RATED: PG
 

    "What is that?" Obi-Wan Kenobi pointed through the transparisteel window of
  the cockpit onboard Queen Amidala's Naboo Cruiser. In the distance, like a giant speck of grey dust, a ship could be seen, floating, listless. An injured insect hobbling, waiting for death.
     Beside him, Master Qui-Gon grunted. "I've never seen anything like it before," he whispered. "Captain, can you get us closer?"

     They weren't too far from Coruscant. They had exited hyperspace a good distance
away, for the new parts they had gotten from Tattooine were not exactly top quality and
had barely gone the distance. From this distance, the giant planet-city was glowing like a
brilliant firefly in the jungles of Yavin IV. It seemed odd that a ship that close to such a
populated area could seem so abandoned out here.
     The Cruiser circled around, and the make of the ship became clearer. It looked like
a personal shuttle, with rich green markings on it. It was sleek and shiny--or rather, it
would have been if half of its hull hadn't looked like it had had a bad run in with a mad
wampa. The long body was dented, as if some creature had taken it over its knee. Sparks
floated out of the bottom where the landing legs were half-extended, grasping at nothing.
     On the upper part of the hull, the only unmarked part of the ship, was the
designation.
     "Jade's Sabre," Obi-Wan muttered. "Huh. I wonder who Jade is."
     "Probably the captain," Qui-Gon said, his brow furrowed in concentration. "There
are survivors..."
     Obi-Wan went to the control panel behind the main station. "Scanners say that there
are two life forms on board. But they won't be alive for much longer."
     Qui-Gon scowled. "Is there any way we can dock with it?"
     The Captain shook his head. "The way the ship is damaged, we can't risk
connecting. We'll have to take it in a tractor beam and bring it to Coruscant."
     "Very well, Captain. Please do so."
     Obi-Wan looked up at his Master. "Another pathetic life form?" he murmured. "At
this rate we'll have our own parade."

     Down in the lounge of the ship, Padme Naiberrie noticed that their ship was making
a minor course correction. She went to the port window and saw the bright blue tractor
beam latch onto a smaller ship that looked mangled almost beyond recognition. Behind
her,
the two Jedi entered the room, and she turned to them, her orange and yellow garment
floating about her.
     "The Queen will want to know what we are doing," she said, her voice sounding
slightly regal.
     "Picking up more strays," Obi-Wan quipped, but was silenced by Qui-Gon's quick
look.
     "Another urging of the Force?" Padme suggested.
     Qui-Gon nodded eloquently. "Perhaps. I'm sensing something strange about that
ship."
     "No doubt, Master Jedi, as it has obviously been through some great ordeal." She
glanced at the wreckage again. "What I want to know is, do you have any sense about it
through the Force?"
     "Whoever is aboard that ship, they're near the point of death."
     "Then we must reach them quickly," Padme said.
     "Indeed. But the Captain said we could not dock with the ship because of the
damage. If we want to reach them we'll have to do it manually."
     Obi-Wan started. "You mean, go out into space?"
     "Do you have another suggestion?" Qui-Gon said archly. Obi-Wan didn't reply.
     "There are space suits down below. Perhaps you can take Artoo with you," Padme
offered.
     "Master, we're going to be docking soon."
     "Which is why we must hurry."

     Artoo's laser tore through the thin covering that was blocking them from the outside
airlock controls. They had managed to find a small, undamaged door on the port side, and
were attempting to get in. It took keen control of the Force to maintain their position
against the wounded ship, but Qui-Gon was confident that Obi-Wan had tight control of
himself and the droid. As the smaller panel came free, Qui-Gon let his student take a rest
and moved forward to work the controls. A few unfamiliar hums later, the hatch was open
and they were stepping through the forcefield and into the oxygenated atmosphere of the
ship.
     By some miracle--or rather, by the sheer will of the Force--there was still air inside.
At least the occupants weren't in danger of suffocating. Qui-Gon scanned the ship
mentally,
pressing forward toward the cockpit.
     What he saw didn't please him.
     The passengers--two of them--were at the controls, both slumped forward. Around
them the controls had been badly damaged and there were wires hanging loose from the
ceiling. The hull had been dented in at several locations. Qui-Gon marveled that it had held
together at all.
     He approached carefully, placing his hand on the unconscious captain's shoulder.
She had red hair, brilliant and shot though with gold. As he turned her over to see her
face,
he felt Obi-Wan's ripple of surprise behind him.
     "Would you define her as another pathetic lifeform, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked, his
amusement coming through the speaker in his helmet, but did not wait for Obi-Wan to
reply, knowing he had to keep his mind on his task. Using the Force to guide him, he slid
her head back so that the crook of his arm was cradling her neck, and lifted her from the
seat. He turned and placed her in Obi-Wan's awaiting arms.
     "Seal her up in one of the extra suits we brought and get her to the med bay," he
ordered.
     Obi-Wan, for once, was silent and obeyed the order. Then Qui-Gon turned to the
other one, the man who was obviously the co-pilot.
     Gingerly, he lifted the man's head the way he had lifted the woman's, his Force-
sense tingling the entire way. There was something about this man that he knew, as if they
had met before. As he got a look at his face, Qui-Gon was struck by the familiarity of the
features. It was almost as if he were a relative of Anakin, the resemblance was so strong.
Of course, the face had been heavily scarred and was roughened by age, but no doubt this
stranger was related to the boy. And even the Force-sense he got from him was strong,
perhaps not quite as strong as Anakin's but nearly. And the woman, too, he realized. She
was very strong, perhaps stronger than even she knew.
     But there was no time for this. He had to move quickly. Pretty soon they would be
landing, and he had duties to perform. He had to report to the Council about that Sith
warrior, and present Anakin to them for training. This mystery would have to wait.
 

     After considerable trouble, both Jedi, Artoo, and the two strangers were safely
onboard the Cruiser. In the small med bay, the visitors were stretched out and hooked up
to
monitors, which showed that if the Jedi had not decided on their little impromptu rescue
mission when they had, their new friends would not have had as good of a chance of
surviving.
     Qui-Gon found that he could not bring himself to leave the bay. The longer he was
around these people, unconscious as they were, the stronger the Force-sense he got from
them. In fact, he was sure that not more than a few minutes after they had been brought to
the med bay, they had gone from mere unconsciousness to Jedi healing trances.
     Obi-Wan, for his part, was hovering around the woman. He could hardly blame her-
-she was beautiful. Pale skin, delicately carved cheekbones, full lips, and that brilliant hair.
But Qui-Gon had a feeling that she was already spoken for by her companion, the one
who
bore such a resemblance to Anakin.
     Just as the ship was entering orbit on Coruscant and the Captain began his
negotiations for landing clearance, the woman awoke. Her eyes, a bright emerald green,
searched the world around her, and she frowned at its unfamiliarity. Both Obi-Wan and
Qui-Gon were close by when it happened, but they hesitated to pounce on her, not
wanting
to smother her only a few seconds after her recovery.
     She lay there for a moment, silent, as if ready to drift back off to sleep, and then she
lifted her head and gazed at her rescuers, squinting. Her elbows slid back to prop herself
up, and she winced, the red hair falling into her face.
     "Take it easy," Qui-Gon said gently, "you're probably not completely healed yet."
     "Where's Luke?" she asked, looking up at them, her eyes suspicious, her tone tense.
"What have you done with him?"
     "Luke?" Obi-Wan echoed.
     Her suspicious expression blossomed into a full-blown scowl as her green gaze tore
into the Padawan. "Luke. The man I was with. Where is he?"
     "Your companion is over on that bunk. He's still unconscious."
     Her face fell into an mask of pure panic and she let out a small cry as she swung her
legs over the side of the bunk. But she moved too fast and her body objected, causing her
to freeze as she sat perched on the edge of the bed.
     Qui-Gon reached forward, gently clasping her shoulder, trying to urge her to lie
back again. "Please, don't try to--"
     He was cut off when she shoved his hand away and dropped to her feet. She swayed
for a second and Obi-Wan spread his arms out to catch her, but she brushed him aside as
well as she marched over to the other bunk where her companion--Luke--lay, still
unconscious.
     Tenderly, she brushed the sandy-blond hair out of his face. "Dammit, Skywalker,"
she whispered, "I haven't gone through all of this just to lose you now."
     *Skywalker?* Obi-Wan sent a startled look to his teacher, who was now scowling
in confusion. Skywalker? Luke Skywalker? Who was Luke Skywalker? Now Qui-Gon's
curiosity was practically aflame. He shared a last name with Anakin, but Shimi had
mentioned no other kin--especially no father. Had she been lying? How was this possible?
     She stayed there for a few minutes, and in spite of the nagging Force-sense, Qui-
Gon and Obi-Wan remained silent and waited. Finally, she turned to them, finally reaching
some equilibrium of expression. No longer hostile, but very tired.
     "He'll be fine," she said, as if more to assure herself than them. "I know he will be.
He's survived much worse than this."
     Qui-Gon nodded. "Perhaps you could tell us what happened," he asked. "We found
your ship badly mangled. You're lucky your hull wasn't breached and you didn't suffocate.
As it was you were both barely alive when we found you."
     Those green eyes seemed to finally focus on him, and the woman turned to face
them. "You rescued us," she said, more of a statement than a question.
     "Yes."
     "Then I apologize." She glanced at Obi-Wan. "And I thank you. You're Jedi
Knights, aren't you?"
     "What makes you say that?" Obi-Wan asked.
     The woman snorted. "Please. I know Jedi Knights when I see them. Who do you
think I'm married to?"
     At their blank expressions, she frowned.
     "Stars, have I met the only two men in the charted regions that haven't heard of
Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade? I swear that's all the holonet covered for the last two
weeks was our wedding. You have to know who we are."
     Slowly, Qui-Gon shook his head. "But you are also Jedi Knights."
     "Yeah, you could say that," she said, her face curling into a sarcastic grin. And then,
it froze. She looked around her again, as if she hadn't noticed before. "Stars," she
muttered.
"You know, come to think of it, this medical bay looks rather...ancient."
     "I'm sure the Queen will be pleased to hear that," Obi-Wan muttered.
     She looked at him. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.
     "My name," Qui-Gon offered, "Is Qui-Gon Jinn. This is my apprentice, Obi-Wan
Kenobi."
     Her face turned an even whiter shade of pale. "Kenobi," she echoed, staring at the
younger man. "Obi-Wan Kenobi." As if she knew the name but didn't believe it.
     "Yes," Obi-Wan said, a flirtatious grin finding its way to his lips. "I see you've
heard of me. How flattering. I didn't know I had any fame to speak of."
     But the woman--Mara--was anything but responsive. She seemed to fall back
against the bunk as if she'd been struck. Her breath escaped from her lungs and she sucked
in another, the shock sending her reeling. "Obi-Wan Kenobi," she whispered. "Great maw
of Kessel. I don't believe it."
     "And you said your name was Mara Jade?" Qui-Gon asked, casting a silencing look
at Obi-Wan, who was beginning to look very disturbed himself.
     "Yes," she whispered. She tore her eyes away from his Padawan and raised them to
meet his. "Qui-Gon Jinn, you said? If he's your apprentice, that must make you a Jedi
Master."
     "Yes." There was some commotion outside the med bay, and the doors slid open.
Captain Panaka entered.
     "Master Jedi, Queen Amidala requests your presence. We preparing to meet the
Chancellor."
     "Very good, Captain," Qui-Gon said, frowning slightly. "Obi-Wan, go with the
captain and tell her majesty that I will be up in a moment."
     "But Master--"
     "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said wearily, "please."
     The young man cast a last, fleeting look at Mara, and obeyed.
     Mara kept her eyes glued to the floor as Qui-Gon approached her.
     "Where are you from?" he asked softly.
     "I don't know."
     "You don't know, or you won't tell me?"
     "I don't know where I'm from. I have no memory of my childhood. I was raised on
Coruscant."
     "But you are a Jedi. If you had been raised on Coruscant you would have had to go
through an apprenticeship, and surely I would have known about you. But I have never
known anyone named Jade."
     Finally, she looked at him. Pointedly. "Well, you do now."
     He sighed. "I must ask that you do not leave this ship until I return. I will have a
guard posted if I must."
     She began to smile, ever so slightly. "Master Qui-Gon," she said, "do you believe
we are a danger?"
     "I don't know. But as it is, I know that I cannot have you wandering around
Coruscant."
     "And why is that?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
     "I must go."
     "Why don't you just say what you're thinking?" she challenged.
     "Because you're probably thinking the same thing."
     "And neither of us wants to say it because we'll just sound crazy."
     "Yes."
     "I never worry about sounding crazy. But if Luke and I are...what you think we
are...then I must ask you," and here her face turned earnest, "I must beg you not to tell
anyone."
     "Don't worry," he assured her. "If it's true, we are more in danger from you than you
are from us."

     Luke opened his eyes and saw only the blank ceiling above him. For a few
moments, all he could do was blink. The last few minutes of his conscious life seemed to
attack him at one moment, and he groaned, bringing Mara to his side.
     Mara...thank the Force she was alive!
     He raised his head slightly, putting all his strength into his arm as it reached for her.
     "Mar...Mar..." Why wouldn't his voice work right? He coughed and sputtered,
trying to get the moisture to gather.
     "Easy, Luke," she soothed, stroking his forehead and she made him lie back down.
Her silky fingers caressed his cheeks, his throat. He let out a small murmur. Maybe he
should take blows to the head more often, if this was what it got him.
     "What...what happened?" he finally managed.
     "I don't know," she sighed, and there was a gravity in her eyes as she gazed around
their surroundings. Through their Force bond, he could sense that something was severely
amiss. "I don't remember what happened after we hit hyperspace," she continued, her
voice
low. "Just a bright light."
     "We encountered something," Luke said, his voice getting steadier. "The scanners
picked up something that made them go nuts, and before we could do anything about it, it
was too late."
     She snorted. "So much for our Jedi reflexes. What do you think they picked up?"
     He was silent for a long moment, thinking. "I don't remember sensing anything
dangerous, like attacking ships or anything. And I've never heard of creatures that live in
hyperspace, so it couldn't have been organic."
     "Perhaps," Mara suggested, "it could have been some kind of an anomaly--like a
time-space rip?"
     Luke looked at her. "Okay, spill."
     "I think we've been sent back in time."
     That was Mara. Always to the point.
     "What?"
     "I'm serious, Luke. These two Jedi just came and rescued us out of our ship. They
said it was a wreck. It's possible that the distortions caused by a time-space rip could have
almost killed us, but instead we survived to find ourselves sent back in time."
     "Jedi?" Luke echoed. "Who?"
     She hesitated. "One of them says he's Obi-Wan Kenobi."
     Luke shot straight up, forgetting his aches and pains. "What?"
     She gave him a bemused grin. "Yeah, a pretty young version, too. I never met
Kenobi, but I saw holos of him during my days as Emperor's Hand. It looks like him."
     Luke shook his head. "This is impossible."
     "Is it?" She cocked an eyebrow. "I've heard stories before about this kind of thing.
Hyperspace isn't exactly a sure-fire thing, you know. Every once in a while a ship goes in
and never comes back."
     "But there are a hundred other ways to explain that," Luke protested.
     "Uh huh. And we've just found reason number hundred and one."
     Luke looked around them. The small med-bay they were in looked very clean and
well kept, but the technology was rougher, not as sleek as some of the newer equipment
he'd seen. And there was no bacta tank. Every med-bay, no matter how small, always had
a
bacta tank. It was New Republic regulations.
     He looked at her. "Are you okay?" he finally asked.
     "Oh, I'm fine," she said, her expression turning mildly self-reproachful, "except I
have a severe case of foot-in-mouth."
     Luke frowned. "What happened?"
     "Well, when I woke up I didn't know where I was or what was going on. And
Kenobi and his teacher--he's not a jedi knight, yet, by the way, he's an apprentice to a Jedi
Master named Qui-Gon Jinn--kinda got me off guard and--"
     "Mara," Luke stopped her. It wasn't like her to go on so much like this. "What did
you say?"
     "I told them our names. They didn't know who we were. Of course, it was only then
that I realized that we weren't in our own time anymore."
     He sighed. "Wonderful. How did they react?"
     Mara considered the question. "They didn't seem ready to toss us out the airlock,"
she offered. "Master Jinn seems to be the one in charge around here. And I think he's just
as concerned about getting us home as we are."
     "Obi-Wan Kenobi," Luke muttered, "still an apprentice. I never even thought about
him as once being in training. I guess in my mind he was always a Jedi Knight."
     "His younger self seems to be a bit of a smart mouth, too," Mara said. "And a flirt."
     Luke frowned. "Flirt?"
     Mara shrugged her shoulders. "I guess men find me attractive. Hey, I had Lando
panting after me for quite a bit. It's not so far-fetched."
     He reached out and caressed her cheek. "No, it isn't. But I don't care if he is Obi-
Wan Kenobi, I'll flatten him if he gets too fresh with you."
     She grinned. "You're sweet, Skywalker, but I can take care of myself."
     He smiled. "So now that we know what you blabbed about us, did you find out
anything about them?"
     "Not much," she admitted. "I was kind of in a state of shock, but I managed to pick
up a few things. First of all, we're headed for Coruscant to meet some Chancellor. Possibly
of the Old Republic Senate. And there's a member of some royal court on this ship. A
woman named Queen Amidala."
     At the mention of the name, Luke felt his insides tremble. The look on his face
almost scared her.
     "You've heard of her?" Mara asked.
     "No. But for some reason, I think I should have."
     Mara narrowed her eyes. "Well, I hope that comment was innocent enough.
Because if I have to stay away from Kenobi, no strange queens for you, either."
     The corner of Luke's mouth turned upward into a grin that turned her insides to
slag. "My my...the Jaded Mara has a bit of a jealous streak, after all."
     "And don't you forget it, farmboy." But she didn't fight him as he pulled her in for a
kiss.

