Chapter 72 – The Future of the Force

Author's Note: Family reunions aren't all fun and joy. :')

~ Amina Gila

There's no sign of Inquisitors anywhere when they land the Phantom in a small hangar near the first coordinates, but for a brief moment, Marr is almost certain he senses the Dark Side. BD plugs into a nearby port, displaying a map of the area. Chopper beeps, spinning his arms around.

"Housing units?" Ezra repeats, "What would the Inquisitors want there?"

"I doubt they're renting," Kanan comments.

"You never know. Even Dark Siders have to live somewhere," Marr quips, before growing serious again, "Perhaps they're after someone."

"Then we better find them before they do," Kanan agrees.

"You check it out," he instructs, "I'll see if I can find the Inquisitors' ship... or them."

The other two disappear down the street with Chopper, and he heads off through the spaceport. There are few people around, which makes the search easier. It doesn't take long for him to find the two very familiar ships.

BD beeps eagerly, moving forwards.

"Yes, we found them," Marr agrees, cautiously crossing the area towards them. Something feels... almost familiar. Even if twisted and warped by the Dark Side, and years of being apart. The feeling is more than a little unsettling, or maybe it's who he thinks it might be that worries him so much.

"But they aren't here." He pauses in front of the ship that feels the strongest like that, peering inside. The Inquisitors might not be here, but he does sense –

The sound of a baby crying splits the silence, even if muffled by the wall of the ship. What? Why do they have a baby with them? Where did they get it from, and what are they doing with it?

It's human, and he can feel its fear pouring strongly into the Force as he lifts her into his arms, trying to get her to calm down. Ahsoka had said 'secondary retrievals'... A sudden sinking feeling settles inside him as he realizes what that might mean. Is the Empire taking strong Force sensitives to train as more Inquisitors? Similar to what the Sith seemed to be trying to do at one point during the Clone Wars? (Anakin had been there, then, to help them stop it. It was actually him in the end who ended it.)

It would make sense, too much sense. At the very least, it would prevent the children from becoming Jedi and proving a threat to them.

Right then, his comm suddenly beeps. "We reached the coordinates," Kanan reports, "It looks like the Inquisitors are after a baby? The mother managed to send it away with a droid before they got it, but we have to find it first. When you find the droid, tell it that the baby's mother, Oora, sent you."

It looks like he was right. "I'm on my way," Marr replies, setting down the first baby in the Phantom, leaving BD to watch over it, before he takes off to find the other. They have to move fast, because he knows the Inquisitors will be relentless.

The Force is urging him to hurry, and he picks up his speed as he moves through the streets, finally spotting a droid rolling down a sidewalk, holding a small basket. Sure enough, there's a baby inside – an Ithorian.

The droid is hesitant, but it lets Marr take the baby. "You need to act as a decoy," he instructs the droid, after telling Kanan to meet him back at the ship.

He hasn't made it more than a few paces down the street when he hears a lightsaber activating. The droid shrieks, and he hears and sees its pieces hitting the ground, the empty basket rolling across the ground.

Marr doesn't look back again. He knows who's there, and he makes a run for it the moment he does. Even if he's capable of staying and fighting, he can't do that when he has a youngling to protect from these maniacs.

"Kanan, I can't make it back to the Phantom," he calls, into his comm, "We'll have to meet elsewhere."

"Where are you?" he demands, urgently.

"I'll be in the tower at the grid nine intersection," he decides, sprinting forwards into the building. The whole place is dark, which makes it easier for hiding in. He still hears it, though, when the doors open again, and he can sense the traces of the Dark Side. The Inquisitors are here.

The others need to get here soon, because even if he could handle the Inquisitors by himself, he can't do that while he's carrying a baby.

Concealing himself in the Force as much as he can, Marr makes his way deeper into the building, pausing on one of the upper levels where he can watch the staircase. Only minutes later, Ezra and Kanan dart down the hall opposite him, and he motions for them to come with him.

"There's two of them," Marr reports, "Kanan and I can distract them while you get the youngling back to the ship."

"Shouldn't we stay together?" Ezra objects.

"No, it will be safer this way," Kanan agrees, "You can use the vents." He darts a short distance down the hall, pulling the grate off one in the ceiling and lifting Ezra up inside. Marr passes the baby up to him, and as soon as the grate is closed in place, he starts off through the building again.

