This is a Collaboration Story co-written with WarmNyota_SweetAyesha from the Jedi Council Forums.

Thank you for reading! :D


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Heart's Destiny

Chapter 10

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The double sunset of Tatooine made its waning dance, undisturbed as it had done over millennia. A lone figure stood still before two sets of unmarked, makeshift gravestones. One placed next to the other, their bases buried in desert sand.

Luke Skywalker stood before the graves of his aunt and uncle.

Following the whispers in the Force, he'd come back to Tatooine, to old Ben's abandoned desert hut, searching for something not really clear to him. In there, he'd found some books containing information on the Jedi, and to his surprise, detailed diagrams on lightsaber construction.

The Force had definitely led him back there.

The Jedi in training had followed those diagrams to the dot and had successfully built a brand new lightsaber, attuned to his own energy after hours and hours of meditating over the synthetically manufactured green crystal, one that had produced a pristine white-emerald coloured blade.

Today, he'd taken time to go back to the Lars farm, his former home. The place where he'd grown up. He visited the graveyards of his aunt and uncle, the resting place where he'd put their charring bodies to rest almost four years back. He vividly remembered that moment… His silent crying, his utter rage, while he dragged the remains of his aunt and uncle over the sandy ground; his eyes clouded by smoke, grief and tears. Luke could still smell charred skin and he was not sure he'd ever forget that scent. He was here to pay his respects to the people who had cared for him.

Moments before, Luke had ventured inside the ruins of his former home, following the echoes of embedded energy of his life there. He'd touched the walls of crumbling clay, walked through deserted narrow corridors and small vaulted rooms, stepped on worn down steps… It had been comforting somehow. He'd been loved in this place.

After his fateful encounter with Darth Vader at Bespin several months back, his life felt in turmoil.

On that tragic day he'd lost his dear friend Han, his hand, his lightsaber, his dreams about his father, his identity, his peace. He wondered if he'd ever recover.

Now he understood his aunt and uncle's reluctance to talk to him about his father. They knew who Anakin Skywalker had become.

Beru, Owen, Ben, Yoda… They all had been lying to him his whole life. Perhaps trying to protect him from the abominable truth. But how had that helped? There was no way to soften a blow like the one he'd been given by his father himself.

Luke still held to the hope the dark Sith had lied, but the more he searched into his feelings the more the cruel confirmation came ringing back: Darth Vader was indeed his father.

After being rescued by Leia, Chewie and Lando in Bespin, he'd spent most of his time on rehab, adapting to his new cybernetic right limb, and had dedicated all of his free time to training himself in the arts of the Jedi. Following everything Yoda had taught him back in Dagobah, Luke was determined to be ready for an imminent encounter he dreaded. Facing Darth Vader again was inevitable, just like the sunrise and sunsets of Tatooine's suns were. He knew it in his soul it would come to that, sooner or later.

Knowing this fate had marked him forever.

Of late, he spoke less and listened more. He mostly kept to himself, busy with his self-training. Without even noticing it, his choice of clothes had changed too, perhaps mirroring his internal state, mourning the loss of his old self. Dressed in all-black garments he'd attended Alliance briefings and walked Rebel dreadnought's corridors, people recoiling from his presence.

He'd been thinking about Mara too. Everything between them had been silent, laying dormant. He had not seen her since Hoth, and he wondered… It'd been almost a year. The way things were, he'd not even made the effort to actively arrange a meeting, it would be just too risky. And if they met… What would he tell her? Their relationship was complicated as it was. What would happen if she knew he was Vader's son? Mara was an Imperial. She would accept him, wouldn't she? But then, what did this make of them both?

At times, Luke could feel the echoes of Mara's mind across the Galaxy, but he'd kept his side of their bond closed and would open it now and then just enough for her to know he was still alive. He would feel the warmth of her thoughts floating back into his mind, but was careful of not letting anything of his current emotional state seep back, he didn't want to burden her. He even wondered if he'd ever dare to fully open his side of their bond to her again. And if when he ever did, it wouldn't be too late. He wanted so desperately to see her, but dreaded it at the same time. Would she even like what he'd become? And this was something he knew he'd have to face too. Telling Mara the truth, and telling everyone else in his life the truth about his origins, was something that needed to be done.