     It was only a short while before someone was sent for them. Mara was sitting on
Luke's bunk, cross-legged, while her new husband was finishing a light trance to aid some
of his more bothersome wounds. They had decided to just wait it out. After all, Mara
trusted this Qui-Gon character. It was very unlike her to trust anyone so quickly, but now
that she was a Jedi, "For all of about four months," she had quipped, she was more used to
trusting those hunches that usually only Luke was subject to.
     There was a young woman with them. A very young woman, actually, with thick
brown hair and eyes. She looked familiar. She was dressed in flowing red robes, with a
hood hanging down her back. Whoever she was, she was important. The way she held
herself was almost queenly. But they had said the queen was meeting with the Supreme
Chancellor. Why would she double back for two strangers?
     Luke paled slightly when she entered, and Mara gave him a quick, concerned look.
     "My name is Sabe," the woman said, her face a mask of calm with hardly a hint of
expression. "Queen Amidala has asked that you be her guests for the time being. Perhaps
you can tell me a bit about yourselves, like how your ship came to be in its current state."
     *We can't tell her the truth,* Mara sent to him.
     *Then make something up.*
     *Like what?*
     *I don't know, you were the Emperor's Hand. You used to do it all the time!*
     Mara sighed. "My name is Arica. This is my husband, Luke. We're from...."
*Think, Mara, think!* "...Dathomir."
     "Dathomir?" Sabe cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever heard of it."
     "It's an outer-rim world," Mara hastily explained. "We're refugees."
     "From what?"
     "Well," Luke spoke up, "it's kind of my fault. My wife comes from a clan that
believes that women are supreme over men. When I asked her to marry me, I broke the
clan
taboo, and we were exiled. We can't go back."
     "Because you proposed to her?" Sabe asked.
     "On our world, women claim a husband. Luke isn't a native of the land, he was left
there when he was a baby and raised in my clan, but he was different." Mara gave him a
wry look. "He had some crazy notion about women and men being equal. They didn't like
him much."
     "Ah. Well, allow us to offer you refuge. You would be welcome to return to us to
Naboo, but currently our planet is being occupied by the Namodians."
     Mara mouthed the word, but kept the confusion from her face. "Perhaps we could
help," Luke offered.
     "Your aid would be most welcome, Luke, but we are hoping that the Senate will
intervene on our behalf."
     "The Senate," Mara whispered. There was that Jedi hunch again...
     "In the meantime, the Queen invites you to be her guests in the palace. If you would
follow me."
     She turned, her garments floating around her, and exited the med bay, and Luke and
Mara exchanged looks.
     "I'd like to see the shape our ship is in," Luke said.
     Mara blinked, slowly. "She said they were from Naboo," she said, as if she hadn't
heard him.
     "Yes."
     "Palpatine was a Senator from Naboo."
     He took several steps, gently pulling her along with him. "Let's go see."

     Mara had lived much of her life in the Imperial Palace on the world of Coruscant.
The giant planet-city was the very core of the galaxy itself, and it had changed much since
its early days. This Coruscant was bright and beautiful, alive with the active glow of life.
As Jedi, both Luke and Mara sensed the conglomeration of great Jedi talent not too far
away--perhaps some sort of ancient Council, the records of which had probably been lost
in
the purges.
     Sabe led them to a pair of rather ornate metal doors which slid open at their
approach.
     "That is something I cannot do," came a regal voice, and both Luke and Mara saw
her at the same time.
     She looked remarkably like Sabe--too much like her, to be exact. But she was
dressed in such a fashion that she made the other woman look like a pauper. She was in
grey velvet embroidered with pearls, and on her head was some kind of headress that had
strings of pearls hanging from it, down to her shoulders. Her face was pure white, except
for her top lip, which was scarlet red. The bottom lip had only a streak of scarlet on it,
right
down the middle, like some sort of decorative scar.
     "Queen Amidala," Sabe said, bowing. "These are our visitors, Luke and Arica."
     Queen Amidala turned her large brown eyes to them, and nodded. "Welcome. Sabe,
if you would show our guests to private chambers. They have no doubt been through quite
an ordeal and would like to rest."
     Mara opened her mouth to refuse the offer when she turned her head and saw him.
     Palpatine.
     He wasn't looking at them, but rather he was gazing out the window. But still she
knew him. Maybe it was her Jedi abilities that sensed him, but then she realized that he
must have cloaked himself because she could get no Force signature from him. But he
himself had taught her that trick, so she recognized it instantly. Still, it wasn't any of those
things that told her who the man was.
     She just knew.
     He turned his head, feeling her gaze. He wasn't young--seventies, maybe. Give or
take a half dozen years. But he was considerably younger than the decrepit old man she
had
known, whose white skin hung off his face in sickly wrinkles. No, this was a much more
youthful version, his face almost handsome and proud, uncovered by the dark cloak he
constantly wore. Mara used to wonder if he slept in the thing.
     Now his garments were brilliant and blue, a long robe made of iridescent material
covering more simple attire, a tunic and trousers.
     His eyes met hers. The eyes she had known had not been human eyes, but those of a
sith lord who had given himself entirely to the dark side. These eyes were still unclouded
by his hatred, clear in his purpose, even bright with ambition.
     The thought did occur to her that he might not even have begun his journey into the
sith arts, but no, that couldn't be true, or else he would have no need to cloak himself.
     She felt Luke's hand on the back of her arm, and it startled her. She turned to him,
but realized that he wasn't looking at her. There was cold recognition on his face as well,
and even a touch of dark hatred.
     "This is Senator Palpatine," Sabe introduced.
     The old man bowed his head, even smiled at them benignly. Mara's stomach did a
slow roll.
     "Welcome," he said, his voice far from the whinzied old cackle they both knew by
heart. There was no mocking self-assurance, no spite or hatred tainted it. It, too, was
much
younger, even lighthearted.
     Mara forced herself to smile. "Thank you, Senator."
     He nodded again and looked at Queen Amidala questioningly. "They are the
occupants of the ship we brought in with us," she explained.
     Palpatine's eyebrows raised. "Goodness," he said, and Mara felt like she was going
to throw up. He glanced at them. "How did you ever survive?"
     "Luck," Luke replied quickly.
     He chuckled. "In my experience, there is no such thing as luck."
     It was Luke's turn to pale. He even looked like he was ready to swoon. Mara slid
her arm across his back.
     "Madame Sabe," she said, forcing her eyes on the bodyguard, "if you could perhaps
show us to our quarters, I think my husband's injuries are coming back to haunt him."
     "Certainly, Madame Arica," Sabe said, and led them from the room.

     "I thought I was going to either go supernova, or turn into a black hole," Mara
sighed from where she lay stretched out on the bed. It was covered with a heavy red
velvet
blanket which felt wonderful underneath her tired form.
     Luke exited from the refresher, the color returning to his face. "Me, too. Stars,
Mara...what are we going to do?"
     She sighed, pulling herself up and crossing her legs under her. "I'm starting to
wonder if we should just hide in here and let history play itself out, then steal a ship and
get
as far away from here as we can."
     "That won't do us much good," Luke pointed out. "We have no idea how to get
home."
     "I'm not so sure there is a way home."
     Luke approached the bed and sat down next to Mara. "I'm not much of a scientist,"
he said, "but I'm sure there has to be a way."
     "When I was very young, the Emperor had me educated by a private tutor from the
Imperial Academic Academy. I remember learning about a man named Trevok."
     Luke frowned. "The scientist who discovered hyperspace," he remembered.
     "Yes. Trevok originally was looking for a way to travel through time. Hyperspace
was kind of an accident. There's a ton of technical stuff that I couldn't remember if I tried,
but the bottom line he came to was that time travel was impossible because of the self-
killing paradox."
     "Self-killing paradox?"
     "Yes. If you went back in time and killed your father before you were born, you
would cease to exist. But because you ceased to exist, then you could have never gone
back
in time to kill your father in the first place. His original compensating theory for it was that
if such a thing did happen, time would reset itself, like a machine, and smooth out the bug.
But if it didn't, such an event could seriously damage the fabric of space-time and possibly
have a chain reaction that wiped out all of existence."
     "Pretty heavy stuff."
     "Tell me about it." She sighed, searching her memory. "About a generation after
Trevok, there was a woman named Charell who came up with the tangent theory. She was
a member of the Durranian race, which believes in a Supreme God controlling all of
creation."
     "Lots of races believe in gods."
     "No, not gods. This was a God who lived to the definition of the word. The word
'god' means supreme archetype. The very top of the heap, no higher than him. So if this
God created the space-time continuum, it would logically follow that It would foresee all
events. Of course, the Durranian race believes in some mystery called free-will, so the
question became how could this God foresee what we were going to do freely?"
     "Sounds a little too religious to be scientific."
     "Maybe...but the Durranians believe that science is the way we can know how God
does things. So if we're free, but It knows everything, then her scientific explanation was
that all times must exist for this God, that with every choice we make our reality splits into
infinity, each possibility having a different outcome and creating a new reality."
     "I'm not sure I understand."
     "Think of it like a tree with branches," Mara said, stretching out her arms and
spreading her fingers to illustrate. "We start in one place, the trunk, which is the dawn of
time. With each passing moment and each possibility, time splits and splits and splits,
creating a giant tree that stretches on for all eternity, and fills all of infinity."
     "Okay, I think I've got that."
     "So Charell's tangent theory was that if a person went back in time and changed
something, it would merely cause that timeline to segway into another direction, and the
people who had traveled back in time would be untouched by the events of the future
because they were existing in the past. They would become a tangent reality unto
themselves." She shrugged. "I can't explain it any better than that."
     "So they would wipe out their native timeline, but survive in the timeline that they
were currently in, right?"
     "Exactly."
     "Has this theory ever been tested?"
     "Nope. It was all high-minded speculation. But I remember it because I was curious
it if was true."
     "So every second, our reality it splitting into another reality."
     "Exactly. If we stay here on this bed, one reality happens. If we decide to get up and
leave the room and go mingle with history, another reality would occur. But because all
things do happen, it's already happened, and it's constantly splitting off into infinity."
     Luke looked around them. "That's just plain creepy."
     "Well, actually it's rather relieving. If it's true, that means that no matter what we do
here, it won't change us."
     "But it will change everyone else at home."
     "Exactly."
     "That doesn't exactly thrill me, Mara."
     "Me neither. Of course, it depends on if the changes are for the better or worse."
     "Like how?"
     "I don't know. The Republic never falling, the Jedi never being purged, millions of
lives being saved. That kind of thing."
     Luke stared at his wife. It frightened him, how well he knew her. The next words
were out of her mouth before he could stop himself.
     "You're thinking of killing Palpatine."
     She gave him a sloe-eyed smiled. "Damn, but you know me well, Skywalker."
     Luke shook his head. "It would be murder."
     "I know."
     "I won't let you do it."
     "I'm not going to."
     "Not yet."
     She sighed. "Sith, Skywalker...how can you be against it? Think about it. We kill
Palpatine. Your father never becomes Darth Vader. I never have to be the Emperor's
Hand.
The Empire is never born, the Jedi are never slaughtered, and Alderaan is never destroyed.
You and Leia grow up as brother and sister, as you should have, and your mother and
father live happily ever after."
     "And I never meet you."
     She stopped. "I hadn't thought about that."
     "Well, then think about it," Luke snapped. "I don't care what good it will do, it will
mean that you and I never...that we never...no, Mara. It isn't worth it to me."
     She cocked an eyebrow at him. "The great Jedi Master, unwilling to make such a
small sacrifice for the greater good?"
     "Small?" he nearly shrieked. "You are going to sit there and call it small?"
     "Compared to the big picture? Yes!" she railed back. "Luke, I love you. I love you
more than life itself. But we've been given a chance here. Who are we not to take it? What
if it's the will of the Force that we do this? What if everything hangs on our choice?"
     He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to be calm. "Look. You just got done
saying that all things can and will happen. Then that means it's already happened, right?
That it doesn't matter what we choose because in some alternate reality it's already going
to
happen."
     "You're oversimplifying what I said, but basically yes."
     "So why should we have to do anything?"
     "That's a fine attitude for a Jedi Master to take. All of these are just theories, Luke.
There's no telling what the real truth is."
     "Exactly. Which is why I forbid you to do it."
     "Fine."
     "Fine? Oh, great...it scares me when you agree with me that quickly."
     "No, I mean it. Fine. I won't change any history. But the longer we stay here, the
more you're going to see my side of things. I know it, Luke. After a few days here, you'll
be
asking me for the chance to kill Palaptine yourself."
     He sighed and ran his fingers through her thick red hair. "I wouldn't trade you for
anything in the galaxy, Mara," he swore, stroking her cheek.
     She blinked away an uncharacteristic tear of emotion. "I love you too, Skywalker,
but don't be too sure of anything. Remember, all things can and will happen."

