Chapter Two: History Lesson

I don't exist.

Mara pondered that notion again and again while lying in bed at the Med facility. Somehow, she entered into a coma through an unknown trauma and came out into a timeline where Mara Jade did not exist. It was a thought that had occurred to her more than once even before her experiences with alternate realities. Mara Jade was the name Palpatine had given her. How real was that name, considering the many deceptions surrounding the Emperor? She had never seen her official birth certificate. At least not the one before her name was made official. Palpatine legitimized her name when she was quite young. Was it a name given to her by her real parents? Did Palpatine pull the name from ancient archives? At this stage it would be impossible to tell, especially in a world where she was never born.

Which perhaps wasn't exactly true. There may have been a Mara Jade in this reality. Was she even associated with Palpatine here? Maybe she was a smuggler, or an ambassador. An experienced slicer or even a professional dancer. The thought of the many possibilities open to her was liberating. And lonely. She had been lying in bed for quite some time now, at least in her waking hours. She had been in a coma for a few months. According to Rey, she had been there this long, and no one came to claim her. Not a mother, father, brother, sister, or husband. No one. Anyone whom she had known was either dead or didn't exist. Luke had existed. So did Leia. And Han. All had perished. The thought of living without them scared her. And Mara Jade did not scare easily.

There had to be a way to get back to her time. She had done it before when she was in the mind of Mary Jane Skyler in Mobile, Alabama. She found a way then to reenter her own galaxy despite a few differences. None of those differences included the absence of the people she loved. She strained to think of how she crossed over. She couldn't even remember how she hit her head and landed on the shores of Scalia in a coma. There had to be a way. She could not endure this level of loneliness any longer.

She decided to occupy her mind with something else. True to her word, Rey left a datapad nearby. She grabbed it from the bedside table and flipped through the screens. It was a history pad. The pads that schools handed out for lessons. She soon found what she was looking for. The First Order. The Galactic War between the Empire and the Rebellion carried out the same way she knew it. But there was a major difference. There had been a fierce battle over the remote system of Jakku. The Rebels fought the Empire's forces and won. An Imperial Star Destroyer had been disabled and crashed onto the desert surface, among other vehicles and ships. It ended up being the deciding battle that ended the war, and the Empire lost. Instead of allowing the remaining Imperial officers to form their own Imperial Remnant, they were all banished to the Unknown Regions. Big mistake, Mara thought.

It was around 21 ABY when the First Order had been founded. It grew so large that it became its own government and eventually took over the Republic. Mara noted the differences from what she experienced in her reality. There was no New Republic, only a Senate that governed the various regions. Also, she made note that there was no mention of Gilad Pellaeon. And no Pellaeon–Gavrisom Peace Treaty. No wonder the First Order took over. She read on about a leader who was said to be deep in the Force named Snoke. She shook her head. That meant this Snoke was part of the Dark Side. For a faction that dismissed the religion of the Force, the Empire did have its share of Dark Side users as leaders. Snoke trained an apprentice named Ben Solo, who later named himself Kylo Ren. Snoke was later killed and Kylo Ren became the First Order's Supreme Leader. Mara was still reading when Rey came into the room carrying a tray of food.

"Good evening. Mara. I thought you'd like some dinner."

Mara's eyes widened when she saw and smelled the savory aroma of some roasted meat. "Is that taraffin steak?"

"It is. At least you remember your food."

"Yes, I'm famished."

Rey set the tray on a nearby cart and Mara started cutting the juicy steak with a supplied kitchen knife. She took a bite and the thrill of food returned to her. As she ate, Rey noted the data pad nearby. She asked Mara. "Catching up on history?"

"Your history," Mara said after chewing. Rey raised an eyebrow. Mara could feel the girl's confusion through the Force. She probably thought Mara's head injury included a mental lapse. "I'm not crazy, you know."

Rey tried to defend herself. "I never said you were."

"You're thinking it. Or you're confused about if I'm sane. I can feel it in the Force."

"As can I in you. I can feel your confusion as well. What is unbelievable is that you don't think you are in an alternate reality. You believe you are."

Mara put her knife down from eating the steak and proceeded to say, "Let me give you an example why. In my time, the destruction of the second Death Star also happened the same way I remember. It was destroyed over the moon of Endor. The remains of the Imperials survived for about a decade before they slowly lost their resources and power. There was a Grand Admiral Pallaeon who surrendered to the New Republic. The Pellaeon–Gavrisom Peace Treaty was signed. The Empire more or less had ceased to exist. In your time, the Battle of Jakku ended the Galactic Civil War. The difference was that the Republic banished the remains of the Empire to the Unknown Regions."

