A Whole New Life
Part 6: Understandings
By SJ 12-23-01/ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)

________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702

Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving
me some of your precious time, my friend :)

WARNING: This part also deals with Terrorism and the horrors of galactic
domination.

__________________

Meanwhile, Mara had followed her instincts and gone to a new, unfamiliar planet:
Capara. There, she had discovered that the small city of Bantul, in which she
had landed, had become the main safe port for countless refugees who had been
rescued during what was now known as Skywalker's coup.

At first, she had thought that she had been brought by the Force to such a place
because her parents were part of the refugees, but a few hours after beginning
her inquiries, her inner guidance had disappeared, leaving her alone with no
idea what she was supposed to do now.

Three days later, and still no new feelings, she was seriously debating whether
she should stay or just leave what seemed to be a dead end. She had better
things to do with her time, she reflected as she made her way in a crowded
restaurant. For one thing, she then admitted to herself, she might consider
gathering information to help Luke while remaining away from him. The news
weren't improving... and she herself had discovered that whether she approved
violence or not, she could still help people with her skills.

She smiled slightly at the memory of the previous night. She had been out in
the streets, still searching for something even if she didn't know what it was--
- when a wave of fear had invaded her senses. She had instantly surmised that
someone nearby was in trouble; without wasting a moment, she had sought the
source of the sending, then had acted. The street thugs never knew what had hit
them, and, she smiled in pride, it was doubtful that they had pierced the enigma
at all.

While knowing that she had helped someone for real did wonders for her overall
mood, Mara had also realized that using her abilities as she had done hadn't
woken up the usual aggressive feelings in her. Instead, she had moved in
accordance to what she could feel she 'had' to do, and unlike the practically
intoxicating surge of power that she had felt back on Ord Mantell, she had felt
a quiet, light energy fill her; it had given her the ability to help the people
around her without the need to hate anyone, not even her enemies.

'That', she conceded, sat better with her. She still wasn't sure if this was
what she wanted to do, but, she sighed, she did have abilities that could be
more than useful at the moment.

With that though, she picked up her copy of the morning news. She read them and
saw that her far-away boyfriend had managed to neutralize another group, thus
freeing yet another planet from chaos. Well, she conceded, one more free; it
only left about seventy of them, she thought in slight, still surviving resent.

Even though she knew that he was doing everything he could to fix his mistake,
and even though she herself had pierced her own veil of lies to see her old life
for what it had been... There were still times when she truly resented Luke and
his father for changing anything in the first place.

If nothing had changed, she wanted to argue with her friend, she wouldn't be
questioning her very existence on a backwater planet, the galaxy wouldn't be
suffering more than under their now pacified Empire--- and they would be
together once again, she finished sadly, lowering her eyes to hide her sudden
tears.

Blast it, she scolded herself. It wasn't the place to crumple. She couldn't
let Luke's absence affect her this way, she tried to strengthen herself; when
she had been an agent, she had gone for months without seeing him and without
crying. This was exactly like a mission, she told herself: she had a goal to
reach, namely find her real self, and then she would go back to him, for he
himself hadn't changed 'too' much; she knew that she still loved him.

But first, she reminded herself to counter the new wave of emotion that
threatened to overwhelm her, she had to finish her mission.

Refocusing on her whereabouts, she set her pad down as the waiter droid came
nearby to take her order; once she was alone again, she gazed around herself.
Mainly men and women en route for work, she noticed--- then her eyes stopped on
two men who were discussing the news that she had read.

At first sight, nothing peculiar attracted her attention, but as she tried to
understand her strange reflex to seek them out once again, she slowly grew aware
of her returned tug in the Force. 'This', it seemed to tell her, 'is what you
are looking for.'

Careful to not be caught staring at them, she finished her sweep around the
room, then enhanced her hearing sense until she could hear them clearly. Two
words instantly caught her attention.

Children refugees.

Clearing her mind from everything except her focus, she strained to maintain her
contact with one of the men's mind.

"If only the Empire had died earlier," the first man commented, "we would be
able to save more lives now."

While she listened, Mara turned her head once again in their general direction;
this time, she recognized the men's clothes as medical suits... While she took
in the implicit meaning of this discovery, she surmised that they were probably
working at the nearby medcenter.

"Sure would," his companion agreed. "Despite all the technology at our disposal,
several beings from the last ships won't make it... They are either too sick..."

"Or too injured," the other continued for him. His voice then hardened: "Cursed
Imperial camps. What was their goal anyway?" he asked vehemently.

