TWENTY YEARS LATER

The ice-cold winds of the barren planet Hoth blew cruelly through the opened shield doors, catching the red-gold hair of the young woman pacing back and forth and splaying it across her face. In frustration, she gathered it up in her hands and pulled a rubber band out of her pocket, securing it haphazardly in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. She continued her pacing, staring anxiously out the doors towards the wasteland that this blasted planet was. Not that she could see anything beyond the whiteness, but she knew that the two of them were out there in it somewhere and she couldn't make herself leave this spot until she knew that they were safe.

And they had to be safe-- they simply had to be. She did not want to stop and think about what she would do if anything happened to either of them. But somehow, her thoughts kept straying to the ice-blue eyes of the younger man. Luke Skywalker. A soft smile formed on her lips at just the thought of him. Those eyes had begun to show up in her dreams lately and she didn't want to think about what that meant.

Or perhaps she did. Mara Jade sighed as she pondered her feelings for Luke. Ever since the day he and Han had rescued her from the Death Star, there had been a bond between the three of them. Well, and Chewbacca too, of course. She looked over at the huge Wookiee and realized he was as worried as she was and that made her even more frightened.

Three years now, they had all been together. Although they had been separated often during that course of time, they had always been lucky enough to be joyfully reunited. Missions had sometimes kept them apart for months, but deep inside, each had known that they would see one another again. She had been on a mission when she first met the two of them. Granted, it had gone terribly wrong. She had been intercepted en route to her rendezvous with the operative who was to pick up the Death Star plans and she ended up a prisoner on the very battle station they were trying so hard to destroy. She smiled as she remembered their rescue. To this day, she couldn't decide if they'd been incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

She caught herself nervously chewing on her thumbnail and, with a muttered curse, pulled her hand away from her mouth. Her mother would never forgive her if she saw Mara biting her nails. It was a bad habit that she had never been able to completely break her daughter of. The thought of her mother caused Mara's already morose mood to dip even further. She tried not to think of her mother too often, but when she did, she wanted to remember earlier, happier times. She did not want to imagine, as she too often did, what her mother's last moments must have been like, knowing that the Death Star was in the atmosphere of Alderaan. They had all heard the rumors for months and her mother must have known what was about to happen.

Mara felt a tear slide down her cheek. Had she panicked? Had she cried out in terror? Knowing her mother, Mara felt that she had more likely faced her death as bravely as she'd faced her life. Riann Jade had been an extraordinary woman and Mara had wished for nothing other than to be just like her when she grew up. Riann had been the daughter of one of Alderaan's wealthiest merchants and had stunned everyone when she had taken over her father's company at his unexpected death from a heart attack. She had only been twenty-two standard years old and her father's cronies had scoffed at the idea of a child running her father's extensive business ventures. But she had shown them all and had actually increased her family's holdings. The fact that she was a single mother of a two-year-old daughter had only made it all the more incredible.

She gave a small sniffle as she tried to hold back her tears. She didn't want the other pilots to see her crying. She smiled somewhat ruefully as she considered that her own situation wasn't unlike her mother's in some ways. She was one of only three female pilots in the Alliance and the only fighter pilot. She had had to prove herself to the men numerous times and she had finally earned their grudging respect. She certainly didn't want to ruin it now by letting them catch her blubbering like a little girl.

"Mara, I just heard. Have they gotten any news?"

She turned and smiled as she saw Wedge Antilles walking towards her. The smile quickly disappeared as she answered his question.

"No, nothing since Han tore out of here on a taun-taun to look for him."

They stood together for a few moments, not speaking, simply taking comfort in each other's presence. Wedge was the other member of their tight-knit little group. The four of them, Luke, Han, Mara and Wedge, had been the only pilots to return from the Death Star battle and that had made them all very close. She knew Wedge would have been out there with Han, looking for Luke, as indeed she herself would have been, if there were any more taun-tauns to go around. Unfortunately, there simply weren't any of the animals that weren't already exhausted from the perimeter patrols they had all been occupied with today.

"Major, all patrols are now in, except for Solo and Skywalker."

Wedge and Mara turned to look at the young lieutenant who had delivered this message to Major Derlin. He averted his eyes from their gaze, somehow ashamed that he was having to be the bearer of such bad news. Major Derlin caught Mara's eye and spoke gently but firmly.

"Commander Jade, you know we must close the shield doors. The temperature is dropping rapidly and it's simply too dangerous to wait any longer."

She nodded silently and dropped her gaze to the ground. Wedge's arm stole around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. She leaned into him gratefully as the huge shield doors began to rumble and move. Chewbacca gave a mournful howl and rested his furry head against one of the ceiling support beams. Mara didn't even try to stop her quiet tears this time.

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Lord Darth Vader stood on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor and watched silently as TIE squadrons ran drills in and around the giant Imperial ship. They looked a little sloppy to him--perhaps he needed to take a few runs with them himself. A cruel half-smile crossed his face at what he knew the reaction to that instance would be from the pilots. The smile fell away as his thoughts turned to young Skywalker, but then almost everything made him think of the boy these days.

If he was honest with himself, which wasn't always an easy thing, he knew that he was borderline obsessed with finding his son. He could still recall the intense emotion that had welled up inside him when he had first learned the name of the pilot who had destroyed the Emperor's pet project. He could recall it, but he had a more difficult time putting a name to it: shock, anger, a strange sense of loss which he had immediately quashed. It had taken them nearly two years to finally track down the boy's identity, so he had known that he had a son for just over a year. And he had spent that entire time trying to find the boy with an urgency that he didn't particularly want to examine too closely.

