Title: A Changing Destiny, Chapter 3: A Destiny Revealed

Author: Alan (A.K.A: Qurinas)

Disclaimer: The Star Wars Universe and characters belong to George Lucas and Lucasfilms. However, I am writing for my entertainment and the entertainment of others. I am making no money from this.

Setting: Story takes place twenty-seven years after Return of the Jedi. The forces of the Yuuzhan Vong still wage war against the Jedi and New Republic. Pursued by the Vong and the Peace Brigade, Luke and Mara have escaped the scene of the Galaxy's last crushing defeat.

Rating: R. For: Adult situations, violence and sensitive themes.

Spoilers: Spoilers for the Star Wars Tales comics. There are also mild spoilers for NJO as a whole. The reader should probably have read the first couple of these comics and the NJO books to get the most out of the story, but it is not imperative.

Sequel: You can find Chapter 1 (Luke's First Time) at message #5525 in the list archives. Chapter 2 (Mara's First Time), can be found at message #6775 in the list archives.

* * * *

Luke Skywalker sat in the cockpit of the 'Jade's Shadow', at the primary flight controls. Mara was in the cabin directly behind him, resting and was the only other person on board. During the most recent defeat, at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, the Jedi had made a hasty retreat.

Han and Leia had escaped on the Millennium Falcon, bringing along Luke and Mara's one-year-old son when they evacuated. Mara was quite far along in carrying their second child and Leia had been nice enough to watch over their son to give Luke and Mara some time to themselves. Sadly, the Vong had different ideas.

After a quick but fierce battle, the remnants of defeated defenders boarded their ships to escape the Vong's invasion force, with most being successful. After a harrowing chase with Mara aiding him at the controls, the 'Jade's Sahdow' had escaped into hyperspace. Fatigue had overtaken Mara and she had gone to lie down in the back almost immediately after they escaped.

Luke had been staring into the tunnel of light created by the swirling stars as the traveled through the Outer Rim towards Yavin IV. The digital display on the console in front of him was counting down to their reemergence to realspace. They were going to make a quick course change in the Cophrigin system before continuing enroute to Yavin IV.

Luke pulled back the hyperdrive handle and the star field stopped spinning as they entered the system. Luke quickly glanced through the cockpit's transparisteel window. The system was pretty barren, only a few small planets orbited the yellow sun. The only one that supported any life was the fifth planet. Cophrigan V reminded Luke a lot of Dantooine, but was much smaller. The planet teemed with life, though none of it was humanoid with dense forests and expansive oceans covered the planet's surface.

Luke enjoyed the sight as he turned the ship to its outbound subspace heading. He had just flipped on the autopilot to fly the ship to their jump point, when he felt a tremor in the Force and heard a muffled scream of shock from behind him.

Luke leapt from the pilot's chair and ran to the cabin area. He entered to see Mara standing just in front of the couch she had been lying on. Her legs bowed slightly and a shocked expression covered her face. The front of her pants were soaking wet, as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on her. Luke grinned at her speaking in a slightly babyish voice, "Did someone have an accident?"

Mara shot him daggers with her eyes. "Yes Farmboy, in fact I did. I made the mistake of ever letting you touch me again after the first time you did this to me," she said in a mock-exasperated tone while gesturing towards her tummy.

Luke chuckled as Mara shook her head. "Obviously Cilghal has not gotten very far in teaching you the Force Healing Techniques like I had asked," she said in a total deadpan before breaking down into a hearty laugh. Luke came over and hugged his wife close to him.

Luke reached through their Force-bond to see how his wife and soon-to- be newborn child were fairing. It was obvious that the child was going to make its entrance into the world sooner, as opposed to later. This would not be like the birth of their son, who had taken more than a full of day of hard labor to be delivered. `Which is good. Maybe Mara won't act like an angry rancor this time,' Luke thought to himself, without making any attempt to hide his thoughts from the person on the other side of the bond.

Mara gasped. "I'll show you a rancor." She growled playfully as she grabbed him by the hair and tussled Luke's blonde locks. She had just slugged him in the shoulder, continuing their play fight when she suddenly felt a lot of movement in her abdomen and stumbled back.

Luke did his Jedi reflexes justice as he immediately leapt to steady her. "Whoa," he cautioned. "Let's have you sit down," he said guiding her to the couch. Mara leaned back feeling like the child within her was doing back flips.

Mara looked up at her husband and smiled reassuringly. "I'm alright," she said. "I just think we are due to have a visitor really soon." Mara was unable to hide her surfacing worry and anxiety. "Also, there is something I can feel in the Force."

Luke reached out, feeling the same sensation almost immediately. However, the feeling was elusive. He could not discern what it was or what it meant. "Snap out of it, Skywalker," Mara said with a chuckle. "You can tell by now that you're not going to be able to narrow it down. So, it's time to worry about what is going on in here," she said taking his hand and placing it on her stomach.

Luke was amazed at the amount the baby was moving. He could also feel huge ripples in the Force. Something was afoot, and it was centered on his wife. Luke took Mara's hand and guided her toward the cockpit. "Come sit up here with me," he said helping her into the copilot's seat.

