Her brother was gone.

His usually bright presence was masked from her attempts to reach out and contact him, as if blocked by a large, dark, sinister presence. The thought of that presence sent chills through her bones.

Han Solo had tried to comfort her over the abduction of Luke, and he had seemed genuinely concerned when she had paled over the death-cries that had assaulted her through the Force. He had asked what was wrong, but she hadn't answered him, knowing he would find out soon enough.

What she wanted was to have her brother back. She feared for him more than she had for a long time.

After she felt the mass of death-cries through the Force but before an aide had come in to confirm the shipyard massacre, Leia had told Han to send Chewbacca and the kids to Kashyyyk, and he had done so without questioning her. Currently, he was sitting quietly beside her, wanting to know what else was wrong but willing to wait as long as she wanted him to.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned towards her husband as she had years before on Endor and requested, "Hold me."

He did.

"What I don't want is to be locked in this blasted cell!" Luke growled. He started pacing.

"At least you aren't by yourself," Mara pointed out.

"At least if I were by myself I would have no qualms about killing myself," Luke muttered quietly under his breath.

But Mara heard him. "Excuse me, Skywalker?"

Knowing better than to feign ignorance, he said, "I might as well kill myself. It would be better than facing the lies my life has been made of."

"Killing yourself would be the coward's way out," Mara narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe I am a coward."

"So, you're telling me is that the Jedi who went against one of the most powerful space stations in the galaxy and survived is a coward?"

"In a word...Yes."

"Skywalker—"

"I'm heading down the path that my father chose, and I can't stop it...You can't stop it. It's my destiny."

"There is no such thing as predestination—"

"How would you know?" Luke turned to her viciously. "I don't think I need lecturing from a woman who doesn't even attempt to change herself, a woman who is always living in the past—"

"My past is all I know," Mara gritted.

"And lies are all I know," Luke countered. "If you can get angry any time you want, then why can't I?"

"Because your anger is born of the Dark Side—"

"All anger is born of the Dark Side!"

"No," Mara said coldly. "It isn't."

"How do you know you aren't dabbling in the Dark Side right now?"

"Do you really want to know, Skywalker?" At Luke's nod, she snarled, "It's because my anger is born out of concern for you."

He had a reply ready. "If you care, then why is most of what I get from you insults?"

Mara was quiet for a moment. Then she decided that she had best get it out right then and there before her courage failed her. "Because I'm afraid, Skywalker. I'm not used to the idea of friends and affection. All I got from the Emperor was angry disapproval or satisfied approval. My only role was to do his duty. After his death, I found myself in a different galaxy, a galaxy I'm still not used to. My anger is all I have...other than my concern for you. If you turn completely to the Dark Side, then the only thing left for me is death."

"I won't let you do that—"

"You can't stop me!" Mara growled. "The choice is yours. If you choose to waste your life, then you end mine."

"That's not fair, Mara."

"It's not fair that you would tear what little of my life that I have away just because of your stupid desire for power."

"Who said I wanted power?"

"That's what the Dark Side is about: power."

"How would you know what the Dark Side is about?" Luke asked the former Emperor's Hand, his fierce blue eyes flashing. "Have you ever used it?"

"I lived around Dark Side users for most of my life. I saw what kind of people it made them. I do not want that to happen to you."

"Change isn't always bad—"

"When change has to do with gaining the Dark Side and losing the Light, it is, Skywalker."

It was that moment that Vader chose to walk inside the cell, preventing Luke from replying but not stopping the almost pleading gaze that Mara gave the Jedi.