The Wonderful Life of Mara Jade

Chapter One: New Information

She took in a quick intake of air. Had it been her first in a while? She felt like it had been. She could breathe. But she couldn't remember. Or could she? She tried opening her eyes. They flirted open slowly. Dim light greeted her. She opened her hearing to sound. Beeping. Mechanical beeping. A life monitor. She was in a medevac facility. Consciousness was fighting her to keep her from falling back into oblivion. Suddenly, a med droid appeared before her. It spoke in its inhuman speech.

"You are awake. This is good. Can you hear me?"

She slowly nodded. She was fighting against sleep again.

"Excellent. Can you tell me your name?"

She knew it in her mind. Forming it into words turned out to be a challenge. She found her voice, but it was low and scratchy. "Mara. Jade. Skywalker."

"Skywalker?" The droid blurted out.

"You…sound…surprised." Her voice was a level below whisper.

"Yes. There has only been one known Skywalker in this galaxy for the past five years. To what relation are you to Rey?"

"Uh…who?"

"Rey Skywalker. Unless you are related to the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker."

She felt herself smile. "Yes. Wife."

"Wife? There is no record—oh, are you going back to sleep?"

She closed her eyes and muttered, "I think…I am." Her lips closed. And her head tilted slightly to the left on the pillow. She greeted Oblivion once again.

Her thoughts stirred. She could not stop thinking that this experience was familiar to her. Too familiar. Strange words formed. She knew them once. She had forgotten. Kavan. Earth. Mobile. Alabama. Mary. Mary…Jane…Skyler. She had a connection to her. She was her. Dark hair. Thin. Mousy. Southern accent. She was in the town of Mobile, Alabama. On the Earth system. She was in Mary's mind. Because Mara died. Yet, she didn't. She had to find out why Mary had been in a coma. Mary was hit by a horse. There was more to it than that, but she couldn't quite remember. The only thing that mattered to her now, more than her own life, was him. She thought of him. Only him.

"Luke!" This time, she was fully alert. Eyes open. Hearing full. Her torso ejected up from the bed. She looked around. Got her bearings. Med vac room.

The medical droid whirled over to her. "You are awake again, Mara Jade."

"Skywalker. Don't forget Skywalker."

"Yes. There is someone here who would like to speak to you about that."

"Luke. Is he here?"

"I am afraid not. Do you need water?"

She licked her lips. They were excessively dry and on the verge of cracking. Her throat felt the same. "Actually, yes."

"Very well." The droid swiveled its torso and used its arm to claw a cup of water sitting on the bedside table. He handed it to Mara. She grabbed it and started gulping the water as if she had spent weeks without it in a hot desert.

"Your guest will be greeting you shortly."

"Guest?" The droid didn't reply and proceeded through the door to disappear.

Mara started thinking again. She knew she had just awoken from being asleep. Thoughts of her excursion to Mobile, Alabama filled her head. That was ten standard years ago. Why now? More to the point, how did she fall asleep? Was she just asleep? Cracked lips and throat didn't happen with overnight slumber. And there was something else. Something she just realized. There was a numbing pain in her head. She reached with her fingers to her head. She felt a thick baacta bandage on her right side.

"What in the kriff happened to me?" she uttered.

As if on cue, the door hissed open. In walked a young girl. Woman. Chestnut hair done in a three-pronged ponytail. She wore a beige flowing tunic. Her expression was that of curiosity and wonder. Even better, Mara could feel her curiosity. The Force. She could use it again. The woman eased herself into the room and sat in the chair beside the bed. Mara lay back down. She found that laying down too flat in the bed was not comfortable for a conversation.

"Could you lift my head up a bit?" she asked the girl.

The girl said, "Oh yes." She went to the controls for the bed and eased Mara's head up to a workable angle. "All right?"

"Fine."

The girl sat back down in the chair. Mara could detect a slight Coruscanti accent in the girl's speech. "My name is Rey. I understand that the name you gave yourself is Mara Jade."

"That's right. That's my maiden name. My married name is Skywalker."

"Luke?" Mara nodded. The girl continued. "You were his wife?"

"Still am. Is he here?"

"No." The girl hesitated. "As I said, my name is Rey. Rey Skywalker."

Mara's eyes widened. "And just how are you related to Luke?"

"Well, I'm not really. I sort of adopted his name."

"Why would you do that?"

Rey raised her head slightly. "To honor him. He taught me about the Jedi and the Force."

"Did he, now?" Mara sneered. "Were you part of his Jedi class on Yavin? Wait, you look too young for Yavin. Ossus? I don't seem to remember you."

"And I don't remember you. In fact, I don't recall your name at all."

"Really. I've been married to Luke for over forty standard years. We have a son, Ben. He's over twenty years old now. Why are you shaking your head?"

"I don't…that is we…don't have a record of a Mara Jade. And there is no record of Luke Skywalker taking wife. Or having a son."

"What are you talking about? You think I wouldn't know my husband and son?"

"Well. It's not that. Let me explain something." Rey shifted in her seat. Mara felt her nervousness. It was clear that whatever she needed to disclose to Mara, it wasn't going to be good news. Rey went on. "You were found unconscious on the shores of Scalia. You had a massive head wound. You had no identity on you. No one knew who you were until you woke up earlier today. When you reported your name as Skywalker, I was summoned to speak with you."

