Chapter 12: Escape

"Mara, Vader is my father."

Mara's emerald eyes grew wide in shock as she cried out "Your what!" and leapt up from her seat. She started pacing the room, trying to make sense of the situation as Luke lay in the bed, unmoving. Mara took a deep breath and stopped, turning to look upon her bruised fiancé. 'Maybe he's delusional.' She sat back down next to the bed Luke was lying in. Mara tried to add compassion to her words to make Luke snap out of his cold, numb state, but her voice came out flat. "Why would you think that?"

Luke's eyes remained closed. He could not bear to look at Mara's face, her emotionless voice hurt enough. "After I lost my hand, he told me he was my father. I didn't want to believe it. I searched the Force for any sign he was lying, but…but all I felt was the truth. He wasn't trying to kill me during our battle. He held back. He asked me to join him. Help him destroy the Emperor." Mara sat in stunned silence silent, staring blankly at the wall. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her anger in check. Vader had gone too far this time. His lies were ripping apart the man she loved. Still unable to look at Mara, the same thought ran through Luke's mind over and over. 'That's it. I lost her. No one could love the son of someone like that.'

When Mara finally spoke, her voice was quiet but finally carried some of the compassion that hadn't come through when she previously spoke. "He's playing games with you. Vader's more powerful than we could imagine. He could have…"

Sensing Mara grasping for straws, Luke interrupted her in a low but steady voice. "My father's name was Anakin Skywalker." Mara moved her hands to her face, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. She had confirmed Luke's fears already. It was because of her that he couldn't even deny the horrible truth. Her words had been salt in an already gaping wound. Before she could continue to berate herself, she felt a flash of pain from Luke. This was not the time for self-pity. He needed her.

Luke felt Mara withdraw and his heart began to break. Tears were about to spill when he felt a soft hand on his cheek and Mara's voice whisper to him softly. "Luke. Look at me." Luke opened his eyes to see watery pools of green looking down upon him. "Just because he's your father, doesn't mean that you are anything like him. You are a good man. He's only your father in name. You're a real father, someone who loves and protects his son. Never forget that. I'm not saying this won't take some getting used to, but we'll get through this. Together." Mara knew better than anyone that your past doesn't mean anything. It was who you were in the present that mattered. She leaned her face towards Luke's. Her lips brushed against his as she whispered "I love you too much to let you go now." Her lips met his in a soft kiss. Tears finally spilled from Luke's eyes as he was overcome with emotion. The moment was shattered by a jarring of the Falcon and the sound of a failed attempt to jump to hyperspace. The sound of the failed escape caused Mara to mutter "Sithspit!" and stand up from her seat and Luke's side. She leaned down and kissed Luke's forehead, whispering to him "You need to sleep. I'll be back."

Luke nodded. His exhaustion was finally catching up with him and he knew that she was needed elsewhere if they were going to get out of this situation. Mara got up and was about to leave the cabin when she felt a cold wave pass through her. She stopped short and looked at Luke lying in the bed, drifting off to sleep. In his semiconscious state, Luke murmured "Father."

Mara's eyes blazed at the thought of Vader influencing Luke's thoughts. She didn't care who he was, no one hurt Luke and got away with it. Mara mustered all the power in the Force she could and pushed at the dark cloud surrounding the man she loved. The dark cloud resisted, but Mara focused all the love and comfort she could in Luke's direction, finally succeeded in breaking up the fog around him. Sensing that Luke had fallen asleep and danger had passed, Mara left the room and ran into a frantically beeping R2-D2. She glared down at the small droid. "Hey, watch where you're going!" R2 ignored her, rolling toward one of the Falcon's computer banks. Mara watched as the little astromech reached into one of the panels. A light came on in the equipment and Mara could hear the hyperdrive come to life. Mara let out a large sigh of relief and turned back to rejoin Luke. They were safe. For now.

The 2-1B brought its pointer down to test the newly attached prosthesis. Luke couldn't help but let out a little yelp as he felt the prick. "Ow!" Mara and Leia laughed softly at his side, causing Luke to blush slightly in embarrassment. The medical droid shut the casing for the prosthetic's components, satisfied with the results. Luke slowly brought his right hand into a fist and relaxed it, also satisfied with the results.

Luke's comm crackled at his side. "Luke, we're ready for takeoff."

Luke picked up the communicator with his new hand and brought it up to speak. "Good luck Lando."

The man's voice came in loud and clear over the comm. "When we find Jabba the Hutt and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you."

Luke was happy that someone was going to track down Han. He had to get back to his son on Dagobah with Mara. But they would return when the time was right. Han would need their help and Luke would not let his friend down. He owed him too much to do that. "We'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine."

Lando's voice came back over the comm once more, looking to reassure one of the other occupants of the room. "Princess, we'll find Han. I promise." Luke looked to Leia as her head drooped slightly at the thought of Han. He was surprised to see Mara place an arm around Leia's shoulder in support. He gave Mara a small smile in appreciation which she returned.

Luke returned his attention to the comm. "Chewie, we'll be waiting for your signal." The Wookiee's encouraging howl echoed over the comm. "Take care you two. May the Force be with you." Luke shut off the comm and moved to the room's viewport to watch the Falcon depart. Mara and Leia came up to him on opposite sides to do the same. As they watched the ship release from the frigate and make its way into deep space, Luke wrapped an arm around each of them.

When the Millennium Falcon could no longer be seen, Mara turned to face Luke. "We need to head out soon. We promised we'd return and I'm sure Ben is missing his parents." Luke smiled at the thought of his son, but didn't have an opportunity to respond before Leia chimed in behind them.

"What are you talking about? And speaking of Ben, where is he?" Leia had a curious expression on her face. Luke was hesitant to respond, but Mara stepped in.

"Leia, we never rejoined the fleet after Hoth. We went…we went to find a Jedi Master. All three of us have been training under him. We left Ben in his care when we left to find you. We promised him we would return to finish the training…Leia, I think you should come back with us."

Leia's face was incredulous at Mara's statement. "Why? What point would there be in me seeing some Jedi Master? You two have a power I don't understand, that I could never have."

Mara locked eyes with the princess before she responded. "I wouldn't be so sure. When you told me that you had to come back for us, that you felt we were in trouble, that wasn't just chance. I sensed something more in you. The Force was guiding you. In time you could learn to control it as we have." Mara had surprised even herself with her conviction. She hadn't even been sure whether Leia was truly Force sensitive, but when she spoke, her words just felt right. Mara turned to Luke, looking for support and saw Leia do the same looking for a second opinion. They found his eyes shut in concentration.

After a silent moment, Luke opened his eyes. He felt something in Leia he had never felt before. She was strong in the Force, that was certain, but there was more. He felt a bond with her. Similar to what he felt with Mara, but at the same time different. He turned toward Leia, looking upon her with knew eyes. "She's right. The Force is strong in you. Come with us. Learn to be a Jedi."

Leia shut her eyes, uncertain what to do. She knew she had a responsibility to the Alliance, but their offer intrigued her. She felt as if she was being offered the chance to take back something which she had never known she had lost. And back on Bespin, Mara had been able to save Han thanks to the Force, while Leia couldn't even hold on to him. The only time she had been able to truly help was when she had unknowingly drawn on the Force. If she could harness that power, things would be different when they found Han again. Leia finally opened her eyes to see Luke's expectant face, her decision made. She gave him a small smile and simply said "When do we leave?"