     They decided to split up. Mara went to go find Qui-Gon after asking one of the
handmaidens where the Jedi had done.
     "To the Council Tower," the woman replied, and Mara was struck by her
resemblence to Queen Amidala. The more she thought about it, all the handmaidens
looked
like the Queen.
     Luke, for his part, wanted to go talk to the queen. He had been struck by her from
minute one, and was determined to discover why.
     He found her in her chambers, surrounded by more of her handmaidens. He was
allowed to enter into the more private section, and he noticed that she was being re-
dressed, having shed the ornate headress and stiff grey robes for something much more
brilliantly colored.
     The dress looked like it was made of orange silk, and had a rather simple design. As
he approached, one of the handmaidens was slipping a gold-embroidered robe over her
shoulders. She turned and looked at Luke in surprise, and it was then that Luke realized
why she was familiar.
     She looked like Leia. The same brown eyes, the same impossibly long brown hair.
It was hanging loose at the moment, and the white mask was gone. But just he was taking
in the features, they began to cover it again with the paint, and two of the handmaidens
took hold of the brown tresses and began to twist them up. Within minutes, they were
being bound up in another headress, this one the most decorative of them all.
     "Luke," she greeted him, her voice still regal, "I trust that you and your wife find
your quarters comfortable."
     "Yes, your majesty," he managed. What had he come here to say again? Was he
supposed to ask questions? Why wouldn't his mouth work?
     "Then is there a problem? I usually do not permit visitors into my private chambers,
but I sense that there is something seriously amiss with you and your wife."
     Luke shook his head, trying to clear it. "Your Magesty...I was actually wondering if
there was...something that we might do for you."
     She raised an eyebrow. "I know that Sabe has told you much about our plight. But
do not worry. I have faith in our senate." There was a mild tremble on her voice, and Luke
instantly doubted her. She gave him a rather brave smile, however, and turned away.
     Luke stared at her back as it came upon him like a sudden thunderclap.
     This woman was his mother.
     He didn't know how he knew. It couldn't have been just a hunch through the Force,
because it was too clear to him, too definite. But as she turned back and lifted her chin a
bit, looking at her reflection in the mirror, he was reminded of the many, many times he
had seen Leia do the same thing.
     His mother. After a lifetime of mystery, he had finally met his mother.
     Before he could open his mouth, there was a mild disturbance in the Force. He
heard voices, coming from the handmaidens and then from a young boy.
     For the second time that day, Luke felt an eerie chill.
     "Who is it?" Amidala asked, a touch of annoyance in her voice. She stepped away
from the mirror and into the doorway, and Luke took a step back to see the blue-veiled
face
of the handmaid raise to reply to her mistress.
     "Anakin Skywalker, here to see Padme," she replied, her voice carrying a lovely,
exotic accent.
     *Anakin Skywalker.*
     *Father.*
     Luke looked down at the boy. He couldn't have been more than nine, maybe ten. He
had bright blue eyes, eager and friendly. His short form was dressed in familiar garments,
rough and sand colored, as if he were from Tattooine, and his hair looked like it had just
been subject to a serious trim. His face and hands shone bright, as if just washed, and he
gave the queen a slight smile, as if she intimidated him, but at the same time he liked her.
     He was speaking, but Luke's hearing had suddenly gone awry. This friendly,
chirping voice was nothing like the dark, menacing growl of Darth Vader's filtered tones.
Even the weak, hissing sound of his father's last words to him..."You already have, Luke.
You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right."
     He shook his head. "I may never see her again," Anakin finished, shooting Luke a
quick, curious glance, apparently drawn by the intense stare Luke was giving him. "I just
wanted to tell her goodbye."
     "We will tell her for you," the queen suddenly said, her voice softening
considerably. "Be assured," and here Luke felt another tremor through the Force, "that her
heart goes with you."
     Then the queen turned away, and Anakin gave a little bow and left.
     Luke watched him go, feeling a terrible urge to follow him. "Who was he looking
for?" he heard himself asking.
     "Padme, one of my handmaidens." The queen would not look at him as the other
women began to place a heavy robe over her shoulders. "I do beg your pardon, Luke, but
I
have urgent things to attend to."
     "Yes, your Magesty, I understand." He gave a little bow. "I hope we meet again."
     She graced him with a smile. "I do as well. Anything we may do to help you after
our crisis is over I shall see to personally." A mildly puzzled frown caused one delicately
sculpted eyebrow to lower just a touch. "Master Qui-Gon has requested that I offer you
my
personal protection. I sympathize with your plight--Sabe told me your tale. But I am
rather
confused."
     "As to why we should be your concern?" he said slowly, trying to make the rather
sharp words mild.
     She gave a slight nod. "Do not misunderstand me, Luke, I am more than happy to
aid you and your wife all I can. But I sensed from Master Qui-Gon that protecting you
was
more important than actually helping you. Are you in danger? Do you believe your wife's
family might try to harm you?"
     "Not yet," Luke said, paling slightly. The connotations of her statement, although
unknown to her, were overwhelming. "But Arica and I thank you for everything you have
done for us. May the Force be with you." He gave her another little bow, turned and left.

     Luke darted out into the hallway, trying to keep himself from breaking into a run. It
didn't take him more than a minute to catch up to Anakin's shorter form, bouncing along
excitedly.
     "Anakin Skywalker?" Luke called, barely keeping his voice from catching.
     Anakin turned his sandy-haired head and looked at Luke, his eyes curious but
friendly. "Yeah?" he called.
     Luke fell into step beside him. "My name is Luke. Where are you going in such a
hurry?"
     The younger Skywalker seemed to quicken his pace. "Master Qui-Gon is presenting
me to the Jedi Council. They're going to decide whether or not they're going to train me to
be a Jedi." He looked away, his brow furrowed. "I hope they say yes."
     "I hope they do, too," Luke said, feeling a new kind of chill. So much history had
been lost, and there was so much about his father he had never known. But was this the
start of Anakin's fall to the darkside? Luke sent out a tendril through the Force, reaching
into Anakin's mind. He seemed so eager, so open to the world. Almost trusting, even
though from the first touch Luke instantly knew that Anakin should have been anything
but
trusting.
     The face of a woman came to his mind, first. Old and wrinkled, but beautiful at the
same time, with eyes full of compassion and love. "Why wouldn't they train you, Anakin?"
Luke asked softly.
     Anakin shrugged. "I don't know. Master Qui-Gon keeps talking about something
called midi-clorians. I don't know what that means. I hope they explain it to me."
     *Midi-clorians?* Luke wondered. He had no clue. "Beats me," he muttered.
     Anakin looked up at him, his eyes sharp. "You're a Jedi Knight, too, aren't you?" He
took in Luke's dark clothing. "I didn't realize that they dressed in anything else but
brown."
     Luke looked down at his black trousers and tunic, the clothes he had been wearing
since he first became a true Jedi Knight. "Well, I think I'm rather out of uniform right
now," he said by way of apology.
     Anakin shrugged again. "I kinda like it. I'm so tired of brown. It's all I've seen all
my life. If I never see anything that looks like sand again, it'll be too soon."
     "Where did you come from?" Luke asked.
     "Tattooine," Anakin replied. "Where do you come from?" he asked in return.
     Luke found himself unable to reply. "I'm from...Dathomir," he finally managed,
barely remembering Mara's cover story.
     Anakin sighed. "Another world I've never heard of. You know, I am gonna be the
first Jedi Knight to see all the worlds. All of them," he said, again, more softly, wistfully.
     Luke forced himself to calm. This may be the only chance he ever got in his life.
"So tell me about yourself, Anakin? What did you do on Tattooine, and how did you get
here?"
     Anakin smiled up at him, as if pleased beyond belief that someone would want to
hear such things. "Okay," he said, "but first you have to tell me your name."
     "Luke," the other replied.
     "Okay, Luke. Would you believe me if I told you that I'm the only human than can
race pods?"

     Mara managed to find the Council Tower rather quickly. She found herself
grudgingly admiring Palpatine's short work of things--on the spot where she stood now
would be in a few decades his own personal statue, the one he'd erected to himself the day
he secured his position as Emperor. He was not, after all, without a sense of irony.
     She gently reached out through the Force. She was not accustomed to relying so
heavily upon it, not like Luke was, anyway, but she needed to find Qui-Gon and find him
quickly.
     Where the suddenly urgency came from, she guessed, was pure Jedi hunch. She was
going to have to get used to such things.
     They were out on a balcony. She could sense the openness around them, and could
sense a distinct conflict as well. Was there trouble brewing between the two Jedi? Mara
couldn't help but be amused at the thought that the great Obi-Wan Kenobi had once been
a
rather unruly apprentice.
     As she rounded a corner, a flurry of brown robes caught her eye and she stopped
herself just seconds before she would have been knocked over by the man she had just
been thinking of.
     He stopped, realizing what had almost happened. "I'm sorry, Mara...I mean, Arica,"
he said, his face slightly red and his brow distinctly furrowed.
     Mara nodded. "It's okay," she said. "Master Qui-Gon filled you in on our cover, I
see."
     Obi-Wan nodded, his frown deepening. "Although he won't explain to me why." He
made an aggravated gesture. "Then again, who am I to question the great Jedi Master? He
doesn't need to explain himself to anyone. He does whatever he wants for whatever
twisted
purposes he has." He finished his sentence with a grunt, as if making a conscious effort to
keep from saying any more, realizing that he was addressing someone who was practically
a stranger.
     Mara raised an eyebrow. "I would hate to think there was trouble between you two.
Considering that Qui-Gon cares about you very much."
     Obi-Wan snorted. "Doesn't make him listen to me, though." He gave her a rather
sharp look. "Appearances can be deceiving."
     Mara gave him a little half-grin. His anger seemed to melt a bit. "Indeed they can,"
she said, "but I never make judgements like that on appearances." She glanced toward the
sliding doors that Obi-Wan had just torn through. "Did you ever consider that maybe there
are things in the world that it's better for us not to know?"
     "Nonsense. As Jedi, it's our duty to gain knowledge. How else can we instruct those
who are ignorant if we don't know truth ourselves?"
     "Truth," Mara said, "can sometimes depend on your point of view."
     His eyebrows raised a bit. "Explain."
     She sighed. "You see your Master keeping secrets from you, riding high on his
rancor--"
     "His what?"
     "Rancor. That's what we use to ride on Dathomir," Mara explained quickly. "But
my point is, that's just what you see. But what he really knows is that he's following the
right path. I've often found on the many worlds I've visited that real truth is often
persecuted. For whatever other reason, it's usually because those who don't have truth are
often jealous of those who do. And instead of being patient and listening so that they can
learn, they'd rather condemn the would-be teachers. Sometimes, it has very ugly results."
She said the last words with just a hint of warning. "If I were you, Obi-Wan, I'd listen to
your teacher while you can. You never know when your entire world is going to change."
     For the oddest reason, she heard her voice tremble a bit. But Obi-Wan regarded her
seriously.
     "I'll consider your words," he said slowly. "Tell me, Arica...are you a Jedi?"
     "Sort of," she answered. "I'm new at this."
     "And who was your Master?"
     "I don't think you'd know him," she answered, taking care not to reply too quickly.
     Obi-Wan nodded, considering her. She had to fight hard to keep her barriers up
without lifting them to high and hoping Kenobi would respect her privacy. Luke had told
her she needed to drop a lot of her hostility toward the Force, and not keeping the strong
barriers that Palpatine had long since taught her how to produce was the first step, but in
this situation, she wondered if maybe she should give Luke a lesson or two.
     "Very well," he finally said. "If you're looking for Qui-Gon, he's outside. But I
wouldn't expect too much out of him. He's probably busy contemplating how he's going to
force the Council to train Anakin Skywalker."
     Mara started in surprise. There was a heavy haze of confusion. Anakin Skywalker?
Here? "Why would he have to do that?" she finally managed, barely keeping control of her
voice.
     "Anakin is too old," Obi-Wan replied. "But he wouldn't be the first Jedi trained
when he was too old."
     "How old?"
     "I don't know, maybe nine or ten."
     "And that's too old?" She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her
mouth. Obi-Wan frowned at her.
     "Well, as I'm sure you know, potential Jedi are trained nearly from birth. He's
several years too late, although it isn't unheard of. But neither Master Yoda or Master
Windu are very inclined to give in to Qui-Gon anymore, considering how many times he's
defied them." He let out a little grunt. "I've personally lost count."
     Mara nodded. "I see. Then maybe he is the perfect person to help us," she said in a
softer tone.
     Obi-Wan shrugged. "Better catch him now before the Council resumes. He won't be
in a good mood after that."
     She gave him a smile and stepped away. "Thank you," she said, and went through
the sliding doors, leaving Obi-Wan to stare after her, a puzzled expression on his face.

     "Hello, Mara," Qui-Gon said softly as she approached.
     "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," she said, "but I must speak with you."
     He turned and gave her a small smile. He was rather old, she sensed, but he had a
youthfulness to him that Mara attributed to long years submerged in the Force. She found
herself wondering how long she and Luke would last...maybe longer than most of their
family.
     She frowned. It seemed like such a lonely life. Even now, in his gentleness, Qui-
Gon seemed to be shouldering a heavy burden. "How do you stand it?" she finally
whispered.
     "Stand what?" he asked.
     Mara waved her hand. "This...this Jedi way."
     He looked her up and down. "You seem to have managed it pretty well."
     Mara shook her head. "I only recently became a Jedi."
     "Recently?" his blue eyes flared with curiosity.
     "Yes, months, actually."
     "How is that possible?"
     "Things are a little different where I come from," she said, a bit more softly. He
nodded, still confused.
     "How things did change," he whispered.
     Mara nodded back, and their eyes met. What she saw there...infinite amounts of
wisdom, weariness, love, a huge desire to leave something of himself behind, a burning
need to accomplish his task, this one he had set for himself, for reasons she couldn't
comprehend, but on some deeply spiritual level understood perfectly.
     She realized at that moment that this was possibly the only man in her life, other
than Luke, that she could completely trust, even with knowledge that no human being
should ever have. If she told him of the future, she could trust him to keep it secret. But
inevitably, she questioned the urging inside of her, it would lead him to change it.
     *Not if he's going to die.*
     Mara blinked and shook her head.
     Qui-Gon seemed shaken. He took a deep breath. "Tell me...who Luke Skywalker
is."
     "I'm sorry?"
     "The name Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker is here, right now he's being presented to
the Council for evaluation, to see if he's fit for training to become a Jedi. Your husband,
Luke Skywalker, is an incredibly powerful Jedi. What relation is he to Anakin?"
     "His son," Mara answered.
     Qui-Gon nodded and looked away. "Then he is trained," he murmured.
     "I don't know."
     He looked back at her. "How could you not know? Surely historical records--"
     "There are none. None on the Jedi, at any rate." Mara took a breath and let it all
come out. "Qui-Gon, there is a threat here. When it reveals itself, all that the Jedi Council,
that the entire order of the Jedi itself has worked to build for the last ten thousand years
will be destroyed. All records of anything the Jedi ever did will be erased. I know because
I
helped do it, at my Master's request."
     "And who was your Master?"
     Mara opened her mouth, but stopped. "I can't tell you," she said, her voice lowering
as she was overwhelming and completely torn. "If I do, it could change all of history."
     "And millions of lives could be saved," he said, seeing right through her.
     She groaned. "Billions...oh, I wish I could tell you." The anguish in her heart was so
deep tears came to her eyes. She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself.
     Minutes passed. Qui-Gon gazed over the city, and a heavy silence descended. It
seemed that even the traffic itself had hushed for a time.
     Mara felt a large, warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Qui-Gon
smiling at her gently, his eyes filled with compassion. "Mara Skywalker," he whispered,
"you are going to be a great Jedi Master someday."
     "Someday," Mara muttered, but felt herself smiling. "Sometimes, I don't feel like I
should be called a Jedi at all."
     He gave a slight chuckle. "In the end, you have always done the right thing, as you
have seen it, in spite of its consequences."
     "Not all those things I've done were good," she said in a low voice. "I was a
murderer, you know. My Master's Hand. He never intended that I be fully trained in the
Force. And then I met Luke."
     "Yes, your husband," Qui-Gon mused. "He strikes me as rather interesting. But I
shall probably learn as much about him as I have about you." He gave her a rather
sardonic
grin. "A pity." Then, he sighed, gazing out into the night. "Anakin Skywalker's son...I
wonder..." He glanced back at her. "What does your husband know of his father?"
     The anguish in Mara's heart filled her eyes. For the first time, she saw Qui-Gon's
confidence and calm begin to shake.
     "I wish I hadn't asked you that," he whispered.
     Mara swallowed over the lump in her throat. "Anakin Skywalker," she said slowly,
"died in the light side of the Force. That is all I can tell you."
     Qui-Gon nodded, gravely. After a long pause, he said, "Well, as much as it has
fascinated me, seeing this glimpse into the distant future, I must return to the present. The
Council will be done with Anakin now. I have to find Obi-Wan. I'm sure he's not too
pleased with me."
     Mara gave a slight chuckle. "He just needs to see things from your point of view."
     Qui-Gon's returning smile was rather self-effacive. "He's a much wiser man than I,
Mara," he said. "If he did see things from my point of view, he'd be more sure than before
of how crazy I am."
     "Being crazy isn't always bad," Mara said, remembering the many times she had
looked at Luke as being crazy, and he always turned out to be right.
     "I hope we meet again, Mara," he said, heading toward the doors. "May the Force
be with you."
     "And with you," she called as he disappeared.
     In the wake of the silence, Mara watched the city. It was so beautiful...unlike the
dark glittering Imperial world she had known throughout her life.
     The life she remembered, anyway...
     Long ago, Palpatine had become just a distant muttering in her head, a demon that
came to poke at her when she began to doubt herself and her path in the light. But until
now, she had never realized what a true monster he was before.
     She looked back toward the tower. It was beautiful--tall and graceful with a wide,
round top with large windows that reflected the remaining light of the nearly-set sun. It
was
all gone--just his twisted image had taken its place before the Rebellion had destroyed it.
She had been so angry then...so full of hate, Palpatine's old hate that had nowhere else to
go
but to her. His Hand.
     Mara slid down to sit against the rail, suddenly feeling cold. She thought she had
come to grips with this. Luke had once asked her why she hadn't fallen to the dark side
herself, since she had served Palpatine for so long. His final answer had been that she had
been serving, an act of selflessness that was against everything that the dark side stood for.
She had replied that she didn't care too much for that answer, because it felt like saying
that
serving evil wasn't evil if you were doing it for good reasons.
     She had never been able to come to grips with it before...the rage she felt, knowing
that Palpatine had twisted her inside out for his own purposes. He'd made her the
henchwoman of evil, but somehow through it all she had remained intact in her core. The
Light had saved her. But why? Why was she so important that such a miracle should have
been bestowed upon her?
     The answer, she feared, was starting to come clear.

