I Lord Skywalker

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Star Wars. Come on, if I am writing this for
free, I don't own anything. So please, GL don't sue. I'm just playing
in your big sandbox. Besides, I count fanfiction (especially if it is
good. I hope this is) as a high form of flattery, like other
plagiarism.

I had to admit, I was not best pleased to be on this mission. It was
my first alone. On every previous mission I had always been with
someone else, either my father, Darth Vader, or Jix, his covert
operative. But the Emperor wanted me to prove myself worthy of my
title, Lord Skywalker. His wish was my command, like all other loyal,
blind minions of this wretched Empire. But I am not blind or loyal.
Not to him. I am to my father, but I loathe Palpy. Of course, I never
call him that to his face. That would be suicidal. My lip curled as I
remembered why I was out here on this desolate planet. Nal Hutta is
no holiday destination. Even Nar Shaddaa, the cramped smuggler moon
visible in the unusually clear sky was better than this ditch of a
swamp.

The Emperor had sent me here to salvage a disastrous operation by one
of his other servants. A simple assassination had gone terribly
wrong. The swamps in this area were on fire, the oily mist burned
away. So I had been sent here to complete the bungled mission. The
would be assassin had been caught in the attempt, and was now
incarcerated in Ralla the Hutt's torture chambers. My mission (there
was no choice not to accept it, unless I wanted to be blasted into
oblivion) was to get in, kill Ralla, and get out, preferably with the
assassin. It was a mystery to me why Palpy wanted a failed assassin
back. Maybe he wanted to execute him on sight.

I assumed it was a him due to my Imperial upbringing. I have nothing
against women, but the chances of a successful woman in the Empire
are virtually nil. A woman would have to be very good at what she
does to make any headway in the biased Imperial regime. But as I
wanted help in this, I had to get the agent out first and kill Ralla
before the alarm was raised. I got in using mind tricks by the dozen,
but when I opened the cell, I was amazed to discover that it was a
woman lying crumpled on the floor, blood oozing from several cuts on
her arms and chest.

I was even more amazed when I recognized her from my childhood as
Mara Jade, a playmate during my few hours of recreation each week.
She had disappeared when I was thirteen, and I'd assumed that she had
been killed like so many others I'd known. I had mourned for her, as
a friend and as I had been developing stronger feelings for her. All
right, I had a crush on the pretty redhead! So sue me! We'd shared a
simple, pure chaste kiss. I hadn't known it was a goodbye. I wondered
absently if she had known she wasn't to see me again, and that was
why she'd kissed me.

I knelt down, and pulled her slight frame into my arms. Some of those
cuts looked pretty nasty, and she'd need a med droid to fight off the
infection. But exhausted and in pain as she was, I thought she looked
beautiful. Call me a romantic, why don't you, Sith apprentice that I
am. At my gentle mental touch, her green eyes snapped open. I had
forgotten what a bright green they were, like grass on a spring day.
As she regarded me with a piercing gaze, I felt the furtive touch of
her mind as it probed me. Her eyes widened. She recognized me. No
surprises there, my face is famous as Vader's spawn.

Please read and review! From Jedicat. (I may not be the first to
claim the name, but as I am a Star Wars fanatic and like cats, I
claim it. So there.)

Okay, I have found a way to sneak past Darth Word, using Works. So
here is part 2. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for the feedback. Keep
it coming please.

DISCLAIMER: Well, for one I don't own Star Wars. Or the characters
herein. But I did write this for fun and not money, and I'm not aware
of any law that says I can be sued.

"Skywalker? What in Sith's name are you doing here?" She asked. Her
voice was deeper than it had been at thirteen, and was ragged due to
her recent torture.

"Pleased to see you too, Jade. I'm here to finish the job, and get
you out." I said. We had always bickered, and had in the past a few
full blown arguments.

"Have you `finished the job'?" Mara asked, her voice was harsh, her
Coruscant accent showing through.

