AN: LAST time skip for the REST of the story. Promise!

One year later…

Anakin stood in a large room full of kids. None of them looked much older than thirteen. They all wore the same outfit, like a uniform of some sort, all plain and neutral. Even in the dream, Anakin could feel that despite their average appearance, they were strong in the Force. Confused, he tried to see if he could recognize any of them. His own Jedi Academy had flourished and grown, with JA branches being built in several hidden locations all over the world. He didn't have a personal relationship with all of the up and coming Jedi, of course, but as the Order's Grand Masters, he and Obi-Wan did go to meet with them in organized assemblies frequently.

He didn't know any of these kids, though. What's more, the longer he tried to read them through the Force, he realized they had a Dark sense to them. They all stood, staring at something up front. Anakin turned around, trying to make sense of the vision—for this had to be a Force vision. It was too realistic to be just a normal dream. When was the last time he'd had a vision? It had to be years ago. He didn't know exactly, but he watched tentatively as it played out before him.

There was an opening at the front of the room. A man held two wooden sparring sabers. "Get up here, boy," he snarled at one of the kids up front. Anakin frowned, trying to get a good look at the kid. All he could see was a mop of unruly blonde hair…The boy, though somewhat small in build, calmly and confidently headed up to the front, finally giving Anakin a full view, making him catch his breath as his heart suddenly kicked into overdrive.

Luke.

Anakin opened his mouth, tried to call for his son, the child he had been looking for relentlessly for so many years. No sound came out of his mouth, though. He tried to move, but he was stuck in place, as if rooted to the floor, forced to watch as his son took one of the sparring sabers in his hand. Anakin memorized every detail of his son, even though logic told him that after so long, Luke definitely wouldn't look thirteen anymore. He seemed well-fed, but his skin was pale, as if he rarely went outside anymore. He was in sore need of a haircut, but most thirteen-year-old boys needed one. To anyone else, Luke looked like any normal teenage boy. Except his Skywalker eyes. His blue eyes...they were guarded, but through that defense, Anakin saw a familiar sight glittering in their depths: Anger. Hatred. Guilt. They were familiar because he had once been that way, and it had been something that Anakin never wanted for his son. Anakin was amazed at how very much like himself at that age Luke looked. Yes, even down to his soul, it would seem.

"Fireheart!" The man barked, and Anakin realized he was staring right at him. "Get up here."

There were some quiet cheers from the other kids, and as Anakin began walking up there (not of his own accord), some people clapped him on the back. A few things became clearer then: First, he was clearly witnessing someone's memories. Second, whoever this person was, they were well-liked by the other kids while Luke was, at least, ignored by them. Third, when he looked back at Luke as he took his own sparring stick, he saw a sort of wildfire burning deep in his son's eyes that made him, or the person he was seeing through, hesitate.

But only for a moment. The bigger man stepped away. "Begin." He ordered, and Anakin was suddenly lunging forward, attacking Luke with all the ferocity of a Sith Apprentice. Luke immediately moved into a defensive position, keeping up with the blows, albeit barely. That seemed to give this person Anakin seemed to embody confidence, and they moved faster, trying to land a blow to Luke. Luke wouldn't let them, however, and kept blocking, his eyes still full of that smoldering fire.

Anakin, an experienced master saber fighter, knew exactly what Luke was doing, even if the person whose memories this vision belonged to didn't. Although this person was fierce, they were also leaving themselves open to plenty of opportunities to be attacked. Luke was merely biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to exploit that, and if this was a real battle, it could mean life or death. Sure enough, Luke soon spotted an opening, and with a twisting smirk and a flash of triumph in his gaze, suddenly Luke was the one on the attack, driving 'Anakin' back amidst murmurs of surprise from the others present. His blows were hard, swift, and sure, and Anakin couldn't help but think back to that moment on the second Death Star when Luke had attacked him after he'd suggested turning Leia to the Dark Side. Obviously, his son was a natural saber fighter. It must be in the Skywalker genes, Anakin figured.

