The Wild Karrde burst out of hyperspace into an impending slaughter.

A small fleet, led by a Star Destroyer, hovered in the distance. The only resistance it faced was from a small group of multi-craft fighters, doing their best to repel the invaders, but clearly fighting a losing battle.

Their comm crackled almost immediately. "Incoming vessels, this is Shara Bey of the Civilian Defense Fleet. Identify yourselves!" Mara had never heard of Bey before, but her demeanor pinpointed her as a former Rebel.

Karrde was already on the comm with the other captains from the Smuggler's Alliance, so Mara leaned forward and accepted the hail. "This is Mara Jade from the Wild Karrde, representing the Smuggler's Alliance, responding to a distress signal from Weytin's Colony."

"Jade!" Bey sounded relieved, not just to have gotten a response to their cry for help, but to hear Mara specifically. Which meant Bey either knew Luke or Leia, or both. "We're sitting ducks here. We've been swarming the Star Destroyer to stall for as much time as possible while the civilians escape."

Mara squared her shoulders, thinking a thousand horrible thoughts about Vanross and his damned fleet that couldn't take the damn hint and leave the civilized galaxy alone. Against a proper military, Vanross wouldn't stand a chance-which is why he'd slunk out to Yavin IV while the New Republic Defense Fleet was busy pursuing Thrawn in the Mid Rim. Exactly as Mara had expected that snake to do. "Well, now you have even odds."

Her response wasn't as boastful as she'd like, though. Sure, Booster had a Star Destroyer, but the weapons were nowhere near what they'd been while in Imperial service. If only Maracavanya's Super Star Destroyer hadn't been busy across the galaxy. Not that she'd ever let Booster hear such thoughts.

"Good," Bey responded. "We've got forces on the ground evacuating as many civilians as we can, but we're short on ships."

Mara strategized in her head. The Wild Karrde was better off in battle, but there were other ships that could help. "Got it, Bey. Jade out." She opened a channel to the rest of the Smuggler's Alliance and put out a call for smaller ships to go to ground for the evacuation.

Karrde, in the middle of the bridge, pointed and snapped his fingers at her. "Mara, get the Fire down there now."

Like she hadn't immediately thought of that. "Already on it." She wasn't a fan of leaving Karrde in the heat of battle, but he was still arguing with Booster about who should coordinate the battle. Mara rolled her eyes as she jogged off the bridge. "He's got a Star Destroyer, let him take command, for Force sakes!"

"That's why I need to do it!" Karrde snapped back at her. "He has more to focus on!"

Mara rolled her eyes again as she made her way to the Jade's Fire. She launched from the Wild Karrde and plummeted through Yavin IV's atmosphere as fast as she dared push the engines, keeping a wide berth from enemy ships.

As the Fire crossed the sky, Mara jerked instinctively at an almost blinding presence in the Force. "Luke! Is that you?" She felt dumb as soon as she asked; who else would it be?

"Mara!" His relief was palpable, both in his voice and the Force essence. "What are you doing here?"

She'd never been so happy to hear him. "Leia's latest communique mentioned reports of Vanross's fleet in the sector, so we were coming to investigate. Then we picked up a distress signal and recruited as many ships as we could from the Smuggler's Alliance." She jerked her ship toward the settlement in the distance. "What are you doing here?" She hadn't intended that to sound so mean, but shouldn't he be on Ossus, training his apprentices?

She could hear shouts in the background, and it took a moment for him to answer. True to form, he didn't seem offended by her tone. "Leia told me the same rumors, so I decided to come out here and visit some old friends and their tree. Then Vanross showed up."

Visiting a tree? Coming from him, that wasn't even halfway odd. "Bey said you needed ships to help evacuate civilians."

She heard the snap-hiss of his lightsaber, so he must already be on the ground. "Negative. We've got incoming troops. I need you here with me."

Her body warmed at his words at the same time her stomach sank. She didn't have to wonder what stormtroopers would want with a civilian colony. "I don't have anyone else to fly the Fire."