"Not yet. I need backup to make sure I don't mess up. The Emperor is
not very forgiving."

"Don't I know it." Mara muttered, a little fear showing through her
controlled mask of a face. A beautiful mask, but a mask all the same.
Even I couldn't tell what she was really feeling under her barriers.
I wondered if she had been on the receiving end of some of Palpy's
rages, where he blasted those unfortunate enough to be around him
using his terrible force lightning. "Are you to kill me after this?"
She asked. She'd always been refreshingly blunt, and her quick tongue
and short temper had landed her in a lot of trouble. She'd obviously
learnt to curb it, else she would be so much ash on the throne room
floor.

"No. I can only assume Palpatine himself wants to punish you." I was
studying her carefully as I spoke, and caught the slight tremor that
ran through her. She was afraid of her Master. Only a fool would not
have been afraid of him. "C'mon, we'd better go before they realise
I'm here and that you're free."

Mara led the way to the stinking lair of the hutt through the
stinking dump of the dungeons. I was surprised she seemed to know the
place like the back of her hand. She must have felt my feelings, as
when she next spoke it was in answer.

"Every good agent should do the background reading before going in."
It was a slight reproach, as I'd obviously not done it to the right
level. I flushed with some chagrin. If this got out, I'd be on the
receiving end of some cruel barbs about the relative intelligence of
the son of Vader compared to a girl.

"I won't talk. They wouldn't listen anyway." Mara stated. I was
relieved for a moment, then I felt a touch of panic. If this got
through to Palpy, I was in for a rough time. "Nor will I tell my
Master. I have no wish to be responsible for your suffering." I
breathed a sigh of relief. At least in this dark universe, Mara's
compassion still existed in some form.

"Why are the swamps on fire?" I asked. Mara stiffened. She hated to
be reminded of one of her failures.

"My shot went wide. It set the oil on fire." I raised my brows. Mara
was one of the best shots in the universe. If she had missed, there
had to be a reason. She sighed heavily. "He had one of his hostages
in the way. The daughter of Director Isard. If I was going to kill
him, I had to kill her too. I don't go for collateral damage if I can
possibly avoid it. Boy, am I going to pay for it when I get back. The
Emperor does not take kindly to compassion."

I winced. He didn't. He'd killed for less. I felt a surge of pity for
this woman, this girl not even in her eighteenth year. "Is this your
first mission?" I asked. Mara shot me a cynical glance.

"No. My first mission alone was two years ago. This is my twentieth
assassination of a crime lord." That was not good. Palpy was more
likely to show leniency if this was a first mission. If it was, he'd
probably just blast her. As it was, Mara would probably be killed. My
long hidden protectiveness was raised. I didn't want Mara to die.

"You kill the hutt. I'll free the hostages." If she killed him, Palpy
might spare her. She knew it and I knew it. She grabbed my hand,
gripping it in a vice like hold. Her long slim fingers held an inner
strength.

"I won't forget this. You're sticking your neck out to save my hide,
which is something no one else would do. Consider myself in your
debt." She hissed in my ear, her breath warm on my cheek.

"You'd do the same for me." I whispered back. My icy blue eyes must
have held a great deal of trust in them, for Mara felt she had to
shatter the moment.

"Would I? You assume too much. If my Master wanted me to kill you, I
would do so without hesitation." The moment passed. My eyes grew
dull. Once more I was reminded forcibly that Mara was blindly loyal
to the Emperor. No matter what she felt for me, she'd put her
personal feelings aside to do his bidding.

"Don't your feelings count at all to you?" I asked. Surely she was
human...

"Not if they go against the Emperor's will. Personal is not the same
as important." She finished her statement in a broken whisper. By the
tortured look in those green eyes, she had had that mantra hammered
into her. I caught the sensation of extreme pain and a horrible
current arcing through her. Palpy must have punished her for that
goodbye kiss. He'd separated us because of our growing feelings for
each other. So Mara was human after all. All too human, with the same
vulnerabilities of anyone else. Well, anyone except Palpy.

