CHAPTER 13

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The next few minutes flew by in a flash. Mara awkwardly detached herself from Luke, much to his chagrin, and commanded her guards to rest while she spoke with the "prisoners." Han commed ahead to the rest of the strike team, alerting them to keep moving and stay tuned for additional orders.

The five stormtroopers, Lando, Chewie, and the two droids were scattered around the clearing, eyeing each other curiously. Meanwhile, Luke sat with Han, Leia, and Mara in a secluded area, where they could privately discuss what had brought them together on the forest moon of Endor.

To say that the situation was awkward would be an understatement. The four of them avoided each other's gazes while trying to think of what to say. To no surprise, it was Han who spoke up first. He leaned forward on the log, raising his brows at Mara. "So…Emperor's Hand, huh?" His voice was casual, as if they were talking about the day over a cup of caf. "How's that working out for you?"

Leia smacked him on the arm. "Han!" Huffing, she glanced back to Mara. "Ignore him, please. Despite that general's rank you see on him, he's as ill-mannered as ever."

Mara snorted. "No, it's okay." She pierced Han with her vivid green eyes. "Well, I'm here and I haven't killed you yet. What does that tell you?"

"Wait a minute," Leia said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Are you saying that you were in on all this?" She lifted a finger and made a circular motion.

Mara smiled, just slightly, but it was there. "Why, you think the Bothan spy network is that good?"

Leia shook her head incredulously. "It was you! You were the one passing along intelligence!"

Mara nodded. "Yes—discretely, of course. That's why I had to make sure the Bothans got all the intelligence. I knew that nobody in the Alliance would question that." She paused, eyes lighting with mirth. "I apologize for that, by the way. I can only imagine how impossible Fey'lya's been since then."

"You have no idea," Leia said. "But Han put him in his place." Han looked smug, and the two women exchanged amused glances.

"I'm sure he did," Mara said.

"Is the Emperor really on the Death Star?"

Mara's jaw clenched. "Oh yes. Am I safe in assuming the fleet is on its way?"

Leia nodded. "We're supposed to be at the bunker in two days."

Mara opened her mouth to speak again, but Luke interrupted her. "Why are you here?"

Mara worried her lip. "Isn't it obvious?" She met his gaze, eyes full of sorrow, regret, and anger. Harsh, unrepentant anger. "I want him dead."

"Ya know, this is a pretty elaborate plan to do that," Han said. "Couldn't you just, you know, stab him in the back when he wasn't looking?"

Mara rolled her eyes. "He didn't become Emperor by being an idiot, Han. He'd be able to sense such treachery."

"But he's not able to sense you going behind his back to plan another Death Star assault?"

"Hopefully not." Mara shrugged. "Besides, I didn't do all this by myself."

Leia narrowed her eyes. "Who were you working with?"

Mara glanced back to Luke before answering. "Vader."

"Vader?" Leia said through clenched teeth. "Vader? You were working with Vader? Why? How could you possibly trust him?" Her voice was getting high-pitched and Han placed a hand on her arm. She quieted, but didn't calm down.

Mara set her jaw in defiance. "Look, he's the only person who wants this as much as I do. The only person I knew could get the job done. I didn't really have any other options."

"And what's your plan?" Han asked.

"To keep the fleet from engaging until you blow up the Death Star."

"And after that?"

"I don't know." She looked into the sky. "Get the hell out of here as fast as possible."

"And descend into more war with Vader in charge," Leia said bitterly.

"Look, I'm not here to argue with you," Mara said. "I'm here to make sure Palpatine dies. Okay?"

For a moment, Luke thought Leia was going to continue to argue. But she just nodded sadly. "Okay."

Luke's mind reeled, but his focus remained pinpointed on the fact that Mara had not answered his question. "But why are you here?" he asked again. When she looked to him but didn't answer, he continued. "The Chimaera is at Svivren. Obviously you're supposed to be there."

