Chapter Three – Tour of Non-Existence

Before Mara could begin any semblance of movement, she actually had to physically move first. She had laid in bed for a few months. Her legs were suspected to be atrophied. She had a faint memory of when she woke up in Mary Jane Skyler's body, she got on her feet and started walking immediately. That was a complete mystery to the doctors in Mobile, Alabama, and now in retrospect, herself. That wasn't the case this time. She could hardly move her legs, though she had some feeling there. It became evident that she would require physical rehab. She worked with a Mon Calamari physical therapist to strengthen her legs. A normal person would have taken several weeks to complete. A Jedi with Force healing abilities only took a week.

Rey would stop by occasionally to check on Mara's progress. She would also keep promising Mara that she still wanted her to see something on the premises. Since Mara refused to use a hoverchair, the surprise would have to wait. When she was finally cleared to walk and discharged from the Med center, Rey entered the room carrying a small fabric bag. She set it on the bed, which Mara was no longer in. She was sitting on the side bench set on the opposite wall.

Rey said, "These were the clothes we found you in, along with all the possessions you had."

Mara got up from her seat and began to sift through the bag. A basic beige tunic with black pants to match. Her boots. Her lightsaber hook and lightsaber. Her hold out blaster. And the last object in the bag was a small cylindrical flat device. She knew what it was. "Did you turn this on?" She asked Rey.

"No, we didn't touch a thing. I even waited until after you woke up to have you turn on your own lightsaber."

Mara picked up the object and held it in her hand as if it were precious to her. It was. However, would it be equally precious here? Who would it show? Which version? Mara carefully flipped the switch. A blue-white image projected out from one side of the flat end. A mini holo-projector. Not for communication, For remembrance. The image reflected a man in a dark tunic. Even through the blue-white image, his blonde hair and blue eyes were evident.

Rey got closer in order to study the image. "Is that...?"

"Yes," Mara said with no small amount of joy. "That's my Luke."

"Fascinating. He doesn't have a full beard."

"You knew Luke with a full beard?"

"Yes. How old is this hologram?"

Mara considered. "I'd say about a standard year. Maybe two."

Rey noted, "He looks...happier."

"Yes he does."

"Wait, this can't be two years ago. He died five years ago."

Her suggestion made Mara wonder. How are we seeing her version of Luke? Why is it here? More to the point, how are there two of Luke's old lightsabers? Questions yet to be answered. Mara immediately shut off the device and Luke disappeared. "I don't know. I stopped trying to remember what had happened to me during my week of rehab here. I can remember events from my past. Except what happened to me. It's like I blocked it out somehow. And I also can't...never mind."

"What?" Rey injected. "What, Mara? Let me help, if I can."

Mara hesitated before she said, "Luke and I had what we called a Force bond. We could reach into the Force no matter where we were in the galaxy and touch each other's minds. It was a beautiful thing. Sometimes scary. Whenever we were separated across the galaxy from each other, we could always feel our presence. Luke was always with me."

Rey said softly. "That sounds incredible."

"Except now that's gone. I can't feel him anymore."

Rey put her hands on Mara's shoulders. "We will find out what happened to you, Mara. We will get you back to your Luke."

Mara mentally shook herself. "I know. Thank you. As you may be able to tell by now, I'm quite persistent." She paused and said, "Now, what is it you wanted to show me?"

Rey let go of Mara's shoulders and said, "Why don't you get dressed and we can go on a tour of the new Jedi Academy?"

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The facility was expansive with several permacrete huts for shelter and training. Ajan Kloss had a typical jungle terrain with large trees and foliage pretty much everywhere. Rey asked if Mara had ever been to the system before. She had not, but she remembered Ajan Kloss was on a list of possible locations of the Rebel base compiled by Imperial intelligence decades ago. Mara had dressed and they both reached outside in the sweltering sun. Rey informed Mara that she had gathered about forty beings of multiple species who had Force abilities. Rey said she recruited a few of the older students to help her with the lessons. The curriculum was based on the ancient Jedi texts that Rey obtained on Ahch-To. As they strolled past the buildings, Rey would stop and greet a few of her students.

Mara noticed that they only addressed her as Rey. Mara said, "They seem pretty casual. They don't call you Master or even Jedi?"

Rey raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm not a Master. Some days I don't even consider myself a Jedi."

"Didn't you say you made your own lightsaber?"

"I did," Rey replied cheerfully.

"That includes finding the right kyber crystal."

"Yes, I found an amber colored kyber."

"Then you are a Jedi, Rey. Have any of your students made their own lightsaber, yet?"

"Some of the older ones have."

"How old is your youngest?"

"I believe Anara is ten. I didn't want them any younger than that."

"Oh, the Jedi of the Old Republic would have loved you." Mara's sarcasm was in full.

"I know. I read where they took toddlers away from their families forever. Which is sort of what happened to me."

"And me. I was also taken in at a young age by Palpatine."

Rey suddenly stopped and faced Mara with an incredulous look. "You were taken by the Emperor?"

"Relax. He never taught me the Dark Side."

"No, it's not that. It's just...Mara, I have to tell you something. It may come up while you're here. I took the name Skywalker because I renounced my birth name. Palpatine."

Mara's green eyes couldn't have opened wider "What?"

