Wayland, 5 ABY

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Mara landed on Wayland as twilight fell on Mount Tantiss. She aimed her ship at the foot of the mountain to avoid the locals. Who knew if they were aware of what was happening in the galaxy, or if they were still friendly to the Empire.

As the word went through her mind, she nearly faltered through the landing checklist. The Empire didn't exist anymore. She had to stop calling it that. Stop thinking about it. Stop expecting Palpatine to return and make everything the way it was before. Palpatine was dead and had tried to burn the galaxy in his wake, herself included. Why the hell should she want to go back to the way things were? She was finally free.

Except for that damned perfectionist voice inside her head, reminding her that she'd failed, that if she'd killed Luke Skywalker like she was supposed to none of this would have happened.

Maybe her failure wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

She shook her head, finished the landing cycle, and headed into the mountain. She didn't bother taking any supplies. All she needed was the holdout blaster under her jacket. No one else was supposed to know about this observatory, but then again no one was supposed to ever be able to defeat the Empire. Whatever, she could take care of herself. And if she couldn't, maybe she deserved to die.

Up she climbed, walking in circles, a fitting metaphor for the past year of her life. She'd never forget the utter heartache when the Emperor died. It had been a physical pain, like a knife stabbing through her chest. She had no idea how she'd ended up in prison, pursued by the Imperial leaders she'd once dedicated her life to serving anonymously. She'd broken out in less than half an hour, amused they'd even tried to hold her. They didn't know she could use the Force. No one did; that was one of her master's most tightly-kept secrets.

He'd had lots of them.

She'd made a mental list of admirals who might be sympathetic to her plight, who would believe she was who she claimed to be, who would see her as an asset rather than a threat to be eliminated. In the end she'd chosen Sloane. Mara had been tracking her down when Operation Cinder began. Palpatine's postmortem revenge on the fledgling New Republic.

And Mara hadn't even known about it.

She hadn't bothered making the last jump to meet up with Sloane. Couldn't bring herself to pull the lever. She'd heard about Inferno Squad defecting; about Yrica Quell and her squadron pursuing Shadow Wing; about former loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus working with Chancellor Mothma herself. Add those to all the defectors after Alderaan and Endor. Madine. Celchu. Fel. She could never see herself as one of them. Her entire life had been the Empire-no, it had been the Emperor. But at the same time, she'd always known the Empire would never survive without him. She'd just never expected to live to see that day.

If one could call what she'd been doing for the past year living.

She'd decided to come to Wayland as a last resort. To see if her master had left anything for her, other than her damned conscience reminding her how she'd failed. Like she needed the reminder. The Messengers hadn't come for her, but maybe that didn't matter. Maybe she had another purpose. And if she didn't find one here... well, she'd think about that later.

For now, she climbed.

She ended up in the Emperor's Throne Room. All the other observatories had been glorified storage closets, but this one had a purpose. But she had no idea what it was because her master hadn't deigned to tell her. That shouldn't have angered her so much. She should have accepted that the Emperor knew best and trusted his judgment, as she always had. But things were different now and she no longer knew what to think.

Despite it being a throne room, the Emperor had kept many artifacts here as well. She searched through drawers and cabinets for something, for anything that might give her a clue as to what she was supposed to do now. She didn't know how much time had passed before she began to lose what little hope she had. Then, she found it.

A lightsaber.

She'd lost hers when she was arrested and hadn't been able to recover it. That lightsaber had never seemed that important to her, simply another tool in her arsenal. Now, gripping this metal cylinder in her right hand, she realized how much she'd missed hers. Her connection to the Force had always been perilous, so dependent on her master's teachings, and the lightsaber was a symbol of her potential.

This weapon was a different style from her old one, with a slanted emitter and black grips surrounding the bottom. Why did the Emperor have a random lightsaber here? Had it belonged to a Jedi? And if so, why keep this here, by itself, and not among all the other lightsabers of Jedi who had perished after the formation of the Empire?

A throat cleared behind her.

Mara jumped, spinning around and igniting the lightsaber at the same time. A blue blade sprang into life in front of her, the tip of it aimed at the man standing a few meters away from her.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, before her brain caught up with her vision. Despite the lack of light in the room, she recognized this person. His dark blond hair was shaggier than the last time she'd seen it and a few days' beard growth covered his face, but his eyes were the same piercing blue, his expression youthful and wizened at the same time.

Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight.

He raised his hands. "Whoa. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm Luke Skywalker."

"I know who you are," she snapped.

Skywalker smirked. "Then why'd you ask?"

Mara growled low in her throat. "I didn't realize who you were at first. You're supposed to be a Jedi and I couldn't sense you sneak up on me." She glanced at her feet, almost embarrassed to show weakness in front of someone she didn't even know, but kept the lightsaber aimed at his chest. Her hand did not shake.

He raised his eyebrows and moved closer to her, undeterred by the lightsaber. And why would he be? His own weapon dangled from his belt, not like he needed it to disarm her. "You can use the Force?" he asked.

"Supposedly," she said bitterly.

"I'm sorry." He had the decency to look chagrined. "I didn't know what I might encounter here and I didn't want to engage in any unnecessary confrontations." A shadow crossed his face, and a few seconds later, an empty spot in the Force she didn't even realize was there sparked to life in front of her. "I certainly didn't expect to find another Jedi."

She had to stop herself from staggering backward. His sense in the Force was overwhelming, unlike anything she'd ever felt before, even around Palpatine. Her master had been an oppressive weight settling over her; Skywalker was a bright beam of light. She didn't know how to react to the sensation. But she knew how to react to his assumption. "I'm not a Jedi."

Skywalker cocked his head. "Who are you, then?"

She didn't see the point in not telling him. If he really wanted to, he could pluck that information from her head. "I'm Mara Jade."

Again, Skywalker's eyes widened. She didn't expect it to be so easy to surprise him. Then again, Rebels were always naive.

"You were one of the Emperor's Hands. I've read about you. I didn't realize they could use the Force."

Mara gritted her teeth. She'd discovered the evidence of other Hands during her exploration of her master's observatories. Add that to the list of things he'd kept from her. Not that he'd lied about it; she'd never asked if she was the sole Hand. It was easier to assume she was special. Why else would he pluck her from her home at such a young age?

She was special, though, in one specific way. "Well, this one can."

A tendril in the Force swirled around her, almost probing, but keeping its distance. Mara threw up all her barriers, damned if she'd let this be easy for him.

"Interesting," he said. "You mind putting that away?"

His change of subject threw her. She blinked. "What?"

"That lightsaber." He pointed at it.

She snorted. Like he actually felt threatened. "Why do you care?"

Skywalker shrugged. "It belonged to me. Darth Vader disarmed me, quite literally."

Mara blinked. Now that she could sense him in the Force,his sincerity was obvious. Not that she doubted this farm boy had a deceptive bone in his body. That begged the question: Why the hell did the Emperor have Skywalker's old lightsaber in his most secret observatory?

The answer came to her just as swiftly as her question. Right-this must be the one he'd lost in Cloud City. She remembered those rebukes she wasn't meant to hear, when she'd been waiting outside her master's throne room on Coruscant, and Vader had to once again explain his failures in person. It wasn't long after that her master had sent her to Tatooine on her mission that turned out to be a fool's errand.

She extinguished the blade but didn't give up the saber. The weight felt comfortable in her hand, giving her the illusion they were on equal footing. Mara had never been low on confidence, but Skywalker was the focus of the only mission she'd ever failed. She raised the hilt in front of her face, examining the shiny metal. "Is this what you came here for?"

"No, but it's a nice bonus. That lightsaber means a lot to my family." His lip quirked. "You didn't happen to find a hand with it, did you?"

Her eyes darted to his right hand, covered with a black glove. That must be a prosthetic. She resisted the urge to throw the lightsaber away. Such superstitions were below her. "Uh, no. Just the weapon."

"Huh. I guess Palpatine was smart enough to get rid of it."

Mara didn't want to think about the possibility of cloned Skywalkers running around the galaxy. If her master had wanted an army of Force users to do his bidding, he would have just cloned Vader, or any of the Inquisitors. They were all the army he needed. She'd always worked alone.

A spark of bitterness cut her heart.

"I was supposed to kill you, you know." The lightsaber remained extinguished in her hand.

Skywalker did not react in the Force. "A lot of people were supposed to kill me. Including..." He trailed off. "Is that why you're here? To kill me?"