Mara only nodded. "Hurry, Luke" she said, in a light pleading tone. "I think it'll be fast. And I don't want to bring our child into the galaxy in a ship traveling through hyperspace."

Luke nodded, turning to the navicomputer. They had now reached the jump point and he keyed the coordinates in. "Ok, next stop, Yavin Four..." Luke began, while pulling the lever to engage the hyperdrive on their new course. A loud bang and the screech of ripping metal interrupted him. The ship shuddered under unseen forces.

Mara shot Luke a worried look. "What was that?" Luke glanced at the instrument panel as his fingers danced over the diagnostic controls. Luke sighed in disgust.

"What!?" Mara demanded.

"We just had a total hyperdrive failure," Luke informed her.

Mara's heart sank. There was no way that Luke would be able to fix it in time for them to get to a civilized system for her to give birth to their child, if he could even fix it at all. She quickly glanced around the cockpit and out the forward windows. Anxiety filled her at the thought of having their child, alone on a ship. Even though they had owned the ship for a couple of years now, it still did not feel like home to her, like the 'Jade's Fire' had.

She continued to look around, her eyes falling on Cophrigin V. She tried to calm herself and drew a cleansing breath while touching the Force. The planet seemed to glow like a beacon within the currents of the Force. Mara could feel a sense of peace filling her as she stared at the planet.

She turned to Luke. "We should land there. I really don't want to have this baby on the ship."

Luke nodded, sensing her feelings through their bond. He definitely agreed with her. A ship in the emptiness of deep space was no place to begin life. With all the death and inter-galactic invaders that had surrounded them, they wanted the baby to be born in an area filled with the Living Force. Luke took her hand in his, before silently turning the ship to a heading to bring them to the planet. It would also be easier to make repairs with the ship on a habitable planet.

The flight took a little more than an hour. A few minutes from orbit, Mara had her first major series of contractions. As Luke was flying he felt a ripple through their bond as the contractions shook Mara's body.

Luke monitored the scanners looking for a good place to land. He figured an area near the equator would be best since it was very temperate. Luke picked out a landing spot and had begun guiding the ship towards it. Just after their entry into the atmosphere, towering storm clouds seemed to come out of nowhere. Lightening flashed outside the viewports and the ship shook from the turbulent air currents.

"Stang, Luke!" Mara exclaimed. "I have no idea why you thought flying through a thunderstorm would be such a great idea! Or maybe you weren't paying close enough attention!" Mara shouted, continuing her pain fueled rant. "Maybe I should have been looking out the window, but I was busy over here giving birth to your child!"

Luke grimaced. `Well, here we go again,' he thought remembering Mara's fiery temper rising during the birth of their son. Seemed like Luke was in for a rough ride, in more ways then one. Luke wisely chose not to respond to her verbal onslaught and simply flew the ship with ease through the violent weather.

Mara was finishing her tirade when a bolt of lightning slashed through the sky and ran all along the hull of the ship. The lights flickered and systems failed all over the ship. Sensors, Life Support, and Shields all died right before their eyes.

Mara screeched, partially in surprise and partially from pain as another contraction wracked her body. She gasped as she watched systems throughout the ship fail and warning lights light up the instrument panel like a Life Day Tree. "Sithspit," she hissed, launching into another tirade. "Lando...when I get my hands on him... Giving us this piece of junk!"

Luke wrestled to control the ship, trying to guide it to a safe landing. Without life support there was no way for them to abort their landing and return to space. Luke stretched out with the Force looking for a safe path to follow, allowing its currents to guide him.

They broke out of the clouds only about two hundred meters above the ground. Luke reached for the lever to engage the repulsor lifts and extended the landing struts. He guided the ship to a hard landing in a small wooded clearing.

Luke sat back and exhaled heavily trying to shake the fear that hung over him from that far too exciting approach and landing. His heart rate began to slow as he looked over at Mara. A thin sheen of sweat covered her brow and her breathing was slightly labored. As Luke stared at her, she grunted uncomfortably.

Luke slowly got out of his chair. "I'm going to take a quick look around. I'll be right back, okay?" he asked, taking Mara's hand for a moment and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Mara nodded and smiled weakly at her husband. She was bracing herself, saving her strength for the ordeal she knew was coming.

As Luke quickly walked to the boarding ramp, his hand dropped to his belt and he felt reassured by the contact he made with his lightsaber. The feelings of apprehension he experienced on the way down to the planet had not subsided. The Force continued its supportive presence but offered no answers.

Luke lowered the ramp and walked down onto the planet's surface. A light, temperate breeze brushed his face as he emerged. The spot he had chosen to land, of the few available options, appeared to be an open clearing. As he surveyed his surroundings, it became obvious the clearing was not natural created.

The edge of the clearing was lined with woven thorn bushes that formed a think wall. The clearing itself was dotted with stone paths that were only slightly overgrown with a thick forest grass, preventing them from being seen from the air. The only sight that marred the perfect landscape was a huge tree that had been cut down to fall into the center of the clearing.

