In Memory of...
By: Skywalker’s Dream
February 6, 2001

Disclaimer: The normal disclaimer on this one. None of the characters in this story belong to me. I am making no money off them and claim no rights.

Summary:  When Luke returns to his backwater home planet his family and friends don't find anything amiss. But when the Jedi Master goes missing, his friends and family find out more of the man behind the Jedi Master than they bargained for. (L/M)

Chapter 16

Mara stood bolted in place. Had she heard him right? Did he just clam that his daughter was still alive?

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I know this sounds crazy, Mara ” Luke said, his voice taking on a pleading tone. “But that was MaCayla. Don’t you see? I have been feeling something out of place in my life for a long time now. I have never been able to put the pieces together... until now.” He paused, and took a deep breath. “I have no proof, Mara, but right now it feels right.” He paused and took a breath, his brow creasing in thought. “No, it’s more than that. I have never felt anything like this before.” Luke hands rose in frustration as he finished talking.

“Luke, you may be jumping to conclusions,” Mara told him. She knew how easily Luke would cling to something like this. After everything that had happened to him over the last few months he would be looking for anything to latch onto. However, Mara knew she could not blindly accept that Luke’s daughter survived an ordeal fifteen years previous, when there was never any doubt that she was dead. Even if she had survived, Mara had to ask herself why she suddenly trying to get back in his life?

“Mara, please believe me. This is real I can feel it. This was why I felt I had to be here tonight. Don’t you see, the Force was trying to tell me something.”

“But how can she be alive?” Mara asked, wanting desperately to understand what was happening. “How could she be in this room?”

“I don’t know,” Luke admitted, his eyes traveling the room. “But I intend to find out.” He started out the door, and Mara stopped him.

“What, you intend to go now?” Mara asked, shocked. Luke had always been impulsive, but he needed now was to think this though.

“She just left the room, Mara,” Luke started to explain. “I need to find out where she is going. I need to talk to her.”

“How are you so sure that she is that girl?”

Luke looked around a bit, thinking. “It just feels right, Mara. I noticed her, remember. With a casual scan I picked her up like I would pick up you or Leia. When I did I felt a connection there. I dismissed it at first, but I know what I felt. I have to go talk to her.”

“Well, if you are going, then I think I need to go with you.” There was no way she was willing to let him out of her sight in the state he was currently in.

“Thanks.”

Mara followed Luke out the double doors of the grand ballroom. She stumbled once and chided herself for her lack of concentration. She was letting herself get wrapped up in the emotions Luke was broadcasting. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and pulled back a little from Luke’s mind. One of them had to keep a level head. Looking around she could see no sign of the girl they had spotted earlier. Closing her eyes, Mara joined Luke as he used the Force to try and locate her. As she did she used the opportunity to get another read on her friend. He must have picked up on her thoughts because he was now incredibly calm. Searching the surrounding area with the skill of the seasoned Jedi that she knew he was. He did not show any of the desperation she had felt pouring off him just a few short moments ago. He acted nothing like a father searching for a daughter, merely a Jedi looking for another Force sensitive. Maybe he realizes that he may be jumping the gun here, Mara thought. Whatever he was thinking, however, did not change the fact that by the time they started looking, there was no trace of the girl.

“OK, this is not working,” Luke admitted just as Mara was about to suggest a change in action. “We need to try a different approach. I have an idea.”

“The transports?” Mara inquired. The idea had suddenly popped in her head, but any idea was better than standing in the middle of a hallway looking for someone that was long gone.

“Exactly,” he said, his hand extending to take her hand. They started walking as he continued to speak. “She had to have arrived on Coruscant somehow. We just need to find out how, then we can track her from there.”

“Well, at least it’s a place to start,” Mara agreed. She followed Luke silently as he went in search of a computer terminal. It had been on the tip of her tongue to try and talk Luke out if this crazy search. She wanted to convince him that this was just some poor soul’s idea of a joke. However, she stopped herself, knowing that if she stopped him he would always wonder. Even though Mara feared that this would turn to pain for her friend, she knew it was something he had to do. All she could do is help him, and be there if he needed her.

Locating a terminal was not difficult and they quickly went to work running searches on the massive amounts of passenger carrying ships that had arrived in system recently. Through it all, the name MaCayla did not turn up any results. Deciding not to give up, Mara went back another week and ran another search. Still nothing. She watched Luke as he sat back in his chair and sighed.

“Thanks, Mara, but this seems to be another dead end.” It surprised her that he seemed to be giving up so easily. She was about to voice that thought, but the words died on her lips however when his com unit suddenly beeped.

“Skywalker,” he barked into the tiny device.

“Luke? Is everything all right?” It was Leia. Luke had mentioned Leia’s name during one of the few moments they talked while searching the records. He told her that he had felt Leia brush his conciseness a few times since they left the party, but she had not tried to contact him until I now. Mara suspected that she had merely waited until he stopped focusing so much on the search before trying to find out what he was searching for.

“No, Leia, it’s not OK...,” he continued, his eyes darting to Mara. Oh, no. Looks like another idea brewing there, she thought. “Have you got a minute?” Luke continued into the com. “I need to ask you about something.”

“Sure,” Leia said, the concern in her voice coming through clearly. “We are at home. Come on over, and bring Mara too.”

Both Luke and Mara smiled as the com clicked off. Mara held her breath as she studied the twinkle in his eyes.

“I don’t think I want to know how she did that,” Mara said, indicating the com that Leia had just been connected to.

“She’s just showing off,” Luke explained, his head shacking in bemusement.

“What, that she knows we are together?” Mara exclaimed lightheartedly. “I am sure that just has her imagination running overtime.” She laughed at her own comment, and was pleased when Luke started laughing with her.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“And here I thought you had given up for the night,” Mara said as she followed him away from the terminal. “I should have known better.”

“Yes, you should have,” Luke said, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow and a grin. They walked down the hall a few minutes before Mara spoke up again.

“So, what do you plan to tell your sister?”

“Huh?” Luke asked. He looked at her like he had no idea what she was talking about, and Mara suspected that he probably didn’t.

“Why are we going to talk to her?” She asked him.

“Because she would know how to trace anyone at that party tonight,” he told her in a voice that showed he did not think he should have to explain. “She should be able give us a place to start.”

“Us?” Mara asked, her pervious question forgotten at his choice of words. “You still need my help?”

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, his face dropping. “Really. I just assumed you wanted to help. I should have asked first.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to help,” she quickly tried to explain. “I just can’t say that I am convinced that this is MaCayla... I mean ... How would that be possible?” she asked, then noticed the concerned look on Luke’s face. “However, I would like to help you get to the bottom of this.”

“Thank you, Mara.”

It was a short walk from the hall of the ballroom to the elevator that would take them up to Leia’s apartment. They walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. She was replaying everything she could remember about the girl in the ballroom. The list was extremely limited, but it might help if she could remember anything about the girl that she had now ran into twice. Glancing over at Luke as they exited onto Leia’s floor, Mara studied her friend. His face was like stone, and all she felt from him was a sense of peace. She had no idea what he was thinking.

Leia greeted them with a warm smile as she opened the door. She likes seeing us together, Mara thought to herself. Luke hasn’t told her yet. She needed to talk to Luke about that. The thought brought back the situation full force. They had both been concentrating on finding this girl so much that she was able to forget about Luke’s health, at least for a few hours. He was not as well as he would have everyone believe. She knew how much pain he was in. She also knew enough about it call to Yavin asking Cilighal to come for a visit. She had received a message from Kyp asking her if everything was all right. He was worried that there was a message from Luke, following which the Jedi Healer hurried to leave without any explanation. It was apparent to Mara that Luke was only telling those people that needed to know.

She still thought that he needed to talk to his sister. He needed to tell her something. Leia, when left to assume about any given situation, had been known to try to take matters in her own hands when things did not go her way. If she got it in her head that they needed help she was bound to hurt someone, without even knowing it.

“Come in, you two” Leia said eagerly. She obviously knew something was up and was just itching to know what it was. “Can I get you something?”

“No, I’m fine,” Luke said. “Mara?”

“No, thanks.” Mara suddenly felt uncomfortable inside the Solo’s home. She had only been there on a couple occasions, never enough for her to feel comfortable. Looking around she saw plenty of proof of the three children she knew had to be there somewhere. The apartment was nowhere near messy, but there was enough clutter around that she knew it was not just a couple of adults living in the home.

“So, where’s Han,” Luke asked. Mara guessed that he was probably wondering if he should expect him to walk in. It was hard to get someone caught up on a conversation when they missed the most of it.

“In the boys room referring an argument,” Leia told him. “Would you like me to go get him?”

“No, don’t bother,” Luke assured her. “I just have a few questions about the guest list of tonight’s party.” If Mara did not know better she would not have guessed that there was anything wrong, and Luke truly just needed her help. His tone and manner gave nothing away.

“Well, I did not personally make it out,” Leia said, already deep in thought. “But I would be glad to help.” There was a loud crash down the hall that caused all three of them to jump. The loud bickering of two angry boys immediately followed it.

“Leia!” came Han’s disembodied voice.

“I’ll be back in just a minute,” Leia said, her hand touching Luke’s arm as she passed. Mara raised an eyebrow at Luke and he shrugged.

“She always seems to be doing that,” he told her, his brow creasing in wonderment.

“Doing what?” Mara asked. What was he talking about now? Mara wondered.

“Walking out of the room when I am trying to talk to her,” he said straight faced. Mara looked at him astonished then they both started laughing.

“Mom?” The voice coming from the top of the stairs caught their attention. It was a young female voice that Mara immediately identified as Jaina’s.

Luke made his way up the stairs to talk with Jaina, leaving Mara standing there alone. She had just wandered to the couch to sit when Luke called out.

Mara! He mentally yelled to her. He sounded upset, shocked. She dashed up the stairs two at a time. She skidded to a stop at the door where Luke was standing, and froze when she realized what had him so upset.

That’s her, Luke sent her. It was a useless statement since Mara had already come to that conclusion. Looking around the she scanned all the pictures on Jaina’s walls. Quiet a few were of the same girl, the one they had been looking for all night.

“Where’s Mom and Dad,” Jaina asked.

“Um, they are taking care of your brothers,” Luke explained. “Everything all right?” He was trying to keep all the emotion out of his voice, and he was successful for the most part.

“Oh, yeah,” Jaina said. “They just told me to tell them when I got done cleaning my room. Is everything all right, Uncle Luke?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, everything’s fine, Jaina.” Luke was looking around the room in amazement. Mara did not have to use the Force to know what he was feeling. He was looking at pictures of his daughter. He was convinced of that. “You have just changed your room since I have been in here last.”

