Post 2

Yavin 4

*Mornings in hyperspace are cold, * Mirax shivered as she adjusted the temperature controls on the ship's board. "Mara, we'll be coming up on Yavin in 10 minutes."

"All right, I hope this goes all right, because if we can't convince them that we're clear to go off on our own…."

"Don't worry, Luke and Corran will go for it. Besides, you have to be here for Jacen and Jaina."

"True," she paused. "I've been having the weirdest dreams since that kid died yesterday. No images; just someone crying."

Mirax shifted uncomfortably, "I heard it too, I thought it was you."

The hyperspace control pinged, and Mirax gently reverted them back to realspace. They were quiet the rest of the way down. "Grab the bag on your way out."

Mara glanced around- "Where'd you put it?"

"Good question-right in the aft storage bin."

"Got it."

They touched down, and Mirax commented, " Well, you're home now."

Mara glanced at her and sadly laughed-"Home, sweet home."

~~~~~~~

Luke was there to meet them as they came off the ramp. Mara laughed haltingly as he spun her around in a bear hug.

"Things have been slow without you."

"Luke, if I didn't know you were lying, I'd be flattered." She paused, "But I did miss you."

"Now let me down." He did and exchanged hugs with Mirax, who had followed her off the Skate.

"Corran would have been here, but he had a slight crisis with Valin and Jysella."

Apprehension showed on Mirax's face. "What was that?"

"Your father wanted them to visit."

"Oh…No."

"Yes, he left a few days ago."

"Which means he won't be back for a week or two."

Luke shook his head. "Actually, no-Booster ended up to be in the neighborhood. So Corran went to drop them off and said he'd come for them in month."

"And why are you telling me this?" Suspicion crept into her voice, "And why do you seem like you are about to burst out laughing?"

Arms wrapped around her from behind. "Because if he told you, I could sneak and do this." While Corran tried to turn her for a kiss, Mirax tried to control herself.

She succeeded, barely…well if you could call controlling yourself, swinging your leg back and forcing Corran to fall on his back. "Corsec, you should know by now that sneaking up on me is not something you'll ever succeed at."

Corran got up, nursing a wounded ego. "Yeah, you think I'd learn sometime."

Their laughter tinkled through the warm jungle air.

Mara turned to Luke, "Where are Jacen and Jaina?"

"Inside getting settled, they liked the rooms you picked."

She sighed, "I'm glad. You told them hello for me, right?"

"Well, they got here today, so I thought you'd like to tell them yourself." He looked to her quizzically, "Mara what's going on?"

She glanced at Mirax who nodded slightly. "Come on board, there something you guys need to know."

As he walked onto the main deck of the Skate, Luke gave a visible start. "Luke, what's wrong?"

He murmured, "Ship feels off." He grabbed Mara's hand. "Mara, Corran stretch out, tell me if you feel the same thing I am."

"That sad sense? Mirax and I think it's the remnants of that young man who died yesterday. It's happened before."

"Doesn't make sense, you could feel the emotional bloodstain of the Emperor, who you had a link to, your link to this boy wasn't that strong."

Corran shook his head. "I'm not sensing a young man," he pointed toward the storage compartment under the deck. "Mirax, is there anything in there?"

"Nothing."

"I think you've got a stowaway." At Corran's words, Mirax swore and lifted the floor plank.

"Stars of Alderaan, get a med team quick." Without another look Corran flipped open his comlink.

Taking a look at Mirax's ashen face, Luke said softly, "She's alive, she'll be ok. Move back, I'm going to lift her up."

He lifted the girl easily from the bottom of the compartment. From first glance, you could tell the girl was ill, either from some sort of shock or fever. She was shivering uncontrollably, and as she settled into Luke's arms, she moaned, "Deke..." Luke blinked in surprise, as Mara suddenly reached over and brushed the girls limp hair.

"Anya?"

"You know her?"

Mara looked at Mirax and shook her head. "No, but before Deke died he was mumbling about a girl, he called her Anya." Luke sensed there was more, but she caught his eye and shook her head fractionally. Later.

The girl seemed to visibly relax when Mara said her name. Luke gently washed the Force over her, probing her illness, when the Medic arrived. "I think she is more in shock, and that is what precipitated the fever. She'll probably need bacta for the bruise on her head."

The Medic nodded, "Mrs. Skywalker, Mrs. Horn, will you be coming so we can have a look at those burns?"

For the first time, Luke and Corran noticed the red splotches on their wives arms. Corran's voice lowered to a growl, "Are those blaster burns?"

Mara and Mirax exchanged a look, "That's part of the story…"

"Not now, Med Center first."