We had reached the grill below the throne, where the unfortunate
people who displeased the slug above were hurled down to be dragged
off to the torture chamber, where the hutt could enjoy the screams of
pain. Someone was being tortured right now, and the agonised wails
cut through them. They stopped after a couple of minutes. I caught
Mara's wince as she ran a finger over a prominent cut on her forearm.

"How long did they torture you?" I asked, hoping it was only a couple
of minutes.

"I don't know. They weren't very happy with me anyway, and the fact
that I wouldn't scream meant they got even angrier. I'd estimate
twenty four hours. Could have been longer." I felt rage burning
inside me. I wanted to kill her torturers, slowly and painfully. I
felt absurdly protective of her, beyond that I felt for my father and
other friends. I realised then that I loved this sarcastic assassin.

"Did they rape you?" I asked, grabbing her arms and twisting her to
face me. She glowered at me, and shook her head. I had to admit I was
surprised. Mara is a beautiful woman, and these scum would have raped
any woman they came across.

"No. They were plotting it, when a call came through from Imperial
Centre. The Emperor himself demanded that the torture stop, and that
if they touched so much as a hair of my head he would personally
order his fleet to eradicate all life on Nal Hutta. They threw me in
a cell, like any other hostage." I was surprised. The Emperor must
have an ulterior motive for saving Mara from a fate worse than death,
and an ulterior motive for sending me to rescue her.

I began to suspect what it was. Mara was possibly his legitimate heir
rumoured to be present in the inner court. As such, any child she had
would be Palpatine's heir. A valuable grandson, or even great
grandson, as Mara was young enough to be his granddaughter. Palpy
would not want any old scum as the sire of his heir, so maybe I'd
been selected so as to secure the heir's place, as my father would
not harm his grandchild. The crafty old despot. I thought, wondering
if I would find a new command waiting for me in my shuttle, to bed
Mara Jade. I had to admit, that was one command I would be more than
willing to follow. But my high code of honour screamed at me that
Mara herself also had to be willing. But then again, she herself had
said `Personal is not the same as important.'

Mara was looking up through the grill at the fat drooling slug,
Ralla. He was watching his twi'lek dancers with greedy eyes. Mara
suddenly pulled a blaster and pointed it at Ralla. It was a holdout
blaster. I absently wondered where she'd hidden it. "Go! Free the
hostages!" She ordered. I turned, but spun back. She didn't expect to
be pulled towards me, and lost her balance to fall into my arms. I
bent my head and kissed her full on the mouth. She struggled for a
moment, then kissed me back. Mara is a good kisser, and apparently
well versed in the erotic arts. She knew exactly how to kiss me to
please me best, all without her tongue. A spark of passion burned in
my heart, flaring up into a fire. If this is normal kissing, I wonder
what passionate kissing is. Just as I tried to deepen it, she pulled
away, a look of warning in her eyes. Obviously she would only go so
far without permission from Palpy.

"Go." She whispered, her lips bruised by my ardent kissing. I turned
and left, the dungeon listing in my hand. I opened all of the doors
on the list and a collection of high born Imperials stepped out. One
was missing. Ysanne Isard. The Hutt obviously had the most important
hostage with him. The daughter of the Director of Imperial
Intelligence was the most important. They followed me, picking up
weapons from convenient racks on the walls.

A shot echoed down the rough cut tunnels. Mara had just killed Ralla.
There was a scraping sound as a grill opened, and a roar as something
was unleashed. Several shots were fired in quick succession, each
followed by a squeal of pain. But there was no thud or death cry. The
creature still lived. No more shots were fired, and there was a stomp
as the monster lurched closer. Fast footsteps echoed down the tunnel.
Two sets. Shadows rounded the corner and Mara appeared, helping a
limping girl of a similar age. Ysanne Isard, by her mismatched blue
and burning red eyes and her white forelocks against her raven hair.
The stomps approached. Another shadow appeared on the wall and the
monster appeared. A rancor.

