

Eventually we reached Bail's office, where I could sense both he and Ahsoka were currently discussing something. I reached out to her through the Force bond to let her know I was there, and she responded. I then opened the door and entered the office with Mara and R5, shutting the door behind me. Ahsoka and Bail both looked over at me before widening their eyes in surprise and confusion.

"Oh hey Jar... ik?" Ahsoka said in surprise. Mara pressed closer against me. "Umm... who is this?" she questions in bewilderment.

"Ahsoka, Bail, this is Mara Jade. Mara, these are close friends of mine, Ahsoka, and Bail, the one behind the desk," I introduced, pointing them out to the young girl. "You can trust them."

Mara looked over at them timidly, slowly waving a hand. "Hi..." she said nervously.

At their questioning looks, I explained the problem. "Red blade. Other's gone," I said quickly, letting Ahsoka and Bail understand what happened while being careful not to remind the young girl about her parent's deaths.

They widened their eyes in understanding and sorrow, looking at Mara with sadness and sympathy. Ahsoka stepped forwards and crouched down to Mara's height.

"I'm sorry about what happened Mara. You'll be alright now, we'll make sure of it," she said quietly.

Upon her moving closer, Mara flinched slightly behind me, but I carefully nudged her forwards. "It's ok, I don't bite," Ahsoka said with a smile. "I only bite Jarik here when he gets into trouble," she continued with a smirk up at me.

"Hey!" I complained in exaggeration, mostly for Mara's benefit. And it worked, as she giggled in response.

"He beat that mean, monster lady though!" she said, remembering the joy she felt upon seeing me beat the Inquisitor before her face fell. "But mommy and daddy..."

"It's okay Mara, I'm sure they'd want you to be happy. Can you do that for them?" Ahsoka asks gently.

After a few moments of silence, she nods her head. "I'll try," she says quietly.

"Good enough for me!" I remark, flashing her a wide, and goofy smile, to which she giggles. Ahsoka and Bail both smile at the sight.

"So, what happened exactly?" Bail asks me, the three of us seated at his desk.

Mara currently was somewhere else, talking with a woman who was taking care of her for the time being. She knew how to deal with children, and would help Mara become less afraid of her strange surroundings while Ahsoka, Bail and I were having this meeting about what to do with her. I had R5 travel with Mara, under strict orders not to upset her or else there would be violence brought down on his shiny dome.

"I was on Jedha looking for a supposedly reported Force sensitive when I received a vision about Mara being kidnapped," I explained. "I traveled to Wobani as fast as I could, but by the time I got there an Inquisitor had already killed her parents, and would've taken off with her when I arrived."

"At least you managed to get there before she was taken," he said sorrowfully. "I can't imagine what Mara must be going through."

Having raised Leia for a while, doing everything he could to make sure she was safe and protected from Vader and the Emperor, I'm sure a story like this would be heartbreaking for him, and if something were to happen to Leia he'd never forgive himself.

"The question is what happens to Mara now," Ahsoka pointed out. "From what I sense she's strong with the Force, so she would be hunted down by the Empire if they know what she looks like, and what her name is."

"Who would take her in though? Not many people would be willing to house a Force sensitive child right now, even if they hated the Empire with a passion," I said, laying my head on my hand.

"I'm not sure," Bail said, deeply troubled. "We could send her to a remote place, with a family that would be kind and caring, yet would not draw the Empire's attention," he suggests.

"There aren't many places like that though, besides the Hutt territories, and we all know how dangerous places like that are already." Ahsoka says.

"It's so much more difficult when they're younger," I say quietly with a sigh. "From what she saw. She's going to be having nightmares for possibly years. And she doesn't know or understand the Force yet."

Ahsoka widens her eyes in concern. "If she's constantly terrified or suffering through that, then there's a high chance that she would be projecting herself unknowingly through the Force with fear. Palpatine would definitely pick up on that."

"So she'd need to be with someone she trusts," Bail decides.

I go silent before sharing a look with Ahsoka, realizing the implications I was thinking of.

"Well, right now I'd say the only person she trusts is me, and I guess maybe Ahsoka," I point out. "But I don't know if we could take on the responsibility of raising her. We're Fulcrum agents, which means she'd be in danger every second she spends with us."

Ahsoka nods her head in agreement. It's not that we don't want to take care of Mara, both of us would gladly accept the role, since she trusts us so much, and we could train her in the ways of the Force. It's just that we don't want to put her in such a dangerous position, constantly trying to stay hidden from the Empire. It would be a tough life for her.

"Is there really no other option for Mara?" Ahsoka questions, before her eyes light up. "What about Katooni? She could help Mara in training her sensitivity to the Force," she suggests.

