2 NRE
Mara surveyed the ballroom of the Raven's Call, an elite establishment located on the top tier of the Skyline Building. Huge transparisteel windows formed the walls and domed ceiling, and the bustling Coruscant cityscape was visible from every vantage point; the dark night sky and the dense patchwork of stars glittering above them.
"Mara," Leia greeted as she approached, holding out a champagne flute with fizzing pink liquid inside. She looked beautiful in a full length scarlet gown and matching gemstones glittering at her throat and in the diadem she wore in her dark hair. The chain of her locket was also visible around her neck, although the pendant itself tucked behind the bodice of her gown. It did not quite match the rest of her outfit, and yet Mara had never seen Leia without the locket around her neck, not even during training.
"So what's this party about, anyway?" Mara asked, sipping her wine and allowing it to bubble pleasantly on her tongue before swallowing. She'd been wrangled by Leia and Sidel Ravenlok into attending, and they'd bribed her with the indigo dress she was wearing, made from graded shimmersilk of the finest quality.
Leia twirled a finger through her dark hair absently. It had grown out over the past few months, the dark locks now falling just below her shoulders.
"It's a benefit for the War Orphan's Trust," Leia told her. "One of Sidel's brainchilds."
"Of course," Mara nodded. "So are we going to get the hard sell tonight?"
"In a manner of speaking," Leia smiled thinly. "Sidel's goal is to find wealthy patrons for her orphans, with a hope that they will adopt."
"Oh," Mara sipped her wine again. "I think she's out of luck with me."
Leia laughed and touched Mara's arm lightly. "I don't think Sidel had any such illusions, Mara," she said with good humor. "She just wanted the visible support of the Jedi. I suppose we're meant to act like a conscience, since I think most of these people don't have one."
"Hmmph."
"Han and I thought about it," Leia said quietly, and Mara looked at her in surprise. "There are so many needy children, and I know more than anyone what kindness from the right people can do."
Or lack of it, Mara thought to herself. She'd been left without a family due to the war, but unlike Luke and Leia she had been taken in by the wrong person. But now they were working together for a common goal - the three Jedi orphans, Mara smiled ruefully. She made a mental note to make a generous donation to the Trust later than night. Karrde still had her on the payroll as a consultant, even though she didn't do much beyond give the occasional advice and opinion over a comm call. She turned her attention back to Leia, who was sipping her wine thoughtfully.
"Have you made any decisions?" Mara asked delicately.
"I would like to, but I don't think it's the right time," Leia said, her gaze focused out the window to the shimmering skyline. "After...everything that had happened, I don't know if I could handle it."
Mara put her hand on Leia's shoulder, and didn't press her further. Leia sighed and shook off her melancholy, giving Mara a brilliant smile.
"But enough of depressing thoughts," she said. "My brother is over there." She pointed across the room with her glass, to where Luke was standing and chatting with various dignitaries. "Don't you think he looks handsome?" Leia asked with a teasing lilt.
Mara gave her a withering look. "I've come to expect more subtlety from you, Leia."
Leia shrugged. "Sometimes the direct approach is required."
Allowing herself a second glance, Mara found she could not disagree with Leia's assessment. Luke was wearing a well-cut white tunic with a dark teal jacket, his black boots polished and shiny. She noted absently that the color of his coat would complement her dress perfectly, and wondered if Leia had bought it for him specifically to wear that night.
"So when are you and my brother going to stop fooling yourselves?" Leia turned to her with a knowing smile. "You're not fooling anyone else."
Mara scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about, Leia."
"Oh, so that little look just now was perfectly innocent?"
Mara grew flustered. "What has he said?"
"Nothing," Leia shrugged. "But he doesn't have to. We're twins, I can feel what he's feeling. And when I'm around you both I practically feel like I'min love with you, so whatever Luke feels must be pretty damn strong."
Mara blinked, trying to process Leia's words, but before she could respond with a denial Sidel Ravenlok appeared breezily at their side. "Evening, ladies," she said as she kissed their cheeks. Mara had grown used to Sidel's easy manner and overt affection over the past few months - tolerating it more than anything, although she could not deny that the woman knew how to have a good time. She'd had more than one nasty hangover thanks to Sidel's insistence that they have "just a few more" drinks.
"What are we talking about?" Sidel asked, fiddling with one of the large diamond teardrops that hung from her ears.
"How much my brother loves Mara," Leia said nonchalantly into her drink and Mara gaped at her.
"Oh, everyone knows that," Sidel declared airily, waving a dismissive hand.
"What?" Mara spluttered.
"I told Oren the other day that I thought you two have been having it off for months," Sidel continued with a cheeky smile. "But he swears Luke is more of a gentleman than that."