It roared, then stretched out a hand, lashing out at its escaping
prey. The claws caught Ysanne on the leg, and she fell down with a
shriek of pain and terror. Mara sprawled down, Ysanne knocking her
over. The beast reached forward again and grabbed Ysanne, then
dragged her towards its open mouth. Mara leapt forward, a glowing
purple blade appearing as she ignited her lightsaber. The light it
cast seemed to fit the strange scene.

She brought the blade out, using the tip to jab the rancor in the
paw. It dropped Ysanne in a trembling heap on the floor, howling with
pain. It struck, a wild unexpected blow. Mara didn't see it coming
until too late. She rolled with it, lessening the impact. It still
knocked her into the rough stone wall, hard enough to break a bone or
two. A dull snap was heard, and she lay still.

Please read and review. Jedicat. Oh for Word, Works is like a
vibroblade against a rancor...

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming! Soon I hope to add a
complete new story to the files, which is complete, but on paper. As
Darth Word seems to have repented, I should be able to write more
with more ease. I'd better watch out for treacherous error messages
though...

Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine, nor are the characters. This story
is.

A second snap-hiss was heard as I ignited my own lightsaber and leapt
to Mara's defence. The blue blade (my father's blade as a Jedi) shone
a cold light, reflected in the rancor's dark greedy eyes. It grabbed
Ysanne and stomped off, taking her with him. Stang! Why didn't she
move? I ran after them, knowing Mara would not forgive me if I
didn't. Several blaster shots fired past me, enraging the beast as
the other hostages acted. It turned, throwing Ysanne as a missile at
me. I used the force to stop her and set her down.

"Get behind me!" I snapped. She complied, joining the others. I
charged at the beast, cutting it down even as it raised its arms to
strike. It fell down. I jumped back to avoid being crushed. It would
never eat another captive again. I turned back to the others,
shutting down my saber. I pushed past them, kneeling beside Mara.
Thankfully she was still alive, but unconscious. Her collarbone had
snapped, with her right arm. I set the bones, using the force to get
them in place and keep them there. I picked her up, leading the way
to the exit.

"She's as good as dead. Why not leave her here?" Ysanne said, her
voice frigid. I felt a surge of rage. Mara had saved her life, for
Sith's sake! Ungrateful bigot! I thought vehemently.

"The Emperor wants her alive." I said, coldly.

"So he can kill her. Good riddance!" I could not believe Ysanne.

"She saved your life at least twice! You owe her a life debt, not
glee at her impending death." I was not about to let this scum know
Palpy wanted her alive for a reason.

"So what? It was her duty as an Imperial agent. If this was not her
duty, she would not have done it." Ysanne sneered.

"You don't know her at all. She's not like that. She could have
killed you to fulfil her duty earlier. She held back because she is
not a cold blooded killer. You were in the way of her shot earlier.
She was tortured because of you, you ungrateful swine!"

Ysanne bridled at my insult. "Keep it up, Skywalker! I'll have you
crawl at my feet! My father-"

I cut her off with a derisive laugh. "Your father? Your father is
below my feet. My father could kill him instantly if he wanted to, as
could I!"

"Some day, you Sith will all die. You're a mistake of nature. Only
the Emperor should be force sensitive. Not you, or Vader, or her."
Ysanne said, her tone icy.

"Whatever, Iceheart." I taunted her, playing on her surname.

"We'll see, Skycrawler." She fired back. I shook my head. Some people
always had to have the last word.

"I'll remember not to spare your miserable life next time, Ysanne."
Mara growled, glaring from my arms at the Iceheart. "Put me down,
Skywalker." I ignored her. She struggled, but gave it up as futile. I
set her on her feet by my shuttle. I turned to the former hostages.

