Hey everyone! It's good to be back after a nice vacation/hiatus. The new uni year is starting soon so I've decided to get back into the swing of things by posting a medium length chapter to make the transition into the ep VI cannon, as well as to get the old writing muscles working again.
Hope you guys enjoy it and are excited about where the adventure is going. I know I am. Now without further ado, let's answer some reviews:
-starwarsgirl22: so sorry it took so long. I just really needed the break to be able to properly relax and not think about writing for a couple of weeks. But now I'm more than ready to get back to work and write again ;)
-RKF22: Thanks a lot. And thank you for being so patient and loyal with this series. Hope you like where it's heading. May the Force be with you.
-Jeda31: I am so overjoyed to hear that my story is impacting you in this way. I have some plans for some really great lightsaber duels in the near future which I hope to grant the same visceral thrills and tension you've described. I also really want to further these potent character relationships and flesh them out as much as possible. I know this chapter is much less action-packed than the previous one, but please tell me if you like what it sets up for future chapters ;) Thanks again for all your support.
-Krysta Farrell: Thanks a lot Krysta, your support and encouragement mean the world to me. These past few weeks where I was able to not concern myself in any way with writing really worked. Now when I look at the fanfiction, words come out and onto the page so much easier, whereas before it was like trying to tap a dried-out well. I know that you'll be able to find the strength and inspiration to continue your own stories as well. I can tell by the passion and sincerity in your words that you have that fighting spirit, and I for one cannot wait to read your finished works. If you need any help at all with those works, just to read them or even words of encouragement please message me: if I can help I will. Stay safe Krysta and keep on fighting. May the Force be with you.
-gdvp111: WOW! Just... wow. Mere words cannot do justice to how impressed and grateful I am for all your feedback. I seriously respect and admire the time and attention you've put into helping this fanfic improve bit by bit. Answering every point of criticism would take too long but just know you've given me many ideas to think about and possible routes for the story to take. I deeply appreciate your commitment to this series and thank you for your hard work to make it better (I am a slow learner ;). Thank you for everything and can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter.
-Archangel 767: Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's certainly a bold statement but one I am very happy to hear. If you like this idea of taking the original films and turning some of their elements around, you might really like where I'll be taking this in the future (no promises but it'll certainly be something ;). I am glad you're liking the portrayal of Mara. I did not know much about her prior to starting this fanfic, but as I've been writing she has easily become one of my favorite female characters in all of SW.
-Age of Maul: Thanks a lot! Sorry for the wait and hope you like where it's headed.
-stars90: I'm glad! Seriously, I'm really, really glad it worked and that so many people are of that mindset. Since I finished writing this chapter just as I began to feel an urge to take a break from writing I worried I may have phoned it in at some points or written in a style that's too unrecognizable... But it puts my mind at ease to know that chapter had an effect on you, especially for a confrontation as important and pivotal as that one.
All right, that looks to be all the reviews answered! I'll let you all get on with this chapter and give some updates, for those that are interested, on my writing schedule going forward.
Enjoy!
Lando Calrissian had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the pathetic display of leadership unfolding before him. Jan Dodonna and Gial Ackbar were in the midst of a tense argument, waving and pointing wildly at each other, exchanging fiercer and fiercer jeers, neither one willing to back down.
Crix Madine was desperately trying to reinstate a modicum of civility to the High Command meeting, while Mon Mothma rested her chin on her hands, eyes lost in thought, occasionally glancing over to the empty seat next to her: the chair Leia used to occupy.
"That just seems to be your response to everything, Jan," Ackbar shouted cynically. "Anyone in the Alliance who even dares to operate without direct orders must be punished and made an example of!"
"Don't even try to paint me as the bad guy here," Dodonna snapped back aggressively, forcing Crix to place an arm in front of him to keep him away from Ackbar. "We are a MILITARY organization! We NEED a chain of command! We NEED discipline! Allowing our most valuable assets to desert their posts and ignore orders with impunity is what's led us into this mess! Kenobi is gone! Leia and Solo are gone! And what do we get in return? An amputated Imperial deserter, an emotionally unstable kid, and a damned traitor."