Mara cringed as Leia looked at her with interest. More than once Mara had wanted to confide in her about the night she and Luke had shared together, since it still held such confusion. But how could she possibly bring it up without letting slip the circumstances? No, Mara would never cause Leia pain by forcing her to relive the terrible day she had lost her child.
Sometimes when they were meditating Mara would come out of her trance first, and see Leia, eyes tightly shut and tear streaming down her face. Perhaps she was trying to reach out to the spirit of her baby boy in the Force, perhaps she was seeking answers as to why he had been taken from her. Mara could never bring herself to ask, nor would she deliberately press against such a painful wound.
"So, Mara," Sidel prodded her out of her reverie. "Is Luke a gentleman?"
Mara pierced her with a withering glare, but Sidel just laughed, as ever impossible to offend or intimidate. "Or perhaps he doesn't have the chance to be?" she pressed. "Luke's feelings are plain enough, but as Oren said to me, you're harder to decrypt than Imperial codes."
"And what do you think?" Mara asked her, careful to give nothing away.
Sidel regarded her for a few moments, for once her levity fading. "I think you're afraid," she said softly. "And that's fair enough. Oren and I fell in love so quickly - long before we ever met in person." She looked over to where Oren was talking to Wedge and Iella Antilles, their young daughter Kara hanging onto his leg.
"When we did it was wonderful," Kara continued. "But our time together was fleeting - he was with the Alliance and I had to maintain my cover here on Coruscant. We exchanged messages but there was no guarantee they weren't vetted by Alliance command, so I didn't dare write that I loved him. I couldn't even tell him the most precious news I had - I worried every night how he would react, whether he felt as I did. Then Coruscant fell and he came to find me...and I handed him his daughter." Misty-eyed, Sidel gazed at her family with such open affection that Mara felt a strange tug in her gut. "Then I knew - by the way he looked at her, and the way he looked at me. Sometimes you have to take a chance, Mara," Sidel touched her hand lightly. "Because it can be worth it."
Mara didn't answer, and the topic soon moved on. But Mara couldn't stop herself from stealing a glance at Luke every now and then, wondering if what Leia had said was correct. Did Luke love her? He certainly hadn't given any indication of it. And yet, there was a leap in Mara's heart whenever he was around, and sometimes she found her thoughts dwelling on him at night when she was alone in her small apartment. She'd always lived a solitary life and had never wanted anything else, but for the first time, Mara felt the desire for something more.
But she wasn't sure how to ask for it.
29 NRE
Corran stood in the shadow of Theed palace, his nerves on edge as he surveyed the assembled crowd down in the plaza. Queen Nebulla and Boss Trell were standing at the top of the stone steps leading up to the palace, watching the parade approach. Floating on the dais between them was a large transparent sphere containing some kind of iridescent electric charge - the Globe of Peace, according to Corran's notes. The streets leading up to the palace were filled with bystanders, human and Gungan alike - even some other species such as Rodian and Twi'lek visiting for the festivities.
Only the small courtyard to the right of the palace was left empty, out of respect. It contained a monument to the Civil War, and in particular those who had fought with the Rebellion or had taken up the dangerous job as spies in the Imperial regime which had taken up residence on Naboo during the Empire.
All seemed normal to Corran, despite the queasy feeling in his stomach. Luke had dropped out of contact having clearly felt a disturbance, but Corran knew he had to hold his position as Luke had ordered. He had no idea where Ben was, and Corran hoped he was still at his post in the markets - if the Sith were to infiltrate the crowds that would be the logical entry point.
"Master Horn." A breathless lieutenant appeared at his side. "I've checked with intel, apparently there has been a disturbance in the lake district - the Varykino villa has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Corran was dumbfounded - he'd been to the villa several times over the years and knew it's long history.
"Yes, sir." The lieutenant nodded. "They think it was a pulse bomb."
Hardly the tools of Sith, Corran told himself, and yet they were effective. Pulse bombs could be made by incorporating nanobots into any living or electrically charged matter, which made them near impossible to detect. Electrically charged...
Corran's danger sense flared, and he ran towards Nebulla and Trell. "Get away from that!" he yelled at them, pushing out through the Force to send the transparent sphere up into the air and away from them. But his telekenesis skills had always been weak, and the sphere only spun a few metres into the air before it exploded in a burst of fiery light. There were screams as red-hot ashes rained down on the crowd, and a surge of panicked movement began.
Corran turned towards the parade to see the approaching float made to look like a traditional Gungan catapult, complete with energy balls called boomas. Of course, they were meant to be display only , but Corran's danger sense spiked again. His cry of warning was drowned out as the boomas exploded, killing all within a ten metre radius.
The crowd scrambled, a thunderous crush of people trying to flee the city streets. The security force swarmed down the steps, trying to make sense of the chaos and start an ordered evacuation. Corran scanned the area with the Force, this time searching for energy fluctuations but found no danger - all he felt was a heightened panic.