“Yeah mom said I could. I have spent all day on it,” she announced proudly. “You like it?”

“Sure, it’s wonderful,” Luke assured her, his voice beginning to get back under control. “But, Jaina, who are all these people.”

“Holovid stars, singers,” the child explained. “They are all great. Don’t you know any of them?” It was a simple question, coming from a child who knew her uncle met lots of people. She had no idea of the impact the question had made.

Luke walked to one of the walls. Not speaking, but projecting an air of only minimal interest in the pictures on the walls. “I have seen her before,” Luke said, turning to Jaina while pointing to a picture of whom he thought could be his daughter. “Who is she?”

“She’s a singer, Uncle Luke. She’s great, has such a pretty voice. You heard her songs before, right Uncle Luke?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Here let me show you one of them.” She busied herself putting on the music and Luke stole a look at Mara. He listened to the song, realizing that he was hearing his daughter for the first time. Her voice was beautiful as she sang, just as Jaina had told them. The song struck a cord in him, and he began to wonder where he had heard it before. In the speeder on Tatooine. He had felt a tingle in the Force then, and stopped. But then he had not paid attention to it much after that. He knew now that the Force was trying to tell him even then.

“Do you remember now Uncle Luke?” The persistent child asked.

“Yes, I do,” he crocked, unable to keep his voice level. This was his daughter. No matter how he looked at it the feeling never went away. He had tried to explain it to Mara. But the words did not do the feeling justice.

“You said she looked familiar,” the girl asked, suddenly excited. “When did you see her?”

“She was at the party last night,” Mara offered, trying to give Luke a second to compose himself.

“Really?!” Jaina exclaimed, looking back and forth from Mara to Luke. “You saw Kyia? Did you get to talk to her?”

“Kyia?” Luke asked, looking intensely at his niece. It did not escape Mara’s notice the way the color was draining from Luke’s face.

“Yeah that’s her name,” Jaina stated. Her tone of voice indicating she thought he should have known that.

“No, I didn’t get to talk to her,” Luke explained. “Sorry.” The disappointment in his voice seemed to satisfy Jaina because she did not ask any more questions. “Look Jaina I need to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“OK, Uncle Luke. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Luke said as he turned to leave.

Mara followed Luke out of the room then out the door. She had to practically run to keep up with him as he left the apartment.

“Where are you going? I thought you wanted to talk to Leia?” Mara said to him. She needed to get him to calm down. Not that she was worried about him, well no more than usual. What she wanted him to do was slow down. He was attracting too much attention as he rushed through the hall into the elevator and out of the building. If he wanted to keep everyone out of his hair he had to stop drawing everyone’s eyes to him.

“I can’t talk to her right now,” Luke said. He stopped suddenly and turned to Mara. She was glad she was on her toes, if she had not been she would have collided with him. He took a deep breath and rested against the nearest wall.

“What was that about back there?” Mara asked, joining him. “Luke, it’s only a stage-name. Most performers have them.”

“I understand that,” Luke said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was a bit calmer. “It’s her choice in names. Kyia.”

“Yes?”

“It just sealed it. That is what I used to call MaCayla. How could it not be her, Mara? This is too much to just be a coincidence.”

Mara opened her mouth to speak, but she could not think of anything to say. Everything he had said so far supported his theory. His daughter was still alive.

“Luke, I don’t understand. How could she be alive?”

“I don’t know, Mara,” Luke said, turning trouble eyes on her. “All these years I have never even dreamt that she could be alive.”

“But why didn’t she tell me?” Mara asked herself. It occurred to her that she said that aloud.

“Tell you what Mara?”

Mara rubbed her hands across her face in worriment. “Luke is there some where we can go? I need to tell you something.”

Luke rubbed his hands roughly over his face. Squeezing his eyes shut, he used the heel of his hand to and pressed it into his forehead, trying to relieve some of the pressure there.

Calling on the Force he set to work pushing the pain back once again until it was nothing more than a dull ache. “So, let me get this straight, you have, over the last month, had numerous visits with Arielle. Is that what you are trying to tell me?”

“Yes.” Mara was sitting next to him on the couch in his apartment. She sat still, her hands clasped in her lap looking at the floor.

“Mara why did you not say anything before?”

“What was I supposed to say, Luke?” Mara asked, exasperated. “That I was being visited by your dead wife?”

“For starters, yes!” Luke said. He shot to his feet and began to pace the room.

“I wanted to tell you…but I didn’t.”

“Why not!” he snapped. He could feel the anger starting to build in her before he finished the short question. All it did was fuel his own.

“Look, Skywalker,” she said, her voice rising as she stood up to face him. “No matter what you may be thinking, I do not have to report everything to you.”

“You were being visited by Arielle, I think that qualifies as something I need to know about.” She started to say something then stopped herself. He watched as she pulled her emotions back under control.

“Luke, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell you…I would have told you. I don’t know…it was strange. Even Arielle thought you weren’t ready to know.”

“Oh great. You are getting advice about me from my dead wife!” He took a deep breath, fighting to regain control. “What did she say to you?”

“Lot’s of things.”

“What exactly?” Luke asked, his tone extremely calmer. Holding his breath he braced himself for whatever she was going to say.

“I think she had a message for us. Well, she did, and I think that’s the only reason she visited me.”

“Mara, you’re killing me here,” Luke exclaimed, his voice stressed. “What message?”

“It’s a bit complicated.” Mara took a moment to prepare herself. Pull yourself together! She scolded herself. You have been trying to tell him, now is your chance. It was Mara’s voice. He figured she had not meant for him to hear that. But nonetheless he had. “Ok, they way it worked is this…” They spent the next couple of minutes talking about what was said and the possibilities it made. He was shocked when he realized that his marriage to Arielle was all prearranged, but it was the next part that really threw him.

“Ok, so what you are telling me here is that there was an attack on the Jedi temple on the day of her birth, right?”

“Right.”

“Then what happened?”

“According to Arielle, Kenobi dashed into the nursery and took the baby, taking her someplace safe.”

“All this because she was supposed to be some sort of, what, soul mate for me? They knew all this when I was that young?”

“Yes. But there is more. When Arielle died, Kenobi realized he had made a mistake.”

“A mistake?” The dread he was trying to hold back threatened once again to break through.

“There were two girls born that day. Kenobi, knowing what the child’s destiny was, knew he had made a mistake when she was killed. He took the wrong baby.”

“Arielle wasn’t the one I was supposed to meet on Tatooine?” He asked the question slowly, trying to piece it all together. “But then who?”

Mara did not say anything. He could feel the agony of holding it inside as threatened to rip her apart, but still he felt how she was trying to protect him. She did not want to tell him.

“All this time there was someone else out there? Who is she? Is she still alive?” He was not excited, only confused.

“It’s me, Luke. I was the other girl born that day. I was born in that Temple, and when the imperials found me, they took me, leaving the other child. Kenobi in his rush did not notice his error.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true… It was I.”

Those three words hung in the air between them. Luke held his breath as the weight of that confession slammed into him. All this time through everything that had happened, Mara would have, should have been there with him. He thought of Kenobi, how he must of felt when he found out about his mistake. That Mara, the child he should have taken was forced to grow up in Imperial hands because no one even attempted to get her back. Luke closed his eyes again and sighed. The Emperor knew. Of course he knew. It was the reason he had had Mara kidnapped. He must have heard the rumors that a child was to be born. But if he knew everything, why did it take nearly two decades before he came searching for me? Luke thought. It was strange for him to think of the Jedi of the old Republic making such a big deal about him. It made him uncomfortable to think of all they had left on his then tiny little shoulders. As for the Emperor, he could not have learned his name then. It must have been just rumors that he had been acting on. He knew there was someone out there, but it was not until Luke stepped into the public eye that Palpatine knew who he was. However, he knew who Mara was, and what the Jedi believed her destiny was. That must be where the virus had come from. He knew that Mara could not deny her destiny, even if he never let her know that.

While he was thinking, Mara had moved over to the window. She stood with her back to him, studying the landscape. Things could have been so different for her.

“I don’t believe you, Luke,” she whispered, not turning from the window.

“What?” he asked as he walked over to her.

“I just told you that they messed up yet another part of your life and you stand there thinking how much it affected me.”

“It did. Your life would have…”

“I know what my life would have been, Luke,” she said, finally turning to face him. “We can do nothing about that now. There are a lot of things I wish could have been different, but what’s done is done.” He ran his hands lightly down her cheek as her words sunk in. She smiled.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

She shook her head, careful not to dislodge his hand from her cheek. “There is something you can change.” She paused and he knew she was waiting for him to say something. He opened his mouth to comply but could think of nothing to say. “You can find your daughter,” she continued. “Find out how she is alive. Go find MaCayla, Luke.”

The feelings running through Luke at that moment would have been overwhelming had he stopped to study them. He traced another finger down her cheek and across her lips. He leaned closer, wanting nothing more than to feel her lips on his. She stopped him with two gentle fingers on his lips. She lowered her head, touching her forehead to his cheek.

“I’m sorry, Luke.”

Luke quickly walked from the kitchen to the couch and sat down.  He closed his eyes in the attempt to block out the bright rays of the morning sun.  Placing both hands on his temples he pressed as hard as he could.  He cringed as another shot of pain lanced through his head.  He barely registered the sound of the lock on his door disengaging and the faint footsteps of someone entering his apartment.

“Master Skywalker, I got here as soon as I could.”  He looked up into the concerned face of Cilghal, the trusted Jedi healer.

“Thank you.  I told you over the com what is going on.  The headaches are steadily getting worse.”

“And the healing trance?” She asked, taking a seat across from him.

“It helps for a while,” he explained in a wary voice. “But the pain always returns.”

“Okay let me take a look.”  Luke laid his head back on the couch and relaxed as Cilghal knelt beside him.  He could feel the gentle probe and inhaled sharply as the pain vanished.  “That should help for the moment,” she told him.  “I need to do a few tests.  I read the file you sent, that’s everything you know about this illness?”

“Yes, I figure that what the Emperor had done to Mara is what is causing these headaches.”

“It is a logical assumption,” the healer agreed.  “Surely you have been careful since you discovered this information.”

“Of course,” Luke said, sitting up.  “But the pain still lingers.”

“Okay,” she said, deep in thought. “I need to read up on a few things, then I will see what I can do.”

“Alright,” he said, standing up.  “While you are doing that I have something I need to take care of.”

“What I have done is just a temporary relief for the pain, Master Skywalker,” Cilghal insisted.  “You will need to enter into another trance.”

“I will,” Luke said, grabbing his cloak as he headed for the door. “Just as soon as I get back.”

