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Chapter 25

Mara Jade moved through the chaos of the streets. She needed to get close enough to this Force Adept. Whatever tabs she could get on him would be for the best. The Emperor was counting on her for this, given that she had led the trail here easily.

Still, despite being used to death, she couldn't help the way her heart clenched ever so slightly as Imperial Stormtroopers gathered up innocent people. She understood it was a necessary part of war, and that imprisonment was better than death, but the sight of children crying into their parents' arms bothered her more than she liked to admit.

Shaking her head and distracting herself from the matter at hand, she focused on the most important objective.

Get behind enemy lines, record what tabs she could, and make sure Vader didn't find out.

How long was he in the Rebellion?

How did he appeal to Vader?

Why would Vader allow them to get this close and betray the Emperor?

Where was Vader?

And that was a catch to all of this.

Vader knew her and would recognize her immediately if she'd gotten too close.

But, it was unlikely those two would spend 24/7 together. Breaks had to happen.

Be it this Luke was Vader's servant, an assassin monitoring the Rebellion who Vader grew to care for, or something else entirely, it didn't mean that Mara couldn't find out.

After all, she had been able to avoid Vader before, even when they were nearby. It was one of her lessons where she managed to sneak up on the monster. It had impressed both Vader and the Emperor. The fact that she was just a child at the time was also in consideration. There were no doubt other possible Hands, yet she was the only one due to her remarkable abilities.

And now, she had grown far more flexible since then.

Besides, like her Master, she had contingencies. If Vader did discover her and kill her, following her death, a beacon would be sent out to the Empire, informing them of wherever the Rebellion may take her along.

A ripple gripped her senses.

No... not again.

'Mara, I love you.'

Stuck by the passion in her voice, it took her a moment to regain herself. She darted down the halls, retreating behind the guards.

Time to meet with the Jedi!

Luke looked up at the side of the building, noticing the big gaping hole that was created by a missile that shattered the windows, podiums, and others.

He looked at the tank responsible and bared his teeth at the vehicle slowly bullying its way on the given ground. The Empire was getting closer and closer! And when they had, they were all quite frankly karked!

Fortunately, no one was hit due to the beginning signs of evacuation!

"That was nasty and too close! You have to all head inside! It's our only way!"

The Alderaanians didn't question his order, merely offering a few more shots at whatever Stormtroopers they could before darting inside.

Luke and Vader followed suit, actually speeding through the palace.

The Imperials were switching from missiles to gunners, swapping between the two in an attempt to blow the palace into pieces. Luke reached out with the Force, telepathically keeping the palace intact. Without that, everyone would have been critically injured or dead. It didn't require much of his power, but the firepower released wasn't making his job any easier.

Their retreat came in the running form of Han down the halls, blaster gripped in his right hand while motioning with his left. "Come on! Chewie's lighting the ship up!"

"Stormtroopers are breaching the palace!" someone shouted from a distance, followed by the familiar sound of blaster fire.

The more they ran through the palace, the more substantial resistance they met. The Alderaanian guards were being killed by the masses. Han fired his pistol, dropping them casually.

"We can get to the Falcon here!" Han yelled, turning around to face them as three armored men emerged.

"Watch out, Han!" Luke warned.

"Kriff!" Solo recognized his error.

Fortunately, before they could have shot him, three shots went off, hitting the three Stormtroopers and dropping them.

"Luke!" A familiar, feminine voice shouted.

Beru and Owen approached, their weapons held.

"Uncle, Aunt," Luke smiled when seeing them, "and here, I'd thought you were too old and don't move like you both used to."

Owen said, pointing his finger at him. "We may be in an active war zone, but wait when we have the time nephew..." his voice dropped into a false threatening one, "I'll show you old."

Leia and Winter giggled slightly. Luke's smile grew bigger. Another reason why most of his teenager's thoughts about the man was just outright wrong. The moment was short-lived as they kept moving.

The fighters within sliced through the Stormtroopers that got in their way, the Force Adepts taking up the lead while the blaster wielders flanked them. At the hangar, they encountered no resistance.

"All of you, get on board now!" Luke commanded. Han, Winter, Owen, and Beru complied.

