Beth curled up into a ball as soon as Palpatine had left with Vader. The darkness was back, and with it, came the pain. Tears streamed down her face as she curled up closer for comfort.

She was coming to her limits. She hated the darkness and she hated the pain. Nothing in the small cell could comfort her and Beth knew that it was no good thinking of her family, or they, too, would suffer the same fate as her.

Calming herself down enough to clear her head, she soon was reaching out to the Force for the comfort and relief that she couldn't receive from natural means. Her eyes were closed in concentration to heal herself, and when she opened them again, light flooded her senses. It wasn't made by a natural light source as such, but it brought relief to the disheartened Jedi.

You are never alone, young Beth, a voice she knew so well echoed in her mind. It had been a long time since she had heard that comforting voice.

She smiled and waved her hand in front of her eyes, just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Master, will I ever see daylight again before they kill me?"

Your time is not now, child. You will live to see the Jedi Order restored.

Beth frowned. "If you haven't noticed, Dad, I'm not a child anymore. I am not the little girl that you raised."

I know that very well, Beth. Just remember that I am with you, always. May the Force be with you always, too, young Jedi.

Beth leaned back into the embrace of the Force and waited for something, until she fell asleep, feeling a lot more refreshed than she had been since she had been captured.

c d

Piett was alone in the common room aboard the Freedom Flyer. He had gone there after not being able to get back to sleep after his nightmare. He didn't know what to make of it. Something was missing from his life and as he thought back to his life before the mission that he had met Beth on, he was sure that he knew what it was.

His life had been a juggle between her and his job the two years that they had been together, but he didn't regret it. He loved Beth more than he thought possible. And she had saved his life on a number of occasions.

He heard a noise at the door and he jerked his head up to look at the intruder. It was Luke.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Luke asked.

Piett shook his head. "I can't stop thinking of Beth. She's been through so much already, and I don't want her to be put through anymore." He sighed. "She means more to me that I ever dreamed of. I don't want to let her slip through my fingers again. I'm only just getting to know Myrrha."

Luke came and sat down beside Piett and said, "I don't know her that well, but she has been there for me since she came after me into that blizzard on Hoth. If it weren't for her, I probably would have died. She's the only connection I have with my father." Shivering, Luke pulled his cloak around him tighter.

Piett noticed and smiled. "You aren't used to the cold, are you?"

"Not yet, unfortunately." Luke laughed at his own plight. "I guess it's because of where I grew up. Tatooine's a desert planet so it's not that cold there."

"I guess not. Beth was born on Tatooine."

"She was?"

"Yeah. She doesn't like talking about her past, much. Especially before the Empire. Something about that time has put her off, or something like that."

"Maybe because she doesn't like the reminder of Vader and Palpatine. What I've been told, Vader was once a Jedi Knight, and he betrayed the Jedi, to death."

Piett sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Vader killed the only family she knew. And now, she's part of the remnant of the Jedi. Probably the only one left."

"Not quite the last one. There is still Master Yoda."

"But he must be getting old. I wish… Beth was here."

Luke nodded. "Me too."

The room became silent, as each was lost in their own thoughts. Luke sat bolt upright as a thought occurred to him. He wanted to know what had kept Piett up, and in return, so did Piett want to know why Luke was up and about.

Piett started by telling Luke the truth – he hadn't been able to sleep because of Beth. In return, Luke told Piett why he hadn't been able to sleep either. Beth. Neither, at first, could believe that they could have been kept awake because of the same reason. Luke realised soon enough though that it was Beth herself calling to them for help.

"I don't want her to die!" Piett said as he realised the truth as well. "We have to help her."

c d

"Myrrha," Piett said, kneeling in front of the girl. "I want you to stay here." Myrrha clung to Piett. She didn't want to be left alone. Sighing, he stood up and held her close to him.

"This is not a good idea," Han told Piett sternly. "You're mad if you think of taking a three-year-old child into the Imperial Palace! Think about what you are doing."

Piett nodded. "I have thought a lot about what I'm doing in an Imperial Uniform, when I could have been with my daughter in her early years. And I don't want to lose her, ever." He held Myrrha tighter as Leia tried to take her from him. "And the only way I can see me doing that," he continued, "is to take her with me. Nothing you say or do will change my mind. Myrrha stays with me."

"So what do we do now?" Leia whispered to Han.

"I don't know," he whispered back.

"We go and rescue my wife," Piett said firmly, leading the way into the palace. Luke followed, rolling his eyes.

Myrrha struggled to free herself from her father's arms and she managed. She had noticed that Artoo wasn't coming with them. "Where's Artoo?" she asked.

"He's staying on the Flyer with Threepio, sweetheart."

"I want Artoo!" Myrrha protested, running back to the ship.

Piett started to go after her when Luke held him back. "Just let her go to him. Artoo has looked after that little rascal a number of times and he'll make sure Mia won't get into trouble."

"Mia?"

"Her nickname." Luke blushed. "That's what Beth sometimes calls her."

"Myrrha. Mia," Piett repeated to himself.