The eddies in the Force had become more persistent as Luke approached the fallen tree. Nearing the trunk, Luke bent down to see some brown cloth pooled under the gigantic tree. He then saw a bronze cylinder lying near the cloth. The Jedi Master instantly recognized the object as a lightsaber. The weapon had a ruby in the pommel and the raised metal serving as a grip formed a pattern of intricate vine work. When viewed upside down, the weapon looked like a rose. Luke picked it up and a strange feeling came over him.

Through his bond with her, he felt his wife's approach. However, with his distraction, he noticed it much later than he would have normally. Mildly surprised, he whirled around to see Mara gingerly climbing down the boarding ramp.

"Well," Mara called to him. "Looks like we're on our own for a while. Comm is completely shot and I'm not in any state to fix it."

She looked down at the lightsaber in Luke's hand as she walked over to him. "Where did you find that?"

Luke gestured at the ground towards the cloth pinned under the tree. As Luke looked at it again, it occurred to him the fabric was the same shade as Obi-Wan's Master's robe. `I have only seen one other Master...' Luke thought to himself.

Mara stared at Luke, immediately sensing his emotions stirring. She felt the mixture of pleasant memories and a sense of great loss. She was about to question the feelings when a sudden wind whipped through the clearing. The currents of the Force rose up like crashing waves at the same moment.

Mara stared at Luke as next to him a humanoid outline of soft blue light began to appear. The form took on the shape of a thin, tall woman. As her features began to coalesce, they showed a braid of long gray hair and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed in the deep brown robe of a Jedi Master. When she had fully formed, she smiled at Luke.

"Greetings, my student," the spectral figure said to Luke as his jaw nearly bounced off the ground. The Jedi calm he was so famous for seemed to leave him immediately. Mara just stared blankly at the ghostly woman.

"Greetings to you as well, Emperor's Hand," the specter said.

Mara tilted her head staring intently at her. Suddenly her eyes widened in shock. Luke could feel fear well up in his wife as she stumbled a few steps back. Mara recognized the woman she had found more than twenty-five years before.

"The...the Dark Woman," Mara stammered. "No...no!" she screamed.

Luke kept his eyes on his wife as he took a few tentative steps forward. "It's okay," Luke soothed, not even beginning to understand why his wife was so afraid or how she even knew about the long dead Jedi Master. Luke could feel the Force building to great proportions, seeming to wrap itself around his wife. Soon he could feel nothing of her through their bond with all the energy surrounding her.

Mara let out a terrified screech before her eyes rolled back into her head and her knees buckled beneath her. The world went black around her...

* * * *

Mara Jade Skywalker stood in the Throne Room of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, as she had known it during the reign of the Emperor. She glanced down at herself to see that she was dressed as she normally was as of late, in the robes of a Jedi Master with Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber handing from her belt.

She turned toward the window where the Emperor had sat upon his throne. Her heart nearly leapt from her chest when she saw her former Master sitting upon it. Disbelief roared within her as she heard the mechanical breathing of Darth Vader and saw him appear at Palpatine's side.

The Emperor shot her a menacing smile of rotting teeth as Mara heard the distinctive snaphiss of a lightsaber igniting off to her left. She whirled around to see a young girl of no more than eighteen years of age. She was dressed in a black leather jumpsuit that highlighted the strong dancer-like physique underneath. She had flowing, wavy red hair that shimmered in the light of the red lightsaber she held in her hands.

Mara gasped, it was her. Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand. The young woman began to advance toward Mara menacingly. "Look at you," she snarled. "Dressed up like one of those Jedi," she said spitting venom with the word. "What have you let us become?"

* * * *

Luke reached out with all power he could summon, using the Force to cushion Mara as she slumped to the ground. Luke ran over to her prone form, sliding on his knees to bring himself to a quick halt. He took Mara into his arms and tried to reach across their bond to see what was wrong. However, it was like Mara was only a shadow of herself, and their bond was almost non-existent.

Luke looked up at the Dark Lady, who had moved to stand beside him. Luke's eyes were pleading and his great concern was evident on his face.

"Luke, there is nothing you will be able to do," the Dark Woman began. "She must come to grips with her past. If not, she will lose everything. I know this will be hard for you, but you can do nothing to aid her. She must do this on her own."

Luke's heart felt like it was about to break. Every fiber of his being wanted to help Mara, but he had long since learned that interfering with matters that he should not have, never turned out better for it. With a resigned sigh he went aboard the ship to grab a few blankets and pillows. He returned to Mara and attempted to make her as comfortable as possible.

Luke held Mara lovingly, running his fingers through her hair. Every moment hoping she would be able to win whatever battle was raging in her heart.

* * * *

As the Emperor's Hand approached, Mara Jade Skywalker took a few unsteady steps backward. Mara felt as if the words had been a slap to the face. "What do you mean? Done to us?"

The Emperor's Hand sneered in disgust. "Not only did you fail when your Master needed you most, but then you shack up with the enemy. How could you?!" The young woman screamed.

Mara shook her head. "It wasn't like that. You don't understand..."