Mara was dumbfounded. "All right. Go back to having no record of Mara Jade. I'm known halfway across this galaxy. Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand, Smuggler Assistant to Talon Karrde. Married to the Master Jedi and hero of the Rebellion, Luke Skywalker. Survived a Yuuzahn Vong poison while giving birth to her son."

Rey seemed to take in Mara's information with interest. Better yet, she was taking it in as new information. Mara's suspicions were verified when Rey asked her, "What kind of poison?"

"Yuuzahn Vong. From the war against them." Rey shook her head slowly, confirming her ignorance. Mara sat up and leaned forward. "How can you not remember the Yuuzahn Vong war? Creatures from the Unknown Territories who repel the Force. Hates all things mechanical. All their weapons are organic. You should be young enough to remember. Not ringing a bell?"

Rey shook her head again. "I've never heard of it."

Mara blew out a frustrated breath. "So, let me get this straight. You've never heard of Mara Jade or have a record of my marriage to Luke. Or my son Ben. You've never heard of the Yuuzahn Vong or the war they caused. It's like they didn't…." She stopped herself upon realization. Her mind recalled what she had been thinking of while she was asleep. Kavan. Mobile. Mary Jane Skyler. Mara finished her sentence slowly. "…exist." Rey was about to reply, but Mara interrupted. "How long was I out?"

"About a few hours. You finally woke up—"

"How long since you found me on Scalia?"

It took way longer to reply and in a lower voice. "A few months. You were in a—"

"Coma," Mara finished.

Mara tried to focus on the Force to help her remember. Why Scalia? How was her head injured? Nothing came. Yet, she remembered Luke and Ben. Just like she had in Mary's body on Earth. She remembered events and wars that had happened since her excursion to Mobile Alabama. She did enter back into her galaxy, but not quite the same galaxy. There were differences. She entered into a different timeline. Or a different reality.

Past, present, and future all define time as one.

Someone had told her that. Who, exactly, eluded her. Yes, there were differences. She reentered the alternate reality through a coma. Just what had she recently experienced? Had she entered into yet another alternative time? A timeline without the Yuuzahn Vong. No Ben Skywalker. No Luke. Or not her Luke. She finally uttered. "I don't exist here."

Rey brightened. "Oh, I'm sure you do exist. It's just that what you're claiming can't be verified yet."

"It won't be," Mara sighed. "This is not my time."

"Maybe it is. There was something that we did find on you. I wanted to ask you about it myself." She reached under the folds of her tunic to produce a familiar weapon.

Mara almost gasped. "Luke's lightsaber."

"Yes," Rey said. "The design is exactly like Luke's. I know because I've used it several times. Strange thing is what I did to it."

Mara crinkled her brow. "What did you do?"

"First, I want to ask you from where you got it?"

Mara looked down at it. And remembered. "Luke gave it to me years ago. Decades before we were married even. It's been mine ever since."

"That's impossible," Rey said. "Before I found it, Maz Kanata kept it hidden in her castle on Takodana. I had been using it since then until I made my own. But I buried it."

"Buried?"

"Yes. Near Luke's home on Tatooine. I buried it along with Leia's lightsaber."

Mara frowned. There was only one reason to bury Jedi lightsabers. "Rey," Mara started slowly. "Are Luke and Leia…not with us anymore?" She couldn't bring herself to say, dead.

Ray slowly nodded. "Yes. They are one with the Force, as the Jedi say. It was five standard years ago."

Mara sat back in her bed. She was also taking in Rey's information as new. Luke and Leia. Dead. Who else? She thought of Han Solo and his mate Chewbacca. Unfortunately, Chewie also perished by the time Mara entered her new galaxy ten years ago. She then noticed a small note of recognition on Rey's expression.

"Rey. What is it?"

"I felt you through the Force. Did you know Han Solo?"

"Oh, yes. He and his wife, Leia. His daughter, Jaina was my Jedi apprentice. Their son Jacen, on the other hand…well, I'd rather not go into him right now." There was a blank stare from Rey. "Don't tell me. No Jaina or Jacen Solo?"

Ray answered. "The only son Han and Leia had was Ben."

"They named their son Ben. That's original."

"Yes. Ben fell to the Dark Side. He became Kylo Ren in the First Order. Actually he killed Han."

"Their son fell to the Dark Side? And he later killed his father? Must be a family trait in any timeline. What is the First Order?" Mara said the last sentence as a yawn.

Rey started to get up. "I'll tell you what. I think you have been on information overload in the past several minutes. Why don't I let you rest for a bit? We can give you a history datacard to go over later. Much easier to read about it than to hear me trying to remember it all. Maybe something will jog your memory."

"I haven't forgotten who I am. It's just that my facts are not the same as yours."

Rey crinkled her nose. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Truthfully, neither do I."

"Well, I'll leave you alone for now. If you need anything, just call. I'll come back later. I'm sure you'll have more questions."

"Fine."

"I'll see you soon, Mara Jade Skywalker."

"Rey," Mara called.

"Yes."

"Could you leave my…Luke's lightsaber?"

"Of course." Rey placed it on the bedside table. "Anything else?"

"No." Ray nodded and left the room.

Mara Jade Skywalker was left alone with her new thoughts in her new reality. Now her goal was to return to her proper one.