"Han can do it. Leia and Chewie are in the Falcon."

Mara's first thought was that she hoped their protocol droid wasn't watching Ben. Her second thought was hell if I let Solo fly my ship!

But it was the only logical option. Luke needed more help defending the colony, and the civilians needed more ships to safely evacuate.

She couldn't believe she was actually considering this. She couldn't believe she was actually going to do this. "Oh, kriff it all." She aimed the Fire toward an open area near the settlement and switched the comm to a wide-range hail. "Solo! Get your ass over here!"

"Jade! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You're taking over my ship." She gritted her teeth as she said the words.

"You serious?"

Mara landed the ship harder than intended. She grunted and ran her hand over the console apologetically. "We're wasting time! And I swear to the nine Corellian hells, if you break my ship-"

"I promise," Han cut her off. "Not a scratch." There was a smile in his voice, like he was referencing some inside joke.

Oh, he was lucky he was one hell of a good pilot. "Then shut up and land already, for Force sakes!"

The Falcon roared overhead and set down right beside her. She bolted out the back, leaving the ramp down as she pointed at Han. "Where's Luke?" As soon as she finished the question his Force presence brushed against hers, sending out a flare like when she visited him on Ossus. "Never mind!" She latched onto him and ran in that direction, ignoring Han's assurances he'd treat her ship well. The less she thought about him flying it, the better.

She found Luke almost instantly, feeling her way through the settlement with the Force until she spotted his green lightsaber glowing against the sky. With him were three of his apprentices. She didn't recognize the man with white hair or the woman with long dark hair. She knew the other man, about her age with brown hair and green eyes, even though she'd never met him in person.

Luke called out to her again and she sprinted over. "Mara!" He nodded at her respectfully, and she could sense his desire to give her a more proper greeting if it wasn't in the heat of battle. He gestured at his apprentices. "This is Kam Solusar, Kirana Ti, and-"

"Corran Horn," Mara cut him off, extending her hand to each of the apprentices in turn. She squeezed Horn's hand harder than the others. "Don't worry, I've heard all about you."

Horn laughed. "If it's from Mirax, it's all true. If it's from Booster, it's only partly true."

"You'll never know." Mara had in fact spent several entertaining evenings with Booster's daughter, Mirax, during stopovers on the Errant Venture. A trader in her own right, Mirax had pointed out the benefits of being romantically involved with a Jedi, a smirk on her face the entire time. "Why else would I have married someone my father hated?" she'd pointed out.

Mara had pointedly ignored her.

Now she glanced around the battlefield, trying to take stock of the situation. The bulk of the action was taking place behind them, where her precious Jade's Fire was already loading a new group of civilians. Her lips curled into a snarl as a squadron of stormtroopers emerged from a gunship that had just landed on the other side of the settlement. They didn't open fire, though-they must be looking to take captives. Just as she'd anticipated. "You got your other lightsaber on you?" she asked Luke.

He held it up, a twinkle in his eye despite the situation. "Never leave home without it."

Without thinking, she yanked it out of his hand with the Force. "Smart man."

Despite helping Luke rescue his nephew, Mara had never actually fought with him before. She'd expected his moves to be impossible to comprehend, but to her amazement, the way he fought was exactly the way she approached a battle. They had the same meticulous mind, although he relied on his instincts much more, a result of his long training with the Force. Together with his other apprentices, they pushed the stormtroopers out of the settlement, blocking them from reaching the evacuation ships.

Once again, she was amazed at how right it felt to wield Luke's old lightsaber, even knowing it had once belonged to the man who became Darth Vader. Vader had overcome the dark side to save Luke, and now Luke had entrusted the weapon to her. Because he had no choice? Or because it was another way to show his ever-present belief in her?

During a break in the attack, Mara spotted an Imperial shuttle streak into the atmosphere at breakneck speed. She calculated its trajectory; it had come from the direction of the Massassi temples, where the Rebel base had been ensconced during the time of the first Death Star. "Luke. Check out the shuttle."