Mara sighed. "You're right. I'm not supposed to be here. Both Palpatine and Vader think I'm at Svivren, taking care of some other business. Once all this was over, I was supposed to slip away, never to be seen again."

Luke pinned her with his shining blue eyes. "What changed?"

For the first time, Mara held his gaze for more than a few seconds. "I guess I felt that I needed to be here, to make sure everything went the way it was supposed to."

"You thought Vader would go back on his plan."

"I, um, learned something that made me think he wouldn't be able to resist trying to capture you."

"That he's our father." Luke said it bluntly, wanting to put her off-balance and find out if Leia was still safe.

"Yeah…I mean, I didn't know you'd be on the moon, I thought you'd be flying, but I still wanted to make sure…" Mara trailed off, eyes widening as she comprehended his choice of pronoun. "Wait a minute—did you say our?"

Han rose from the log. "Um, I should go talk to Chewie—"

Leia shot him a glare. He lowered himself.

"Hold on." Mara's eyes shot back and forth between Luke and Leia, finally pinning to the lightsaber on Leia's belt. Her mouth dropped and she let out a curse Luke had never heard before.

Han let out a short laugh. "Crazy, huh? But it makes sense, doesn't it?"

Mara couldn't resist laughing too, and oh it was such a beautiful sound. Luke wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms, but he resisted. "So you two are…?"

"Twins," Luke supplied. Leia stared straight ahead into empty space.

"Wow," Mara murmured. Then she snorted. "You two look nothing alike."

"They don't, huh?" Han agreed. "But if you pay attention you'll notice all these little expressions they make. Like they both look so offended when you say something the least bit scandalous to them. And they do this little quirk with their upper lip when they're confused. And hey, you should be able to sense them through the Force! Do they feel the same? I've always wondered that."

Luke groaned. Han was talking like he and Mara were still a couple, and it was more than a little bit awkward. He didn't want Mara to feel uncomfortable. "Han…"

But Mara closed her eyes, ignoring Luke's protest. He could sense her reaching in the Force. He reveled in it. It was a glorious feeling, one he'd missed so much. "Yeah," she said, opening her eyes again. "They do." She turned to Leia, her gaze turning sympathetic. "So you're a Jedi now?"

"Sort of," Leia replied.

Mara smiled. "I think you'd make a really good Jedi."

Leia huffed. "We'll see."

Han shot Mara a look that said don't try to figure her out. Leia either didn't notice or didn't care to acknowledge him.

"Anyway," Luke said, realizing they had to get going, "what happens now?"

"I told you, I came here for a reason," Mara said. "To make sure you got the deflector shield down. However, with the two of you being here, things are a little more complicated."

Luke blew out a breath, remembering their exchange with the Executor. "Because of Vader."

"Yeah," Mara agreed. "If he sensed you, he might try to come after you."

"I don't know. You're right; he wants Palpatine dead. He tried to get me to join him and kill Palpatine…" He trailed off, not wanting to dwell on what happened on Bespin. Not wanting to remind Mara of all the reasons to hate him. "Anyway, if he sensed my presence, he would have captured us when we arrived. No, I think he wants us to finish the job. So we will." And then I'll deal with my father.

"Well, let's hope you're right, kid." Han stood up. "I hate to break up this little party, but we need to get moving."

"Right." Mara followed his lead. "Contact your team and have them stay on course for the rendezvous. We need to make a side trip."

"Side trip?"

"Just in case there's trouble, we should talk to some of the natives. Ask for their assistance."

"Natives? I thought Endor was unpopulated."

"Unpopulated according to the Empire," Mara said bitterly. "You know how Palpatine is with aliens."

"She's right, Han," Luke said. He wasn't just agreeing with her to get on her good side. "If the plan has been compromised, it won't hurt to have some additional help."

"Sure." Han hefted his pack on his back. "Sounds great. I take it you know the way?" he asked Mara.

"Of course. Follow me."

