Chapter 5-Point of View
Mara Jade smiled to herself at how she was able to infiltrate the Executor after being put on as one of the members of the maintenance crew needed for the massive Super Star Destroyer. The need for the group she was with was valid for the impressive warship of the Empire, as it had required countless upgrades over the years, and need such crews to come aboard temporarily when away from one of the select few shipyards that could handle the maintenance of a Super Star Destroyer.
All Mara had to do was keep her Force signature low, her head down at all times, and at times watch Skywalker from afar to see just how strong he had become. It was unlike her Master to fear Skywalker in such a fashion when he dispatched her to investigate the boy's Force strength. Mara knew that Skywalker had great potential in the Force that far surpassed her own, as she had sensed his presence long before the shuttle she was on docked with the Executor, and if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't know about her being on the ship...it would have crushed her if he willed it.
Also, there was Darth Vader's presence to consider too, as his was much darker by far then the boy's, and still more powerful too. She had met the Dark Lord on more then one occasion, as it was sometime required when the operations each one did for the Emperor intertwined however rarely that may be, and aside from the Emperor was more powerful then anyone she had ever known in the Force. It had actually frightened Mara at first, as the realization of Vader in the suit being handicapped, and yet was second in strength only to the Emperor.
If whatever event that caused the Sith Lord being handicapped not occurred, Vader would have long surpassed the Emperor, and things would be a lot different then they are now.
'But they are not like that and I still serve the current Emperor,' thought Mara, as she went about the ship like her "job" entailed, and decided to see just what Skywalker was up to.
(With Leia, Han, Lando, and Chewbacca)
"I can't believe I'm now helping the very man I once hated and he's my Father no less!" said Leia, as she had been given living quarters aboard the Executor, and was right next to the others currently in her room.
"It could be worse?" said Han, as he tried to give Leia comfort over the fact she was now helping Darth Vader, her Father of all people overthrow the Emperor, and trust that he will keep his word on the matter of restoring the Republic to its old self.
"How could it even be worse?" said Lando, as he looked at his old friend with a raised eyebrow, and Chewie was wondering that too.
"Her Grandfather could be the Emperor," said Han, who was rewarded with a elbow to the ribs, and smack to the head by Chewie.
"While that is worse, do not mention it again, or else I'll hit you where it really hurts," said Leia, as she gave Han a look that made the former smuggler nod his head, and wondered if she got that look from her Mother or her Father.
"Tough crowd," mumbled Han, as he glared at Chewie for smacking him on the head, and the Wookiee merely laughed at him.
(With Mara)
The Emperor's Hand made her way to one of the many training decks the Executor had to offer, as she found this was the one Skywalker was using for his training, and found him facing several battle droids equipped with Lightsabers. Watching carefully from within the shadows, Mara used her training taught to her by the Emperor, and saw the Force user was pretty well skilled with his Lightsaber.
'Vader has trained him well,' thought Mara, as she saw Skywalker slicing through several droids easily before fighting off the last one with more effort, and the Emperor's Hand for some reason let her eyes examine the young man's body while he trained.
At the moment, Skywalker was wearing black pants, a white t-shirt currently dampening in sweat during this training session, and had blue eyes that seemed to have a strange hypnotic pull. Instantly, Mara brought herself out of it before scowling, and mentally berating herself for not focusing on her mission. Sure Skywalker was attractive, but that was it, and Mara knew that her mission came first over daydreaming.
No matter how pleasant the daydreaming is.
"You can come out now," said Luke, as he had just finished the last droid, and turned to look at where Mara was.
'How did he know?' thought Mara, as she was sure she hid her Force signature, and if he learned of her presence then did Vader already know too?
"You aren't very good at shielding your thoughts," said Luke, as he had heard them, and while their was some shielding...it had been child's play to get around it.
"Perhaps. The Emperor did always tell me my shields needed work, but he never did teach me how, and I think that was the point all along," said Mara, as she stepped out of the shadows, and had a smile on her face while taking off the maintenance crew hat she wore to let her hair down.
"My Father warned me about women like you. Especially one's trained secretly by the Emperor to be his pawn until she's not worthy of his sight," said Luke, as he had heard all about Mara from his Father, and the truth behind her past with the cruel Sith Master.
"Watch your mouth! I'm more skilled then you are boy and I can use those skills to make you perish," said Mara, as she frowned at the insult, and brought out her own Lightsaber that when ignited revealed her purple blade.