"I see it," he responded quietly, realization dawning on his face. "I was wondering why Vanross didn't flatten the colony as soon as the fleet arrived. They must have wanted something from the temples first."

Her blood turned cold. "What the hell would Vanross want with Sith temples? The Sith are gone."

"For now." His jaw clenched. "I've never gone in. Now I wish I had. To know what he wanted-and who he wanted it for."

"Not your fault." That was a problem for another time.

He took a deep breath. "I know." He whirled around to check on the status of the evacuation. "Wait, what's going on? The troops are leaving." He tapped his comm. "Shara, has the colony reported any captives?"

"No, you must have scared them off!" she said, her relief evident.

Mara's eyes widened in horror and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. No, that wasn't why Vanross's forces were fleeing the planet. She stared into the sky as the Errant Venture grew larger by the second. But it wasn't supposed to land on the moon. Despite the Star Destroyer still being relatively far away, through the Force she could sense a growing horror from its crew members.

Something was deadly wrong.

She screamed into her comm trying to get a hold of Karrde, but he wasn't answering. Panic gripped her fully as she hailed Booster. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know." She had never heard the old smuggler sound so angry-or so resigned. "We're going down and we can't stop it."

"Well then get the hell out of there!" The Venture had more than enough ships and escape pods to evacuate the entire crew.

"No can do, Jade. Captain goes down with the ship. Tell Horn he finally gets his wish."

Mara cursed and smacked off the comm. If Booster wanted to be a martyr, to hell with him, but if the Errant Venture crashed it would destroy everyone left in the colony. Those who managed to escape would never return home again.

She couldn't let that happen.

She turned to Luke, who was staring at the ship with the same horrified expression. "Can you stop it?" she said, not exactly sure what she was asking. She'd heard stories of Jedi feats from the past, pulling capital ships out of the sky. Could he do the opposite? "Push it back into orbit?"

He swallowed hard, but didn't answer. He wouldn't say he would try, because in this instance, trying was pointless. She felt his resolve strengthen as he closed his eyes and threw out his arms, reaching out with the Force in a way she'd never felt before-not even from Palpatine.

At first it was like a supernova, so blinding she had to turn away and close her own eyes. Then the air grew frigid, and it felt like all the Force around them had been sucked away, like a black hole. Her eyes snapped open again and all her attention was drawn to Luke, still squeezing his eyes shut, his arms shaking with the effort of a thousand suns. The strength it took for him to even budge a Star Destroyer was more than she could fathom, but she had never seen him look so weak. His face was red and sweat ran down his forehead.

It wasn't enough. She dared a glance at the Errant Venture, still falling through the atmosphere with increasing speed as gravity took hold. The comm chatter grew frantic as Leia and Han urged the remaining civilians to evacuate.

Without realizing what she was doing, Mara opened herself to the Force, unsure if it was even possible with the effort Luke was expending. But the Force was not finite, and its power trickled inside her like a stream branching from a larger river. She gave her power back to Luke, and for a moment his face slackened and his arms grew steady. The Errant Venture remained in the atmosphere but stopped falling, and Mara called on the Force to give more of her power to Luke. He could do this. He could save everyone. He always did.

The Errant Venture resumed its descent.

Luke opened his eyes, tears pooling in the corners. "I can't." The realization that the battle had been going on too long, that he wasn't strong enough to do this, fell across his face, making him look like a child again.

"Yes, you can." To prove herself, she grabbed his hand and channeled as much of her power as she could. "You were born to do this!"

Luke shook his head. "Not on my own."

She didn't understand. She was already giving him her strength. It had helped him initially-why was it not working anymore? Had she misunderstood her abilities all these years? Was she never as powerful as she had thought?

She'd been fighting the Force for so long. Maybe it was because she knew the truth.