He heard someone yell for the Queen, and Corran turned to see that Trell was unhurt but being comforted by her aide and Gungan bodyguards. Nebulla however was surrounded by a swarm of handmaidens and security personnel, and Corran rushed to their side. The Queen was on the ground, severely shaken with a bleeding head wound, and cradling the lifeless body of a handmaiden in her arms.
"Your Majesty," Corran asked. "Are you alright?"
Nebulla looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "She pushed me out of the way of the blast."
Trell appeared by Corran's side. "Then she didsa her duty," she said softly, and Corran was surprised to hear her speak Basic. "Master Horn, I believe weesa should retreat to the palace."
Corran nodded, and then instructed the handmaidens to take Nebulla inside and the security forces to create a perimeter around the palace. This was only the first wave, he knew - the Sith were coming for them.
Luke felt the explosions in the city rock him to the very core. There was panic in the streets, the security forces stretched thin to try and direct evacuation of the crowd. Reaching out through the Force, Luke gently touched the minds of the people swarming around him, urging calm. It worked, the hysteria dampening, allowing some people to reach their homes or others to board transports out of the city in case more bombs went off. In the skies above them a rouge Naboo N-16 starfighter rained blaster fire, destroying prominent landmarks such as the Royal Museum and Theed Library.
"Corran," Luke flicked on his commlink. "Report."
"I'm inside the palace," Corran responded immediately. "Nebulla and Trell are with me, we've barricaded the doors and I've put a Force shield up. But one of the Sith is outside trying to get in - I don't know how long we can hold off."
"I'm on my way," Luke said grimly. "It's me they want." Of that Luke was certain now. This had all been calculated by the Sith, all carefully planned. The destruction of Varykino, the bombs in the city and the murder of Sola had been a message for Luke - that the Sith knew how to hurt him, and wouldn't hesitate.
But Luke would not be drawn into their web. They had sought to drive him closer to the dark side, to unsettle himself with grief and panic. But they did not understand him - Luke had stood before the burning bodies of his aunt and uncle, had watched old Ben be cut down in front of him, had keenly felt the deaths of so many friends and comrades and yet he had not been distracted from his duty. Loss only fueled his desire for justice, and he had long since learned that justice was not revenge, or retribution.
The Sith could strike at his heart because they thought his love was a weakness - on the contrary, that's where Luke was the strongest.
"Ben," Luke switched the channel of his comm. "Where are you?"
"Look up," came Ben's reply, and Luke saw his son's black and orange StealthX streaming across the sky in pursuit of the Naboo starfighter. "Don't worry Dad, I'll get him."
Not having the time to do anything else, Luke ran up the main plaza to the palace, the same path the procession had taken earlier. He cleared the steps with the ease of a man half his age, in pursuit of the Sith slashing his red lightsaber against the pressure points of the mammoth palace doors.
Sensing Luke's presence, the Sith turned, and Luke saw that it was the elder, the man whose face he'd only viewed briefly from the ramp of his starship. But since learning his identity Luke had studied his history from the Imperial Archives and had seen countless holos of the man in his youth. Svel Delrond.
Luke stopped, igniting his lightsaber but not yet moving into a battle stance. Svel's gaze drifted down over Luke's robes, where Sola's blood still stained the coarse fabric.
"Bad day, Skywalker?" Delrond asked, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
But Luke would not be triggered so easily, and he looked inward for calm, to the memories of Sola's warm embrace, to the affectionate way she would brush his wayward hair back to keep it neat, to long, deep conversations under the Naboo night sky and her boundless love evident every time she called him my darling. Even though Varykino had been defiled and Sola killed, Luke still had those memories, and they fortified his resolve not to dishonour them.
"Was it you?" Luke couldn't help but ask. "Or did you send your son to do your dirty work?"
Svel's smile dropped, clearly surprised that Luke knew about their familial connection. But Kara had commend him from the Fury to fill him in on what they'd found on Dathomir, and everything had made sense. With any luck, they would be dropping out of hyperspace any minute.
"She was the first," Delrond declared, stepping forward and brandishing his lightsaber. "My son will kill yours, and I will kill you, Skywalker. You will die in the knowledge that you have been unable to save these people you love so much, that we will hunt down every last member of your bloodline. The Skywalkers, like the Jedi before them, will be purged from this galaxy, and the Sith will rule once more."
"No," Luke shook his head slowly. "They will not."
Svel's eyes blazed orange and red as he surged forward abruptly, swinging his saber in a bold and forceful opening move. Luke slipped instinctively into a defensive stance, blocking the rapid blows of Delrond's furious attack with relative ease, casting aside any anger or sorrow and enclosing himself in the light - in memories of his beloved aunt.