“As you wish.”

Luke walked purposefully towards a restaurant located a short distance from his apartment.  Mara and him had found the listing for Kyia on a private ship that had entered Coruscant space three days ago.  From there they had been able to track down where she was staying.  He had called to try and talk to her but instead had to make an appointment for the next day.  He was told that she would be here, at one of the more popular eating establishments, and she would be expecting him.  After completing the call, he assured Mara that everything was fine and she should go home and get some rest.   He had took the time to get some much needed rest himself and was awake once again early the next morning, awaiting his former students visit.

As he approached the entrance he stopped to calm himself.  The guy that answered his com call did not seem surprised that he was calling, and he had no trouble setting him up with a time to meet her.  Could this really be MaCayla? He asked himself.  He had little doubt but there was a voice in the back of his mind that made him question everything.  He had attempted not to get his hopes up, but knew that if this turned out to be false he would feel crushed. 

Walking into the restaurant, he quickly looked around.  There were not many people there; only a few of the tables were occupied.  A man approached him not long after he stepped through the door.

“Master Skywalker, how good it is to see you, we have a table waiting for you.  Right this way.”

“I am meeting someone,” Luke told him, looking around the room as he was lead to a table.

“Yes, you are a bit early, I am sure she will be here shortly.  Can I get you anything while you wait?”

“No thank you.”

The man tipped his head politely and walked away.  Luke did not have to wait long before he saw Kyia walk into the room.  She did not see him right away, but was lead to the table by the same man that greeted him.  Luke stood as she approached, calming himself, he cleared all emotion from his face, even though what he wanted to do was scream.

“Please, have a seat,” he said.

“Thank you.”  She sat in the chair opposite him, and watched him nervously.  She did not look exactly like the pictures he saw of her, but he was not disappointed.  She looked to be no more than fifteen, which was about right for MaCayla.  She had the same long blonde hair like her mother, and her blue eyes sparkled in the pale lighting of the restaurant.  He wanted to jump up and hug her, to insist she tell him how she was alive, to tell him anything about what happened to her.  Luke forced his jumbled nerves to relax.  He had to find out for sure if this was her.   It was then that Luke realized he had no idea what to say.  She saved him the trouble by speaking first.

“I have to admit I wasn’t sure if you would track me down,” she admitted to him.

“You did not make it easy,” he told her.

“I wasn’t hiding.”  She took a slow breath, before continuing.  “I know you are wondering about that letter I gave you.  I will save you from asking a bunch of questions and tell you what I know.  About a month ago I was going through some of my mothers things and came across that letter.  I had never seen it before, but I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.  I mean the letter was addressed to you, and she was telling you that we were both all right.  I …” She stopped and looked at him.   “I have heard about you for as long as I remember.  On the news and everything.  No one ever mentioned that you were married.”

“I never told anyone,” he admitted.  He never had a problem with that fact before, but saying it now he felt a twinge of guilt.

“Why not?” She asked, her voice raising a notch.  “I mean why did you want to forget about us?”

“No, I wasn’t trying to forget,” he tried to explain.  “No one I know now knew about it.  About your mother and you.  And at the time it hurt too much to talk about.”

“I…but why weren’t you ever around?” she asked, the confusion she was feeling showing clearly on her face.

“What?” He asked.  Her question threw him off guard.  He knew why he was not around, but he just assumed that she would also know.  “My question is, how you are sitting here right now?  I saw both you and your mother get shot when you were six months old.  Up until yesterday I thought you were dead.” He paused when he realized he was babbling.  “What were you told?”

“Nothing, really,” she said, picking up the glass water in front of her with shaky hands.  “Mother never really talked about who my father was.  I remember asking her about it when I was young, all she said was he was a great person and she missed him very much.  She was very upset after that, I did not like asking her about it again.”

“So, you can’t tell me how you survived?”  He asked, disappointed.  He frowned when something she said occurred to him.  “Your mother.  She’s still alive?”

“Oh … Well … No,” she said, nervously.  “She died a few months ago.”    Something felt wrong when she said that.  She was hiding something.  And as of yet, she had not said anything that would prove what she was claming.  The only thing she had was the letter from Arielle.

“Like I said my mother never talked about it.  I found a box once.  It had a bunch of junk in it.  Inside were a few pictures and a letter.  The letter I gave to you.”

“I was wondering where those went,” Luke whispered.  After Arielle died, Luke steered clear of anything that would remind him.  When he did start going through their things he noticed a few of their pictures where missing.  He had assumed at the time, that his aunt and uncle did something with them, but he never did find them.

“What?” she asked.  Luke looked up and realized he had spoken out loud and jumped to cover it up.

“Nothing,” was all he could think of to say.  She accepted it and continued with her story.

“At the time I did not know who was in the pictures.  My mom caught me the first time I found the box.  I had never seen her cry so much.  She wouldn’t talk about it though.  And I did not have the heart to ask her about it too often.  But I never saw the box again until now.”

“I need to ask you a few questions,” Luke said, forming his thoughts into a sibilance of order.  “Bare with me.”

“Sure.”  Luke sat quiet while he determined what the best questions would be.  There was one that jumped to the top of his list. 

“What is your name?  Your real name.”  It was not one of the most important questions, but it was one he had to verify.

“MaCayla.”  Luke just barely shook his head in recognition.  This is all still information she could have looked up.  There had to be a way to prove beyond a doubt who this girl was.

“I know you are looking for proof,” she said.  “I would give it to you if I could.  If there is anything I can do, just ask.”

“There is the medical way,” Luke said, knowing then that there was one other way that he could get the proof he needed.  “Some sort of blood test, but there is something I would like to try.  If you don’t mind.”

“Um…Sure I guess.”

“Just try to relax,” he instructed.  “Try to think of the oldest memory you have.  The youngest you remember yourself.”

Luke relaxed himself and opened himself up to the Force. His first try at touching her mind ended with what felt like a small electrical shock.  He backed off then tried again, with a few barriers in place this time.  He could feel her immediately, and it surprised him that she showed signs of a little training.  He had barley entered her consciousness when she jumped.

“What was that?” she asked, her voice squeaking.

Luke became intrigued, so he backed out and studied her.  “What was what?” He asked, wondering who had trained her, she was able to feel him as soon as he entered her mind.

“What did you just do?”  She asked, her eyes wide.

“You felt something?”

“I’m not sure what it was.  I felt a presence.  Something overwhelming.”

“Let’s try it again and you tell me if you can figure it out.”  He waited until she looked ready and once again began to scan her.  She again seemed to be triggered by his presence.  This time she pinpointed his location and latched on, clumsily reaching out and making contact with him.

“What is that?” She whispered. 

“That’s me.”  He opened his eyes and saw her watching him.

“What does this mean?” she asked.

“It means,” he said, smiling.  “I think it would be worth getting more tests.”

How could it be true?  Mara thought.  How could she be alive?  What did it mean that she had never been told this during the visits from Arielle?  Also, how could Luke remember their deaths, if they had not died?  She kept repeating the same questions over and over.  She was back in Luke’s apartment after he had called her.  He told her about the meeting, and she had to say she was curious.  However, there had to be an explanation.  She grabbed two bottles of water and left the kitchen.

“Luke, come here,” Mara told him, going back into the living room.  “We need to talk about this.”  She joined him on the couch, handing him one of the bottles of water and opening the other for herself.  “What exactly happened?  What do you remember about that day?  The day she died.”

“I remember everything,” Luke told her, setting his bottle down on the table.  “Why?”

“Just from what you describe,” she stated, struggling to pull her thoughts in order. “From what you remember they could not be alive.  But you are convinced that she is.  How close have you examined those memories?”

“What do you mean?  I have told you before that it is painful. I don’t examine them at all if I can help it.  I was young, and it left a great emotional scar.  Besides, it’s just a memory of what happened.”

“Just humor me,” Mara suggested.  If she was going to get to the bottom of this she had to start at the beginning.  “Do you think you could take a look for me?”

“I guess I could take a look,” he said, though he sounded unsure.

“I think it will help.”

Mara led Luke to the kitchen table.  She watched as he prepared himself by taking deep breaths and closed his eyes.  Smiling because of the fact that she knew he trusted her with all his heart she relaxed also.  Reaching out she grasped his hands and his mind.  She followed as he led her deep into his memories.  She could feel the pain his headaches still caused, but pushed that thought away.  That was not what she was there for.  She let him lead her until she was standing on a desert street walking to a house.

It was hot like any other day on the water-starving planet.  She was guessing that was one of Luke’s thoughts seeing she could not make that assumption from her limited experience on the planet.  Luke was getting out of the vehicle and offered to the other occupant, who Mara assumed was Arielle that he would go inside but noticed she was already out of the car.  He seemed to accept it and they both happily approached the house.

“It’s too hot to sit out here and wait,” she said, as she took his offered hand.  They walked together down the short steps and knocked on the door.  Nydia Coramar answered, looking a bit impatient.

“Oh, you guys are back early!” she exclaimed, nervously.

“Yeah,” young Luke agreed.  “We ended up not needing as much from town as we thought.  Is she awake?”

“Maybe you two should go out again get some time alone,” Nydia offered.

“No, I really need to get back to work,” Luke insisted, trying to look inside.  Just a bit further into the house he could see the young child playing on the floor.

“We’ll just get MaCayla and go, before my Uncle starts yelling again.”

“No really, I think it would be best if she stayed here.”

“Nydia,” Arielle said, her voice understanding.  “We really need to be going.  Thank you for watching the baby for us, but she needs to go home now.”  Luke walked past and scooped up the young girl who cooed when she saw her father.  He grabbed the bag from the nearby table and returned to the door.  Arielle took the bag from him and he shifted the baby more comfortably in his arms.

Luke turned just in time to see Coramar pull out a small blaster.

“Are you crazy,” he exclaimed.  “What are you doing?”

“I have to…”

“No, you don’t, put that away.”  Luke handed the baby to Arielle tried to hurry them out the door.

“I said no!” she screamed.

At that point everything started becoming a blur.  Mara watched as a blast raced towards the young couple and she saw the girl fall to the ground.  She tried to get a clear picture of what was happening, but the memory was colored by Luke’s emotions.

Mara sighed as she opened her eyes and found herself back in Luke’s apartment.  She noticed Luke looking at her, and knew he was waiting to hear her reaction.

“There is something there,” she said, trying to place what she was feeling.  “I’m not sure what but something felt wrong.”

“Wrong in what way?” he asked.

Mara was frustrated.  “I don’t know.  Okay, I need a break.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Luke said, visibly relaxing.  “Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure that sounds great,” she said.  “I just don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what Mara?”