"Get on. The Executor is waiting in orbit. You'll be transferred
there." I couldn't wait to be rid of them, Ysanne in particular. They
were all bluebloods, cold as ice.

They disembarked, outraged not to have more than a squad of stormies
to welcome them. I thought they were honoured enough to have Darth
Vader there. Isard held her head high, but was not tall enough to
look down on him, much as she wanted to.

"Isard." He rumbled in greeting.

"Lord Vader, your son has been most discourteous to me. He called
me `Iceheart', among other things." Ysanne glared at me.

"I see nothing wrong with that, Isard. He is your superior. Lord
Skywalker." My father said, eyeing the blue blooded brat
disdainfully. Ysanne looked like she would explode. She stomped off,
the others following.

My father turned to me, fully a head taller than my disappointing (at
least to myself) average height. "Son, it is good to see you
unharmed. Well done. You successfully completed a mission alone. The
Emperor is pleased." He glanced at Mara, who had just walked down the
ramp, arm in a sling.

"Emperor's Hand, you completed your mission. Be warned, fail again
and you will pay the price. Your orders await you on the shuttle.
Leave us." Vader addressed her, waving a finger at her with the
warning. Mara turned and stalked back into the shuttle. I caught my
father's dislike of her. Mutual dislike. I felt strangely hollow,
sorry that two of the most important people to me did not get along.

"Luke, the Emperor requires that you sleep with her, tonight on your
trip back to Coruscant. You are to use no protection. I will be frank
with you, I do not like her. She is far too blindly loyal to our
master." Vader hissed. I nodded, then took my leave of him and went
back on to the shuttle.

I found Mara in a state is trembling shock and rage. She had put some
bacta salve on her cuts, having taken her sling off, her arm and
collarbone healed to her satisfaction and after a visit to
the `fresher looked more presentable.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to send a soothing touch to her with
the force. She turned and glared at me. Then her gaze fell. It was
obviously not to do with me, or at least not directly.

"That Sithspawned liar. He had me go to medcenter after he'd punished
me for kissing you. I had an operation. The Emperor told me he'd had
me sterilised. That lying, backstabbing traitor!" Mara said,
viciously crushing a holocube and hurling it at the bulkhead. I
raised my hands.

"Whoa! What's he lied about?" I asked, alarmed yet strangely pleased
to see Mara on the verge of treason to our high and mighty Master.

"Are you completely dense, or just slow? He lied about sterilising
me, you Sithspawned idiot! He had me implanted with a long term
repress med, and had my appendix removed. How DARE he?" Mara
screamed, punching the wall, then stepping back, apparently calm. She
held her bruised hand and grimaced, shaking it.

"Wait, so you'd prefer he sterilised you without your consent then
just repressed you without telling you? You need lessons in logic if
that's the case." I pointed out. Mara's shoulder's slumped.

"I'd rather neither had happened, if I had any choice. But I don't.
To him I'm less than worthless. That, that thing said I was to have
sex with you, but before I had to remove this from my arm. I know a
repress med when I see it. I may never have... been with anyone
before," Here a slight flush coloured Mara's cheeks. "But I do know
what precautions people take." She was holding a small device in her
hand, dull with blood. I glanced at Mara's left arm, and saw a bacta
wrap on it, and a bloodstained vibroblade in Mara's other hand, which
she started to clean.

"Is it your choice to... be with me?" I asked. This was important, at
least to me.

Mara looked sharply at me. "Personal is not the same as important.
For your information, it will not be a punishment to sleep with you."
She smiled slightly, predatorily. "As a matter of fact, it may even
be a pleasure. I'll let you know afterwards."

I smiled back, nervously. I hoped that I would be able to perform to
standards. I left her to send the ship out of the hangar bay. The
piloting droid would handle things while I was... busy. I went back to
join Mara.

Please read and review!

Jedicat.