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They set off across the forest, single file at first then falling into clumps. Mara took point, followed by some of her troopers, then Han and Leia, more troopers, and Lando and Chewie bringing up the rear. Artoo and Threepio were doing their best to keep up, but Artoo especially seemed unwilling to get closer to the rest of the group now that Mara was back.

Luke, for his part, had started off next to Leia and Han, but gradually moved up in the procession until he was marching beside Mara. It seemed perfectly innocent at first, like he was asking her a simple question, but he didn't leave once she'd responded. Instead he'd moved even closer. Mara had rolled her eyes but didn't force him to move away.

Unlike Han and her brother, Leia didn't know what to think about Mara's unexpected arrival on Endor. The men were excited, glad to see their old friend again, convinced that she was back for good. But Leia knew better. After what had happened to Mara, nothing would ever be the same. How could it? She'd been tortured and manipulated, forced to serve a man she hated. Even if she wanted to, how could she possibly come back to the Alliance?

Luke had been devastated when Mara returned to the Empire. Could he go through that all over again, when the battle was over and Mara ran off into the galaxy to be free for the first time in her life? Could Mara survive that loss?

"Hey." Han pulled her close, interrupting her thoughts. "Look at that."

Leia glanced up and noted Han's mischievous expression. "What is it?"

He gestured ahead of them, where Luke and Mara were talking intently, heads pressed close together. "They look cozy, don't they?"

Leia glared at him. "Han. Don't start."

He shrugged his shoulders in an innocent gesture. "What? I'm not doing anything!"

"That's right, and it's going to stay that way." She shoved him playfully in the ribs. "Luke's got enough to worry about right now."

"Yeah," Han agreed, sobering slightly. He looked up into the sky, where the Death Star could be seen orbiting overhead even in the bright sunlight. "You think Vader sensed him?"

Leia shrugged, not wanting to discuss the matter. "Who knows? The important thing is that we're here now. We gotta get the shield down."

"You think he'd tell Palpatine?" Han asked despite Leia's avoidance of the subject.

"How should I know?" she snapped. "I hardly know the man. Maybe you should ask Mara."

"Okay, okay," Han said, changing the subject to placate her. "I still say they look rather comfortable together."

Leia looked to her brother and Mara again, who were now conversing with one of the stormtroopers, the commander from the looks of it. She didn't want to admit that Han was right. "Perhaps."

"What? Would you rather me try to set her up with Lando?"

Leia rolled her eyes and shoved him hard. If he was trying to improve her mood, he was doing a hell of a job. "Come on, nerfherder. Less talking, more walking."

"Hey, I thought I was the general here!"

Leia smirked at him. "And your point is?"

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They stopped walking at nightfall. Mara offered to take the first night watch. Han had put up a decent fight, but in the end realized he wasn't going to win and gave up. Everyone spread out and got ready for rest. Mara sat down, leaning against a large tree, when she realized that Luke was standing next to her.

She glanced up and spared him a faint smile. "Do you need something?"

He shook his head. "No. I thought I'd take the first watch with you."

"I'm perfectly capable of staying awake on my own." She bit her tongue, immediately regretting her double entendre.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. "I know. But I can't sleep."

Mara blew out a breath, knowing exactly what he was doing. He was putting himself in a position where she couldn't avoid him, where she'd be forced to talk to him. She knew it was inevitable but wanted to delay it as much as possible. As always, it seemed that Luke had other designs.

She relented, patting the ground next to her. He nodded gratefully and sat, his back to a large tree that was facing her. After a few moments of silence, he took out a ration bar and held it out to her. "Hungry?"

Mara eyed it warily. She should refuse and eat one of her own bars, but for some reason she found herself saying yes anyway. Perhaps because she couldn't say no to him. Luke's fingers brushed against hers as she accepted the bar. It was like an electric shock swam down her body. She glanced away quickly.

"Sorry," Luke murmured, his voice shaky.