"Yes. As it turned out, I am his granddaughter."

"That's impossible."

"It isn't, actually. I looked through the records. It's true. My parents left me on Jakku as a child. Palpatine later killed them. Can you believe that he had his own son and his wife killed?"

"Oh, that part I believe. I never knew him to have a son."

"With all due respect, Mara, maybe your Palpatine didn't."

And there was the problem again. Mara had to start thinking in interdimensional terms. Things that existed in this world may not have existed in hers. Like the son of Palpatine. And for Palpatine to have a son, he would have had to experience the act of…

"All right, never thinking about that again," Mara blurted suddenly. "Let me just say that you don't look a thing like him. End of discussion."

"Agreed. What I want to show you is this way." Rey started walking along a worn path through the forest. They were getting further away from the main section of the Academy. To the far left. Mara noted a few students running on an obstacle course. Another few were meditating with floating rocks around them. Sounds faded as they approached a particular stone structure, standing in solitude among the clearing of trees. As she got closer, Mara realized why showing this to her was significant.

Standing about ten meters tall were the figures of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo. They stopped just before the structures, as they both admired it. Luke was standing with his arms folded against his chest. The look that was sculpted on him was both stoic and somewhat intimidating. Mara also noticed that the sculptor tried to render a full beard on Luke's face. It was crude, making it look like spikes coming out of his face. It was still effective. Next to him stood Leia in a long, flowing gown that would have been appropriate for the Alderaanian court. Her arms were to her sides standing in a pose of peace and defiance. Perfect for Leia.

Rey spoke softly, "I give you Master Jedi, Luke and Leia Skywalker."

"Actually, Leia never used the name…" Mara caught herself. If she corrected everything that was different in each of their worlds, it would be a waste of time. "Never mind."

Seemingly ignoring Mara, Rey said. "I sometimes come here to honor them. Luke trained me Ahch-To. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Longer story. Leia helped me train here." She motioned to a spot behind them. "I ran that obstacle course countless times with her supervision. I don't know what I would have done without them."

"Neither do I. It is impressive. The Academy, too, not just the statues."

"Thank you. I'm trying to be as good as a teacher as they were."

"That's a tall order. But if you managed all of this so far, I'm sure you're on your way."

They allowed an honorary silence before Rey said. "I had hoped that by seeing our tribute to them, it would jog your memory of them."

"It does. Just not the same memories you have."

"I don't know. The Luke you're describing and the one in your holo-projector doesn't sound like the Luke I knew. The Luke on Ahch-To was abrupt. Disillusioned. He taught me the basics of the Force, yet he never used it in my presence. He said it was time for the Jedi to end. He brought to my attention the mistakes the Jedi have made in the past. He wasn't wrong. It's just not the way I see it, and it's not the way I teach."

Mara said. "I'm going to ask you something about your Luke. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Go ahead."

"Your Ben Solo. Did Luke sense the Dark Side in him?"

"Yes," Rey answered solemnly.

"And he tried to act on it before Ben could show it."

"Yes. I'm starting to believe you know the Luke here better than you think."

"I'd like to think so. I'm beginning to believe that in my travels through different realities, our personalities pretty much stay the same. There is one big difference between your Luke and mine. Me." Mara cringed. "I know that sounds arrogant. I meant that I wasn't here for him."

"To love him?"

"That and to keep him in check. Luke tended to use the Force too much. He relied on it. He would overthink things. Add to that his fear of the Dark Side."

"That tends to happen when your father is Darth Vader."

"Point. I was there to help him, to keep him focused. He didn't have me here to do that. And then he allowed Ben Solo to fully go into the Dark Side and become Kylo Ren."

"Just like his father did."

"Exactly. After that, Luke shut himself off from the Force and hid in exile on Ahch-To."

"He did admit after it all that he was wrong."

"After what?"

Rey hesitated and said, almost embarrassingly. "After…he…died."

Mara smiled. "His Force ghost came to you?"

"Yes."

Mara winked at her. "Don't worry. It happens to the best Jedi." She looked around again toward the main area and said, "I'd like to see more of your Academy here."

"Shall we continue on with the tour?"

"Lead the way."

As they walked back on the path that they arrived on, the sound of a ship could be heard overhead. Mara asked, "You have a spaceport here?"

"A small one. Enough for a fighter squadron and a few freighters."

"Big enough." Mara tilted her head up and shielded her eyes from the sun through the trees. The ship's engines sounded familiar. Too familiar. She caught a glimpse of its shape. Unmistakable.

"Tarkin's Ghost. It's the Millennium Falcon. That ship never changes no matter what reality I'm in."

"Oh, Poe is back. Poe Dameron. He's our New Republic General. Leia's old position. He must have new supplies. Come on. Let's meet him." Rey started running almost like a giddy schoolgirl. They approached the landing platform and the Falcon had just landed with the korfaise gas extruding from the vents. The ramp started to open.

Mara froze.

She blinked once to make sure her sight was working. An instant memory sparked in her mind from a time when she confronted Luke with bad news. At the time, she was battling a Yuuzhan Vong disease. And all hope was lost. Now that hope was in her sight before her. It was impossible, wasn't it? Not here apparently. Just on instinct, she yelled out his name. A name that she had not addressed in decades. She called it out with joy.

"Chewbacca!"

tbc