*Sigh* I finally trudged through the writer's block and managed to finish this chapter.

And conquered distractions and procrastination too hahaha.

By the way, this has a horrid cliffhanger, thou hast been warned. Don't kill me yet, just wait for the next chapter. You know you love me :D

PLEASE REVIEW! I AM BEGGING YOU FOR A REVIEW ON THIS ONE!

Enjoy, mwahahaha!

Mara Jade could hardly believe it whenever Han told her that he had received a message carried by the bartender from Luke; a message that had been sent to Coruscant and then sent to Mara, Han, and Leia who had just arrived on Nar Shadda. She held the disk in her hands, hardly believing that this was real. Leia and Han were in the other room; they had been very understanding, knowing that the message was most likely going to be very private between Mara and Luke. Anything other than the private details they were confident Mara would share with them.

Hand shaking just slightly, Mara slipped the disk into the console in front of her and waited expectantly for Luke's familiar image to appear. She was shocked when he did appear, but worn and haggard, beard, mustache, and shoulder-length hair included.

Well...she'd expected him to have a disguise, but she hadn't expected this.

Luke's pre-recorded image smiled wryly, as if he'd known what her reaction to his new facial hair would be. Her eyes ached to see that his eyes still appeared sad, but at least he was smiling.

"Hello Mara," Luke said softly, his voice just as gentle as it had been the night he left. Oh how she wished for things to return to as they'd been before all of this heartache...

Luke continued. "I've missed you, so much, and I can't wait to get back home to you and the others. Unfortunately, that might not be for a while. I finally have a lead and possibly someone who can get me right where I want to be. If everything goes all right...I should be home sooner than I was expecting. Now, I know you've been tailing me, as well as Han and Leia. It's hard to miss the whispers of the three of you, and I can't ignore the fact that sometimes we've barely missed each other. By the time this reaches you, you should be on Nar Shadda; I'm not there anymore, I can promise you that. I was there; it's where this message is recorded, but not now. I'll admit, I don't even know where I'm going this time; wherever this lead takes me, I guess. I appreciate the concern, but you should all know I'm not coming home yet, not when I'm so close. Also, the fact that you're chasing after me might start raising suspicions I can't afford right now, so you need to stop following me. I know you're concerned but I'm not coming back until this is over, and I already told you that this is something I need to do alone. Mara, I love you, but you can't follow me on this one." Luke sighed and looked away from the recording. "I wish I could say more, and believe me when I say I do wish I was with you now, but I'm running out of time. I know this is the only message I've sent you, but it's the only one I'm going to be able to send you. If this lead is what I think it is, I'll be right in Judro's inner circle soon, and I can't afford to make contact with any of you. I'll stay safe, I promise; you're going to have to trust me on this. I love you, and I'll be home as soon as I can, I promise."

With that, the message was over. Mara's heart sank; part of her wished she had more, but by the way Luke had lunged forward and shut off the device she figured he'd run out of time by then and had been pushing for time as he'd spoke, knowing someone was approaching. She was lucky to have the message she held in her hands now.

After replaying the message a few times, just to get a good look at him again and memorize what he looked like now, to hear his voice again...

After she'd imprinted Luke once again in her mind, Mara rose from her seat on the floor and approached Leia and Han in the cockpit of the Falcon. They'd landed on Nar Shadda, yes, and Han had ventured out to go around the cantinas and see what he could find, but they hadn't picked anywhere to stay and Leia and Mara had been helping Chewbacca with the repairs. Considering Luke's message, Mara wasn't sure they should even bother finding someplace to stay.

On the other hand, if they'd just missed Luke then his trail could still be hot and easy to pick out. They could finally catch up to him this time. Still, Mara hesitated at that thought with Luke's warning that with him going into Judro's inner circle, Mara and the others tailing him could put his life at risk. Maybe they could figure out where he was and keep following him, but keep at a distance so they wouldn't give him away.

She was being ridiculous, she knew it, but she wanted him back before he got himself killed; he'd hardly survived the last encounter with Judro, and now it wasn't just his life that was in danger, but his soul as well. As much as she loved and respected Luke, his safety was her first priority, and what he was doing right now...he was going to get himself killed, or worse, ensnared again.