     She headed back to her apartments, hoping to find Luke there, hoping he would
have something to report. It was insane, being here and yet feeling so separated from
everything and everyone. She found herself gazing out at the city over and over, trying
imagine the brilliant glittering lights of the nighttime sky that she knew and superimpose it
over this one. It felt so wrong, seeing it like this. It made her heart ache, the old longing
she
had always had for home coming up sharply against the familiarity of what she felt here, as
if somehow this was her true home and she had just never known it before.
     There was something so mysteriously beautiful about this place.
     As she passed by one of the holonet receivers, so much less advanced that the ones
she knew, there was a news bulletin flashing across the screen. Mara paused underneath
the
rather primitive holographic display, not because she was interested in its workings, but
because the face on the screen was that of the Queen who had escorted them to
Coruscant.
And Palpatine's face came next, proud and humble at the same time.
     "The newly elected ruler of Naboo, Queen Amidala," the female voice said over the
images, "has called for a vote of no confidence in the Galactic Senate. In session today,
there were several Senators who called for immediate election, and candidates were
selected." The planet of Alderaan was mentioned, and then Palpatine's name came last as
the Senator of Naboo up for election. For a moment, it frightened her, how well she knew
her former Master. She could almost hear him saying that they could count upon a
sympathy vote. He would become Chancellor.
     She felt a terrible chill.
     As she was about to resume her journey back to the Queen's apartments, she caught
sight of a familiar figure coming round a hallway. A man in a blue robe, who had his back
to her momentarily and then turned, revealing his face.
     She had once heard an ancient saying about "speak of the devil." She had never
really believed in a devil before.
     His face, wearing a thick mask of kindness, actually lit up upon seeing her.
"Madame Arica," he said, reaching for her hand with a gentleness that she found
incomprehensible. "I am so very glad to have found you." He glanced up at the holonet.
"Have you heard the news?"
     "Yes, congratulations, Senator," Mara said, nodding her head slightly, trying to
keep a cool mask herself. "I'm sure you will go very far."
     He gave a rather humble grunt. "Overconfidence is often a sign of weakness," he
said, "but I know that I shall be Chancellor."
     "Indeed." Mara's eyes met his ice blue ones, and for a moment, she saw the man she
knew so well.
     And he himself seemed to see her as well. "But there is more news," he went on.
"Queen Amidala has decided to return to Naboo. She would very much like for you and
your husband to remain as my personal guests until this conflict with her people is settled."
He gave a slight frown. "She seems to feel personally responsible for your safety. Perhaps
soon you could explain to me the nature of your relationship with the queen, how you
came
into her acquaintance?"
     Mara shrugged. "Well, Senator, you yourself said that you don't believe in luck,"
she said, rather airily. "And I do thank you for your offer, but--"
     She felt something. Very subtle, in the back of her mind. She had been trying very,
very hard to hide her Force sense from him, afraid that somehow he might get the feeling
that his relationship with her was intended to be more complex. It was as if she were afraid
of being recognized, and for the life of her she couldn't get herself to truly believe that that
was absurd. But now, she felt that he was actually attempting to probe her mind. The
audacity was amazing.
     Just like that, it was gone.
     "I must insist, Madame Arica," he said, pressing her hand between his two. "I fear
that Coruscant is going to be a place of turmoil for the time being, and that you would be
safest in my custody."
     Mara gave him a little frown. "You sound like you think we're criminals."
     The look he gave her sent her previous chill from her spine down into her stomach.
     "I don't know what you are, my dear, but I do intend to find out. And," he added
hastily, his expression brightening, "offering any possible assistance that I can."
     With that, he let her go, gave her a polite, gentlemanly bow, and left her standing
there, quite speechless.

     As she entered the small apartment that she and Luke shared, she poked her head
around the corner to the small living room and saw Luke standing by the large window,
gazing out at the city.
     "So what bring you to this place?" she asked, trying to shake off her terrible
apprehension by a silly game, but as he turned and looked at her, she could see that he was
even more shaken that she was.
     "What is it?" she asked, approaching him quickly. He looked at the controls of the
door and used the Force to activate them. Mara glanced at the doors sliding shut before
turning her full attention to Luke.
     "I met him, Mara," he said. "I met my father. I met Anakin Skywalker. When he
was just a child." Luke let out a ragged breath, a strange smile playing across his face. "I
can't even believe it's him. I would never have thought that Darth Vader would have been
so...so..."
     "Young?" Mara tried. "Did you know that they think he may be too old to train?"
     Confusion filled Luke's face. "But he's just a child! I don't even take them at the
Academy that young."
     "I know, it's nuts. When Qui-Gon asked me when I'd become a Jedi, and I told him
just recently, I floored him. They do things completely different, Luke. We don't have a
shred of a clue as to the real history of Jedi Order. They take these kids away from their
parents as babies and raise them as Jedi." She seemed to shudder. "Sounds too much like
what Palpatine did to me, if you ask me."
     Luke nodded, considering. "But they've done it this way for ten thousand years."
     "Yeah, and look what happened to them. I mean, history is gone, Luke. What we
see here, we have to remember every detail. Otherwise, it's all lost. All of it." She gazed
out
the window. "At least Coruscant is still here."
     "Yes, but changed," he said, sensing Mara's thoughts. "It's brighter now."
     "It's always bright," she said, tossing her hand. "Remember, it's all one big city."
     "Yeah," Luke murmured. "Lots of places to hide."
     "Tell me about it," Mara sighed. "I knew a lot of secrets, but I'm sure that Palpatine
had places hidden from me that I never would have imagined."
     "Mara?"
     "Yes?" Mara looked at him, but he was gazing out the window again, a glazed look
on his face.
     "I'm thinking...if Palpatine is already a sith lord, and he's trying to usurp control of
the Senate--"
     "He could be using Queen Amidala," Mara muttered. "I ran into him in the hallway.
He suspects us, Luke. He even tried to probe my mind. The man is wearing a huge mask
and he's got everyone fooled." She squeezed her arms around herself. "I just hate sitting
here and doing nothing about it. It's driving me up the wall."
     Luke flinched. "Yes. And something else...something distant. Don't you sense it?"
     Mara snorted. "Luke, there's been so much to sense here..."
     "Focus," he said gently, taking on his Master tone. "Reach into the Force, let its
prodding guide you."
     Mara sighed and shut her eyes, letting herself drift. She saw something brilliant
behind her, a mass of figures, of Jedi Masters, bright and powerful.
     Arrogant. She flinched. An arrogant Jedi Master was her main cause for hating the
Jedi for so long. Luke had gotten too much power and it had corrupted him. It had taken a
lot of fighting to get him back, and she wasn't about to lose him to it now...
     *Farther away,* she felt Luke say to her, through their bond. *Don't you see it,
Mara?*
     She peered in, and the Force seemed to magnify for her, guiding her down secret
corridors holding treasures she hadn't known existed. But at the end of the magnificent
maze, there was a dark spot, like a smudge on a window pane. Something hiding from
them, not wishing to be seen.
     "I think that qualifies as a disturbance in the Force, don't you?" Mara said, pulling
away from it, not liking its familiar coldness.
     "Absolutely. If Palpatine is already setting his plans in motion, and Anakin is not
yet his apprentice--"
     "Palpatine could be plotting to seduce him if the Council rejects him. Obi-Wan
didn't seem so confident that they'd train him."
     Luke shook his head. "Palpatine doesn't even known Anakin exists, not yet. Which
means that--"
     "--he could have another apprentice," Mara finished his thought. Her eyes widened
slightly. "Do you think that's possible?"
     "Anything can and will happen," Luke said, giving her one of his special grins that
either made her insides melt or made her want to rip his eyes out.
     "So what do we do, oh great Jedi Master?" she said dryly.
     He gave a little shrug, the smile disappearing. "I don't know if we should interfere
with history."
     "Well..." Mara droned. "It wouldn't really be interfering. I mean, if we just take a
peek around, see if we find anything. Palpatine told me outside that he has been asked to
watch over us until Amidala returns--"
     "She's leaving?" Luke asked, and through the Force Mara could tell that he was
crestfallen.
     "That's what he said," Mara replied, biting back the small pinch of jealousy. What
was so fascinating about her, anyway? If Luke wanted a woman with a fancy headdress,
she could dig up something... "She's got some sort of crisis on her hands on her
homeworld. But it will give us a chance to get closer to Palpatine, maybe discover
what--or
who--he's hiding. That way maybe we can understand history a little better."
     "I don't know, Mara," Luke said, shaking his head. "I don't like it. The temptation--"
     "What about our obligation to history?" Mara pointed out. "I mean, it's all gone, all
of it! We have a chance to replace it, learn from it."
     "Then we should stay here, near the Council."
     "And how long before they all catch on to us like Qui-Gon did?"
     Luke grimaced. "You do have a point." Then, he seemed to grow distant again.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi...I wonder if Yoda is around here somewhere."
     Mara snorted. "Probably ruling over the Council," she said. "So maybe we'd better
make ourselves scarce."
     Luke sighed. "I'll think about it."
     "Think fast," Mara said, a bit more tersely than she intended. "We don't know how
much time we have."
     He shook his head, giving her that smile again. "We have all the time in the world,
Mara." He took her hand. "Trust me."

     A short while later, they heard a slight commotion--well, more like *felt* it--
coming from outside their apartment. Curious, they poked their heads out to see Qui-Gon,
Obi-Wan and Anakin, apparently coming back from their meeting with the Jedi Council.
     Mara hesitated, making Luke stop beside her as they headed out to greet the trio.
There was something very wrong, and the three were trying to hide it. Unfortunately,
Luke
and Mara were right in their path.
     Qui-Gon's greenish eyes landed on her. "So we do meet again," he said, trying to be
light. He looked at her husband. "Hello Luke."
     "Hello." Luke turned his eyes to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who looked for all the world like
he was sulking. And glaring. At Anakin. It was almost amusing. Qui-Gon shot his
apprentice a sharp look, but didn't hold it. Apparently, Obi-Wan was much too angry.
     It was a terribly awkward moment. Mara finally cleared her throat. "So how did it
go?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
     "Lovely," Obi-Wan snapped. "As it always goes when Master Qui-Gon fails at yet
another insurrection."
     Qui-Gon's glare was a bit more fierce this time. "Master Yoda and I disagreed," he
said softly.
     Mara almost laughed at Luke's sudden tremor. But there was a much darker sort of
anger coming from Anakin. Both Luke and Mara looked down at him in concern.
     "Are you going to be trained, Anakin?" Luke asked softly.
     Anakin's bright blue eyes met his--distinctly less bright, Luke noted. "They think
I'm too afraid to be a Jedi," he said. "And because I miss my mother they think I'm weak."
     "They do not," Qui-Gon chastised mildly, placing his hand on Anakin's shoulder.
"Be patient, Anakin. I know that your coming here was the will of the Force. And the
Force
always gets its way."
     Luke reached down and squeezed Anakin's other shoulder. "Don't worry," he said
reassuringly. "I know that you're going to be a Jedi someday."
     Anakin seemed to brighten just a bit. Maybe it was the way that Luke said it--with
such complete confidence. As if he knew, without question.
     Qui-Gon graced Luke with one of his friendly smiles. "I must ask, Luke," he said,
"who was your Master?"
     Luke looked up at him. "Yoda," he said after a moment's hesitation.
     Qui-Gon seemed to flinch just a little bit. "I see..."
     "It was a long, long time ago," Mara said. "Time changes things, you know."
     Qui-Gon nodded. Arching one eyebrow slightly, he said in a dry tone, "One can
only hope." He looked to Obi-Wan. "Well, I must confess that I am in a bit of a quandary.
Obi-Wan and I have been called to return to Naboo with the Queen. She has decided to
return and solve her problem with more direct means. But I am afraid that I cannot allow
you to accompany us."
     "We understand," Luke said, as if he had taken a much more active part in the
conversation. "We will remain in Senator Palpatine's custody until you return."
     Qui-Gon nodded, but there was a hesitation in it. "May the Force be with you both,"
he said, and put his hand on Anakin's shoulder to guide him away. After a moment, Obi-
Wan followed.
     As he passed her, Mara touched his arm. He looked at her, and she raised an
eyebrow at him, her expression distinctly pointed. Obi-Wan sighed, nodded, and continued
on.
     "What was that all about?" Luke murmured to her.
     Mara grinned as she detected just the slightest note of jealousy. "Just giving some
friendly advice. But I think I've finally gotten my revenge for the 'certain point of view'
lecture."
     "Mara--you didn't!"
     "I wish I hadn't," she laughed. "Now I have no one to blame for that Jedi-babble but
myself. It was so much more fun when I could blame you."
     Luke sighed. "Oh well, I guess what's done is done." He frowned, his gaze turning
away from her.
     "What's wrong?" Mara asked, sensing that there was something specific running
through that brain of his.
     He gave her a mock scowl. "You know, Mara, it's hard to have a thought to myself
with you around."
     She gave him a little half-grin. "Spill it, Skywalker. You know I'd tell you."
     "I'm thinking...I'd like to say goodbye to Queen Amidala."
     Mara's teasing look grew a little more serious. "Reason?" she asked in a whisper.
     In a voice so low only she would hear it, he said, "I think she's my mother."
     Mara's green eyes became as wide as reflector dishes. "Mother?" she whispered
back.
     Luke took her arm and pulled her back into their shared apartment. When the door
slid shut behind them, Luke brought his voice back to conversational level, but kept it low
in case of possible eavesdroppers.
     "I got a better look at her earlier, and she looks so much like Leia underneath all
that makeup. The thing of it is, when Anakin came in, he was looking for a handmaiden
named Padme. He seemed very concerned about finding her. He even told me a bit about
how he met her, on Tattooine. But he didn't get to share much because he was going to
see
the Council and I think he was too nervous."
     Mara listened carefully. "You know," she said after a pause, "have you noticed that
all the handmaidens look like the Queen?"
     Luke nodded. "Some kind of security measure?" he offered.
     "It's done all the time. The real figure switches places with a decoy, and Amidala
could be able to hide among her handmaidens as one of them at any time. I'd say that
Padme, very likely, is actually the Queen."
     "Yeah, but how do we know? It could be any of them."
     "Yes, but you said that you sensed that Amidala was your mother. Not Padme or
any of the handmaidens. So it would make sense that Anakin became very enamored of
the
Queen while she switched places with this Padme, if there is a Padme. Padme could be just
the name the Queen uses when another takes her place. I'd personally give the job to that
one, Sabe. She looks like she knows her stuff."
     "It takes an assassin to know one," Luke said, giving Mara an admiring grin.
     "You should let me teach some of my old tricks to your Jedi students," Mara said
wryly. "I'd guarantee you smarter, faster Jedi."
     "We'll talk about that when we get home," Luke said, waving his hand. "Right now-
-"
     "Yes, please, by all means go say goodbye to her. But she did say she would be
sending for us to join her. You will see her again."
     "No," Luke said, shaking his head. "I have a feeling that I won't."
     "Well, she can't be killed," Mara pointed out, a touch of wicked amusement in her
voice. "Anakin's awfully young to have fathered you yet."
     He shrugged. "Just a hunch."
     She gave him a rueful smile. "All right, you win. But I do want to say goodbye to
Qui-Gon, too." She sobered, looking down. "I think I may be having one of those Jedi
hunches as well."
     "As long as you're not saying a friendly goodbye to Kenobi," Luke teased, trying to
lighten her suddenly dark mood. She didn't respond. "It's not like you to get attached to
someone like this, Mara. What is it?"
     She shrugged. "You know, I have no memory of my parents, my family, before the
Emperor. And I can't value any of my memories of Palpatine, not after all he did, after all
I've discovered about him. I feel like I---like I don't have anything. And there's something
about Qui-Gon..." she shuffled her feet, searching for words. "If I had been able to chose
my father, Luke, I would have chosen him. If I had known a Jedi like him at any point in
my life, I doubt I could ever have hated them like I did."
     Luke pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. "You always have me," he
whispered.
     She returned his embrace, burying her face in his neck. "I know," she murmured
against him. "I love you so much...but you have a family. It's so hard sometimes, watching
you with them. Knowing I don't have any of that."
     "You do," he said. "They're yours, you know."
     She gave a slight chuckle. Bless his heart, he was doing his best. "I know," she said,
not wanting to press it any further. "I know."