Time to go... say hello.

Marr can hear movement in the hallway right in front of them, and he withdraws the Darksaber, igniting it as a masked figure steps around the corner. The visor on her helmet is drawn back – not that he would have needed to see her face to know who she is.

She's the same height and holds herself the same way. She feels very much like the way she did that day she attacked the Temple, except more controlled and shielded now. But sensing her now, after all this time, he can't help but notice that something about her presence feels... off. Like there's a piece of it missing, leaving the rest to decay into further darkness. What that means, Marr has no idea.

But it's Athea, unquestionably. His mother, who he's seeing for the first time in over fifteen years. All this time, she's been an Inquisitor. He feels... strangely numb. It's good to see her alive, but even now, the pain of the betrayal – of how they'd had to fight – hits him full force.

Any surprise on her face is well concealed. "Theseus," she greets. She sounds the same, too, and suddenly, he finds himself frozen to the spot.

Kanan stills, eyes widening.

"Caleb," she adds, turning to look at him, "I knew I would find you here."

"I could say the same," Marr retorts, eyes narrowing. Part of him wants to talk to her, to demand answers, but... he can't do that now. Even if he could, he doesn't know what he'd say. He tried talking to her before and she didn't listen to him. Still, it's been years since then and things could have changed. Maybe. He won't let himself dare to hope, though. He missed her a lot too, all these years, but he'd already begun to accept when she was imprisoned that he would never see her again. She's not the same person she used to be. None of them are.

"How?" Kanan asks, shakily, "How could you do this?"

"I have seen the true power of the Dark Side," she replies.

"You lost yourself to the Dark Side," Marr corrects sharply.

"I embraced it, while you still cling to the Light," she scoffs.

This argument is pointless. She won't listen to him – or at least he doesn't think so – but it still hurts, hearing this coming from her. He did once before, but then, he had Anakin to help him through it. "I found balance," he retorts, "You know what you're doing isn't right."

She scoffs. "That's merely a matter of perspective. Our goals may be more similar than you believe, and we both kill and destroy to achieve them. Join me, and –"

Marr hears a sudden humming of a droid far too close, and he whips around, right as one of the other Inquisitor's droids – Vizma was telling him about them – flies straight for them. Kanan slashes through it, and the pieces clank onto the floor.

The Force flares a warning, and he spins around to block his mother's blow as she nearly takes off his head. The same moment, the second Inquisitor strides around the corner and lunges for Kanan.

For a fleeting moment he wonders why she waited to attack them until the other showed up. Was it coincidence or was there something to it? He doesn't have time to dwell on it – or her implications that she may have the same end goal as him; did she mean she wants to kill Sidious too or was she just trying to confuse him? – because he has a fight to focus on.

He knows how good of a duelist his mother was, and the only way for both of them to come out of this fight will be if he uses Form VII. He hasn't used it in a long time, but he certainly hasn't forgotten how.

Kanan is furiously exchanging blows with the unnamed Inquisitor, and Marr throws all his focus on fighting off his mother. He refuses to lose himself in emotions on how it feels to be doing this again – she was the only parent he had for so many years of his life – instead focusing on using her own darkness against her.

She was unquestionably better than him when they fought at the Temple, but years have passed since then. He's much older now, and a much better fighter, but she's far more skilled than him. His beskar armor is protecting him though.

They trade blows in a furious blur, red against black, and her blade glances off the side of his armor. He swings for her, and she hastily parries it, then aims for his head. Their blades lock, and he shoves against her, forcing her a step back. He can feel her gathering the Force to her, and he instantly reacts in kind. She tries to throw him back, but he counters it, and both of them go flying.

He hastily jumps back to his feet as his mother charges at him again. The two duels travel down the hall, towards a window at the far end, and he can tell that Kanan is having an increasingly hard time keeping up with the unnamed Inquisitor, but there's little Marr can do to help right now. His mother certainly hasn't lost her skill, and even if neither fight exactly how they used to, their former knowledge of each other's fighting styles is still helping... and making it harder.