When Mara entered the cockpit she was only mildly surprised to find that Chewbacca had joined Han and Leia in the cockpit, as well as R2. Considering they would be searching dangerous parts of the galaxy, Anakin had insisted that they take the trusty little droid with them. R2 whirred in question when Mara answered, and the other three immediately looked up, Chewbacca letting out a questioning howl.

"What did he say?" Leia asked immediately, the concern for her brother showing through. Mara took a deep breath.

"He's apparently made it into Judro's inner circle, or at least is close to someone who is. He also knows we've been following him and he wants us to stop because we could give him away if we keep following him and now with where he is it would cost him dearly," she informed them. "He also said we've come really close to him several times, and mentioned he's probably not on Nar Shadda anymore."

"Well we can't just turn back now!" Leia protested.

"If the kid thinks we're just going to turn back and leave him alone to Judro, then he's more unstable than when he left," Han said seriously.

Mara scowled. "He said that our movements, if noticed, will put his life in great danger, more than it already is. Not to mention our lives. He's just trying to protect us."

"And your verdict on this is..." Leia asked, trailing off.

Mara sighed. "He has a really good point. If we keep following him, we'll put him at risk of being revealed at the worst of times. At the same time...I worry about him. There's been...stirrings in the Force, and I worry Luke might be walking the line right now. If he stays there too long...I fear he may slip and fall again. Either way, there's going to be a risk; no matter what we decide."

Leia sighed and Chewbacca growled low in his throat. Han shook his head.

"No, I don't want to see him like that again either," Han muttered in response to Chewie's statement. He stood up from his seat. "Well, we're going to have to be a lot more careful. It might help if we start looking for Judro instead of Luke. If he's where he says he s, then we can find him without drawing attention to him by looking for Judro. Where Judro is, that's where Luke will be."

"We might be able to follow the same trail Luke picked up on here if we move fast enough," Leia agreed. Chewbacca roared in agreement, and Mara grimaced.

"I guess that means were going to risk continuing to follow him," Mara said. "We'll be able to move faster if all three of us are out about looking for Luke's trail. Whatever he picked up on, there has to be whispers of it somewhere, or at least of some new recruit by one of Judro's men."

Chewbacca growled.

"Yes Chewie, you'll stay behind with R2 and try and fix the Falcon up. Whatever we find won't be much use if we can't get off planet. If you need any parts, just comm one of us and we'll see if we can't find it," Han replied.

Mara sighed. "I do hope he's all right..."

"I've composed a list of Jedi I think might be some of Judro's agents, but without any definite proof it's just a list of people to watch."

Galen Marek was standing in Grandmaster Skywalker's personal Jedi Temple quarters, giving a report of what he'd managed to find on the traitors in the midst of the Jedi that Luke had mentioned. Unfortunately, he hadn't found enough to do anything about them. Despite the bad news, Anakin wasn't saying anything. He stood with his back to Galen, staring out the window with his hands clasped behind his back, not a word passing from his lips. Galen frowned but said nothing and waited. Still, Anakin didn't respond.

"Master Skywalker?" he asked carefully, watching Anakin closely. Still no reply. "Anakin?"

Anakin finally turned around, a strange look on his face. He held up a holodisc for Galen to see. "Do you know what this is?"

Galen's frown grew. "Ah...no Master Skywalker, I don't."

Anakin's eyes glinted slightly. "Luke got in contact with us." Galen's eyes widened in surprise, but Anakin didn't give him a chance to reply. "We're waiting for Obi-Wan, and then we'll talk about it."

"What's on it?" Galen asked.

"Luke remembered some names and faces." Anakin glanced at him. "You don't have to stay standing Galen, you can take a seat if you want."

"I'm fine Master Skywalker."

Anakin sighed. "How many times do I have to say it Galen? It's Anakin, no matter what my rank in the order may be."

Galen shook his head. "Sorry Anakin, it's just in a formal setting it's instinct."

"There's not going to be anything formal about this meeting; it will be strictly off-record and not a word spoken will leave this room."

Galen eyed the disk warily. "There's some big names on there, isn't there?"

Anakin nodded. "I've already looked at the list..."

The doors opened, and Obi-Wan walked through, looking slightly haphazard. "Sorry I'm late; Mace cornered me in the hallway." He glanced between Anakin and Galen's grim expressions, smoothing out his robes. "So what is this about?"