Or maybe it was because she was terrified of what would happen when she finally reached the other side.

And she suddenly realized-Luke didn't need her to amplify his strength.

She needed to use hers.

She'd been born to do this, too.

So she would.

She threaded her fingers through his and threw her other hand into the air. At the same time she let down the final barriers in the back of her mind-the ones protecting her from heartache, from failure, and from who she was truly meant to be.

The Force exploded around them, but it wasn't violent and terrifying. It was warmth, it was acceptance.

It was home.

For so long, she'd been waiting for a sign. Waiting for someone else to show her her place in the Force. She'd come to think Luke was that person, and it was why she refused to see him as anything other than a friend. Because what if she didn't like what she learned? What if her fears about her past were true, and she had to spend her life repenting for her sins?

She'd been wrong. Luke wasn't the person to show her the way.

It was herself all along. And she was done running.

As the realizations hit her, the Force crashed into her like a tidal wave, but she wasn't overwhelmed. She kept opening herself up to its power, accepting it, and pushing it back out toward the Errant Venture. She felt Luke's Force essence as well, melding with hers, all the effort expelling from his face as his strength increased exponentially.

Mara understood something else, then. Luke had his own power, and she had hers-but together, they were greater than the sum of their parts. And not just them, but every person who called on the Light. That was why they would always triumph.

She didn't need to look at the Star Destroyer to know it had started to climb back into the atmosphere. She'd never expended so much effort and all she wanted to do was collapse on the ground. But with the Force as her ally and Luke at her side, it was easy to fight through the pain. It was easy to surrender.

And when the other Jedi apprentices joined them, Mara didn't push them away as she would have only yesterday, but accepted their presences greedily, letting them augment her strength, and in turn melding her mind with theirs.

But none of them held a candle to what she felt with Luke.

Eventually, the Errant Venture returned to a stable orbit. The other Jedi pulled away to repel the Imperial troops on the ground, forcing them to flee into the forest. The Millennium Falcon and the Jade's Fire soared overhead, no longer worrying about evacuees but pursuing the remaining Imperial gunships.

Mara was aware of all of this at the back of her mind, but her focus was only on the Force, and Luke's presence mixed with hers, and how nothing would ever be the same.

When the battle was over, they were still holding hands, and she never wanted to let go.

.

.

Later, she found Karrde in the medbay of the Errant Venture, arguing with a medic while Shada D'ukal stood at his side, rolling her eyes. Karrde noticed Mara enter the room and sat up, waving her over. "Mara! Tell them I need to get back to the Wild Karrde."

Mara shuffled into the room and stood next to Shada. "Sweetie, the Wild Karrde was vented to space. It'll be in dry dock for weeks." Her dry humor belied the very real fear that had only begun to leave her body upon seeing him alive again.

Karrde groaned. "I was hoping I had imagined that."

"You did not." After pushing the Errant Venture back into orbit, Mara could barely think. When she'd heard about the damage to the Wild Karrde, she almost collapsed in fear. Luke was there to keep her upright, and on her way to the Errant Venture she'd gotten the full story from Aves, who'd been on weapons duty at the time and therefore off the bridge. If the laser blast had struck a couple meters to the right, it would have blown out the forward viewport all at once instead of merely cracking it, leaving no time for an evacuation and killing everyone instantly.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself Karrde was going to be okay, but unable to shake the feeling that she'd abandoned him.

Just like she was about to do so permanently.

She patted Karrde's arm, pulling herself back to the present. "You're lucky Shada has such good reflexes. Now stop arguing with the poor medic and let him give you an IV."

Karrde made a face. "I'm fine, Ma-" He winced and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Okay, fine. But this stuff had better be good."

"The best, Captain Karrde," the medic assured.

"It's in Booster's medbay, so that's a safe bet," Shada said.

Karrde grunted and held out his arm.