Kanan stifles a gasp as the other Inquisitor's blade slashes across his arm, and he stagers a step back. Marr throws his mother back, whirling around and attacking the unnamed Inquisitor as fast as he can. She stumbles a few steps away from the sudden flurry off attacks, but then a Force wave suddenly catches him, blasting him straight through the window.

The glass shatters when he hits it, frantically trying to activate his jetpack before he hits the ground. He needs to get back in there right now, because Kanan will never be able to hold off against them, and –

Kanan comes flying out the window moments later, catching himself as he lands on the ground. "You're not dead yet?" he asks, breathlessly.

"I could ask you the same thing," Marr shoots back, "Come on." He grabs Kanan, activating his jetpack and flying away, right as Inquisitors run up to the window, watching them leave.

**w**

"Ahsoka?" Marr asks in surprise as he lands in the hangar. She's standing outside the Phantom next to Ezra.

"I was about to come look for you," she remarks.

"Good thing you didn't need it," Kanan replies, "We should leave before they find us."

Marr nods his agreement, and they file aboard, taking off. The mission may have gone smoother than expected, but he can't shake his mother's words from mind. What did she mean they're working towards the same thing? Was she just trying to mess with his mind, or did she mean it? Either way, would it matter? She's not who he used to know, and it hurts.

"Something on your mind?" Ahsoka queries, leaning against the wall, eyeing him.

"Master Shan was there," Kanan replies, still sounding shaken, from where he sits in the pilot's seat.

Ahsoka's eyes widen in surprise. "I should have expected it," she sighs, shaking her head.

"Vizma told me, and I wondered, but I didn't know what to believe," he confesses. "I don't understand why she would do this."

"Why would any of them?" Kanan asks, and Marr doesn't miss the edge in his voice. Of course, he knows who Kanan's actually thinking about. Considering how much he looked up to Anakin, while at the same time not knowing him well as a person, Marr isn't surprised he's not taking it well.

There's no use discussing that, though. Meeting his mother is reminding him again of what he's been thinking all this time about trying to overthrow the Empire. If the Rebellion is ever going to succeed, they'll have to take their fight to the very top. Like this... maybe they'll get somewhere in a few decades, after Sidious dies naturally.

He can die, right?

What if they could arrange an attack on Sidious? If all of them went there, maybe with help from some of the best Mandalorians, they could overpower him, right? How they would get the knowledge for such an attack is a different story, but it's worth considering.

Of course, there'd be too many forces on Coruscant to do it without a diversion elsewhere across the galaxy. Like if... the Rebellion started a temporary, more open war? Tried to take back a few planets and spread-out Imperial forces everywhere?

It would take an enormous amount of planning, but... it could work. Maybe. It's a concept at least, and it suddenly gives him an idea on where to start.

"If we're going to destroy the Empire, we need to take out Sidious," Marr speaks up.

"It's not that simple," Ahsoka objects, raising an eyemarking, "The Empire will stand even without him."

"But it will be much weaker," Marr points out, "We'll be able to gain control of it much more easily."

"Maybe, but it's not as if we can just go right to Coruscant," she replies.

No, not just like that, but there has to be a way. Waiting for an opportunity to present itself isn't working. He needs to think of a more plausible way to maybe do exactly that.

**w**

Marr was not expecting the sudden attack on their base on Garel but it was inevitable. They always have to be ready to move. "Did you get out alright?" he inquires over comms to the Ghost. He's on his own ship right now, which is concealed in a nearby hangar.

"Sabine and Zeb are with me," Hera responds, "Kanan and Ezra are... on their own mission."

He breaths out a sigh of relief. At least they're okay. He would've sensed it if they weren't, but it's relieving to hear. And he doesn't know why he suddenly finds himself thinking of Bo, wondering how she's doing. He hasn't sensed anything from her, so she should be okay, but again, he wishes he could know. He hasn't seen her for so long, it's become yet another constant ache in his chest, with Anastasia and every other of the many people he's lost. His wife wasn't supposed to be one of them, though. He tries to force those thoughts from mind, though he finds himself thinking of her more and more often lately, wishing she were here. Working with a team again is bringing back memories.

"What sort of mission?" he queries.

"Ezra was having visions about his parents," she explains, "And we found a possible lead on their location. They went back to Lothal to look for them."

