Author's notes: Enter Luke Skywalker, folks! I had a lot of fun writing the Mara/Luke interaction… I'm really getting into Mara's character now, so I'll put in as many original ideas as I can think of.

Tempest in Blue – he really has to get there someday, huh? Rebel ships are slow… ad a detour to the mix and there you have it. Thanks for reading, here you have the next chapter.

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Chapter VIII

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I have no idea how long I spent sitting there, cross-legged, my mind far away from my body. But I was motionless and calm. Peaceful. And sometimes, when I regained consciousness enough to stop my mind from getting lost in the Force, I could sense… something different about myself. There was something new within my mind. Not an artificial bond or some new belief. It seemed to be uncertainty. Did the Force want me to be here, today and hear all this? I don't know. One thing was certain – the days of blind following were over. It's hard to give this… this Sith live of mine, up. Yes, I was a Sith.

I saw many things when Yoda allowed me to enter his mind. And seeing a real, "true" Sith as the Sith themselves would say was both fascinating and frightening. I saw a darkness, which I only knew from Vader and my… no, he's not my Master anymore. He's the Galactic Emperor. The Dark Lord of the Sith. A darkness that was so alluring and fascinating, my ambitious thoughts drew me to him. Yet at the same time, the hatred, anger, the pure venom I sensed there… I sensed corruption. The Dark Side had a strong hold over him, and he was fool enough to think it was the other way around. He, like myself, wanted to be a master of the Force and let himself be controlled by a power greater than he. Just like me.

What am I now, really? A Sith? A Jedi? Or just… a nobody?

I opened my eyes slowly, the sounds of a ship landing shattering my calm. Standing up, my eyes followed the still tiny X-wing. Farmboy was finally here. Took him long enough, too. Who designed the Rebel hyperspace routes, anyway? Probably some Imperial.

It took a while for Skywalker to land, but I might as well forgive him the sluggish piloting – the environment here was not exactly hospitable. He probably had some experience from the last time he ended up here, so scratch that thought.

He didn't even notice my presence – not the rather eye-catching TIE fighter landed nearby, what amused me. My black clothes blended with the surroundings rather well, so I quietly crept a few feet away. This first meeting wouldn't be pleasurable for either of us. Unfortunately, given the situation, it probably wouldn't be the last one.

The R2 droid he had with him beeped slightly, rotating its head, probably in search of Yoda. Can't blame him, though – the Jedi had a knack for appearing at the most inconvenient moments and scaring the hell out of people. No wonder no one visited him around here.

Since there were no other sentients around, I was very amused to see Skywalker move rather slowly and quietly. The silence was starting to irritate me. Time for a dramatic entrance.

"Detours aren't what they used to be, huh?" I asked out loud, casually, folding my arms. The way Skywalker jumped when he realized there were other beings there made me wonder what effect would real-time stealth and a simple "Boo!" have.

He regained his posture, thought, and gazed at me with a mix of surprise, amusement and some relief. The R2 unit beeped warily, almost hiding behind its master. Well, droids are smarter than sentients.

"Apparently not." Skywalker noted, as if we were discussing the weather, really. But he was wary of me – he was rather terrible at hiding his emotions. "Since you followed me here."

I laughed, "Followed you? You wouldn't keep up with a granite slug with that trash can!" I nodded in the direction of his ship. It was really in a bad state. "I've been waiting for hours."

"Who are you?" he asked, "I can… sense the Force within you. But you're not a Jedi. Who are you?"

"A Jedi, she is not." A familiar voice said from the direction of Yoda´s hut, and we both saw the miniature Jedi walking towards us, rather briskly considering the fact he was using a walking stick. "But become one, she could. Finished meditating, you have, Mara?" Yoda said, turning to me. I nodded. "Good, good." He coughed. Wait a second… he never coughed before. What? "Luke Skywalker, already you know." Skywalker seemed more puzzled by the minute as I smirked darkly. "Luke – Mara Jade, this is. Unexpected but welcome visitor, she is."

"Ben never mentioned other surviving Force users." Skywalker noted, his guard dropping a bit. Who's Ben, by the way? Guess I'll find out later.

"Other than Vader and the Emperor?" Yoda chuckled and coughed again. That was worrying me. "Nothing is as it seems, Luke. Cunning, the Emperor is. A group of Force users, collected, he has. Trained them in the twisted teachings of the Dark Side, he has. Emperor's Hands, they are called." Under any other circumstances, my eyes would have widened. I would have protested, claimed that I was the only Emperor's Hand… but I saw enough to believe this otherwise shocking information. It had to be the truth. There were more than one elite assassins in the Imperial Inner Court. Of course, Skywalker expressed his disbelief. And more importantly, he became extremely wary of me. I smirked.

"How am I supposed to kill you when the imp has my lightsaber? Sheesh, Skywalker, they said you were intelligent. I guess farmboy genes never stop kicking in." Despite his half-scowl, I could see he noticed I was unarmed and outnumbered. And he probably also sensed the confusion within me.

"Then… the Emperor sent you to kill me?" I nodded, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I doubt he would send out a welcoming committee for nothing." He shrugged, "So what happens now?"

"Now, you will eat." Yoda decreed. He didn't even give us a chance to protest – he immediately turned and made his way back to his cottage. I glanced at Skywalker, who smiled faintly. "Rootleaf, probably. We should go – he doesn't like it when the food is cold."

"Fine." I frowned, "One thing before I have to start rejecting your attempts at being friendly, Skywalker – did you notice me at Jabba´s? I don't think you did, but still… I want to know what I'm dealing with."