He moved to follow only to stop short of the ramp of the Falcon and looked out again, only noticing Vader and Leia looking at him with the same expressions that would have been considered hilarious at any other time.

He just couldn't leave.

"Son, you must go after her..." Vader said to the suddenly silent Force Adept. "This is the chance where you can change everything."

"I'm going to!" Luke gritted his teeth at the unexpected outburst. He calmed his shoulders. "I... I can't allow her to be tainted and ruined by my bad decision making. Not to mention, the inevitable comparisons that may come up between us. She's not the woman I remember."

And he didn't know how his father would react. Same for Leia.

"Luke, she gave you happiness before! You mustn't blame yourself for the tragedies to your friend and n..." Vader caught himself and stared at Leia, "Padawan."

"You weren't there!"

"And you shouldn't deprive yourself of happiness because of a future that may never be, my Son."

"I can't..." Luke choked.

"Luke..." Leia leaned forward.

"Father, Leia," he pleaded. "Both of you, listen to me. You need to get the kriff out of here. Now. Before all of this…"

A deep frown met Vader's lips. "Have you gone mad, Luke?" he asked, incredulous.

Leia added with a frown of her own, "We're not going anywhere."

"You must!" Panic clawed inside of him. Both would die, die horribly, and it was all because he dragged them down in this new reality.

Kriff, none of this was going like it did before!

Stars started to dot his vision. He felt he could faint and vomit any second.

"Luke, get a hold of yourself!" The raw anger in Leia's voice, directed at him, was so out of place that it took Luke completely by surprise. He stepped back, coercing himself to take deep breaths. He attempted to shove aside the bloody visions, the terrible deaths...

"...Sorry," he mumbled, ashamed.

Leia sighed a heavy sigh. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"You know," she started, "I may not know much about the Jedi other than in passing, but I know you, Luke. I know you won't give up."

Luke nodded, silent.

"So, Luke, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"My... wife, Leia. My wife." Luke answered, the anger in his heart earlier replaced by dull agony. He couldn't let her be lost again. He was already lost. Leaving her to suffer the Emperor's cruelty a second time wasn't an option.

"You can't avoid this, Luke..." That was all she said.

"The Force has arranged for this," Vader added bluntly.

"I... I can't take advantage of her like that!" Luke exclaimed.

"Are you going to leave her in servitude under the Emperor longer and feel regretful about something else?" Vader asked bluntly. "You'll have to shoulder more burdens if you refuse to acknowledge her, Luke."

"I am planning to do something about it. But I must not pursue her no matter what. I can't risk losing another..." After the Emperor died this time around, he could perhaps make sure he never sent that command through the Force, meaning Mara would be freed.

This Mara was a young woman. Luke was mentally a beaten-down veteran from wars that may still come to be!

"What do you plan to do after you solve all the issues? Keep yourself locked away? Should everyone else be happy while you suffer because your fears are blinding your judgment?"

"No one will suffer anymore because of my failures. I will help in what way I can to prepare for the Vong!"

"And then what?!" Vader thundered. "You never think these things through!" he pointed at him with his finger. "This is exactly what led to your reluctance to stand against the Vong in the first place! You allowed Kenobi, Yoda, and past Jedi lessons to be the only textbook example you should follow, and natives were massacred because of it!"

"...I would have figured something out..." Luke retorted, "and I will this time. I can't risk her dying because of my own decisions! Just like they did!"

"No, if Kyp Durron was the only one who was actually fighting the Yuuzhan Vong while you and others were just hiding when you could have done much more, the galaxy could have been lost and more of your loved ones could have died!"

Luke grunted, "And look where that got him! He had considered scorched earth tactics! He allowed his fear to drive him!"

"And your fear is driving your actions now! My son, if you don't allow anyone to get close to you, you won't be able to get over your current state right now!"

Luke grunted, "I witnessed my own destiny, Father!"

"Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has forced upon you?" Vader countered pointedly.

Luke gritted his teeth and turned his back to him, "Stop it, Father! I have to sacrifice what I must for the good of the galaxy! I can't let people die like they did!"

