Mara Jade - Jedi Master

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Six days later, the Skywalker Spirit arrived on Yavin. Leia had spent the entire journey wondering how Luke would react when she told him what had happened to Mara. It was not something she was looking forward to. She knew how much Luke cared about Mara, not to mention that she felt responsible for having failed to stop Lumiya, despite knowing how illogical it was. She knew she had done everything possible to thwart her.

Luke was waiting on the landing grid as the Spirit set down. He seemed calm, but even from this distance, she could feel the worry and apprehension that poured off him in waves. She took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't stay here forever. That was not the way of the Jedi. Rising from her seat, she headed aft to the boarding ramp.

Walking down the ramp was not easy, since she had to endure Luke's blue eyes boring into hers every step of the way down it. "It was Lumiya, wasn't it?" he said without any preamble as she reached him. "I know what happened. I could sense it through the bond with Mara." Even on Yavin, he had known via his bond with Mara that Lumiya had reappeared. He had sensed the ensuing battle, then nothing more as the link was cut, first as Mara was stunned, and then as Lumiya used the mind control device to control her.

Leia nodded. "I'm sorry. Corran and I tried to stop her, but she had another Sith Adept with her. He was able to hold us both at bay without any trouble."

Luke shook his head. "Don't be. I'm sure you did all you could." He paused for a second. "I somehow knew I'd have to face Lumiya again one day, but I didn't think she'd attack me in this way." He fell silent and Leia could tell that there was something else troubling him.

"Is there something I should know?" she asked diplomatically.

Luke hesitated for a moment. "After I knew Mara had been captured, I tried meditating to see if the Force would show me anything."

"And did it?" Leia prompted.

Luke's gaze shifted to a point in the distance behind her. "Yes," he said sombrely. "I had a vision. Of myself fighting Mara..." It had been a brief glimpse of him and Mara engaged in lightsabre combat, with an overwhelming sense of hate coming from Mara. He had not seen the outcome in the vision, but even the thought that he might have to fight Mara was more than enough to send an icy dread through him. "What am I meant to do now?" he asked almost inaudibly.

Leia looked at him. He wasn't thinking particularly rationally, which was understandable under the circumstances, but it was something they couldn't afford to indulge in right now. "First of all, we have to try and find Mara," she pointed out. "Worrying about Force visions and the like can wait until later. Can you reach her through your bond at all?"

Her words seemed to snap Luke out of his brooding. "No, I can't. I never realised how much Mara and I shared through our Force bond until it was gone. I feel like I've been torn in half. I can't even sense her in the Force in the normal way. I think Lumiya must be masking her from me."

"Right, so that way of finding her is out," Leia noted. "In that case, we're left with the usual options: hoping Galactic Intelligence can find Mara or Lumiya; or that Lumiya is using her as a pawn to bring you to her, which I have a strong feeling is the case, since she seems determined to have revenge on you for some reason. In either case, we can't do anything but wait. While we twiddle our thumbs, I suggest that you try and help Kyp or any of the others. Sitting and brooding about what's happened to Mara isn't going to help any of us."

Luke nodded. "Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Leia answered. "Anyway, right now I'm going to see if Karrde or Ghent can find out anything on Lumiya."

A short time later, Leia entered the communications centre in the Temple. "Put me through to Head of Galactic Intelligence Talon Karrde on board the Wild Karrde," she instructed one of the three Padawans manning the comm boards. The Padawan, barely out of his teens, nodded and proceeded to establish a connection. A few seconds later, an image of Dankin, who took temporary charge of the Action VI freighter when Karrde was absent, appeared on the display.

"Councillor Solo," he said in greeting, inclining his head to her. "Unfortunately Karrde is not on board at present. He can be reached on board the-" here he paused, a smirk appearing, "-Pack of Karrdes."

Leia stared at him in disbelief for a moment, even ignoring the snickers from the other two Padawans. "The Pack of Karrdes?" she said slowly as it began to sink in. Karrde had always chosen offbeat names for his ships, but this time he had surpassed himself.

Dankin nodded, his smirk widening into a fully-fledged grin. "He and Shada brought a small space yacht for their personal use a couple of weeks ago. With them and a pair of two year old children as the crew, it was the obvious name."

Leia nodded. "Thank you," she said and ended the connection. She knew she had been brusque, but she didn't have time for social niceties right now.

Her next call was directly to Karrde. Unsurprisingly, given his sources and status of Head of Galactic Intelligence, he already knew that Mara had been captured, and consequently was not in a good mood. He was distinctly grim, an unusual state for the normally ultra urbane ex-smuggler. His and Mara's relationship was almost that of a father and daughter, something that had intensified since Alina's birth. Mara had observed that he must really have a soft spot for her and Alina, since he regularly brought them gifts when he visited, without even asking for anything in return.

"I'll make sure everyone in my organisation and all my contacts keep their eyes open," he promised Leia. He gave her a penetrating stare, clearly apparent even in the hologram projection. "I'll try to find out information on this Lumiya, although I can't guarantee there'll be anything. If there's one thing I've learnt after five years as Head of Galactic Intelligence, it's that there's precious little information on the Emperor's or Vader's agents. There's only a small amount on Mara in the files. By the way, I don't know if you've spoken to Ghent, but Mara contacted him shortly before she was captured. Apparently from what Ghent said, she seemed to think that her parents had been betrayed to Vader and Palpatine, not to mention wanting genetic comparisons done between her and Roganda Ismaren for some reason." He nodded to her, and the hologram vanished.

Leia stood there for a while, wondering why Mara hadn't told her what she had found out, and if it had any bearing on Lumiya's apparent obsession with Mara. Her last call was to Ghent. She learned little more from him than she had from Karrde, except that Mara had somehow learnt her parent's names. Apparently Mara hadn't told him much.

After that, there was little she could do other than wait for Karrde to contact her. She knew that Han and Wedge had spread the news that Mara had been captured to most of the New Republic's intelligence sources and agents, starting with Karrde's Galactic Intelligence network. She didn't suppose they'd find anything, though. A Sith was hardly likely to advertise their existence on the Holonet, she thought dryly.

The next two weeks dragged by. As Leia had predicted, no trace was found of Mara, Lumiya, or Kariss, and with every day that passed, Luke's concern for Mara increased. The only bright spot was some information Karrde had managed to dig up. Leia remembered how shortly after the Declaration of Peace between the New Republic and Empire, Karrde had described his search for Jorj Car'das. Car'das had been one of the first people he had turned to in the search for information on Lumiya. Amazingly, Car'das actually had some information on her. The file he found and sent to Leia, via Karrde, three days after her request for information was not much, barely a single page, but it was better than nothing. It was a brief report stating that she had been trained by Darth Vader as a Sith Dark Lord. That part made sense, since it suggested a motivation for her hate of Luke in that she probably believed, like most of the galaxy, that Luke had destroyed him. Yet Leia knew it was not the only reason for her hate of Luke. Something more personal was behind it.

She scanned the rest of the document. It said that Lumiya had been nearly killed at some point in her past, although she had guessed as much given that Lumiya was a cyborg. The rest of the file was speculation on Lumiya's background, and how she might have been injured. There were no references to her before the Battle of Yavin, and scarcely anything on her between then and the Battle of Endor. Again, that made sense. Apparently Vader had risked the Emperor's wrath in training Lumiya as a Sith Lord. It stood to reason that he would keep her carefully hidden from his master. After Endor, no records whatsoever of her activities existed until she had briefly reemerged five years ago, and then vanished yet again following her defeat.

As the time passed with no clues as to what might have happened to Mara, Luke's foreboding only increased. He began to understand first hand how Corran and Leia had felt when they had been separated from Mirax and Han respectively, although the break in his and Mara's Force bond seemed to make his own ordeal seem much worse. As Leia had suggested, much of his time was spent finishing the training of some of the advanced Padawans, which helped to at least partly distract him from his anxiety over Mara. He was able to conceal what remained from the other Padawans and Jedi Knights at the academy, except for Kyp and Leia.

In the end, it took three weeks since Mara's capture before Lumiya acted. The message, when it finally arrived, was sent surprisingly prosaically via the Holonet. Luke was demonstrating some points of lightsabre combat to a class with the help of Kam Solusar when one of the Padawans manning the comm centre burst in, breathing hard and plainly agitated.

"Master Skywalker!" he blurted out. "We're receiving a transmission from Lady Lumiya!"

Luke was instantly on his feet and out of the door, hurrying towards the comm centre. Kam Solusar gazed around at the other Padawans for a moment and then shrugged. "Looks like this lesson is concluded for the time being," he observed.

Luke entered the comm centre to find the hologram pod on pause, and the other two Padawans manning the comm centre sitting nervously. One glance was sufficient and they left quickly, leaving Luke alone in the comm centre. Taking a breath and running through his Jedi calming techniques, he pressed the pause button on the hologram pod. The pause symbol vanished to be replaced with a familiar life-sized hologram.

"Jedi Master Skywalker," Lumiya said, managing to make it sound like a curse. "You will come to the planet Kroval III in the Ettrill system, alone, within seven days, or Jade will suffer the consequences."

"Wait!" Luke said urgently as Lumiya began to step backwards out of the transmission field. "Release Mara. She has no part in this. This is a dispute between the two of us only."

Lumiya sneered at him. "No conditions, Skywalker. Do not believe Jade has no part to play in this, either."

Any further discussion was ended as she broke the transmission link.

Kyp and Leia came out onto the observation platform at the summit of the Great Temple to see Luke standing in the middle of the platform with his back to them, gazing out over the jungle. "I'm a Jedi Master, strong in the Force, and yet I don't know what to do," he said quietly as they approached him, without turning around. "If I face Lumiya, I'll have to fight Mara. How can I do that?"

"The path of a Jedi is not an easy one," Kyp said. "Remember, indecision and uncertainty are weapons of the dark side."

"I know that," Luke said sharply. "I've said it to others often enough, but for once it doesn't help me." He sighed. "I'm getting too old for this."

There was a long pause. "Do you want me to go?" Kyp offered.

Luke shook his head. "Lumiya wants to kill me in revenge for something I did to her. I have to go." He fell silent, and Leia met Kyp's gaze. The two of them shared a thought, and Kyp quietly turned away and left the roof.

Leia came to stand next to Luke, putting her arm around his waist. She said nothing, merely trying to give him guidance and strength. It reminded her of the time Luke had given her his support on board the Rebel medical frigate after Han had been frozen in carbonite and taken to Jabba. Now he was the one in need of support.

After a long time, Luke straightened and stepped away. "Thank you, Leia," he said. "I'll be alright now. I just need a bit of time to think."

Leia met his gaze, not at all convinced that he was alright, but she knew that it was no good trying to talk to him if he wanted to be on his own. She silently left the roof.

Luke continued to stare out over the jungle, his thoughts and feelings becoming even more clouded with indecision. Shutting his eyes, he opened his mind to the Force, hoping that this time he would be given some guidance.

It came.

"Luke?" a voice called softly.

He opened his eyes and turned around, expecting to see Ben Kenobi standing there, remembering how his old mentor had appeared at such moments of doubt. It was not Kenobi who stood behind him, though.