In a split second, Luke smoothly and masterfully maneuvered the stick, successfully disarming his opponent, the weapon clattering to the floor. Anakin saw the person Luke was fighting against dive for the weapon, but Luke had already reached out, using the Force to call it into his own hand. Anakin ended up on his knees as Luke brought both weapons to his neck, crossing the wooden blades. He stared up into his son's blue eyes, watching the closed off expression on his Luke's face that did nothing to hide the gleam of triumph in his eyes. Another memory, this time one of Anakin's own, flashed through his head: Count Dooku, kneeling before Anakin in the same position aboard Grievous' ship with Palpatine looking on, encouraging Anakin to do the unthinkable. Anakin had not been merciful then, and with a sinking feeling in his gut, Anakin didn't think Luke would have been merciful now either had this been a real fight. "Yield." Luke said, his now deeper voice speaking with a tone that was firm, uncompromising, and commanding. It wasn't a tone that any thirteen-year-old should have, and it sent shivers of pure dread up Anakin's spine.

There was a moment's pause, before the person whose memory this was finally let out a frustrated huff. "I yield." The voice was feminine…and full of anger. For a moment, Luke stayed still: the other kids watched the exchange in stunned silence. Clearly, they hadn't expected this outcome. Anakin himself wondered if Luke would let her leave the duel unscathed. Vader wouldn't have.

But, Luke was not Vader. He smirked, finally dropped the sparring sticks to the floor with a loud clatter, turned, and disappeared into the stunned crowd of children, who parted to make way for him.

Anakin jerked upright in bed, gasping and drenched in sweat, as if he really had just dueled his own son. He looked around wildly in the darkened room, trying to ground himself back in reality and having trouble doing so. He glanced over at the sleeping form of his wife, curled up under their comforter with her arm wrapped around a pillow. Other than a brief shifting of position, she didn't seem to have been disturbed by Anakin's sudden jolting movement. He forced himself to take deep, even breaths to calm his racing heart, though that did nothing for his whirling mind. He hadn't had a Force vision in so very long…he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had one. The last nine years, he'd practically begged and pleaded with the Force to show him something, anything of his son, but it never had. Until now. But, why? He wondered, running a hand through his hair. Why now? He needed answers, and sitting upright in bed next to his sleeping wife was not a good place to get those answers.

Carefully, so as not to disturb Padme, he eased out of bed, before tip-toeing quietly out of their bedroom and into the hallway, then making his way downstairs. He paused about halfway down, realizing that the light in the kitchen was on. He reached out with the Force, hoping that it wasn't 9-year-old Hayden trying to sneak all of Padme's homemade chocolate chip and pecan cookies out of the cupboard again, but to his surprise, he found Leia's presence. She sensed him at the same time he sensed her, and he could feel her curiosity as well. He continued down the stairs to join her in their sprawling white kitchen.

"Hey, Dad," she said softly, as he came into the kitchen, dressed in a white V-neck t-shirt and his blue, white and gray thin-striped pajama pants. She was wearing a gray tank top and sleep shorts, a mug of chamomile herbal tea in front of her while she looked over whatever was on her iPad. Her long, dark hair, so like her mother's, was, as usual when she was home, braided loosely. "Why are you awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Anakin pointed out with a small smile. "The first day of your senior year starts in the morning. You should be getting some sleep."

She nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "I know, I know," She sighed, "I just…couldn't sleep." She threw him a wry smile. "Maybe because someone's been letting me stay up super late all summer."