Anakin gestured for the two to take a seat, taking a seat of his own and placing the holodisc into the holoprojector on the table in front of him. As the data started to appear in front of the three, Anakin started to explain. "Luke reached out to Mara, Padme, and myself recently, and he sent along a message for the three of us as well as a list of the names and information on the traitors he spoke of. At least the ones he remembers turning. He also included a personal account of when he turned them for each person he remember, as well as complete files on them. He's given us all the information he could, but for some of them I fear it may not be enough. While he was in league with Sidious, he apparently did some serious damage, and we weren't even aware."

Obi-Wan was already sorting through the information, and his eyes widened at some of the names on the list. "There's some Council Members and Masters on this list," he said in shock. Anakin nodded.

"Though all the names on this list weren't Council Members when Luke was consumed by the darkside. It seems despite Luke's turn back to the side of the light, they further cemented in the dark side and have been climbing the ranks. Luke mentioned in one of the personal accounts that he suspects some of them are waiting for him to fall again for further instructions, but are simply infiltrating the Jedi Order until then."

Galen shook his head. "Some of these people are very influential. We're going to need more than Luke's word to bring them down. He might have been cleared of all charges with that pardon, but that doesn't mean that anyone is going to listen to him."

Anakin sighed. "I'm going to meet with Chancellor Kuroth and explain the situation to him. He trusts Luke's word, and he'll be able to start getting some politicians on our side ahead of time. I'm afraid when we do start cleaning this mess up, we won't be able to do it quietly. They're in position; we need to start getting in position ourselves so that we can get them all quickly and efficiently. The alarm will be raised, and we don't want any of them warned and getting away before we can catch them."

"If only we would have known about all of this sooner," Obi-Wan murmured.

"If only Luke hadn't been sent into exile," Galen responded.

"There's nothing we can do about that now," Anakin said sharply, his voice a little harder than he'd meant for it to be. "We've got to work with what we've got."

There was silence for a few moments before Obi-Wan spoke up again. "How is Luke, as you mentioned he sent you a message."

Anakin sighed. "He's alive. And he's grown a beard...and grown his hair out...and dyed it black."

"And his search for Judro?" Galen pressed.

"He said he managed to get to Judro's inner circle."

"That's good news though, isn't it?" Galen asked. "It means he's going to be coming home soon, and Judro won't be a problem for the Republic anymore."

Anakin and Obi-Wan shared a glance. "That may be true...but the Force has been rather uneasy lately. I worry Luke might be toeing the line between light and dark right now. I worry about him..." Anakin muttered.

"Luke is strong, Anakin. I'm sure that whatever is going on, Luke is keeping true to who he is," Obi-Wan reassured him.

"I hope you're right Obi-Wan. After what he had me promise him when he came back..." Anakin shook his head.

"What did he have you promise?" Galen asked. Anakin sighed, suddenly looking his fifty-two years and then some.

"He wanted me to swear that if he ever fell to the dark side again I would kill him before he could do too much damage," Anakin told them wearily.

"It won't come to that," Galen said fiercely, eyes snapping with determination.

"I hope not," Anakin murmured. "Then again, none of us thought that Luke would ever fall to the dark side in the first place, and he hasn't been himself since."

"He'll be fine Anakin; I'm sure the Force will not take him from you once again," Obi-Wan said soothingly. Anakin didn't respond to his comment. Instead, he turned back to the display in front of him full of the information on all of the traitors in their midst.

"Let's not talk of something we can't do anything about right now and focus instead on the problem at hand."

Galen was obviously reluctant to let the subject drop, but nevertheless he did as Anakin suggested and went to work helping the two Jedi Masters sort through all of the information.

(Three days later)

His hand brushed against something fuzzing and breathing, and Luke responded almost immediately, jolting awake and barely stifling the cry of surprise.

It was only after he was fully alert and looking wildly around his dark cabin room that he realized his hand brushed against his beard in his sleep.

With a groan, Luke laid back down on the bed, taking a moment to settle down again.

I'm never going to get used to growing a small animal on my face, he thought in amusement, pulling gently at the whiskers on his chin. He made a mental note to shave it all off as soon as he was done with all this undercover work, as well as cut a few inches off of his ever-growing hair.

He tried in vain to go back to sleep for several minutes before he finally gave up, reaching over and snagging the helmet off of the nightstand and pulling his undertunic on.