"Callista," he said quietly. "I don't know what to do."

The shimmering blue image of Callista gazed at him solemnly. "You know what you must do," she said gently. "Mara needs your help. You love her, yet you are tempted to take the quick and easy path, to abandon her to the dark side. You turned your father, Anakin Skywalker, back from the dark side."

Luke lowered his head. "I know. I'm not sure if I can fight Mara, though. She's my wife and we have a daughter." He looked up to meet her eyes. "Will I have to kill Mara?"

"I cannot reveal the future," Callista said in mild reproof. "As for fighting her, that is something only you can decide on. The time when Yoda told you that you had to face Vader again is long gone. There comes a time when only you can make your choices. You are a Jedi Master now. I cannot tell you what to do, only advise you."

Luke shifted his gaze to look past her. "Why does Lumiya seek to have revenge on me?"

"Use your insight, Luke," Callista advised. "What do you know of her?"

Luke considered. He had read the sketchy information on her that Jorj Car'das had sent. "She was trained in the dark side by my father. Is that why she hates me, because she believes I killed him?"

"Partly," came the answer. "The true reason is something else, though. The answer lies in something you learned about her when you faced her before."

Luke thought back to that time. A sudden thought came to him, something that had puzzled him at the time. "Corran said she projected a vision of Erisi Dlarit into his mind, and showed him an X-wing and TIE interceptor being destroyed and crashing respectively."

Callista said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"She was shot down in a space battle," he realised suddenly. "She survived, at the price of becoming a cyborg. The TIE interceptor was the result of something Corran did. She was the pilot of the X-wing. That was shot down by another X-wing, piloted by-"

He stopped as he realised that he must have been the pilot, and as something else came to mind. "Erisi had red hair and brown eyes for some reason," he heard Corran saying once more, and the whole thing was abruptly crystal clear.

He met Callista's eyes. "She's Shira Brie, isn't she?" he asked, already knowing the truth. The memories flooded back: the confusion during the brief battle with the Revenge when he had detected her X-wing targeting his, and Ben Kenobi's advice to use the Force to sense her intentions, advice which had prompted him to fire on her X-wing. He could well understand why she hated him so bitterly now.

"Your insight serves you well," Callista said, echoing Kenobi's own words of long ago. "She indeed seeks revenge on you for that."

Luke was silent for a moment. Callista's words had brought him to one decision at least. "Then I have to face her. Perhaps I can help her. I won't kill Mara, though, if I have to face her as well. That's something I can't do."

Callista nodded. "A Jedi will recognise and embrace the moment when it is time for them to become one with the Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi knew his time had arrived when he faced Vader on the Death Star. The same will happen to you, if it is your destiny to be killed by Mara. Remember, whatever happens, the Force will always be with you."

Luke hesitated, then nodded. This time he had nothing more to say.

Kyp and Leia were teaching Alina how to use the Force to lift and move objects in one of the teaching rooms when Luke entered. Both of them looked up as he appeared. Kyp hesitated for a moment. "I can still go instead if you want," he offered.

Luke shook his head. "Thanks, Kyp, but it's my task." He looked at both of them. "I need a few minutes with Alina."

Kyp and Leia nodded and left the room, closing the door behind them. Luke squatted down in front of Alina once the two of them were alone. "Ali, I'm going to find your mother "

She nodded solemnly. "Are you bringing her back? I miss her."

Luke hesitated, unsure what to say. "I know, I miss her too. I don't know if she's coming back, though."

She considered this for a minute. "Are you coming back?"

Luke hesitated again. "I don't know that either. I hope that both of us come back. Remember, even if neither of us return, we will always be with you."

Leia was standing outside the door when the two of them came out. "Aunt Leia will take care of you while I'm gone," Luke told Alina, crouching down briefly in front of her. He straightened up and caught Leia's gaze.

"Look after her if..." he told her silently, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Leia met his gaze squarely. "I will. I promise."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and then Leia stepped forwards, pulling Luke into a hug. "May the Force be with you," she whispered.

Luke nodded and stepped back, glancing briefly at Alina, before turning and hurrying down the corridor in the direction of the landing grid.

***

The war room on Galactic Defender was large enough to accommodate all the pilots based on board the starship with room to spare. Rising rows of semicircular benches surrounded a centre holographic display. Admiral Ackbar, Vice Admiral Ardiff, Colonel Avola, General Rieekan, and General Bel Iblis stood beside the projector, waiting to begin the briefing.

Wedge gazed around the room. Han and Chewbacca sat alongside him and the other Rogues, and he could see other familiar faces in the crowd, among them Pash Cracken, now a colonel and leader of the A-wing unit Ace Squadron.

Colonel Avola commenced the briefing once all the pilots had arrived. "I assume you have all been briefed on the several recent appearances by alien starfighters," he began. "The purpose of these raids seem designed to lure us into an ambush. They make brief, light attacks on our forces and then withdraw. The principle of these raids seems to be to give us a hyperspace vector back to their system of origin. Given the way that they have consistently stayed on the fringes of our sensor range, demonstrating that they are fully aware of the extents of our technology, it is very probable that they know we can track them for several microseconds after a hyperspace jump and calculate their vector. They have even been 'considerate' enough to jump to lightspeed from several different vectors, allowing us to triangulate precise coordinates to their hyperspace exit point."

"Thank you, Colonel," General Rieekan said, stepping forwards. Despite having been a distinguished member of the High Command of first the Rebel Alliance and then the New Republic since before the Battle of Hoth, the old general still had the energy and drive of someone half his age. "Clearly the alien invaders have no intention of co-existing peacefully with us, as shown by their recent attacks on the fleet. High Command has therefore decided to mount a full scale engagement. Obviously, there are considerable risks in such a venture. If they seek to lure us into a full battle, knowing the strength of our fleet and the extent of our technology, they are plainly certain of the outcome. Their technology is clearly much in advance of our own, from what we have learned from the starfighter raids. We have no alternative but to take the bait, however. If we cannot win with this fleet, the strongest concentration of ships the New Republic and Empire can muster, then it is a moot point whether we fight them at a place of their choosing or anywhere else."

He gazed around the room. "The challenge facing us is deadly, but we have a good chance of winning. All the ships and fighter squadrons in the fleet were picked on merit, both from the Imperial and Republic forces. Our fleet is unrivalled by anything in history, either in numbers or strength, and we fight in defence of our home planets. That gives us an automatic edge over the invaders."

"May the Force be with us," Ackbar said, finishing the briefing.

Han leaned forward to tap Gavin Darklighter on the shoulder, and gave him a wink as he turned round. There was no need for any explanations.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Gavin said, smirking.

Wedge shook his head and groaned. "If I ever hear that again, I'm going to shoot myself. If there's a worse phrase anywhere, I'd like to hear it."

He immediately realised his mistake, but twisted to glare at Janson too late to prevent the inevitable from happening.

"Yub yub, General."

***

The Skywalker Spirit came out of hyperspace over Kroval III. Even from orbit, it looked like a grim and forbidding planet. Kroval itself was a cold red star, clearly giving off too little warmth to warm even the nearest planet to it. Kroval III seemed to be a dead planet. Here and there, Luke could see a few small oceans. The sensors showed no indication of any native plants or animals. Atmospheric readings indicated a low oxygen atmosphere. The ground consisted solely of rocks and dead soil. It was, Luke reflected, exactly the sort of planet that the Sith seemed to prefer.

The silent call had become stronger with proximity, and he brought the Spirit down through the atmosphere, following the call. Ahead of him, a mass of harsh grey/black stone began to take form on the horizon. Grim and jagged lines stood out from the plateau around it. It was a typical Sith castle, he realised as he approached it.

A few minutes later, he set the Spirit down in front of the doors to Lumiya's castle, which were standing open awaiting him. Only an inky blackness could be seen through the doors. He reached out with the Force, but could sense only two presences in the castle, the overwhelming feeling of hate emanating from one telling him that it was Lumiya. As he had when he confronted her on board her Strike Cruiser, he felt something about her that reminded him of Mara. He reached out to Mara, calling her, but although he could sense her, there was no answer. Clearly she was still under the control of the mind-control device.

He attached his lightsabre to his belt, then headed aft to the boarding ramp. An unpleasantly warm rain was falling as he came down the ramp and jogged towards the doors. A few steps into the castle, and even the feeble light from outside was swallowed up in darkness. He didn't need to activate a glowrod or his lightsabre to shed some light, though. Expanding his sensory sphere, he was able to perceive the walls, doors, and obstacles like tables and chairs around him. Lumiya was calling him ever more strongly as he approached. He hurried along corridors and up staircases, going ever higher in the castle. Here and there, he saw ancient Sith inscriptions painted on the walls and statues in wall niches. The entire castle was decorated in sombre colours, and only a tiny amount of light illuminated the corridors, giving it a gloomy and brooding atmosphere, like the Emperor's throne on the Death Star.

Finally, he was drawn to a spiral staircase leading to the top of the highest tower of Lumiya's castle. Once he reached the top, he found himself standing in front of a pair of doors which were engraved with various Sith spells and carvings. Two statues stood on either side of the doors, Sith Gatekeepers. He snatched his lightsabre from his belt as the doors abruptly began to swing open. A reddish light streamed out as the doors opened.

As his eyes adjusted to the different light, he could see Mara standing halfway up a flight of steps leading to a raised dais. Lumiya stood at the top of the steps, facing him. She watched Luke approach, a malevolent joy clearly visible in her eyes.

"Let Mara go," he said quietly, coming to the foot of the stairs and gazing up at Mara.

"How noble," Lumiya mocked scornfully. "I think not. Let us see if you are so noble once you learn that my Sith students are on their way to your vaunted academy. A pity your daughter is there. She will make a fine apprentice for me."

"They will not succeed," Luke said, trying to ignore the thought of Alina at the mercy of a Sith Adept. "Against the entire academy? You've thrown them away in vain."

Lumiya smirked. "There are precious few Jedi at your academy, Skywalker. I know as well as you do how few there are there, with most of them spread throughout the galaxy and with this fleet you have sent into the Unknown Regions. It does not matter if some of my students are destroyed if the others damage your academy and bring your daughter here. Kariss is more than a match for any of your Jedi. He will succeed, I assure you."

She stared down at Luke, and he shivered from the hate he saw in her eyes. Once again, he was inexplicably reminded of Mara. What possible connection could there be between Mara and Shira Brie, he wondered momentarily. "It's not too late to turn from the dark side, Shira," he instead said calmly.

Lumiya went rigid for a moment. "So you at last know the truth," she replied. "Fitting, that you should learn it before you die."

"Come with me," Luke offered. "We can help you."

"Do not seek to avoid your fate by trying to cloud my mind," Lumiya hissed. "The only way you can help me is by dying, preferably slowly and painfully. Why waste time in pointless discussion, though?" She gestured to Mara, her face tightening in concentration.

The lightsabres flashed to life in an instant as Mara attacked. She jumped down the stairs to land in front of Luke, and the twin blades met his lightsabre with a savage impact. They stood there immobile, staring at each other across the lightsabre blades, as Lumiya's laughter filled the room.