"So you can kill me later?"

"So I can either tease you about your superior awareness or laugh at you for stepping directly on a trap door." I rolled my eyes, smirking, "How naïve can you get, wandering into unexplored territory AND a Hutt´s palace unarmed? Even rookie Imperial stormtroopers wouldn't do that!"

"I had a plan." Skywalker pouted, "And it worked, as you can see. I survived, my friends did too and we escaped."

"Yeah, and if the Hutt would have allowed me to go to the Sail Barge, there would be one less farmboy in the galaxy. And I would have a new lightsaber." I noted, smirking even wider.

"Well, what happens now?" Skywalker asked. The hint was clear. Will you try to kill me or will we form some shaky truce until we finish this training?

"Listen, Skywalker." I said calmly, my face now expressionless. "I know about a thousand ways how to kill you. If I'd have to, I'd chase you around the entire galaxy and find you. I was taught the most modern Imperial espionage techniques and I'm a fully competent assassin. If I wouldn't have encountered our green little friend, by now, you would be a cool smoking corpse on the ground," I noted, revealing the hidden blaster Yoda didn't take away from me. I holstered it after a second. Somehow, the urge to shoot him wasn't as great as it was a few hours ago. "But you aren't. Doesn't that give you a hint?"

Skywalker smiled, extending an arm to me, "Truce?"

I grimaced and took it, "Truce." But I immediately released it.

He raised an eyebrow, "Am I really that frightening to you?" It was a clear joke. Still, I had to roll my eyes.

"The farmboy genes and the Rebel disease. Who knows what other germs you carry, Skywalker? You could be contagious."

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" I bet he knew the answer before he even asked. I grinned. Probably for the first time, it wasn't as malicious as intended to be.

"Not on your life, Skywalker. Not that the life in question will last long, with all the crap you do and the battalion of Imperials wanting to go for your throat. You're not a very popular dinner guest with us."

He smiled. Was he doing that on purpose? Yep, the "let's-be-friends-even-though-you-tried-to-kill-me" thing was probably here. You just wait, farmboy. And watch your back. "At least the Jedi are more hospitable." He went to Yoda´s cottage. The R2 droid beeped at me for a second before my death-glare silenced it, so I followed Skywalker.

The cottage was very, VERY small. There was only one room in it, Yoda-sized. It was cozy, I have to admit that, but only for people the same size as the owner. And there weren't many of those around these days. Certainly not me or certainly not me. I was the last to enter, so I immediately saw Yoda in the corner. Skywalker seemed edgy or something.

"Hmm. That face you make. Look I so old to young eyes?" Yoda suddenly noted. It was meant for Skywalker, and he knew it. He looked away, embarrassed.

"No... of course not."

That guy had no idea how to lie. And Yoda thought so as well – he chuckled, "I do, yes, I do! Sick have I become. Old and weak." He grinned impishly (nice description, by the way, considering his height) and crooked a wrinkled finger, "When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not. Hmm?" Chuckling, coughing, he hobbled over toward his bed. "Soon will I rest. Yes, forever sleep. Earned it, I have." Yoda sat himself on his bed, with great effort.

"Master Yoda, you can't die." Skywalker noted.

"I second that statement." I said bluntly.

Yoda shook his head and crawled under the sheets, resting. "Strong am I with the Force... but not that strong! Twilight is upon me and soon night must fall. That is the way of things ... the way of the Force."

"But I need your help. I've come back to complete the training." Skywalker said. Almost desperately.

"No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need." Yoda sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. If only the situation wasn't so tense…

"Then I am a Jedi?" Skywalker asked.

"Ohhh. Not yet. One thing remains: Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will."

"What about me?" I whispered. Skywalker seemed anxious to ask something else (I had a hunch), so he ignored me. But Yoda looked at me and managed a weary smile. "Saw much, you have, through the Force. Learn that, you can. Remember it, you will. When broken, your bond with the Emperor will be, shattered, your connection to the Force could be. Strong, you must remain. Focused. Continue meditating. Soon, find your way to the Light, you will. And great Jedi, you will become."

Skywalker finally mustered enough courage to ask… and confirmed my hunch. "Yoda... is Darth Vader my father?"

An odd, sad smile passed through Yoda´s face. I saw compassion and sadness. Weariness of the burden he carried. The last of the Jedi, the specters of the past. The final flicker of hope of good. He turned away.

"Mmm... rest I need. Yes... rest."

I knew the answer to Skywalker´s question, but he had to hear his Master say it. And I had to hear it again. The reason why I'm doing all this. Why I'm abandoning my past.

"Yoda, I must know."

"Your father he is." Skywalker winced. I exhaled quietly. Again, the truth was hard to take. But I held out and calmed myself. "Told you, did he?"

"Yes."

I saw the concern in Yoda´s eyes. "Unexpected this is, and unfortunate..."

"Unfortunate that I know the truth?"

"No. Unfortunate that you rushed to face him... that incomplete was your training. Not ready for the burden were you."

"Well, I'm sorry."

The disease was taking hold of the Jedi Master – I could sense his weariness even as he repeated the basic Jedi tenet. "Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The Dark Side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." With a great effort, Yoda managed to speak again. "Luke...Luke...Do not...Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate, you will. Mara… Mara will help you, know Palpatine well, she does." Yoda turned to me, the compassion in his eyes immense. I could sense regret from him as well. He regretted he couldn't train me more. Show me more. But I wouldn't forget Yoda… or forgive Palpatine. I would remember. "Mara… remember what you have learned and hold out against his power, you can… When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke…the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke... There is... another...Sky...Sky...walker."