She did have a point, but it wasn't entirely his idea. Leia used the summer to hit her Jedi-training hard—when she wasn't helping him look for Luke, that is. Over the last nine years, anytime they'd had any sort of clue, no matter if it was miniscule or small, they went after it. It was a hunt that had taken them all over the world. Once, they'd even found one of Palpatine's bases, though most of the personnel had evacuated by the time they'd gotten there. They had captured all the remaining base personnel and taken them to the JA in Houston and had interrogated them there. Since Galen, now 25, had become a Jedi Knight three years ago, Leia had become Anakin's padawan, and she had accompanied him on many of the missions. Ahsoka, now 38 and married to Lux Bonteri with two pre-teen kids of her own, had joined in as often asshe could, as had Obi-Wan. Padme had also joined them occasionally, leaving Hayden with Satine and her and Obi-Wan's two girls, 14-year-old Ella and 10-½-year-old Rachel, and guarded by other Jedi Knights.

"So," Leia prompted, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you awake?"

Anakin sighed and sat down across from her at the kitchen table, running his hand again through his hair. Should he tell her? He didn't want to get her hopes up if it didn't lead to anything. Every time they went after a clue, he could always see the bright hope in her eyes, which deflated when they turned up empty handed. It killed him inside to see his only daughter like that. He wished he had better answers for her, but he didn't. Not yet, anyway. "I-I had a dream." He caught her eye. "A Force vision."

Leia was never one to make a big show with her reactions. Still, her eyes lit up with interest. "Oh?" She said carefully, waiting for him to elaborate.

He hesitated, still not sure if he wanted to get her hopes up. He didn't think he could lie to her though, and she wouldn't leave it alone until he told her, so he gave in. "I saw Luke in it."

Leia's face paled, and she straightened in her seat immediately, setting the iPad down on the table. "Seriously?" She echoed in wonder, "W-what happened? Did it give you any clues as to where he is? Did he look…hurt? Was it something in the future or…"

"Leia," He held up a hand, cutting her off. "It was from the past. I saw him through the memories of one of the girls he was with…."

Now, it was Leia's turn to interrupt. "Wait. You saw the memory….through a girl's eyes?" He could see the humor in her eyes, though she was trying hard to hold back laughter. Good thing, too. He may have been close with his daughter, but there was still a line she knew not to cross.

He shot her a warning glare. "I don't control it, okay?" He grumbled. "Anyhow, it's more than we've had in years." He went on to describe the dream in detail to her, hoping that she would perhaps see something in it that he hadn't.

When he finished, her brief moment of humor was gone, replaced by a contemplative frown. "Well, I think that definitely confirms our theory that Palpatine has been gathering Force Sensitive children." She said darkly. They had long suspected it after they'd found that base a few years back and found evidence of multiple Force-Sensitives having lived and trained there. "That's certainly not a good sign."

Anakin had to agree with her there. "But, it still doesn't tell us where he is."

"You're right," Leia agreed solemnly, "It doesn't. But, that doesn't mean it won't soon though. Perhaps you'll have more of these visions about Luke."

Anakin wasn't sure about that. His visions had always tended to go on repeat until the tragedy was over. He didn't mention that to Leia though. He didn't want her to think that the vision somehow meant that Luke was going to face a tragic situation anytime soon…even if that was exactly what it meant. They were already worried enough for him as it was. Even if, as a family, they had managed to…not deal with it, no, but learn to live with it over the years, they were still terrified for whatever it was Luke had gone through during this time away from them.

"I have news, too." Leia suddenly said, pushing her iPad to him. "Look what was just reported an hour ago on the wires."

Anakin eagerly took the iPad in his hands, hoping that it was something that could lead him to Luke…and stopped, the hope going cold. Just more news about the mysterious "Starkiller" that had sprung into the spotlight over the last year. He'd been active for longer: He had, just four years before, been the cause for Neeja's murder. Anakin scowled, remembering the day he and Obi-Wan had been comm'd by the Jedi in Nepal with the news. Some masked Force sensitives had snuck in and stolen lightsaber crystals. Neeja had tried to stop them, but one of them killed him. The Jedi who had seen the incident said they called the one who'd done it "Starkiller." At the time, it had been so random, so sudden, but after they'd found that compound of Palpatine's and he'd just seen this vision, it started to make sense.