“There just seems like I am missing something there.  I mean from what I saw, you were right.  They were both dead when you left the house.  But from your point of view …” She frowned, was she sure about what she was going to say?  Did she want to even think about what it meant?

“What Mara?”

“Okay, this is going to sound a bit strange, it just seems … from your point of view it did not look like she was hit.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Watching what you saw, and the way she fell, it just doesn’t feel right.”

Luke walked determinedly towards the auditorium.   He knew what he needed to do.  He would talk to Kyia again, and see if there was anything else he had missed.  Before he reached the door he could hear voices.  Looking around the corner he could see Kyia sitting in a chair not far from the door.  The person she was talking to had her back to the door, so all Luke could make out was her blonde hair that she had tied back in a ponytail.  He guessed by the style of clothes the other wore she was older than Kyia.  Once she spoke again he was sure she was an adult.  Her voice had a strange since of familiarity, but he could not place it.

“So, have you met him yet?”  The woman asked.

“Yes, just this morning,” Kyia said, she watched the other woman sadly.  “He said exactly what you said he would.”

“Any problems?”

“He asked me where my mother was.”  She said it in a way that suggested she was nervous about the reaction she would get.  Luke, knowing she would feel if he probed her, kept his barriers in place.

“What did you say?” The woman asked.

“I told him you died a few months ago.”  Luke pulled back into the hall.  It was a lie, he thought.   I should have known.  But what did that mean?  Was Mara right and this was just another scheme?  Someone had found out about Arielle and MaCayla and staged the whole thing?  Mentally bracing himself he listened to more of the conversation.

“Did he have a problem with that?” It was the older woman’s turn to sound nervous.

“I thought he was going to say something, but he didn’t.  From what I can tell everything is going well, everything is back on track.”  Kyia looked at the older woman.  “He has no problem believing.”

I didn’t, until now, Luke thought.  He quickly and quietly made his way out of the building.  It was all a lie.   I should have known, he thought again.  He had been warned, and had tried to not get his hopes up, but there was so much that pointed in that direction.  What it boiled down to was that he wanted his daughter to be alive.

He made it back to his apartment just has the pain in his head returned.  At that point he did not care.  He dropped himself on the couch.  All he wanted to do was not think.  But that was the one thing he could not manage.  He began to mull over everything that had occurred lately, and he came to the conclusion that he was being punished.  Punished just for being him.  Lying back on the couch he decided that he was tired of it all.  He closed his eyes and concentrated on the pain in his head that was slowly getting worse, only this time he did nothing to stop it.

“Nooo!” Luke Skywalker shouted as he stormed across the room. Cilghal stood with her hands resting at her sides as she watched the mighty Jedi Master as he once again paced the length of his apartment.  She had entered the apartment to find him asleep on the couch.  Her first thought was that he was trying the trance once again, but she realized her error when he opened his eyes during her approach.  He was in more pain than she had ever seen him.  However he refused any help she offered, saying he did not want another temporary fix.  So he had been pacing the room, not saying much but clearly thinking.  She had worked with Master Skywalker long enough to know when he did not want to be interrupted.  He alone had to come to terms with what was happening to him.  It wasn’t until he gripped the edge of a chair for support that she dared to approach.

“Shall we try another healing trance, Master Skywalker?”

He waved his hand tiredly.  He was considerably weaker than he had been this morning.  It worried her, but if he would not let her examine him, there was nothing she could do.

“No, we have already determined that they are no longer effective,” he said, shacking his head as if to clear it.  “You have done everything you could.”

“Do you realize what you are saying?” She asked, shocked that it sounded like he was giving up.  “I will not give up.”

“You have more ideas?” he asked, looking up at her, a small spark of hope appearing and vanishing just as fast.  “”Something we haven’t tried?”

“I have not.”  It pained her to tell him that she was out of ideas, but it would do him no good to lie to him.  “I have never encountered an illness such as this.  I haven’t even been able to determined where it came from.”

“I’ve told you where it came from,” Luke told her.  He did not look like he could stand much longer, so she helped him to the couch.  He did not protest as he draped his arm across her shoulder and walked slowly across the living area.  It did not take her long to get him situated.

“All you have told me was how you came in contact with it,” she corrected.  “Neither of you have been able to satisfy my curiosity as to where this came from.”

“You’ve spoken to Mara?” Luke asked, a small spark of hope entering his dull eyes once again.

“Yes, this morning.  She confirmed everything you told me about the disk, and allowed me to check her out.  We were unable to shed any new light on this problem.”

Luke slumped down further on the couch.  “Then there is nothing more?” he asked.  “This is it?”

Cilghal placed one webbed hand on his shoulder.  “You rest.  I still have enough hope for the two of us.”  Luke rolled his head slightly, resting his cheek on her arm. 

“Thank you.”

“Have you talked to your sister yet?” Cilghal asked.

“She has enough to worry about with those kids,” he said, his voice already sounding sleepy.

“Anakin is fine, you know that right?”

“Yes, I know,” he said, shacking his head.  It puzzled her, why he would agree with her while his body language suggested that he did not.  “I am really tired, I think I will rest now.” 

“Is there anyone you would like me to call then?”  She asked.  It did not feel right that she was the only one here with him.  He needed the love of his family around him while he tried to fight this.  He shook his head no. 

“She already knows.  She should be here shortly.” Cilghal wondered if they were still talking about his sister or the woman that had become the light of his life, and unknowingly the cause of his death.  She would not stop trying to rid her master of the poison that raced through his vanes, but she was wise enough to know that unless the Force decided to lend a hand, there was nothing more she could do.

She had made herself comfortable at his desk and began searching once again for a case that was even remotely similar to what Master Skywalker was experiencing.  It did not come as a surprise when his door opened a short time later and Mara Jade walked in.

“He’s on the couch,” she told the young lady.

“Another trance?” Mara asked, kneeling down to check on him.

“No.  The trances have stopped working.  He is sleeping.”  Mara kept her steps light as she approached.  She did not want to wake him, but she felt the need to be close to him.

“They have stopped working?” Mara asked.  She tried to stop the fear from rising, but was only partially successful.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I don’t know what to try next.  Nothing I have tried has done anything.”

“He looks so pale,” she said, more to herself than to anyone else.

“He’s given up,” the healer said, matter-of-factly.

“He said that?” Mara asked.

“Not in so many words, but I understood.  I can do nothing if he is not willing to let me.”

“What will happen is he doesn’t seek help?”  She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.  On the other hand she knew that she had to know.

“He has a poison within him.  The traces he has been submitting to have only slowed it down, it does nothing to stop it.”

“But we never…” She stopped herself.  She did not wish to share her personal life with anyone if she could help it.  But she did not see any other way around it.  “We’ve never… we never slept together.  All we did was kiss, the disk never mentioned anything like that.”

“As I told you this morning, we know so little about this.  I am sure it was never intended to be introduced in such a slow manner.”  Mara looked over to the figure asleep a few feet from here. 

“He needs you right now,” Cilghal told her.

“He needs his family right now,” Mara corrected.

“He needs everyone that cares about him.  I believe you are at the top of that list.”

“We thought we caught it in time,” Mara whispered.  “We … we stayed apart to save his life, but it didn’t.  I did this to him.”

“I told you not to say that, Mara.”  She looked down and smiled.  Luke still lay on his back, but his eyes were open.

“Hey, you,” she said, unfazed by the smile that spread across his face. She dropped to her knees next to him, he turned his head and returned her smile.  “You said you would call me after you got back.  Did you talk to MaCayla?”

“No,” he said, taking time to take a deep breath.  “You were right Mara.  She’s not MaCayla.”

“How do you know?” Mara asked.  Her heart broke at the admission.  She knew how much he wanted it to be true.

“I heard her talking,” he explained.  “She and her mother were talking about what they were doing.  I should have known.”

“I’m sorry, Luke.”  He closed his eyes and sighed.  “Luke, how are you feeling?”

“I don’t want to talk about that now, Mara.  I’m just tired and I need to rest.”

“You can’t give up,” she ordered him.  She wanted to shake him until he understood.  He could not give up, there had to be a way around it.

“I haven’t given up,” he said, his voice growing sleepy.  “I am just tired of trying things that don’t work.  I need to sleep.”

“Then you should rest,” she told him.  “I’ll be here when you wake up.”  She stood and moved towards the kitchen.  Cilghal was already there.

“It is bad,” Mara said.  “I have never felt him in so much pain.”  Looking around, she noticed something wrong.  “Where is everyone?  I thought Leia would have been the first one down here.”

“He did not want me to call her,” Cilghal explained.  “He does not want her to worry about him.”

“And you listened to him?” She asked, shocked.

“Of course.”  Mara rolled her eyes while she flipped on the apartments com unit and started calling in the family.  The door buzzer announced someone at the door, and Mara moved to answer it, fully expecting to see Leia standing there.   She did not expect Kyia to be the visitor.  Mara’s tempter suddenly flared, and she could see the Jedi Healer backing up away from her.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“I…”

“You are not welcome here,” Mara told her, her voice rising in anger.

“What are you talking about?” Kyia asked. Her eyes became wide and Mara would bet that she was about to cry.

“Look, you may have been able to pull this charade off for a while, but he has wised up.  He is in no mood to put up with any more of your lies.”

“What lies?  What are you talking about?” Kyia asked.  She reached out and Mara grabbed her arm.  She let go just as quickly, her natural reflex to the sharp pain that appeared in her hand.  Why does she always shock me? She tried to ignore it when Cilghal stepped closer, probably trying to see what was going on.  Pushing the thought away she concentrated on the conversation at hand. 

“He heard you talking to your mother.  Big mistake since you told him she was dead.”

“What else did he hear?” the child asked.

“Enough.  I think you should leave.”  The girl left without another word.  Mara closed the door with a huff.  The nerve of some people! 

“She is strong in the Force,” Cilghal said, her voice barely a whisper.  Mara knew most people from the Academy were leery of her.  She might even go as far as to say they were afraid of her when she lost her temper.  Mara had no problem with that.

“She is also a big pain in my side,” Mara said.  The emotional ride this girl had sent Luke on sent her stomach into cartwheels.  She hoped she never saw her again.  If she did she could not guarantee she would be as nice.

“You sent her away.  Why?”

“Because she is not what she seemed to be,” Mara explained.  “Luke did not want to see her.”  She went back to the com and called Leia, ignoring the look she got from the Jedi behind her.

Chapter 18   

Mara stood and stretched.  She had been attempting to find Leia, but it seemed she was in a meeting and the assistant refused to disturb her.  She then tried to contact Han, but she had even less luck there; she could not even find out where he was.  Cilghal had moved out to the balcony while she was making the calls, claming the need to meditate.  Mara knew she was still thinking about the scene with Kyia.  She figured the Jedi wanted her to explain further, but it was not her place.  As far as she knew Luke had not shared the information with anyone else, so if anybody were going to find out, he would have to tell them.