Jan purposefully glared at Lando who held his gaze with admirable humility and detachment. He had no interest in joining in on the discussion at this stage; he had said all he needed to say.
"Gentlemen, we need to move past this reckless bickering," Crix Madine bravely stepped forward to try to get the meeting back on track. "For now, all of our issues are purely internal and must be kept as such no matter what. The galaxy stills knows the Alliance as the group that destroyed the Death Star. The Empire is viewed as unstable and weak by a growing number of systems."
"Yes, and Kenobi went off and destroyed that reputation by getting himself captured," Jan muttered bitterly, tiredly dropping back into his chair. "He lifted the spirits of millions across the galaxy, inspired them to rise up, and now those same people will get to see him be publicly executed by the Empire…"
An ominous and oppressive silence weighed over the entire room. Everyone looked off in different directions, seemingly lost in reflection. Lando recognized those expressions and this atmosphere all too well; he had seen it countless times at the gambling tables: a point where victory seems impossible but so much has already been put on the line to obtain it, no one can bring themselves to fold.
"We must remain hopeful," Ackbar's rumbling baritone wavered between determined and pleading. "Have faith in the Jedi and in our allies… The light always shines brightest when it is surrounded by darkness."
"What light is even left?" Jan sighed tragically, staring at the ornate Alliance emblem that hung above their seats. "We don't even know where to go—"
His speech was suddenly interrupted when a junior officer burst into the meeting room, nearly falling over as he came to a halt beside Lando. He gave a nervous salute to the high command, whose members had risen to their feet with looks ranging from confusion to irritation.
"Ma'am, sirs, it's about commander Skywalker and the woman…," Jan and Crix were already grinding their teeth before he even said it. "They've abandoned ship. Or rather they took one of ours, or borrowed, or stole it rather, and left this ship—"
"What are you talking about, you idiot!" Jan bellowed, his eyes bulging like a man possessed. "Where were the guards?!"
"Well, I… I was bringing them their food, and just as I entered their room, commander Skywalker told the guards that they wanted to let him out and go for a walk, and that's exactly what they did… just opened his cell, got up, and left their posts."
"Did they say where they were going?" Mon Mothma's voice surprised everyone.
"Yes, ma'am," the officer replied anxiously. He turned towards Lando, who stared back at him incredulously, and said mechanically: "Bobba Fett is taking Han and Leia to his employer. We'll come help when the time is right."
Several seconds of deafening silence passed before the room was filled by Lando's loud, boisterous laughter. Everyone waited patiently as he came back to his senses and could keep a straight face.
"You asked for the light, he's given it to you," Lando said cryptically. "I need to talk to some of my contacts, see if they can get me a post at Jabba's palace..."
And with that, Lando jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room, his gaudy cape billowing dramatically behind him.
Mara felt like she was slowly going deaf from how silent the ship was. Although if she was being honest, silence had been a theme ever since she and Luke somehow managed to survive Cloud City.
As they were dangling helplessly for their lives, the Millennium Falcon had swooped in just in time to pluck them off of a weather antenna before they fell below the clouds. Through it all Mara had bobbed in and out of consciousness, managing to keep her eyes open only for a few seconds at a time.
Once Luke and Lando had patched her up and her vitals began to improve, that was when she had started to notice the silence; the unbearable, eerie silence. Luke did not leave her bedside, he diligently sat beside her as she pretended to sleep, all the while peering at him through half-open eyelids.
His gaze was entirely foreign to her. It had wandered and wavered across the Falcon's small medbay, sometimes stopping to stare at a wall or a corner of the room with an inscrutable seriousness. As much as she tried, Mara could not guess what was happening behind those eyes, what thoughts were brewing in his head; and deep down, a part of her never wished to know.