Neeja's killer had disappeared for years, without a trace, and after the Jedi Master's death, Anakin and Obi-Wan had then installed Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, whom they had fought with in their old galaxy in the Clone Wars as the new leader of the Jedi in Nepal and Guardian of the Crystal Temple. Then, suddenly, a year ago, Starkiller started popping up everywhere, killing government officials from various countries across the world, leaving his name purposefully behind at the scene. Investigators hypothesized that the killer was proud of the kills, like a typical serial killer. They may have been right, but Anakin didn't think so, if only for the reason that each of the kills had been officials the Jedi had suspected (but with no proof) to be working with Palpatine. It was almost like this Starkiller was on an orchestrated step-by-step hunt, and he was making his ultimate prey aware that he was coming for them. It was an interesting theory, but Starkiller wasn't exactly high on Anakin's priority list. They were certainly up there, but finding his son came first….

Wait a minute.

Anakin frowned, reading the name of the victim. Lt. Joakin Strife. A war lord that the Jedi knew without a shadow of a doubt was working for Palpatine. Anakin had actually found the info while on a search for Luke, and he'd come with his Jedi looking for him with the hopes that the man would know something of Palpatine's whereabouts, or even better, Luke's, but he'd never found his exact location. Now, Starkiller had taken him out, left his 'calling card' and disappeared without a trace. Again.

So, he was right. Starkiller, who, after Neeja's murder, he'd assumed was working for Palpatine, was now, apparently, turned against the Sith Lord, and was tracking him down as well. Unlike Anakin, though, Starkiller seemed to know who to target, and he didn't seem to care if Palpatine knew he was coming to kill him or not. Anakin had to hand it to him. It was gutsy. Foolish, yes, but gutsy. As Anakin read the information over and over again, he began to feel the Force nudge within him, as if…"We need to find Starkiller." The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying, and he could feel Leia's startled gaze on him.

"Find him?" She echoed, her eyebrows furrowing, "To…bring him to justice? To stop his killing spree?"

Maybe. Eventually he would have liked to do that, but somehow, he didn't feel like that was the goal this time. He shook his head. "No, I just….have a feeling." He frowned, closing his eyes and concentrating on the growing prompting from the Force. "I think Starkiller is our key to finding Palpatine." He met Leia's eyes. "Maybe even Luke."

Leia opened her mouth to object, but stopped, seemingly re-thinking it over. He knew what she was really doing though: She was searching for answers from the Force as well. Though he'd taught her quite a bit of the Force, she had always had a way of consulting the Force for answers herself. His chest swelled with pride, as the argument left her eyes and she nodded. "I think so, too." She sighed. "If Starkiller was working for Palpatine at some point, perhaps they knew Luke and could help us find him."

"I don't see why not." Anakin agreed, turning back to the iPad and pulling up their encrypted database specifically reserved for the Jedi. "Doesn't Joakin have a brother in Rio De Janeiro?"

Leia nodded. "But, I thought we had determined he wasn't allied with Palpatine?" After they'd confirmed Joakin's ties to Palpatine, they had, of course, also investigated his brother but had found no evidence of anything shady. The man visited orphanages, gave to charity, pushed for equality within his country…Now, however, Anakin wondered if the man was actually hiding something much more sinister from the world. After all, Palpatine had been seen, on the surface, to be a saint as well, and Anakin well knew that oftentimes looks could be deceiving.

Cliché, yes, but sadly true, nonetheless.

He almost mentioned this fact, but they still had yet to tell Leia the truth. He and Padme had discussed it, and with the stress of trying to find Luke, they hadn't felt that it was the right time to spring on Leia the fact that her parents, her entire family really, was from another galaxy and that her father had once been an evil murderer who had tortured her and her friends and stood by while her planet was destroyed. They would tell her, yes…but only once they found Luke. Then they'd tell her.

"I think he might be hiding something." He said instead, "But, even if he isn't, this Starkiller might go after him next anyway."