Imperial camps? Mara frowned to herself. She had never heard about such camps,
but filed the word for latter inquiry as she listened on the conversation.

"Better not ask about that," his colleague answered. "To think that a living
being, let alone several such men, could do that to others... I'd be the first
to try and kill the despot if he were still alive," he commented in what felt as
unusual aggression to Mara's rudimentary senses.

"Yeah... To think that we were disgusted by the purges and the false
accusations," his companion sneered, pushing away the remnants of his breakfast.

Whatever they were talking about, she decided, it wasn't an easy subject to
handle. The droid chose that moment to come in with her food. She paid him
immediately, then ate lightly while she kept her senses on the two men.

What were they hinting at? she wondered. They obviously worked in an hospital,
which meant that they saw injured people all the time. So, she asked herself,
what could be bad enough to draw that kind of reactions from them? Children?
Well, of course, she agreed with them, they shouldn't be touched by the fights,
but still... something wasn't right.

When she saw the men get ready to leave, she took her last bites of her
breakfast, then discreetly followed them out. She had to know, she could feel
it. Besides, something wasn't right, she argued with herself. Imperial troops
had never attacked children, let alone put them into... camps?? What camps?,
she frowned inwardly. Either they weren't dealing with imperial refugees...

Or, she bravely conceded as a knot appeared in her stomach... She was still
missing part of the truth about her old life. Whichever it was though, she
resolved to figure out the truth and live with its consequences.

Ten minutes later, she stood in the corridors of the main hospital of the city.
The two doctors had disappeared behind the doors of a restricted area, but that
wouldn't stop her for long, she decided.

She discreetly studied what kind of staff was allowed past the doors, then
entered the finally available lift. In the lift, she selected the employees'
level, then blocked the access to the lift.

Two minutes later, she reached her destination.

Aware that she would be expulsed from the level if she were seen by someone, she
carefully crept toward the closest changing room, then skulked inside once she
was certain that it was empty. There, she hurried to change in a medical suit,
then covered her hair with a medical hat. Next, she debated with herself
whether she should assume the identity of a doctor or a nurse... then spied the
presence of a cart full of diapers and clean clothes for children.

She would be a mere attendant, she decided with a smirk.

Back on her targeted level, she walked toward the restricted area--- and walked
past the nodding guard without using any tricks. She entered the restricted
area.

That, she reflected, had to be one of the easiest infiltration she had ever
done. Of course, she then conceded as she gazed around herself, she wasn't here
to destroy nor hurt... only to discover the truth, she reflected more seriously.

Slowly, as if careful to not hurt anyone with her cart, she walked past closed
doors, then slightly baying ones which allowed her a short peek into a few
rooms.

In most of them, medical teams were fussing around the beds of their patients;
when she reached out to check on one patient's status, she sadly understood that
whoever had done this would have more victims to add to their results.

How could they be certain that it was the Empire's doing? she wondered as she
walked further down the corridors. For all they knew, the nearby aliens could
be survivors from pirate attacks, or even slaves from the Hutts. She walked on,
slowly taking in what was going on around her.

Whoever was responsible for this, she finally admitted with dark resent, had
sure made quite a number on those aliens and few humans. Even though she still
didn't particularly care about aliens, training obliged, she found herself
unable to dismiss their pain and anguish as she walked past them.

Then, she reached a windowed room in which children were trying to play quietly.
As she gazed at some of them, Mara froze in horror.

Who could---

Suddenly, a child's shirt moved and exposed his hip.

The Imperial seal... not the symbol of the army, she numbly gaped,... but the
crest of her former master... Exactly like the one Luke bore on his left arm,
she finally recognized as new elements began to invade her thoughts.

Children... children... the Emperor hadn't had any scruples, even for
children..., she reflected dimly, then her mind swiftly emptied itself before
she could go further in her reflection.

She thus remained frozen for a long, long while, her gaze slowly, courageously
travelling from one young survivor to another... Then she found herself fighting
tears when she saw a little Kubaz girl search for a toy nearby.

Suddenly reaching a decision, the young Jedi woman brought her cart into a
storing room, then entered the children's play room.

Eighteen pair of healthy or unhealty eyes turned toward her, sadly gazed at her,
then returned to their toys and silent games. For a moment, Mara stood still,
considering her impromptu action, then, upon seeing that the blind little Kubaz
was still searching for the doll, walked closer and gave it to her.