The black hulled Lambda shuttle touched down outside the Great Temple. Kariss strode down the ramp, shrouded in his cloak, and with his lightsabre hilt held ready in one hand. Behind him, the rest of the Sith Adepts emerged from the shuttle and formed in a line behind him. A solitary figure stepped from the shadows inside the Temple as they approached. Kyp Durron swept his eyes across them as they stopped.

"We do not wish to fight you," he said calmly. "Leave now and you have my word as a Jedi Master that you will not be attacked."

They were not impressed by his words. In response, lightsabres of all colours and hues ignited, and they resumed their advance on Kyp. Other figures emerged from the Temple to join Kyp. Leia, Kam Solusar, Kirana Ti and several other of the Jedi Knights stepped forwards to meet the advancing enemy. Despite being outnumbered, they stood firm as the Sith Adepts advanced on them. Kyp sensed the fear emanating from the others who stood behind him. Most of them were students, and unarmed. Too many of the full Jedi Knights were out in the Unknown Regions with the New Republic, or acting as Jedi Guardians in their native systems. The Sith Adepts, in contrast, were clearly fully trained and eager to fight. He knew that even if he and the others won, it would cost the academy dearly. "Remember the Jedi Code," he called to the students in an attempt to inspire them. "A Jedi does not know fear."

Kariss quickened his stride and came directly at Kyp, both ends of his double ended lightsabre ignited and glowing. The two blades crackled as he swung at Kyp, whose own blade sprang to life with a snap-hiss. The lightsabres flashed as the two of them tested each other's strength and skill. Kariss's eyes began to gleam exultantly as he realised that at last he had a worthy opponent. Around them, the other Jedi Knights were engaging the Sith. Leia and Kirana Ti were fighting two together, while Kam Solusar was pitted against another.

Kyp spun aside to evade a lunge from Kariss, and saw Tionne and Streen standing on either side of the Jedi students, unsure what to do. "Take them to the old war rooms," he called to them, striking so hard that Kariss was forced back a step. He backed away slowly into a patch of deep shadow, and his lightsabre suddenly deactivated, so that Kyp lost sight of him. He advanced quickly, but it was too late. Kariss had vanished into the gloom of the Temple, and Kyp felt his presence vanish as Kariss shielded himself from the Jedi.

A sudden sense of danger made him turn towards where the students were hurrying out of the hangar, to see that Alina Skywalker had fallen behind in the confusion. Tionne had already spotted her and was hastening towards her. One of the Sith Adepts had spotted her as well, though, and was closing in. Being nearer, he would reach her before Tionne. Kyp reacted instantly, racing to place himself in the other's path. Their lightsabres met with a ferocious impact, a glow marking where they intersected. Kyp spared a glance towards Tionne, to see Alina standing a short distance away from him. Between him and Tionne, a bitter duel was raging between Kam Solusar and his foe, and he dared not let Alina take the risk of trying to get past them. In addition, the way the Sith Adept had gone for Alina showed that she was their target. If so, she would have no protection if she stayed with the unarmed students.

He hesitated, and then made his mind up. "Go!" he shouted to Tionne. He would have to keep Alina safe instead. He vaguely saw Tionne leave as he turned his full attention back to his opponent, a human female with one side of her face marked by an old lightsabre scar that ran from cheek to chin. She was well trained, but not as formidable as Kariss. The blades converged, and then Kyp drove the yellow-orange blade aside, cut up with his lightsabre to cut through his enemy from hip to shoulder, and the Sith Adept vanished in a flash of blue energy.

Kyp threw a glance around. Leia and Kirana Ti were still fighting their rivals, but at that moment, he felt a surge in the Force as one of the Jedi Knights went down. He looked in that direction to see the body collapse to the floor. Alina followed his gaze, and her eyes widened in fright as she saw what happened. Kyp knew that sorrow was a luxury they could not afford right now. "He's one with the Force now," he said gently. "We have to go." It was too dangerous to leave her in the middle of a battle between the Sith and Jedi. He would have to find somewhere safer.

Multiple flickers of pseudomotion marked the reversion from hyperspace of a massive number of capital ships. Star Cruisers, Star Destroyers, Battle Dragons, Ishori War Cruisers, Nebulon-B, Escort, and Assault Class Frigates, Corellian Corvettes, and innumerable other starship classes, emerged from lightspeed along a broad front. A-wings, B-wings, X-wings and Y-wings swarmed around the capital ships, mingling with TIE fighters, Interceptors and Bombers.

"Battle alert!" Admiral Ackbar warned. "Alien ships in sector 12. Starfighter Command, assume a screening position."

"Copy, Admiral," Wedge responded. "All units, this is Rogue Leader. Lock S-foils in attack mode. Engage at will."

As they had expected, the attacks at Nirauan had been feints intended to lure the fleet into a full scale engagement. A distinctive whine marked the opening of his fighter's S-foils, as New Republic fighters raced towards the enemy ships. Dozens of blips began to appear on his displays as scores of alien fighters began launching. Judging by the numbers launching, there were more of them swarming towards them than there had been in the TIE fighter/Interceptor attack at the Battle of Endor, and even without them, they still had to worry about the five starships in the distance, each of them only slightly smaller than a Super Star Destroyer.

Admiral Ackbar and Ardiff were not slow to respond, though. A group of eight Star Cruisers and Star Destroyers each, and several Battle Dragons detached from the main fleet, to escort the Pre-Eminence in an attack against the alien ships. A score of Corellian Corvettes and Gunships gathered around the perimeter of the small force, destroying any fighters that attempted to make strafing runs on the task force.

Meanwhile, an intense battle erupted between the two main fleets. Red, green and yellow laser fire filled space as the New Republic starfighters, with Rogue Squadron in the lead, stabbed through the enemy fighters in the first attack before curving back towards their own fleet. Dazzling salvoes of energy shot back and forth between the two groups of starships which had now closed to firing range. The Star Cruisers and Star Destroyers opened up with tremendous broadsides of turbolaser and ion cannon fire, while the Battle Dragons began launching their silvery pulsemass generating spheres, to ensure that the enemy ships were held in place during the battle.

The volume of fire was breathtaking, but it paled into insignificance next to the firepower the alien capital ships now displayed in answer. Yellow sheets of laser fire pulsed out from turbolaser batteries all along their length, overwhelming the Republic and Imperial ships in a torrent of energy. As formidable a fighting force as they were, they could nevertheless not hope to match the intensity of the attack. Shields collapsed in barely a minute, letting the laser fire tear unchecked into their hulls. Turbolaser shots punched breaches in dozens of places. Two of the Star Cruisers died under the withering assault in four minutes, nearly torn in half from the unremitting bombardment. The Corvettes and Gunships had no chance, being hopelessly overmatched in terms of firepower and shield strength.

Ackbar watched in consternation as the taskforce was torn to shreds by the incredible firepower of the alien capital ships. Even he had underestimated their capabilities. The taskforce should have been a match for at least two Super Star Destroyers, and perhaps even three, in a fight, but judging from what had just happened, it was more like a contest between a tauntaun and wampa. The Pre-Eminence, leaking air from dozens of hull breaches, began turning away from the battle in a headlong retreat. Not many of the starships that had gone with it were left to fall back. He watched as half a dozen of the Corvettes and Gunships pulled away, with only seven of the sixteen Star Cruisers and Star Destroyers among them, all of them severely damaged. Three Battle Dragons brought up the rear of the formation.

The battle was going equally badly for the New Republic starfighters. They had destroyed many of the alien fighters in the first attack, but now the superior speed and firepower of the alien fighters began to tell. This was no mock battle like the one at Nirauan. This time it was a fight to the death. Even Rogue Squadron found themselves pushed to evade the constant attackers. The B-wings, Y-wings and TIE Bomber squadrons fared worst, their lack of speed making them easy targets.

Wedge's X-wing shot through the thick of the battle, scorched areas of paint and plasteel marking near-misses from laser fire. "There's one on you, Two," he warned.

"I've seen him," Tycho responded calmly. "Six?"

"Coming in now," Gavin Darklighter answered. "He's right in my sights..."

An X-wing shot up from below Tycho, dropping in neatly between him and the pursuing fighter. Two dual laser bursts caught the fighter dead centre, burning into the hull, and it began a twisting dive towards a Battle Dragon. A small explosion on the Hapan ship's hull marked the impact point of the fighter.

Another enemy fighter came in behind Wedge, only to disintegrate as he threw the X-wing into a sharp turn towards an Assault Frigate, and a salvo of turbolaser fire blew the fighter into thousands of glowing shards. His X-wing levelled out and came around in a tight arc, only to see yet another of the alien ships hot on the tail of Green Leader. Yellow laser blasts shot past the A-wing as it tried to evade its attackers.

"Stay there, Green Leader," he ordered. "I'm coming in."

"Negative," came the response. "I just lost my starboard engine."

Wedge glanced up to see a shower of sparks and flame spewing from the fighter's engine. "Eject!" he snapped. "That's an order."

"Copy, Rogue Leader," he heard over the comm. "Ejecting now."

At that moment, laser bolts slammed into the back of the A-wing and the ruined engine simultaneously exploded. Green Leader's A-wing became an expanding ball of yellow-white flame.

A white glow marked the point where the lightsabres crashed together as Luke desperately fought to keep Mara at bay. Only when he fought Darth Vader in Cloud City for the first time had he experienced such a challenge. Mara was as experienced and well trained as he was in lightsabre combat, and her use of two blades in true fighting pushed him to the limits of his ability. He backflipped to avoid her charge as the blue lightsabre cut through his defences, and gained a few moment's breathing space. His mind raced, searching for a way to free Mara from Lumiya's control. He was too occupied defending himself to try and remove the band from Mara's forehead, and he knew that under Lumiya's control, she would kill him or be killed, and killing her was the one thing he would not do, even if it cost him his own life.

He backed towards a wall as Mara attacked again, parrying her relentless attacks. A quick sidestep reversed their positions, leaving Mara with her back to the wall, and he drove her purple lightsabre aside. He ducked as the blue blade flicked towards him, and managed to grab her arm. Charging forwards, he used his body to pin her other arm against the wall, leaving her defenceless.

"I don't want to fight you," he said quietly.

The only response was a glare of hate that stabbed through him more sharply than a vibroblade. "She can't hear you, Skywalker," Lumiya said mockingly, watching the battle. "While she is under my control, she will not stop until you have been destroyed.

A Force generated shockwave slammed into Luke, sending him sprawling backwards. He rolled away and to his feet as Mara attacked with even greater energy than before. Calling on the Force for strength, he matched her attack, although he was beginning to tire under the onslaught. He no longer had the energy of youth, and the strain of fighting his own wife was beginning to take its toll. A Force propelled leap sent him over Mara to land behind her, only to be sent sprawling yet again as she whipped around and kicked him in the stomach.

"You are beaten. It is useless to resist..." Vader's words to Luke during the closing stages of their duel in Cloud City flashed through his mind as he saw the blue lightsabre pointing directly at his throat. He cleared his mind of the thoughts. They were ones of despair, and he would not give into them. In a blur of motion, the green blade swung up to knock the lightsabre aside. The purple blade instantly came around towards him, but in the same motion, he leapt up and away from Mara in a backwards somersault.