Luke shook his head, that could wait; for now all his efforts must concentrate on getting Han back. Leia was suffering, he knew; and he didn't like that. Lando had come back with reliable intel pinpointing Han's location at Jabba the Hutt's Palace, here on Tatooine. He'd only had to wait for Leia and Lando's arrival and they would put their rescue plan into motion. Safely retrieving his friend and making Leia happy was all that mattered now.

And after that, he'd go and find Mara.

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oOo

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Luke was nowhere to be found. Mara had only felt brief brushes of his Force sense too sporadically, as if he only wanted to let her know that he was all right, but not staying open enough to give her a chance to follow his trail. When she'd come to learn of the events at Bespin, it was obvious that Luke would try to get his friend, Solo, back. Since she could not track Luke, then all she had to do was to track the whereabouts of the mercenary Boba Fett. The Mandalorian scum had delivered the carbonite frozen body of Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt, the main underground landlord of Tatooine and the surrounding systems.

After carrying out intense intel searches, bribing contacts and paying attention to what was going around concerning the Rebels, Mara had finally pinpointed the time frame of Luke's next move.

Planning way ahead of Luke's arrival, Mara had infiltrated Jabba's Palace by taking a position as one of his dancers. Being there earlier would give her the advantage of getting to know the facilities and her surroundings, also the opportunity to make acquaintances with key staff and learn that place's daily routine and how it was run. The thing with sentient beings was that they always established routines, even without noticing it; and Mara knew very well how to use these patterns of behaviour to her advantage.

Mara was a professional. Just like with everything else she did, her dancing skills were top of the line and this had won her Jabba's favour. The Hutt kept asking her back in his Throne Room to perform regular routines, so her days had passed posing as one of the stellar dancers. Being stellar also meant that she was left alone and was granted a few privileges, like sleeping quarters of her own. Too scared of enticing Jabba's wrath, nobody would ever think of messing with her. This had worked perfectly for Mara's true intentions, leaving her enough time alone to study the premises, make preparations and trace her escape route to be used when the time came.

As far as the Emperor was concerned, the reasons for her being there were to execute his last order: to kill Luke Skywalker. What Palpatine didn't know was that Mara's plan was a very different thing all together.

Just as Yoda had warned her, she'd remain nonintrusive. She'd monitor Luke's actions and would have minimum intervention; she would only act if the young Jedi's plans failed. For that she already had everything in place, and if it came down to that, no one in the Palace would ever know what hit them.

While following her everyday schedule as a favoured dancer, she interacted with the dwellers of the palace, gathering information with exquisitely trained subtlety. She familiarized with everyone's faces and duties, so it was not hard for her to spot the arrival of the newcomer.

"And who's that, Tabeka?" She asked the Cerean bartender while nodding towards a man wearing an animal hide armour and a mask of gondar tusks that partially hid his face.

"That's Tamtel Skreej," Tabeka provided. " He's come to work as one of Jabba's bodyguards. He survived the trials and all!"

Mara was impressed; she'd heard of those trials. And felt even more impressed because she exactly knew who was underneath that mask: Lando Calrissian; doing infiltration work as she was.

The Emperor's Hand smiled; if Calrissian succeeded at remaining undetected, he'd be the wild card in the game, the one who would be in a position to change the odds in the blink of an eye. His presence only meant that it wouldn't be long for things to start moving. The rescue of Han Solo was a foot.

Days later, one event sprang things into motion. Through the gossip going around in the palace, Mara got to know about the Wookie Chewbacca who'd been brought in by a mercenary named Boushh. This all had ended up in giving Jabba an addition to his slave harem. The redhead knew who this new slave girl was, Leia Organa, former Princess of Alderaan, and one of Luke's closest friends. Their attempt of rescue had failed; Solo had been thrown in the dungeons with the Wookie, and the Princess was now forced to lay in chains on Jabba's throne. But Luke had not made his appearance, and Mara instantly deducted that his intervention was key to the hole plan.

It wouldn't be long until the Jedi knocked at Jabba's door; in the meantime, she better keep an eye on Leia.