"Here she is," she told her softly, dimly aware that for the first time in her
life, she was accepting a very close contact with a non-human without feeling
disgusted. The alien girl of the previous night had spoken to her, but she
hadn't touched her in any way. This time however, she herself had willingly
touched the alien child.

The Kubaz whistled something in answer, then lapsed into silence, hugging her
doll. Surprising herself, the ex-imperial assassin brought her hand up and
closer to the alien child until she could gently rub the side of her face in
comfort.

"I wish I could do more," she told her softly even as the wary child accepted
her touch as a good thing.

She leaned into it.

"You will be safe now," Mara promised her, sending her reassurance to the child
with the Force. "No one will ever hurt you again."

"The bad men are dead?" a little boy, the one with the Emperor's seal, inquired
from his spot near her.

"Yes, they are," she answered him, scuttling closer to him. "Do you know who
did this to you?" she asked him gently.

"Bad men," was his short answer as he continued to play with a speeder model.

"Do you remember what they looked like?" she asked him, careful to not frighten
him.

*They looked like white and black robots," a sluissi boy answered her, showing
her a drawing that he had done.

On it, the 'bad men' were caught in flames, as if burning in Hell, she
understood.

"Is this what happened?" she inquired with reluctant interest.

The young boy shook his head in disagreement. "Other white robots came and
killed them. They put us in a ship and took us here."

"Luke's team," she muttered to herself.

Somehow, her lover had known about those atrocities while she herself had been
kept in the dark. Why?, she wondered.

"Were you all together?" she asked them even as she walked closer to an Aqualish
toddler who had fallen from his sitting position and couldn't get up by himself.

Another shake of several small heads answered her. There had been adults with
them, she then remembered as the memory of a dying Wookiee came back to her
mind. Now she understood why the doctors had said what they had---

The door suddenly open, allowing entrance to a true nurse.

"What are you doing here?" the nurse asked, already on the defensive, "this is a
restricted area. Only authorized staff can be here."

"I... huh," Mara hesitated as she slowly stood to her full height to face the
upset woman. "I'm investigating the horrors wrought by the Empire," she finally
answered, dimly reflecting that she was surprising even herself with her chosen
excuse.

"You can't be here," the other answered even as she pulled a comlink from her
hip pocket.

"No, please?" Mara asked, taking a step closer to the woman. "I don't mean
anybody any harm... I just wish to spend some time caring for those young
victims... please?" she asked again, earnestly this time. "It's very important
for me," she added even as she inwardly gaped at her comment.

Important? To care for alien children?? But even as the doubts entered her
mind, the Force's guidance reappeared, strong and clear to her trained mind.
Yes, it was important for her to spend some time with those children.

The older woman seemed to consider her offer, then shifted her gaze toward their
young audience.

"I give you one hour to leave or I call security and you will have to explain
yourself with local Security," she warned her, then was gone.

"Thank you," Mara told her before she turned her attention back on her young
companions.

Something was suddenly nagging at her, she reflected in growing unease, and it
was attached to those children. She crouched back to their level and continued
to talk with them while caring as she could with them.

At first, she was the one who asked them questions, but the more time went by,
and the more they were the ones who asked questions; she answered them.

Thus, she ended up telling them the story of how the heroic Jedi Skywalker had
saved them with the help of his father.

The more she told them about her boyfriend's sacrifices and how he had dared
faced the Emperor instead of keeping his evil alive... and the more she herself
really, truly understood what had motivated the Skywalkers to go against
everything they had stood up for to destroy the one man responsible for all of
this.

Luke and Vader had been right, she conceded as she left the hospital. It hadn't
been easy, and they had both lost more than anybody else could ever imagine...
but they had known, deep down, that it was the only way to end the nightmares of
many more souls than she had ever thought possible.

She hadn't been naive however, she scolded slightly while she slowly wandered
down the crowded streets; she had known that the Empire hadn't been only good.
After all, she reminded herself, she and Luke had killed people who hadn't
always been 'that' guilty of what they had been accused of. However, she
conceded, she could now understand why the Rebels had thought that their cause
was just. Their means had been those of warriors, but the main goal had been
morale... unlike the one man they had fought against.

Conscription... purges... destruction of whole villages from orbit... All of a
sudden, all the horrors of the past, not just her personal hell, came crashing
on her already weakened shoulders, screaming at her what a fool she had been to
not see those for what they were. Not only had she been a slave, and had killed
for her slaver, but she had also helped to maintain what should have hit her as
totally immoral and unacceptable, even for a child.

