Chapter 14: The Ways of the Force

"Luke, what's a Jedi?"

Luke snapped his head to look across the main cabin of the ship at Mara's unexpected question. He had actually thought about beginning to train Mara in the Force during their few days of downtime in hyperspace since her unconscious use of the Force at Jabba's palace had apparently brought back some of her memories. However, he found it odd that Mara would ask him that question. Luke had never mentioned Jedi to her before, much less told her that he was one, the only one. "Where did you hear about Jedi?"

Mara could sense a hint of evasiveness when Luke responded. She had noticed him tense slightly at her question and had then gone so far as to answer her with another question. Apparently, she had asked him something of a loaded question. That was not going to stop Mara from getting an answer, however. Luke was already keeping too much from her from what she could tell and Mara was getting tired of it. "I heard it in a dream. I think it was some sort of memory. And you didn't answer my question."

Luke let out a sigh at Mara's response. He obviously wasn't going to be able to get a feel for what Mara had heard about Jedi. Luke brushed a hand through his hair as he tried to come up with a good response to her question. Describing what it meant to be a Jedi in simple terms was not easy. Actually, anything involving the Force was far from simple. Luke turned to look Mara in the eyes. He had wanted to teach Mara about the Force. It looked like the Force was giving him just the opening he needed.

"A Jedi…a Jedi is someone who is powerful in the Force and uses their abilities to serve the Light and fight for peace and justice in the galaxy. However, the Jedi are all but extinct. The Emperor declared them outlaws and killed most of the Jedi. Only one even remains." Luke looked nervously toward Mara. He had no idea just what she would ask next, but for some reason he feared her reaction. What he said and what Mara remembered of Jedi were not likely to match up. Luke had to hope now that she trusted him enough to believe what he said in spite of what she may have been taught.

Mara watched Luke's nervous face, trying to determine the source of his anxiety. What he had just told her of Jedi was nothing like what she had heard in her dream, but how could she know which description was accurate. The only thing she could do was try to determine if Luke was lying. Mara continued to watch his face. Luke was uneasy, that much was certain, but she could tell from his eyes that Luke wasn't lying. What Luke had told her was true, at least from his point of view, but Mara still didn't know why he was nervous. If he was telling the truth, what could he be afraid of? "Okay. I can't claim that all made sense. Would you like to explain this Force business?"

"The Force is an energy force that binds the galaxy together. Life creates it and makes it grow. Some people can feel its energy and even call on the Force. The Force has two sides: Light and Dark. It gives them the power to create or destroy, help or dominate. A Jedi follows the Light, using their power in the Force to make the galaxy a safer place for everyone, but not everyone that has power in the Force chooses this path."

"And you're the last Jedi, aren't you?"

Luke nodded in response to Mara's question. He didn't know just how she had figured it out, but it didn't matter now. His identity as a Jedi was out in the open and now it was time to explain himself. "Do you remember that first morning when you saw everything levitating?" Mara simply nodded in response to Luke's question. "I was using the Force to do that. It's the reason why you always see me meditating. I can call on the Force and it can call to me. It guides me if I allow it and I can control it if I wish. The Force called me to Naboo and then sent me to Tatooine. Mara, I don't think our meeting was a coincidence."

Mara raised an eyebrow at Luke's unexpected statement. Did he really think that the Force brought them together? She wanted to reject what he said as ridiculous, but Mara found herself unable to do so. For some reason, she believed that Luke was right. They had been destined to meet, but for what purpose? "Let's just say I believe you. Why were we brought together then?"

"Because I'm not meant to be the only Jedi. It's my responsibility to find those strong in the Force and teach them to use it. It's my job to train the next of the Jedi. Mara, you have the potential to be a Jedi."

Mara gave Luke a skeptical look, but her expression sobered when she saw the seriousness on Luke's face. He was serious. Luke really thought she had the potential to be a Jedi like him. But for some reason, Mara was hesitant to accept Luke's implied offer of training in the Force. Did she really want to be a Jedi?

Sensing Mara's hesitation, Luke knew he was going to have to press harder if he wanted Mara to learn about the Force. Luckily, he knew just the thing. "Mara, I've already seen you use the Force. At the lake when you sensed those stormtroopers coming and then on Tatooine when you had that vision, you were using the Force. If you let me teach you, you may have a better chance at regaining your memories."

Mara perked up at Luke's comment. If she got her memories back, then the nightmares may stop. She was willing to do just about anything in order to achieve that goal. And besides, learning to use the Force had the potential to be beneficial to her even if Mara didn't herself becoming a Jedi. She just didn't have the same kind of idealism that Luke did. "Alright. I'm game. Show me how to use the Force."

Luke was amazed at how easily Mara picked up on his teachings in the Force. It was almost as if she already knew how to call on the Force and all Luke had to do was give her a little nudge. As he watched Mara easily deflect a series of stun bolts from a training remote with his lightsaber, Luke started to wonder if that wasn't in fact the case. It was quite possible that the Emperor had trained Force sensitives to do his bidding. He already had reason to suspect she had been Imperial so it wasn't much of a stretch to believe she had training in the Force as well.

Glancing at the chrono on his wrist, Luke realized he had been training Mara for close to eight hours without a break. Surprisingly, Mara didn't even seem tired and Luke found himself feeling remarkably refreshed considering the long day. However, they would likely regret it tomorrow if they didn't stop now. Luke shut off the remote and called it to his hand, causing Mara to spin around as she shut off the green blade in front of her. Luke smiled as he accepted his weapon back from Mara. "You did a good job today, but I think we've done enough. We'll start back up tomorrow."

Mara simply nodded in response before retreating to her quarters with a small smile gracing her face. Ever since Luke had started teaching her about the Force earlier in the day, she had felt free. It was like she had been held back by some unseen power and hadn't even known until the binders had been removed.

The smile faded from Mara's face, however, as she entered her quarters and was jolted by a vision. Mara found herself near the lake retreat on Naboo with a blaster in her hand. It was dark and by the sounds she was hearing around her, Mara figured it was a couple hours before dawn. She slipped through the trees and soon found herself looking through the open window of Luke's apartment. Mara looked on unwillingly as she extended the blaster in her hand to point at Luke's head. She found herself unable to pull the trigger, however. Her finger twitched, not knowing whether to deliver the killing shot.

Mara whipped herself around before she could decide, however, when she sensed danger behind her. She made her way quietly toward the shore in hopes of using the stone of the nearby balconies for cover. Mara made a leap onto the nearby terrace just as she felt a volley of blaster bolts make contact with her. Sniper bolts. The stormtroopers must have had silenced blasters. Mara lost her grip on her blaster as she started to tumble towards the water, the force of the bolts having pushed her beyond her target. With what little time she had before impacting the water, Mara pushed herself into a trance so that she could remain underwater for a few hours and hope that the troops trailing her would assume her dead.

Feeling herself impact the surface of the water and then a rock on the bottom of the lake, Mara snapped out of her vision. Her breath was panicked as she unthinkingly fell into the arms that had wrapped around her. Mara just stared at the wall of her cabin as her breathing and pulse returned to normal. She was afraid to turn around and see the worried expression she knew was on Luke's face. Luke Skywalker. The man she had attempted to kill.