"Oh." He hopes Ezra is successful, but... for some reason, he doubts he will be. At least someone should be reunited with his family if no one else can be.

The answer of whether he'll find them isn't long in coming.

"There was a prison break right after the Star Destroyers left," Kanan explains, "Most everyone including the former Governor made it out, but... they didn't."

It's not a surprise, but he knows how hard it must be for Ezra. They were separated all these years only for him to find out they're alive... and then for them to promptly be killed. "I don't suppose he's taking it well," he says quietly, and Kanan shakes his head.

"We knew he probably wouldn't get the news he wanted."

Hera nods, sorrow in her expression, before turning to the other person present. "Governor Azadi, we're grateful you stood by them for so long."

"Not sure what good it did," the other man on the hologram replies, "Things don't seem any better here on Lothal." They hardly seem better anywhere, but Marr knows they're making a difference. If nothing else, they're upping the conflict which will eventually lead to the final overthrow of the Emperor.

"Things will change, eventually," Marr promises, though the governor looks unconvinced.

"Speaking of which, Senator Organa heard about our losses on Garel. He's sending us reinforcements. His agent is coming to Lothal with three cruisers," Hera declares.

Wait, really?

"Three cruisers?" Kanan perks up, "That is good news. Maybe a mission like this is just what Ezra needs."

"I hope you're right," Hera replies, "We'll be there as soon as we can to help."

"I'm on my way as well," he declares, ending the transmission. "Vizma?"

She pokes her head into the cockpit. "Yes, Dad?"

"We're heading to Lothal to give Ezra some help," he replies, "Ready to go?"

"Of course!" she chirps, hurrying over and settling into the copilot seat of their ship. Time to leave. For some reason, he suddenly can't shake the feeling that this seemingly simple mission may be about to change everything... Again. That's been happening a lot these days.

**w**

"There they are!" Vizma calls, pointing out the window.

"I see it," Marr confirms, lower the ship towards the surface. With all that smoke and blaster fire, there's no way he could miss it.

The Ghost is flying nearby, instantly opening fire on the gathered stormtroopers. Vizma immediately joins in. The stormtroopers scatter, and two of them take off running across the clearing along with... someone. She looks suspiciously familiar, but he'll take the time to reflect on that later.

Zeb runs down the ramp of the Ghost as it lands, knocking out the stormtrooper and cadet – who must be Ezra and Kanan – before dragging them onto the ship and dumping them on the floor, along with a teenager who looks... oddly familiar.

Marr directs his ship up into the air again, away from stormtroopers down below. "We can dock at your ship to discuss the situation," he suggests over the comms.

"Go ahead," Hera agrees immediately.

Once they're high enough that the Imperials have lost track of them, he flies to the Ghost, docking there, and he and Vizma head onto the ship.

Sabine, Zeb, Hera, and Kanan are all gathered in the hold when they walk in. "Where's Ezra?" Vizma queries.

"He needs some time alone," Hera explains, "I asked Leia to go talk to him."

"Leia?" Marr echoes.

"Bail Organa's daughter," she explains.

"I didn't know he had a daughter." Why does she look so familiar?

"She's adopted," the Twi'lek replies.

"I'll go talk to Ezra," Vizma suggests, starting for the back of the ship where Ezra disappeared too. Only moments later, the girl from earlier steps into view, actually letting Marr get a good look at her.

She's short, shorter than Ezra which is saying something, with dark brown hair and eyes, and... a face that is so, so familiar. She looks just like Senator Amidala. Just like Anakin's wife.

"We need a plan for taking those transports," Leia says, determinedly, and something about the way she says it...

"With what we already saw, I'm starting to question if it's possible," Kanan grumbles, moving to sit at the table. Sabine immediately pulls up a holomap of the area where the ships are, and the defenses they'll have to go through.

Marr moves closer, pausing to eye Leia again. His suspicions are growing by the moment, and... he doesn't know what to think of this.

"Two walkers are a big problem," Sabine observes, "Even if we reach the ships, they're not going anywhere until we can disable those gravity locks."

"Maybe we can blast them off," Marr suggests.

"Won't work," Azadi counters, "They can't be removed by force."

"You know this how?" Hera frowns.

"In prison I put those locks together, so I know how to take them apart."