When she thought back to how much evil, malice, and despair she had sensed in Vader, to how he had murdered and tortured so many innocent people, how his very soul seemed to be a bottomless abyss filled by the Dark Side; Mara could not understand how that man could be Luke Skywalker's father. It felt too grotesque and unfair.
But it was true, sooner or later she would need to come to terms with it. Vader's words had been spoken with no deceit or cynicism. For the first time since she had met the Dark Lord, he had spoken sincerely. Every other time his voice had been laced with undertones of deceit and dishonesty as if every facet of his existence was as unknowable as his appearance beneath that dark mask. However, when he told Luke that he was his father, all that artifice was gone and Mara had instinctively known he was telling the truth; no doubt Luke had sensed it too.
Now that they knew the truth, all that was left was to accept it, which was another trial in itself. One that Mara had no interest in tackling right after losing a limb because of the father of the kid sitting next to her. She knew it was wrong to think of it that way but she did not have the inclination to be understanding or compassionate right now. In the heat of the moment, when Luke had looked into her eyes before they fell down the reactor shaft, she had been able to forgive and forget everything in an instant, knowing she would be dead soon. Now that they were both very much alive, she needed time before being able to let bygone be bygones.
Luke had frankly not helped his case during the flight from Cloud City back to the Rebel fleet, since every so often she would catch him staring at the stump of her hand with that same unknowable look he had used on the walls. Mara would see his mouth move, the beginning of a sentence would start to form on his lips, and suddenly he would stop himself, let out a low sigh and go back to staring off into space.
That was when the silence went from eerie to debilitating. Mara was expecting an apology, a plea, something to try to make up for nearly getting them both killed. Instead, all she had gotten were sighs and unreadable gazes. At that moment she had been determined not to utter another word until Luke said something to her first.
In retrospect, she deeply regretted that decision. When they had returned to the Rebel Alliance's fleet, an armed escort was waiting for them and had herded her and Luke directly into the detention center, while escorting Chewbacca and Lando who knows where.
They waited hours in that cell, in total silence: Luke sitting cross-legged on his bunk, meditating, Mara, going stir-crazy as she tried not to pace around or punch her cellmate in the face. This kid is seriously not going to say anything?! She slowly began to warm to the idea of this guy being Vader's son after all.
After nearly three hours of this, an officer had shown up to give them food and without warning, Luke had mind tricked the guards into opening their cell, before immediately walking out and calling for her to "follow him".
For a reason that still escaped her, Mara had done just that and they both somehow managed to board an empty shuttle, pilot it out of the command ship, and jump to lightspeed before anyone could be dispatched to stop them.
This all brought Mara back to now, as she sat in the copilot's chair beside Luke who kept his gaze riveted forward, his blue eyes matching the reflections of the hyperspace tunnel they were traveling through.
I swear he is going to make me blow a fuse…
Mara's patience was wearing thin. If Luke did not say something very soon she would have to start breaking things, perhaps starting with him.
"Ahem…" Mara cleared her throat just loud enough to upset the droning silence, but Luke's gaze did not waver, he remained completely oblivious.
You're pushing me dangerously close, kid…
"Ahem. Ahem!" this time Mara exaggerated the sound even more, leaning her whole body forward as she held her amputated hand over her mouth in case her point was not clear enough.
That finally seemed to do the trick. Luke tore his eyes away from the hyperspace lane to look concernedly over to Mara who brimmed with strange anticipation.
Make this good, Luke—
"Are you cold? Want me to see if there's a blanket in the back?"
"I'm going to kill you."
Mara did not wait for her threat to register on his face. She immediately went for the jugular and put Luke in a chokehold. The young man barely had time to switch the autopilot on before nearly being strangled to death. He could tell she had no intention of actually killing him but that did not mean she was not averse to having be unconscious for a while.
"Mara, what are you doing?" Luke managed to gasp out.
Mara craned her neck to stare into his eyes, hoping they would shine with humorous mirth that would clue her in to the joke but she saw none of that. At least now, since he had spoken first, she did not have to worry about staying silent anymore.
