Previously on Fallen
Luke had quickly worn himself out with his early wild attacks, while Vader had blocked them with cool efficiency. Now, Luke's attacks were much more controlled and precise, but breaking Vader's guard remained apparently impossible.
"This is pointless," Vader said after they disengaged from another fruitless exchange.
Luke was indeed beginning to feel disheartened.
[Luke.]
Luke gasped in recognition. [Obi-Wan?]
[It's alright, Luke. You've done your part. You've let go of the darkness. This is no longer your path. Come with me, and I will show you your next path.]
Vader stepped towards Luke again. "Give up now while I still allow it."
"Victory is not the only acceptable goal," Luke answered calmly. "That's something the Sith will never comprehend. I see that now."
"Enough." With that, Vader swung his lightsaber at his former apprentice. But there was nothing there to strike. In an eerily familiar scene, Luke's cloak fell to the ground, empty.

"Don't worry!" a familiar voice called in return as the figures approached. "It's just the calvary!"
"Jaina!" Anakin shouted excitedly, holstering his weapon and rushing towards her voice. Mara followed warily, her blaster still held at her side.
As they got closer, Anakin recognized his siblings, Zekk… and Tahiri.
Before any further words could be exchanged, it became obvious that Tahiri still had her weapon drawn and trained on Mara.
"Drop it!" Tahiri instructed Mara harshly.
"Tahiri?" Anakin asked uncertainly, stopping in his tracks next to Mara.
"Get over here, Anakin," Tahiri demanded. "I don't want to hit you by mistake."
Anakin refused to budge, remaining next to Mara. "Tahiri, what the hell are you doing?"
"She killed my parents, Anakin!"

xxx

"Is it true?" Anakin demanded. He still stood between the group and Mara; there was murder in Tahiri's eyes, and Anakin had little doubt that she would kill Mara if he gave her the opportunity.

"No," Mara answered firmly, but her gaze dropped and her resolve seemed to falter. "And yes," she added, more subdued.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tahiri demanded, still gripping her blaster so tightly her knuckles threatened to go white.

"Why don't we all just put down our guns and talk about this," Anakin suggested. "Calmly."

"Anakin—"

"I'm not just going to let you shoot her, Tahiri!"

Their eyes met, and for a moment all the anger and tension was naked between them. Anakin felt sick. You lied to me,he found himself thinking. You won't believe in me! Tahiri's gaze seemed to answer.

"He's right," Zekk said to Tahiri gently, placing his hand on Tahiri's arm to encourage her to lower her weapon. "Put down the blaster, Tahiri."

The invisible knife in Anakin's gut twisted violently as Tahiri reluctantly responded to Zekk's appeal. The bond of trust between her and Zekk was obvious. It was the bond he had thought he had with Tahiri.

Anakin tore his gaze away from Tahiri. He felt suddenly numb, barely even noticing as his siblings embraced him in turn.

"So," Anakin suggested stiffly. "Let's talk."

xxx

Fallen

Mara Jade; bounty hunter (female human from Hapes)

Anakin Solo; Jedi Apprentice (male human from Hapes)

Jaina Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (female human from Hapes)

Jacen Solo; doctor (male human from Hapes)

Tahiri Veila; bounty hunter (female human from Tatooine)

Zekk; bounty hunter (male human from Tatooine)

xxx

Revelations

The tension in the group was still palpable as they warily sat in a rough circle in the clearing. Anakin noticed with a pang that Tahiri sat next to Zekk. He missed her glance tentatively in his direction because he was consciously avoiding looking at the two.

"I saw the archives," Tahiri blurted accusingly at Mara.

"I gathered as much," Mara acknowledge nonchalantly.

"You were the one who took me from Tatooine," Tahiri pressed.

"I never made any attempt to hide that fact from you."

"My parents were killed during that mission!"

"I didn't kill them," Mara stated flatly.

"Then who did?" Tahiri demanded. "If you expect me to believe you, you're going to have to give me more than that."

Mara sighed.

"I always assumed I was an orphan when you found me. Like Zekk. But I wasn't. Why? Why me?"

"Starkiller sent me to find you," Mara answered unapologetically. "He had inside information that the Empire was planning to do the same thing."

"Why me?" Tahiri repeated desperately.

Mara hesitated, but seemed to resolve herself to tell the truth after all. "You're Force sensitive, Tahiri."

Tahiri looked stunned. As did the Solos – especially Anakin. Zekk actually gasped.

Mara smiled at him. "Don't look so shocked, Zekk. You are, too."

Tahiri was the first to grasp the implications. "Lowbacca?"

Mara nodded.

"Alema?" Tahiri added reluctantly.

Mare smiled apologetically.

"That's why he wanted me, too!" Anakin realized.

