It had been about a week since Mara came to the Skywalker Retreats. It had been fun and she got to meet a lot of new people, but she felt empty every morning she woke up to find her husband not next to her. She was sure Luke felt the same way. One morning, she walked into the family dining room. She sat down to eat some breakfast, and Anakin's datapad suddenly started vibrate from his robe pocket. He picked it up, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared on the screen.
"Hey Anakin! Where have you been, man?" Obi-Wan said in a laid-back tone.
"Hey Obi-Wan. I was just spending time with the family." Anakin answered back.
"Well, get over here. We're gonna go scare people in the living realm!" Obi-Wan said excited. Mara's head perked up. She could tag along and see her friends and family.
"Alright, I'll be right there." Anakin said as the transmission ended. He started to walk out the door before Mara stopped him.
"Wait! Anakin! Can I come with you?!" She pleaded. Anakin stopped in his tracks and spun around.
"Well, I don't know. Obi-Wan's speeder is pretty cramped." Anakin mumbled.
"Please? Pretty please? I just want to see my, I mean, our family." She begged.
"Alright, fine. You guys wanna go, too?" He looked up at Shmi and Padme. They looked at each other and shrugged.
"Sure, we'll go." Padme said.
They picked up Anakin Solo from across the street and headed over to Obi-Wan's. Mara Jade had never met Obi-Wan before. Days ago, she found out he was Anakin's best friend, and he had watched over Luke while he was on Tatooine. Luke would talk about him all the time and she used to wonder about this "Ben" all the time. She realized he must be very special to Luke, so she agreed to name their kid after him. They got to the place, and Obi-Wan ran out and gave Anakin a slap on the back.
"Hey buddy! Why didn't tell me you were bringing company? I would've packed more stink bombs." Obi-Wan said playfully.
"Hey Negotiator. They tagged along at the last minute." Anakin greeted his friend. Obi-Wan looked behind Anakin to see the group was larger than usual.
"Hello, what's this we have here? A newcomer? Hey, Chosen One, who's the redhead?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I'm Mara Jade. I'm Anakin's daughter-in-law." She stepped forward and introduced herself.
"I see. Well, it looks like Luke got himself a good catch." Obi-Wan commented.
"So you're "wise, old Ben." My husband's talked a lot about you. You know we have a son named after you. Actually, his name is Ben, your Tatooine alias." Mara said.
"Awww, well that was sweet of you guys. C'mon! Let's go before all the other ghost scare the living before us." Obi-Wan said.
Everyone climbed into Obi-Wan's speeder as he turned on the ignition. The speeder rushed forward at first, but then turned vertically toward the sky. Mara had been wondering how ghosts got to the other realm for the past week. She saw a purple dot as they continued to escalate. As they got closer, she realized the purple dot was a spiral spinning around. As they passed through it, she realized it was a portal. They traveled through a long colorful tunnel through time and space. It was almost like something out of a dream. Soon, the speeder landed right in the middle of an abandoned alley. Mara's felt like she was going to be sick from that wild ride. They walked out of the alley to find a bunch of people just passing by them without a glance.
"Can they see us?" Mara asked.
"No. You see, only force sensitive people can see ghosts. However, the ghost has to be force sensitive, too. So no one is going to see you three girls. However, you can still scare people by moving objects around." Obi-Wan explained. Obi-Wan took them to a local bar to scare the life out of the scum they could find there. The bartender was cleaning mugs when he heard the drink fossit started from behind him. Without turning around he said,
"Hey! Hey! Ain't no one allowed to touch the fossits but me! Whoever's running it better run for it!"
"No one turned it on, Biz. It's running by itself!" A customer replied. The bartender spun around to see the fossit turning off and on. Anakin and Obi-Wan giggled as they turned the fossits on and off. All the guys in the bar stared at it with confusion. Younger Anakin grabbed a nearby glass and smashed it against the opposite wall turning everyone's attention to the wall. Then Padme and Mara wrote GET OUT on the wall with their lipstick. Everyone in the bar ran out with fear as the gang fell over on the ground laughing beyond their control. They walked out of the bar still giggling at the prank they pulled. Mara was enjoying this, but she really wanted to check in on her family.
"Obi-Wan? Do you think we can go visit my friends and family?" She asked.
"Alright, fine. Anakin you lead the way." Obi-Wan replied.
They all went to this secret facility in the middle of town. Older Anakin and Obi-Wan waited outside, as they might be distracting if they were spotted. Shmi, Padme, and Mara walked into the building looking for their relatives. Younger Anakin could come along, too, but he had to stay outside the door hidden in a large, dark coat. He could look through a crack in the door. They finally found the room which they could hear Luke and Ben talking.
"I hunted down Lumiya, and killed her. Her blood is on my hands as Mara's was on hers." Luke said almost proud.
"Dad, I have something to tell you. It's going to be hard to hear, but you have to know." Ben said.
Mara shook her head as she whispered loudly, "Lumiya didn't kill me!"
"Dad, Lumiya didn't kill Mom. She was with me at the time of Mom's death." Ben said as he bowed his head not wanting to see his father's reaction. Luke shook his head in disbelief as tears filled his eyes.
"Oh, I killed a woman in spite of crime she didn't commit!" He said as he filled his hands with his head. Mara felt a tear drop from her own eyes. Padme put a hand on her daughter-in-law's shoulder for comfort. Ben walked over to his father to comfort him.