"Of course not," she spat. "I had no idea you'd be here." If she had, would she have come? Taken the chance to finish her final mission? Maybe that was the only way to clear her conscience and make the Emperor's ghost disappear forever.

Skywalker cocked his head. "It's curious, though. Palpatine was quite insistent that I be turned. Did he send you some sort of telepathic last command, or something?"

Mara rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Toward the end, you were the most wanted person in the Rebel Alliance. After you refused to join Vader on Bespin, the Emperor realized you were too dangerous to be left alive. So he sent me after you."

"But I'm still here. I was under the impression the Emperor's Hands were quite thorough in their work."

"Yeah, well. I was undercover in Jabba's Palace and couldn't get on the sail barge. Simple as that."

Skywalker moved closer to her. If she ignited the blade and thrust it forward, she'd almost be able to pierce his heart. "I don't buy that for a second. Someone with your skills should have been able to force their way in."

Mara shrugged. "You met Jabba. He was not easily fooled."

"No, but others in his retinue were."

Mara suppressed a growl. Why the hell was she even humoring his line of questioning? This was Imperial territory. He was the interloper. "So, what-I didn't kill you and that means I harbored doubts about the Empire?"

"Maybe not then. People who grew up in the Empire find it hard to break free. But now that everything's gone?" He shrugged and stepped forward. "I've been here five minutes and you haven't tried to kill me yet."

"Only because you'd disarm me in a second."

"I'm not so sure about that. And you still haven't tried."

Mara stared at the saber in her hand. What the hell was Skywalker playing at? Reverse psychology wouldn't work on her, especially not from the person who'd killed her master and subsequently destroyed her life. At the same time, what would be the point in killing Skywalker? He wasn't essential to the fledgling New Republic. He was a symbol, nothing more, and was rarely seen in public anymore. He'd already begun making himself a legend. Destroying him wouldn't bring back her old life. It'd feel damn good for a moment-or would it? She'd never seen the point in killing without a purpose.

That didn't mean she was becoming a Rebel. That she didn't miss her old life. That she didn't regret her failure every single day.

He was here, though, standing in front of her, so she might as well take advantage of the situation and ask the question that had been plaguing her for so long. "How'd you do it?"

"What?" He sounded confused.

Mara looked up and met Skywalker's gaze. "How did you kill the Emperor?"

Again, a rush of surprise washed over him. While she was doing her best to keep Skywalker from sensing her emotions, he had no problem being an open book. She briefly wondered if he acted this way around everyone, or just her. Probably the former.

It would be way too uncomfortable if it were the latter.

"I didn't kill Palpatine." He sounded regretful, and it made her bitterness burn hotter.

"You're lying," she said. "He would never have let himself be blown up on the Death Star. He was smarter and shrewder than Tarkin. The only reason he didn't get off the station was because you put your lightsaber through his chest."

Skywalker glanced at the lightsaber hanging from his belt. He hadn't made a move to use it against her, and still he kept his hand far away from the weapon. Almost as if he was afraid to use it. "I don't know what sort of connection the two of you had, but that's not what happened. I didn't kill him. I tried to, but Vader stopped me. And then Vader killed him. Fulfilled the ancient Sith tradition of the apprentice killing the master, I guess."

She didn't want to admit it, but he was telling the truth, if not the entire story. She could sense it, as clear as she could sense his presence. But her vision of what happened on the Death Star had seemed so real. Had it truly been the last breath of her connection with her master, or merely wishful thinking on her part? Because if Skywalker hadn't killed Palpatine, and Skywalker had gotten off the Death Star without the Emperor or Vader... what the hell had really happened? Why did the Emperor let himself die? Why was he now letting the Empire die without him?

A lump formed in her throat at the same time tears welled in her eyes. She rapidly blinked them away, cursing her lack of control. She was better than this. Whatever Skywalker was doing to her, his claim couldn't be true. He must be using some sort of mind trick.

She shook her head slowly, breaking eye contact with him, letting her anger simmer. Anger was far more preferable to anguish. "It doesn't matter if Vader killed him." Vader-she spat the name. She'd never trusted her master's most preferred lackey, and apparently she'd been correct in her doubt. "Vader believed he could turn you, that the two of you could rule the Empire together, and killed Palpatine to prove his point. He was wrong, as he always was, but then it didn't matter. The Emperor was dead. What I don't understand is how you got off the Death Star, but Vader didn't."

