Jedi Temple: Coruscant

Luke opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit corridor. He looked around trying to remember where he was and how he got there, but he drew a blank. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his wife's arms back in his quarters.

'I must be dreaming again,' he thought.

The place was unfamiliar and Luke was sure it was not a location he had visited in the past. He tried to will himself to wake up, but, when that failed, he decided to see where this dream or vision would lead him. He strode down the quiet hallway, his steps stirring up dust from the ground below. As he wandered through the shadowy twisting corridors an eerie sense of foreboding began to creep up his spine. That feeling heightened into full-blown panic when he heard a loud mournful wail. He immediately recognized the voice as belonging to his oldest son, Ben.

Dream or not, Luke was filled with a sense of urgency as he ran toward the sound. The plaintive cry suddenly turned into pitiful sobs—a sound Luke had not heard from Ben since he was a child. He picked up the pace while calling out to Ben. He barreled around a corner then skidded to a quick halt barely avoiding a head-on collision with a large, muscular man. Luke went into a fighting stance before he realized he was looking at fellow Jedi, Mark Tantiss.

Mark was wearing a Jedi cloak . His cowl was dipped down and covered the top half of his face but Mark's nose, mouth and red bearded jawline were distinctive. His mouth was drawn into a tight line as his head drooped down. Luke lowered his gaze and realized Mark was cradling the limp body of Mara Jade Skywalker within his arms. She appeared lifeless; her eyes were closed and the bruises and cuts on her pale skin were evidence that she recently was in a life-or-death struggle.

"Mark…Mark ? What happened?" Luke stammered in shock.

The large man looked up enough for Luke to see his face fully. Luke took a step back when he saw the hard, red rimmed, yellow eyes of a Sith staring back at him.

Mark's face was a mask of pain. "I'm sorry. I had to do it…no matter what the cost."

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"Mara!" Luke yelled out as he was jolted awake, gasping for breath and sweating.

He was back in his bedroom. He quickly searched Mara's side of the bed and found her there and coming out of her slumber. "Another nightmare?" she said in a drowsy voice. "That makes two in one night. What was this one about?"

"Oh kriff…" Luke muttered as he tried to catch his breath. "I saw the face of the Sith." He gazed at Mara eyes wide, his expression troubled. "It was Mark. He's the Sith and…" he hesitated slightly. "He was carrying your dead body."

"Okay," Mara said sounding completely unconcerned. "Luke, it was a nightmare, not a vision. Let's go back to bed," she said in a calm and reassuring voice then laid her head back to her pillow and closed her eyes.

"How do you know?" Luke protested. "I don't even know if it is a dream or a vision."

She opened her eyes but did not move. "Luke, earlier we were talking about Mark and Palpatine's memories. It was simply on your mind. Mark doesn't have what it takes to be a Sith. He's more interested in sitting around with his wife and eating chocolates all day than craving galactic domination…maybe if the darkside was handing out cookies we would have something to worry about." Mara said with a chuckle. "Besides, he would never hurt me. He sees me as family."

"My father saw me as family and still chopped my hand off. When you are Sith you have no family."

"Luke," Mara said softly, "It's just a dream. Mark's been like a brother to me for over twenty-five years, he was our eldest son's Master and he risked his life dozens of times for you, me, the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance. He's not Sith..and if he is…he's a really lousy Sith or the most patience Sith in the universe." She rolled over so she was no longer facing Luke. "It was a dream. Go back to bed, Luke."

Luke stared at the back of her head for a few seconds feeling slightly peeved. Mara once feared Luke was being influenced by the darkside during the Battle for Coruscant. How come she would consider him turning Sith, but not his clone?

"Mark is a good friend of mine, but that doesn't mean he's not susceptible to the darkside," Luke pointed out. "He was touched by Palpatine's darkness and he still carries his memories. We can't discount this vision as impossible."

Mara gave an audible sigh. She turned over in bed and gave him a knowing look. "You and I both know this has nothing to do with any fear that Palpatine's memories will corrupt Mark," she said with a touch of irritation. "You're still angry about the Vong incident."

Luke's jaw tightened. "The Vong slaughter you mean? Mark knew the Alliance was wiping out an entire species with the Galaxy Gun and the Sun Crusher and he didn't tell anybody within the Jedi order."

"He was following orders from the very top. Borsk Fey'lya gave the order himself," Mara countered. "Anyway, he wasn't the one who was doing the killing. He was simply the first person to discover the existence of the Vong. He was told you would be debriefed by the Generals, which you were."

"After the genocide was complete," Luke gave a grunt.

"They came to this galaxy to kill every one of us…the Alliance simply did a preemptive strike before they could start the war. You said you understood. You allowed Mark to train Ben after you found out. I don't know why you still have lingering animosity toward him."

Luke laid back down on his pillow. "It isn't animosity. I am the head of the Jedi order and he keeps secrets from me."

She gave a soft smile as she reached out to tease a hand down his chest. "Please Luke, let's not argue about this," she said beseechingly as she leaned in to kiss him. "I know you're having these visions and it does bother me. During your last mission all I did was worry about you. Now that you're back, the last thing I want to do with you is argue."

Luke remained quiet, his mind still reeling form the horrific dream. "I don't want to argue either. It's just…"He reached out with a trembling hand to caress her face. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

Her features softened. "Nor I you." They lay quietly looking at one another. "Luke, talk to Mark if it makes you feel better. Or meditate about the vision. Maybe you'll realize it was simply a dream."

A small weary smile touched his lips as he pulled her close, cradling her in his arms. "You're right. I'll meditate on it later. Right now I simply want to hold you close…to keep you safe in my arms."

She leaned he head down on his chest and smiled. "I'd like that."