"Dad, don't feel so bad. Lumiya's death was necessary. You've benefited the entire galaxy. Please, Dad. Save those tears for Mom." Ben said to his dad. Luke's eyes dried up a bit as he listened to his son. He still wasn't happy about what he did to Lumiya, but he felt less guilty.
"You know," Luke began, "I've dealt with a lot of tragedy in my life, but the blows never get any softer. The last time a death like this has happened was, well, 13 years ago, when your cousin, Anakin, died."
"I wish I could've known him." Ben said softly. Luke put his hand on his son's shoulder.
"You would've loved him." Luke said.
On the other side of the door, Anakin Solo listened to their conversation. He too felt a tear drop down his face. Inside, Mara, Padme and Shmi watched this touching moment between a father and his son.
"C'mon let's go. The boys are waiting." Mara said to her friends as they turned to leave. She took one last glance back to see her husband and son.
As they left the building, they met up with Anakin and Obi-Wan in the front.
"Hey, how did it go?" Anakin said.
"It was a real soap opera moment. You probably wouldn't have liked it." Padme said still wiping little tears from her eyes.
"Well, if we're done here, can we go back to our fun now? I've got a package full of stink bombs waiting to explode." Obi-Wan said. They laughed for a moment and got back in the speeder. Obi-Wan pulled up in front of this fancy country club.
"Oh, I know these places. The people here are so uptight and snobby. They'd have you arrested for planting a stink bomb!" Padme said.
"Sweetie, chill. How could they arrest a gang of ghosts?" her husband said. They went in through the front and headed straight for the restrooms. They waited until a man walked up to the men's room. As he opened the door, Anakin through a stink bomb in there before the door closed again. The whole group held the breath until the man shouted,
"MOTHER OF HAPES! WHAT IS THAT DASTARDLY ODOR?!!!"
As the whole group burst into another fit of laughter, something clicked in Mara's head: Mother of Hapes. Tenel Ka! She had always wanted to know the father of Allana, Tenel's baby girl, but never got the chance to find out. Now she might be able to spy on them and get an answer!
"Guys! We have to go to Hapes!" She said out of the blue. Everyone else just stared at her like she was crazy.
"Why the heck do you want to go there?" Padme asked.
"I'll tell you in the speeder. Let's go." Mara said in a rush as she ran back to the speeder. As they took off, Padme asked,
"So…Why exactly do you HAVE to go to Hapes?"
"Well, you see, the Queen Mother, Tenel Ka, has a daughter named Allana. For some reason, she won't let us see her or tell us who her father is. Now that she can't see us, I can find out." Mara explained
When the got to the Castle of the Queen Mother, they snuck in through the back, because Tenel was force-sensitive. She would see the Anakins and Obi-Wan. They found Allana and a handmaiden in the royal kitchen. Allana was playing with a stuffed Tauntaun, and the handmaiden was fixing her lunch.
"Allana, do you want nerfmilk with your lunch?" the handmaiden asked.
"Yes, pwease." The sweet little girl answered. She held that stuffed animal closely.
"Allana, dear, don't you think you should put that Tauntaun down when you eat?" the handmaiden advised.
"No, and his name is Jacen." The girl replied stubbornly. Mara's eyes widened in interest. She hoped this Tauntaun issue would continue.
"Oh and why did you give that name?" the handmaiden asked.
"So even when he's not here, I can still talk to Daddy." Allana replied. Mara jumped up in excitement.
"YES! I finally know her daddy! And his name is….Jacen?!" Mara stopped for a moment, and the shock really set in.
"Oh my god! Jacen is Allana's father! No wonder Tenel Ka never showed her to us! And the whole time we just thought she was ugly!" Mara shouted.
"Mara, are you saying we're GREAT grandparents?" Padme asked pointing to herself and Anakin.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Mara replied.
Before leaving back to the realm of the dead, Mara still wanted to check up on one more person. The Queen Mother herself, Tenel Ka Djo. They snuck up to the balcony where Tenel stood by herself. She looked like she was waiting for something…or someone. They hid behind the door and cracked it slightly open. Suddenly, a Jedi speeder sped by and stopped in front of the balcony. Out from the cockpit jumped out Jacen Solo, Tenel's secret lover. This brought back memories to Anakin and Padme.
"What's going on?" Anakin Solo asked whispering.
"Well, from my experience, I'll say he's here for his monthly visit in their forbidden relationship." Padme replied.
"Jacen! I heard your aunt was murdered! I thought whoever did it would want to come after you, too!" Tenel said embracing Jacen.
"I'm alright. I just came back to make sure you and Allana were safe." Jacen comforted her.
"Wow, déjà vu. Isn't it Anakin?" Padme said with a smug grin.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Anakin said. Suddenly Tenel and Jacen looked at the door.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Jacen shouted.
"Crud. He heard you, run!" Padme said as they rushed down the stairs. Jacen was chasing after them! As they ran out the front door, Obi-Wan and Anakin grabbed the group and force jumped onto the roof of the entrance. Jacen walked out to see nothing. No trace of anyone could be found. He went back into the house to be with Tenel Ka.
"Phew! That was a close one!" Shmi said relieved.
"Hey, where's Mara?" Padme asked.
"What? She was right here!" Anakin said.
"Hey! I had two stink bombs in my bag and now's there's only one. What happened?" Obi-Wan pointed out. Suddenly they heard shouts from inside.
"EEWW! Jacen! What did you eat?!" Tenel shouted from inside.
"It wasn't me! I swear!" Jacen shouted back. Then Mara walked out of the castle with a smile.
"C'mon guys. Let's go home." She said.