"Don't worry about it." They ate in silence, chewing the bars carefully, giving their stomachs time to accept the food. They would need their strength on this journey and didn't want to go through their provisions all at once. Mara tried not to think about how odd it felt to be around Luke again, yet at the same time it was as if no time at all had passed. She had to keep reminding herself what had happened over the past fifteen months, and not allow herself the chance to get too comfortable. Because as soon as the battle was over, she was gone.

When she was finished, Mara kicked her legs out in front of her, careful not to brush against Luke. She placed her hands behind her head, leaning against the tree trunk. It was not comfortable at all, but it was good enough for now.

"What do you think?" Luke asked suddenly. "Better than Hoth?"

Mara gave him a curious look. "What?"

Luke patted the ground next to him. "Sleeping on the ground of a forest—better or worse than Hoth?" He wore a small smile.

Mara returned it. "Oh, that's no contest at all. Nothing in this galaxy is worse than Hoth." She paused. "Well. Almost nothing."

"Right," Luke said softly, sounding ashamed.

She knew what was about to happen. Luke was going to start apologizing again, but she couldn't deal with that right now. So she began speaking before he could. "Vader doesn't know, by the way. About Leia," she continued when Luke opened his mouth to ask for clarification.

"Oh." He glanced to where Leia and Han dozed, lying as close together as they dared while on a mission. "That's what we assumed. I guess our mother never knew she was having twins. How did you find out about Vader, by the way?"

"Me?" Luke nodded at her. "Oh…I just kind of figured it out. Everything clicked—how similar you two felt, the way he'd been pursuing you over the years, why he didn't kill you on Bespin when you wouldn't join him. He didn't deny it, so I figured I was right." Luke was silent. "What about you?"

He blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah. Unless you're a really fabulous liar, you must have found out sometime after you left for Jedi training."

"Oh. Yeah, um, Yoda told me. He was my Jedi master."

"Ah. So it was Yoda."

Luke tilted his head. "What?"

Mara waved a hand. "Nevermind. It's not important."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her but let the subject pass. "Anyway, Yoda told me right before I left for Cloud City. Said that I needed one final lesson before I could resist the Dark Side. That going there was my first test as a Jedi." He held up his hand and pulled down his sleeve, revealing a wrist access panel. The kind used on cybernetic limbs. "That was one test I will never forget."

Mara's jaw dropped. Any positive feelings about Vader she'd cultivated over the past several weeks flew out of her mind. "Vader did that to you?"

Luke nodded. A veritable palette of emotions passed over his face. "It hurt like hell. But not as much as losing you."

Mara swallowed hard at his words. She felt the urge to reach out to him, to run her fingers over his new hand, but she couldn't. It was still too uncomfortable. Still too painful. "I'm sorry" is all she could say.

Luke looked incredulous. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to go through that alone. I wish I could've been there for you."

"Mara…" Luke trailed off, eyes blinking rapidly. He lowered his voice, unable to speak above a whisper. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who…who abandoned…"

"You did what you had to do," she said firmly. She knew that now, more than anything. Always had, really, just couldn't believe it in order to survive.

He wiped away a tear before gaining his composure. "Mara…I have to ask…what happened on Bespin?"

"Surely Han and Leia told you." She couldn't keep the bitter tone from creeping into her voice, and blew out a breath to calm down.

"Yes," he admitted. "But I'd like to hear it from you."

They stared at each other, both completely still…and, for one fleeting moment, she was back with Luke in the pilots' lounge, talking about everything and nothing at all. Holding his hand. Stealing kisses when nobody was looking. Falling in love.

She glanced away quickly, not letting herself get caught up in the moment. There was too much at stake. She distracted herself by pulling out her water bottle. "I'm getting tired. Do you mind if we not talk anymore?"

The expression on Luke's face told her that he did not want this at all, but he nodded anyway. "Whatever you want, Mara."

She smiled gratefully and leaned her head against the tree, staring up at the night sky.