Mara walked to the couch where Luke still slept.  She could feel him start to stir, and winced when she felt the amount of pain he was in.  No matter what, she could not shake the thought that she was responsible.  She had thought long and hard, finally coming to the conclusion that had she not let herself be captured, causing Luke to come after her, he would not be in this situation.  It was then, while stranded on that planet waiting for the incompetent mechanic to fix her ship that they admitted how much they felt for each other.  If they had never spent that time together, they may have never had the nerve to admit it.  If they had never been on that planet, they would have never found out about the virus.  She put her barriers up tight around those thoughts.  Luke would not want to hear that right now. 

There was a loud knock at the door and Mara ran to open it, cursing herself for not paying attention.  Whoever that was on the other side of the door was bound to wake Luke if he kept it up.  She opened the door and was greeted by the grinning face of Han Solo. Pull it together girl! She yelled at herself. You should have noticed him before he even got close to the door.

“Well, Mara Jade,” he said, leaning on the doorframe.  “What a surprise to see you here.  Where’s the kid?”

“He’s asleep,” she told him.

“Well, good for him,” Han said, his trademark smirk appearing on his face.

Mara glanced over when she heard Cilghal come in from the balcony.  The Jedi Healer greeted the new comer with a nod.  Mara watched as the smile vanished from Solo’s face as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

“What’s wrong here?” He asked, directing the question towards Mara.  “Luke never sleeps during the day when he has company.”  Mara’s hands went directly to her hips.

“Oh, but it was all right that he was sleeping when you thought it was only me here?” She asked, her voice taking on a slightly offended tone.

“Hey, what goes on between you two is your own business.”  Mara did her best to ignore the sarcastic look on his face as he said that.

“You know for someone that tries to be so observant, you sure do miss a lot.  Did you call your wife?”

“Was I supposed to?” Han asked.

Mara rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension there.  “Didn’t you read the whole message?” she asked him.

“You lost me, Mara,” Han said, his brow creasing in confusion.

Mara could relate to his confusion.  “If you did not get my message then why are you here?”

“Well, the last time Luke came visiting he left without a word,” Han explained.  “I came to make sure everything was all right.  Everything is all right, isn’t it?”

“No.”  It was simple and to the point.  There was no reason to beat around the bush about it.  Luke may not have wanted to tell his family, but Mara was beginning to worry and she thought it was time that they found out.  If Solo was the only person she could get in touch with, then she would start with him.

“What’s wrong with him?”  Han asked, looking around the limited view he had of Luke’s apartment.  Mara took a deep breath and dove in.

“He was poisoned,” she told him.  She started debating how she would tell him the next part.  She found herself worrying that Han might think she had done this on purpose.

“By whom?”  He asked.  His voice was laced with so much worry she understood why Luke waited to tell him.

“By Emperor Palpatine,” Cilghal offered.

“That’s a neat trick since he has been dead all these years,” Han said, sarcastically.

“It’s a very long story,” Mara told him.  She was trying her best to keep her cool, but there was something about Solo’s manner that tended to frazzle her nerves at times.  “Maybe you should call Leia.  I’m going to move Luke to his room so we won’t keep bothering him.”

“Do you need any help?” Han asked.

“I’ll let you know if I do,” she told him.  It was a short walk to where Luke still slumbered.  She ran her fingers gently across his cheek until he opened his eyes.  He offered a weak smile when he saw her.

“Hey,” he said in greeting.

“I want to move you to your room.  You’ll be more comfortable there.”

“You are probably right.”  It took some effort on his part but he got up without any assistance.  Mara had to warn Cilghal off when she tried to help.  She could feel that Luke wanted to do this on his own.  He did not protest however when Mara wrapped her arm around his waist to help him into the room.

He did not notice his worried brother in law watching his slow progress across the apartment.  It was yet more proof how much this illness had advanced.  Not that she needed any more proof.  It was getting worse and fast.  She knew they had to do something soon, before it was too late.

They had made it to the bedroom with no trouble, and Mara was glad it was a short walk there.  She had no problem supporting him, she was just conscious of the fact that he would not permit himself this show of weakness in front of anyone.  She wanted to get him out of the room as fast as she could.

Once he was in the bed and comfortably under the covers she bent over and kissed his forehead.  “Now sleep,” she whispered.

“Thank you, Mara,” he said, pulling the covers up near his neck.  “Wake me when Leia gets here.”

“Huh?” She had thought he was asleep when she made that call.

“I know you called her,” he told her.  “Let me know when she gets here.”

“I will.”  What ever you want, right now, is yours.  She paused at that thought, wondering if she really meant it.  And she did, she wanted him to have whatever he wanted as long as he was happy.  Checking one last time that he was covered she left him to rest.

She was just reentering the living area when the door opened.  Leia walked in and looked around.

“That was fast,” Mara said.  Leia’s here, she sent silently to Luke.  He probably already knew it but he had asked her to tell him. 

I know, he sent back.

Just rest a while, she told him, knowing he was probably thinking about getting up as soon as Leia got near.  I need to talk to her.

I will be out in a few minutes.  Mara felt him relax, so she asked everyone to sit down.  Grabbing the data disk off of Luke’s desk she joined them.

“What’s going on here, Mara?” Leia asked.  “Han calls and tells me to get down here.  What’s wrong with Luke?”

“As I was telling your husband, your brother has been exposed to a poison created by the late Emperor.” The sneer on Mara’s face betrayed her irritation at having to go over it again.

“Poison?  Is he alright?” Leia asked.   She looked from Mara to Cilghal.  Mara could not read Leia very well unless she really tried, but she did not need the Force to be able to sense what Leia was feeling.  Everyone in this room felt the same, immense worry for the young man in the next room.

“At this point your brother is not well,” Cilghal explained.  “We have tried everything, and nothing seems to be helping.”

“Nothing?” Leia asked.  It was odd to see Leia lose her cool, but she was very close to doing just that.  If there was one thing that Leia was known to get overemotional about, it was her brother.  “There is nothing you can do?”

“I have not given up hope,” Cilghal assured her.  “There are still some things I want to try.”

“What?” Mara asked, looking at her.  “You said you had no other ideas.”  It occurred to Mara that the Jedi Healer might have just said that to Mara to pacify her, and had waited for Leia to show up before she let anyone know her plan.  But no, she would not do that.  They may no like her, but when it came to Luke, no one lied to her.

“I just thought of one,” she said.  “Mara, I believe you can handle things from here.  There is something I need to do before I can attempt this.”

“Attempt what?” Mara asked.

“I will explain when I get back.”  Cilghal got out of her chair and moved to the door, not looking back as she exited the apartment.

“Mara, how did this happen?” Leia asked.  Mara watched as Han took hold of his wife’s hand.  He too could see how worried she had become all of a sudden.  “I can feel how much pain he is in.  He was hiding it from me before, and I never noticed, until now.”

Mara closed her eyes trying to gather her thoughts.  It was a few moments before she spoke.  “As I had explained to you before, the Emperor did many things to ensure he got what he wanted.  In this case he used me, to get to your brother.”  She waited for one of them to say something, when neither spoke up she continued.  “I did not even know about it until a few weeks ago.  I happened across a data disk that explained it all.”

“But if you were carrying this, why is it just now affecting him?” Han asked.  “You two have known each other for a very long time.”

“Well... It not transmitted through casual contact.” She tried to control her temper when she saw the two exchange looks, and the sly smile that appeared on Han’s face. “Don’t you two get it?” Mara exclaimed, her voice rising.  “He is lucky to be alive.  If we had not found that disk when we did, we would not have had time to realize what had happened, until it was too late.”

Leia softened her features as she regarded the woman in front of her.  She had known that Mara and Luke had been getting closer, but she never realized just how much the redhead cared about her brother.  She had never come right out and said it, but by her out burst, Leia knew she cared about Luke more than she let anyone know. 

She had not meant to upset Mara.  Leia was just as upset as Mara about her brother.  What she just said had hit a bit close to home.  Han and she were just talking the other night about how close they thought Luke and Mara were getting.  What Mara had said finally registered completely.

“What do you mean he is lucky to be alive?” she asked, and enormous lump forming in her throat.

“Well, what would you rather me do,” Mara asked.  “You want me to tell you or let you read the disk?”

“The disk I think would suffice,” Han said, accepting the data reader she handed them.  Leia sat next to her husband reading, and a lump grew larger the further she read.  She began to understand why Mara was so upset.  It was incredibly hard to believe that even the Emperor could be that cruel.

“So he intended you as a weapon?” Han asked as they finished reading.  “Why did he never go through with it?”

“It’s not that easy, Han.  And it’s a very long story.  The short version is that he knew we would get together at some point, so he made sure he would have something ready for it.”

“But how would he know that?” Leia asked.  Mara was being very vague, and it was hard to understand when she felt she was not getting all the information.

“It boils down to destiny.” Leia looked up to see Luke coming out of the bedroom.  “Just another aspect of mine I was never allowed to know about.”  He walked normally but she could see he was straining.  He had bags under his eyes, and he was not breathing in a completely normal fashion.  All very small details, but ones she picked up on in an instant.

“Luke!”  She got up and went over to him, hugging him warmly.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” he told her.

“I’m worried now.”  She wanted to strangle him at times, but she found herself wishing there was something she could do to help.  There has to be a way around this.  We’re just not looking in the right places.  There is always a way around everything, if you look hard enough, Leia thought furiously.

“Then I saved you a few days of it.”  He let her lead him back to the couch, and sat in the chair next to Mara, while she went back to the seat she shared with Han.

“Kid, you do like to spring the big ones on us, don’t you?” Han said good-naturedly.  “You really should not try and keep things from us.  One way or another we always find out.”

“I know that,” Luke said, offering a weak smile.  “It becomes a challenge to see how long I can keep you from finding out.”  There was still a little of his old humor there, even if it was muffled by the pain.  He was trying hard to give the impression that everything was fine, but Han had told her what he saw when he first got to the apartment.  There was nothing he could do now to convince her that he was fine.

There was a knock at the door, and Mara got up to answer it.  The conversation was at a standstill and she was glad to get away for a few seconds.  She was almost to the entrance before she noticed that Han had gotten up with her.  She opened the door to see Cilghal standing there and stepped back to let her in.

“What is she doing here?” Mara demanded.   Behind Cilghal stood both Kyia and another lady.  She did not attempt to hide that fact that she was upset about the unexpected, and unwelcome visitors.