Her eyesight suddenly became blurry and her steps faltered as her most
destructive actions came back to her mind--- She couldn't collapse in public,
she berated herself even as she hunted around herself for a safe heaven where
she could hide her shock.

She barely reached a small cafe before another thought suddenly assailed her, a
thought that had been rising in her at the medcenter but had been reflexively
contained by her mind in hopes to keep the truth hidden for a little while
longer... but not more.

What about her?? She had been a child too... had been---

She reached the fresher just in time to keep her torment secret from anyone...

She, like Luke and the children at the hospital, had been one of the Emperor's
victims... what had he done to her?, she wondered in growing fear and agony.
She was physically healthy compared to some of his other victims, but... Was her
mind her own?.. How could she have not understood what was truly going on before
now... unless he had done something to her?, she cringed in horror even as the
horrifying truth slammed into her without hiding anything anymore...

Something worse than physical torment had been done to her... Something even
worse than her friend's several punishments---- That 'something' had turned her
into a cold murderer, an efficient slave... and unlike her friend, the fiend had
killed everything else in her----

No!, she whimpered even as she slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting
against the wall. No, she had always 'chosen' to please him, to kill bad beings
and thus free the galaxy from them... She had never...

Then the memory of a certain attack on a senator came back to her. She had
truly killed innocents, beings who hadn't been even slightly guilty of any crime
against Life itself.

No, she cried again even as she buried her head in her hands. No... It was
impossible... She had never felt him in her mind, didn't feel any difference now
that she was free from his power----

She stopped her train of thoughts at that even as she gaped at the far wall in
horror at herself. No matter how hard she tried to defend herself, she had been
as immoral as the Emperor had been... because he had turned her into an
extension of his will, a cold executor... a lure for men--- especially for her
friend, she understood even as almost all the puzzle set itself into place.

The Emperor had never meant for them to be in love, she realized. He had only
been interested in the potential of a closer link between them, then, when that
time of their lives would have been over, he had meant to use her to keep a
close eye on the Skywalker youth...

She shuddered at the thought of the Emperor's cold touch on her mind--- then
clasped her head in her hands in torment as memories of such contacts assailed
her mercilessly.

The monster had been in her mind, from the start which she couldn't even
remember; he had changed her, until she had had no personality or will
anymore... and now, she didn't know how to pull him out of there anymore.

She would never heal and be who she could have been.

"No," she moaned again even as felt unusual tears form in her eyes.

It was just impossible... too horrible... But it had happened, and she wanted
to die.

******

In deep space, Luke looked up from his book and entered a few data in the
computer of his tactical display. In front of him, red and blue dots tried out
the strategy which he had just read about.

The result weren't too bad, he conceded once the display and current main source
of lighting in the room stopped blinking furiously. It wasn't exactly what he
was looking for, but it was a good step in the direction of thinking up a new,
unknown tactic.

He wrote a few notes on his pad, then continued to read his chosen book: his
father's memoirs about the Clone Wars. Against an enemy with a near limitless
source of soldiers, and a totally unpredictable behavior from all its soldiers,
the old warriors had had to use never-before-heard strategies to stop them.

One of those had been to go to the source instead of trying to fight them all
separately. This, he conceded, was something nobody had thought about in their
actual battle. They had been so focused on stopping all the separate groups
that they had not considered that option at all.

However, he reflected, leaning his elbows on his desk to rest his chin against
his hand, now that they knew that it was, in fact, a coordinated attack, taking
the head off of the enemy would seriously impair the rest of the body. Of
course, there was the possibility that another head would grow just as fast...
unless they hit both the head and the appendages at the same time. The problem
however, he sighed tiredly, was that he knew where they were going to hit, but
until they did, he didn't know where they themselves were.

So far, his security stations in several strategic locations in buildings had
worked well, but they hadn't gotten them any closer to stopping the imperial
terrorists----

And then, as if stricken by a thought, he knew. 'He' himself had to infiltrate
the main base and download all the data that he could get from them. No one but
a Jedi would be able to survive this, he reflected even as straightened and
entered new data in his display. With the source of explosives and weapons
taken out and with the main commanding group neutralized, he surmised that it
would be easier to hunt down the remaining troublemakers.

'Dispatch spies...' a dim voice suddenly told him, startling him with its sudden
appearance as well as its familiar yet unknown nature.

"Leia?" he asked out loud, looking around himself with eagerness.

Only darkness glanced back at him. Disappointed, he turned back toward his
display.