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oOo

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Since the day she'd been made a slave, Leia spent her days sitting on Jabbas throne chained by the neck to it, or isolated in a small stinky room.

The Princess had endured awful things before, the highlight had been being interrogated by Darth Vader himself, but being forced to wear a skimpy slave girl outfit was really humiliating, not to mention the wreckage the cold and the dampness of the Hutt's palace were doing to her body; humans were definitely not fit for this kind of environment. But Leia was determined to endure this too, and get Han back no matter the cost, and then she would make Jabba the Hutt pay.

Without warning, the door of her cell opened and a pair Weequay guards entered her tiny room and bound her wrists, then urged her to go outside. Walking one in front and one behind her, the guards led Leia down a set of darkened corridors she didn't recognize, this was not the way to Jabba's Throne room, she was sure of it. This made the Princess feel restless… Something felt really wrong.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked, her regal composure making her words sounding more like a command.

The Weaquay didn't answer, whether they didn't understand Basic or they simply didn't care. Moments later, the guards stopped before a rusty door and knocked.

The door slid open to reveal a large disarranged room that served as some sort of barracks, sleeping quarters for palace personnel. The stench in the room made the Princess wrinkle her nose. The guards led Leia to the far end of the room, where another door awaited. The second door slid open and Leia entered.

The smaller room was occupied by at least six goons of different species, a couple of filthy humans were distinguishable amongst them. Leia noted that those were the same group of thugs that had been eyeing her since she'd been taken prisoner. The goons had been eyeing Leia for days now, and every time this happened, it had made her feel awfully uncomfortable. It looked like they had finally decided to act on their lust.

"Our date has arrived!" One mockingly announced.

"Come here slave girl, you are going to show us a good time," a second goon told her with a lecherous look on his face. "I think we can take this off you," he gestured as he removed Leia's bindings.

Without any weapons, Leia was completely vulnerable, she knew. Quickly she looked for options… It was an enclosed space, so there were no routes for escape; handling eight armed enemies, larger and meaner than she was, was an impossible task without a weapon. There might be no way out of this, but she would not go down without a fight.

Brashly, one of the goons approached Leia and tried to grab her by the arm. Leia stepped back and instinctively hit him hard on the face with her right fist. The hit was unexpected, and the goon's face turned to the left with the impact, making him yelp in pain. The rest around him laughed.

Leia felt she had communicated a clear message, but she knew they would be even more determined.

On their second try, two of the thugs grabbed Leia's arms. She could not break free from their hold, but this time, with great agility she levelled herself on their hold and kicked the approaching goon in the groin, making him fall squirming in pain. The rest didn't laugh this time, instead they bellowed in anger, it was obvious their prey was just too feisty.

In the meantime, having heard rumours of what was being surreptitiously planned from whispers among the staff, Mara stealthily approached. She watched approvingly as Leia proved she wasn't easy pickings.

The leader of the group approached the Princess and hit her hard on the face, the blow making her fall. Before she could stand up, a second blow to the other side of her face made her fall on her back, she tried to get up to not succeed. Disoriented, Leia couldn't get her bearings… Then, she felt the barrel of a blaster pressed against her temple… This was it then. Maybe it all had been planned to dispatch her without that many witnesses.

The sound of someone barging in the room made everyone look up and for a moment keep their attention away from the Princess.

This was the chance Leia needed. Sliding underneath and in between the legs of the thug that had been pointing at her with the blaster, Leia grabbed a nearby long rod. Once on her feet, Leia turned around and hit the goon on the head, knocking him out. 'This is more like it!' Seven more to go.

Leia braced herself to continue fighting. Everything happened in a blur. A few un-aimed blaster shots sprawled on the walls, but the new arrival seemed to be taking care of everything and didn't look like she needed any help. It was a woman dressed in an electric blue dancer's outfit, her long silky red hair twirling with her speedy fighting sequences.

Leia took note of the redhead's precise, expert moves, using her smaller size as an advantage. Leia heard bones cracking and goons falling silent to the floor with a thud. One by one, each goon got took out. Just after a few moments, all that was left was silence and limp bodies on the floor.

The Princess stood with the rod in her hands as defence, she wasn't yet sure of the newcomer's intentions.