“Who’s here?” Luke asked, getting up and coming towards the door.  Mara quickly tried to think of any way she could keep this from upsetting Luke.  But he was there faster than she would have given him credit for.  Don’t push yourself just because there are people here, Mara sent to him.  She knew he was trying his best to ignore the pain, just as she knew he would.  He would not show that much weakness, even to the people closest to him. 

“It’s that girl from Jaina’s wall,” Han said.  He sounded shocked at seeing this mere child showing up at Luke’s door.  Mara barely registered his comment as she tried to figure out why Cilghal, and friend of Luke’s, would do this after Mara had told her he did not want to see her.

“I believe she asked you a question,” Luke said, regarding Cilghal and the person standing behind her.  His voice was strong, betraying none of the pain she could still feel from him. 

“Master Skywalker, you will understand when I explain.  When she arrived earlier I felt something through the Force.  I could not place what it was, so I decided to meditate.  All I received for my efforts was a feeling that she needed to be here.”

“You are not welcome here,” Luke stated.  By this time the commotion at the door had attracted Leia’s attention.  She had been reading through the data concerning Luke’s illness again.  Being the only person left sitting she joined everyone at the door.

“Please.”  It was not Kyia that spoke, but the older woman standing with her.  She maneuvered her way into the room, and Mara could not stop the involuntary step back she took when she recognized the woman.  It did not faze her when she backed right into Han.  Her mind was still trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

How is she alive? She was not sure if that was her thought or Luke’s.  One look at his face confirmed that the identity of the woman was not lost on him.

“Arielle?”  He voice was unsure, a feeling that appeared on his face as well.

“Luke,” the woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.  “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.  But I had no choice.”

“But how?”

“Okay, hold on everyone,” Leia demanded.  “The hallway is not the place to be having this type of conversation.  Let’s move this into the living area.”

No one said anything but they all began to make their way to the comfortable chairs in the other room.  Mara headed strait to Leia, it was time to have a talk with her.

“What did you do that for?” she demanded, grabbing Leia’s arm, forcing her to stop walking.  “Now I cannot throw them out as easily.”

“Mara!”  Leia exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face.  “You can’t be serious.”

“I am deadly serious.  I don’t believe her one bit.  That is not Arielle, and I no longer believe that girl is MaCayla.”

“MaCayla?” Leia asked, her face one of pure disbelief.  “What makes you think that’s MaCayla?  What has been going on? How long have you known about this?”

“Since the party the other night,” Mara explained.  She knew she had said more than she had originally intended, but she figured it might be necessary to have Leia to back her up when the time came to ask them to leave again.  “It was why Luke came to talk to you that night.  We were trying to track her down.  Which was taken care of thanks to your daughter, as your husband pointed out.  However, we have since learned that she is not who she says she is.  I don’t know how they are pulling this off, but I intend to find out and put a stop to it.   He does not need this right now.”

Leia simply nodded and they both joined the others.  Luke was sitting in one of the bigger chairs and was just studying Arielle.  He did not move when Mara sat down next to him.

“Are you who we all here think you are?” He asked.

“There is only one way for you to know that for sure,” she said.  Luke nodded his head in understanding.  Closing his eyes, he submerged himself in the Force.  In doing so he caused his head to hurt more.  He had an incredible urge to attack the poison again. However that took too much out of him, and besides, that was not why he was there.  He sent a tentacle of the Force towards the woman claming to be Arielle.  His mind began screaming that it was really her.  She could not be alive.  He had seen her die.  He had seen both of them die.  He opened his eyes and looked around.  Kyia was sitting there, her mind seeming a million miles away.  There was no way he could deny what the Force was telling him.  It was them; the two were not lying about it.  However, what came as a bigger shock was the Force sense around Arielle.  She was Force sensitive, they both were. What puzzled him was the fact that they were both at least partially trained in the ways of the Jedi, though the aura around MaCayla was much brighter then that of her mother.  The Forced flowed around her like it was itching for activity.

Luke opened his eyes again, first looking at his sister then to Mara.  He could feel them also understanding.  There was no mistaking the trueness of the facts.

“How are you alive?” he asked.   “I saw you die.”

“No, you only think you saw,” Arielle told him.  Luke saw Mara shift position out of the corner of his eye.  He knew that was one of the theories they had talked about previously.

“Then was it you?” Mara asked.  “All those visions.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you let me believe you were dead?” Mara asked.

“To explain it I would have to start at the beginning.  Am I assuming that not everyone here has heard of how this all started?”

“No, everyone has not,” Luke said, knowing that Mara had told him the story, but he had not passed that information on to his sister and brother in law.

“I’ll go over it then.  From what I have found out, many years ago the Jedi of the Old Republic believed that a child had already been born that would one day save the galaxy from the horrors it was receiving in the hands of the Emperor.  It was also believed that there would be another child born to share the burden of restoring the Jedi Order.  They believed they would know this child when she arrived.  By this time the first child, obviously Luke, had been moved to an unknown location.  From then on every woman that became pregnant was watched carefully, as they waited for a sign that the child was on its way.

“The whole thing was a carefully guarded secret.  But eventually the Emperor did find out.  On the day the child was born there was a colossal attack on the Jedi Temple.  Three Jedi were sent to collect the child while the rest of them tried to keep the Imperials at bay.  There was a lot of blood shed that day.  Out of the three Jedi that were sent after the baby only one made it to the nursery.  Feeling the danger of the situation, the Jedi quickly grabbed the baby and fled the Temple.”

“How did you find out this information?” Luke asked.  It was more detailed then the tale Mara had told him, but she had not left out anything important.

“Ben Kenobi,” Arielle told him.  “He told me the day he asked me to leave Tatooine.”

“So let me get this straight,” Leia said. “You were the child taken from the temple that day?”

“Yes.”

“Then why would he ask you to leave?  You said that the child was meant to help Luke, how could you help if you were not there?”

“Well, to be honest, they took the wrong baby.  There were too girls born that day.  In all the confusion, the wrong baby was taken.  The Emperor took the other baby.”

“So if you were not the ‘chosen’ child.  Who was?” Leia asked.  She looked around the room until her eyes settled on Mara.  She had been quiet during the tail, and something clicked.

“Mara?” Mara opened her mouth to speak, but changed her mind.  When she did speak her voice was strong.

“I was the other child born that day,” she admitted.  She said it with such conviction that it left no room for doubt.

“When Kenobi realized the mistake, his mistake, Luke and I were already married and MaCayla was already born.  He came to me one day… Wait I missed a point.  Luke’s uncle refused to let Luke know anything about his heritage, so who I was in the eyes of the Jedi was kept a secret from them also.  However, my family did not feel the same way.  I had been receiving training from the time I was eight.  Not extensive, but I was taught the basics.  Kenobi’s rationalization was that since Luke would not be beginning his training right away, he could get me started so that when Luke did finally realize what he was meant for Ben could concentrate more on him.  Well, he came to me one day, after he had found out about the mistake and explained everything to me.  About the foretold birth and everything it meant.  There was no denying the fact that she was the one, not me.”

“He said it, just like that?” Han asked.  “What a nice guy.”

“No, he was more polite about it, but that’s what he meant.  It was then that he asked me to leave.  He wanted to try and get her away from the Emperor.  In other words, I would be in the way.”

“But I saw you die,” Luke repeated.

“It wasn’t real.  It was preplanned.  Kenobi was there, and between himself and what he showed me how to do, we were able to fake MaCayla’s death and mine.  We talked to Nyela and she agreed to help.  I was hit that day, but it was not deadly.  By the time you picked MaCayla up I had already put her to sleep.  We were rushed off and Kenobi took care of the doctor.  With what you saw, all it took was the doctor saying we died.  No one ever questioned it.”

“But wouldn’t they realize you were not at your own funeral?” Leia asked.

“Not really,” Arielle told them.  “It was a closed coffin.  No one thought anything about it.  Kenobi took care of the caretaker.  He said it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Not a problem,” Luke repeated in a low voice.  He still portrayed and air of indifference, but Leia could feel his mood darkening.   She wanted to go to him, hug him, let him know that she was there for him.  He looked at her, as if picking up on her thoughts.  She knew then that he did not want her sympathy.

“So he was able to convince Nyela to take the blame for your death?”

“The truth is, she was not supposed to remember what happened.  She agreed to serve the 3 years it would most likely take to prove that she was not completely sane when she shot us.”

“What went wrong?” Luke asked. 

“She started to remember.  I think that’s why she kept going after you.  She was remembering what happened and blamed you for it.”

“What made you show up?” Leia asked. So far everything she had said made since, but she had not gave a reason for being there after she said there was no other way.  “Why now?”

“Because of MaCayla,” Arielle told them.  “That and I mean I was getting a bit tired of waiting for you two to get together.  So I did a little to help out there.  I started by trying to visit Luke, but it upset him too greatly, so I visited with Mara.  It looked, there for a while, like things were working, but then I saw you on Tatooine, and I knew something was up.   By that time MaCayla had started to figure things out.”

“Figure out?  How did she do that?” Cilghal asked.

“Well she is Luke’s child, and very strong in the Force. She started having dreams and visions about Luke, and started asking questions.  I could not lie to her, so I told her.  She immediately said she wanted to meet you.  There was no way I could refuse. She wanted to meet her father.  What I did was ask her not to mention me and to try and see what was happening between the two of you.  Maybe the plan was not thought out, in a way I was hoping you would not ask, but I could not ask my daughter to lie.”

“I did that on my own,” the child said.  Arielle squeezed her hand then continued her tale.

“That conversation you walked in on Luke, that’s what we were talking about.”

“So the Emperor knew,” Leia said, tapping the data pad.  “That’s where this came from?”

“That’s where what came from?” Arielle asked.  “What is that?”

Luke reached over and took the data pad and handed it to Arielle.  “This is why Mara and I are not together.” Arielle sat back and began reading.  While she did Luke excused himself, claming the need for some air.  He stood alone on the balcony finding peace in the ever-moving traffic that weaved it way through the landscape.  He rolled his shoulders trying to relieve some of the tension there.

“I’m fine,” he stated.  Turning around he was greeted by the knowing smile of his brother in law.

“No, you’re not.  No one would be.  That’s your life they are talking about in there,” Han said, indicating the group of people still gathered in his apartment.

“Han, what am I doing wrong?” Luke asked.  He spoke before he thought, by that time it was too late.  Han would not drop the subject now until he explained himself.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“With my life?  I mean, just as soon as I think I have my life together it gets completely messed up.”  His head picked that moment to announce its need for attention.  Luke grabbed the rail for support as he rode out the pain.  “I know I’m missing something here,” he said through gritted teeth, as the pain fell to bearable limits.  “But what else could there be?  I can’t … do it.”