~~~~~~~~~~

By the time the story got told and the message cube got opened, I was well again, a Jedi Academy is a busy place to run, and I guess the Solo twins attendance caused some distraction. I eventually got to tell my part of the story. Now though, I should have blasted off that place before I caused some real damage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"YOU WHAT?!" Luke stared at his wife in astonishment.

"I feel like it was my fault."

"Mara, I don't think there was anything you could have done for the boy."

"I'm not talking about the boy. If I had noticed the girl sooner, maybe she wouldn't be as ill as she is."

"Mara, you were focusing on healing your burns, not to mention Mirax's, and then you were concentrating on taking care of that boy. Do I need to remind you about taking on too many things? Don't take responsibility for something that you had nothing to do with."

His blue eyes gazed at her, not accusingly but with a calm guidance, softly suggesting what she needed to do. Reaching out she touched the Force for a sense of what she was feeling. The answer came fast. She looked at him ruefully, " I should have realized that."

Standing up at the soft knock at their door. Mara called, "Come in."

"Uncle Luke?" The brown haired, brown-eyed face lit up. "Aunt Mara! Wanna hear a joke?"

Mara smiled at her nephew, "Hi, Jacen, where's your sister?"

"Right here. Sorry, I got stuck putting some of my tools away." Jaina had an impish smile on her face as she came over and gave her aunt a hug. "The room is awesome, thanks for the speeder parts."

"Yeah, my new lizard likes the Correl insect shells you gave me."

"I'm glad, now what was the joke?"

"How old are the Bantha's on their home world?"

Jaina rolled her eyes, "Oh, no…"

Mara played along, "I don't know, how old?"

"Tato-TWO-oine"

Mara let out a short laugh, "That was good."

Jaina grinned, "Don't encourage him, he's decided he's going to somehow make Tenal Ka laugh, everyone else is just practice."

Luke jumped in, "Did you two need something?"

Jaina's face froze, "We were wondering if we could call Mom to tell her we're all right."

"Sure, take R2 with you, he'll let you through the encryption."

"Thanks, bye Aunt Mara!!"

"Bye, guys." She was about to close the door, when she saw Mirax and Corran round the corner, Mirax carrying the bag. "Luke, Mirax, and Corran are here."

A quarter of an hour later, Corran leaned forward and tapped the message cube. "Well, its been cleared, no bombs."

"Ok, let's play it."

Mara waved her hand over the recognition device before pressing her thumbprint on the pad, "This reminds me of the cube, Sal-Solo gave me." As she pressed her thumb down a short whine emitted from the base, and the cube flattened out, projecting a holo.

A strange sound came from Mara's throat, the holo that had come form the cube was a small replica of a long dead memory. Emperor Palpatine.

"Mara Jade, the last command has yet to be fulfilled, but despite your failure to remain loyal, the Empire will rise again. Return faithfully; a second chance is all you will get." The cowl on his hood slipped a little and for an instant his eyes were gazing straight into hers. The holo displayed a series of coordinates and symbols before shutting down.

Luke gazed at Mara's strained face. "It is not him, you know that. I saw him die more than once. He's truly gone."

"I know, but those symbols and the words--not very many people know about the last command. You, Leia, Han. None of my friends know--the specifics at least. I've never even told Corran or Mirax." She glanced at their slightly confused faces. "I completed it when I killed the clone. Right before C'boath tried to kill us both."

Corran spoke up, "Someone is obviously trying to convince you that he is really alive, and he wants you to meet him on Correlia. I'd recognize those coordinates anywhere."

"Mara, what do the symbols mean?" Mirax broke her silence with caution in her voice.

"An ancient language, I'm not sure where from, but if the Emperor ever did something in writing, this was what we used. Its an added subterfuge to prove the communication was from him."

"Altegra, dorian elcatrian jovian." She traced the symbols out with her finger on the countertop. "Treasure Ship Row. In the open. Three weeks from receiving the message. So that would be in two weeks. Just enough travel time for me to get there."

"For us to get there," Luke corrected.

"Luke, you have new students that you need to be here for. I don't know how to say this, but I have a feeling you'll be needed here."

Mirax glanced at Corran who nodded. "I'll go with you."

Corran shook his head worriedly, "I'd offer to come, but your father promised to rip my head off if I left him with the kids for longer than a month. And Ackbar sent me a message, which means I've got to go to Coruscant. You'll be careful right?"

"Aren't we always?"