"Are you all right?" Mara asked, still panting. It looked like the Princess only had a small cut on her head.

"Yes, thanks to you making short work of them," Leia answered.

"Glad I got here before those Gundarks got busy."

"That makes two of us," Leia said, the adrenaline in her body making her shake a little. Everything had been so quick and violent.

"I figured we girls have to stick together," Mara delivered, her words infused with more meaning beyond what Leia could understand.

"Can I have your name?" Leia asked.

"Arica," Mara just said, her senses still in full alert.

"You'll have to show me some of those moves sometime," Leia tried to make conversation, this woman really intrigued her.

Mara didn't say anything and just eyed the Princess. Being a Rebel, Leia Organa was her natural enemy, but she was Luke's dear friend; and beyond whatever this meant in the political and personal arena, she would never, ever, let a woman succumb to any male violence, not if she had a saying on it.

Mara took note of Leia's extremely skimpy outfit, a lot skimpier than hers. Jabba was definitely pushing the greatest humiliations he could think of upon the Alderaanian Princess. Maybe he had even orchestrated for this incident to happen.

"Just watch and learn," Mara finally said. She had a feeling Leia would do just that if the situation arose again. Hopefully, it wouldn't before they were all long gone.

Leia smiled, even more intrigued by this cryptic, lovely lady. She had moved with the elegant grace of a dancer and the agility of a warrior.

The door in the room opened, and Bib Fortuna – Jabba's marjordomo, appeared. The tall Twi'lek looked around with surprise. "What happened here?" He spat in Ryl, his mother tongue, while a look of disgust and clear disappointment plagued his alien face.

"They're just taking a nap," Mara explained in sheer sarcasm. They were taking a nap, all right, a permanent one; those goons were dead, she'd made sure of that.

Bib Fortuna gave the dance girl a suspicious look but said nothing. The two girls weren't armed, and those goons very much could have killed each other in a brawl over anything. With just a nod he signalled to Leia to follow him. Without a word, the Princess followed the majordomo, her stance tall and proud.

Before exiting, she turned to Mara, "See you around, Arica."

Mara simply nodded.

Two Gamorrean guards were already at the main door to escort Fortuna and the slave girl. Mara stayed behind, watching as Leia was taken to Jabba's Throne Room and wondering how long it would take for Luke to arrive.

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oOo

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Standing by the sail barge's open deck, Mara held the rail tight with one hand. At the sight of him, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Being extremely careful, she shielded her presence from him. Dressed in all black, he walked the plank with steady steps and stopped at the edge… and then he made a salute gesture with one hand.

Then, the flight of a lightsaber desperately looking for his master's hand.

When realizing what was happening, Mara remembered Yoda's words: "A choice you will make… and in doing so, destiny served will be." If she wanted to complete the mission the Emperor had placed upon her, all she had to do was to use the Force to call in the flying weapon and grab it… It would be so easy! With this dooming Luke and his friends forever. Perhaps she could then go back and report a successful mission to her Master, and go back to her old life, leaving behind this ridiculous love story she'd been leaving for almost two years. She could just go back to being numb and to not caring for anyone anymore, reclaim a simpler life. But the feelings that dwelled within her being were larger than any practical thinking. Her heart was certain, she would never do anything to hurt Luke Skywalker. She loved him! Yes! As surprising this realization was for her, she finally openly admitted it: she was completely and absolutely in love with that man.

Amongst the chaos that had been unleashed once the weapon reached the young Jedi's hand, Mara watched him cut through dozens of enemies. He moved fast! Old Yoda had done a very good job with his student. Then, as if in a momentary daze, he stopped and turned to look to where she was standing… In the distance, his shock of surprise was very evident.

'Mara?' He sent out through their Force bond.

'I'm here…' She briefly answered back, 'And I love you!'

Their exchange was brief, seconds really, but full of meaning. Soon the attack of another wave of guards took all of his attention.

There was nothing left for her to do there. Mara turned around. "Careful you must be, of meddling not with events that are not yours to change." Yoda's warning words rang in her mind as she followed her well-planned escape route.

Now she had to go back to her Master and report her failure.

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To be continued…