"I understand just fine!" she screamed, cutting Mara off. "How quickly they forget..." the Emperor's Hand said trailing off. As she did, she motioned to a wooden box at the side of the room. Mara hesitantly walked over to it. As she approached, the cover of the box fell to the floor. Within was the body of the boy she had loved what seemed like a hundred years before, the boy she had known as Fiorri.

Tears began to well in Mara's eyes as she remembered the day she had first seen his body. The feelings of hatred she had held for Luke Skywalker. She turned to look back to look at the Emperor's Hand, who had tears streaming down her face. "You shacked up with the man who murdered Fiorri!" She screamed and rushed at Mara with her lightsaber held high over her head.

Mara, still stunned by her emotions, barely snatched the lightsaber from her belt to ignite it in time to block the brutal overhead attack by the Emperor's Hand. The strength of the Hand's blow sent Mara stumbling. What Young Mara lacked in skill and strength in the Force, she more than made up for in anger, hatred and fear.

Mara risked a glance over at Palpatine and Vader to see both only looking on. A satisfied sneer played on Palpatine's cracked and withered lips. Mara turned her attention back to her opponent as the Force warned her of an incoming attack. Mara caught the Hand's blade on her own and pushed back hard against the attack. Both stood with their faces a few inches apart as the lightsabers sparked and sputtered.

They could feel the heat of the blades on their faces. Mara's expression of Jedi calm only seemed to enrage the Emperor's Hand even more. "You need to see," Mara began, her voice cracking under the strain of holding the Hand's blade at bay. "We may have cared for Fiorri, but we were young and na? then. Luke would not have killed him unless there was no other way."

"Of course," Young Mara said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Just like those people on the Death Star."

Mara flinched at those words. Luke had a very hard time coming to grips with what he had done in his youth. But Mara knew in her heart that Luke regretted it, even though it was the only possible choice, and that regret was what made him such a good man.

Mara started to speak, just as the Emperor's Hand lashed out with a viscous kick. The words died on Mara's lips as the air rushed from her lungs. She felt a sharp pain and heard a sickening snap as she felt one of her ribs break before she was sent sprawling to the floor.

Mara scrambled to her feet as her younger self advanced with a predatory smile on her lips. "See all that you have given up with your failures?" the Emperor's Hand asked. As she did, Mara was assaulted with visions.

Mara stumbled back and brought a hand to cover her eyes, trying in vain to stop the visions. They played out like a perverse copy of her life: Her giving birth to Fiorri's son. The defeat of the Rebel Alliance. The public executions of the Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo to name a few. Mara's elevation to Dark Lady of the Sith...

Mara was still dazed as the Emperor's Hand raised her blade again. "You stole this away from us!" The blade came sweeping down in a great arc. Mara caught a flash of movement as a beautiful black bird descended from above, impacting the hands of young Mara, knocking her attack off-line and causing it to miss Mara by mere inches.

Mara rolled out of the way, brining her eyes to the bird as it flew away and disappeared into the darkness above. She brought her blade up to ward off the next viscous slash from the Emperor's Hand. As Mara parried the blow, she took her left hand from the hilt and pushed out towards her opponent generating a Force Push. Young Mara let out a startled grunt as she fell back. Mara jumped to her feet, trying to set aside the dark visions she had been assaulted with and calling the Light Side to her.

The Emperor's Hand flinched as a brilliant light surrounded Mara and expanded out from her. The light filled the entire room until all features of the room were bleached out. When the blinding light subsided, Mara and the Emperor's Hand were in a small jungle clearing near the ancient Great Temple of the Massassi that had been used by Luke Skywalker to house his Jedi Academy.

* * * *

Luke had made his wife as comfortable as possible before sitting on the stump of the felled tree. He looked around the clearing as the Dark Woman's ghost approached casting soft blue light over his features. He looked up at her smiling weakly. "This is where it happened, wasn't it?" Luke asked softly.

The Dark Woman nodded slowly. "Yes, Darth Vader found my sanctuary here. Or should I say, he acted on information he was given by another of the Emperor's agents. He was the one to follow through with them." As she finished speaking, she turned her head towards Mara's prone form.

Luke, with his eyes cast toward the ground and lost in deep thought, didn't notice the Dark Woman's glance. "And now, another battle versus the Dark Side is being waged..." she added, trailing off. Her eyes were still cast at the woman who had partly responsible for her murder.

Luke sighed, obviously distraught. Luke eyes seemed to brighten as he felt the Force rush through his every fiber. His Force Bond with Mara had seemed to reappear out of the void it had disappeared into. "She's back," Luke said bolting up to run to Mara's side.

As Luke knelt over his wife, the Dark Woman sighed. "Not yet, Master Skywalker. In every war, both sides win battles. The war is not over yet."

* * * *

Mara Jade Skywalker, Jedi Master, stood in the bright sunlight of the Yavin IV jungle. On one side of the clearing stood the people she had come to accept as her real friends over the years since the Emperor's death. Luke Skywalker, Talon Karrde, Han Solo, Corran Horn and Jaina Solo were the ones obviously present, but at the edge of her vision she caught glimpses of all those who had helped and accepted her since she had affiliated herself with the New Republic.