"Ten hours we've been together," she spoke slowly, flexing her bicep around Luke's throat for emphasis. "Ten hours since Cloud City, since we both nearly died, since the only hope for the Rebellion (you) almost fell to his death, and during all that time you don't say a word!? To answer your question: I'm not sure what I'm doing but unless you tell me something good, I can tell you what you'll be doing very soon."
To make her point clear, Mara clenched down a little tighter around his throat. Luke's face was starting to get pale but she did not seem to care much.
"I've been doing… a lot of thinking," Luke gasped, trying not to expend too much precious oxygen. "I've started to realize the path that was set out for me is not the one I must follow."
Mara loosened her hold on Luke to allow him to catch his breath. His words caused her gut to tighten slightly. She did not like what he was implying. Did he mean the path of the Jedi was not one he must follow? Well, what did that leave as an alternative?
Mara picked her next words very carefully. The sudden ferocity in her voice caught Luke completely off-guard:
"Listen to me very carefully. I need you to tell me exactly what you mean by that because right now the way I'm interpreting what you just said means I have no choice but to kill you. Tell me now: are you going to join the Dark Side?"
Mara could feel her palm getting sweaty. She almost did not want to hear his answer. If he said yes, would she even have the courage to kill him? To snap his neck like a coward after sacrificing so much to protect him? Or would she try to uphold some cryptic code of honor by allowing him to duel her in single combat? Since neither of them had their lightsabers she envied that option even less.
Why is it that fate always leads me into these situations? Am I to always be the one who is left with the impossible choices?
And then, for the first time in a very long time, Mara heard the sound of laughter. A sweet, melodious, sincere laughter. Not marred by cynicism or sarcasm, but a true, genuine laugh that escaped Luke's lips like a song: the most beautiful thing Mara had ever heard in her life.
She felt his hand grasp her forearm, a few centimeters from the hideous stump of her hand. A warm, soothing force flowed from his fingertips and into her arm as if it were being nestled into a blanket.
Is this what it feels like…?
"I would never join the Dark Side," Luke spoke decisively, eyes unwaveringly set forward. "I've seen its power, I've been tempted by it, and perhaps, just for a moment, I gave in to it. But what it showed me cannot be described… what it offered to me was immense, but the toll it demanded in return was monstrous, unspeakably so. However, I believe there is a way to draw upon some of its power without paying the toll—"
Luke was interrupted by Mara who spun his chair around to bring them face to face. She leaned forward, locking eyes with him, their faces just a few centimeters apart.
"Swear to me…," Mara cleared her throat and forced herself to keep her voice steady as she made her demand. "Swear to me you will never join him… That you won't fall to the Dark Side."
Silence, again, took over the ship. It lasted an uncertain amount of time, each person noticing the other's tremors in their irises, feeling the slight wind of each other's breaths; two people walking a tightrope and unable to turn around…
"I promise."
Mara was surprised how relieved those words made her feel, how much weight she felt was lifted off her shoulders at that moment. She took her hands off of Luke and slumped back in her own chair, letting her gaze wander as Luke deactivated the autopilot.
"I'm sorry about your hand," Luke said after several seconds.
"You're several hours too late for that," Mara spoke with a humorous snort. She raised the stump up before her eyes, trying to check herself from imagining a hand there.
"I thought about saying it sooner," Luke admitted. "It's one of the many things I mulled over on our way back from Bespin. In the end, I felt it would not do any good. An apology is a poor consolation for what you've lost, and I wanted to give you time to process your injury before bringing it up."
"How thoughtful of you…" Mara tried to sound sarcastic but she could not manage it.