"And you believe just letting her drift off aimlessly would be the answer to your situation?! The Jedi don't own the Force and they're capable of being wrong! We both know this!" Vader paused before pressing, "I'm begging you, Luke. It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?!"

Luke screamed in frustration and, in a moment of childish outburst, slammed his lightsaber hilt on the ground.

"Jedi in the field!" One Stormtrooper shouted, his voice silenced with the same scream a second later, being cut down.

Luke's lightsaber carved through the troopers. None of them stood a chance against him. They were people, he understood that but so were the Alderaanians. No war was without the cost of death. He couldn't stop and make sure everyone was alive. That was fanciful thinking.

The more soldiers fell, the more Luke held them off. Lines of corridors filled with soldiers were cut down quickly until he stood in silence.

"Excuse me," Luke stiffened. It was her. Disguised emerald eyes flickered with the slightest contempt for the death of soldiers—it was small and would have been unseen to the untrained eye. But it was there. The owner of that voice had cared for the Empire. "I'm in need of help."

Luke slowly turned around to face the new voice, carried with a bit of youthful optimism. Immediately, he felt like he'd been face-to-face with loads of spice. Mara Jade peered up at him, slightly shorter than him, wearing her signature skintight outfit. Such thoughts were inappropriate.

'Don't look, Luke. You're supposed to be better than this.'

He repeated the mantra in his head, trying to find his voice.

Did she have to be so...?

Luke stared.

"My name is Arica-"

"Mara..." he said, the name out of his mouth before he could stop himself. The ache in his heart clenched even tighter.

Mara's eyes expanded. "...How?"

Resisting the urge to curse loudly, Luke tried to think of a suitable answer. Unfortunately, it was too late. The magenta lightsaber twirled toward him from within a secret confinement, almost unseen to Luke. He barely managed to dodge, catching the lightsaber with his green one.

Ah kriff!

This WAS NOT what he was intending! Now he's pissed her off.

When he got captured by Karrde, Mara wanted to kill him, but the smuggler ordered her not to so much as harm him, and things only eased up from there.

Like everyone else, this Mara was different.

Stronger in some ways than when they met.

Her connection with the Force hadn't yet been diminished.

And...

Well, if it hadn't been for his advanced knowledge, Luke would have been dead. Mara held her connection to the Force and lightsaber stronger than she had ever done before.

Luke continued looking at her, admiring her for a moment, possibly her shapely figure in that skintight black outfit as she swung. Such desires should be behind him, but he couldn't help himself. She was so beautiful. So wonderful. The light in his universe. And kriff, she was so hot and almost undid his attention...

Arguably, she wasn't shattered to the core as he was after the Vong Wars, meaning that she remained innocent.

She slashed horizontally.

Half of his attention diverted to her, Luke brought up his lightsaber to meet her swing and almost stumbled under the force of her first blow, forcing him to fall backward. Mara followed with a thrust of the blade. When Luke landed, he parried each of her strikes, mainly relying on defense because he feared what his aggression could do.

He kept giving ground, regaining his footing.

When Mara swung again, her lightsaber pushed him almost to one knee, but Luke stood straighter, not allowing himself to be caught unawares again. He pushed back, lightsabers locked. Mara pushed him away and sent a repulse of the Force in his direction, and Luke caught it and tossed it back.

She glowered at him.

Mara growled and pushed hard in the Force, sending Luke flying backward. He managed to keep himself from falling back too much.

The time traveler caught her lightsaber and shoved her back with his body alone. A swing at her midsection, which Luke knew she would catch, made Mara divert her attention. He feinted a strike to her exposed body, before switching halfway and aiming at the ground. It was meant to give her time to recover.

"I don't want to fight you, Mara," Luke said softly. "Please listen to me. The Emperor is using you. He will destroy you because of..."

While Luke was talking, Mara wrapped the Force around her and managed another push. The Emperor's Hand lunged forward, following with her body instead of the blade, and the fighting carried the two away. Their sabers locked, twisting away from one another, before coming back.

Mara was attempting to cut through his defenses but had been unable to.

Stormtroopers flooded the area, and Luke momentarily pushed her back, blocking their blaster bolts. Luke twirled back and countered Mara's blade, having to switch in between.