"Can I come with you?" The whole group jumped at the new voice at the door. "I've been to Correlia tons of times, flew ship for a bounty hunter off of Drall."

She's lying. "Anya, you shouldn't be out of bed."

"Yes I can, the droid cleared me. And the name is Anian."

Mirax blinked in surprise. "Your memory is back?"

"Yeah."

"Good, now you can tell us who you are and why you stowed away on my ship."

Her face started to crumple, remembering what happened after. Then, as if she snatched her memories and shoved them somewhere else, Anian sat down in the extra chair, setting her face in stone. "Who am I? Anain Roman, of Ithor, Coruscant, Correlia, Tatooine, Bothuwaii, Kashyyyk, and any other blasted planet out there. I don't know where I was born, but I do know who my parents are. I'm not an orphan. Unfortunately, they were taken and killed by pirates." She looked up at the serious faces in front of her. "I'm serious."

Yeah, right.

"All I know is that I was 10 years old when I met Deke. Three years older then me, he was the best friend I ever had. We traveled…uh, stowed...everywhere together. Then we hit Ithor. I was 20 and the Ithorian Security Force picked me up. Next thing I know they had stuck me in a cell while they taunted me. In the end Deke came and got me out. True, it took him, like, two years….but he came through. We got split up after that, but promised to meet in the Docking bay 624. Well, I came and he didn't . So I left--but after I found out where your ship was. Stowing away wasn't hard. I know a way to bypass some of your security options. You know the rest."

Mirax looked at her with suspicion. "And how much of what you just told us was pure fiction?"

"Sharp, aren't you? Just give me a ride to Correlia, and I'll be out of your hair."

Mara shook her head "We'll see. I was hoping Corran would be able to come because he has connections through CorSec, and Mirax has them through her contacts. Because Corran can't come…I have an idea."

"Mara, you want to see if Iella can come with us." Mirax grinned, "Excellent."

"I knew you'd like it."

~~~~~~~~~~~

So in the end, they took me with them. Premonitions through their vaunted Force, probably. And, yes, if you were wondering, half the story up there was fake. Like Deke would really have waited two years to get me out of the slammer. I couldn't tell them then what really happened. I couldn't even understand it myself. I did tell them later, though. Most of it at least. Other than that, the trip through hyperspace was dull. I stayed out of their way, they stayed out of mine. I couldn't wait to get away. Unfortunately, leaving that bunch is harder than it looks.

~~~~

Three Days Out from Correlia

Anya shook with anger, she was cornered. They were both staring expectantly. What am I supposed to do? Without understanding what was going on, she desperately tried to keep her feelings in check. They barely knew her.

"Anian, we want to help."

"Whatever it is, we can't help you unless you tell us what happened."

Oh dear, they sounded like a bunch of councilors. Feeling she was smarter then them, Anian knew she wouldn't fall for it.

She fell for it.

"I…don't know. I don't know enough to understand. I am an orphan. Not in the sense that everyone understands, because I did have parents, but they didn't die, and they didn't leave me. I had them until I was ten. Then one day I woke up and couldn't remember them, I was in a new house, with strange people. They claimed they were my parents, but I couldn't believe it. They pulled me to this one doctor's place, where he shoved probes in my ears, stuff that obviously wasn't meant to work. So then the next day it would be someone else. Finally I ran away.

This is how I met Deke, on the spaceport of the planet. I don't know what the planet was called, because I was ten. He knew, and promised to tell me one day, when I got far away. I think that first day he was just messing with me not meaning to take me with him. But I made him. For ten years we wandered, pulling odd jobs from Hapes to Bakura. Wherever the ships took us. Then two years ago we landed on Ithor, and things got worse. We got caught.

Deke was put into their prison for trying to smuggle himself in. And I got caught by a band of spaceport junkies, that wouldn't let me out of their sight. I didn't know spice was that addictive, but I fought it. Each day they would make me take some, and I'd refuse. My head was already too messed up for that stuff. So instead I got daily beatings. Two months ago, Deke came and saved me, that night, I was sure they were going to kill me." Anian turned her face away for a second. Trying not to remember the pain.

"He came, blasted them all, and pulled me out. Then the police came and we had to split up again. We promised to meet at 624, and if either was late to split without them. I guess he got there before me, and whoever those other guys are hurt him. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Anian had a sudden flash of anger. "And now he's dead. Dead, dead, dead. I don't know how to find out anything without him. What am I supposed to do now?" Sick of staring at their faces, Anian stalked out of the bay, leaving a stunned and shocked Mara and Mirax behind her.

End of Post 2