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Chapter 26

Mara's eyes rose to darkness. She groaned as she attempted to regain focus. Slowly, her eyes reestablished their vision, finding herself in the interior of a small corridor.

"What...happened?" Mara murmured to herself. As she placed a hand over her head, her head spun, as if it was split or injured in a way yet all traces of such an injury were not discovered.

Her memory was a blank. Her knees encountered the soft texture of the flesh ground. Her fingertips kneaded. She stared up and observed her surroundings.

"Alderaan…" Yet as it slowly came back to her, she remembered she had a mission. Mara rubbed her head once more and stood up wearily. As if on a second instinct, her right hand reached down for her hip only to discover that her lightsaber was gone. It was then her senses heightened; she ignored all the agony, which resonated within her body as she recollected the events before her being dragged here.

"That Jedi, Skywalker…" She murmured, and anger rose. Her head pivoted around to observe the small room; there was no sight of the foolish young man who'd dared to see through her act. The battle that ensued transpired inside Mara's mind. Everything was remembered until the boy said her name...

'Mara...'

Why did he say her name like he'd known her his whole life? What was the connection, if any, that he had to her? And her to him? Nevertheless, everything after that was a blur, the last thing she recalled before passing out was chasing after him. Now was not the time to wonder about his fate, the more lingering question was how would she be able to contact the Emperor and the most important question was what to do from here.

'Wait,' a voice murmured in the side of her head, and it sounded so concerned and compassionate that it halted any thoughts to leave. Figuring there was no other suitable option for this situation, she decided to pace around.

Captain Needa rubbed the side of his head as he approached the helm of the ship, the Holoform of Darth Sidious manifesting before him. As the Admiral bowed slightly, head craning, the Emperor beckoned with one hand.

"Speak, Captain."

"My Lord, the Battle of Alderaan is complete, but it came with heavy losses..."

"What is it?" Palpatine demanded.

Needa swallowed slightly, knowing that the Emperor was not to be trifled with. However, he admitted his failure, unwilling to show any form of cowardice now. "During the middle of battle, on impulse, I suddenly received a temptation to blast my fellow Imperials out of the sky. I tried to fight it, but it was as if I was out of my own body with no free-will involved. I... was the one who pulled the trigger on the Reprisal, and have received reports from the search teams that Ozzel didn't was killed on impact."

The Emperor gave no emotion, merely eyeing her. "I see," he paused, "were you the only one?"

Needa was ready to be executed. He wasn't going to make his troopers suffer for blunders he'd personally made. "No, many Officers and Captains was overcame by the same compulsion. Some can remember distantly what happened while others completely blacked out. When... it was gone, I saw my own Destroyer was on fire and no signs of the Alderaanian Rebels. Only four Destroyers survived the storm."

And he realized that may have scarred him forever. He'd somewhat disliked Ozzel for his extreme stance but never did he contemplate killing the man with his back turn. Who else died because of what happened mere hours ago?

Palpatine's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing for several seconds. When he spoke again, he did so with viciousness, "Well, you have survived the battle despite what occurred. Consider yourself praised, Admiral Needa."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now, we shall send Alderaan's resistance to a legal arrest galaxy-wise, and show their treason for the galaxy to see."

Needa followed his orders, "As you say, my Lord."

The Emperor waited patiently as the Star Destroyer's communications sector began to record a Hologram of the Emperor to both his fleet and towards the galaxy. As the announcement droid finalized its scan of the Emperor, everything was set.

"Soldiers, officers, citizens of the galaxy. Today, Bail and Breha Organa have been discovered of treason and resisting arrest, putting their people in harms' way when soldiers were sent down to arrest them." His tone bled with the feeling of elation yet was masked with a sense of sadness and remorse: all for the sake of the citizens Palpatine now ruled. "We had a warrant. And they'd still defied it. Such acts are unacceptable. If you are to watch the recordings recovered by the beloved Imperial Army, you will discover that the Jedi assist with the conspiracy, one who have officially murdered the Emperor's Enforcer, Lord Vader-now wielding his lightsaber. On this day, it is decided that Alderaan's citizens will not be punished for the choices of their leaders. Those who regard themselves as loyalists to the fallen Republic will be crushed swiftly."