Vader had not dared to visualize the traitorous thoughts that had run through his mind, at least not completely. He sometimes could not contain the image of himself sitting on his Master's throne, his heir standing close beside him, the two of them awash in so much power and glory that it almost made him dizzy. Vader was very careful not to let his Master know of these ambitions as he well understood what the price for such a betrayal would be. He turned his head slightly as a conversation nearby caught his attention.

"I think we have something, sir."

That was Captain Piett speaking to Admiral Ozzel about one of the probe droids they had sent throughout the galaxy to search for the rebels. Vader listened to the exchange with interest.

"What is it, Captain?"

"The Hoth system, sir. The droid picked up definite signs of life forms there. It's been our best lead so far."

"I don't want leads, Captain, I want proof. There are dozens of systems that must be searched."

"But the Hoth system is supposed to be devoid of any life, sir--"

"You found something?" Vader decided to interrupt the useless conversation. Ozzel was a self-important fool and, although he didn't know it, was almost to the Sith Lord's saturation point with his idiocy.

Captain Piett repeated his findings, somehow managing not to stammer too much in the awe-inspiring presence of the armored giant. Vader didn't reply for a long moment, almost seemed to be lost in thought, and the two officers stood there uncertainly.

"That's it."

Ozzel, and even Piett, who was thinking along the same lines, were taken aback at the surety of the statement. Ozzel found his voice first and naturally protested. Really, Vader was almost ready to choke him this very minute, but he knew the man would make another blunder before too long and there was plenty of time for that later.

"My Lord, there are so many uncharted settlements. It could be smugglers or--"

"That is the system. The rebels are there and Skywalker is with them. Set course for the Hoth system, Admiral." His tone brooked no more discussion and he turned to another officer standing nearby. "General Veers, prepare your men."

"My Lord Vader." Another, lower-ranking officer nervously sought the Dark Lord's attention and Vader turned towards him, the man having no idea how he saved his own life for interrupting the sith with his next words. "The Emperor commands you to make contact with him, My Lord."

Vader gave no reply as he turned and stalked silently back to his private quarters, leaving his men to do his bidding. Soon, he promised himself, soon he would have the boy in his grasp.

He paused for just a brief moment after the door to his private chambers had swished shut. He needed to calm the heightened senses that the decision about the Hoth system had raised in his mind. It would not do for his Master to realize exactly how anxious he was to find the boy.

He moved forward to the slightly elevated circle in the center of the room and dropped to one knee. He silently called to his Master. The swiftness with which the Emperor answered made Vader aware that his Master was slightly anxious as well. He was glad for the mask he wore that hid his satisfied smirk.

"My Apprentice, I sense that you have news in the search for young Skywalker."

"Yes, my Master. I believe he and the other rebels are located in the Hoth system. We are currently moving the fleet in that direction."

There was quite a long pause as the Emperor pondered the information his servant had given him. It was long enough that were Vader still able to actually sweat, he would have at that moment.

"I wonder if your feelings in this matter are entirely clear, Lord Vader. You understand that the boy must not be allowed to become a Jedi. He must be destroyed."

Well, that would not fit in with Vader's plans at all. He thought furiously for a way to keep the Emperor from ordering his son's death. "Master, if he could be turned…"

Vader didn't finish the thought. Instead, he let the despot draw his own conclusions and hoped that he would go the way that Vader needed him to.

"Yes. He could make a powerful ally. Can it be done?"

"He will join us or die, my Master." Fool, Vader nearly gloated to himself, your time is almost at an end.

"I will be expecting to meet young Skywalker soon then, my Apprentice. Do not fail me."

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Palpatine watched as the image of Darth Vader flickered and then disappeared. Idiot! Did his servant really believe him to be that oblivious? He had not engineered the most audacious grab for power in the history of the known universe by being stupid and unaware of when someone was plotting behind his back.

He laughed to himself as he considered Lord Vader's pitiful plan…he knew the traitor intended to use his son against his Master. What poor Vader didn't realize was that Palpatine's own plans were years in the making. He thought of Vader's pathetic wife, Padmé. Oh, he had known she was with child before she had gone into hiding and, indeed, she had never really been in hiding. He had known of her whereabouts the entire three years she had spent with the twins.

He had simply waited until the children were old enough to be useful to him before taking them from her. He scowled as he once again cursed that interfering Obi-Wan Kenobi. That meddler had somehow managed to get the boy spirited away just before Palpatine's agents were to have taken the children. He had not counted on having to look for the whelp for nearly twenty years! Still, he was nothing if not adaptable. It may have delayed things a bit, but he still intended to have the son take the father's place. And it would happen. The boy's own sister would see to that.

Another satisfied smile crossed his face at the thought of his Hand. He silently congratulated himself--that had been a stroke of genius. Naturally, he had been disappointed when his men had brought him the girl without the boy, as she was nowhere near as strong in the Force as her sibling was, but he thought he had made the best of the situation. Once he had wiped Leia's pliable little mind of all memories of her brother and mother, he had begun her training almost immediately.

With no memory of a happy family to cling to, her training had progressed very well and very quickly. By the time she was fourteen, he was already sending her out on missions and she had yet to fail him. Vader had even overseen a few of her assignments and this amused Palpatine to no end…the fact that his Apprentice was now searching so diligently for his son and he had no idea his daughter had been right under his nose for years. In fact, the two really didn't care for each other very much, as they were constantly fighting for superiority in Palpatine's favor.

Oh, yes, he knew all of Vader's little plans and he knew exactly how to deal with them. That was why he had sent his Hand to infiltrate the rebels and bring the younger Skywalker straight to him. And she had not failed him yet.

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