Bringing her arm back, Mara cocked and hurled her blue lightsabre towards Luke. The blade cut through the air towards him, whirling end over end. He was able to dodge it, but while he was distracted, Mara charged. Before he knew what was happening, she kicked out to knock him off his feet. The impact with the stone floor stunned him for a second, and he dimly felt his lightsabre being kicked free from his grasp. His vision cleared to show Mara standing over him triumphantly with her purple lightsabre held a bare centimetre from his neck, ready to strike a killing blow.

"Stop!" Lumiya ordered. She watched as Mara held her purple lightsabre pointed at Luke's throat, ready to cut him down. The sight of Mara Jade destroying Skywalker was a alluring one, but as much as it tempted her, she had sworn that she would personally destroy Skywalker. She had dreamed of this moment for twenty years, and she now had it in her grasp. Skywalker would die at her hands. He was already weary from fighting Mara Jade, and he was about to discover how lethal she was with the lightwhip.

Leia's lightsabre cut methodically through the air to block the attacks from her opponent. Opposite her, Kirana Ti was wielding Gantoris's old violet-white lightsabre, the blade contrasting vividly with the black lightsabre of her foe. Like the Empire, the Sith seemed to have a bias against non-humans. None of the Sith Adepts present were anything other than human. Unlike the Jedi, who had no such prejudices, there were no records of the Sith ever having had alien followers that Leia was aware of.

The two Sith were equally skilled in the use of the Force as they were in lightsabre combat, and able to split their concentration between the two. Behind them, outside the Temple, stones burst from the ground and shot towards Kirana and Leia, curving around and over their opponents to fly into their faces. Like the gravel Joruus C'baoth had hurled at Luke and Mara in Mount Tantiss, they were too small and numerous to deflect with lightsabres or the Force. Throwing up an arm to protect their eyes, both of them staggered back, blinded and confused by the hail of stones that battered them. Sensing an easy victory, the two Sith closed in, their lightsabres held ready to deliver killing blows.

At that moment, Leia suddenly dropped her arm, ignoring the stones flying into her face, and charged, seeing through the eyes of one of the Jedi Knights who had defeated his enemy. Caught off guard, one of them failed to check her lunge, and died as the lightsabre swept in an arc to slice him in two at the waist. The other attacked, driving her back due to his greater experience in lightsabre duels. Kirana Ti was still being pelted with stones, and even more began striking Leia from behind, as well as the ones coming from the front. The relentless blows drove her lightsabre aside, and the Sith raised his lightsabre to cut her down. As he brought the blade down, his leg suddenly crumpled underneath him, dropping him to the floor, and the killing stroke bit into the stone slabs. Artoo had used the cover of the duel to approach from behind, and zap him with the arc welder.

Recovering quickly, the Sith rolled away and scrambled to his feet, only to come to a stop as Kirana Ti pressed the dual phase switch on her lightsabre to double its length. The glowing blade stabbed right through his chest, a faint mist of blood spraying out in its wake before the blade cauterised the wound. He gave a strangled gasp and then fell forwards as Kirana deactivated the lightsabre.

Kam Solusar and his Sith adversary fought each other in silence, saving their energy for the duel. They were equally matched. Kam was quicker and more agile, but his rival's greater inherent strength and the fact that he was fighting with another double bladed lightsabre offset this advantage. Whenever the blades crossed, the impact threatened to drive the lightsabre from Kam's grip.

The two fought in a small patch of light from a glowlamp overhead. The Sith Adept attacked relentlessly, constantly feinting and lunging, yet Kam could see that the single minded aggression could be his weakness, as with so many others. Pushing his sphere of responsibility out, he retreated, parrying every stroke, into the shadows. The Sith Adept followed him, seeking to wear him down and gain an easy victory. Feinting to his right, Kam instead sidestepped left. His enemy immediately brought the blade around, cutting through the pillar hidden in the shadows at an upward angle. The top half of the pillar immediately fell towards him, and he instinctively stepped back to avoid it. Kam checked, ducking under the rising blade, and went left around the pillar. The other blade had gone down, and it was an easy task to lunge over it and swing the lightsabre in a wide horizontal arc to decapitate his opponent. The body fell back into the shadows, the lightsabre deactivating and falling from its grip as the deadman's button was released.

Kam stood still for a moment, then stooped and picked up the double lightsabre. He had a good idea what to do with it. Taking a glance around, he realised that the battle was almost over. Most of the Sith Adepts had been defeated, although not without a price: eight or nine Jedi Knights lay dead in the hangar. Only one or two duels were still being fought. "I'm going to the throne room," he shouted to Kirana Ti, and headed for the turbolifts.

Lumiya called Mara back to stand beside the throne, and then rose, taking her lightwhip from her belt. Half of the handle retracted to reveal neatly coiled metal strands. She let the coils unfold and pressed the activation button to send bluish-white energy coursing along the whip strands. The strands crackled as she raised the lightwhip.

"Come, Skywalker, she said coldly, walking towards him. "Meet your ultimate destiny: death." With her other hand, she drew the lightsabre from her belt and ignited it. Although she rarely used the lightsabre, much preferring the lightwhip, she could fight expertly with both weapons at once. "My Sith Adepts will destroy your Jedi Knights, Mara Jade will join me of her own free will, and you will die slowly and painfully."

On the last word, she raised the lightwhip above her head and struck, the glowing strands cutting at Luke eerily like Force lightning. Luke swept his lightsabre up to meet it and caught some of the lashes on the blade. The hybrid metal and energy strands coiled around it, and Lumiya pulled with the lightwhip, forcing the lightsabre away from Luke's body to leave him vulnerable. More lashes sliced at his face, arms and chest, raising red welts where they struck. Two strands carved into his cheek, instantly drawing blood.

Lumiya lowered the lightwhip and stepped back, savouring Skywalker's pain and fear. She could easily have disarmed him in this first attack, but she wanted to let him fight ever more desperately until he could no longer do so.

"Fight, Skywalker," she goaded, beckoning him forwards, but he merely stared back at her, waiting for her to attack first. With a sneer, she extended a hand towards Mara, who instantly gasped for breath and sank to her knees as her throat constricted.

Luke stared at Lumiya for a moment longer, his face hardening in anger and hate, then raised his lightsabre and came forwards. Lumiya again raised the lightwhip up and swept it at him. As she did so, Luke leapt up and forwards, somersaulting over Lumiya. With cyborg speed, she swung around and blocked his lunge with her orange lightsabre. Luke sidestepped and made another lunge with blinding speed, only to duck as the lightwhip cut through the air towards him.

Both of them took a step back, evaluating the other. "Good," Lumiya said, noting the expression of rage on Luke's face. "Learn the power of the dark side before you die in pitiful failure."

Luke smiled coldly, and attacked with savage determination. The green blade clashed against the orange one, drove it aside with skill born of years of practice, and cut towards Lumiya. The cyborg stepped back quickly, disconcerted by the speed and skill of his attack, sweeping the lightwhip in front of her to block any further attack. She studied Luke, momentarily regretting that he was not a dark side adept. He would have been a powerful servant. Still, Alina Skywalker would combine the strength of her parents in the Force. Once Kariss brought her to Lumiya, she would be trained to realise her true potential. It would be a final act of revenge on Skywalker, to twist his daughter to the dark side.

Luke attacked again even as she was thinking, the lightsabre cutting through the air towards her, point first. The lightwhip immediately came around to meet it, and again coiled around the blade. Luke reacted immediately, pulling the lightsabre towards him. Taken by surprise, Lumiya stumbled forwards.

She straightened slowly, a mixture of rage and humiliation burning inside her. Skywalker would regret that. Putting everything out of her mind, she attacked, calling on the dark side to increase the power of her attacks. The lightwhip struck again and again, yet each time Skywalker managed to avoid the blows and counterattack.

All thought of making Skywalker suffer slowly before he died left Lumiya's mind. She resolved to finish him now. She swept the lightwhip up to catch and ensnare the lightsabre, but even as the strands coiled around the weapon, the green blade vanished as Luke deactivated it. Charging at her, he reactivated the blade, forcing her to counter with her own lightsabre. At such close quarters, the lightwhip was as dangerous to her as to Luke. The green blade battered against the orange one in a series of vicious blows, forcing Lumiya back and beating her lightsabre down. Amazed and alarmed by his speed and aggression, she spun and parried his lunge. It only seemed to fuel the intensity of his attack. A rain of savage overarm strokes ensued, breaking down her defences. The orange blade was driven aside, and taking full advantage of the opening, Luke pivoted on one foot and kicked up towards Lumiya's stomach, calling on the Force as he did so to amplify the kick. An almost comical expression of amazement spread across Lumiya's face as she fell backwards.

And as she collapsed, she felt her control on Mara's mind snap.

It was what Luke had been hoping to achieve. Spinning around, he charged towards Mara. Behind him, he sensed Lumiya's rage and fear as she realised how he had tricked her. He felt her scramble up and throw her lightsabre at him in an act of desperation, but the weapon went wide, spinning past him into a wall. A sudden Force blow sent him sprawling, but he still had his lightsabre. Locking the weapon on, he hurled it at Mara, using the Force to guide it to it's target.

He heard a cry of fury from Lumiya as the lightsabre, under painstaking control, slashed through the device on Mara's forehead. A millimetre off, and it would have cut into Mara's skull. The blinking red lights died amid a shower of sparks, and the two useless pieces clattered to the floor.

Lumiya gestured and Luke was hurled against a wall, the impact stunning him. The damage was done, though. Mara blinked and straightened up, taking in her surroundings, then snatched her lightsabres from her belt. Purple and blue blades sprang to life as she ignited them. She gave Lumiya a cold smile. "I'm really starting to dislike you," she said.

Kyp Durron entered the throne room of the Great Temple, followed by Alina Skywalker, and stopped as he saw the figure standing at the top of the ceremonial platform.

With a snap-hiss, Kariss ignited his both blades of his double ended lightsabre. "So, the Jedi Master has come as I have foreseen, to be destroyed." His cloak swirled around him as he started down the steps towards them.

Kyp pushed Alina gently back behind him, then drew and ignited his own lightsabre, a hum filling the air as the violet-white beam appeared, and came forwards to meet him.

The two stopped a few yards from each other, staring at each other. With a slow and deliberate motion, Kariss reached up to push the hood of his cloak back, and then undid the throat clasp, letting the cloak fall to the ground behind him. Raising his lightsabre, he slowly brought one blade towards Kyp, who moved his own lightsabre to meet it. The two blades rested against each other for a moment in an almost ceremonial gesture before Kariss pivoted on one foot in a blinding motion, commencing the duel by bringing the other blade round towards Kyp.

The space battle was fast becoming a disaster, as the alien ships moved forwards to engage the combined New Republic/Imperial fleet. Their advanced weapons tore a hole in the centre of the fleet battle formation. From the bridge of Galactic Defender, Admiral Ackbar stared out at the battle, watching as the line of battle began to crumble under the onslaught. "Do you have any suggestions, Colonel?" he enquired, turning towards Avola.