"Then that will work in our favor," Marr agrees.

"There's still all those stormtroopers, and I don't know how we'll get past them," Kanan objects.

"Look, I know you need those ships," Leia interjects, "So don't tell me why we can't get them. Tell me how we will."

Any doubts Marr had are gone in that moment. She may look like Padme, but she acts exactly like Anakin. And she's the same age as Ezra, which means she would have been born right around when the Empire formed. He's only half sure if he isn't imaging all of this up, but he needs to know if there's something to his suspicion. Or if he's just lost his mind entirely.

But it doesn't make sense. Why would Anakin and Padme's child have been adopted out to someone when Anakin is still alive? And why of all people would Bail have taken her in? For that matter, why would Anakin have Fallen if he had a child to raise?! That makes even less sense than all of this.

Unless... Anakin gave her to Bail to help hide her from Palpatine? It would make sense, too much sense. Does she know him? Marr tries to hold back his sudden flare of excitement. He can't afford to get his hopes of about finally having a way to contact Anakin until he knows if Leia is even his child in the first place.

"Well, Kanan and I still have our disguises so we can get onto the platform," Ezra offers, "But we'll need a distraction."

"Vizma and I could create some fireworks, but... that might raise extra suspicions," Marr declares.

"I agree. It would," Leia frowns, "I can handle distracting them, for a short time."

"If you help," Hera speaks up, looking to Azadi, "We can take apart those gravity locks."

"I will. Just this once," he concedes, "It's clear I can't stay on Lothal, so I'll help you if you get me out of here."

Marr can't help but eye Leia again, as they fly back for the landing sight, and this time she catches his gaze. "What?" she inquires, a note of caution in her voice.

Being direct about it will probably make it more likely for him not to get an answer, especially if this is supposed to be a secret, but he doesn't know what else to do. "May I ask you something... personal?" he asks, stepping away from the others so they won't overhear.

She raises an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"Hera told me that you were... adopted?"

Her expression doesn't change – she has remarkable control – but she tenses imperceptibly. Probably wondering what he's getting at. "I am, yes," she agrees.

"If I may ask, do you know who your biological parents are?" Marr inquires.

"I never asked," she responds, simply. He's... not sure if that's the truth or not. But if it is, why would Anakin not know that his child is alive?

He wants to ask more, but anything else is probably going to start looking suspicious. "You merely... reminded me of someone," he says, finally before heading back to the others. If he wants to get any more answers about this, he'll probably have to take his questions to Bail himself.

He pushes any distracting thoughts aside as they arrive at the landing sight. He leaves the ship, with Sabine and Vizma close behind, sprinting for the gravity locks. The moment they're disengaged, Sabine races up the ramp into the ship, firing up the engines.

Marr ducks out of sight, waiting until the stormtroopers finally figure out what's going on. He can't hear what Leia is saying to them, but what from what he's seeing, she's doing a perfect acting job. (Just like Anakin.)

"Rebels!" shouts the officer, screaming out orders to shoot them down. The walker behind starts moving into firing position. Marr blasts into the air with his jetpack, activating the Darksaber and deflecting the first laser shot aside as they fire on the transport. He dives forwards, slashing through the front guns and then landing on top, pulling it open and shoving aside the person inside.

The Ghost swoops by overhead, blasting apart the other approaching walkers. Getting the ships is easy enough, all things considered. It's more a matter of taking down all the stormtroopers and making sure they don't realize Leia is on their side than anything.

"Time for me to go," Leia decides, stopping at the bottom of the ramp.

"See you later," Marr nods. Somehow, he gets the feeling he might be seeing her again sooner than he thinks.

Leia steps closer, reaching up to grab Ezra wrist, yanking his arm.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Ezra protests.

"Making it look good," she hisses.

"Then I'd better make myself scarce," Marr replies, dryly, "Because a Mandalorian should've taken you down by now."

He watches the two fake a scuffle for a few moments, before he races up the ramp, when a stormtrooper starts to stir a distance away. Doing things like this has to be beyond risky for her, because there's no way the Empire isn't suspicious of them. It's far more open – even if undercover – than anything Lux ever dreamed of doing.

And it also sounds exactly like what a daughter of Anakin and Padme would do.

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