Author's notes: Wow, this was quick. I had a free afternoon, so I wrote this. Chocolate for anyone who finds the Episode II reference in this chapter! Enjoy and keep reviewing!

Mara look-a-like – You know, I thought about that, too. But no. I like to think that Mara's parents were Jedi killed during the Purge, but not Obi-Wan and Siri. Prequel Obi was a bit cynical and a perfectionist – much like Mara. He probably sees some of himself in her, I guess. And wants to encourage her. Here's the update – enjoy.

Urazz – I've found some typos, but they should be corrected now. Here you go.

Sithspawned – Indeed. Yes, she is more human, I hope. Yeah, the realization will hit her unexpectedly.

hayla – I repeat, I do not hate Luke and I do not hate Vader – he's actually my favorite character from the old trilogy. No, she won't kill Palpy. No problem, here you go.

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Chapter XIII

X X X X

The minutes of anxious waiting continued. I was bored – we were wasting time here. It wasn't that I didn't care about the two little brats. They were amusing, actually. Organa was completely different from Skywalker, in a refreshing way. She was so much like Vader… except without the more annoying parts of his personality. If there was less bossiness within her, I'd like her. Skywalker… well, I'm still unsure. He wasn't like his father at all, which disturbed me. His mother had been a senator – I saw senators during Senate meetings, listened to their conversations (as the Emperor commanded me to do) and they weren't exactly friendly. Farmboy was quite friendly. He got past my background very easily, I think. And Solo's comments were irritating me. How dumb can you be to fall in love with the assassin sent to kill you? It just didn't seem rational to me. So I'm sassy and quite attractive, in a tomboyish way. It's essential to my job. But him and me? I shook my head, defiantly.

R2-D2 beeped loudly and the protocol droid jumped, panicked. "Oh, General Solo, Lady Mara, somebody's coming. Oh!"

'Lady Mara'? I like the sound of that, I thought subconsciously. I quietly took out my blaster – a lightsaber would attract attention of the possible newcomers, but I sensed…

I raised my hand to stop the others from raising their weapons. "Wait. It's Skywalker." I saw him step out the foliage, looking around. I hurried to him. "Still alive, Skywalker?"

He nodded, with a tired smile. Solo and the troops also stepped into view, holstering their blasters. "Luke! Where's Leia?" I also noticed Organa´s absence.

"What? She didn't come back?" Skywalker asked, wide-eyed. He was really concerned for his sister. I sighed slightly – the search for her would slow us down at least a few hours.

"I thought she was with you." Solo noted, also concerned.

"We got separated." A silent, grim look was exchanged. "Hey, we better go look for her."

"We have to take the droids, then. Scanners might do better than manual searching." I said, also holstering my weapon. "You couldn't have gotten more than several miles from here. She's alone and without vehicle – she'll move slowly. We should find her in a few hours."

When I finished my monologue, I saw that both men and the Wookiee were staring at me. "What?"

"You wanna come along?" Solo asked, surprised. "I thought you'd wanna go with the strike team."

"It would take you guys days to find her. I'm trained for tracking. Now close your mouths and let's get moving." Amusing, really. I had strict orders to bring a certain Jedi to Vader – I wasn't about to leave him wandering aimlessly in the forest. Purely because of the orders, of course.

I vaguely heard Solo ordering the Rebel captain to meet us at the shield generator at 0300, the droids following us into the woods. I led the small group, searching both with my eyes and through the Force. Finding burnt swoop parts, following their trail was quite easy. But it would take some time to locate the Princess.

X X X

We eventually found some crashed swoops and the droids continued scanning, Solo and Skywalker searching. I didn't help them – I knew Organa was already gone. I was scanning the ground for tracks. The grass was thick, there were plenty of leaves on the ground, moss and other plants as well. But I crouched, searching for any trace of footsteps.

"Found anything, Mara?" I glanced to the left – Skywalker was also attempting to find something, but I could see he didn't recognize any patterns on the ground. I smiled slightly – finding wasn't difficult. Recognition was the key.

"Heavy boots – those are Imperials. The body over there shows how well he ended up." I nodded to the dead scout under one of the logs. Skywalker smiled, but I continued, "The lighter footsteps are definitely feminine – females walk differently than males. And these here… those look like paws." I frowned, "Small paws. An Ewok, probably."

He also frowned. "An Ewok?"

"A native primitive species of this moon… no threat to anyone. Not even Solo." He choked a bit with laughter. We both stood up, just in time to see Chewbacca, Solo and the droids getting caught into a thick net.

"Nice work. Great, Chewie! Great! Always thinking with your stomach." Solo growled, though I wasn't sure where his head was. "Hey, Luke! Mara! A little help here?"

We glanced at each other, he still smiling slightly, I grinning impishly. "Well? Do we help them?"

"We probably should. How good's your aim?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Let's see." Before he could notice, I whipped out my blaster and shot through the rope holding the net above the ground, point blank. Due to the minor fact that gravity was on every planet, they tumbled to the ground, with a loud thud. I was surprised that Skywalker didn't catch them through the Force… a whoops wasn't an acceptable excuse now. But he took out his lightsaber to get them out of the net once they stopped wiggling. Several auras were approaching… several Ewoks. We didn't have time for them… and I suppose negotiations were inevitable now. But I wasn't in the mood.

I Force jumped on the highest branch of the tallest tree near me – just in time. About a dozen Ewoks with spears surrounded the others. Skywalker didn't want to provoke them, so ordered Solo and Chewie to hand over their weapons.

"Where's Mara?" Solo asked, looking around.

"Already on top of things." Skywalker answered, smiling slightly, even though he didn't look at me. Fortunately Solo got the hint and didn't search for me anymore.

That was when the droids regained 'consciousness', you could say. And the Ewoks thought C-3PO was a god. Amusing. All of them got tied up and dragged away. Primitive as they were, the Ewoks weren't totally inept at stealth. Following them into their village wasn't easy… suffice it say it involved climbing trees, vines and rooftops. And I got to the roof of the hut near the place where they were tied up. And the Ewoks began filling the pits between them with wood. From what I got of the conversations, they were going to have dinner, cannibal style. Organa appeared suddenly, in an animal skin dress – at least she got on fine with the furballs. But even she couldn't stop the Ewoks.

"Threepio, tell them if they don't do as you wish, you'll become angry and use your magic." I suddenly heard Skywalker saying. I was directly above the droid´s throne. And I understood what he was saying. The droid didn't, and objected, but then said what he was ordered to say.

The Ewoks didn't believe him… not until the throne he was sitting on began levitating. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Various items began shaking, falling off tables and so on. The Ewoks were terrified, just like C-3PO. And they released the captives. I carefully climbed down to the platform – lying on the roof wasn't enjoyable. I watched Solo and Organa kiss – I knew it from the beginning. Those two were an interesting pair. Skywalker also hugged his sister, with great relief. I continued standing in the corner, even as we were asked to tell the natives of our journeys. No need to get emotional. It…it was just a rescue. Not like I care about them. I was the last one to enter the chief's hut.