Chapter 65:
Mara was jolted awake by her danger sense going off. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but that was quickly pushed from her mind by instinctively blocking Atrox's fist flying towards her. He was… the only word for it was convulsing; he was still unconscious, but struggling and twitching uncontrollably. She tried to still his flailing limbs, but his enormous strength made him almost impossible to control. If he still had command of the Force, he would be a serious danger indeed. As it was, Mara knew the situation was dire, and fast spiraling out of her control. The fact that he was convulsing meant that his injuries were far more serious than she had previously thought, and they should have been treated immediately. She winced as she ducked another blow; she couldn't do this on her own. Leia, get in here. I need your help!
I'm on my way. Leia sensed the urgency in Mara's tone, and ran to Atrox's quarters, knowing what it must have cost Mara to ask her for help. She burst into the room, and immediately saw the cause of Mara's panic. She joined Mara at the bed, and quickly diagnosed the situation. "Muscular seizures, more powerful than you usually see in the field."
"I've never seen such a powerful use of Force lightning," Mara said in strained tones as she struggled to calm him. "A moment longer would have killed him. I… I don't think anyone else has been exposed to such levels and survived."
"He needs medical help as soon as possible." Leia stated. "Father forgot about equipping this vessel with a proper medbay when you were outfitted. Can you heal him?"
"Whether I can or not appears to be irrelevant," Mara said tightly. "No one else can do it." She flinched as one of his arms was torn from her grip. "Can you try to keep him still? I can't do both."
"I've got it." Leia took over the battle as Mara concentrated, sinking into a meditative trance. She could 'see' the calcification of his bones, and tried to correct it with a surge of purifying Force energy, redistributing the minerals back into his bloodstream. She was only partially successful; she wasn't strong enough to repair all of it at one time. Once she finished, however, she felt drained but strangely cleansed. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that Atrox was calmer, and only twitched now and then. A bacta session could take care of that, as well as more bed rest. He would feel terrible once he awakened, though.
Padmé stood in the doorway, having followed Leia to the room. "How is he?" she asked softly.
Mara sank back down into the chair, wearily. "Better than he was. He needs a bacta session, but I don't think we have a tank on board." She sighed. "He's not going to be happy to be on bed rest."
Padmé gave her a wry smile. "No, I don't imagine he will." She paused a moment, then gently asked, "How are you holding up?"
"Fine." Mara's voice was brittle.
Padmé tried again, her tone still gentle. "You need more rest and nutrients when you're pregnant, Mara. You're taking care of three lives now, and you simply can't function on what you used to. It's not healthy."
"I'm fine!" Mara snapped. "I'm just a little tired from healing him, that's all."
Padmé sighed, and shook her head, but made no further comment. Perhaps she could mention it to her son later.
"Do you want me to watch him while you get some rest?" Leia offered, quietly.
"No, I can handle it," Mara asserted, then hesitated, suddenly remembering how she had fallen asleep before. "Though you're welcome to watch with me, if you choose. I… I don't want him left alone while he's hurt, and without the Force."
Leia started to respond, then paused as she remembered her original intent. "I would be glad to, but… I have something to take care of first. I'm sure mother will stay with you while I'm gone."
Mara's eyes narrowed. "Where are you going?"
Leia didn't respond right away, her back to them as she faced the door. Then, her voice grim, she said, "To see my father."
Vader was still repairing the blast doors. He didn't trust their bumbling crew to do the job properly, and as long as he was repairing something, he wasn't blowing something apart. Or someone.
Leia approached him warily, not knowing what frame of mind he was in. "Father?"
"What is it?" he snapped, not looking up from his work.
"This has got to stop." Not waiting for him to respond, she continued. "I love you, very much, father, but I won't let our family be ripped apart. Not for you, not for your pride, and certainly not for your expectation of what a master-apprentice relationship is all about. Luke came to you because he wanted a father. Not because he wanted to turn to the dark side, or have a master. He had a master, a good one. He had a side, a strong one. He didn't have a father, and that's what he wanted from you. And for you to try to crush that, to stamp it out as you hide behind your Sith ways, is almost beyond belief. It must end now, one way or another. But it has to start with you."
"Darth Atrox has sworn his obedience to me as his master, and well he knows it." Vader said coldly. "He will carry out my commands, or he will suffer. That is the way it must be."