He stared at the wall and refused to make any reaction, even when the needle pierced his skin. The medic made quick work of the IV and hooked Karrde up to fluids. "I'm going to give you a high-dose painkiller. It will knock you out for a bit. You'll need another exam to check for any lasting effects of the depressurization."

Karrde waved his hand, admitting defeat. "Just make it quick."

Before the medic could start the drugs, Mara held out her hand. "Wait." Now wasn't the best time to have this conversation, but there never would be a good time, and she wanted to get it over with before she lost her nerve. "Will you give us a few minutes?"

The medic raised his eyebrows. "He needs treatment, ma'am."

"Don't worry, doctor. I'll survive a short talk with Mara." Karrde pursed his lips. "Shada, would you check with Aves on the status of the rest of the crew?"

Shada nodded, eyeing Mara as she headed out of the room. "Be right back."

The medic followed with a warning he'd be back in five minutes exactly.

Mara took a deep breath. Right. Time to start the rest of her life.

She moved closer to him and sat on the chair next to the cot. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shavit," Karrde said in a rare show of humility. "I don't recommend rapid depressurization. I'm actually looking to being knocked out."

"I'll keep that in mind." She cleared her throat. Get on with it! "So how did Booster get Vanross to retreat, anyway? I didn't get that part of the story."

Karrde barked a laugh, and for that, she was glad. "Booster threatened him. Said the Jedi who pushed his ship back into the atmosphere would be more than willing to bring another one down-oh, and by the way, one of them was his son in law."

Mara bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Luke would never have let anyone do that." She hadn't even set foot on Ossus and already she was looking to him for guidance like a master.

"Yeah, but Vanross didn't know that," Karrde pointed out. "Guess he didn't want to end up like good old Moff Gideon."

"Guess not," Mara murmured, thinking back to Luke's attack on Gideon's cruiser. That had only been two years ago, but it felt like an eternity had passed since then. Luke was no longer the same man who'd storm a cruiser by himself, but she was no longer the same woman who refused his offer to learn more about the Force.

Something she could no longer avoid talking to Karrde about.

She cleared her throat, willing her voice not to crack, her resolve not to waver. "Booster talks a big game, but Vanross didn't flee because he's a coward. There's something else out there." She thought of all the other Imperials who'd escaped after Endor. Not many, but enough-not to mention all those who had supposedly reformed and were not part of the New Republic. How many would switch sides again in a heartbeat if a resurgent Empire ever returned?

Back then, she would have been one of them. Now, still marveling at the power she'd wielded during the battle, she knew her destiny lay elsewhere. "They're biding their time, Karrde. Waiting for the right moment to return." She sounded ridiculously ominous, but she didn't care. "We need to be ready for them." She paused, knowing how she'd worded that sentence didn't convey the full truth. "I need to be ready for them."

Karrde pursed his lips. "With Skywalker?"

She swallowed hard, finally admitting out loud what she'd struggled so long to hide. "I hope so."

"What took you so long?"

She didn't know if he was referring to her feelings about the Force, or about Luke. The latter didn't matter until she faced the former, so that's what she focused on.

"I didn't feel ready. I was worried about disappointing myself. I was worried about disappointing you if I left."

"Don't be ridiculous, Mara." His words were chiding but sincere. "I always wondered when you would finally leave. I just never thought it would be after almost having my ass blown off my own ship."

Mara blinked at him. "Wait-you knew I was going to quit?"

Karrde scoffed. "I might have almost died, but I'm not stupid."

"I didn't even realize it until an hour ago. You sure you can't use the Force?"

Karrde wrinkled his nose. "Don't joke about that. Although having the Force might help me as an information broker."

Mara thought back to all the conversations she'd had with Luke over the years, and all the things she hadn't said to him. Even the Force didn't make you all-knowing. "Not enough," she murmured.

Karrde cocked his head at her but waited for her to continue. She bit her lip. "You don't sound mad about me leaving."

"After I woke up in the medbay, Shada told me what happened on the battlefield. If you didn't want to quit after shoving a Star Destroyer back into orbit, I would have to knock some sense into you."

