Luke hadn't expected to hear from Mara Jade again so soon. Indeed, she had asked for him, and here he was answering her call. He wasn't sure what he should have expected, but the Emperor's Hand intrigued him, and not just from an intel standpoint.

He was down in the prison block, Mara still the only inhabitant. The hit and fade tactics of the Rebellion that Bel Iblis and Serrin were championing did not leave much time or supplies for snatching up prisoners.

He approached the cell, looking down at the woman there. Mara wore just a simple jumpsuit, her long red hair kept loose. She looked paler than Luke remembered, but he supposed captivity would do that to anyone.

"Your Highness," She sensed him before he spoke, and she sat up from her supine position on the floor. "I hear you're taking on Lusankya."

Luke tried to hide his surprise. "The guards are talking too much," He sighed.

"No, no, your guards are fine. In fact, I merely had guessed at it. Your reaction confirms it, though. It was the most likely target that your intelligence networks would dredge up. It's the most active outpost outside of Imperial Center."

Luke crossed his arms across his chest. "Get to the point, Mara," He said, his patience running thin. He didn't want to play games.

"I want to go with you."

That got Luke laughing, more honestly than he had in a long while. He couldn't believe it. "No. Absolutely not."

"I figured as much, Organa, but I have a proposal for you." She stood up, dusting herself off. "I have a very good memory. Not as good as your sister Winter's, I'm afraid, but mine has a quite extensive knowledge of Imperial procedures, computer codes, and I do have a bit more knowledge of the Empire's internal security."

Luke looked at her, trying to ascertain if she was serious. It just seemed too absurd. "There is no way I could ever trust you," He said, his voice quiet.

"That is unfortunate. Maybe I can offer you some advice, then?" Mara asked.

Luke sighed. "I'll take it under advisement."

"Lusankya is helmed by one of the Empire's finest. You'll be in for one of my Lord's finest agents."

Luke crossed his arms. "Why do you care? Why do you want to come?"

"Because, Luke," She said softly. "I have no stake in this Empire. It's war mongering, vile, and brings out the worst in its leadership. I only serve my Lord, and he has forseen that you two will meet some day. It is in my interests to see you are delivered to him, when the time is right."

Luke looked at her for a long moment, disbelief in his eyes. "You can't be serious."

"Yet you know I am."

Ahsoka stared at the manacled Mara Jade. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," She groaned.

Mara gave the Togruta Jedi a wide smile. "Please, I'm only here because I want to be helpful, Ahsoka. You'll of course recognize the extreme discomforts that I'm enduring for this agreement."

The shock collar on Mara's neck was, in fact, Luke's idea. He didn't trust Mara as far as he could throw her. She knew that all too well. It didn't matter to her whether Luke trusted her. She would help the young Jedi to see reason. She would help him infiltrate Lusankya, she would help him find Grand Moff Tarkin's plans for retaliation. She hated the dithering old man, and she knew that even now, he prepared whatever foolhardy mission that he planned to use to inspire fear.

Mara was prepared to sacrifice Tarkin for the Emperor's vision. Vader had raised her with the view of the Cosmic Force, that fate was inevitable. He had seen his son in the Force, and from that moment, the plan had been formed.

She was deposited in her cell, back in the Firestorm's brig. She had her cuffs removed, but the shock collar remained. She moved to the bunk, and sat on it, folding her legs beneath her.

It took her a half hour of meditation, before she could tap into her master's voice.

I am here, my Lord. All is proceeding as planned.

She only felt a ripple in the Force, an acknowledgment of her message. She only felt a warm feeling, and she knew that Lord Vader approved of her plan.

When Vader had discovered his son, years after learning of his first child, he had shared with Mara in her training in a moment of open thought. The Rule of Two, he had realized, was useless. The Force had shown him that when two children had been given to him, both of them strong in the Force. The Sith would be larger than two, a family.

Mara had been a part of that family, and despite her feelings, she knew that her goal was to return Vader's son to him. When he was ready.