Luke ran his hand through his hair as he stepped out into the hall before he situated the helmet on his head, glancing from left to right down the deserted hall of the Dancing Maiden, a Dreadnaught-class Assault Frigate ship. The only people awake on this ship at the moment besides Luke was a handful of technicians on the bridge.

At least, those were the only people that were supposed to be awake right now.

Keeping his presence pulled tightly towards him just in case there was a dark sider on the ship, Luke started to explore the ship. He kept his eyes peeled and stayed on the alert as much as he could without the Force. He wanted to know a little more about his employer before things moved forward, as Diemos was on his way to go see Judro. There was just one more stop before he went to give his report, and if Luke could gain enough favor with Diemos quickly enough he would be there with Diemos as his bodyguard. Judro would be right there...

Luke peeked into the rooms he passed, unashamed of his snooping. He was officially in enemy territory, and anything he could find would help. His hand twitched instinctively towards his blaster or the lightsaber he was keeping tucked in his boot at all times, but he managed to keep from drawing the weapon. He passed a few guards in the halls along the way, though most of them were half asleep and didn't pay him any mind. The rest of them went out of their way to get out of his way.

As he passed the seventh guard to scramble out of his way, Luke grimaced underneath his hood. He'd just been employed by Diemos, and already he'd made a name for himself on the man's ship. News traveled fast; hopefully it wouldn't get anywhere he didn't exactly want that news to reach. He wasn't proud of already killing six or seven people, two more if Diemos' former bodyguards counted. Luke had been the one to give the thugs the tip about Diemos'; he'd set them up, drugged the bodyguards so they would be easy prey for the thugs, and then intervened when the timing was right. He'd played everyone there so perfectly, and he'd added the helmet that night so that the thugs wouldn't recognize him when he stepped in.

Of course Luke felt bad about it. Just as bad as he felt for having to kill the trader and his goons the other night; but it couldn't be helped. He was doing this for a reason, he was doing whatever it took to get to Judro, and if he was going to be undercover he had to be fully dedicated to his alias or he'd be caught, especially trying to corner Judro who made it his business to know as much as he could about Luke Skywalker. Luke had to be Cal Berilen, and that was it. He couldn't afford to be Luke, not even when he thought he was alone, or it might cost him his life.

So long as he didn't channel Darth Eius he would be fine. At least that's what he told himself.

Luke heard a familiar voice just ahead, and he slowed his pace into a stalking, silent-stepping crouch, flattening himself against the wall as he reached the room the voices were coming through. Luke leaned as far forward as he could without appearing around the corner.

"I assure you, My Lord, my new bodyguard can handle it," Diemos was saying. Luke frowned; oh joy, the conversation was about him.

Someone sniffed disdainfully. "I do not know this Cal Berilen, and I wouldn't give this job to someone I know very little of."

Luke stiffened as he recognized the voice. Judro. Diemos was speaking to Judro of him. Luke wrestled with his anger and hate for a moment, barely managing to push it away at the last moment before he focused on the conversation in front of him again.

"My Lord, he is quite capable; from what I've seen he would be able to pull it off without any incidents. Aside from that...he's the best man I have right now."

"What of the bodyguards I gave you before you went to Nar Shadda?" Judro asked sharply.

"They're dead sir; killed by thugs. Berilen killed the thugs. He's been looking to join our cause for a while now—"

"I do not care about that Diemos," Judro growled, cutting the man off. "Do what you must, but make sure that you take care of this little inconvenience. I will not have my location revealed to my enemies. You better make sure that they are thoroughly dealt with Diemos, or when you return you will be sorry you failed me."

There was the faint sound of the transmission cutting out, and Diemos immediately started to grumble. "What does he want me to do, wave my hand and make the problem disappear? I'm not a kriffing Jedi!"

Luke pulled off his helmet, smoothing out his expression as he casually leaned in the doorway, helmet under his arm.

"Who does he want me to take care of?" Luke asked in a confident, lazy tone of voice. Diemos jumped and spun around, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Luke.

"How long have you been lurking there, Cal?" Diemos asked suspiciously. Luke shrugged carelessly.

"I heard mention of your new bodyguard being able to handle something; just what am I going to go clean up?"

Diemos' suspicion didn't lessen. "What are you doing roaming my ship's halls?"

Luke straightened up, scowling. "It's called insomnia; now either you can answer my question or I'm just going to turn down the job and leave you to find someone else to handle your complication."