The Emperor's Hand stood a few feet away, her lightsaber was no longer in her hand and instead now hung dormant from her belt. She glared angrily at Mara and her assembled friend. "Let me guess," she growled. "All our wonderful friends. Psst...don't make me laugh," she said, turning away, trying to affect an air of nonchalance. However, Mara could see right through her act, having practiced hard, years earlier, to perfect it. Mara remained calm and focused waiting for her younger self to continue.

Young Mara turned back to the Jedi Master, her eyes glazed with tears and filled with anger and confusion. "Your friends, huh? Seems you have a bit of selective memory." The Emperor's Hand pointed towards the woods where a Bothan man had just emerged. His cream colored fur and violet eyes brought a chill to Mara's warm, comfortable inner peace.

"I don't remember Borsk Fey'la being such a great friend. The man tried to find every little thing about us. He would have burned you at the stake had it been up to him. Luckily I was smart enough to hide our activities," she growled.

"Oh and your loving husband's family," the Emperor's hand began as Leia Organa Solo stepped into the clearing. "She was oh, so supportive of you and Luke. She was just so happy an ex-imperial assassin was marrying her brother. Her brother, Jedi Master, Hero of the Rebellion, marrying Palpatine's whore! I'm sure she was really proud!" She screamed as tears came streaming down her cheeks.

Mara was shocked at her words. "His whore?" she asked softly.

"Oh, don't act so offended. Have you forgotten your roots so quickly?" Young Mara asked. "The first time you laid with a man, it was because your Master had put his pawn in that position. You let him use you, body and soul. How do you think your husband would look at you if he knew the first man you were with, you murdered while he was still inside you?"

The sunlight disappeared as clouds filled the sky and Mara's thoughts darkened. Maybe all had not been as she remembered now. And what of Fiorri? Had she been fair to him, never even asking Luke about his death? Perhaps it was not as clear cut as she had made herself believe. What would Luke think of her behavior when she served Palpatine? He had never pressed her for answers and she had given him little insight. Maybe it was because she knew he wouldn't be able to love her if he knew.

* * * *

Luke looked up at the Dark Woman as his worry turned to cold, hard fear. He could sense in the Force Mara had withdrawn again, their bond fading into near nothingness. However, he could feel a new presence in the Force. He struggled to pinpoint it, but could not.

He looked up at the Dark Woman with questioning eyes. She looked down at the kneeling Jedi Master, a kind smile coming to her lips. "There is no emotion, there is peace...Master Skywalker," she said quoting a line from the Jedi Code. "Fear not, I believe someone very close to her is about to intervene on your wife's behalf."

* * * *

In the last rays of sunlight, not snuffed out by the clouds, Mara saw a shadow cast as something flew over her. She glanced up to see the blackbird she had seen earlier, flash overhead as the world morphed around them, brining them back to the Emperor's Throne Room.

The Emperor's Hand and Mara Jade Skywlaker stood side by side near Palpatine's throne. He was seated upon it, however he seemed not to notice their arrival. "Master?" the Young Mara asked tentatively as she leaned forward to look around the side of the throne. She jumped as the blackbird landed on the high back of the chair and the doors slashed open.

Both Maras gasped as they saw Darth Vader enter, dragging a half- clothed man behind him. "Fiorri?" they cried in unison. Mara looked over to see the Emperor's Hand's eyes filling with tears.

They could both see Palpatine's yellow eyes glowing eerily under his hood as he looked on. 'What is going on?' Mara thought to herself.

"Thank you Lord Vader," Palpatine said as he stood with the help of his cane. He strode over to where Fiorri was sprawled out on the floor where Vader had deposited him. His breathing was heaving and ragged and the Sith Master seemed to absorb the feelings of pain radiating from his body.

Palpatine leaned over slightly and spoke in his raspy voice. "You seem to have trouble following simple instructions." He tilted his head feigning deep thought. "I seem to recall giving you very specific instructions when I hired you."

Mara gasped as she realized what she was witnessing. She remembered back to the night she had almost lost her virginity to the young man she had loved all those years ago. She had never considered what had occurred after Vader had waked in on them. She risked a glance at her younger self to see her wearing her pain openly. The wounds of his death were still quite fresh to her and the scene playing out in front of them was like rubbing salt on them.

Palpatine motioned with his head from Lord Vader to Fiorri. Vader quickly strode over to him, roughly grabbing him by the shoulders and hauling him to his feet. The young man tried to compose himself as Vader let go. The Emperor spoke again, "So, was I clear or not?"

Fiorri could not keep the fear from his voice as he answered. "Yes Emperor, you were very clear."

"Then, why is it boy, that you disobeyed my orders? The contract we made when I hired you." Papatine asked in a patronizing tone.

"I...I did not, Your Excellency. I had the situation completely under control..." Fiorri spoke as a fist slammed into the back of his head. Vader stood over him as he slumped to the floor again. As the boy hit the ground, another vicious punch slammed into his kidney.

