Luke paced.
His emotions were a maelstrom of confusion.
Mara was dead.
She was dead.
Never to come back.
Never again would he taste her sweet but fiery kisses.
No longer would he be able to hear her growl playful threats.
He would never be able to crack Mara's tough exterior and find the person that he had gotten only mere glimpses of during his short time with her.
Because she was dead.
Because the Rebellion had killed her.
The Rebellion.
She was dead because of the Rebellion.
He wanted to believe that the Rebel Alliance was innocent in its involvement in this mess. He wanted to believe that she hadn't been shot down, that she had just had engine failure and crashed on some Imperial planet where she was believed dead but wasn't actually dead. He wanted to believe anything but this.
It would be so much easier to accept her death if she had been in a large battle in a capable combat vehicle, instead of in a practically helpless supply ship trying to get materials to a planet that was being deprived of necessities by the Rebellion.
Ever since he'd destroyed the first Death Star—although he didn't like to admit it—he had sensed that the Rebel Alliance had slowly been changing...for the worst. Their ideals were becoming twisted, and more members were out for vengeance against the Empire rather than justice. This incident merely supported what he had felt.
Mara was dead.
And it was the Rebellion that killed her...
Dark emotions swirled frantically around inside his head. He was angry, and he wanted desperately to lash out at the Rebellion—to do anything.
And lash out he would.
The Rebel Alliance would pay a terrible price for the murder of Mara Jade, Luke vowed.
A terrible price.
"My mast—" Vader started, but Palpatine held a hand up for him to be silent.
After a moment, the Emperor broke out into a satisfied grin. "Can you feel that?"
The Sith Lord nodded, "His anger is strong."
"Very strong," the ruler nodded. "With his help, there will be no problems in crushing the Rebellion. The three of us together shall be invincible."
"What about me, Master?" a voice asked from Palpatine's left-hand side.
"You shall remain hidden until the time is ripe," the Emperor answered.
"And when will that be?"
"Well, we may have to bring you out of hiding to use against him if his mind should change. But otherwise..." A malicious grin spread across the tyrant's face, and he let loose a low chuckle. "Otherwise, we will bring you out when he's done so many terrible things to the Rebellion that there's no chance they will ever take him back."
Palpatine's evil cackle resounded through the nearly empty room, causing Mara Jade to shudder minutely. Though he probably didn't know it, Luke was merely a pawn in the Emperor's game...And Mara had never known Palpatine to lose in the game of life yet.