"Hey, are we just going to hang around here or are we going?" Han asked, a little impatient.

c d

Beth was pulled from the dark holding cell. To her guards, she seemed to be limp and unable to do things for herself, not even support herself on her feet. They dragged her to the throne room by the arms and was shoved, unladylike, onto the floor at the base of the throne, at Palpatine's feet.

His cackling laugh rang through the room and bounced off the walls and back to Beth's ears, amplifying the sound tenfold. She winced and curled away from him.

Palpatine looked gleeful. He had won. His toy for the past three weeks had finally broken. This Jedi Knight before him was not as strong as the last one he had turned to do his bidding, but he had triumphed over her and had weakened her to the point of desolation. And now, he would have her at his side.

Standing, he strode forward and down the stairs to crouch beside Beth. He ran a finger along her cheek and gloried in her shudder.

"You are now mine," he dejected evilly.

Beth didn't respond with words, or much else in fact. All she did was lick her dry lips and look up at him with a frightened gaze.

"You are afraid of me. Good!" Palpatine laughed again, sending more shivers down Beth's spine.

Beth reached out to Vader, both physically and with the Force.

Palpatine spat in her face. "By now, you must realise that Anakin can never be turned from the Dark Side."

That was not what Beth could see. She knew more than Palpatine did that the emperor was wrong. And she knew that Palpatine would never admit to being wrong.

There was something else that Beth knew better than Palpatine did, and that was that the Force only showed possible futures, and not the exact future.

And Palpatine hadn't felt what she had reached out to Vader with. She had reached out to him in love.

Vader had felt this and had wondered at the reasons behind why she did it. She reached out in love. She wants to show me something, but what exactly does she want me to see? There was on thing that Vader had not been able to grasp, and that was Beth's motives. Beth had given herself up in order for the other rebels to escape from him while on Bespin. And he wanted to know why. All that he could come to in conclusion about that topic was the one thing that Beth had been conveying to him right then. One word that could describe it and the one feeling that Vader had been trying to forget, and that was love.

Now, as he turned to gaze at his sister, he couldn't help but feel remorse for her. She was lying helpless and defenceless at Palpatine's feet, and to his attacks.

c d

Luke reached out with the Force to locate Beth as he had been taught to do. He was beginning to recognise it amongst others and so, it didn't take him long to find Beth. "Come on," he whispered to Piett.

They had split up with Chewie, Han and Leia a while back as he and Piett continued on to find Beth. Piett hadn't been in the palace before, but knew of the basic layout of the building itself. He also knew that Luke was leading them right into the heart of the building.

And he knew what that meant. "Luke! You can't be serious! You're going to lead us right to the throne room! That's where Palpatine is!"

"And that's where we're going," Luke shot back. "She's in the throne room. Nothing we can do can change that, so we just have to live with it."

"But what about Palpatine?"

"We'll just deal with that when we get to it," Luke replied, rather sarcastically. "Now shut up and let's go."

c d

Beth knew they were coming for her and she felt that the time for pretence was over. Palpatine was still kneeling over her and was not ready for her power kick. She quickly righted herself on her fee and had taken her lightsaber from Vader's belt before he could react.

"Don't underestimate a Jedi, Emperor," she hissed, swinging her blade around to point it at Palpatine's chest.

"And you, young Jedi, do not understand the power of the Dark Side. Give into your hatred and strike me down. That way, your journey to the Dark Side will be complete."

Beth breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, releasing her anger. "No," she said defiantly. "I will not kill you out of hatred, but only out of justice. You, Emperor, do not know of the Light Side. I do not lust after power, but of freedom, and only the Light gives that. But the time for your demise is not now. There is still a war to fight here."

She turned to face Vader. "I see that you are still struggling, brother. I am here if you ever—"

Vader cut her off before she could finish the sentence. He attacked her with his lightsaber.

Beth was waiting for it and they duelled, neither being able to take the upper hand.

Luke and Piett burst in. Piett had his blaster held high and was firing as fast as he could at Palpatine while Luke charged at Vader with the blue blade of his father in his hand. He worked his attack in amongst Beth's.

With the way Luke and Beth were working together, Vader couldn't see past the fact that they were Master and Apprentice, or similar, when that was not the case. He had trouble defending himself against both lightsabers and wielders, let alone attack them, until Beth was thrown from the duel unexpectedly.

She had timed it perfectly. Palpatine had been behind her and she knocked him off his feet, revealing the face of the old man. To her, her flight backwards had been in slow motion, and she had time to revolve around and thrust her blade into his side, not quite giving him a mortal wound. Piett's eyes went wide and he yelled at Luke to get out of there as he ran to help Beth to her feet. His help was unneeded, but they both were out of there as quickly as they could. Vader would have pursued them, but he had been commanded by Palpatine not to go.

Beth smiled and looked back over her shoulder. She knew that Vader could not follow them. Turning to catch the gaze of the man running beside her, her smile faded.

Something caught hold of her ankle, and Beth was forced to stop. Piett stopped to see what was going on and recognised the familiar redhead who had taken a hold of Beth.

"Mara Jade! You no good—" he started before Beth cut him off.