"Perhaps, but then again, I seriously doubt that the Emperor will want that since he feels I should be his new apprentice, and keep you at a distance," said Luke, as he felt a strong pull with this woman, and the Force seemed to...shiver?
"You are not worthy of being his apprentice. Nor is that abomination that is Darth Vader worthy because he will never surpass the Emperor like I could!" said Mara, as she moved at him, and began to show why she was the Emperor's Hand.
To Luke's credit, he had been practicing for some time on droids with the difficulty level increasing moderately during his training, an was slightly tired from it. Not only that, but the Noghri had taught him hand to hand combat earlier in the day for some time now, and helped him use skills many Jedi years before him had not incorporate into their training. Mara was fresh, focused, and had more time to hone her skills over the years then he did. The only edge he had was his strength in the Force right now, which while higher then Mara's was not being used aggressively like his current opponent in front of him, and Luke found himself bordering on the line of offensive to defensive.
It was almost fun for Luke if Mara didn't have that look in her eyes to kill him.
"If that's how you really feel, then you will be happy to know, I don't want to be the Emperor's apprentice, and as for Darth Vader...you should be more respectful to my Father like that," said Luke, as he used the shock Mara had to push things in his favor before he was able to disarm the woman of her blade, and point his at her throat.
By this point, Darth Vader had come into the room, his Lightsaber activated, and his Force presence signified that he was not happy.
"I should have known the Emperor would have sent you Jade. Fortunately, my son was skilled enough to defeat you in his slightly tired condition, and at the same time spared you my wrath with a Lightsaber," said Vader, as he was not pleased with the Emperor's Hand infiltrating his ship, and trying to kill his son for that purpose.
"The Emperor knew you would try to usurp his rule using your...son against him and sent me to monitor his progress. Unfortunately, your prized offspring managed to detect, and provoke me into attacking him," said Mara, as she knew lying to Vader was stupid, and only speaking the truth would send the Sith Lord's attention away from hurting her if only for a short time.
"And he was right! My son will help in destroying your precious Master and I will do what I should have done a long time ago," said Vader, as he let the Force swell all around him, and it made Mara bite back the remark she wanted to say right now.
It made Mara remember her Master's words.
"Lord Vader is not to be underestimated my Hand. Even in his crippled condition, my old apprentice has had countless Jedi fall at his hands, and most of them were well respected Masters of the Force. I could train you to your fullest potential my sweet Jade and even then your power would still not be up to par with his own."
It was hard for Mara to tell if the Emperor was lying in order to prevent her from fighting the Sith Lord in the distant future or telling the truth to further instill that she was always be secretly ranked number three within the Empire. However, Mara felt that despite what the Emperor said, she could surpass Darth Vader if she really tried, and take her rightful place at the old man's side. For some time, Mara had wished to continue her lessons with the Emperor while Vader was off on some mission, but just recently the Sith Master had come to the conclusion that her skills were strong enough for the moment, and would continue to train her when he felt she needed it.
What Mara didn't know was that like all other sentient beings in the Galaxy, the Emperor did not feel women were capable outside of being loyal assassins, or being conceivers for the next generation for him to mold. The Emperor hated all things, but loved to see them suffer just as much, and would destroy anything that had the power to defeat him.
She was a loyal dog on a leash of a lovable Master and had yet to realize that the man she served would destroy her on a whim if he thought it would entertain him for even a small second.
But Vader knew.
"Your thoughts betray you Mara Jade. You think that by continuing to serve the Emperor with fanatical devotion, he will cast me down along with my son, and make you his knew apprentice. You are wrong. The Emperor will never make you his apprentice, as he sees women to be used for little less then tools that will be thrown away when they are useless to him, and will use your loyalty against you," said Vader, as he saw Mara scowl at him in disbelief, and would have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the son holding his Lightsaber near her throat.
"You lie!" said Mara, as she wished she could reach for the blaster tucked away behind her back, and blast that respiratory system on Vader's suit.
"I never lie!" said Vader, as he used the Force, and made her see images from within his memories of a moment in time where he talked about Mara's future with the Emperor.
(Flashback-A Few Years Ago)
"Why do you make Jade feel special my Master? You know the Rule of Two will never allow her to be your apprentice," said Vader, as he had seen Mara leave for a mission given to her by the Emperor, and was now standing beside the man in the gardens of the Imperial Palace.