     It was not just hard to say goodbye, Luke realized as they followed the floating
landing bay, where the Queen's Starship awaited. It was nearly impossible.
     Queen Amidala's handmaidens had her surrounded. She had changed her attire
again, this time into a costume of rich, purple velvet. Her thick dark hair had been parted
and wrapped in pale violet silk wound over with dark beads, and there was a golden band
across her forehead. Luke could sense how determined she was, and even a little afraid.
     As he waited patiently to be noticed, Amidala's eyes landed on him. "Luke," she
greeted him, her red and white lips gracing him with a smile. He could see how her mask
and her royal dress would make so many others see her as being cold and regal, but he
could feel the warmth of her gaze.
     Maybe, on some basic, subconscious level, she sensed that he was special to her.
Luke hoped so. Considering what he was about to do.
     "I am afraid that this is goodbye, your Majesty," Luke said as a few of the
handmaidens stepped aside to let him get closer.
     Her expression did not change. "I hope not," she said, "but it very well may be. I do
not know what is going to happen with the Trade Federation. But I to guarantee that if
anything should happen to me, either Senator Palpatine or the Jedi will offer you their aid.
I've seen to it."
     Luke nodded. "I was wondering if you could indulge a simple request," he said,
"even though I know you have done so much for us already."
     She gave him a little rueful smile. "I've merely offered you shelter--"
     "That has been more valuable than anything else that we could have asked for," he
said, "but still, I must insist." He glanced around at the handmaidens.
     Amidala followed his gaze, and gave a slight nod. All but two of the handmaidens
disappeared--Sabe and another, the one with the accent from before. "Whatever you have
to say to me, Luke," Amidala assured him, "you can be sure that these two are my most
trusted aides. Whatever is said will be kept in the strictest confidence."
     Luke cleared his throat. "I hope so." And with that, he leaned forward and put his
arms around her.
     The velvet of her dress was soft against his arms, even though the fabric of his
tunic. She was not very large--she couldn't be very old, he guessed, perhaps no more than
sixteen. The silk that wrapped her hair did not muffle its rich scent--Leia's hair smelled like
that, he mused.
     She seemed surprised at his gesture, but did not recoil from it. He felt her hands
gently press against his arms, trying to return the embrace in spite of the awkwardness of
her dress.
     Luke squeezed her shoulders, wishing that he could have had more than just
this...but it would be all he would get for this life, until the next one, when he could finally
meet his mother without any pretense or disguise.
     He felt a little choked up when he pulled away. The Queen looked slightly shaken,
but deeply touched. She reached out a delicate hand and caressed his cheek.
     "Forgive me," he said. "It was a sentimental gesture, I know, but I could not resist."
     She gave him a small smile. "Perhaps when we meet again, you could explain the
sentimentality? I do not believe we have ever met before..."
     "We haven't," he assured her. "But one day I hope I can explain."
     She nodded. "Then I shall look forward to it."
     Luke returned her nod and backed away, knowing that if he didn't remove himself
from her presence within the next few minutes, he was going to begin to bawl his eyes out
right in front of her, confidentiality or not. "May the Force be with you, Queen Amidala..."
*Mother,* he added in his heart, turned and left.
     As the doors slid shut behind him, he remembered Mara's words. No, he realized. It
was not the same.
     Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were exchanging mildly heated words as Mara approached.
Finally, Obi-Wan stomped away, heading up into the Queen's ship, leaving Qui-Gon to
stand alone at the end of the ramp. Behind him, Anakin and Artoo were playing--*Artoo?*
Mara noted with a start as she approached. That little droid was a heck of a lot older than
she had ever known. And that he was with Anakin...no wonder Artoo was so attached to
Luke,
     He noticed her approach and offered her a smile. She could tell, however, that he
was a little flustered.
     "Problems?" she asked lightly.
     "You might say that," he said. "Come to see us off?"
     "And find out where our ship is," Mara said, trying to play it cool.
     He took a few steps closer to her. "I couldn't risk such an advanced piece of
technology being too closely inspected," he said. "I requested that it be placed in deep
storage and kept off limits. I have made arrangements for you and Luke to see it whenever
you're ready, but I can already tell you that it's beyond repair. At least by anything around
here."
     Mara sighed. "Sithspit," she muttered.
     "I'm sorry," he said, sympathetic.
     "Yeah, well," and she gave a little self-effacive chuckle, "I don't seem to have much
luck with ships whenever my husband is around. It was a wedding gift from him, and when
we got engaged, my other ship was destroyed."
     He returned her chuckle. "Sounds like a story that may be safe to tell me."
     "Yes," and she glanced around, "but it seems like you're in a hurry." Behind him,
Mara noted that Anakin seemed to be hovering, as if he wanted to speak to Qui-Gon.
Mara
looked down pointedly, and Qui-Gon turned.
     "Yes, Anakin?"
     "Qui-Gon, sir," Anakin said, almost apologetically, "I don't wanna be a problem."
     "You won't be Ani," he assured the boy. He knelt down, giving Anakin a very
serious look. "I'm not allowed to train you, so I want you to watch me and be mindful.
Always remember," he said gravely, "your focus determines your reality. Stay close to me
and you'll be safe."
     Mara considered the words. It was the wisest thing she had ever heard a Jedi Master
say. And it made Luke's words about her not falling to the dark side a little more clear.
She
had spent that time in selfless service. Her focus had been, in her heart, for good, for duty,
for loyalty. In spite of the evil she did, that was why it had never reached her heart.
     "Master, sir, I heard Yoda talking about midi-clorians," Anakin went on, breaking
into Mara's train of thought with a new curiosity. "I've been wondering, what are midi-
clorians?"
     "Midi-clorians are a microscopic lifeform that resides within all living cells."
     "They live inside me?"
     "Inside your cells, yes. And we are simbiants with them."
     "Simbiants?"
     "Lifeforms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-clorians, life
could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to
us, telling us the Will of the Force."
     Mara cocked an eyebrow. This was news indeed.
     "When you learn to quiet your mind," Qui-Gon went on, "you'll hear them speaking
to you."
     "I don't understand," Anakin sighed.
     *Neither do I,* Mara thought.
     Qui-Gon gave Anakin a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "With time and training,
Annie, you will." He chuckled warmly. "You will."
     When he stood up again, Mara was giving him a rather stunned look. "What is it?"
he asked, concerned.
     "I've never heard of that before," she whispered.
     "Never heard of what? Of midi-clorians?" he seemed a little stunned himself, and
even  chuckled again, as if knowing that couldn't possibly be true, but seeing her shake her
head slowly, and the anger begin to cloud her face---
     "I never realized how much was lost," she murmured. "It's beyond tragic..."
     "Well," he said comfortingly, trying to chase off some of her anger, "when we meet
again, I shall have to give you a history lesson to take back with you. You may be given a
chance to undo a lot of the damage that was done, Mara. You should take it."
     His words rang through her like a gong's chime. She brought her green eyes up to
his blue ones and held them. "If we meet again," she said, foreboding in her voice, "if we
can even get home."
     He squeezed her arm. "You will," he said, reassuringly. "I know you will."
     She nodded. "Oh, sithspit my dignity," she muttered, and stepped into that extended
arm, putting her own arms around his neck. She buried her face in his long brown hair and
shut her eyes, just wanting to freeze the moment forever in her memory.
     He seemed stunned at first, but quickly returned her embrace. "Mara," he
whispered, "somehow I get the feeling it isn't like you to be this emotional."
     "You don't know the half of it," she said, giving a little laugh. She pulled back. "If
we never meet again, Qui-Gon, I know I shall never forget you."
     He ran a hand over her hair, with a tenderness she imagined was almost fatherly.
"Nor I, you, Mara Jade," he murmured.
     She smiled and stepped back just as the Queen appeared on the landing bay. Mara
backed away even further and suddenly Qui-Gon stepped back into his role of Jedi
Protector, and he shot Mara one last fleeting grin before disappearing after her up the
ramp,
promising her his protection against her enemies.
     Mara sighed. They could use a few more like him where she came from, she
thought.

     A short while later, while Luke and Mara mulled over these recent events in a
companionable silence, a man in a rich blue cloak with a helmet covering most of his face
came to their apartment. If Mara hadn't know better, she would have thought she was
looking at a blue version of one of the Emperor's Imperial Guardsmen. She took Luke's
hand as he came up beside her, disliking the odd feeling the uniform stirred in her.
     "Madam Arica, Sir Luke," the man greeted her, his face clearly visible underneath
the helmet. It was a rather beautiful and regal version. It made the Guardsmen look like
souped up stormtroopers. These guys had real class. "If you would follow me, Senator
Palpatine as requested that I show you to your new chambers. If you would just gather
your
belongings--"
     "We don't have any," Mara said, a touch too quickly.
     The guard nodded. "Then I shall also see to some personal provisions. The Queen
would wish it. Please, follow me."
     Luke fell into step beside Mara, more from the force of her hand pulling his than a
natural step. *Are you okay?* he asked, feeling how cold her skin had become.
      *Just in a hurry,* she sent back. *No telling how much time we've got until we
wake up from this insane dream.*

     "You do realize," Luke said a short while later, his voice lower than a whisper as he
and Mara found themselves in a rather ornate hallway, outside of Palpatine's private
apartments, "that he's going to know we're coming. I mean, he is a sith lord, after all."
     "But how powerful?" Mara dared, her voice equally low. "He taught me how to
hide my presence from everyone."
     "Yes, but not from himself," Luke pointed out.
     "Back then," Mara reminded him. "He didn't train me fully, I didn't have access to
the Force like I do now."
     He shook his head. "I don't like the risk," he said.
     "Well, it's kind of too late, because we're here." Mara pointed toward a large black
door, ornamented with red. "I remember all of this--it's changed since these times, but his
tastes haven't. That's his private quarters."
     "Oh, and I'm sure he's got all his sith equipment just lying around for anyone to
see," Luke said, a bit testily.
     "We're just going to have to be sneaky," she said. She winked at him, trying to
lighten his mood. "Come on, Luke, trust me. I used to do this for a living."
     "Well, then maybe we should sneak downwards." He grabbed her hand, pulling her
away from the door. "Look for a private ship bay or some underground rooms or
something."
     "This is Courscant. That sort of thing is standard and wouldn't prove anything."
     "We're not looking to prove anything, remem--" Just then, he stopped. He stood
rigid in the middle of the hallway, and then slunk back toward the wall, dragging Mara
with him. He dove for the shelter behind a particularly large piece of sculpture, and
realized it was large enough to not just hide him completely but Mara as well.
     Not the sort of thing that a Senator would want outside his door. It gave too many
possible assassins good hiding places. Unless, of course, you were a sith lord and could
easily sense anyone coming.
     Or you wanted to be able to hide from others.
     Luke peeked out from behind the sculpture, looking down the hall. It was dark and
still.
     *Nothing,* Mara sent to him through the Force.
     *Not nothing,* he sent back, detecting that strange blemish in the fabric of the
Force, the same one he had shown Mara just a little while ago. He kept hold of her hand,
and through it he could feel a closer connection to her mind. *Look.*
     Mara peered forward in time to see the large, ornate door slide open just a crack.
Through it stepped a dark figure, but it was cloaked in a strange way, seeming to blend
into
the world around it. It darted down the hall, elegant and smooth, disappearing behind a
similar piece of sculpture.
     *What was that?* she asked.
     Luke made a motion to silence her mind, and she understood instantly that they
could not even risk letting the figure sense them. Whatever it was, it didn't want to be
seen,
and she doubted that it would be too thrilled to find that it had been discovered.
     Of course, without using the Force, all she and Luke had left to rely on was her old
tracking skills. She stepped forward, watching the shadows for the slightest movement.
     It moved again, becoming a part of the shadows, gliding almost invisible against the
backdrop.
     Mara followed. Luke let her go a few feet and then followed, not wanting to get too
close. Even without the Force, she knew she would be able to communicate with him in
body language, so she didn't even glance back at him as they began their silent little chase.