“Do what?”

“Deal with all this,” he told him.  He wanted to talk about it, but when he did the feelings were so intense it scared him.  “They are supposed to be dead.  And I should not be sick.  I don’t understand why all this had to happen to me.  It’s not like I had a say in it.  From the sounds of it I never did.”

“Luke, don’t think of it that way.  You had choices in your life, you decided the way you would go.”

“Not really,” he argued.  “Most of my choices were made because that’s what needed to be done, not because I wanted it. And when it is because I want it, it turns out badly.”

“Oh, that’s not true,” the other man argued.  “Name me something you have done lately that has turned out that way.”

“Mara…and it could have killed me.”

That sobered the other man up.  It was a couple of seconds before he found his voice again.   “Luke, we’ll find something.”

“Yeah, I know,” Luke said, though he did not sound so sure.

“This is horrible.  He would actually do something like this?” Arielle asked.  They were still sitting in Luke’s living room, patiently waiting for Luke to return.  Leia had been quiet since her brother and husband left the room.  Probably trying to keep an eye on what’s going on out there, Mara thought.

“That’s nothing compared to some of the things he did,” she told her.  I guess I would know better than anyone else in this room, she thought.   She got barley a nod in reply from the blonde woman. 

Mara got out of her chair and walked over to the window.  She wrapped her arms securely across her chest as she looked out the oversized window.  She had tried to keep her emotions under control, but this was her life they were talking about.  She had not told Luke the whole truth to try and save him from what she was feeling now, but he found out anyway.  He had it happen to him so much, having things planed out for him, and he had no control over them.  She always thought she had control of her own life, and that after she broke free of the Emperor, she alone was in control.  But that was not entirely the case.  From what Arielle had just told her, she too had her life planned out for her even before she was born.  It was impossible to imagine herself had she not grown up how she had.  She could not see herself with Luke as her childhood friend and soon after her husband and father of her children.  She could definitely not see herself fighting along side him against the Emperor.  It was just so completely the opposite of her life.  That was the whole idea, she thought.  The Emperor wanted it to be that way.  One last cruel joke he could spring despite what he knew was going to happen to him. 

There was nothing she could do to change her past, and wondering about it was not going to do anything but put her in a bad mood.  She closed her eyes and sighed, trying to push the thoughts away.  Settling herself, she could feel the Force.  It felt like it was dancing around her, trying to get her attention.  She let it fill her, enjoying the peace that it brought with it.

“Luke, we’ll find something.”  It was Han’s voice, and Mara realized she was hearing the conversation going on outside.

“Yes, I know,” Luke replied.  He did not sound convinced.  There had to be a way, she knew it.  It was finding the answer that was eluding her. 

“I’m fine, Han.  I just need to be alone for a few minutes.”  She opened her eyes just as Han was walking through the door.  He went straight to his wife and started talking quietly.  Focusing her attention on the figure standing alone on the balcony, she got strange feelings flowing from him.  She headed straight out to him.  

“Luke!  What are you doing?” she yelled and ran for the rail along the edge.  “Are you crazy?  Get back down here.”   Luke was standing atop the rail with his back to her.  He turned when he heard her voice.

“Go back inside, Mara,” Luke said.  He voice was as dull as his eyes.  “I want to be alone.”

“I can see that, Luke.  What do you think you are doing?”  He ran his hands through his hair and shifted his feet, never losing his balance.

“Mara, please go inside.  This is something I need to do.  I can’t deal with all of this.  I am tired of it.”

“I’m not leaving, Luke.  You are going to get down right this second.”  His feelings were flowing freely and she was surprised that none of the other Force sensitives inside the apartment seemed to be picking up on them.

“If I get down, will you please leave me alone for a bit?  Mara, I am just trying to think that’s all.”  He carefully got down off the rail and was standing in front of her.

“But…”

“No buts, Mara.  Please, just wait inside.”  She wanted to stay out there to talk to him, but he was slowly closing himself off to her, and she knew that she would do nothing by staying out there but upset him more.  She agreed with a nod, intending to wait by the door so she could keep an eye on him.  She was barely inside the apartment when he leaped back up onto the rail.  She rolled her eyes and had started back over to him, when he went over the edge.  She ran as fast as she could to the end of the balcony, and watched as he fell, his face serene, towards the dark depths of Coruscant without ever making a sound.

Chapter 19

No!!!!!!  Mara slammed her eyes shut at the sight before her.  She could not bear to watch Luke end his own life.  When she opened them again she was no longer on the balcony.  She was back in front of the window.  Looking around, no one had moved from where they had been sitting.  What’s going on?  Looking outside she could see Luke still out there talking to Han.  Her hands planted firmly at her sides she approached them.  She stormed right past Han and grabbed Luke by the collar. 

“You had better never even think of doing something like that!” she yelled.

“Ok,” Luke said.  He stared at her confused while she backed him up against the wall.  “You mind telling me what I am not thinking about?”

“What?!”

“What is wrong with you, Mara?”

She stopped and thought about what this must look like to everyone.  They had been having a quiet conversation when she rushed out and, well, just about attacked him.  It was not real, she realized.  But then why?  A vision.  Was the Force trying to warn her of something?

“If I ever hear of you wanting to give up, I will save you the trouble and kill you myself!”

“Mara, calm down.  I have not given up,” Luke said.  He had his hands hanging lightly at his sides, not trying at all to move hers away.

“You had better not,” she said, pushing him harder against the wall. 

“I promise,” he said.  She could feel that he meant it, which confused her even more.  Why had the Force showed her that possibility if he was nowhere close to doing it?

“It was just a vision, Mara,” Luke told her.  “Whatever it was, it was just something that could of happened, but didn’t.  I haven’t given up.”  He cleared his throat before speaking again.  “Could you let me go now, Mara?  You press any harder and you would take care of it yourself.”

It was then that she realized she still had him pinned to the wall.  She quickly let him go.  He rubbed his neck and smiled at her.  

“Must have been on hell of a vision to get you that upset.”  She turned to see Han watching them both, clearly amused.

“What did you see?’ Luke asked, trying not to laugh at Han’s comment.  Mara was upset enough, that would be all she needed to explode right then and there.

She looked over at the balcony.  “You jumped.”  Luke shook his head in understanding while Han laughed.

“He was upset,” Han said.  “But not that bad.  Besides, I would not have let him kill himself over this.”

She turned her back to Luke and faced Solo.  “Well, that’s not the way I saw it,” she spat at him.  She disappeared back into the apartment just as fast as she had appeared.

“You’ve got a handful there, Luke,” Han said after Mara had left.  “She will surely keep you on your toes.”

“Literally.”

Leia looked around the room.  When she came down here it had been because Han said Luke was sick.  When she left her office she had no idea of what she was about to find out.  Han did not seem that upset when he called, so she figured he had not known the extent of what had been happening.  Looking over to the window, she could see Mara standing there lost in thought.  She needs someone to talk to just as much as Luke does, Leia thought.  She did not go to her, however.  Mara was never one to talk to Leia and she suspected that if Mara wanted to talk to her, she would have started the conversation.  No, she would talk to Luke.  That was who she always went to.

Leia smiled to herself.  No matter how hard she tried she could not picture Mara growing up on Tatooine.  If she had, Leia realized, she would not be the same person that was here with them today.  A large part of Mara was based on her experiences at the hands of the Emperor.  When I met her, she would have been my sister in law, she realized.  There is no telling what would have been different had Luke had Mara by his side during the rebellion.

She watched as Mara shifted position.  She was taking this over very hard. Then the weight of everything that had been disclosed hit her.  It was no wonder Luke and Mara had been acting strangely the last few weeks.  It bothered her that she did not pick up on all it sooner. 

Leia noticed Han still talking to Luke on the balcony.  She could sense her brother’s feelings heating up, but knew it was only because Han was making him talk.  Han would know how to handle him.  Cilghal had fallen quiet over the last few minutes; she had been reading the data disk again.  She was offering no more information, probably waiting for Luke to return.  Leaving Leia nothing to do but think.

Leia sighed.  There was nothing she could do now but wait.  Arielle was talking quietly with Kyia, who was not very happy.  Arielle did not look much better. 

“Why did you never tell me all of that?” the child demanded.

“Honey,” Arielle said, her voice soothing.  “I couldn’t tell you.  You have to understand, I was trying to look out for everyone.”

“All this time I could have known who he was, but you did not tell me.  How could you have kept that from me?”

“MaCayla…Kyia,” Leia corrected herself.  Try and keep her calm, talk to her in a manner she is comfortable with.  It was the same instruction she had given Han one night when Jaina was upset and he was trying to calm her down.  It was good advice that also applied here.  “Do you understand everything your mother is trying to explain to everyone?”

“Yes.  She is saying that she was married to him and was asked to leave,” the child told her.

“Yes, but do you know why?”  Leia asked.  She could feel Arielle’s gratitude with help in this matter.

“Because this guy, Kenobi, did not want her around,” the child said.  “I mean, from what my mom just said, that is what he told her, wasn’t it?”

Leia took a deep breath.  This was a very delicate situation.  It was obvious to Leia that MaCayla knew little about Ben Kenobi.  She was now a part of Luke’s family, and they were bound to talk about what had transpired.  Leia, knowing how much Luke cared for Old Ben, did not want his child to hate him.  Not if she did not understand why he did the things he did.

“Back then, before you were born, things in the galaxy were very bad.   The Emperor did some terrible things, and the Jedi back then needed someone who could help them. They believed that Luke… Your father,” she stumbled over that title.  It will take some getting used to, she thought to herself.  “He has done some wonderful things.  Things that Old Ben thought he would not do if they did not stick to the prophecy.”

“So I was a mistake,” she said.  She did not know the girl well but it broke her heart to see anyone feeling the way she did.

“You were not a mistake.”  It was Cilghal that spoke.  She had discarded the data pad and had rejoined the conversation.  “When the prophecy was made, the Jedi tried to follow it exactly.  When they couldn’t the Force took over.  Nothing is perfect.  The future is always in motion. Your mother and father had you, it was for a reason.”

“But in the eyes of the Force, I am a mistake,” the child demanded.

“In the eyes of the Force, nothing is a mistake,” Cilghal insisted.  Leia was about to say something when she felt Mara’s emotions explode around her.  She watched as she turned from the window and all but ran out the door.  Leia jumped up to see what was wrong, and everyone else followed her.  She got to the door just as Mara pushed Luke up against the wall.

“Here we go again,” Leia said.  Cilghal nodded her head in agreement.  