Well, okay, spies would also be a good idea, and, he reflected as he continued
on his initial thought pattern, it would definitely help to capture the sixty-
four remaining groups of terrorists.

He entered the spy factor in his computer, checked the results, then sent a
message to his officers to be ready for a meeting in two hours. There, they
would decide how to take care of each remaining group once he himself would be
done with his self-appointed mission.

He turned on the main light and continued to read his father's journal. It was
not exactly as if he were here with him... but, he thought sadly, it made his
absence easier to bear.

******

Anakin didn't know how long he had been stranded on Dagobah, but he knew two
things:

Food variety was even worse here than it had been aboard the Executor... and he
had run out of insults to throw at himself, leaving him with a sour taste of
disgust at himself but it was now heavily dampened by his tiredness.

Most of the time now, he just gazed absently at his surroundings, his mind
devoid of thoughts to either insult himself... or encourage himself.

He was consciously waiting for death now, but every time that he took a new
breath, he knew that it was laughing in his face, refusing him that ever lasting
peace.

He sighed again, leaning even more heavily against the rocky wall of his chosen
refuge. The ground was wet under him now, but he didn't care. Perhaps
hypothermia would do what his breath refused to do, he thought dimly even as he
reflected that taking off his mask would also settle the problem quite easily.

However, his love for his son still refrained him from doing this to him.

Two night ago, that same love had literally saved him from himself. It had been
so tempting, so easy to just push a button on his chest plate and be done with
life, but even as he had been pressing the said button, images of his son had
kept assailing him until he had broken up in tears and curled up in shame.

He had promised Luke, he reminded himself again as he spied the presence of his
deactivated lightsaber which was on the cot that he used as a bed. Even if he
would be gone within the flash of his blade, he simply couldn't betray him...

Not again.

Thus, he accepted every extra second of life as his due, his forced loneliness
being the one torment he would have to bear for all his life. Given his actual
status, he reflected glumly that it was even worse than when he had fallen in
the lava pit.

Then, at least, he had been able to fight against the torment with the Force,
but here... aware of both the wrong things he had done as well as what he had
lost because of those same things, not committing suicide was a challenge which
he couldn't compare with fighting against the evil Palpatine; he would take on
his former master any day compared to this.

More lonely time passed...

The glum day of Dagobah slowly crept toward the night... And dreams.

'He was in a green field where long grass was flourishing.

Why did it seem familiar?, he wondered--- then he recognized the setting. It
was his and Padme's waterfall... He then saw both himself and her, sitting near
the river, enjoying some time together when they had been younger. He sadly
watched the scene of the past, heard himself tease his girlfriend, thus drawing
one of her star-bright smiles from her.

He then caught sight of his own, young, delighted features. Everything had been
so easy back then, he thought to himself as he watched his memory play itself in
front of him. He had loved Padme, they would have been together, the Jedi would
have understood.

End of story... or so he had thought, but instead... He had faced challenges...
and had failed miserably, he admitted shamefully, lowering his eyes to block out
the sight of one of the last times that he had been fully immersed in the Light.
He would never be this happy ever again, he resigned himself even as his and
Padme's laughter continued to ring in his ears.

"And why not, Ani?" her voice inquired, coming from very close behind him.

Startled, he whirled around--- and practically stumbled backward as he gazed at
the angelic figure of his long-lost wife. Unlike his memory, she was older-
looking and wore her hair down her back--- like Leia, he realized.

An angel

"Ami?" he finally gasped despite his dry throat.

"Ani, my love," she told him, walking closer to him until she could almost touch
him again, "only your lack of self-esteem can keep you from completely
recovering from the Emperor's horrors."

"But I did such horrible things," he defended shamefully, turning away from her.

"And you fought against them when you fought against the Emperor," she told him
even as she gently turned his face forward until he could see her again.

Her touch sent a jolt of awareness in his dream-self. She had touched his
face... not his mask, but his flesh.

"Your soul is already healed, Anakin," she continued softly, "as is your heart
for the others, but your true healing cannot start from anywhere but your self-
esteem," she explained softly, then stepped closer until her hand was resting
against--- his chest which wasn't covered by machinery anymore. "It has to
start from here, from the heart of the good man that you are," she told him
gently, gazing up at him--- then she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

Anakin was so shocked by the delicious touch of her lips against his owns that
he didn't think about returning her kiss... until his thoughts finally caught up
with him--- but by then, he was already waking up...'