     As they got closer and closer to what seemed to be the figure's final destination,
Luke was feeling worse and worse about this mission. It was not likely that they would be
able to hide from the figure for much longer. If it was Palpatine, then certainly he was
onto
them, because unless he was absolutely confident that he could detect any would-be-
assassins he would never have planted those sculpture around his living quarters.
     Unless he was confident of his protection by other means.
     The figure led them down to a private docking bay, one that contained only a single
ship. When Luke saw it, it took him nearly fifteen years back, to a day when he had flown
through the metal canyons of a death star and reached out to the Force to destroy it. On
his
tail had been his father, Darth Vader, flying in a ship that looked too much like this.
     Vader's tie-fighter ship had been much like the regular tie-fighters, except for the
fact that the protruding ends had curved in toward the ship's body. This ship was identical
in that respect, except that its front stretched out in a long, pointed nose.
     It rested peacefully, also hidden by shadows.
     As the figure approached the ship, it stopped.
     It turned.
     Mara and Luke drew back from where they had entered the small bay, dashing to
hide behind a control panel. For a moment, they didn't dare look. When they did, the
figure
was gone.
     Mara's face contorted to an enraged snarl, more directed at herself than anything.
But her sudden surge of anger was undeniable, and Luke threw his hands forward, as if by
sheer physical force he could hold it back, keep it from being detected--
     Too late.
     The red saber came slicing down over Luke's head, and he rolled forward, out of the
shadow and into the dim light. He pulled his saber from his belt but he wasn't fast
enough--
some large piece of equipment came flying at him, sending his saber crashing to the
ground
and reaming him up the side of the head.
     Mara backed up, hitting the cold metal wall with her shoulders. She clutched her
own blade, no longer preventing herself from reaching out to the Force.
     The figure had pushed back its cloak--whether deliberately or just by accident, she
would never know--and its face was clear. It was a man, although what kind of man Mara
had no clue. His face was covered with a brilliant red and black mask that looked like a
giant tattoo. It gleamed on his skin in the dim light. His eyes flared yellow and red, their
very nature an expression of dark side rage. But the most frightening aspect of his
fearsome
visage was the crown of gleaming, curved horns on his head.
     A head he lowered to glare at her.
     He held his saber in both hands, and Mara noted its oddly long handle. She
detached her blade from her belt, knowing she had no choice but to fight him.
     Both her and Luke's life depended on it.
     He brought his blade down and swung at her, and she threw herself forward, going
into a tuck and roll before landing on her feet behind him. She lifted her arm and her blue
blade hissed to life, and she swung around just in time to parry his second attack.
     Then, only then, did Mara realize the gravity of her situation.
     The force of his blow was staggering. She barely kept hold of her lightsaber. But as
he took a step forward, beginning his mad slashes and swings, Mara realized that she had
never truly dueled with anyone before, except for Luke, whether it was his real self or his
clone. And Luke had never dueled with anyone except old men. Even using the Force,
their
physical might and agility had not been considerable.
     This man's was.
     Mara fought back the urge to panic. She was not going to die. Not here. Not if she
could help it. So she stretched out into the Force as far as she could go.
     She had to live. She had to protect Luke.
     *Luke.*
     The thought of him gave her a new strength, and suddenly she could see everything.
She could see herself countering this man's blows, she could see herself matching him
swing for swing, dodge for dodge, twirl for twirl. He was possibly the most adept dueling
partner she would ever know in her life, but he was on the side of the Dark, and she had
the
Light as her guide.
     Mara let the Force flow through her, and calling upon all her reserves of strength,
she defended her own life, and the life of the man that she loved.

     Luke heard the terrible sound of sabers clashing, humming like enraged insects. He
opened his eyes to see red and blue light dancing, parting and thrusting and then joining
together again. He raised his head to see Mara fighting for her life against a monster who
was obviously her better, but she was alive with the Force and it was fighting for her,
showing her how to survive.
     It would only last for so long before her all-too-human muscles gave out, even if
Mara was more strongly built than just about anyone Luke had ever known, including
himself.
     He pulled himself up, pushing down the throbbing in his head. He had no time to
worry about that--seeing no need to hide himself from the Force any longer, he reached
out
and located his lightsaber. As soon as it came to his hand it ignited with a snap-hiss and he
was on his feet, ready to take Mara's place.
     The man she was dueling turned and glared at him. Luke almost stopped, but knew
he couldn't let the shock of that unusual face get to him. He swung his saber forward to
force the other's attention away from her, but the man was prepared.
     From the other end of that unusually long handle, another saber came to life.
     Luke thrust forward, but the man parried it easily while bringing the other end
down to slash at Mara again. Mara dodged back, blocking, but her arms were shaking
with
exertion.
     If they stayed any longer, they would both die.
     Luke steeled himself. He and Mara had fought impossible odds before. It was one
of the things that had brought them together the way they were today. If they were up
against a man with two blades, they had to counter him with two blades. And if he had the
strength and agility of two men, then they would have to bond together to beat him.
     He reached out to Mara through the Force, taking away some of her exhaustion and
doing his best to refresh her strength. If she resented being babied, she would just have to
tell him later. He hoped he lived long enough to hear it.
     The man regarded them coolly, realizing that they were rallying against him, but
completely unconcerned. He took a step away, and a small smile touched those tattooed
lips. If these two wanted a fight, they were going to get it.
     Suddenly, he unleashed an onslaught of lightsaber strokes and twirls upon their
single blades, and even Luke found himself extremely hard pressed to keep up, having to
draw more heavily on the Force than he ever had in his life. The only time he could ever
have compared it to was the time he had had to go hand-to-hand with Guri, Prince Xixor's
droid bodyguard, who was an assassin who could possibly have tested even Mara's
abilities. He felt the world begin to crackle around him now the way it had then, but even
then this sith lord did not slow down, his moves were too quick. This creature, whatever it
truly was, was a walking, breathing dark-side storm. He had been trained in ways Luke
had
never heard of, and as the sith lord pressed in on them, Luke realized--or maybe that was
Mara's thought--that they had to get away.
     *Outside, he won't chase us.* Yes, that was her thought. But how to get outside?
     Mara glanced toward the door. It was closed, but she could change that. Reaching
out, she grabbed a piece of debris from the shattered control panel and hurled it at the
mechanism embedded in the wall. It sparked as it made contact and the door opened.
     The sith lord noticed and made a particularly nasty stroke toward her, but Luke
rolled forward, distracting him long enough for Mara to rejoin her temporarily split
concentration. She was very good at that, Luke noted in the back of his mind for later.
She
was able to complete two tasks without losing a single heartbeat of rhythm.
     He just hoped she wasn't too weak to do it again.
     Now they were on either side of him, and the sith lord wasn't looking at Luke as he
darted toward Mara, but he was still countering his strokes with relative ease. He spun
around, trying to get both Jedi in front of him again, and that was when Mara made her
move.
     She picked up an even larger piece of slagged metal and hurled it at him.
     He ducked, the only sound coming from him being an irritated grunt. As he raised
his blade to destroy what little solid shape the chunk had left, Mara hurled a thought at
Luke.
     *GO!*
     There was little chance that he was going to step away and let Mara tackle the sith
lord alone, even for a second. Besides, she had been fighting more than he had and she
was
considerably more tired. But as the nanosecond of time arched into the next one, where
the
opportunity would be gone and Mara's effort totally wasted, Luke realized she had given
him no choice. He ducked back and shoved Mara toward the door, eliciting an angry
shout
from her but succeeded in his task nonetheless. She made it to the other side of the door,
and Luke now faced the sith lord alone.
     Two blades against one was something he had never even dreamed of attempting,
but Luke called on all his reserves to hold the sith lord back so he could make his way
over
to the exit. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, Mara let the mechanism on the other
side go, and the metal door came sliding down.
     Just as Luke cleared it, it slid down into place. Luke deactivated his lightsaber,
seized Mara's hand, and turned to run, not even bothering to check if a red saber was
beginning to slice its way through after them. They made it across the hallway and to the
next sliding door before Mara dug her heels in.
     *Look!* she sent.
     Luke looked over his shoulder and saw--nothing.
     *What?*
     *He's not giving chase,* Mara said, her alarm bells all going off. *He should at
least be pissed off enough to try and get through that door!*
     Luke shook his head. "I don't know and I don't care," he snarled, yanking Mara with
him as he resumed his run. "Time for it later!"
     Mara let out a strangled growl. "Sithspawn, Skywalker, I'm getting real tired of you
pushing me around!"

     They made it back to their quarters, panting heavily but in one piece. But just as
they shut the door behind them, they were greeted with a very unpleasant sight.
     "So you've returned," Palpatine said from the shadows, stepping into the dim light
that the nighttime sky offered through the large window. It was enough for Mara to see
that
he was wearing a dark robe. She gripped her lightsaber hard, unwilling to let it slide so
much as an inch from her grip.
     Luke had doubled over in an effort to regain his breath, and as he tried to
straightened he found he lacked the real strength and slumped back against the door. "I
recognize this dance," he muttered. "I'm growing really bored with the tune."
     Mara stayed silent.
     Palpatine stepped closer to them, activating one of the soft lamps on a nearby table.
"What were you doing?" he asked, gesturing to their lightsabers. Luke's was hanging
limply at his side, but Mara kept hers close.
     "Sightsithing...I mean, seeing," Luke snapped.
     "Luke," Mara said in a low voice.
     Palpatine gave them a sneering grin. "Then seek no further," he said. He gave Mara
an appraising look. "How did you like my apprentice?"
     Her heart began to sink. "How did you know?"
     "Please, my dear, don't they have comlinks where you come from?" He gave her
another charming grin. "Or perhaps you have evolved past that in the future."
     Luke stopped his heavy panting. "How did you--"
     "Your ship," Palpatine replied, adjusting his robes. "Quite a magnificent thing,
really, even in its current state. I shall learn much from it."
     "Over my dead body," Mara said evenly.
     He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Now, my dear, no need to be hasty. I mean you no
harm."
     "Like hell."
     The mask of the kindly Senator returned to his face. "Well, I see I shall have to be
harsh, then. I'm afraid you're both under arrest." He snapped his fingers and the door
behind
them slid open, revealing two of the earlier blue guardsmen.
     "On what charge?" Luke practically howled.
     "Attempted espionage," the would-be Emperor replied. "You are obviously working
for the Trade Federation, and you were sent her to prevent the Queen from gaining any
help
from the Senate--possibly even to assassinate her, considering your spying skills border on
those of a hired killer. But I managed to discover your plot in time, and now being
Supreme Chancellor, I have the power to see to your punishment personally." He gestured
to the guards. "Take them away, and make sure you place them in separate cells."
     Mara only glared at Palpatine. "You have no proof," she said evenly.
     One of the guards took away Luke's lightsaber. He was too weak to put up much of
a fight.
     "The damage you've done to my private docking bay is proof enough to keep you in
custody," Palpatine returned.
     "This isn't an Empire, Senator," Mara sneered. "Even as Chancellor, your power is
not absolute."
     "That shall change, my dear Arica," he crooned, coming closer and stroking the side
of her sweaty face with the back of his hand. "If that is your name. I shall deal with them
both later," he snapped at the guards. "Take them away."

     If there had ever been a time in her life when Mara wished that she could wake up,
it was now.
     There had been other times...like the night that Palpatine had been killed and he'd
sent his call to her from across the galaxy. And the time that she had nearly gotten herself
killed in Jabba's Palace by not watching closely enough for an inner layer of security. And
of course, the time C'yBaoth had nearly barbecued her with Force lightning and Luke
nearly sacrificed himself to save her and the rest of his family. But this was different. All
those situations, she had been able to utilize her skills and survive. This time...
     She didn't know.
     Luke was a few cells down. Every now and again, he would stretch out with the
Force to make sure she was okay. At least Palpatine hadn't discovered Ysalamari yet, she
thought ruefully. It was terribly boring, going on like that--doing nothing, only waiting, for
hours on end. She tried to meditate. She couldn't concentrate through the terrible,
gnawing
apprehension in her stomach. Everything could be undone...everything could come apart
at
the seams at any second if Palpatine made the wrong move and changed all of history.
     She thought about what she had told Luke just a while ago about different theories
of time travel. One said the fabric of space-time would come apart. Another said it would
reset itself. She was more inclined to believe that--the fabric of space-time surely had to
have survived worse damage than the Skywalker clan. Maybe it had happened before, and
she had never known it. Maybe it happened every time she suddenly got a chill and shook
herself, then found herself chasing away the fleeting feeling that she had actually been
somewhere else, been *someone* else, even if only for a short time before it all came
apart
and back together again.
     How strange, she pondered.
     All this thinking made her tired. After a while, she laid down and fell asleep. It was
light and restless at first, but just as she was about to give up and return to consciousness
permanently, a terrible vision gripped her and she fell into a trance.
     It was frightening. She felt like all of her muscles had suddenly tensed and she was
paralyzed in a fetal position. She had not experienced this since the day that the Emperor
had died and he'd sent her his last command. But this was not intrusive or dark--it was
coming from the deepest part of herself, the part that had opened itself to trusting in Qui-
Gon--a part that was twisting and turning in agony as it could only watch, helpless--
     *Qui-Gon.*
     She saw him, fighting fiercely, in some kind of melting pit with Obi-Wan looking
on behind a red forcefield. Somehow, that sith lord had separated them and he was tearing
into the older Jedi, obviously his superior. But Qui-Gon was tough--extremely tough. He
would not give in. He would fight until the end.
     The sith lord sneered at him, his mask contorting into one of pure, unadulterated
hatred. It was so intense it made Qui-Gon step back a bit, trying to shake off his own fear.
This man wanted his blood, as sure as he had wanted Mara and Luke's just a short while
ago.
     Qui-Gon tried--he tried with all he had in him, calling on reserves of strength he
hadn't tapped into in years. But the sith lord was younger, faster, and more agile. He
caught
Qui-Gon across the forehead with the middle of his saber, slamming it into his brow like a
piece of piping.
     The Jedi Master staggered, his center thrown off. The sith lord spun and lunged
backward, sending one of his two red blades through Qui-Gon's abdomen.
     Mara heard a scream. Whether it was Kenobi's or her own, she didn't know. But the
impact of Qui-Gon's mortal wound was enough to send her flying out of the trance,
wailing
and crying as she rolled off her cot and fell onto the floor.
     The sudden impact back into reality stunned her. For a moment, she did not
remember where she was. She did not remember the forcefield of her cell, or the dim light.
She couldn't see around her, she was temporarily blinded by the thick tears running down
her cheeks. Mara had only cried a handful of times in her life. This time, she wept and
howled with grief.
     Qui-Gon was dead.
     Dead.
     She screamed in rage, in pain. Only one person stood out in her mind as being
responsible.
     Palpatine.
     That sith lord had been acting on Palpatine's orders, she knew it! He had planned
the whole thing, just a plot to get himself elected to Supreme Chancellor, from where he
would one day create his Empire, and he had stepped upon Qui-Gon's dead body to do it!
     The rage she felt was unbelievable. She hadn't known she was capable of such hate.
Even her hatred of Luke at one point felt like a cold breezed compared to this blazing
flame.
     And finally, like a passing whirlwind, it left her. She crumpled to the ground,
realizing she was on the floor of her cell, the thin sheet of the cot tangled around her legs.
Her cheeks were soaked, her nose was running, and her hair was in her eyes, mangled as
she had torn at it in her anger. For a moment, she just sat there, trying to collect herself,
and
finally, she heard him.
     Luke was calling to her, both through the Force and across the silence of the
detention level. He was practically shrieking her name over and over, full panic trumpeting
through his normally calm voice.
     In spite of herself, Mara had to smile. She felt a certain amount of pride that she
was the only human being who could make Skywalker that upset.
     "I'm here," she called, her voice jagged, rough. "I'm fine."
     He stopped, and she could hear his breathing. "What happened?" he asked, his
voice filled with apprehension. She could tell by his tone that he didn't believe her any
more than he would have believed that the Emperor had just been "misunderstood."
     "I had a vision," she said, her voice still hoarse from her screams and tears. "About
Qui-Gon."
     There was a terrible silence. She knew if she said it she would start crying again,
and after her hissy fit, there was no way that Luke would believe that she was honestly
okay if she had another one.
     She didn't care. She had to say it. "Qui-Gon is dead." Her voice shook and she
swallowed hard over the lump. It didn't help--the lump remained, stubbornly.
     For a long, long moment, Luke did not reply. He seemed to be trying to absorb the
shock waves of her grief, as if only they would show him the real truth. She felt him
stretch
out into the Force, pull back, stretch out again. She choked on her sobs, trying to stay
quiet.
     Luke reached out again, this time for her. She felt his touch in her mind, as surely
as if he were in the cell beside her. *I'm sorry,* he said, his empathy so real she almost
reached out to touch him, only to realize that she was still physically alone.
     Like leaning into an embrace, Mara melted into his presence, drawing on him for
comfort and consolation. If anyone knew about loss, it was Luke. It was one of the things
that made them so perfectly matched. She doubted she could have felt more of his warmth
if he had been physically with her, even if they were making love right at that moment. She
was so tired, but he was making her feel alive again, dispersing her rage, shaking away the
lingering tendrils of the threatening Dark.
     She stayed like that with him for a long, long time.