"You'd be off this ship and out of this movement," Diemos threatened.

"You'd be without protection and it shouldn't be that hard to find another employer in need of my services in the Insurgence," Luke shot back fearlessly. Diemos growled, but didn't argue again. He pushed past Luke and started navigating through the halls.

"We're stopping at Tatooine before we make our way to the rendezvous point with the main fleet. Are you familiar with the planet Cal?"

"Very," Luke muttered, albeit a little darkly. What was it with his family and Tatooine?

"Well, while we're there, I'm going to need you to deal with a little Jedi problem it seems we've developed."

It took all of Luke's willpower not to falter in his step or let the pit of dread forming in his gut show on his face. "A Jedi problem?"

Diemos nodded. "It seems there's been a Jedi asking around about Judro, and they've picked up our trail. Judro wants us to take care of them before we rejoin the fleet."

"I caught that part," Luke replied, his mind racing. "Do you have a description of the Jedi?"

"All I can tell you is the Jedi is a she, traveling in a small group. We've put out a false lead to draw her out on Tatooine; go to the coordinates we give you, take out the Jedi, and the problem will be solved."

"That's much easier said than done," Luke warned him. "A Jedi is no small task."

"Are you telling me you can't do it?" Diemos asked, eyebrows raised.

"I said it wasn't easy; I didn't say I couldn't do it," Luke countered.

"Be sure you take care of the Jedi; if you fail, I'll be sure that when Judro takes me down you go down with me."

With that, Diemos opened one of the doors on his left and left Luke standing in the hall, wondering just what he was going to do about this sudden complication.

Normally the sentiment is that it's good to be home...not right now. Right now I'd rather be anywhere but home.

Luke was stationed on a rooftop in Mos Eisley, checking over his sniper rifle for the thousandth time. He eyed the back alley the meeting was supposed to take place, making sure he was comfortable and the rifle was situated just as he wanted it. Diemos had been kind enough to inform him that someone had set up a camera so they could send proof to Judro that the deed had been carried out, so Luke's options for faking a Jedi assassination were slim to none. The thought made him queasy, and for the thousandth time he made sure his scope was precise and the safety and stun was off. The Jedi woman was going to show up eventually, unless she sensed something was wrong; the fake informant, however, would never show up. Knowing he couldn't think about what he was about to do—he couldn't even decide on what he was going to do yet—Luke tried to distract himself.

How better to distract himself then to think of Mara?

Luke sighed, eyeing the ends of the alley as he let memories of Mara wash over him; her secretive smile, her emerald eyes, her red-gold halo of hair, her passionate kiss...

A shadow at the end of the alley on his left stirred, and Luke snapped to attention, peering through the scope to catch sight of what had caused the movement. Sure enough, a lithe figure was creeping along the edge of the alley cautiously, eyes scanning the area around. He hardly had any time before the figure—if it was the Jedi tailing them—figured out this was a trap. He had to make his decision now and act now or everything would be gone just like that—

Luke froze and his heart leapt into his throat as the Jedi stepped into the light and Luke finally saw who he'd been commanded to kill lest his entire cover be blown.

Mara Jade was slinking stealthily and cautiously into the alley, looking around as if she was fully aware that she was in danger. Luke had ceased all movement—breathing included—with his finger still on the trigger. For some reason his aim kept moving, centered on Mara but undecided on where to target. He suddenly felt chocked up, and he noticed he was trembling so much the gun was starting to rattle.

Why? Of all the things in the Force, big, small, dark, and light, why did it have to be Mara? The one he'd been thinking of protecting when he'd set out on this entire mission. Why here on top of that, why Tatooine? Why Mara?

He was losing his window. He had to do something, but he couldn't shoot Mara! He couldn't afford not to shoot her either. What was he supposed to do?

Luke took several gulps of air, closing his eyes and calming himself down. Or at least he tried to. Despite the fact he'd been hiding his presence and making it a point not to even brush the Force, Luke reached out to the Force to know what he should do.

Down below, Mara suddenly froze in place as she sensed a familiar presence, just faintly, but still there.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut a little tighter and he trembled, a tear leaking out of his eyes before he opened them once again.

Hands steady, jaw firm, heart throbbing, lips moving in a silent prayer, Luke took aim...

...and fired.