I smile, nodding my head and remembering about her. She still lives on Alderaan, peacefully ever since she wished a peaceful life away from war. She's nice, and would be a great teacher, despite never even becoming a Padawan. She'd know how to help Mara focus her senses in the Force, enough to stay hidden at least.

To our surprise, Bail sighs with a sad shake of his head. "That's a wonderful idea, and I would agree wholeheartedly to it," he says. "However, Palpatine and Vader have begun to grow suspicious of me, have for quite some time actually."

We widen our eyes in alarm before he continues. "They don't know about my involvement with the Rebellion, or other things," at that last bit, he directs the words to me, talking about Leia. "But they've always known that I've never agreed with their ways, and I would prefer the Jedi back. So does the rest of Alderaan, and they have always watched my plant closely."

He sighs again. "Katooni has told me privately that staying hidden takes everything she has. I'm afraid sending Mara there would be far to dangerous, especially if she can't hide herself as you say."

"So we really have no other choice for Mara," I say sadly over the bond.

"I'm afraid so. But we'll figure this out. We always have," she says back reassuringly.

The decision being made, we both nod our heads. "Very well. We'll take her in, make sure she can have the best life possible. Even if it is a dangerous one," I finally say.

After the meeting, me and Ahsoka both headed over to where Mara was with R5 and the woman. We entered the room, and the woman looked up at us, before excusing herself to allow us to meet with Mara, who looked at us questioningly as we sat down on the couch next to Mara.

"Hey Mara, how are you doing?" I ask her.

"Okay. That lady was nice," she commented, staring at the door where she left.

"I'm sure she was," Ahsoka said in agreement.

"Yeah... so where will I go now?" she asks innocently, looking up at us nervously.

Me and Ahsoka share a look before turning our gaze back to Mara with calm, caring eyes. "Jarik and I, have decided that we'll take care of you now," she says.

Mara's eyes light up in joy and wonder. "Really?!"

"Yup, really," I say in confirmation with a smile on my face.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you!" she cries happily, leaping at me to give me a fierce hug, before moving quickly to Ahsoka as well.

Perhaps this wasn't such a bad decision after all. Now about actually teaching and caring for a girl that is three years old... I'm not too confident about this. Even Ahsoka would do better than me, and she's supposed to be the more aggressive of the two of us.

"I heard that!" she says over the bond, giving me a mental thwack.

"Sorry sweetie," I say with a flinch.

Imperial Palace, Coruscant; 3rd person POV...

Second Sister cried out in agony as the Force lightning attack ravaged her body mercilessly from where she lay on the ground at the foot of the throne. Around her, Imperial Royal Guards watched, having no sympathy.

"I told you to bring me the girl!" the Emperor roared in fury, sending another burst of lightning.

"My Emperor, please! I had her, but-" Second Sister pleaded.

"But nothing! You say you had the child, yet here you are with nothing to show for it!" Darth Sidious snarled angrily, stepping down slowly from his throne, hands held in front of him. The black robes covered his hideously scarred face, yet his eyes still gleamed a sickly yellow.

"Let me make up for it Master, I will not fail you again," she said, bowing herself down to the floor.

"What assurance do you give me that you will not fail? Lord Vader would have not failed in your place. Even the Grand Inquisitor would have succeeded partially in his task," the Emperor spoke condescendingly. "Why should I not send one of them instead next time?"

"Grand Inquisitor failed to apprehend the Jedi on Mandalore my Emperor. Surely you won't consider him," she says, attempting to shame someone above her to get in his good graces.

Another burst of lightning racked her body, and she screamed in agony again. "The Grand Inquisitor has already paid for his mistake in not eliminating Jarik Shan! Yet when you faced the same adversary, you were knocked out!" Sidious growled in a rage.

"Forgive me Master..." she whimpered pitifully.

"You're lucky Shan showed you mercy in allowing you to live. But from me, there is no mercy..."

Second Sister looked up in terror as the Emperor approached her, cackling madly in glee.

Mara Jade is officially in the story now guys, and she is now under the care of our favorite duo Jarik and Ahsoka! Well... at least the favorite duo in this fanfiction story lol :P

We're going for some JariSoka shipping for the win, now they have an adopted child.

And good old Papa Palps isn't happy, not happy at all. I'm sure you can guess what fate he has in store for the Second Sister... you almost feel sorry for her.

Side Note: in terms of writing in relation you a young child who is upset and grieving, I honestly am not very good at that, so sorry if it seems a little awkward, but that's why! Thank you so much for continuing to love and support this story! :D