Every naval attendant, officer, and trooper onboard turned toward the Emperor himself or a Hologram illuminating his speech with sickening loyalty. On the planets conquered by the Empire, their citizens observed in their plazas and Holoterminals, the form of the Emperor. Soldiers, officers, and civilians alike simply nodded in agreement, yet others cursed silently and protested quietly, in the end, forced to approve of this change instead of encountering prosecution. Many citizens of Alderaan were far from pleased, the popularity of Bail and Breha Organa was never understated. However, there were a small number of citizens who believed the Organas caused this...

"This proves that the Rebel Alliance is made up of terrorists and must be rooted out to the last bone. The likes of Bail Organa and Mon Mothma must be rooted out and defeated, removed from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim. From there, a new era of peace will be ushered with the Empire at the helm. Once more I stress. The Empire lives for all!"

In the small room, Mara felt herself become hungry and her irritation began to rise. Mara had heard tales of Force Users who were able to maintain themselves from sustenance for days, no food, no drink-only them and the Force.

Her feet ached, how long had she been doing this? Thoughts of the unknown plagued her. Part of her felt fearful. She was left with only her thoughts, clouded with tiredness.

Exhausted.

Mara managed her body to not lose energy.

Confused.

Still, she forced herself to keep awake.

Lost.

Finally, after what must have been several more hours, Mara could hear the door opening and spotted the shadows morphing.

As she drew closer to the shadows, she could see that they morphed into two... and then three...

"You shouldn't be walking, Luke..." a brown-colored hair woman said, scowling. "Not after being shot several times..."

"I've suffered worse..." the familiar voice responded.

The other, still unseen, warned darkly. "If she attempts to harm you, Son..."

Despite his voice, Mara felt a tremble shooting up her spine, paralyzing her.

"Then you'll feel and be able to stop it. Now..."

And finally, the shadow walked in front of her, revealing the same blond.

Skywalker.

She raised her arms, prepared to battle. Her eyes narrowed as the man approached her. She'd recognized he was wearing a t-shirt and more flexible pants, his stomach exposing a bacta patch, traveling down from his waist to his covered lower half. And Mara found herself resisting the urge to whistle, because not bad handsome.

She forced herself to stare up, remembering he was the enemy.

"I don't want to fight you, Mara, I just want to... talk. We had a bad start. First, let's try this again. With my name, Luke Skywalker."

"I know who you are," she hissed.

"I see," he retorted.

Hoping she could make him fearful, she grinned nastily. "So does the Emperor."

"How terrifying," Skywalker remarked dryly.

Not the reaction she'd wanted. "It should be."

"I'm going to be a bounty again, aren't I?" he murmured. "Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same."

Not knowing what he was talking about, she chose to dismiss it and focus on another matter: "I'm your enemy, Skywalker, and seeing that you're injured, I want to be lenient with you."

"Oh?" Skywalker arched his eyebrows. "But how am I an enemy if we never met?"

"It's a matter of you being tied to the Jedi. Unless you reform, you have to be eliminated."

"But don't you consider there's different sides to every story?"

Mara scoffed at his statement. The Emperor told her about the manipulation of the Jedi. "I have a duty to the Emperor, Jedi! You're vile!"

Luke did not respond for a long moment.

"I'm aware of that fact. I can sense it. Such resentment. And I'm also aware that you are no mere spy. I recognize you as the Emperor Hand. But if there's any similarity between Jedi and Sith, it's that indoctrination, brainwashing, and manipulation are possible ideals that both follow. I was once a victim of it."

"Thus proves the point," she waved at him. "The Empire speaks the truth. The Jedi were nothing but monsters who deserved their fate. I will never be your captive."

The young man stopped in his tracks and tilted his head over his shoulders, "Are you restrained? Am I preventing your ability to escape from my 'captivity'? By all means, go. But we both know you won't."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because I am a threat before the Emperor and I stand before you. If you run, you may never find me again."

This was true in a way. Mara knew that she could disarm Skywalker, especially in his current condition. However, his companions were another problem. She didn't know who she was up against. Maybe she could simply make a run for it, maybe–just maybe she would be able to comm the Empire and find their location. However, Alderaan didn't go over well for the Empire. This foe cut down thousands of troopers. Yet on the other hand, the young man could simply find the means to go underground, provoking the Emperor to spend countless resources to hunt him when those resources could better serve the Empire's war efforts against their other enemies. Mara's raised hands began to descend, yet her stance remained defensive.

"Rest assured, Mara. I have no intention of fighting you." Luke stated as he began to approach the Emperor's Hand. Mara remained vigilant as he walked up and stopped just in front of her. He was holding something in his hands, she saw now. At the smell, her stomach growled, desiring for food. A snicker crossed his lips. The Jedi turned and inclined slightly, a thick piece of meat across the plate dripped with exquisite juices.