"Get out of here!" she yelled, freeing herself from Mara's grasp. She didn't do it without losing her weapon.

Mara smiled as she pulled her vibroblade out and cut the lightsaber in her hand in half. Beth used her fist to knock the blade in Mara's hand out of reach.

"I know why you are familiar to me," Beth whispered. She knew instantly why Mara had reminded her of Sabé when Piett had said her name. "Your mother was a close friend to my sister-in-law. Her name was Sabé Jade."

"What do you know of my mother?" Mara demanded.

"I knew your father as well," Beth realised aloud.

"My parents are of little concern to me," Mara suddenly said. "I only care for my master."

"Who does not care for anybody but himself," Beth shot back.

"Tell me what you know of this!"

"Do you really think Palpatine would care for anybody? He destroyed a lot of the good people in this galaxy when he came into rule. He doesn't care two cents for you, as long as you do your job."

"He's all I've got!"

"You have memories, Mara. I have memories. Hold onto those for all your worth."

Mara's green eyes narrowed. "I told you, he's all I've got. He's the closest thing that I have to family."

"No, Mara. I can tell you of your true heritage and show you how you can fulfil your destiny out from beneath Palpatine's rule. You don't have to live like this. You can be free if you choose to be." Beth turned and left Mara standing there, pondering on her words.

c d

Piett came back to the Flyer as Chewie, Han and Leia did. He moved to the cockpit and started warming up the ship. Han looked at Luke when he entered the common room. "Where's Beth?"

"She's coming. Piett was with her."

"Not anymore," Leia said. "We got back when he did. Beth wasn't with him."

"What?"

"That's because I was held up by a young handmaiden by the name of Mara Jade," Beth's voice came to them, and she appeared in the common room. Myrrha ran to throw herself into Beth's arms. Beth smiled broadly and held Myrrha close. "Hi Mia."

"Mommy."

Putting Myrrha down, Beth looked at the occupants of the room. She then left them to go and help Piett in the cockpit.

As she entered, Piett turned to look at her. "Nice to see you," he said.

"You're in my seat," she accused. Piett looked at her and decided to move. "Thank you," she said as she took the pilot's seat.

Neither spoke to the other until they were in hyperspace, and even then, it wasn't much. Beth told Piett that she was going to have a shower and left him in the cockpit.

Piett sighed. He didn't really know how to break the ice with Beth. All he knew was that something had happened to her in the past three years and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He decided that it would be better to break the ice sooner rather than later and he moved from the cockpit to the captain's bedroom and adjoining refresher. The shower was on and Piett made his way into the 'fresher and sat to wait.

Beth saw him sitting there and was not too impressed. She wanted some time alone to adjust to him being back but he wasn't giving her that.

Turning the shower off after she had finished using it, she stepped out and Piett handed her a towel. She took it off him and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Anything you want."

Beth snorted and began to dry herself.

"You know," Piett began. "I haven't been able to keep my mind off you for the past three years. Each day, you filled my mind and I realise now that I should have left the uniform behind when you said that you couldn't stay any longer. I've had a difficult time, these years we've been separated, but I know that I can't leave you for that long again. I couldn't help but imagine what our daughter was like. I imagined her to be like you."

Beth stopped what she was doing, and looked at Piett knowingly. "I imagined her to be like you. And she is. Not physically, but with the little things she does, she reminds me of you. And she is a constant reminder to me of you, and of the promise I made."

"Of us being together once this war is over. I can't wait that long."

"Neither can I," she whispered before pulling on a clean tunic. "I'm sorry for all this, Firmus."

"I am too. Just explain to me why you were acting so coldly towards me when we left Coruscant."

"It's nothing to do with you, but with what happened to me down there." Beth could see that he understood. "I don't have anything against you." She smiled sadly.

Piett reached out for her and wrapped his arms around her. She held back the tears that threatened to fall. He could sense her mood and pulled away to look down at her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine. Today's the day that we first met, five years ago. It doesn't get any easier."

"But we can still live, Bethie, nothing's stopping that. Master Windu died for a reason, and that was to keep you alive."

"I know."

"I think it's time for sleep," Piett said quietly, leading Beth into the bedroom. She didn't protest and allowed him to crawl into the bed beside her. His arm draped over her waist and her back against his chest. They were soon fast asleep.

c d

Beth was quiet when around the other occupants of her ship, except perhaps Piett and Myrrha. They didn't really notice it at first, but after a while, Leia noticed and asked, "Aunt Beth, what's the matter?"

"Nothing. Nothing is," Beth replied, looking up at Leia. Her mind was not on Leia but on Anakin.

"There is something going on," Luke said, backing up his sister. He, too, had noticed Beth's quiet state and wanted to know why she was so quiet.

Beth shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. "I'm just a little pre-occupied, that's all."

She left them standing in the common room and made her way to the cockpit.

Luke and Leia went and found Piett playing peek-a-boo with Myrrha. They told him of Beth's words and said that they were worried about her.

Piett nodded and told them to watch Myrrha as he was going to find out the source of the problem.