Leia looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "Then I'm sorry. I didn't want it to come to this." She drew her lightsaber, so like to Anakin's. Vader spun around to face her, tensed to move if she attacked. But even as his hand went for his lightsaber, she pressed her saber's emitter to her chest, her thumb on the activation pad. "I love you father," she said, the slightest tremor in her voice. "Tell… tell mother and
Luke that I love them. I hope… I hope one day you'll understand…" Tears shone in her eyes unshed. "Our family needs you, and Luke, and mother… Mara too, and the children she will bear. You don't need me, except perhaps to finally bring you together into a family, a real one. I had that growing up, and I know how important it is. I want Luke to have it, too. He needs you and mother; he's always craved the love of a mother and father. I… I get the feeling his childhood was a lonely one. And… and if your vision does come to pass, at least he won't be alone when he… becomes one with the Force. Please, don't push him away anymore. I… I'm sorry," her voice had faded to a whisper. "I hope you can forgive me…"
While she was speaking, Anakin had been fighting his way through the barriers Vader had held him in, desperate to regain control in time to save his daughter. With a cry, he knocked the hilt from her hands, even as her finger tightened on the activation pad. The brilliant sapphire blade whipped between them, narrowly missing Leia's head before it clattered to the ground, deactivated. She watched him, eyes narrowed but still filled with a soft sorrow.
He stared at her, stunned by what she had come so close to doing. "Leia…" he trailed off, helplessly, words utterly failing him.
Her dark eyes met his crystal clear blue ones, searchingly. "Why can't you fight it, father? Mother and I will fight for you with all our strength, all our being. But without you to lead the battle, we are powerless."
"You don't know the power of the dark side, Leia. Once you have tasted it, it is hard to ignore… always in the back of your mind, begging you to give in to its power… to unleash its fury." Anakin said softly.
"But you're stronger than it is!" she cried. "Don't let it rule your life. It's… it's what Palpatine wanted. Let me help you," she pleaded. "If not for yourself, then for our family."
To that Anakin said nothing. Frustrated beyond belief, Leia called her lightsaber back to her hand, only to find her father's hand closing over her own as she caught it. "Would you have done it if I had not stopped you?" he asked, gravely.
She looked away, her gaze falling to the hilt they both held. "Yes. I'm not afraid to die for my cause. And if it would have made you see…" she trailed off.
He gently lifted his daughter's chin to look into her eyes. "Never, ever, do that again. You are not expendable, no matter what you might think about me, or my… actions. Without you, and your mother, I would be lost indeed." He brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You are the light in the darkness that holds me. Please don't extinguish it, if not for yourself, then for our family."
She frowned, even as her expression began to soften. "I will do whatever it takes to save you, and Luke, from yourselves. I don't care what the cost is."
"But I do." His voice held a solemnity she had seldom heard before. "I don't want you to suffer the same fate as your brother and I. You are… pure, untainted by darkness. You don't have to carry the burden your brother and I will bear the rest of our lives. And so I would have it remain."
"I will bear it if I must, and gladly. Because I love you, father, and I want you to be happy. And I will give my life if that's what it takes." Leia retorted. "Though I must say, if you let me help you for a change it will be far easier than if I have to do it alone."
Anakin sighed. "I don't deserve your devotion. I can't promise you anything; I don't know how long I'll be able to hold on."
"Use me!" Leia pleaded. "Let me be your anchor. I can help you…"
"I won't risk dragging you down with me!" he said sternly. "It's too dangerous."
"The risk is mine to take," she countered. "And far less certain than the other option you shot down."
Reluctantly, Anakin began to open his mind to her, against his better judgment. Immediately she could feel the darkness that sought to claim his soul, and drove her will against it, trying to flood the dark with light. She could feel Vader, like a caged demon seeking release, and a spark of fear touched her heart in spite of herself. As if waiting for that moment, Vader pounced on the grain of fear, and followed it through to the dark seed she sealed so tight even she no longer knew it was there. Revenge. Vengeance against those who had destroyed her home, her people, her family. Vengeance against the Empire which had twisted peace and justice into a mockery of what it had been. And Vader used that vengeance to crack the wall of light that held the dark side at bay. Leia recoiled, her soul exposed to the full power of the dark side as her defenses were cast aside. With a strangled cry, she collapsed, completely withdrawing into her mind in a last attempt to shield herself.
Vader straightened, drawing the hood of his cloak over his head once more. He glanced down at his daughter, unconscious on the ground. Scooping her into his arms, he took her back to her quarters and laid her in her bed. "All too easy," he muttered as he looked down at her still form. It would be of great interest to see how she was when she awakened.
His mind made up, he cloaked himself in the dark side of the Force, invisibly, and made his way to his apprentice's quarters. Mara sat in the chair by the bed, her head resting at Atrox's side; exhaustion had lulled her to sleep once more.
Padmé sat in the corner of the room, watching while Mara slept. Her eyes never left her son's quiet features, so much like Anakin's, and yet so different.
Something stirred within him at Mara's devotion to his son. For a moment, just a moment, Anakin slipped through. He bent over her and whispered in her ear, "I hope you can forgive me… I never meant to cause him this much harm… much like yourself."