Rey asked, "How is that different?"

Mara explained. "Your Republic's government isolated what was left of the Empire from the main part of the Galaxy. Punishing them in the process. You left them to their own devices. It gave them time to strategize a plan for their revenge. And they formed the First Order. I assume the Republic were their usual selves and were squabbling about. Getting nothing done in the Senate. Systems noticed. Here comes the First Order with its one system of government. They offer a solution that hides as a dictatorship. And this Supreme Leader, Snoke? He was deep in the Dark Side, was he not?"

Rey nodded. "He trained and seduced Ben Solo. Ben became Kylo Ren." Rey almost seemed gleeful when she said, "But when he killed Snoke on his own, he saved me."

Mara snorted. "Oh, Kylo Ren killed Snoke?"

"They blamed his death on me."

"Figures. More Empire propaganda. Still, how very Sith-like of him. I doubt the act was altruistic. Sith Leaders and their apprentices were always fighting each other for control. The Rule of Two." Mara allowed a space of time to pass so Rey could absorb her words. Even without the Force, Mara could sense that history was not among Rey's interests. She then decided on another aspect of history. "Speaking of Dark and Light sides of the Force, I want to ask you about Luke Skywalker."

"What do you want to know?"

"What happened to him here?"

Rey took a deep sigh. "Truthfully, I'm not sure myself. For most of my life, I had been out of touch with the rest of the galaxy. I only heard about the Jedi and Luke Skywalker as rumors and myths. You may be able to tell there isn't much in the history books about the Jedi or the Force. It wasn't until fairly recently that I realized that I had the Force. I'm still learning."

Mara smirked. "Luke used to tell me that a Jedi is never finished learning."

Rey nodded and continued. "As far as Luke goes, I can tell you what I know. To start, Ben Solo was one of Luke's students."

Mara lowered her head. "You don't have to go any further. I'm guessing Luke felt that Ben's turn to the Dark Side was his fault and he shut down."

Rey nodded. "He shut himself off to the galaxy and the Force."

Mara muttered almost to herself, "And I wasn't here to knock some sense into him and bring him back."

Not knowing what Mara meant, Rey went on. "Nobody knew where he was. There was a small section of a map that was incomplete. The First Order had the rest of it. We retrieved it and it revealed Luke was on the site of an ancient Jedi temple on Ahch-To. I met him there in hopes of him coming with me to help with the fight against the First Order."

"Fat chance. Luke never saw himself as a hero."

"Amazing. That's just what Luke said. But he did end up as a hero. He Force-projected himself across the galaxy so that the remaining members of the Resistance could escape." She paused before she said solemnly, "The power of doing so proved too much for him."

Another pause passed before Mara said, "Sounds like he had a lonely existence. Kind of like me right now."

Rey could sense Mara's depression about her situation. "Mara, as I said, I was on my own for most of my life. I was left on Jakku when I was quite young. I had no one but myself to take care of me. I was a scavenger. I taught myself the mechanics of ships and vehicles. I gutted most of that Star Destroyer and other ships for parts to trade for food portions. I learned how to defend myself, which was needed on Jakku. I was alone. But I managed. And survived. From only meeting you for a few hours, Mara, I can tell that you are a survivor as well. It wasn't until I met my new friends when I didn't feel so lonely anymore."

Mara suddenly blurted, "I don't want new friends! I want the family and friends that I had! I don't belong here!" She buried her face in her hands.

"I know. I'm sorry. You don't remember anything before you woke up today?"

Without looking up, Mara gave a sobering, "No."

"There may be some memory-enhancing techniques through the Force in the ancient Jedi texts I've read. Maybe we can try those."

"Maybe. I don't know what else I can do. It's strange that I can remember the details of my history, but I've blacked out how I ended up on Scalia in a coma."

For a moment, Rey looked to be considering something. And then she said to Mara, "I have been taking on students here on Ajan Kloss for the past few years. This is where Leia helped me with my training. I've been trying to be as skilled a teacher as Luke and Leia were. There's something here that I want you to see. It may help your memory."

Mara finally lifted her head out of her hands and asked, "What is it?"

Rey replied, "It's better if you see it for yourself."

tbc