"She is useful my old friend. Let Mara Jade have her delusions Lord Vader. Her parents were reluctant if not right to protest in letting her go when I first discovered her potential, but they were dealt with soon after," said the Emperor, as he remembered sending out a bounty hunter to wipe out the family, and make it look like a robbery gone bad before killing the bounty hunter afterwards so there was no money trail.
"One day she may realize that you will not allow her to be the apprentice you want her to be my Master," said Vader, as he knew full well what betrayal does to a false apprentice, and it could effect the Emperor if he wasn't careful.
"When that day comes Lord Vader, I expect you to remove Mara Jade from my Empire permanently, and without mercy like you always do," said the Emperor, as he saw his apprentice nod in understanding, and smiled with his old rotting teeth showing in the process.
(End Flashback)
"Stop! Stop it!" said Mara, as she tried to banish the moment from her mind, but Vader wouldn't stop, and pressed further in replaying the memory into her mind.
Luke backed away, as Mara screamed while rolling on the ground clutching her head, and cursing in several different languages at the Dark Lord. The action got the attention of Leia and the others, as Luke's twin had sensed Mara's pain before rushing to where her brother was to see what their Father was doing.
"You must see the truth behind the Emperor's lies. You are nothing to the Emperor and will be as long as you loyally serve him," said Vader, as he continued his mental assault on Mara Jade, and her attempts to repel him through the Force.
"Stop it! The pain is too much," said Mara, as she found herself in tears, and the truth of the Emperor not caring about her well being was destroying the bond she had with the Sith Master.
"Luke you have to stop him. He could kill her!" said Leia, as she could feel the woman's pain through the Force thanks to being so close to her brother, and saw some form of Dark Side connection around her being broken.
"She was sent by the Emperor to monitor my progress for the Emperor and possibly kill me if deemed a threat to him Leia," said Luke, as he the Dark Side of the Force had been centered around the woman's mind, and saw it seemed to hinder her more then hurt.
"So he's helping her?!" said Leia, as she didn't believe it for a second, and saw Luke look at her with blue eyes that told her to trust their Father.
"Yes. If you look carefully at her mind, you can see the Dark Side surrounds her mind, which is also blocking her true potential, and is only letting her access what the Emperor wants her to have access through the Force," said Luke, as he saw the unnatural barriers beginning to break, and the true potential the woman had leaking through.
As for Mara herself, she continued thrash on the ground, and tried to hold onto her own reality of the Emperor being the surrogate loving Father she had made him out to be. The illusion that she held onto however, was instantly shattered, as Mara was forced to see the horrible truth, and collapsed into unconsciousness when the last of the Dark Side barriers around her mind were finally broken.
"Admiral Piett, this is Luke Skywalker, I need you to send a medic team down here, and prepare the doctors and medical droids to receive a patient," said Luke speaking into his comlink to the Admiral, and knew the man would understand in following orders.
"Orders are acknowledged sir. The medic team is on the way," said Admiral Piett through Luke's comm.
"What do you intend to do with her, Father?" said Luke, as he walked over to the man, and then down at Mara's unconscious yet still crying form.
"Jade will be under guard while recovering from the revelation of the Emperor's betrayal and when she awakens...must make the choice of staying loyal to or denouncing my old Master," said Vader, as he turned to Luke, and saw his son seemed to be drawn to the redheaded woman.
"That's good. When I was fighting her, I felt the Force acting strange, and yet it seemed so natural when I felt it shiver," said Luke, as he saw his Father turn fully to him, and that meant what he said held some significance.
"Did you say the Force shivered?" said Vader, as stared at his son with his voice having surprise on it, and how the past seemed to come back full circle from a certain point of view.
"Yes. It was weird. In fact, it was how I was able to sense her in the first place. When we dueled, the shiver got stronger with each attack, and it felt like we were...bonding!" said Luke, as he knew it felt strange, but that was the only way to describe it, and from what he could understand...his Father seemed to know what he was talking about.
"That was how I felt...with your Mother," said Vader, as he slowly walked away from his son, and moved himself to his own world.
A world where Padme's memory still lived. Where she smiled at him. Where she called him Ani and he called her Angel.
Instantly, Vader left that world, and refocused on the present with his children staring at him in shock like they had seen that world he had entered. By that point the medical team had arrived and began taking Mara Jade to the medical bay of the Executor to be treated for her condition.
Without another word, the Dark Lord left them to be alone, and to meditate on this new development to see if the Force was trying to make history repeat itself in a different manner.
(A/N: YAY! I updated. Hope you enjoyed this. I felt it was time to update this. Until next time...PEACE!!!)