She kicked him in the chest, temporarily knocking the air out of his lungs. Luke twisted his green lightsaber in front of himself. She continued to lay merciless assaults upon him, and he deflected them without delay. He could find flaws in her stance. She was a lethal spy who committed assassinations...

Had it been by choice, Mara would not let herself get into a situation where she had to fight him like this. She would use subterfuge and manipulation to gain an advantage at a time of her choosing. Right now, Luke trapped her in a metaphorical corner.

More Stormtroopers filled the inside of the palace, attempting to buy her time to get a finishing blow. Luke broke off from the attack, waving his hand at the white-armored men whose knees buckled and dropped. Promptly countering Mara's attack, Luke dashed away, knowing that she would follow him.

Luke's performance in terms of speed was expedient. He temporarily stopped at the tanks surrounding him, with their cannons and dozens of men immediately aiming their weapons at him. Not even hearing the voices demanding that he surrender, Luke jumped away, swiftly avoiding the shots and missiles, knowing that Mara would follow.

Luke darted through the streets, sensing Mara on his heels. She was the only one.

He smiled. She had just fallen into the trap.

Soon enough, they made it to the forest and looked at the surroundings. The trees were big and tall, but there was enough space between them.

Boots landed behind him. He turned to her, a smirk still on his face. 'Close enough.'

Anger and spite were across the woman's face, "I've spent years preparing for encounters with your type. Training, meditating... and you're just a teenager!"

Luke laughed slightly, "Well, you're not exactly older than me, Mara."

Mara attacked again and Luke parried each of her strikes, forcing her to extend wide with ease. Her eyes widened, recognizing the trap that she just fall into.

Luke effortlessly stabbed forward, pivoting to aim for her weapon instead of her stomach, knocking the blade out of her hand. She fell on one knee due to the fading adrenaline in her body.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked.

"No..."

"I won't let anyone get in my way! I'll stop you and save the galaxy!" Mara exclaimed.

"The Emperor isn't trying to help you create a better future; he will only eliminate those who stand in his way and eventually you when you're no longer useful to him." He called her hilt over to his hand.

"What? What are you talking about?" Mara asked, bemused at what Luke was saying.

"If you want to know the truth about the Jedi and Sith, come with me, and I'll show you what the Emperor doesn't want you to see." Luke insisted.

Her confusion was replaced by anger, "Never."

"This way!" A voice shouted from afar in the forest.

"You must," Luke declared. He was not going to let her suffer. Serving Palpatine's Galactic Empire would not be a better option.

Her face sharpened, "I'll not go anywhere with you."

"You don't have much of a choice," he sighed. "Sorry," he added regretfully, falling in front of her and waving his hand at her face. "Sleep..."

Mara recoiled slightly and tried to keep the fight going.

"Sleep," he tried again.

Mara's eyelashes fell.

One last time...

"Sleep."

And that did the trick.

Mara fell limp. Luke caught her in his arms.

The Millennium Falcon loomed above them.

He sighed.

"KID! COME ON! WE AIN'T GOT ALL DAY!" Solo barked in the intercom, struggling to fend off the ruthless TIE Fighters.

Luke gripped her over his shoulders and dashed up, jumping after the ramp of the Falcon, sensing the armed Stormtroopers having caught up, firing after his prone form without any regard to the woman. Despite his aid through the Force, Mara's grip on his arms and his earlier performance made it slightly difficult. Fortunately, Owen, Beru, Leia, and Winter were each using blasters, gunning down the troopers behind them.

Luke's strength waned.

Then, a lift fell over him, and he spotted the form of Vader, hand outstretched, guiding the rest of his jump to the shaking ship. Even the former Sith struggled with the explosions and the Stormtroopers targeting him.

He was weary as well.

"Is everyone on board yet?!" Solo shouted.

"A moment!" Leia snapped.

Finally, Luke caught the ramp, pulling her into his embrace with his only available arm. Kriff, this escape was going terribly!

Vader had a moment to be astonished as he spotted the redhead form properly in Luke's arms. His instinct had been to protect his son first after all.

"Take her!" Luke pleaded. "TAKE HER! FATHER, PLEASE!"