     She wasn't sure how much time passed after that. Perhaps a day, maybe two. She
began to wonder if Palpatine even knew what he was doing. At the very least, someone
should have asked about them--there was no way that Palpatine could keep their captivity
a
secret and still maintain his kindly-senator disguise. She and Luke both knew that their
Jedi
skills could easily get them out of their cells, but knew that Palpatine would also know
that
and probably have some kind of backup measure in place to prevent that, and trying to
escape would only make them look worse.
     Finally, sometime around noon, according to the rumbling in her stomach, she
heard foot steps--two sets, one of them small and choppy, as if struggling to keep up with
the other set, which moved with a familiar confidence.
     Mara looked up to see Obi-Wan Kenobi appear outside her cell. His face was
drawn, his eyes looked so tired and did not gleam with the usual, cocky self confidence
that
he usually portrayed.
     He looked old.
     Of course, Mara thought dully. Qui-Gon's death, if it had affected her the way it
did, surely must have had a greater impact on his apprentice. She was rather impressed
that
he was still alive, although she knew of course that he had to live, all of history depended
on it.
     If she and Luke hadn't already changed it all.
     "Palpatine said that you and Luke are suspected of being assassins," he said, his
voice smooth, calm. "I want you to tell me the truth. Beginning with your real names."
     Mara narrowed her eyes at him. So he did suspect her. But no doubt he was still
grieving over his master, and Qui-Gon had shown her a special liking, as much as she had
felt for him. Maybe somewhere in that Jedi brain of his, he even suspected her as somehow
being indirectly linked with Qui-Gon's death.
     "That's insane," she muttered.
     "What?" he asked, but his voice still remained even, even low.
     Mara sighed. "We're not assassins," she said, brushing off Luke's warning jabs in
the back of her mind. *I have to tell him,* she almost snarled.
     *Take care what you say.*
     The warning would ordinarily have elicited an angry reply from her, but she just
didn't have the energy. Besides, Luke was right. For some reason, all of this was beginning
to focus on her. She had to be so careful.
     "Then what are you?"
     Mara stood up, stretching out her cramped muscles from where she had been
squatting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest for entirely too long. "Our real
names," she said slowly, "are Luke and Mara Skywalker. When you found our ship, we
had
just suffered from a hyperspace accident that sent us about 60 years into the past. We're
from your future."
     To his credit, the former apprentice didn't even flinch. "Skywalker," he echoed.
"Your last name is Skywalker?"
     "I still prefer to go by Jade," she said. "But Luke insists that as his wife, I have his
name." She shrugged. "It's a detail, as far as I'm concerned."
     "And how is he related to Anakin?"
     Mara glanced at the younger boy, who had gone to Luke's cell. She could hear
distant muttering, and guessed that Anakin was possibly trying to comfort Luke. She
didn't
have time to eavesdrop, anyway...she'd just have to ask him later. "His son," she said, her
voice very, very soft. "Anakin is Luke's father."
     More tingles came from the back of her neck. Luke was starting to panic now, no
longer trusting her judgement. Yes, she understood that--she wasn't thinking too clearly,
still weighed down by grief. This world, this adventure was starting to wear her down.
Impossible as it seemed, she thought ruefully, it was the past that might finally put an end
to her.
     "His son," Obi-Wan muttered.
     "I hadn't even told Qui-Gon more than that," she finally said. "He didn't want to risk
changing the future."
     Obi-Wan nodded, this time a muscle in his cheek twitching. "I understand that. It
was a wise decision."
     Mara was about to tell him that she was sorry about Qui-Gon, that she knew, that
she wished she could have done something, and was going to ask what had become of the
sith lord who had murdered him, when suddenly a new presence entered the detention
block.
     Palpatine.

     Anakin wandered over to Luke's cell. At first, Luke was so absorbed in focusing on
keeping Mara's head above water that he wasn't very attentive, but at soon as he realized
that Anakin was watching him with his great, blue eyes wide with curiosity, he turned and
smiled at him.
     "What happened?" Anakin asked.
     "Don't worry, Anakin," Luke tried to assure him, "it's all a misunderstanding. We'll
be fine." He blinked, realizing that the moppy head of sand-colored hair was trimmed, and
a small braid hung down on one shoulder. He was wearing the same kind of wrap-around
tunic that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon both wore, except much smaller, and he had on a pair of
shiny black boots.
"Hey," Luke said, brightening a bit, "I told you they would train you, didn't I?"
     Anakin gave him a small smile and nodded, then sighed. "Chancellor Palpatine said
that he thinks you guys were sent here to kill the Queen." His eyes narrowed just a bit, the
thought obviously displeasing him greatly. "You didn't come do to that, did you?"
     "No," Luke said, "I promise."
     "Okay." Anakin relaxed a bit, and this seemed to puzzle him. "Have you ever been
to Tattooine?" he asked suddenly.
     Luke felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. "Yes," he said, knowing Anakin
would know if he was lying.
     "Maybe I've seen you before," Anakin said. "I mean, before we picked you up in
your spaceship."
     "Maybe. You were telling me before about pod racing. How did you wind up with
the Jedi?"
     Anakin brightened. He began chattering out his tale, picking up where he left off.
He talked about his mother, Shimi, and his slave master, Watto, and about how he'd
survived because he was so good at building things.
     As Luke listened, he almost felt a little better. Until Palpatine appeared.

     Mara glared at the old man, her hatred bright and blazing in her eyes. He returned
her gaze evenly, patiently, as if he were a martyr and used to such stares. Obi-Wan turned
around.
     "Supreme Chancellor," he said, giving the man a little bow.
     "Jedi Kenobi," Palpatine returned. "Let me once again congratulate you on your
new status."
     "Thank you, Chancellor," Obi-Wan said, a bit impatiently, "but I must confess that I
am very concerned about more recent events. Under what charge have you detained these
people?"
     Palpatine took a deep breath. Mara felt her entire body tremble. It wasn't nerves--it
was the Force. Something terrible was about to happen. Mara could feel it in the farthest
reaches of the galaxy. Time and space itself were beginning to shake with the effort to
sustain themselves.
     "The sith lord that murdered your Master, Qui-Gon," Palpatine said, "was a
conspirator with these two. They were hoping to execute the Queen, and when they failed
they sent their contact to Naboo to finish the job."
     Mara had to bite her tongue to keep from shrieking in rage. Luke was not so
controlled.
     "That's a lie!"
     Obi-Wan glanced at him, startled. "Chancellor, those are extremely serious charges.
I hope you have proof."
     "I confiscated their lightsabers. Under intense examination it was discovered that
the technology is not recognizable by any of today's standards, or their ship's, for that
matter. From what history we know of the Sith, their technology is extremely advanced."
     "That's not enough and you know it, old man," Mara growled. He turned his icy
eyes to her, and actually smiled. Mara felt a brief flare through the Force.
     She was actually charming him. The thought made her sick.
     "I'm afraid that the fact that we've managed to recover your ship's logs and are
currently decoding them will prove my case."
     "But until you do, what you have is not enough evidence to detain their liberty,"
Obi-Wan said. "The sith lord is dead and Queen Amidala is safely on Naboo. They are no
immediate threat to her. I'm afraid, Chancellor, that as their protector I'm going to have to
demand that you release them."
     "And as Supreme Chancellor," Palpatine growled, lifting an eyebrow
contemptuously at Obi-Wan, "I am refusing your request for security reasons." Then he
added, after a pause, "Don't test me, boy. You may be a Jedi, but I've been playing this
game for much longer than you."
     Mara let out a grunt. "You're just a glorified puppet right now, Palpy. You're gonna
have to wait if you want to get that much power."
     Obi-Wan looked at Mara. "Perhaps a more extensive explanation would be helpful
right now."
     Mara nodded. "Check the private docking bay in Palpatine's private quarters. You'll
either find remnants of lightsaber damage, or a record somewhere of a control panel being
destroyed and then repaired. Luke and I were down there, and we encountered your sith
lord--did you say you'd killed him?"
     Obi-Wan gave her a small smile. "Yes."
     Mara nodded, and took a deep breath. Close to her mind, she could feel Luke, his
anxiety growing.
     *You can't.*
     *If I don't, he'll have us both killed. I can't sit by and let this man murder billions of
people for his petty greed, not when I could have the power to stop it. I could never live
with myself...please, you have to understand that.*
     *Mara, think about what you're doing,* Luke pleaded. *You don't know what
damage you could do.*
     *Certainly no more damage that he's done, Luke!*
     He was silent for a moment, weighing her words. Understanding them. Knowing
she was right, and hating it. Mara was about to proceed when she felt him say, *Goodbye,
Mara.*
     A sudden rise of panic gripped her. *Don't say that.*
     *I want to say it now while I have a chance. Because now we may never meet.*
     Mara felt tears sting her eyes. *Don't say that. I'll remember you, Luke, I swear it.
We will meet, I promise.* Then she remembered. *We don't even know if we'll be
affected, here in this timeline.*
     *All theories. We don't know what will happen at all. And I love you.* The last
words had so much feeling Mara winced, her heart aching.
     *I love you too, Skywalker. I hope you can forgive me. And remember me.* She
opened her eyes again, and said, "That sith lord was working with Palpatine. And
Palpatine
has been working with the Trade Federation, I'm almost sure of it. You'll have to ask them
if you want his sith name. But Palpatine, I'm afraid, is your sith lord."
     Palpatine laughed. "You're insane!" he said with a shake of his head.
     "Am I?" Mara said softly.
     Obi-Wan let out his breath. "That's an even heavier charge," he said to her. "I'm
afraid I'm going to need more proof." He gave Palpatine a cautious look.
     "Oh, please!" the man snorted, and Mara was amused to realize that the younger
Palpatine actually had a bit of an attitude. "You don't think for a moment that there is any
truth in what she says, do you? Honestly, Kenobi--me, a sith?"
     Obi-Wan stared at him for a long minute. Then he looked at Mara.
     "Search your feelings," she said softly. "You know what's true."
     The young Jedi Knight looked back and forth. Anakin had come closer from where
he stood by Luke's cell, and was watching the old man with a suspicious look on his face.
Apparently, Palpatine's grip on his disguise was slipping with his agitation, because even
the untrained boy was feeling it. Finally, Obi-Wan sighed, reached up and deactivated the
forcefield that was detaining Mara.
     "I believe you, Mara," he said.
     Palpatine glowered at her as she stepped out into the hall. But his glower did not
last long. He seemed to be rather admiring of her abilities, she could sense him scrutinizing
her as she came into full view. She returned his gaze with contempt.
     "I did warn you not to test me," Palpatine said, his voice low.
     Mara felt her danger sense tingle. Before she could even shout a warning to get
down, Palpatine raised his hand.
     The force-lightning was even more powerful than anything Mara had ever seen him
show during her days in his service. She stretched out with the Force and snagged Obi-
Wan's lightsaber--and realized with a sickening feeling that it was not in fact his, but Qui-
Gon's.
     As the green glow blocked off the blue-white light, Mara felt her rage. It was dark
and ugly. She had been trying to ignore it, but now, in the heat of battle, it came roaring to
the front, eager to take part in this fight.
     It was her grief. She couldn't let it take her--
     Behind her, Obi-Wan let out a shriek as a tendril of lighting zapped his arm, and
behind Palpatine Anakin fell over with the backlash. Palpatine spared him a look, and then
turned his smoldering gaze onto Mara.
     "Well done," he said, his voice sounding like the man she knew. "You are indeed
very powerful, *Mara.* I must ask you who was your master."
     "You were," Mara growled. "I served you for years, your blind slave. I let you use
and manipulate me. I would have died to save your life, but the Will of the Force has given
me this chance to take your life myself. And I will do it."
     He grinned at her. "Come ahead and try." And he let loose again with a blast that
nearly knocked her off her feet.