"Only the obvious one, Admiral," Avola observed grimly. "A full retreat."

Ackbar nodded. It was a conclusion he had already reached. "Bring Galactic Defender around to provide cover for the fleet."

"I recommend that Renown also moves to cover the retreat, Admiral," Colonel Avola advised.

"Signal Renown to move to support us as well," Ackbar ordered an aide.

The manoeuvring of the fleet into a retreat position was clearly visible from the midst of the starfighter battle. Galactic Defender swung around to come broadside to the approaching alien starships, while Renown moved to provide additional firepower. The other ships in the fleet began moving past them in preparation to make a jump to hyperspace, while Galactic Defender and Renown opened fire on the alien ships with massive broadsides. Red and yellow barrages of turbolaser fire slammed into each ship's shields, shrinking the energy spheres and opening gaps in them through which more turbolaser fire punched through to tear breaches in the hull armour and blast away turbolaser, ion cannon, and torpedo clusters.

Starfighters swarmed around Galactic Defender like womprats around a dead dewback. Wedge and Gavin Darklighter pulled in behind an alien fighter which was itself in close pursuit of Ooryl Qrygg's X-wing. "Break now, Ten," Wedge ordered as the fighter spat a continuous stream of laser fire at its prey.

Even as Ooryl's fighter broke to the left, another enemy fighter swept in, laser fire riddling the aft of the X-wing, blowing the S-foils, astromech, and engines into tiny pieces of space dust. A second later, the X-wing's canopy blew off as Ooryl ejected from the dying snubfighter.

Gavin caught one of the fighters with a quad blast from his wing lasers, and a deafening Wookiee battle roar erupted from the comm as the Falcon shot past overhead, quad lasers blazing to rip the second fighter into two parts, both of which went spinning off through space.

Wedge saw Tycho join Gavin in dropping into formation either side of the Falcon and head towards a trio of alien fighters, before a warning whistle from Gate alerted him to an alien fighter which dropped in behind him and opened up with twin streams of yellow laser fire. Wedge immediately snap-rolled his fighter from side to side to avoid the shots, but the fighter anticipated his manoeuvre. The laser blasts burned through his shields and blew away a metre of his starboard S-foil. The small starfighter instantly went into a wild spin. Wedge fought frantically to regain control, ignoring the frantic electronic screaming from Gate. As he began to regain control of the fighter and reduce the spin, another fighter appeared ahead of him, it's laser cannons blazing. Shots flicked by his canopy on both sides, the targeting thrown off by the still gyrating X-wing. The shots began getting closer, though, and Gate's screams suddenly died as he caught a glancing hit from a laser bolt.

Then more laser bolts streamed past the X-wing, this time from behind, and the alien fighter erupted in a brilliant explosion. His concentration on regaining control, Wedge caught a fleeting glimpse of the distinctive hexagonal solar panels of a TIE fighter flash past his canopy.

A few seconds later, he had the X-wing back under control. "Nine, give me cover back to Galactic Defender," he ordered. He couldn't stay in a battle situation with no astromech and half his S-foils blown away.

"Copy, Lead," Corran answered, his fighter appearing off Wedge's portside.

"Thanks, Nine," Wedge said, taking a breath. That had been too close. "By the way, since when did TIE fighters fire blue laser bolts?"

"They don't, Lead," came the answer. "That wasn't a TIE you saw."

Wedge frowned. "Nine, we already have Janson as the resident comedian in the squadron. We don't need another. In my datapad, if it has hexagonal solar panels, it's a TIE fighter."

"Take a look behind you," Corran simply said. "We've got an escort."

Puzzled, Wedge twisted in his cockpit to see the starfighter hanging aft of his starboard side. With a clear view, he recognized it this time. Three times as large as his X-wing, it was a strange looking alien starfighter, with only four TIE fighter solar panels providing a familiar profile. "Sithspit! That's the same class of ship that Luke and Mara came back from Nirauan in!"

"That's not all, Lead," Corran pointed out. "Take a look past those alien ships. Looks like we've got some new allies."

Wedge threw a glance beyond the alien capital ships, and went rigid. There in the distance, six other starships had appeared. If the Chiss starfighters resembled TIE fighters, these had an even more familiar outline. He would have recognised the characteristic wedge shape of Star Destroyers anywhere. Yet they had clearly been significantly remodelled from the standard blocky outline of a Star Destroyer. The hulls looked like they had been cut in two to allow a square central section to be inserted, making them about a third longer than normal ISDs. Strange black bulges and protuberances covered the hulls and command superstructures, giving them an appearance similar to the main portion of a Nebulon-B frigate, and breaking up the monotonous dull grey-white hulls.

Dazzling salvoes of brilliant blue turbolaser fire erupted as they moved to assist Galactic Defender and Renown. The alien starships, already battered from the exchanges of laser fire, proved unable to match the bombardment from two sides. Galactic Defender and two of the modified Chiss Star Destroyers swamped two of the alien starships with turbolaser fire, while Renown and the other Chiss ships targeted the remaining three.

The newly arrived Chiss starfighters cut a swathe through the alien fighters, and for the first time, it seemed that the New Republic/Imperial fleet might win the battle.

Mara advanced with her lightsabres held ready in an offensive/defensive position, but Lumiya merely held her ground, neither attacking or retreating. "Don't make me fight you," she warned. "Realise your true destiny and return to the dark side."

Mara grimaced."I think you've literally got your circuits crossed, Lumiya. I was never part of the dark side. Anyway, why do you need me? You already said you have plenty of Sith Adepts, or was that just a typical Sith lie? Palpatine certainly lied to me enough."

Lumiya smiled. "We are both opposites, Mara Jade. We were both trained to use the Force, and you turned to the light, I to the dark. Remember, you revelled in your power under Palpatine. I give you the chance to regain that power. Kill Skywalker, who destroyed both our lives, and truly fulfill the Emperor's Last Command. We can rule the galaxy together."

"Is this all you Sith Lords ever think about?" Mara asked wearily. "Ruling the galaxy? I thought you'd have learned better by now. Palpatine tried that, and look what happened to him."

Lumiya regarded her gravely. "You do not understand still, Mara Jade. I give you the chance to join me, and I will show you why. You seek to know who betrayed your parents? I will tell you."

Mara merely raised an eyebrow. "Go on then."

"I betrayed them," Lumiya said triumphantly.

Mara sighed. "I didn't think you'd tell the truth. Is that really your best shot at trying to turn me?"

"No, it is not," Lumiya answered. "You need more? I will give you more." She began taking off her mask, and Mara grimaced as Lumiya's terrible burns were revealed. Lumiya shook her long reddish-brown hair back to fall around her shoulders. "I told Skywalker once that I had a sister, taken by the Empire. I lied about everything else, but not that. Han Solo discovered part of the truth when he stole the file on me from Ord Mantell. Like you, I was trained in the Force, except that I was trained by Darth Vader. We were the personal servants of Vader and Palpatine, selected to carry out their commands. Unlike you, however, I knew the truth about my past. I knew who my parents were, how I came into the Empire's service, and the fate of my sister. I watched as she grew stronger in the Force and the Emperor's estimation."

She extended her hand towards Mara. "You are my sister."

Mara stared at her incredulously for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed. "You're insane."

Lumiya's voice stayed calm. "Search your feelings, Mara. You know it is true. You can see the resemblances between us. Even Skywalker knew there was a link between us, although he was too narrowminded to realise the truth. Before I became Lumiya, I was known as Shira Brie. That was merely a pseudonym for my real name. I was once Shara Jade, your sister. We both have great power in the Force, a legacy of our parents. Do not waste yourself on the light side, or with Skywalker."

"Tell me why I have no recollection of you then, if you are my sister," Mara challenged.

Lumiya smiled. "Very well. I was taken to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant a year after I was born, to be trained as a Jedi, as customary for those strong in the Force. By the time you were born, I was five years old. You would have been sent to be trained as well, except that by that time the Jedi purges had begun. Our parents went into hiding with you, while I was taken into hiding as well by one of the Jedi Knights. Most of the other Padawan students at the Temple were also hidden as well for protection, not that it helped them in the long run. The Jedi who concealed me managed to stay hidden for five years, but in the end Vader found and destroyed him. He was struck by my strength in the Force and spared me in return for giving him our parents. I knew where they were since they and my Jedi protector communicated with each other as often as they felt safe. When Vader and Palpatine destroyed our parents, Vader suggested that we might make useful Force-sensitive agents. Palpatine was interested enough in the idea to agree. He took you as his own agent and gave me to Vader, and we know the rest."

She held out a hand. "Join me, my sister."

Mara turned to look at Luke, and then back to Lumiya. Without her mask, the facial similarities between her and Lumiya were plain enough evidence of the truth, even despite the disfiguring scars that covered her face. She nodded slowly and deactivated her lightsabres, then stepped towards Lumiya.

Lumiya smiled triumphantly. "Good. Accept your true destiny with the dark side, Mara Jade."

Mara looked straight at her. "You don't understand, do you? I'm only going to say this once. I'll never join the dark side. Once I give my loyalty, it's for keeps. I've given my loyalty to my husband, Luke Skywalker, your enemy; the New Republic; and the light side. Unfortunately, you don't inspire much loyalty, sister. You betrayed our parents, killed Callista, tried to kill Luke, and would have taken our daughter. I am a Jedi Master and I will not turn."

She gazed at Lumiya. "You could have been a Master as well. Instead you chose the dark side."

A mixture of expressions flicked across Lumiya's face before it settled into scorn. "You think I had a choice? Even if Vader had not found me, I would not have been trained. The fools on the Jedi Council rejected me for Jedi training." Her face hardened. "The key to the Force, control is," she mimicked, her voice rising in rage. "No control have you. Quick your anger is to flow. Rule you it does. The way to the dark side, it is. Trained you will not be."

"I can see why the Council refused to train you," Mara observed. "You still can't control your anger."

Lumiya ignored her. "All their control couldn't save them from being destroyed," she said contemptuously. "They and the Jedi Order were destroyed. They were failures. Palpatine was stronger than all of them. He was not blinded by weakness or sentiment. After Skywalker destroyed my life, Vader trained me as a full Sith Lord. It gave me the opportunity to take revenge on him. Now I finally have that revenge."

Mara stared at her with loathing, unable to suppress her feelings despite knowing that such emotions led to the dark side. "Is that all this was about?" she demanded. "Petty revenge on Luke? You even sacrificed our parents simply to gain power in the Force. You're lower than the pond life on Nal Hutta. By the way, Yoda and Kenobi survived. Luke's reestablished the Jedi. Palpatine died at the hands of his own apprentice. Is that what you call failure?"

Lumiya shook her head. "An aberration. My Sith Adepts will destroy Skywalker's Jedi." She raised the lightwhip. "You will regret your decision not to join me. Do not delude yourself into believing that I hold any compassion for you."

"No danger of that," Mara shot back. "You certainly didn't have any for our parents."

For a quarter of a second, Lumiya flushed. "They had their chance," she said dismissively. "They chose to throw it away. As you have."

"So you're going to kill me then," Mara said.