"Lord Vader, no!" the Emperor's Hand screamed as she leapt forward. Mara could feel the fear and pain coming off her in waves. She reached out latching onto her strongly with her arms.

"This has already happened. There is nothing we can do to change it," Mara said struggling to hold the younger, stronger woman in place. Mara called upon the Light Side, not only to increase her strength, but also to calm the young girl who was being fueled by the fear of what was happening.

None of the men present noticed the commotion or paid the two ladies any heed.

He cried out in pain as Vader's power fists pummeled him. The Emperor stood emotionless has Vader rained fists down upon the boy who was powerless to stop him. After a minute, Palpatine motioned for Vader to stop. "Now what was it again that I hired you to do?"

Fiorri panted and groaned in pain. He was laying face down on the floor with blood beginning to run from his mouth. He managed to lift his head a mere inch off the floor and groaned, "You hired me to teach Mara the art of love making and other arts of seduction." The old man hissed impatiently for Fiorri to continue. "You also said that I was not to engage in any act that could possible leave her with child."

The Emperor's Hand stopped struggling immediately and stood with a shocked expression. Mara let her arms flop to her sides trying to figure out if she had heard correctly. The Emperor's Hand fell to her knees, unable to overcome the shock of what she had just heard.

"Ah," the old man muttered. "And it would appear that you chose to disobey the last part of your orders, didn't you?"

"No, Emperor," he said, his pleading eyes looking up at the withered man. "I would never disobey you. I was just about to push her off me when Lord Vader walked in. I was teaching her the art of..." He cried out as Vader's boot impacted on his right shoulder slamming his face on the floor, ending whatever excuse he was offering to Vader's Master.

Young Mara looked on in abject horror, realizing what was about to happen. "No...no..." she cried shaking her head. Mara reached out to wrap her arms around her once more. She hugged her younger self as an older sister would when trying to comfort their sibling through their first true heartbreak.

However, Mara couldn't help but feel as if she had lost something as well. The special place that you hold in your heart for your first love, seemed to grow dark. The flame that she had carried all these years was extinguished under the harsh waters of truth.

"You lie poorly, boy," the Emperor hissed. "Your guild would not be pleased with what you have done. You're nothing but a whore. I told you that there was no way you would be allowed to handle her in such a manner. However, you chose not to listen."

"Please...I won't do it again..." he sobbed realizing his fate.

"You are right. You will pay for your lack of vision. And I guarantee you will never do it again!" he said fury rising in his sickly yellow eyes.

Lord Vader's arm quickly snatched the dangling lightsaber from his belt. The blade emerged from the handle with a snaphiss, as he moved to stand over the broken, battered and now sobbing, Fiorri.

"No!" the Emperor's Hand screamed as she leapt from Mara's loose embrace. She brought her lightsaber to her hand, triggering the blade to emerge. She dove forward as Vader brought his blade high over his head. She managed to interpose her blade to block his attack on her prone lover.

Mara's heart nearly stopped as she looked on. She saw Vader's blade pass through Young Mara's as if she wasn't even there. Fiorri screamed in pain as the blade pierced his chest. He collapsed an instant later, life no longer evident in his eyes.

* * * *

Mara let loose a terrible scream, nearly scaring Luke to death. He moved from the spot where he was seated nearby to kneel beside her once more. "The second I move away from her..." he muttered taking her in his arms.

Mara's tears flowed freely as she muttered. "No...it was all a lie...he never loved me...they all lied...no one could ever love me if they knew what I've done..."

"Luke," the Dark Woman said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You must leave her. This is her fight, not yours. You can not aid her, only hinder."

Luke did not move only hung his head. His emotions tore at him, paralyzing him. But after a few moments of deep deliberation, he hesitantly stood, staring loving at his wife. He took two small steps back and lowered himself to sit upon the ground. Planning to keep his vigil as close to her side as he could.

* * * *

Palpatine, Vader and Fiorri faded from view as the Emperor's Hand slumped all the way to the floor. Mara stood trying to compose herself, knowing she would need to comfort the crushed girl who was now crying on the ground where Fiorri's body had just been.

The red lightsaber sputtered and crackled against the durasteel floor of the Throne Room. Mara slowly reached out to lay her hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder. As she did, the Emperor's Hand lashed out with a kick before jumping to her feet.

The viciousness and speed of the kick caught Mara completely off guard as it slammed into her chest, just below her throat, sending her sprawling to the floor. Mara looked up, trying to catch her breath to see the Emperor's Hand staring at her with unbridled hatred burning in her tear filled eyes.

"You did this to me," she began, her voice low and menacing. "If it wasn't for you, I never would have known this. At least, you have Skywalker! I have no one!"

Mara slowly got to her feet. "You would have rather lived with a lie?" she asked, immediately regretting she had not found a softer way to ask the question.

"How dare you?" the Emperor's Hand asked, spiting venom as she raised her left arm in Mara's direction. She fanned her fingers out, as her arm reached a position parallel to the ground. Mara felt a tremor in the Force as the Hand's hate reached a thundering crescendo.