"Padme," he whispered in the night, reflexively bringing his left hand to his
hidden chest plate under which his heart was beating softly.

'Remember, my love... forgive yourself...' her voice drifted in his head, then
was gone.

Leaving him alone with his thoughts once again.

Self-forgiveness... now there would be the challenge of all challenges he
thought glumly even as he fought his tears of sorrow due to Padme's visit.
His angel was still with him, still believed in him... Who was he to disappoint
her?, he asked himself as he tried to dry his tears before his skin became too
wet under his mask and that it resumed itching like crazy.

******

Five days after her emotional breakdown, Mara was still on Capara.

She had spent the first day and a half in her room aboard her ship, fighting
against the truth she had been willing yet unwilling to find about herself, then
had spent the ensuing two days giving way to her anger, sorrow and tears or
regret until she didn't have any left and could begin to build 'new' hopes.

On the morning of her fifth day, she finally decided to offer her help at the
hospital while she would continue to rebuild what the Emperor had destroyed in
her.

While she had come to accept that her hands were stained with so much blood,
even if it had been shed unwillingly, that they would never be clean ever again,
she had also begun to entertain a new hope: to someday feel that the assassin in
her was dead and that her real self was free for real. Then, and only then, she
knew that she would be able to return to Luke and be happy with him. In the
meantime though, she also wanted to begin to make up for her past mistakes and
she estimated that by working with the slightly abandoned children at the
hospital, she would begin to do so, and, she added with a very shy, almost
undetectable smile, she would also like the volunteer job. At least, she
amended, she expected to since she had kept very good memories of the very short
hour she had spent with the children the first time. Those, and her memories of
Luke who was still waiting for her, had kept her from giving up completely
during the very difficult two days that had followed her most unpleasant
discovery.

Gathering her courage, she slowly climbed the stairs that led into the
medcenter.

Naturally, her offer was turned down at first, but when the Kubaz girl came up
with a guide in a corridor nearby, she recognized her voice and literally ran to
her, hugging her leg in welcome.

Once again pulled by a guidance in the Force, Mara whispered a welcome to the
child, then bent down to be at her level and picked her up in her arms; the
little girl settled herself in her embrace as if she were her mother.

"As I said," she continued to the chief nurse, "I just want to be with them and
help them. I know that the adults are taking up a lot of time from the whole
team, but those children also need company," she finished earnestly.

"Well that little one sure seems to have adopted you, Madam," the helper
commented as he walked closer to her and the child.

"We are not hiring anybody without a---" the older woman began seriously.

"I don't want to be paid," Mara answered instantly. "I'm only doing this for
the children... please?" she asked earnestly. "It's very, very important for
me."

"We sure could use some help," the man commented, drawing a shrewd glare from
the head nurse before she refocused on Mara and the child.

After she glanced at the little Kubaz girl who was also almost pleading with
her, the head-nurse finally sighed in agreement.

"All right, but if I hear any complaint, you're out," she warned her seriously.

"I understand," Mara answered softly before she refocused on her new friend and
her helper. "Where were you going now?" she asked the child softly.

"To the diagnostic room," the man answered her. "We are still running tests on
her to make sure that we aren't overlooking anything."

Even as the male nurse explained to her what was the nature of the tests, Mara
felt a slight warning in the Force that those tests were indeed necessary for
the child's safety. She refocused on the scared child.

"It will be all right, darling, you can trust them," she reassured her.

The little girl shook her blinded head, hugging her closer.

"Would you feel better if I went with you?" she asked her gently even as she
checked with the nurse to see if she could.

The child's answer granted her permission to go with them.

And so began her new life, a life which she had never thought possible for
her... yet she quickly became aware that it seemed to be part of who she was.

******

While Mara tried to make up for her past mistakes by nurturing the children of
her direct or indirect victims, Luke prepared for the most important mission of
his life.

Even more than when he had sabotaged the fleet, he knew that he couldn't fail
against the terrorists. It was their last chance before the imperials could
gather more sympathizers and return in strength.

Thus, he planned even more diligently than ever, posted back ups in case he
needed help, for he had learnt the hard way that he wasn't invincible, and he
made sure that the rest of his fleet was ready to attack the moment that he sent
the all clear signal to both the spies and the ships.

Now that they had a very good idea as to where the others were hiding, all they
had left to do was to hunt them down. Hopefully, he thought as he suited up for
the most important night of his life, in two days, it would be over for good.

TBC in part 7: Lessons

SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc s throat without being read.)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Epilogue

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