Lumiya smiled, an expression which came nowhere near her eyes. "No, I have a better idea. Skywalker condemned me to live as a cyborg, in physical and mental torture. Now I have a chance to break free from this existence."

She met Mara's eyes. "You will make a fine host body."

She smiled again, and the lightwhip seared through the air towards Mara.

A brilliant flash of light and a massive shockwave that rocked even Galactic Defender marked the death of one of its two target alien starships as it exploded under the onslaught. Laser fire continued cutting through the expanding fireball for a few moments before it began to track towards the other starship. Renown and the other Chiss capital ships had also succeeded in destroying one of their opponent ships, and the other two were beginning to retreat. A few moments later, the one still being fired on by Galactic Defender also ceased fire and began to fall back. Throughout the starfighter battle, the alien fighters began to break off as well. One of the capital ships had fallen behind, and the Chiss starships closed in around it, systematically tearing it to pieces until their laser fire was consistently passing through massive breaches in the hull. Weakened by the bombardment, the hulk began to break apart. Small pieces of debris tore away, slowly at first, but quickly increasing in size and rapidity. By now in headlong retreat, the alien starfighters found themselves under intense turbolaser fire from Galactic Defender. A score were blown apart and many others took critical damage before they got clear. The two remaining alien starships, themselves severely damaged, waited only long enough to pick up the surviving fighters before jumping to hyperspace, leaving an exhausted, damaged, but victorious allied fleet behind.

The unmistakable clash and hum of lightsabre combat filled the throne room of the Great Temple as Kyp and Kariss fought each other in a duel to the death. They battled their way down the length of the throne room towards the steps leading up to the raised platform at the far end. A wild joy shone in Kariss's face as he parried and lunged with his lightsabre, both he and Kyp displaying their agility and mastery of the Force in their ducks, rolls, leaps, spins, and somersaults around each other. He had never faced anyone who was a match for him, and he used it to demonstrate his control of the double bladed lightsabre in an almost hypnotic chain of moves. The weapon swung from side to side trying to pass Kyp's guard, switched constantly from horizontal to vertical, revolved in Kariss' grasp, and came at Kyp from all angles. He parried each swing and lunge, yet Kariss began to detect his increasing effort in blocking the two blades, having to constantly evade one while he blocked the other. Taking advantage of a momentary slip of concentration on Kyp's part, Kariss pivoted and kicked out, sending him reeling backwards. Kyp backflipped away and came at Kariss in a fresh attack, striking so precisely and expertly that he forced the Sith Lord back, forcing him towards the steps. Spinning away, Kariss took a few strides forwards and leapt up the steps, landing on the platform. Holding his lightsabre in a horizontal position in front of him with one hand, he beckoned to Kyp with the other.

He did not have long to wait. Kyp somersaulted up to land in front of him, the blades crashing against each other as he struck at Kariss. The lightning-fast answering blow drove his lightsabre aside, and the hilt of the double bladed lightsabre slammed into his face at the same moment that Kariss used a Force push, both of which combined to send him rolling back down the steps, landing at the bottom with a thud. Kariss leapt down the steps to continue the duel, but Kyp had already rolled away and regained his feet, backing away from Kariss and beginning to climb the steps. Kariss followed him up the steps, his eyes boring into Kyp's. Both of them struck at the same moment, the lightsabres buzzing as they pushed against each other. The blades disengaged as Kariss attacked with a sequence of lunges that pushed Kyp back up the steps.

Between the swift onslaught and trying to keep his footing, Kyp was at a disadvantage. A few more blows drove his lightsabre aside, and then knocked it from his grasp. Kariss gestured to send it clattering across the throne room as Kyp ducked to avoid a decapitating blow, and jumped down the stairs. Kariss followed him, the lightsabre swinging from side to side to keep Kyp occupied and thus unable to call his lightsabre back to him.

Kyp dodged all the lunges Kariss made, but he was steadily forced back into a corner of the throne room, where he would be helpless. Kariss shifted his lightsabre to a horizontal position as he advanced, sweeping it in savage side to side arcs, sensing victory and determined not to let the Jedi escape. Finally, Kyp came to a halt as he felt his back touch stone. Kariss smiled, seeing his triumph, and lunged with the lightsabre-

Only to be sent staggering back a dozen paces by a Force wall that slammed into him like a charging bantha. Astounded, both he and Kyp turned to see Alina Skywalker, whom they had forgotten about, standing a short distance away with her hand extended towards Kariss. A chilling look of rage spread over Kariss's face. Using the Force to pin Kyp against the wall, he advanced on Alina. First he would deal with her and then finish the Jedi Master.

At that moment, Kam Solusar charged into the throne room, taking in the situation at a glance. Taken by surprise, Kariss released his Force hold on Kyp. "Here!" Kam shouted, tossing the double bladed lightsabre that he held towards Kyp. The weapon spun through the air, its arc of descent changing as Kyp used the Force to call it to him. In a second, he had both blades ignited and the lightsabre held ready in front of him.

Kariss watched calmly but intently as he saw the twin black blades appear. It would be interesting to see how the Jedi Master handled an unfamiliar weapon. Kyp proceeded to give a few experimental strokes with the lightsabre, gaining a feel for the differences between it and an ordinary lightsabre, and adjusting his grip and fighting style accordingly, and then stepped forwards to meet Kariss. The blades met with a powerful impact, and Kyp brought the lower blade around to counter Kariss's probing strike.

The two of them battled their way back across the throne room towards the platform again, the dual red and black blades crashing into each other. For Kyp, it was a method of combat he had never experienced, being more like fighting with staffs than lightsabres, but he soon gained a feel for how to use the weapon, learning to use both blades to parry Kariss's own lightsabre. He could understand why it was a weapon exclusive to the Sith. It was designed to be used primarily in offense rather than defence.

Kyp and Kariss came to a halt at the foot of the stairs, pivoting and circling around each other as they fought. Neither of them was able to gain an advantage. Kariss countered one of Kyp's lunges and sidestepped so that he was facing the doors into the throne room. A sudden movement caught his eye as Tionne entered the throne room, and a look of anticipation spread over his face. Wheeling away from Kyp, he gestured and Kyp's lightsabre leapt from where it had fallen, turning and arrowing towards her at an amazing speed, the blade igniting on the way.

Tionne was taken by surprise by the sudden attack, but managed to twist out of the way of the lightsabre enough to avoid a killing wound. She was not able to evade the blade entirely, though, and the violet-white blade stabbed right through her shoulder.

"No!" Kyp shouted and struck at Kariss in a series of lightning-fast blows, who retreated before him, unable to match the ferocity of Kyp's attack. The lightsabres flashed as Kyp drove Kariss back with strokes that came too fast for him to attack. Kariss's defences weakened under the onslaught as Kyp came on relentlessly. With one last forceful blow, he drove the lightsabre from Kariss's grip and sent him reeling back a couple of feet.

Kariss sank to his knees. "Go on," he incited, his gaze settling on Tionne. "Kill me. Take your revenge and destroy me."

Kyp stood over him, breathing hard. His fingers flexed on the hilt of his lightsabre, tempted to draw it back and cut Kariss down. Almost of it's own accord, his arm came back, and he tensed to strike.

It was then that he saw Alina Skywalker standing gazing at him. Instantly the anger faded, leaving only a calm tranquillity in its wake. "No," he said. "That is not the way of the Jedi." Stooping, he picked up Kariss's lightsabre and tossed it in front of him.

Kariss stared at the lightsabre for a moment, and then took it. Rising to his feet in one smooth motion, he ignited both blades and charged. Kyp was ready for him. He felt the Force flowing through him as Kariss attacked. His own lightsabre swung, driving aside the blade aimed at his chest. Bringing the other end of his lightsabre forward and up, he sliced cleanly through the hilt of Kariss's lightsabre. The upward stroke continued, stabbing into Kariss's stomach, and slicing up through his torso. Without a sound, Kariss fell backwards, dead before he hit the stone steps behind him.< p class="br">Kyp stared at the bisected corpse for a moment, and then turned away, tossing the double bladed lightsabre aside. An overwhelming sense of calm descended over him. Kariss was dead and the Sith attack defeated. He hurried over to where Kam Solusar was putting Tionne into a healing trance. "Will she be alright?" he asked anxiously.

Kam glanced up at him briefly and nodded, intent on what he was doing.

Kyp took a step back, watching as Tionne drifted into the healing trance. His thoughts turned to Luke and Mara. He hoped they were managing as well.

Through a thick grey cloud smothering his brain, Luke dimly heard Lumiya reveal that she was Mara's sister, and the fog suddenly seemed to vanish in amazement. He struggled to his feet and stared at Lumiya. As Mara had already noted, the facial similarities between the two of them were enough to dispel any doubt. The expressions appearing on her face were almost identical to Mara's own, and he could now even detect resemblances in their voices. He wondered how he could have missed something that seemed so obvious in retrospect. He grimaced as he realised that he should have paid more attention to his instinct that there was a link between Mara and Lumiya.

The feigned anger he had used to fool Lumiya and break her hold on Mara had certainly worked, although it had disturbed him. While he had been fighting her, the anger, though simulated, had been alarmingly seductive, tempting him to genuinely give into hate. It was a sharp reminder of how easily the dark side could gain control of even a Jedi Master.

He let go of the thought as he saw Lumiya raise the lightwhip and slash it at Mara. Stretching out a hand, he called his lightsabre to him, the green blade activating as it leapt to his hand. Raising the lightsabre, he charged.

Sensing his approach, Lumiya swung around, the lightwhip sweeping away from Mara and towards him. She watched as Luke evaded the energy lashes and Mara took a step back. She hesitated, unsure whether to kill Skywalker first or incapacitate Mara Jade in preparation for carrying out the ritual of Life Transfer, where she would abandon her crippled cyborg body to take Mara Jade's. Such an act was one of gravely dubious morality if it was to something insentient, like a droid or computer. If used to take the body of another, then it went against everything the light side stood for. Almost without exception, it doomed the person transferring their life force to become servants of the dark side, cut off from the light side. Such a fate did not concern Lumiya, who was already a servant of the dark side, but she knew that Skywalker's former love Callista had transferred her life force into the body of Cray Mingla. Since it was an act of love on Callista's part, and a willing one of Cray's, it had not doomed her to the dark side, but it had left her gravely vulnerable to it's temptations.

Lumiya paused, then decided it did not particularly matter whether she killed Skywalker or weakened Jade first. Lunging forward, she brought her orange lightsabre to meet Luke's, while striking at Mara with the lightwhip. The glowing strands hissed and cracked like Kabrikian fire serpents, throwing off sparks of energy as they wrapped around Mara's lightsabres, and slashed bleeding weals and cuts in her face.

Bringing her lightwhip back for another attack, Lumiya stopped as Luke stopped as if listening for a moment. "You've lost, Lumiya," he said quietly. "Your Adepts failed. They're all dead, even Kariss. You can still end this now. Do you truly think taking revenge will change anything?"

Lumiya stared at him for a moment, then narrowed her eyes in concentration as she reached out with the Force. Mara, watching Lumiya warily, saw it all: the expression of shock, which became one of anger, and then finally indifference.