Mara drew her lightsaber, the blade coming to life just in time to intercept the blue lighting arching out from Young Mara's hand. She managed to catch most of the lightning on the blade as the smell of ozone filled her nostrils.

A howl inspired by all the pain and fear caused by her service to the Emperor emerged from Young Mara as she sent another bolt of Force Lightning at the Jedi Master. Mara struggled to keep her lightsaber away from her body as she caught the second arc of lightning. The Emperor's Hand took full advantage of Mara's struggle and shifted her attack slightly to Mara's left, lancing her shoulder with a bolt.

Mara grunted as the lighting burned her skin, bringing with it the stench of burnt hair and skin. He left arm went numb as the Emperor's Hand charged forward, her lightsaber held for an overhead strike meant to end their conflict in one brutal strike.

Mara brought her blade up in time to block the attack, but without her second hand, the attack almost slid though her guard. Unable to hold off the strike, Mara rolled away to her right. She came to her feet to see her younger self had not moved.

"I feel horrible about Fiorri, you know that. But it was all a lie," Mara said, keeping a cautious eye on the Emperor's Hand. As she looked at her younger self, Mara could see none of her anger had dissipated as they had fought

"No! You did this!" Young Mara screamed as she charged. She slashed down at Mara with a flurry of attacks.

Mara parried her attacks easily since they were made with the sloppiness that anger lent to one's fighting ability. But, with that sloppiness came great, anger fueled strength. Mara could feel her frustration rising. She needed to end this, but she had no idea how.

'Was I really this headstrong?' she asked herself as she locked her gaze on the angry, emerald eyes across from her. Mara could feel herself losing control as the memories of everything seemed to crash down around her. Vision after vision she had seen came flooding in like a tsunami trying to crush her.

For the first time since she and the Emperor's Hand's blades had met, Mara lashed out with an attack meant to do harm. The Hand was so surprised by the attack she barely blocked it. Now Mara went on the offensive.

Mara fought like she hadn't in years. Letting her frustration and fear have more influence on her than she should of. She felt as if she were the Emperor's Hand again. Fighting battle after battle in his name, armed with her fear, frustration, loneliness and anger.

Mara drove the young girl across the Throne Room, her frustration at herself growing when she couldn't find another way. Raining blows down with her lightsaber, Mara finally saw an opening in the Hand's defense and struck. Her lightsaber slashed across the Emperor's Hand's left leg, severing it just below the knee.

As the Hand fell onto her back, screaming in pain, she brought the blade back to strike again. With the swiftness only a Jedi Master could muster, she slashed towards Young Mara's right hand severing it at the wrist, sending her lightsaber skipping across the floor.

Mara brought her lightsaber over her head, seeing only one way to put her past to rest, once and for all...

* * * *

Luke saw the color fading from Mara's cheeks as she lay, tossing and turning on the ground a few feet away. Luke could sense her life fading before his eyes. He had tried everything he could think of by using the Force, to no avail.

"Please, you have to help her!" Luke yelled, jumping to his feet to face the Dark Woman. "There has to be something you can do!"

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker, I can not," she said, her voice remained aloof and withdrawn. "They are on their own."

Luke turned back to his wife, again reaching out with the Force. He felt it again, the presence he had felt before. And, like his wife, it was dying as well...

* * * *

Mara stared down at the wounded Emperor's Hand. She brought her hands forward to bring her blade down on the girl. As the blade began its movement, the blackbird flew from across the room, landing on the Hand's chest as the blade fell towards them.

Mara gasped, she used every last ounce of strength and Force energy within her to sway the blade's course. The blade impacted the floor mere inches from Young Mara's chest.

Mara's chest was heaving as she looking down at the bird. It cast its bright green eyes up at her, letting out a soft chirp. That single chirp seemed to pull at Mara's heartstrings. "What have I done? What was I about to do?" she muttered, looking down at the redheaded girl.

The Emperor's Hand looked up at Mara, defeat in her eyes. "Just finish it," she said, the pain in her voice cutting Mara like a vibroblade. "It is better this way. You have a new life, there is no place for me..."

Mara closed the blade of her lightsaber before tossing it away. "No. It is not better." As Mara stared at the girl, she began to realize that this headstrong, dark tempered girl, with the very questionable past was just as much a part of her as the woman Mara had grown into.

"Even though you are wounded," Mara said looking down at her. "Wounded by Palpatine, Vader and the rest of the evil you have seen in your life, you are still a part of me. A part I wouldn't give up for anything," she said leaning down to embrace her younger self in a loving hug.

At first the Emperor's Hand resisted. She relented after a moment, the tears freely flowing. The teenage assassin and the mature Jedi Master finally came to grips with one another on the floor of the Emepror's Throne room.

* * * *

Mara Jade Skywalker awoke feeling very exposed. She glanced down to see that her robes had been removed and a blanket covered only her torso. She saw her legs were held apart and in the air by some soft vines. She felt as if someone had been jumping up and down on her abdomen. She recognized the feeling well, it instantly reminded her of the birth of her and Luke's first child.