Leia considered it for a moment. "Well," she said, finishing her cup of tea, "It's a start."

Anakin nodded, passing the iPad back over. "It is…albeit a small start." He sighed. "I'll start looking into him again. I'll try to get his schedule, his exact location, all of that. We'll come up with a game plan with Obi-Wan and Snips from there."

Leia nodded and stood. "Well. Like you said, school starts tomorrow. I could spend all night talking about this, but I should at least have some sleep before I start senior year." She approached him, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Daddy."

Anakin smiled, his chest warming. He may have lost Luke, but he still had so much. His beloved wife. His daughter. Hayden. His mother and the Lars' clan. His wife's family. His friends. The Jedi. And, now he headed NASA, making important decisions on behalf of Earth's space exploration on his own. It would have been perfect…

Except Luke wasn't there. Luke was the piece of the puzzle that was missing and needed to be put back in place. Everything was incomplete without Luke. And Anakin wouldn't give up until he was back home where he belonged.

"Goodnight, Princess," He said affectionately, forcing himself to keep the longing for her twin brother out of his voice. She could likely sense that longing anyway through their Force connection.

She paused, looking down at him with a frown. "Dad, I'll be eighteen in a few months. I'm not a little girl anymore, y'know."

He smiled wryly. If only she knew. "You'll always be my little princess, Leia."

She considered that for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "Alright. See you in the morning, Daddy." She bent down to give him a kiss on his forehead and turned to head back upstairs.

He nodded, watching her turn and leave to finally go to bed. "Sweet dreams, Princess." He whispered, knowing sleep would be elusive for him the rest of this night.


"You're cheating," Luke scowled at the TV, as his side of the screen turned bright red. He, Han, and Chewie lounged on the couch, crowded around an old N64 playing GoldenEye. So far, Luke was majorly failing while Han took the lead, Chewie coming up a close second.

"Me?" Han gave him his classic "I'm innocent" look, which most of the time didn't actually mean that he was innocent at all, just that he was trying to appear so to get out of whatever trouble he was presumably in...or was about to be in. Logically, Luke knew that he really was in this case, but it felt better to blame his loss on 'cheating.' "Cheat? Me? Never." He turned back to the screen, his signature cocky grin on his face. "Just get good, Skywalker."

Luke scowled. "I am good." He shot Han a pointed look, his blue eyes flashing, which made Han chuckle all the more.

Chewie, who was muscular, hairy, and hailed from Siberia in Russia, was a 6 ft 9 inch tall, bear of a man, and he said something that was supposed to be English, but it was garbled with his thick Russian accent. Luke had long ago given up trying to understand Chewie based on language—at one point, he'd actually attempted to talk to Chewie in his native Russian language, but even that was heavily accented, and he hadn't gotten more than a few words out of him. "Yeah, you said it, Chewie. Your skills in real life have nothing to do with video game skills. Face it, you majorly suck at this." Han said to Luke, which indicated that Chewie had made a jab about Luke's dismal video game skills.

They were true observations. He really was pathetic at video games, but Luke pretended to be offended anyway. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch. "It's gotta be the controller." He insisted, "This thing is so old, it's malfunctioning."

Han snorted. "Yeah, right, Kid." He rolled his dark eyes, but the grin never left the corner of his lips, nor the mischief from his eyes. Despite Luke's complaints and the fact that he was getting totally obliterated, Luke did enjoy these types of evenings with his friends. He'd never had real friends before. Before Palpatine, he'd always been lonely and ignored by his family in favor of his sister or his younger brother. During his training with Palpatine…

No. He couldn't think about it.

He refused to think about her. Not now. The evening was going well. He didn't need to sour it.