Skywalker did not answer right away. For some insane reason, his eyes also welled up with tears. He did not blink them away. "He was injured. He died right before the explosion. I couldn't get him off the station in time."

"Why the hell would you want to help him?"

Skywalker's response was barely a whisper. "To get answers."

Mara snorted. Of course, the Rebels would want someone to put on trial, a symbol of all that was wrong with the Empire to parade around the galaxy while encouraging planets to join the New Republic. She couldn't blame them. Could Vader have somehow escaped and taken charge of the Empire again? Not likely. Would the Emperor's contingency plan still have occurred even if Vader was still alive? Probably.

She'd been in this room with Skywalker for too long. There was nothing left for her to find, and killing him would do nothing. She tossed the lightsaber hilt at his head. He grabbed it out of the air without flinching.

"There," she said. "You got what you came for. Now leave."

Skywalker's melancholy lifted as he met her gaze again. The corner of his lip turned up in an approximation of a smile. "I told you, I didn't come here for a weapon."

She clenched her fists. She might have just given away a lightsaber, but she still had her blaster. "I don't care what you wanted. I'm letting you go unscathed."

"I appreciate that. I still don't understand why, if you were supposed to kill me."

She locked eyes with him. "Apparently, I wasn't." Was she meant to do anything that had happened in her life?

Skywalker stared at her like he could see through to her soul. Maybe he could. "Where do you go from here, Mara Jade?"

She hated the way her name sounded on his lips. "What do you care?"

"Humor me."

She glanced at her feet. "Honestly, I have no idea. I'll figure something out. I have enough skills to be useful."

Skywalker nodded. "I thought as much. You could always come with me."

Mara threw her head back and laughed. "To the New Republic? You've got to be kidding me."

"Not the New Republic. That's not where I belong anymore. I'm supposed to pass on what I've learned, but there's still so much I don't know. This is the last observatory on my list. I won't find anything else of the Jedi in Palpatine's treasure troves. It's time for me to move on. There's a Jedi temple on Devaron. That's my first stop."

"I thought the Jedi Temple was on Coruscant," Mara interrupted. "The Emperor turned it into his palace."

"A temple, not the temple," Skywalker clarified. He did not seem offended by her statement, or the Emperor's actions. Did anything offend him? "I've been to this one before. I figured I'd return, see where the Force leads me from there. I don't know many other people who can use the Force. I thought you might like to join me."

Mara shook her head through the ridiculousness of his speech. Through the sheer earnestness of it all. He truly believed she'd follow him to Devaron, because she had nothing better to do. Because they could both use the Force, so apparently they belonged together somehow? Not bloody likely.

"Perhaps you've forgotten, but the title Emperor's Hand is pretty clear about my allegiance. I didn't want anything to do with your damned Rebellion and I certainly don't want anything to do with your Jedi Order." She paused. "You wouldn't want me anyway, after the things I've done."

"I'm not so sure about that. Forgiveness can be a powerful thing, from both sides."

"I'll take your word for it."

"I'm sorry to hear that." But he didn't budge. Like he expected her to change her mind. "But just remember, Mara-you always have a choice."

"I'll keep that in mind." She brushed past him through the door to the throne room, not looking back.

Skywalker did not follow her down the stairs. She returned to her ship and left Wayland just as she'd arrived.

Alone.

After jumping to hyperspace, Mara leaned back in her chair, the encounter playing through her mind in slow motion. Belatedly, she realized her heart was still pounding and she berated herself to calm down. But she couldn't stop thinking about it.

About Skywalker.

He'd said she had a choice. A choice to do what? Become a Jedi like him? No; she was done serving other masters. She'd find some other way to live, to discover who Mara Jade was meant to be now that the only purpose she'd ever known was gone.

Not merely gone-destroyed and eradicated from the galaxy. How the hell could Skywalker say she had a choice when everything had been decided for her and subsequently taken away? By destroying Palpatine, Skywalker had destroyed her life; she'd be damned if she let him be the one to remake it.

She called up the navicomputer to calculate her next jump. Skywalker was right. She did have one choice: where to go next.

She'd figure out everything else after that.

She always did.