More from instinct that conscious thought, she gave a heavy push. She felt a great sense of relief and heard an instant later the first breath of their child as it began to cry. She looked down again to see Luke kneeling between her legs, a smile twelve parsecs wide on his face. In his arms, he held their child. He wrapped the baby in a blanket and rose to his feet.

He pulled Mara's blanket down to cover her naked body as he moved around to bring the baby to her. "Well Mrs. Skywalker, let me introduce you to your daughter," Luke said, staring lovingly at his wife.

Mara's heart ached with joy as she took her daughter into her arms. She held and rocked her for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the infant opened her eyes to cast her first look at the galaxy. Mara gasped when she saw her eyes, a brilliant green. Just like her mother's.

The same eyes she had just seen in the Emperor's Throne Room. "Merula Skywalker," Mara murmured.

Luke smiled at her. "Merula, I like the sound of that." Luke wracked his brain trying to figure out what it could mean.

Sensing his dilemma, Mara spoke. "My little blackbird," Mara said to the baby, kissing her softly on the forehead. She turned to Luke. "It means blackbird."

Luke smiled and leaned in to kiss his wife. They held the kiss for a long moment, enwrapped in a feeling of love. Luke broke the kiss and took a step back. He slowly turned to the Dark Woman. Luke struggled for the words, not wishing to offend the Dark Woman.

"You are wondering why I have brought you here?" the Dark Woman asked.

"Brought us here?" Mara asked weakly.

"Yes, your ship failures were caused by me," the ghostly figure admitted. "It was necessary for one to come into the world here, to fulfill her destiny."

Luke thought back to his fateful descent to Dagobah to meet Yoda. He remembered how the Jedi Master had fouled his ship's instruments to guide him to their meeting. It appeared Yoda was not the only Jedi Master to be able to do such a thing.

Mara nodded. "I see." Mara hesitated before speaking again, regret and pain evident in her voice. "For what it is worth, I am sorry. I was young and foolish..." she said trailing off.

"The destiny in question is not yours Emperor's Hand. But one, passed from my generation to the next generation of Jedi," she said. "Your past is for you and yours to pass judgment upon. However, I will say that, I do not believe you would be wearing those robes if you had not changed from your days as Palpatine's servant."

Luke turned to look at Mara, trying to figure out if they were speaking of a specific act or Mara's service in general. Coming to no conclusion, Luke turned back to the Dark Woman. "You are speaking of our night on Ord Mantell?"

This time it was Mara's turn to be shocked. She stared up at Luke. "I thought...she was here for me."

Luke and Mara started at each other for a moment before the Dark Woman spoke. "I am here for one reason only, one that is linked to the night on Ord Mantell, Luke. There must be an heir to the traditions I introduced you to that night. That heir, or should I say heiress, is your daughter, Merula Skywalker."

Luke shook his head. "I don't understand."

"As I told you that night, the future is always in motion. Originally, I had planned on teaching you all I could about the Tantrick Force. However, my death prevented such plans. I needed a way to pass that on. I did that by forming a bond with you and linking myself to your future daughter."

Mara looked almost as confused as Luke as she listened to the Dark Woman. "That lightsaber you hold was mine, in life. It is now my gift to Merula," the Dark Woman said.

The Jedi Masters nodded solemnly. "Thank you," they said in unison.

"I will be there for her, as Obi-Wan was for you Luke, until she is Knighted. Our destiny's are now intertwined," the Dark Woman said. "Sadly, this will be the last time we see each other, Luke. Our destinies changed a long time ago, they now lie on a different path."

Luke nodded as the Dark Woman's form began to fade. "Thank you, Master," Luke said as she faded away. "May the Force be with you..."

* * * *

Luke had just finished checking the ships systems and made a communication to Leia letting her know that he and Mara were all right. He had then checked the long-range sensors to make sure no Yuuzhan Vong were in the area and when he found no signs, he walked back to check on his wife and daughter.

He found Mara holding Merula on their bed, both of them wrapped in her favorite blanket. He reached out and stroked her hair, leaning down to kiss her softly. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired," she answered with a weary smile. He nodded, smiling at her. "But, I want to talk to you about a few things."

Luke shook his head. "You should really rest."

"No Luke, I really need to talk about this with you. I am fine and I really think we need to talk. A lot has happened today," Mara said, her voice shedding its weariness.

Luke nodded, so Mara began. "I have a long story for you, but first. How do you know the Dark Woman?"

Luke smiled, "Well, that's also quite a long story. But, the short version is, she was the first woman I was ever...with."

Mara's jaw almost hit the floor at his omission, then she smiled as a blush came to his cheeks. She chuckled and reached out to touch his cheek. Luke took her hand and snuggled against it, before giving her hand a gentle kiss.

"Well," Mara said shaking her head. "I can't wait to hear that story. However, mine starts with my first love..." Mara began as Luke sat down on the bed beside her, arranging himself to hold Mara and Merula long into the night as husband and wife explained the circumstances leading up to their very intense first day on Cophrigan V.