Anyhow, he hadn't planned on becoming friends and partners with Han Solo and Chewbacca (Seriously, what kind of name was that? Even in Russia, he'd never heard a name like that), and certainly he'd never expected Mara to be…well, whatever she was to him. Sometimes, she seemed like a really good friend, but sometimes, he caught her giving him this strange look whenever she thought he wouldn't notice, and he couldn't help but wonder if she wanted something else, something more from their relationship. That sometimes made it a little awkward since they lived in the same building together in England's quiet countryside in a secluded, two-story building that was more of an old warehouse than an actual living space, at least on the outside. Though, to their credit, Han and Chewie had made the inside into a comfortable home long before Mara and Luke moved in. So, there was plenty of space to move to if things became too awkward, but they still saw each other every day.

If Luke was honest, whatever it was she felt, he wasn't entirely sure she was the only one feeling it. He couldn't deny she was breathtakingly beautiful, and sometimes, when they were sparring with their lightsabers alone together in the upstairs gym, Luke couldn't help but feel stirrings of…something…within himself, as if there was something there, something long forgotten…Talia's face would always pop up in his head though, and he'd stop himself from exploring those thoughts about Mara any further.

The door opened, heard clearly from where they were hanging out. Most of the building was empty, and sound tended to carry through the hallways, echoing through the structure like a cave. "I'm back with pizza," Mara called. It was her turn to go get food. She appeared in the doorway shortly thereafter, holding five boxes of various kinds of pizza. "I got pepperoni, Hawa…" she broke off, noticing Luke's feet up on the coffee table. Her intense emerald green eyes narrowed on Luke, the warning clear without her having to say it: Feet off, or he'd be sorry.

Luke momentarily considered arguing with her just for the hell of it, but he knew how it would end. They'd end up fighting, and Mara was anything but soft. Force, she was as stubborn as his sister had always been! Mara rivaled him in such a way, not only with her physical abilities, but also with the Force, that he'd wondered at times if she'd somehow been trained by Palpatine. He knew that was impossible though, because he'd known all of the Inquisitors, even if he'd never met them. He'd read all of their files and memorized each of their faces, and Mara was nowhere to be found in those files or anywhere else in Palpatine's database either.

So, he quietly removed his feet from the table, and the deadly look on her face disappeared, replaced with mere annoyance as she set the pizza boxes with some paper plates and napkins down on the table. Han pressed the pause button on the game, and they all dug in. Chewie, being as big as he was, ate most of the pizza, but Han ate quite a bit of it as well, while Luke and Mara took it slow with just a few slices each. "So," Han said between bites, "What's the next mission?"

Luke glanced at Mara, but she was pointedly not looking at him. "I'm going on a private mission this time." He said, making a point to look at Han. Han was too smart to not notice that something was up. Most of the jobs Luke took were normal bounty hunter jobs: It was the reason why he'd stuck with the group after he'd met them in Africa. Combined with his tracking and survival skills and Han's ship, it had made sense to join Solo's team. He couldn't have his own ship until he was able to get his pilot's license, which he didn't yet have because he refused to give his real name to any legal agencies, and he was still in the process of getting a fake ID. Even if he did get a ship, he wanted something smaller and private. Han's ship made things easy.

But Han, despite being a smuggler and a pilot for bounty hunters, was a good man. Ten years older than Luke, Han set himself apart from the other sleazy characters in their line of work with a tendency to go out of his way to help others, even if it was at a cost to him. Luke Skywalker was a normal bounty hunter, but Starkiller…

Starkiller was an assassin.

Palpatine's operation was simple. Convoluted, yes, but simple. Luke's first priority upon leaving Africa had been to find the only known government official that Palpatine worked with, the one every Inquisitor knew. They only knew his identity because Palpatine had allowed them to know it. The man had worked with Palpatine, but he was low on Palpatine's food chain. He'd never actually met Palpatine in person. It hadn't been hard for Luke to find the man, trap him, and using the Force, forcefully extract with a mind probe everything the man knew about Palpatine, including the identity of the next official higher up who had more information.

So, Luke went out, hunting down Palpatine's officials on his own, extracting the necessary information by any means necessary, before killing them, and then moving on to the next higher up official. After Lt. Joakin, Luke knew he was getting close. He knew who his next target was.