"It makes no difference," Lumiya said coolly. "Kariss was a fool if he fought the Jedi Master rather than fulfill his mission. As for the others, they were expendable. They may have failed, but I have not. You were right, we will end this now, with your death. It does not matter if that changes anything. I have nothing left but revenge. You destroyed my life and everything I had, Skywalker."

"No, you destroyed yourself," Mara said bluntly. "You threw away everything you had - family, friends, loyalty, morality, compassion - just to gain some measure of power and stature from Palpatine. You lived a lie, and I should know. As for Luke, he shot your X-wing down solely in self defence when you intended to betray him to the Imperials."

Lumiya's face twisted in rage, mainly because she could not deny the truth in Mara's words. Pausing only to deactivate her lightsabre and clip it to her belt, she raised the lightwhip again, bringing it back over her head, and slashed it at Mara, cutting her face and arms again.

"Stop!" Luke shouted, stepping between them and using his lightsabre to deflect the whip strands.

Lumiya laughed. Raising a hand, she sent a burst of Force Lightning at Luke and Mara, while simultaneously striking again with the lightwhip. Luke brought his lightsabre up to deflect the Force Lightning, but it was too powerful for him to catch all the bolts. The lightwhip sliced at him, cutting into his chest and forehead. The double attack sent him staggering backwards, vaguely catching sight of Lumiya's smile of triumph.

Drawing upon all her anger and hate for Skywalker, she raised her hand again, preparing an even more powerful blast of Force Lightning. Pointing her hand at Luke like a dagger, she sent a storm of blue-white energy at him. She had forgotten Mara, though. Even as she released the Force Lightning, a large object smashed through the wall beside the doors, hurtling across the room into the path of the dark side energy. Under the impact, the Sith Gatekeeper statue shattered into tiny pieces of stone, but the bolts of energy went wild, radiating in all directions, with some hammering into the ceiling and sending gravel sized bits of stone pouring down between the three of them.

Lumiya backed away a few steps, her eyes flicking between Luke and Mara as she realised that together they were a match for her. The lightwhip came up, striking at Luke. Kariss and her Sith Adepts had been destroyed, and she might be defeated, but she would take Skywalker down if she could. The glowing energy lashes swept down, once more wrapping themselves around the lightsabre blade, and she braced herself for the possibility of Skywalker trying to pull her off balance again. He did neither. He spun the blade in a circle, twisting more of the whip strands around it. In the same moment, Mara threw her blue lightsabre to him and he caught it, using it to catch still more of the lashes on the blade. Then he charged, forcing Lumiya to deactivate the lightwhip to avoid being struck by the strands herself. In the confusion, Mara stepped forwards to hold her purple lightsabre across Lumiya's throat, knowing that even weaponless, Lumiya was still lethal. Taking one hand off her lightsabre, she reached down to take the lightwhip and lightsabre, and tossed them into a corner of the room. Luke stepped back, lowering both of the lightsabres he held.

As he did so, Lumiya saw an opportunity. Unleashing the power of the dark side, she slammed Mara Jade back several steps with a wall of Force energy. Stepping towards Skywalker, she unleashed a fresh burst of Force lightning with one hand and extended the other to call her lightsabre back to her. As she caught it and raised the blade to cut Skywalker down, Mara's purple lightsabre sliced through her arm just below the elbow.

A Force amplified scream tore through the room as Lumiya's forearm fell to the floor, the lightsabre deactivating and rolling away with a clatter. The impact of the shriek sent Luke and Mara reeling backwards, and then silence fell.

Lumiya sank to her knees in shock, agony surging through her from her severed forearm. The sense of failure was even more painful, though. She had even failed to beat Skywalker and was now in too much pain to fight. The lightwhip lay behind Luke and Mara, and there was no way she could call it back to her in time to avoid a killing blow.

Luke grimaced as he watched her, remembering the agony he had felt when Vader had cut off his hand in Cloud City, and how he had later cut Vader's own hand off in retaliation in the Death Star throne room. He stepped forwards, thinking to ease the pain of her wound.

Lumiya smiled disdainfully and an idea came to her as she watched Skywalker approach, lessening her sense of failure somewhat. There was still a chance she could kill him. He good arm shot out, and the orange lightsabre soared across the room into her hand, igniting as she caught it. Luke leaped back out of range, levelling his own lightsabre, but Lumiya was planning something else. She saw Mara come forwards, her lightsabres held in a guard position, and smiled again. Perhaps she could kill both of them. She spun the lightsabre and aimed it -

Luke saw what she was going to do. "No!" he shouted desperately -

And Lumiya drove the orange blade clean through her chest, her eyes fixed on Luke's in one last look of eternal hate as she did so. Then a tremendous ball of blue fire erupted from her. Luke threw himself to the floor even as he saw Lumiya explode in a surge of dark side energy. Mara had been closer, and he exerted all his strength to pull her away, trying to create a shield between them and the explosion. The blue fire washed over them for only a few seconds before fading, but the pain Luke felt made it seem like hours. He lay still for a couple of minutes, only semi-conscious.

Finally, he pulled himself upright, wincing at the effort and pain it caused. His Jedi tunic had been half burned away by the dark side energy, and he had been severely burnt. Still greater damage had been done to the throne room. The walls had been scorched and blackened, and the floor had been blasted away where Lumiya had been. The glowpanels in the room had all been destroyed, and he now knelt in near darkness.

"Mara?" he called, but there was no answer. He squinted round the room, trying to see her, and finally spotted her against one wall, where she had been thrown by the explosion. He staggered to his feet, ignoring the pain of his burns, and hobbled over to her. Dropping to his knees beside her, he lifted her head. Her eyes were closed, and he could see that she was burnt even worse than he had been, as she had been nearer to Lumiya. He shook her, but her eyes remained closed. A second later, he became aware of a sticky wetness on his hands. He looked at one, to find it covered in blood. He lifted Mara's head to see a wound dripping blood on the back of her head. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, he realised that more blood was dripping down the wall, clearly where her head had struck it.

"No," he whispered. Her face was a pallid white colour in the dimness. To have come this far and then lose her now...

And then her eyes opened slowly. An indescribable sense of relief swept over Luke as he pulled her into his arms. They sat there in the semi-darkness for a few minutes, holding each other. Finally Mara pushed Luke away and slowly got to her feet. She gave Luke a glare of mock-exasperation. "Really, Skywalker, you should know that head wounds always bleed badly," she said, carefully exploring the back of her head with one hand. "Sithspit! My head feels like a herd of rontos are trying to get out."

Luke smiled wearily. "Trust you to make me worry," he said. "I think you're going to have to be very nice to me to make for all this."

The floor came up and hit him painfully hard in the side of the head. A second later, he realised that he had actually hit the floor like a ton of ferrocrete, which he decided upon reflection was directly attributable to the eye watering right hook Mara had just given him. She glared down at him. "That's not funny," she snarled. "You're lucky I wasn't holding one of my lightsabres."

"Well, at least you're back," Luke said, somehow managing to stand up again and slipping his arms around her waist. "I missed you: you know, the abuse, bad temper, and general philosophy of 'make Skywalker suffer'."

"Shut up, farmboy," Mara growled, unable to hide a smile nevertheless. She turned away to look at the blackened area where Lumiya had been.

"Do you think she could have been saved?" Luke asked quietly, sensing an uncharacteristic mood of sombreness descend over her.

Mara shook her head. "No, I don't. I thought I might have been able to at first, though. You managed to save Vader."

"Vader wanted to be saved," Luke pointed out. "He had some motivation to turn away from the dark side. Lumiya had no such reason. She had no feelings for you or her parents. Remember what you told me: you can't protect everyone from themselves."

"I know that," Mara bit out, irritated that Luke should have to remind her to heed her own advice to him. "It's not just that."

Luke nodded, automatically knowing what she was thinking. Despite everything she had done, Lumiya had been an example of how Mara's hate for Luke after Endor and before Wayland could have warped her to the point where only revenge mattered to her. She herself had come close to crossing that line, nearly breaking her loyalty to Karrde in order to sell Luke to the Empire when they had held him captive on Myrkr. Vader had taught Lumiya all too well in the dark side. She had been almost as evil as Palpatine, feeling no loyalty or compassion for anyone, even to her parents or sister.

Mara knew from her vision that her parents had taught her the value of loyalty and morality well enough for her to resist being twisted to the dark side by Palpatine. She wondered briefly why Lumiya, who had presumably been taught those same principles, would so utterly reject them. Perhaps it was just the will of the Force. It was probably the best and only explanation she would have, now that Lumiya was gone.

She gave Luke a sideways look. "Do I owe you an apology for trying to kill you?"

"You've tried to kill me often enough, seriously or otherwise. Why start apologising now?" Luke observed lightly.

Mara raised her eyebrows. "Not a bad answer, but I always think actions speak louder than words."

Luke nodded, catching her drift. Taking her hands, he pulled her towards him and gave her a lingering kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked when they broke apart.

Mara pretended to consider it at length. "It'll do," she said mock grudgingly. "Come on, let's go home."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day," Luke said dryly. "You know, between my father and your sister, we certainly have interesting families."

The two of them limped down the stairs and through the castle, leaning on each other for support. They both had severe lacerations from the lightwhip, as well as serious burns, not to mention Mara thinking that she had concussion from being thrown into the wall when Lumiya exploded. Both of them looked and felt like rancor chewtoys.

"I think we're going to need some serious time in healing trances," Mara observed as they left the castle and crossed to the Skywalker Spirit.

"I'm not going to argue with that," Luke said. "Straight to Yavin, I think. We'll just set the coordinates and send a message to Leia."

He turned to take a last look at Lumiya's castle. "Something bothering you?" Mara queried, sensing his uncertainty.

Luke shrugged. "I'm just thinking she might have pulled the same trick as Exar Kun by anchoring her spirit to the castle. He managed to survive because the Jedi bombarded Yavin from orbit and assumed that it had destroyed him."

Mara hissed between her teeth. "Sloppy. Very sloppy," she said scathingly. "We won't make the same mistake."

Luke nodded. "I think Lumiya's gone, but best to take no chances. Kun managed to hide his presence from me and the others when I set up the academy. She might have been able to do the same."

Mara gazed at the castle. "It's a big place. You sure the Spirit can handle it?"

Luke laughed. "Corran melted Kun's temple down with only an X-wing. I think the Spirit can cope with Lumiya's castle."

A short time later, a few more turbolaser bursts and the Skywalker Spirit's last two proton torpedoes finished the destruction of Lumiya's castle, leaving only scattered glowing fragments of stone behind. Rotating on it's repulsorlifts, the starship ignited it's main engines and climbed for space under the control of the Veeone droid pilot.

***

A few nearly intact alien starfighters had been pulled on board Galactic Defender, where Admiral Ackbar, Colonel Avola, Wedge, Han, Corran, several of the Rogues, and dozens of starfighter techs now stood.

Wedge shook his head in disbelief as one of the techs finished his report. "No pilots?" he asked incredulously. "They can't have been remote controlled. It's impossible to fly fighters as accurately as these were if they were being flown via remote control."