The man looked at him for a moment but didn't hesitate, grabbing Mara and pulling her into the safety of the ship.

Luke's energy was rapidly fading. For all of his power, he was also not a God. His muscles trembled and strained now. The twitching hands began to give way to fatigue and depravity, and he felt himself descending further, his legs dangling helplessly amid empty, unforgiving space.

They were so endless, either trying to shoot one of the women, or him. Luke managed to swing around his body, but even that was starting to get to him with the merciless nature of the TIE Fighters and the rocking of the ship making everyone's life harder.

A second later Luke felt unspeakable agony shooting from below his stomach. Damn, one of the troopers must have gotten him!

"Damn. Captain, go! We got this!" Leia - or was it Winter? - shouted.

And he felt the familiar form of his father through his dimmed senses...

How minutes could feel like seconds...

In his blurry vision, Luke found the form of his father, seeing the blue eyes of his father's clearer than anything. Those eyes were concerned, so afraid, so... lost. Nice to stare into. A coughing laugh echoed from him. Millions of people had probably stared into those eyes behind the visor that defined him as Vader cut them down.

And finally, Luke closed his eyes.

Leia didn't honestly know where to go.

Yavin IV housed most of the Rebellion's leadership, as well as most, if not all, of its naval forces. It was incredibly dangerous to bring someone like Vader there. But after what happened on Alderaan, she would have to await further orders.

In the meantime, she needed to talk to him.

Was that the reason why she was here? Did she actually feel concerned about him too? Leia figured it made sense. She couldn't deny that the bloodline between them existed, as at the end of the day, she was his daughter as much as Vader was her father.

Surprisingly, the door wasn't locked. When the door slid open, it revealed the form of Vader kneeling over the unconscious Luke. His eyes seemed to be consumed by a weight of weariness. Kriff, she'd noticed before but didn't comment. She'd looked just like him. Same chin, collarbone, and the whole nine yards.

She'd resembled him more than Luke.

Anyone with a brain could look twice and see the resemblance.

"You look like you've just survived a storm on Alderaan," Leia said, stepping inside.

"That bad, huh?" Vader replied, his tone stunning Leia more than she liked to admit.

"Luke is... is he going to be..." Leia said slowly, moving over to the form of Luke.

"He will recover. He was not hit in any vital areas. I'd checked through the Force."

Leia sighed in relief, but had another question in mind, "Did he know she was going to be...?"

"I don't believe he did," Vader confessed. "I'd expected to deal with the Emperor's agents eventually, however, not this soon. It was yet another alternation that he unintentionally made."

Leia's breath caught. "Damn..."

"The future is always in motion, Daughter."

Not getting the catch, Leia left it there. It was still sometimes hard to believe that someone with such a baby face could be a devastator of the galaxy. She'd doubted Vader was a fluffy figure to be taken lightly, but it made her wonder again. She'd known about his life beforehand from Luke, but how badly had he truly suffered?

"You protected us. You didn't have to," Leia began softly.

Vader sighed and stared down. "I owed it to your mother."

"Do you ever miss her?"

"Every day," he admitted. "I wish she were still alive," he continued as he stared down, pained. "I wish we could have been a family."

"Maybe we could be," she offered.

"It's far too late for that, Leia."

Small annoyance formed inside her, but even more so, pity... and sadness. "Why would it be?"

"One cannot turn from the Dark Side. It's impossible." Vader answered.

"The impossible has been done before, Father," she answered.

He clenched his hand up into a fist, eyes widened in surprise. What? What happened? "Without the Dark Side, I am nothing."

Emboldened by a sudden surge of hope, she answered, "Wrong, you can be the father Luke and I need. I'm certain our mother would have wanted that."

"She's gone, Leia, we don't know what she would have wanted."

Without even recognizing it, she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him.

The older man stiffened, as if physical touch was a feature long lost to him. His arms dangled at his sides, and his hands tightened into fists.

But Leia didn't surrender. She doubted Darth Vader had been embraced by anyone in years. And she wasn't going to let him go no matter what.

Through time, though, his disposition softened and he returned the embrace.

Only later would she understand why Vader was shocked as she'd barely remembered in a spur of a moment that she had called him "Father".