Luke's reasoning made sense and rang true. She had spent many hours reflecting on the loss of her hand and had been surprised by how calmly she'd taken it. For a while, Mara had wondered why that was until the answer came to her and she realized how obvious it was: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The old master had also lost his arm, but it had never seemed to influence him in the slightest. He had even refused to have an implant made to replace it. Obi-Wan had simply made peace with losing a part of his body and continued to perform his duty without letting his skills drop. Mara could not imagine such a thing was easy. With all the expectations placed on Obi-Wan's shoulder that injury could have easily made him lose his way…
"As soon as I can I'll have an implant made, and be right as rain," Mara chuckled good-naturedly, catching Luke by surprise. "It's just a limb, right? Can't let it slow me down."
"Yeah. I guess not," Luke chuckled back, understanding her meaning.
They traveled quietly for a few minutes before Mara felt the urge to speak up:
"Have you given any more thought about this 'new way' you're describing. Seems like a pretty tall order for a Force user to create a path different from the Jedi and the Sith."
Luke nodded thoughtfully. When he spoke, it was confidently and without trepidation:
"There will always be the Jedi and the Sith. That is inescapable. As long as there is the Force, there must be a balance. There will be those born to serve the darkness, like Sidious, those born to serve the Light, like Obi-Wan, but I believe there must be others. Those who must stand at the crossroad between each extreme, like a central point on a scale. I believe… that is the role for which I am destined, and I also believe, my father is destined to be the same."
"Vader? A mediator between Light and Dark?" Mara did her best to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "I wouldn't count on it."
"I'm not going to try to convince you, I know how much he's made you suffer, but I believe there is still good in him. As our fight on Cloud City dragged on I could feel something emerge from the darkness and pain in his heart… I believe that is what will set him free."
Mara could not think of a satisfying reply. She was taken aback by how perceptive, lucid, and calm Luke had become. It was difficult to imagine that only a couple hours prior he had been so close to giving in to his fear and anger…
Mara decided to return to the original topic of discussion rather than dwell on the past:
"So do you think I could do what you're planning to do? Become this… mediator between Jedi and Sith?"
Luke thought for a second before replying:
"No. I don't think so. You've already experienced the Dark Side; part of its power anyway. Considering what you've endured, all the pain and suffering it caused you, I don't think you'd be able to return to it. Your only choice is to devote yourself completely to the Light Side to be able to fight back against those who wronged you."
"So… what? My only solution is the Light Side? We're all just predestined to follow one of three paths?"
"Perhaps there are some who are predestined… When the cosmic energy of the Force brings people into existence, I believe some are ingrained with an unwavering allegiance to either side. Master Yoda and Obi-Wan are children of the light, and Sidious is a child of the dark—"
"So we have no free will?"
"I'll be sure to ask if I ever meet the person with the answer," Luke said jokingly before speaking more seriously. "Living beings are complicated, there can be no certainties when dealing with them. In the end, even the most powerful Jedi may someday fall to the Dark Side. Predicting the future is no good. All we can do is follow our hearts."
Mara was again lost for words. Since when did Luke become so soft-spoken and insightful? How was it that she was getting lessons from someone who was no older than her?
Perhaps he really is the Chosen One?
"Standby. We're coming out of hyperspace," Luke's words focused Mara's attention on the planet that was now in front of them as they emerged from the hyperspace lane.
"What is this place?" she asked. Mara did not recognize the medium-sized green planet they were heading towards.
"Dagobah."
"And what are we doing here?"
"Fulfilling a promise to an old friend. I believe he'll be able to help us save Obi-Wan."
I really hope this person is at least somewhat normal, Mara prayed, already sensing her hopes would not be so easily answered.
And done! Man, it feels good to be back! Please tell me what you all thought.
Now, down to brass tacks. I'll be heading off for my third year of uni on the 13th of September (in another country. I'm doing a year abroad.), so don't expect a new chapter within the next week since I'll be quite occupied with my departure prep. However, starting with my 2 weeks of quarantine when I arrive, I plan to commit to a serious writing schedule that involves other writing as well as this fanfiction. And so, if I'm to have a writing schedule, I believe it would be of great help to shoot for an upload schedule as well.
But I will update you on all of this once I'm all set up in my dorm room and have a clearer picture of what my year will resemble.