Mara gave him a withering look that seemed to ask, You're just now figuring that out?. "Yes. The three of you would never have made it through the screenings."

"The three--? Oh." Anakin glanced at his siblings.

"Is everyone Force sensitive?" Jaina demanded flippantly.

Mara's expression darkened. "No. Thanks to Vader, it's actually quite rare."

"But we can all do what Anakin can do?" Tahiri asked breathlessly, her wonder momentarily overcoming her hostility.

"No," Mara answered bluntly. "There are degrees of Force sensitivity, and he's off the charts. His raw power might actually rival Vader's."

Anakin's head spun.

"Even if what you're saying is true," Tahiri rejoined, "why save us from the screenings?"

Anakin answered before Mara could. "He was building an army, wasn't he?"

"An army that you were meant to lead," Mara confirmed.

That revelation rocked Anakin on his heels. "Me?"

"Not to sound like a broken holo," Tahiri insisted, "but what the hell happened to my parents?"

Mara's gaze drifted downward and she became subdued again. "As I alluded to, the Empire conducts periodic screenings for Force sensitivity. On the Core Worlds, they do it at birth. In a medcenter, it's easy to make it look like an accident shortly after birth. Infants are so fragile, after all. We usually don't find anyone viable on Core Worlds before it's too late. On the Outer Rim, though… the local governments handle the screenings. They usually don't catch it until shortly after birth… and then they call for the troops."

"So Starkiller was able to intercept the order and get there first," Anakin interpreted.

"That's how it worked when we were successful," Mara confirmed.

"They were coming to kill me," Tahiri understood.

"Yes," Mara confirmed. "Your parents resisted. Not the smartest choice, as it cost them their lives… but it probably saved yours."

Tahiri visibly fought to keep her composure. "I'm sorry."

Mara hook her head. "Don't be. You're right about me, Tahiri. I am a monster. I fully intended to kidnap you, to take you away from them. If you want to hate me for that, I can't blame you."

"No," Tahiri answered soberly. "I hate them. And I'm going to make them pay."

"Luke would say anger leads to the Dark Side," Mara said ruefully.

"Luke?" Jacen asked in confusion.

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. "Oh. This is the really complicated part."

xxx

"I guess I should've listened to that speech after all," Jacen murmured, looking as though he had been punched in the gut.

"Speech?" Anakin asked, confused.

"Mom was giving a speech about the rumors that she was Darth Starkiller's sister when she…"

"So it's true?" Anakin asked, resigned.

Jacen bit his lip and nodded, obviously holding back tears. Jaina reached over and put her arm around him, and they leaned together.

"What's going on back home?" Anakin asked tentatively.

Jacen's expression clouded. "Dad's taken over the galaxy, more or less. He and the other military leaders declared martial law."

"When we left them, they were contemplating a suicidal rampage against the Empire," Jaina added. "Hopefully we threw a hydrospanner in the drive on that one, though."

"Or they'll do it anyway and have less of a chance of succeeding," Anakin noted.

"Less than nothing is the same as nothing, little brother," Jaina pointed out.

"We thought saving you and your girlfriend was a good idea at the time," Jacen added. "But if you'd prefer it back in your cell…"

Anakin winced at Jacen's careless mention of the relationship he thought he had with Tahiri, but nodded stiffly conceding the point.

"So where do we go from here?" Tahiri asked.

"Let's just focus on getting off this planet first," Anakin answered coolly. He avoided looking at her, so he didn't see her become crestfallen at his almost-rude response.

"I think we need to get back to the Alliance," Jacen suggested. "Anakin is right. We can't just leave them to commit pointless suicide. We need to restore democracy and true dissention before the galaxy falls into despair and neverending war."

"Okay, Mr. President," Jaina answered with a smile of humor. But Jacen looked suddenly pensive. "What?"

"Mom told me I was going to be president one day."

"Seems reasonable to me," Jaina answerd with a shrug.

Jacen smiled in thanks, but answered, "We're in real trouble when that day comes."

"We are in real trouble," Jaina countered. "But we need something substantial, something to go on. All of this started at the Maw, with my faulty intelligence."

"Yes, of course, the woes of the entire galaxy are your fault," Anakin rejoined sarcastically.

"I'm not saying I'm completely responsible," Jaina answered with a shrug, "but that information seemed solid. Something still doesn't feel right about it. And I feel like it's significant… somehow."

"Trusting your feelings is a good thing," Mara jumped in. She indicated Tahiri and Zekk. "Remember how I always told you to trust your feelings? That's because your Force sensitivity makes your instincts more reliable than the average sensor suite." She nodded at Jaina. "The same goes for you Solos."

"So pursue Jaina's lead?" Jacen suggested.

"She does, at least," Mara answered with a shrug. "Who appointed me Grand Master of this motley Order? Anakin's right. Let's worry about this when we get off this rock."