He was right, but she still bristled at the idea of her destiny being set in stone. She didn't have to become a Jedi just because she was strong in the Force and had some sort of bond with Luke.

She wrung her hands together. There she went again, railing against a possible future just because it was something people expected of her. She'd always prided herself on not caring what other people thought, but she'd been fooling herself. She did care, but not in the right ways.

"I just don't understand why you kept refusing to train with him," Karrde continued. "Especially after those two jaunts you took with Skywalker."

Mara wondered the same thing. "I guess it was never the right time." She glanced at her feet, unable to properly convey how much Karrde's faith in her had meant. But then again, with him, she didn't have to. "I wish I could do both."

Karrde shrugged. "Jedi training will require your full attention. But who knows what will happen in the future? You always have a place here, even if it's just temporary. "

"A Jedi smuggler? Just what the galaxy needs." She couldn't ever imagine working for Karrde's crew again, but he was right-you never knew where the future took you. And it was nice to know she always had family waiting for her.

For now, something else waited.

She leaned over to kiss Karrde on the forehead. There was so much she wanted to say to him, and all the words caught in her throat. But this was Karrde-he knew anyway. He knew her better than she knew herself.

She hoped that was about to change.

The medic returned. Mara waved her good-bye and went to find the rest of the crew.

.

.

Two weeks later, after Karrde was back on his feet and Mara had handed all her affairs over to Aves and Shada, the Jade's Fire arrived at Ossus. True to his word, Han hadn't left a scratch on her beloved ship. He'd even complimented the handling, but told her not to worry about him stealing it as he had no intention of giving up the Falcon. Mara had been so relieved she couldn't think of a good rejoinder, so she'd simply hugged him.

As she landed, Luke was standing in the same spot he'd been the first time she'd come here, having returned in his X-wing a few days after the battle. Unlike the first time, however, he wasn't alone on the planet; she could sense his other apprentices in the area. None of them were waiting for her, and it didn't matter, because all she cared about at the moment was Luke.

She felt strangely calm as she went through the shutdown procedures. She'd expected her heart to be hammering in her chest, reminding her that if she did this, the life she'd made for herself would go away forever.

That thought didn't scare her anymore. She had survived the Empire for a reason. It was finally time to find out what that was.

That was one lesson she'd never learned from Palpatine: life was whatever you made it, and while you could never go back to the way things were, the future was always waiting for you.

Luke had taught her that.

He was smiling as she made her way down the ramp, clutching the metal cylinder in her right hand as if her life depended on it. "You came," he said, but not in disbelief. He'd felt everything she had on Yavin IV and knew it was impossible to deny her destiny any longer.

No, he simply looked happy to see her.

She held out his old lightsaber. "You forgot this."

Luke shook his head and gestured for her to clip it back on her belt. "It's yours, now. You've earned it."

The last time he'd offered it to her, she'd refused, overwhelmed by the enormity of the gift and what it meant for her future. For their future. Because while Luke Skywalker might be the most optimistic man in the galaxy, he wouldn't give any random person his dead father's lightsaber.

His belief in her was never ending. For the first time since she'd known him, she wanted to prove him right more than anything else in the universe. For the first time, she wasn't afraid of failing him. Failure felt impossible with him by her side.

"Good, because I wasn't gonna give it back, anyway." Instead of clipping the lightsaber on her belt she held it up in front of her, staring at the blade as it ignited, the clear blue blending in with Ossus's sky.

"Did you come all the way here just to ask for my lightsaber?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. But the way he cocked his head betrayed his true feelings. Despite her standing there in front of him, he still worried she'd keep her distance. From him, and the Force.

"I didn't ask for it, you gave it to me. And no, I came for something else." She extinguished the blade and met his gaze head on, finally allowing herself to smile. "So, Master Skywalker. Where do we start?"

Luke grinned and offered his left hand, the same one she'd grasped on Yavin IV. "Follow me."