But, Han and Chewie didn't know any of that. They knew some of Luke's past. They knew that Luke wanted to bring Palpatine to justice (and he'd promised them they could go with him to help collect THAT bounty), but they didn't know exactly where he was or what he was doing in his investigation. They wouldn't understand. So, he let them believe he went off on his own to find answers.

Mara, however, was a different story.

"I've got a lead on my case." Luke casually added when Han gave him a skeptical look. "I'll be taking a trip to go after it."

"I see," Han frowned, glancing at Chewie. Chewie had paused eating as well, and though most of his face was obscured by his long brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and thick beard, Luke had the feeling he was giving him a suspicious look. "Are you sure you don't want our help?"

"I'm sure." Oh yes, he was sure alright. Joakin's mind had showed him his next target: His brother. Unlike the other scum bags Luke had taken care of, Joakin's brother was, for all appearances, on the outside a 'good man.' He didn't have bounties on his head. He was well liked and respected. If he was caught, he couldn't use the excuse that he was just collecting on a bounty. It would be viewed as murder, even though, in reality, the man was up to his eyeballs in helping Palpatine's quest for world domination. No. Luke couldn't let Han get involved in this one, now more than ever.

Han glanced at Chewie, both of them clearly hesitant about letting a kid ten years their junior go off alone. Again. But, in the end, Han sighed. "If you do end up needing us, we're just a call away, y'know."

Luke took another bite of pizza, feeling Mara's gaze boring into the side of his head. He avoided her eyes as he replied, "I know."


"He's going to find out eventually." Mara said, as they squared off in the gym after dinner, each of them holding their lightsabers at the ready, his bright red and hers a vibrant violet. "He's too smart."

Luke lunged forward, and she easily brought hers up to block his blow. They continued moving through various techniques, working at a challenging pace without crossing the line to actual fighting where their lives would be in danger. Still, practicing with actual lightsabers was dangerous, so it took Luke a moment to respond. "Hopefully, I'll have found Palpatine before that happens. Then it doesn't matter, and we can focus on normal jobs." He didn't mention that he hadn't decided what he was going to actually do with his own life once Palpatine had been killed. He didn't care to think about it too often.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that." Mara ducked and rolled away as Luke did a well-practiced lunge. In one fluid motion, she was back on her feet, the lightsaber in front of her protectively. He moved to engage again, but she stepped back suddenly, deactivating her lightsaber. Luke stopped himself, lowering the lightsaber down to his side as he observed her. She was frowning now, looking at him as if…pained. "Maybe…maybe you shouldn't kill them."

Now Luke was frowning, too. Mara had been no stranger to death. She'd grown up on the wrong side of town. Her parents were murdered when she was twelve, and she'd been on the streets since then. It was only over the last few years when she'd met Han and had joined up with him and Chewie to survive.

When she'd caught Luke trying to get a fake ID to use to buy public transport tickets (for he wouldn't risk his father or Palpatine or the Inquisitors finding him through legal records) and had forced him to explain why he was so determined to go off on his own missions, she'd agreed to help him rather than turn her back on him. So, why was she now suddenly expressing doubts? "They're evil people, Mara. And, I've…I've got to do something to stop them. If I just get the information I need and then leave them alive, they'll come back to take revenge." Talia, Fireheart, flashed through his mind, the image painful enough to make it hard for him to breathe. "I…I can't let that happen."

He thought Mara would drop it like she usually did whenever they discussed telling Han and Chewie, but she pressed on, determined. "It's just not you, Skywalker. Maybe…Maybe you should go home."

Luke de-activated his lightsaber, a flash of anger and hatred running through him. Mara clearly sensed that, because her green eyes narrowed a bit. "No," He hissed. She couldn't help it. She didn't know the full story. If she did, she wouldn't have suggested that. He opened his mouth to tell her, but like the first time he'd attempted to tell her and Han the story, nothing left his mouth. He couldn't admit it out loud. He couldn't admit that he'd murdered his own mother. "My father hates me." Was what he said, just as he did the first time they'd asked about his parents. "If I went back, I'd be a dead man before I even walked in the front door."