The two fought across the palace entrance, Luke first allowing himself to be urged back, his blade deflecting Delrond's blows and giving him the time to study the Sith's style. He was proficient, but like most dark siders Luke had fought, uncreative. He relied too much on brute force, neglecting a finer technique and leaving himself open to confusion. When Svel's blade pressed firmly against Luke's, the impact creating a simmering, crackling electricity he struck, kicking Delrond's kneecap and then spinning away out of reach. His opponent overbalanced, stumbling forward as Luke stepped in to bring his saber down over Delrond's wrist to sever his hand.
But to Luke's complete surprise, the green blade merely bounced off the armor and he was forced to shuffle back at the force of being repelled so violently. He looked at Delrond in utter confusion, and the Sith merely laughed as he turned back around to face Luke.
"Made from the hide of a zillo beast," Delrond declared and beat a closed fist against his armoured chest, brandishing his saber with is other hand.
"I thought they were extinct." Luke immediately began to study the armour, searching for weak points.
"So you thought of the Sith," Delron declared as he advanced on Luke again to resume combat. "You were wrong."
With Theed on fire below him, Ben focused all his energy on pursuing the Naboo starfighter intent on causing so much destruction. He couldn't think of the panicked populace fleeing the city and getting caught in the collateral damage, he couldn't think of Corran trying to secure the palace, nor of his father fighting the elder Sith down in the plaza. He especially couldn't think of the pain in his heart that told him his Great Aunt Sola had slipped away into the Force.
All he could focus on was Fin Delrond in the starfighter, and of taking him down before he could reap more destruction on the helpless city. That was his duty, and the only thing that could occupy his thoughts.
Ben had been in the textile market where the stalls had been brimming with life, traders selling brightly coloured fabrics, shawls, hats and scarves to eager customers for the celebrations that day. He'd always found it hard to hone his Force senses in large crowds, but there had been an unmistakable taint throughout the city. Following the trail had taken some time, but eventually Ben had seen a black-robed figure slip through the crowd, conspicuous amidst the bright colours.
As he'd grown closer Ben had recognised the scent the Sith carried with him - death. Whereas he'd only felt a small jolt to his senses before, when his father had left the parade to return to the Naberrie house, the full realisation of what must have happened had torn such a deep chasm in Ben's heart he'd had to stop for a moment to calm himself and chase away the grasping fingers of the dark side.
By the time he found Delrond again it was too late - he'd lain waste to an aircraft hanger, stealing one starfighter and leaving the others as flaming wreckage, along with two dozen security personnel. Ben hadn't had time to comm Corran or Luke, absorbed with the frantic run to the Palace hangar where his X-Wing was located.
Now he and Delrond flew over the city, exchanging fire as Theed burned below them. Ben had seen at least two bombs go off in the Palace Plaza, and Delrond had been able to destroy several landmarks before Ben had sent a volley of blaster shots his way. They flew to a stalemate, rolling and soaring through the air; Ben succeeded in damaging the starfighter's sleek hull, while Delrond managed to knock one of the StealthX's engines loose. Ben pulled away from direct confrontation as his instruments flickered, climbing up in the atmosphere to get his bearings and assess the damage.
"Got any tricks up your sleeve, Artoo?" Ben asked - he didn't know what had happened to his R4 droid, but Artoo had been waiting for him in the hanger almost as if he'd known he would be needed.
In his canopy Artoo warbled a suggestion, and Ben glanced down at his screen to read the translation. "That's...risky," Ben hesitated for only a moment, and then grinned. "I love it."
He looked down at the starfighter, which had flown lower with a clear intention to return to razing the city. Ben tilted his X-Wing down and sent a volley of blaster fire to make Fin rethink that plan. It worked, and the starfighter swiveled, its pointy nose now facing upwards towards Ben's ship, ready to return fire.
"Okay, Artoo, hang on!" Ben piloted his ship straight down and flew towards Fin's starfighter, raining down blaster fire as he did so. Rising to the challenge, the starfighter returned fire as it flew upwards - it was a classic game of chicken, but Ben had gravity in his favor. His blaster fire was faster as the distance closed between the two ships, and although he sustained damage it was in the knowledge that his enemy was getting it worse. However Fin did not pull away, and for a moment their eyes met as impact was imminent.
Never one for a suicide mission, Ben whooped as he pulled his ship away from being skewered on the starfighter's nose, letting loose two proton torpedos as he did so, impacting directly on the starfighter's cockpit. He heard the explosion behind him, along with Artoo's jubilant screeching. Ben spun his ship around again to see that the starfighter was still flying, but badly damaged with the cockpit transparisteel splintered but not yet broken.
"There's more where that came from, sithslime," Ben grinned as he soared in for another pass.