"Sit. Eat." Luke invited Mara. She looked to the food, then back at him once more. It could be poisoned, yet Skywalker could have already killed her. It wouldn't make sense if he went all this way just for her to die now. Her stomach snarled yet again, finally persuading her to grab the plate from his hands.

"I understand you have been out for quite a bit," Luke said, staring away, "I believe this will provide you enough of a-" He turned to face Mara and paused as she was devoutly chewing on the cooked steak. Her teeth dug into the sweet flesh and ripped it from the core, quickly swallowing it down. He couldn't help but smirk.

Mara nearly collected the entire chunk of meat. Her eyes traced back to the Jedi once finished. Luke noticed this.

"I'm glad that you're not torturing yourself," Luke said with a slight smile. What about that goddamn smile did it make her heart freeze for one second yet again?

"Why are you helping me?" Mara asked with a softer tone of voice, the fire in her throat tempered by food.

Luke looked at her, "You wouldn't believe it even if I told you."

Mara wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Can you at least answer why did you spare me?"

"I know you're a good person."

Her gaze softened if only slightly. Maybe negotiation could help her here. Sometimes, it was necessary. If Skywalker was different from the maleficent Jedi who didn't care about anyone around them, she could gamble on the side of more leniency than owed.

"You can come with me to the nearest Imperial Outpost," Mara offered, choosing to abandon her harshness in place of calm.

"So I can be taken to custody?" he asked.

"Naturally."

Luke chuckled slightly, grating on Mara's nerves, "Did you really believe that would work?"

"Do you not care for your companions?" She tried another angle, "They are not our priority, not yet anyway. You are a fugitive and more important than them at this time. Coruscant's honor, I would leave them be if you come with me. And if you cooperate, I could be convinced not to restrain you."

"That sounds like a beautiful thing, Mara, but it's not as if anyone would be successful in capturing them. They might cause the Emperor to have a stroke or two."

She couldn't deny it. She felt the urge to laugh at that statement. Squashing it, she responded harshly, "You overestimate yourself and them. Selflessness is a art we all practice."

"I'm sure that I would be treated with utmost hospitality by your troopers until we arrive, and my arrival would be... enthralling," he remarked sarcastically.

She scowled but kept her patience under control.

'Don't let him rile you up.'

"The Empire doesn't torture its prisoners for no reason. I would personally make sure you will be treated kindly even after we arrive to the Empire's Capital."

"I sound safer with the Rebellion."

"That's running, Skywalker. The Rebel Alliance will not be able to win this war. They can't protect you from justice."

He stared at her longer, "No doubt turning me to the Emperor, 'answer for all my crimes', and whatnot will allow me to walk off into the sunset. Am I right?"

The Hand grew aggravated. Perhaps it was her heavy belief in loyalty and eagerness to at least capture him but the lack of care for his loved ones was discerning. Typical Jedi scum. They'd lived up to the arts of cruelty.

Uh, at least she deeply cared for the civilians in the Empire. She only used violence if it was really necessary and only executed a verdict if she was fully convinced that the accused was guilty. She also cared for her team/subordinates. Not to mention the countless times she risked her life for the deserted Stormtroopers.

"Then perhaps you don't care about them as much as you try to convince yourself."

"And look at you," Skywalker challenged back, taking no offense. He spoke in a pensive tone, stoic to an end. "The Emperor sent you after me, a powerful Force Adept with no thought or regard to your well-being."

"This, this is nothing exactly new to me, and I'll always be loyal to the Emperor. He sees the galaxy the same as I do. If we have to fight, we fight. If we have to run, we'll run. If we must die, we'll die, but... the civilians all will stay free."

"Alderaan was a defenseless planet, Mara. There was no reason to target civilians."

"No fight, good or bad, is without blood, Skywalker. I believe you're all focusing on the Emperor when you should look into yourselves and see what you could do better."

"You are aware that you could be loyal to him but he might not be loyal to you."

"Loyalty goes both ways, and the Emperor treasures me. This is not important. I'm telling you to come with me. You don't have to make everyone else suffer because of this."

"Suffering will be created both ways."

"If I have to break free it'll be far more painful as you can imagine. I would rather avoid that outcome."

"What if there's another way?"

"There is no other way. You are the last known Jedi in cahoots with the Rebellion. You are an active threat that has to be stopped or else the galaxy will pay for it."