The tech shrugged. "I don't know. They certainly weren't remote controlled. They don't have the necessary fittings and attachments for that. Can't be droid fighters, either, for the same reason."

Corran stepped up to place a hand against one of the alien fighters. "Living ships," he said softly, his Jedi skills revealing what they were.

Ackbar's eyes swivelled towards him, as did those of everyone else in the hangar. "Excuse me, Commander Horn?" he asked.

Corran hesitated, realising he had nearly revealed his Jedi skills. "They're sentient, Admiral," he explained, thinking quickly. "The pilot of that Chiss fighter that escorted us back to Galactic Defender told me what they are. Apparently they're controlled by some sort of mind that uses the ships as a kind of surrogate body."

Wedge nodded, coming to Corran's support. "I received the transmission from the Chiss pilot as well, Admiral."

"Interesting," Ackbar mused. "With the defeat they suffered, these invaders may well think twice before attacking again, particularly if they know we have allied with the Chiss to fight them. Study of these ships may well show us how to improve our own defences, and reveal any weaknesses they may have. It seems to me that the Force has been with us in this crisis. If we have to fight these invaders again, we will very likely be better prepared for them the next time."

He nodded to Wedge and then strode towards the hangar exit, followed by Colonel Avola and his command staff.

Corran appeared beside Wedge as the crowd began to disperse. "Thanks for backing me up there," he said. "I didn't like lying to Ackbar, but I didn't want to reveal my skills in front of all the techs." Wedge didn't say anything and he nodded resignedly. "I know, I'll have to tell Ackbar."

"Yes, you will," Wedge agreed. He slapped Corran on the shoulder. "I'm going to see if I can do some repairs on my X-wing. I'll be in the squadron hangar bay."

An hour later, Wedge was busy working on the underside of his X-wing, trying to carry out some maintenance work on the fighter. Tycho had just left to go and find Winter, leaving him alone in the Rogue Squadron hangar. Taking a hydrospanner from the toolkit next to him, he reached up into the underside maintenance hatch in an attempt to remove a damaged power coupling. At that moment he heard the hangar doors slide open again, and footsteps coming towards the X-wing. They stopped to one side of him. From where he lay underneath the X-wing, he could see a pair of boots and nothing else. "Tycho?" he asked, thinking that his second in command had returned.

"Still in command of Rogue Squadron, are you?" a voice said in response.

It took Wedge a few seconds to identify and recognise the voice, and when he did, he came up so quickly that he forgot the X-wing was in the way. A moment later, he pushed himself out from underneath the fighter and stood up, rubbing the spot where he had hit his head on the underside of the fighter. His gaze came slowly up to meet the gaze of Baron Soontir Fel.

"You haven't changed much," Fel observed.

Wedge shook his head. "No, I haven't." Moving faster than a vornskr, he grabbed Fel's flightsuit and spun him around, slamming him against the X-wing with tooth-rattling force. "I'd still love to throw you out of an airlock," he growled, his face an inch from Fel's.

Fel, undaunted by Wedge's fury, reached up and pushed his arms away. "You'd never find out what happened to your sister then, would you?" he pointed out. He ran a hand along the side of the X-wing wistfully. "It's been too long since I flew a fighter." He rubbed his eyepatch. "One of those alien ships took their best shot at me."

"Pity they didn't have any better luck," Wedge said bitingly.

Fel ignored the comment. "Speaking of best shots, how are Luke and Mara? I hear that we helped make possible an interesting personal development for both of them."

Wedge nodded. "They're on their way back to Yavin after a run in with a rather dangerous Sith. We got a transmission from them shortly after the battle." He gave Fel a piercing look. "How did you manage to survive the destruction of the Hand of Thrawn?"

Fel leaned back against the X-wing. "We'd already abandoned it two months before the attack. Three years ago, our enemies seemed to target it as a centre of resistance and made repeated attempts to destroy it. Probably the fact that it was the closest line of defence between them and you had a lot to do with it as well. In the end, we had to leave or be crushed by a process of attrition."

He straightened up. "If there's one thing I regret about going to the Unknown Regions, it's that they have no Corellian brandy anywhere. If you have such a thing as a cantina on board, perhaps we could discuss Syal over some Whyren's Reserve."

"Of course," Wedge said sardonically, gesturing him towards the hangar exit. "I think I may delay throwing you out of the nearest airlock until then."

"How noble."

***

Four days later, the Skywalker Spirit touched down outside the Great Temple, the Veeone droid pilot setting it down gently on the landing grid where Kyp, Kirana Ti, and Leia were waiting. Kyp went the ramp as soon as it had lowered, with Leia and Kirana Ti close behind him. They found Luke and Mara in the main cabin, still in Jedi healing trances. Next to them lay a datapad displaying the phrase to bring them out of their trances.

"Shall we wake them up?" Kyp asked Kirana Ti, picking the datapad up.

Kirana Ti hesitated, then shook her head. "No," she said, smiling. "I've got a better idea." She glanced at Leia, who nodded approvingly.

They were waiting at the foot of the ramp when Kam arrived a few minutes later with Alina Skywalker in response to Kirana Ti's instruction. It was a simple matter to explain to her what to do. Once she had gone into the ship, Kyp stretched out with the Force to activate the ramp controls, and they watched as the ship closed up.

"What made you think of sending Alina in to wake Luke and Mara up?" Leia said, falling in beside Kirana Ti as they walked away from the Spirit, with Kam and Kyp walking together ahead of them.

Kirana Ti shrugged. "Promptings of the Force, I suppose," she said lightly. "I assumed they would want some time to themselves as a family."

Kyp stopped and waited for them. "Come on," he said as they reached him. "We need to gather some wood."

Much later, flames rose high into the air in a jungle clearing not far from the Great Temple. Standing around the funeral pyre, Luke and Mara watched as the fallen were given a traditional Jedi funeral. Mara stood with her hands resting lightly on Alina's shoulders, and Leia, Kyp, Streen, and the other Jedi Knights and Padawans were scattered around the clearing. Several more had made a brief visit from their home planets where they acted as Jedi Guardians, among them Cilghal, the Mon Calamari healer. Luke gazed into the heart of the flames, remembering the similar funeral he had given his father after the battle of Endor. He reached out to place one hand over Mara's where it lay on Alina's shoulder and stepped closer to Mara to put his other arm around her waist, and she turned her head to look at him, giving him one of her rare smiles.

The flames gradually increased as the fire burnt down through the stacked logs of wood, burning the bodies of the dead to ashes. The small group watched solemnly as the fire peaked, the flames suddenly surging up to resolve into images of the dead Jedi Knights for a few moments before sinking to their previous height and slowly dwindling. Through the fire, Luke saw Kyp give him a diffident shrug.

As the pyre burnt down to ash and began fading to glowing embers, drops of rain began to fall, marking the end of the funeral ceremony. One by one, the Jedi began leaving the clearing, and heading back towards the Great Temple. They had paid their respects to the fallen, and now it was time to move on. That was the way of things, the way of the Force, as Yoda would have said had he been there, Luke thought.

He exchanged a brief thought with Leia, and she stepped forwards, taking Alina's hand and walking back with her to the Temple. He and Mara waited until all the others had gone before heading back to the Temple themselves. Both of them sensed that there was one final matter that still had to be concluded.

Above them, a gleam of light appeared in the darkening sky of Yavin, growing rapidly as the Millennium Falcon descended into the atmosphere of the jungle moon. Both of them looked up as it came low overhead, the engines glowing white as it headed towards the Temple's landing grid before vanishing over the trees.

***

EPILOGUE:

The sun was setting over Yavin 4 in a brilliant glow of fiery orange-red that made the jungle look like it was on fire. Standing on the top of the Great Temple, Luke and Mara watched it sink below the horizon, their faces bathed in a reddish hue in the last rays of light. "It's beautiful," Mara said as they stood with their arms around each other.

"Not as beautiful as you," Luke said softly. Mara rolled her eyes in disgust, but Luke ignored her expression. "I didn't know if I would ever stand up here with you again."

When Mara kissed him, he knew it was to shut him up more than anything else, but he didn't mind.

A second later though, they were unexpectedly disturbed. A sudden ripple in the Force made them break apart. It suddenly became clear what the last matter they had to conclude was. At the edge of the Temple roof, the shimmering blue form of Callista appeared. "Well, Jedi Masters, I see you have faced and won your latest test with the dark side," she said, smiling at them both.

Mara took a step forward, her green Jedi robes flowing around her. "Not the first, and not the last, I assume," she said wryly.

Luke came to stand beside her, his own black cloak billowing around him. "I know a Jedi Master shouldn't have to ask this, but will the dark side ever be defeated?"

Callista shook her head. "Even a Master can never have the answer to every question," she said. "As for the dark side, it will never be defeated. There cannot be one without the other. The two will forever strive for dominance. That is the nature of the Force. You will yet face other attacks of the dark side. The Emperor, Exar Kun, and Lumiya have been defeated, but it is certain that other enemies will appear. Never relax your guard. You must fight the dark side whenever and wherever it appears, and train your daughter to do the same after you. She herself will encounter great dangers. She has already faced and passed the first of these, however, by helping defeat the Sith attack here. If you guide her along her path well, then the future is in good hands."

She began to fade from view. "And now I must depart," she said. "Farewell, Luke and Mara Skywalker."

"Wait," Luke called. "Will we see you again?"

Callista's form brightened again briefly. "You will, when it is your turn to become one with the Force. I cannot see if we will meet again before then. Perhaps we may, if it is the will of the Force." She raised her arms in a Jedi blessing. "Until then, may the Force be with you."

Luke and Mara watched until she had vanished, Luke with a pensive look on his face. Mara looked at him, and then took his hands, pulling him around to face her. "Stop thinking about the next challenge, or training Alina as a Jedi, Skywalker," she said sternly. "We'll cross those skyarches when we come to them. In the meantime, we've got plenty of other things to do. As I recall, you said something about me making up for what's happened by being very nice to you. This seems like a good time for it."

Luke smiled and waved her towards the steps down from the Temple summit. "After you, Mara Skywalker..."

THE END

ENDNOTES:

YES!! It's finished, thank the Maker! An end to sitting staring at my computer wondering how to proceed during the frequent attacks of writers block, general boredom with the whole thing, and doubt about my writing abilities when I read other fanfic stories that were so much better written and plotted than this one. Now I can do the same thing all over again with my next story (what fun!).

A general word of thanks to all those who sent messages of praise, encouragement, etc; all the good profic and fanfic writers for providing motivation and giving me ideas for this story; and even the bad ones for showing how not to do it (the old cry of I can do better than that).

Expressions of gratitude to my Mara Jade action figure for sitting on top of my computer screen while I wrote this, without ever falling off, and giving me the will to go on during the long and (expletive deleted) difficult process of writing this story. Yes, all right, I'm going to give you a purple lightsabre (see Mysteries of the Sith) as a reward. Definitely the most appropriate lightsabre colour for Mara. Much better than that naff blue one of Luke's.

Thanks finally to Red for posting this on the Club Jade website. The Force is strong with him!

Commander Antilles