"NO!" Luke cried as Obi-Wan collapsed to the ground. He had finished off the other clan member and turned in time to see Jerakah strike Obi-Wan.
Anakin's jaw dropped before closing. His eyes narrowed and he left Mara for Jerakah. Luke joined him. Leia wouldn't let her shock, horror, and grief strike her just yet. There was still Mara to take care of.
Somehow, Mara slid past Leia and cornered Luke, taking him from his battle with Jerakah. Leia took up where he left off.
"Your death is imminent, Skywalker," Mara hissed through her teeth at Luke, blocking his swing. "Don't fight it."
Luke didn't answer her menacing words, instead throwing himself into the fight. In the back of his mind, he noticed that Jerakah and Mara were the only ones left fighting from the sith clan.
Working in tandem, Anakin and Leia fought against Jerakah. Jerakah swung around and sliced through Leia's shoulder. She cried out, reaching out to cover the wound with her free hand. As Jerakah moved to finish her off, Anakin caught him off-guard and cut right through him.
Jerakah's eyes went wide. "No!" he hissed before collapsing to the ground.
Anakin was breathing heavily, sweat covering his forehead. He reached up to wipe it away. After asking if Leia was alright, he swallowed and knelt by Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's eyes were closed, his chest was still. Anakin felt tears burn his eyes.
Luke had managed to back Mara up against a wall. She looked up at him, her green eyes burning in hatred. "Go ahead," she spat, "Kill me."
"Surrender!" Luke cried, much to her surprise. "Surrender or share your master's fate."
Mara's eyes were calculating, studying his face. As her eyes fell shut, she closed down her lightsaber and dropped it to the rocky ground. Luke took a deep breath, backing away. "You made a wise choice, Mara."
"Why?" she asked quietly. "Why give me the option of surrender?"
Luke touched her arm gently, surprising her enough to cause her eyes to open. His were soft, meeting her gaze. "I told you, you're not a sith. You're only convinced you are. Tell me, without Jerakah's influence, do you hate? Do you feel anger? Darkness?"
Mara searched his face. "Why does it matter?"
"You're good, Mara," Luke insisted. "Tell me."
She looked away. "No. I don't feel…dark."
Luke breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Come to Coruscant. Learn the Jedi arts. You're powerful, Mara. You could help so many people."
Her head shot back to let her face him once more. "What?"
"Come back to Coruscant with me," Luke repeated, an urging look in his eyes.
Mara shook her head, looking at him like he was insane. "I belong here."
Luke looked around him, at the fallen clan members. He could feel that most were alive, just unconscious. "What is here for you? Nothing. On Coruscant, you could become a Jedi." He turned back to her, his gaze burning into hers. "Have a purpose."
Mara opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Her mind darted to a possible future. A future where she could leave Maridun and become something important. Something people would look up to. Something powerful. "Alright," Mara whispered.
Luke grinned boyishly. "Really?"
"Don't make me change my mind, Skywalker."
His grin remained in place as he backed up more to let her come away from the wall. His sister's pain flooded his conscious and he turned quickly, seeing Han attending to a fairly large cut on her shoulder. He hurried to her side. "Leia! Are you alright?"
She looked up, smiling slightly through a wince. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a cut."
"A big cut," Han muttered, ripping a piece of his shirt off to wrap around her shoulder.
Luke's gaze moved to Obi-Wan's fallen form. Tears sprang in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Master Obi-Wan," he murmured, reaching out to touch his lifeless hand.
On the way back to Coruscant, Leia and Luke found themselves alone in the cockpit. He turned to his sister, who was watching him with narrowed eyes. He sighed. "Mara isn't a sith." He had repeated this several times over the past hour. She didn't listen any of the times.
"I can't believe you offered to bring her back to Coruscant," Leia muttered.
Luke rolled his eyes. "She's strong in the Force. She'll make a wonderful Jedi. Plus, she's already trained. She'll only need a little guidance."
"Which you'll provide?" Leia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course," Luke answered, as if it was obvious. Wanting to change the subject, he asked "What are Jaina and Jacen like?"
Leia smiled, much to his relief, at the subject change. "About the most adorable two beings I've ever seen. Jaina's a fighter, I can tell already. Jacen, too."
Luke grinned. "I can't wait to meet them."
Behind them, the cockpit door opened. Both turned to see Han entering. He went to Leia's side. "Let's clean up that cut, shall we?"
Leia scowled, but let him take the makeshift bandage off. He knelt beside her, placing a med kit next to him. Luke watched in amusement as Leia continually cursed at Han, who cursed back. They were quite the couple.
Thinking about Leia and Han, Luke expected to get the usual rush of emptiness he got. Instead, Mara's image found its way to his mind's eye.
Luke shook the thought away, frowning. He tried to focus on Leia and Han once more, but the need to go see Mara took over. It was unexplained, but Luke followed it. He stood and excused himself.
Leia watched her brother go, taking her concentration from Han as he finished putting the bacta on. He covered it with a bandage. Leia turned back to him as he kissed the bandage. She smiled, cupping his cheek and lowering her head to kiss him. Han returned the kiss before they broke apart slowly. He grinned at her and stood, taking Luke's abandoned seat next to her.
"So…" he started, "what's with the kid and that Jade girl?"
Leia scowled, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I don't know, but I don't like it. He claims that he wants her to become a Jedi."
Han shrugged. "Maybe that's true. Or, maybe, he has the hots for her." His grin faded when Leia turned her cold glare on him.
"He shouldn't."
Han sighed, taking Leia's hand and holding on, even when she tried to pull it back. "He's a big boy, Leia. If he likes Mara, let him be. You're not even the older one, why are you so protective?"
Leia sighed, relaxing her angry posture. "I don't know. I don't want Luke to get hurt. He's…" She struggled for the right word. "Too trusting. What if he falls for this Mara girl and then she just turns around becomes a 'sith' again? I don't want him to get hurt."
Han was looking at Leia's hand, playing with her fingers and wedding band. "Did he feel like that about you and me?"
"To be fair, he didn't really know what was going on between us until he came to Kas and it had already happened. I never really asked him about it, even after that. There was Janey's funeral, the trials, the mission to destroy Raek, and then our wedding. I never really got to talk to him about it."
"Maybe you should talk to him about Mara. Even if he doesn't feel like that about her-"
"He does," Leia murmured. "I can feel it…" She shook her head. "He's talking to her now, and I can feel his attraction. There's also confusion. He's never really had experience in this sort of thing."
"Neither did you," Han reminded her.
Leia sighed. "I feel like I'm losing him. I know that's absurd, since I'm with you and he hasn't lost me, but I feel as though if he ends up with Mara, I'll…lose him. Well, not him exactly, just…" She shook her head. "I can't describe the feeling, but it's not a nice feeling."
Han squeezed her hand. "I may not have any sibling experience, but I know that Luke wouldn't let anything come between you guys. Not even Mara."
Leia smiled at Han gratefully. "You always know what to say, Han." Her eyes glinted mischievously. "Well, almost always."
Han was going to argue, but then he shrugged. "I'll take what I can get." Leia laughed.