Luke shook his head, "You are mistaken, Mara."

"Oh of course, let me guess. You're going to claim that you didn't kill those Stormtroopers on Alderaan."

"I did," he accepted, "but I'm telling you war is not one-sided. Didn't you ever consider how your enemies feel before they're cut down? The lives that you took? The parents and children who had to suffer because you served the uses of the Empire? To many, the Emperor is a hero. To others, he is a tyrant."

Mara actually never thought about it that way. Yet, still, "And what about the Rebellion? What about the other way around?"

"I don't pretend that we are incapable of doing the same. No system could stand without blood in one way or another. And they're extremists amongst the Rebellion. It's not perfect. Simply put, Mara, no system is. I have come to accept that some degree of suffering is inexorable, and that permitting oneself to linger on it only ends in paralysis."

She was surprised that she believed him. "Then what is your argument?"

"I want to have discussions. We don't need to fight."

Mara felt the Force moving around her. "You want the Empire to remain in power then..."

"If it decreases suffering for people, it may be necessary," Luke nodded slowly. "I have done comparisons of both. Both systems are corrupt, but there is a difference. The Old Republic was never united. That much is obvious. The Empire is far more fairly stable system-even more on the surface, though there is many flaws within. I do believe that allocating time into negotiation is a fair way to handle manners just as much as militaristic action can be called upon. If you want to of course?" He smiled cheekily. "I must warn you even if I agree with idea or at least a concept of the Empire, I do not believe Palpatine should be the one in charge. Maybe you can change my mind, still?"

'Oh, so that's his game?'

Ignoring what that irritating smile did to her, she decided to at least... hear him out. It wasn't like she'd held all the cards. "Fine." She replied flatly. "But you'll find that you have mischaracterized the Emperor."

His eyes flashed, "I'm sure I will."

Luke reached down to his belt, gripped a cylinder hilt, and held it in front of Mara. She would recognize it from anywhere. It was her cylinder hilt. She grasped it, and studied it for any signs of damage, before placing it onto her belt. His expression remained merely expectant, with no anticipation of aggressive intent present. Skywalker didn't even consider that Mara might've stabbed him.

Mara would have to handle this carefully. With his patience, when she'd finally shown him the reality that the Emperor was a great man, it might be worth it to wipe that insufferable smirk across his lips at last.

'Or place my lips on his,' something within her thought.

She had to resist shaking her head. Not right. Not right. Not...

What exactly had made him so appealing to her anyhow?

She'd supposed it didn't matter as Skywalker fell on a bed across from her and his eyes began to drop. Before long, he was asleep.

Weariness tore at her too. She slept on her side with her lightsaber in one hand and rested her head on another. She made sure to sleep on the side so that she could keep an eye on Skywalker. Her eyes stayed open for several moments. It wasn't because she didn't trust him… well she didn't, but not completely because of that. She felt something within him, that she didn't expect within the Jedi described to her since she was young. She didn't know what to do right now.

Her mind needed to rest. Her eyes needed to rest. Her exhalation descended to a slower pace. Her heartbeat vibrated throughout her body. Blackness conquered as she allowed sleep to consume her once more.

Author's note: Important thing to note; Mara's no Jeng Droga. If Luke had accepted Mara's offer and came in, she would have actually honored her word, left his companions alone, and made sure he was treated kindly. However, the moment Luke went to Coruscant, it would be virtually game over unless he'd planned to. The Emperor and his loyal followers will ensure he will not escape. He would have to rely on Mara who is still loyal to the Emperor and even that might not be enough since the Force has its limitations and it's not as if the Emperor wouldn't make sure that he is too... hurt to prevent escaping. That's like Aang letting Zuko drag him to the Fire Nation in season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

On that matter, in my opinion, Mara, like Zuko, is very honorable but initially loyal to the wrong cause. They also hated harming the innocent. Zuko upheld his promise to leave the Southern Water Tribe in peace when Aang surrendered to him. In a similar notion, Mara was willing to leave Leia, Winter, Han, Chewie, and (unknowingly) Vader in peace. If it were Azula or Lumiya, the second Aang would've surrendered and walked onto the ship, Azula would've massacred everyone and burned the village down; and here, Lumiya would have next to no reservations about killing Luke's companions. Even in the first episode of Avatar, they show Zuko is all about honor, and I'm doing much the same here as much as I can. Zuko and Mara also care about their civilians. Wow, am I the only one who sees a lot of Mara in Zuko's character?

May the Force be with you all always.