     Luke reached out with the Force and deactivated the controls, letting himself out of
his cage. Anakin was down, his face scorched with the burning heat of the lightning. Luke
knelt beside him, and pulled him toward the main door, trying to get him out of the way.
     Palpatine was talking to Mara, but a mere second later Luke felt a nasty searing in
his back and jerked as he was given a hard jolt of lightning. He rolled over, almost landing
on top of Anakin, who was grasping at something at his waist.
     "It's just...a practice saber," Anakin said, giving it to him, "but it works."
     Luke ignited it. The soft blue glow was so familiar. Then, instinctively, he raised it
up in time to block another shower.
     "Stop it!" Mara shrieked, taking a step closer. "Leave them alone, old man! Your
fight is with me!"
     Palpatine chuckled. "Indeed it is, Mara. But I can feel the hate in you."
     "Only for you, old man," she snarled.
     "I know. But hate has made you powerful. And I am in need of an apprentice. I
could show you things--"
     "SAVE IT!" Mara howled, swinging Qui-Gon's saber around into an attack stance.
"All I want is you dead!"
     Palpatine laughed, and unleashed another storm on her. Luke lunged at him from
behind and was met with the same. The sith lord seemed to be able to handle them both
with ease, and the backlash was taking apart the nearby walls, sending large pieces of
smoldering metal to the floor.
     Luke looked at Mara's face. The hatred was intense. She was going to kill Palpatine,
and in the process wind up falling to the dark side herself. He had to do something to stop
her--
     He lifted the blue saber to shield himself from any more stray blasts and reaching
for their Force bond. Not even her hatred could destroy it. He pushed harder than he ever
had in his life, and finally, he could see her, her bright core surrounded by thick thorns and
swirling black clouds.
     *Mara.*
     Mara was lost in the tunnel-vision of her rage, trying to get closer to Palpatine,
using every tactic she knew. But as Luke pushed past the demons, he reached for her core,
touching her lightly.
     *Mara!*
     All at once, she seemed to freeze, as if startled to find him there, wondering how he
could have gotten so close without her knowing. He felt her respond, reach for his
strength,
wanting to bring his powers into her battle.
     *No, Mara. Not like this.*
     He showed her Palpatine's face at his death, decades from this day. He showed her
his face, the terrible, twisted visage of an old, dying man who refused to accept defeat. He
wanted to show her the ugliness of hatred--
     And she in turn showed him her own pain, the day Palpatine had died, and how this
old man had nearly destroyed her even from beyond the grave.
     So he showed her her own face, gray with that pain, and how it had scarred her for
so many years. Not Palpatine, but her hatred of herself, of Luke, of the light and the Jedi,
of
the rebellion and all its heroes. Then he showed her herself, as she was now, and how far
she had come.
     *Do this, and it will all be undone,* he sent.
     That finally got through to her. She paused in her relentless assault, falling back,
reaching for him again, letting him send the peace and calm of the light into her soul. She
breathed it in, chasing away the dark clouds.
     When Mara opened her eyes again, Luke saw with a terrible horror that her desire
alone had changed.
     Her intention had not.
     *This is your fault,* she sent to him as she switched to a defensive mode, gathering
herself together. Her tone was closer to a gentle, mocking accusation than any sort of
anger. *You wanted me to be come a Jedi. You wanted me to give this blank line
invitation
to anyone who asked. The galaxy is asking, Luke. And I am a Jedi.*
     He felt overwhelming sadness. He could not support her decision. But he couldn't
stop her. She was free. And he loved her too much.
     *I trust you, Mara.*
     She nodded at him. Then she pressed forward again, this time unburdened by her
rage. Her movements were quick and precise, deflecting the lighting as she got closer and
closer. She reached forward and picked up several pieces of the ruined wall and sent them
in a shower at Palpatine.
     With one hand blasting away at Luke and the other at Mara, Palpatine had to shift
his attention slightly to deflect another, but he was able to keep Mara back. For a moment,
Mara's brow creased in fleeting panic--
     And then Obi-Wan returned.
     None of them had seen him leave. But he was back with a line of Coruscant
Security guards--and a new lightsaber.
     This was something Palpatine hadn't expected.
     And space and time began to collapse.
     Luke felt dizzy. Something was so wrong with this...it was as if something so major
had been distorted by this event that it was rocketing back and forth, tearing apart the
fabric
of existence itself.
     The sith lord felt it--for a second, he faltered, his lightning sizzling out.
     And Mara struck.
     Luke had seen her move before, the day she had struck down his clone, and Jorus
Cy'Boath. She moved with precision and ease, like a dancer and a killer, a predatory
animal
and the most beautiful, intelligent woman he had ever known. But she was calm. He knew
inside she was calm, that she was acting out not in her own grief or hatred, but with the
selfless purpose of a Jedi Knight.
     Despair gripped him as he realized that he would never truly know if what she was
doing was wrong or right. It was a dilemma that he would never understand, that he
would
turn over in his head for all eternity, even when he became one with the Force. If he even
remembered it.
     All of the lives she would save came rushing to him...all saved at the expense of
their happiness.
     Was it worth it?
     Was it even their choice to make?
     The world grew dim around him and Mara seemed to move in slow motion as she
raised her arm, the lightsaber now loose in her grip, ready for the fatal strike. Palpatine
had
not recovered yet, and Luke knew that that was because he hadn't had time to recover.
     Because there was no time. Or space. He could feel it ripping around him as surely
as his heart was being ripped in two.
     She hurled her arm forward. The saber went through Palpatine's chest, into his
heart. He howled with the sudden, fierce agony, but just like that, it was over.
     He fell, his lifeless eyes glaring at her with all the hatred of hell.
     And then everything came apart.
*****************************
     Mara blinked.
     They were on their ship. Space sparkled out the viewport. She didn't remember the
coordinates she had just plugged into the nav computer, but her fingers were pulling away,
as if she had just come awake from a dream in the middle of the day, when the rest of her
body had already gotten going.
     Luke had his hand on the levers. He was looking over his shoulder at Mara, giving
her an affectionate smile. He was making a joke, but she couldn't hear it. It felt like there
was a strange, blank noise in her ears.
     Then, like a commlink suddenly being unjammed---"---to go?"
     Mara felt her mouth open to say yes, realizing she was smiling, shocked that she
didn't even know the expression of her own face. She had been here before. She knew
what
they had been joking about, but for some reason her memory wouldn't click on.
     Click on...click on...the hum of a green lightsaber...the ice blue eyes of a man she
knew but was much younger in this fading dream, and the darker, black and red face of a
foe whose name she would never know...and Luke, his despair permeating her heart and
making her want to wail as she felt their Force bond being ripped apart---
     "NO!" she suddenly screamed, like a victim spit from the bowels of a sarlacc. She
hurled forward in her chair, seizing Luke's wrist and ripping it away from the controls.
     At that second, she knew Luke felt it too, as he reached out to their Force-bond,
hard and desperate, wanting to know if it was still there, terrified that it wasn't.
     She stood up, and Luke stood with her, yanking her into his arms and holding her
so tightly she couldn't breathe. Normally she would have objected to such rough handling,
but she found herself hanging onto him with the same fervor.
     They were both panting. Mara moved her white-knuckled grip from Luke's arms
and chest to loop her arms around his neck. She pulled him closer, her forehead resting
against his cheek.
     "What happened?" he whispered in the silence of the cockpit.
     Mara shook her head. "I don't know. But it was awful."
     More silence. Finally, Luke said, "Maybe we'd better wait on going into hyperspace
for a bit."
     "Yes," Mara agreed. "Just a bit."
     "Good. I just wish I knew why."
     Letting out her breath and wiping the sweat that had trickled down her cheek, Mara
said, "I don't."

     This time, she knew she was dreaming.
     She and Luke had decided to wait on their little trip until the next day. They just
decided on that date together, not really understanding why, but willing to trust their
mutual hunch.
     Her sleep, as a result of the unexplained delay, had been rather restless. And when
she finally fell into it, she began to see things she didn't understand.
     She was on the roof of a strange tower, overlooking what could only have been
Coruscant, but it was a Coruscant she didn't recognize. A young, bright, happy one, not
darkened by the Emperor's sith ways or the terrorists attacks and various bombings that
were a part of the New Republic's reign. And there was a man there with her, dressed in
the
ancient brown robes and white wrap-around tunic of a Jedi Master. A familiar lightsaber
dangled at his waist, a saber she somehow knew was green, like Luke's. A saber that her
hand somehow knew, as the shape of it felt like it had just been impressed on her palm.
     "I don't get it," she heard herself saying, as if she were not herself but another
version of herself, a person with different knowledge, different memories. She felt like she
was listening and talking at the same time--an odd feeling. "What happened?"
     The man--what was his name? Her other self knew it--Qui-Gon Jinn. A Jedi
Master, for whom she had very oddly warm feelings. She could even remember hugging
him. Why in the farthest regions would she ever want to do that? Yet, the way he smiled
at
her, affectionately, almost lovingly, she knew that to her other self it made perfect sense.
     "You were the one schooled in time travel theories," he said, almost teasingly. "You
tell me."
     Mara felt herself grinning. "Trevok's original theory? Everything just reset itself?"
She shook her head. "It sounds a little too neat."
     He gave a little shrug. "Perhaps it is," he agreed. "But haven't you ever experienced
a moment where you just had a little start, like you were suddenly coming back to
yourself,
even though you knew you hadn't gone anywhere, hadn't even been thinking about
anything
else? Just one of those moments where everything was normal, and then suddenly
everything felt different, even though it hadn't changed? Perhaps those were moments
when the space-time continuum was resetting itself."
     "Perhaps," Mara echoed, then added in the same teasing tone, "You're one with the
Force, why don't you tell me?"
     He gave a slightly laugh. "Well, that would be cheating. Even Kenobi couldn't tell
Luke too much when he appeared to him."
     "Are you disappointed?" Mara asked suddenly. "I mean, with the way things turned
out?"
     "Well, I would have liked to have lived a little longer," Qui-Gon said with a rather
dismissive wave of his hand. His green-blue eyes were smiling at her, sympathetically.
"And I wish that you hadn't been abused the way you had."
     "And Anakin?" Mara pressed.
     Qui-Gon sighed. "Yes, Anakin...I don't know. I'm almost sure if I had had a chance
to train him myself, he wouldn't have fallen to the dark side. But perhaps it was
necessary."
     "Necessary?" Both Mara and her other self were outraged. "How could all that
death and destruction have been necessary?"
     "You sensed the Council when you were near them," Qui-Gon said softly. "You felt
their arrogance. They were becoming too proud. All Jedi were--to safe and secure in their
path, too sure of themselves. Even myself...doing my own things for my own reason,
defying the Council not just out of personal belief but out of personal ambitions. We all
thought we knew better than everyone else." He gave her a look. "You yourself hated Jedi
for many years for precisely those reasons, and you were right, Mara."
     She nodded. "But still...I can't justify his behavior."
     Qui-Gon shook his head. "I wasn't justifying. It wasn't justified. But perhaps the
Will of the Force found it necessary. He did bring balance to the Force in the end, Mara.
He brought the Jedi back, under the tutelage of your husband, and now yourself as well.
You two are the hope of the new Jedi Order. What you've learned in your life under
Palpatine's influence and what Luke had learned from his experiences will help insure that
the Jedi will have a bright and prosperous future. And if they fall back into their arrogance,
I'm sure you will provide the necessary kick in the ass."
     Mara snorted. "You don't know who you're talking to," she muttered.
     "I know," he said. "Even before this happened, I've been watching you. You're
going to be a great Jedi Master someday, Mara. But there are things that you still need to
learn."
     "Like about that 'Will of the Force' thing?" she said, rather disdainfully. "No
offense, Qui-Gon, but I don't buy it. Not for a second."
     He gave a slight chuckle. "Mara, Mara....so little trust."
     "It's not about trust," Mara said. "I don't have any problem with a higher power. I
know about loyalty and about serving a greater good. Those aren't my problems. I don't
think they ever were." She looked up at the sky, shimmering with the old life of
Coruscant.
"I just think that the Force is too ambiguous to be making any truly good decisions. I don't
think that some tiny, microscopic lifeform is at all in touch with what it is to be human,
what it is to be sentient, or what it means to live a good life. I don't like the thought of
them
controlling things they don't really have one clue about, that they can't even begin to relate
to."
     "How do you know what they know?" Qui-Gon asked. It wasn't a challenge. It was
an honest attempt to search into her feelings, and Mara knew it.
     "I don't," she admitted. "But I just have this feeling that it's all really about
something much bigger. Or Someone bigger. It has to be..."
     He smiled at her. Warmly. "I'm proud of you for admitting that," he said,
"considering the problems you've had with powerful, controlling figures."
     She flinched. "Yeah, I guess I do." She sighed, remembering--or was that her other
self again? She couldn't keep them straight anymore, somehow she had gotten all blended
together. "I did something really bad, didn't I?"
     Qui-Gon sighed. "Let's just say that you're very lucky."
     "In what sense, exactly?" Mara asked, feeling a touch of darkness in her soul. "It
was bad that I killed him, I know that, but for what particular reason?"
     Qui-Gon looked at her very, very hard. "Don't you know?" he murmured. "Think
about it, Mara. You were talking about Trevok's theory of space-time resetting itself. Why
would it need to do that? What event could killing Palpatine have prevented?"
     "Other than the death of billions of lives?" Mara returned smartly. "I can't imagine.
If you're saying that if I hadn't become Emperor's Hand I wouldn't be alive today--"
     "That's close, but that's not it," he said, his eyes meeting hers unblinkingly. "Think
about it, Mara...you've always known the truth, but it's been too painful to face. But you
have to face it. Your future depends on it."
     She shook her head, and whispered, "No."
     "If you went back in time and killed your father--"
     "NO!" she shrieked at him, almost coming awake. Her heartrate accelerated and she
had to force herself to calm down. Qui-Gon shimmered in reality for a moment, but he did
not fade.
     "You have to accept that fact, Mara," he said, very calm, reaching out and clamping
one of his large hands around her forearm. The touch was strangely reassuring. "Maybe
you're not ready for it, but for some reason it's been decided that you're to face this truth
now. Otherwise this event would not have happened."
     She shook her head vehemently, clenching her teeth. "No. I won't. I won't believe
it."
     He sighed. "Mara--"
     "NO!" She was almost weeping now. "Please...please don't make me..."
     And inside her, in her deepest core, the memories that had stayed buried for so very
long began to rise. Memories she couldn't bear. Memories of her mother's face, memories
of when she had died, of when Mara had been taken away, traumatized and brainwashed
and then shaped into the perfect assassin, a Jedi and yet not a Jedi, strong in the Force but
never allowed to fulfill her destiny. It was too much--she couldn't bear it. She began to
push it away.
     Then she heard Qui-Gon's voice, very close to her. "When you wake up, if you
refuse to accept this truth about yourself, you are not going to remember any of this." He
added, sadly. "And you won't remember me. It will be like it never happened."
     Mara took several deep breaths. "So it's either today or never?" she whispered.
     "If not today," Qui-Gon said, and Mara realized she couldn't see him anymore,
"then not for a long, long time."
     She nodded. "I understand. And I'm sorry. I just can't. Not today."
     She felt him touch her mind one last time through the Force, an affectionate touch.
He had watched over her before she'd ever known who he was, and he would watch over
her still, even if she didn't remember him. She comforted herself with that thought in the
final moment of the dream.
     And then she was awake.

     Mara lay in bed for several minutes, blinking. She felt like she had just come out of
a very dead sleep. She couldn't even remember the last moment of her dream, and she
knew she had been dreaming. And it seemed that the harder she tried to remember, the
farther away it got from her.
     She sighed. Oh well, it was just a dream.
     Beside her, Luke stirred. He was muttering in his sleep--that was rather unusual, or
at least it was the first time he'd done it in the two weeks they had shared a bed. She rolled
over, spooning him, rubbing his back, feeling comforted by his closeness.
     Why did she suddenly feel so empty?
     She rested her head against his shoulderblades. Several more minutes passed, and
Mara heard Luke murmur a name. It was a name she had never heard before--Amidala? A
woman's name, definitely. Mara's lips curled in a cross between bemusement and shock.
She knew she should be jealous of Luke muttering another woman's name, but there was
something familiar about it, like she was supposed to know it, too.
     "Mara?" Luke said, his voice groggy. He lifted his head.
     "Don't you mean Amidala?" Mara returned, a mild edge in her voice.
     Luke let out his breath. "I was dreaming about her," he said, coming more awake.
     "Who is she?" Mara asked, holding her breath slightly. "Do you know?"
     "I think she was--" he shook his head, trying to clear it. "I think she was---my
mother."
     Mara frowned. "Is that where I've heard that name before?" she muttered, almost to
herself. "I don't remember Leia ever mentioning it."
     "Neither do I," Luke said.
     "How weird. Why would you be dreaming about your mother?"
     Luke turned over, and Mara backed away slightly, giving him some room. His arm
stretched out and enveloped her. She snuggled into it, relishing its reassuring warmth,
letting it chase away the emptiness.
     "Better to dream about her than some other woman, you jealous little vixen," he
muttered, nuzzling her neck.
     Mara let out a throaty chuckle. "Well, if you wanted to wake up with all your body
parts," she teased, running her fingers through his hair.
     "You were muttering in your sleep, too," Luke said, after a moment of quiet.
     "Calling out the names of my former lovers?" Mara whispered, getting sleepy.
     "I don't know...someone named Qui-Gon? I don't know, for all I know you could
have been dreaming about Qui Xux."
     "That scrawny blue twi-lek?" Mara said, half-awake. "Why in the world would I
dream about her?"
     "I don't know," Luke said, giving her a squeeze. "But better you dreaming about her
than me."
     Mara murmured sleepily. "Oh yeah," she said, and then remembered. "Luke?"
     "Hmmm?"
     "Why didn't we head home to Coruscant today?"
     His eyes opened. "You know...I don't know."
     "Hmmm," Mara murmured. "Oh well...we can head home tomorrow."
     Luke nodded, but was asleep a mere second later. Mara lay awake for a few more
minutes, mulling over what Luke had said.
     Who *was* Qui-Gon? She had absolutely no idea. Then with a little shrug, she
relaxed into Luke's arms and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.