Mara stirred, and lifted her head, an echo of his words lingering in her ears. She glanced around, eyes narrowed, but not as alert as she should be. Not seeing anything, she slid her chair a little closer to the bed, smoothing the sheets around her love. Worry creased her brow, as she wondered when he was going to awaken. If only I knew more about healing, I could have done more for him. Even as the
thoughts passed through her mind, she knew how futile they were. She wasn't a healer, she was a killer, but those skills were useless to her now.
"They say that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear," a voice said softly behind her.
She whirled, at the same time leaping to her feat and igniting her lightsaber. Vader stood in the doorway, but he seemed strangely muted, and the hostile aura was absent from his demeanor. "What do you want?" she snapped, guardedly.
He spread his arms in a non-threatening manner. "To give you an opportunity to learn something that may be of use to you. Are you interested?"
She eyed him, suspiciously. "What are you going to teach me?"
His answer was simple. "The technique is most effective at healing electrical damage. I know from experience," he added, dryly.
Mara hesitated only briefly before accepting. She wasn't sure what had brought about Vader's sudden change towards them, but if he could help her to heal Atrox, it would be worth it. She reluctantly deactivated her lightsaber and allowed him to approach.
He came to stand beside her near the bed, and looked down at his unconscious son. "The best way, of course, is if you use the technique on yourself, but that doesn't appear to be an option in this case. Regardless," he turned to her, "his condition is a result of the sudden, rapid deposition of minerals in the bloodstream onto his bones. The experts call it calcification of the skeletal structure, but I managed to uncover the Basic version." He flashed her a wry smile before continuing. "Anyway, the trick is for the minerals to be replenished, which usually means bed rest or bacta immersion. However, with the Force, that process can often be eliminated, or at least shortened." He looked his son over again. "You seem to have already begun, although you haven't been taught the proper technique. Most impressive."
She simply stared at him, unsure how to respond to his sudden loquacity. The Vader she knew had been taciturn to the extreme, and certainly not one for making jokes, or for issuing compliments. She settled for giving him a curt nod.
Seemingly unperturbed, he continued, finally getting to the heart of the lesson. "Ideally, as I said, you would perform this on yourself, but it can be done on others. The trick is to let the Force flow through you like a current, restoring the lost minerals to the bloodstream and incidentally repairing any other damage done. It can be a challenge when you're trying to work with another person, but considering the bond between you, I think it can be done."
"There's just one thing," Mara interjected. "You have to give him back the Force for our bond to be of use."
"Ah." He seemed to hesitate, then nodded, as if he had forgotten this fact. "Of course." She felt a surge of energy as Atrox's presence rushed through her again, and his appearance abruptly regained the ravages of the dark side.
Satisfied, she drew the Force into herself and let it channel through their bond, flowing between them and through them freely.
Vader paused, as if weighing his words carefully, then murmured, "It works best if you do not draw on the dark side when you channel the Force."
She looked at him, sharply, suspicion in her eyes. However, she accepted his logic, and found that he was correct. By the time she finished, she could feel the heaviness in her limbs from exhaustion, but could not sense any more damage in Atrox's body.
"Rest," she heard him say softly, and almost didn't feel him help her back into her chair. "You have done well. Your master will be proud."
Once he felt her fall asleep, he turned and began to leave the room. "Anakin." Padmé's voice stopped him in his tracks, and he turned, having forgotten she was there. She joined him at the door, and said in a low tone, "Thank you." She looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't.
He looked away. "There's no need to thank me. I owed it to them." He hesitated. "Go check on Leia. There was an… incident. Make sure she's alright." He strode away, leaving her standing there, confused, but with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Leia awoke slowly, a dull ache throbbing in the back of her head. She sat up, and the memory of what had occurred came crashing down upon her. She rubbed her forehead, as if to dispel the shadows in her mind and felt a flash of anger run through her at the thought. How could he?
She wrestled the anger down almost as soon as it rose within her. Anakin had warned her, and she had not listened. She had expected the darkness inside him to be powerful, but what she had not expected was the darkness within herself, nor how easily Vader had found it and used it against her. A shiver of fear rolled through her, and she knew she would have to meditate a great deal before she could be at peace again. She felt tainted, as though her soul were stained inside and out. She hated the feeling.
"Leia?"
Her mother's voice broke into her self-examination, and her eyes flew open, startled. "Mother? What are you doing here? What about Mara?"
"They're fine, they're both fine," Padmé soothed her. "Your father came and helped her to heal Luke, they're both resting now. Your father sent me to check on you, he said something had happened."
"I'm fine." Leia said, shortly, not wanting to discuss it.
Padmé didn't look convinced, but wisely refrained from pressing her further. Leia stood, and surveyed the room, a grim expression on her face. "Well, since it seems I've got a little time, I may as well finish packing for the Myrkr mission." She would confront her father later, once her mental state was a little clearer.