"But, why?" Mara insisted, the fire of determination in her eyes. "Why, Luke? I don't understand. Why would your own father hate you? You're a good person…"

Her words were like a slap in the face. No. He wasn't a good person. He'd murdered his own beautiful sweet mother. He'd killed so many innocent people in the name of furthering Palpatine's cause. Because of him, his Fireheart….No. Luke wasn't good at all. He was a monster. He whirled away from Mara, trying to control his anger. "You…you don't know that." His words were strangled, and he began to stumble towards the door. "I'm…I'm going to bed…"

"No." Mara's voice was firm. He could sense her move to follow him. "I've seen how you interact with Han and Chewie. They trust you. And they don't give trust easily. And, then we…I…." she sighed. "You treat me with kindness, Luke…with respect. You're a good person, even if you don't see it right now. I do."

He whirled on her again, unable to keep it back any longer. He opened his mouth, the Force surging within him and…

Suddenly, he wasn't standing in the makeshift upstairs gym. He had fallen back, staring at a projection of a girl with dark hair twisted into two matching Cinnabon shaped twists on the sides of her head, wearing a white hooded dress. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi," She said into the recording, her voice sounding familiar and desperate. "You're my only hope."

The scene changed before Luke could process what was happening, or figure out why the girl seemed so familiar to him. He had entered what looked like one of Palpatine's holding cells. He was staring out of a helmet that was extremely hard to see out of, staring back at the same girl from the recording. They stared at each other for a moment, her lying on her side, her white dress a bit dirty. Finally, she broke the awkward silence with a smirk. "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?"

"Luke?" Mara's voice echoed in his mind, stopping the vision in his mind. "Luke! Wake up, Luke!" He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the girl with the weird hairdo and white dress was gone, replaced by Mara's worried face. He was lying on his back, Mara beside him, her hands on either side of his face as if she weren't sure whether to cradle his head or start slapping him awake. She did neither, just stared at him in worry, as he forced his mind to catch back up with reality. A headache was suddenly throbbing in his temples.

"W-what h-happened?" He groaned, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head.

Mara scooted back, giving him some space, not taking her eyes off of him for a second. "You just suddenly blacked out." She said, her voice sounding…it sounded more worried than usual. Almost intimate.

Luke slowly shook his head, trying to clear his brain of whatever it was he'd just…seen. He didn't know where it had come from. Honestly, the girl looked a little like an older version of Leia. Perhaps the stress of his argument with Mara, combined with his occasional wondering about what Leia looked like now… "I don't think I'm feeling that well," He finally managed to croak. That didn't seem to calm Mara at all, but thankfully, she didn't get all emotional about it. Not that he'd expected her to. That wasn't Mara's style.

"I think…maybe you should go lay down." She said slowly.

Again, that girl flashed in his mind. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi." She'd said. No. It had to be Leia. He knew it. Who else would look like that, so much like his mother, and know their Uncle Ben's real full name? What did this strange vision mean? Was it from the Force? Or, was Luke so stressed out that he was going crazy? He wasn't sure, and he didn't think he wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah," He slowly said, "I think you're right."


Sorry for a late update, but I was pretty stressed and on the verge of anxiety. So I took a break, updated the other story instead, live tweeted the new Star Wars Rebels episode, and played some Battlefront. This is certainly more of a set up chapter, but next chapter is super action packed. I'm glad for the positive responses to Mara. I have no idea what Disney is doing in regards to canon and Luke's relationship, but she is a fantastic character. I've had to blend new canon with old canon due to a lack of new canon in comparison, so bear with me here.

The songs for this chapter are: Heathens by Twenty One Pilots and The Hologram/Binary Sunset by John Williams.

Review!

Love,

Sarah