“Aren’t you going to do something?” Arielle asked, fear tainting her voice.  “She could hurt him.”

“Mara?” Leia asked, looking at the woman standing next to her.  “Mara would never hurt Luke. She has spent too much time trying to protect him. What ever set her off, she feels was Luke’s fault.  Once she gets her answers, she will leave him alone.” 

“And if she doesn’t get the answers she wants?” Arielle asked.

“Luke is not dumb, he knows how to handle Mara.  He is probably the only one that truly can.”   Mara finally stepped back away from Luke, and with a word to Han she came back into the apartment.   She headed straight to the couch and sat down.  Luke and Han came in a few moments later.

“Don’t ask,” Han said as he took hold of her arm and lead her back to their seat.  Luke walked up to Mara, who ignored him.  He smiled slightly and sat in another chair.

“Okay, where were we,” Luke said, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“I would like to say something,” Cilghal said, interrupting whoever was going to speak up. “If it’s alright with everyone.”

“By all means,” Luke said, offering her the floor.

“Master Skywalker, it is no a secret o anyone in this room how your headaches have been bothering you.  Though you look fine now, we all know how hard it is for you to hide it.”

“And your point is, Cilghal.”

“Forgive me, I may have said before that I had no other ideas on how to help you, but that is no longer the case.  Something has come to my attention that I think might help.”

“Such as?”  Was she always this vague? Luke thought.  He felt like pulling his hair out waiting for her to tell them what was on her mind.  He took a moment to calm himself, realizing it was the pain talking not him.

“Let me try something first.  Kyia could you come here?” she asked.

“Me?” the girl asked.  She looked around uncertainly before getting up and approaching.

“When you were here earlier I noticed something, but was not sure then what it was.  It wasn’t until a few moments go that it finally dawned on me.  Mara, when she touched you, you jumped, why did you do that?”

“Because she shocked me,” Mara said.

“Was it the only time it happened?”

Mara took a few seconds to think about it before answering.  “No.”

“Master Skywalker?”

“It happened to me also.  Back at the restaurant,” he told her, wondering where she was going with this.

“Okay, that’s what I thought.  Now MaCayla, when those things happened what did you feel?”

“Um, well there at the door, I had no idea why I touched her.  I was scared of her, but I could not help it.  When I did it was strange.  It scared me, so I pulled away.”

“Would you mind trying it again?” Cilghal asked.

“Um…” The child still looked unsure.  Luke looked up at Cilghal and nodded.  “I’ll be alright,” he said, finally starting to understand.  “I see what she is trying to do.  All she wants you to do is touch my hand.  We can see from there what happens.”  MaCayla looked over at her mother then reached out tentatively and took hold of his hand.  Luke braced himself, and was able not to jump when he felt the shock.  Reaching out with the Force he studied her.  Without her even thinking about it she reached back.  There was a rush of energy and Luke let go.

“What did you do?” Luke asked, hardly able to catch his breath. He swung his head trying to look from Kyia to Cilghal.  “How did you do that?  How did she do that?”

“Master Skywalker,” Cilghal said awkwardly.  It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts.  “This is just what I thought it was.  This is how my abilities first showed themselves.  Started with one problem…one illness that I just could not leave alone.”

“What are you saying?” Leia asked.

“I believe that this child’s Force talent will fall along the lines of healing.  That she tries, without realizing, to clear out the virus from both of you.”

“Really?” Leia asked.  “Can she do it?”

“I don’t honestly know,” Cilghal admitted.

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Leia said, looking at her brother.

“Mom?”  The child looked at her mother and it was easy to see how scared she was.

“Everyone stop, right now,” Luke demanded.  He looked back at the child.  “Kyia, you don’t have to do this.  I make no one test their abilities unless they are ready.  You already know you have them.  When you feel you want to try and develop them, that’s fine.  Don’t feel pressured into anything.” 

“Well…” she said, looking at her mother again. “Everyone has a purpose, right?”

“Uh, right,” Luke said, not knowing she was just repeating what Cilghal had said to her earlier.

“Well, if I was given the gift to heal you two, then that must be mine.”

“That is a very wise thought,” Cilghal told her.  “There is nothing to worry about, I will be watching very carefully.”

“What do I do?” the child asked.

“Just what you have been doing,” Luke told her.  “But this time we let it run it’s course.”

“Okay,” Kyia said, looking back at her mother again.

“There is nothing to worry about,” Cilghal assured her.  “We will be right here with you.”

Luke sat on the couch and Cilghal instructed Mara to do the same.  Cilghal knelt in front of them, and MaCayla joined her.  Forcing himself to relax, Luke closed his eyes.  He felt the light touch of MaCayla’s hands on his and braced himself for what he now knew would happen.  Even though he thought he was prepared he still gasped when the wall of energy hit him.  It was unlike anything he had ever felt before.  It reached every inch of him and it felt like the muscle was being pulled from his bones.  He was unable to stop the moan as the pain continued to wash over him.  He tried to think of something, anything that would keep his mind off of what was happening.  He could feel Mara sitting beside him.  She too was in pain, and when she felt his presence she held on to him, and they rode out the pain together.   He could also feel, somewhere in the back of his mind, the worried minds of his family standing nearby.  There was a nervous air around all of them that got worse every time he made a sound.  His breath became shallow and his jaw was set, but he refused to pull back.  It would be worth all the pain if this worked.  Just when he thought he could take no more the pain was gone.  He could feel her presence retreat, leaving him exhausted and more then a bit shaky.  He reached out to Mara to make sure she was ok, and she returned his touch warmly.

He opened his eyes to see Kyia still sitting in front of him.  Her cheeks we soaked by her own tears and he was suddenly filled with fear. Afraid that she had felt the same pain he had.  She turned and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” she soothed.  “Were you hurt?”  The child said something and Arielle looked up and shook her head no.  “Then what’s wrong?”

“I could feel them.  They were in so much pain, and it was because of me.”

“Luke, how are you feeling now?”  Leia asked.  He was sitting back on the couch quietly listening to the exchange.  When he heard the question he concentrated on himself.  A smile slowly began to spread across his face.

“I feel good,” he said.  “Tired, but good.  No pain.”

“Mara?”

“I’m fine,” Mara said.

“See,” Arielle said, once again talking to MaCayla.  “You did not hurt them, you helped them.” She lifted the girl’s chin with her hands and looked her in the eyes.

“You helped them.”  She turned and looked at Luke and he made himself smile.   She seemed to accept that and began to relax.  Cilghal stepped over to him and placed her hand on his.  He could feel her checking for the poison and her shock when she did not find anything.

She straightened up when she finished and announced her findings to everyone.  They were both completely cured.  Luke sat back, relief flooding through him.  It was over, and he was able to live through this one.  It took a few minutes for anyone to speak. It was a surprise when Arielle broke the silence.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

It was an easy question for Luke, something he had already thought about.  “It has been a very trying couple of months.  I have all intentions of taking it easy for a while.  And I am sure there are plenty of things that I can do during that time.  We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Kyia smiled hen he looked at her.  They are still alive.  It was amazing to him that they were sitting here, after so much time had passed.

“Will you contact your mother?” he asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him.  “They would be glad to see you.”

Arielle smiled sadly.  “I just saw them last week, Luke.  They have known all along what was going on.  They were asked not to say anything to you.”

“They knew?” He asked.  Why am I always the last to know? He asked himself.  He pushed the thought away though.  It was all out in the open now, and getting upset now would not change a thing.

“I don’t see a reason to keep it a secret anymore.  Do you?”

“But Luke, you can’t just go to the press and say: ‘Oh look I found my wife and daughter after fifteen years.’ When know one knew you were married.”

Luke placed a loving hand on his sister.  “That’s why I have you,” he said with a smile.  “I know this is something you can handle.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said sarcastically.

“But wait, doesn’t this mean that you two are still married?” Han asked.

“I don’t know,” Luke said, looking over at Mara.  “I mean I thought she was dead all this time.”

“You have the death certificate, right Luke?” Arielle asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, wondering what difference a forged death certificate would make.

“Do you know where it is?  Can I see it?” 

“Sure.  Let me go and find it.”  He walked quickly to his bedroom and opened his closet.  There in the back sat a box that he rarely ever touched.  Pulling it out he opened it.  Inside were a few baby pictures of MaCayla and pictures of Luke and Arielle together.  There was also an empty box that had once held the necklace he had given back to Arielle’s mother.  It was then that he remembered seeing it since then.  Arielle was wearing it.  I could have probably figured all this out a long time ago if I had only been paying attention, he thought to himself.  Looking under all the other memories in the box he pulled out the envelope that he knew held the death certificate.  Putting the box away he went back out to the living room.

He handed the envelope to Arielle who opened and read over them.  Leia asked to see it and she two read over the information in front of her.

“Luke, you had to sign this right?” Leia asked.

“Yes, why?” he asked.  Mara also sensing Leia’s anxiety stepped closer to Luke.

“Luke, these are divorce papers.  Not a death certificate.”  Luke went numb with shock hen he heard those words as Mara snatched the papers out of Leia’s hands. 

“She’s right, Luke,” Mara said, breathless.  “You two are not married.  You have been divorce for a very long time.”

“Well I guess that takes care of that,” Han said.  “Mara, Luke, you two looked exhausted and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I really have things I have to get done today.  Luke, thank you for such an informative afternoon.”

“Oh yes,” Leia said, looking uncomfortably at her husband.  “I really need to get back to work.  Cilghal?”

“I will be needing to arrange a shuttle back to the academy,” she said.

“I could help you with that,” Leia offered.  “It can be a real pain sometimes to get a shuttle out of here.”

“I would appreciate your assistance.”

Arielle looked around at the people beginning to leave and smiled.  “Well we will be needing to go also.  Kyia still has rehearsals today.”

“But mom,” the child started to protest.

“But nothing,” Arielle insisted. “Lets go.  You will see them later.”

“Of course,” Luke agreed.  He walked everyone to the door, and closed it after them.  “Not one of Leia’s best exits.”

“Yeah I got the feeling they were trying to leave us along for some reason.”

“Yeah, Han noticed e were tried,” he said with a sly smile.

“Do you really think that’s why they decided to leave?” Mara asked.

“Well what other reason could there be?” he asked, slowly making his way back over to her.

“I could think of a few,” Mara said, her voice dropping slightly.  “Do you think you are really cured?”

“Cilghal thinks so,” he said, finally reaching her, and slipping one arm around her waist.  “There is one way to find out.”

“I’ve missed you, Luke,” Mara whispered.

“I haven’t gone anywhere,” he whispered back.

“I’ve missed this.”  Their lips met in the first kiss they had shared in a very long time.

THE END!!!

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