Dagobah
"You must not go!"
The old Jedi Master's eyes were wide, his voice both pleading and commanding.
"But Han and Leia will die if I don't!"
Luke clenched his jaw. He admired, even revered, his old master, but he couldn't ignore his visions. Han and Leia and Chewie needed him.
"You don't know that, even Yoda has not been able to see their fate."
And now Obi-Wan had decided to make one of his rare appearances.
"But I can help them! I feel the Force!"
"But you cannot control it. This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force."
"Listen to Obi-Wan you must. The cave. Remember your failure in the cave."
"But I've learned so much since then! Master Yoda, I promise to return and finish what I've begun. You have my word!"
"It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants. That is why your friends are made to suffer."
Luke lifted his chin, "That's why I have to go."
"Luke, if you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere," Obi-Wan said gravely.
"I understand," Luke replied, his mind already on the coming confrontation.
"Skywalker."
All three males, two physical, one spectral, turned as the red headed woman emerged from the path. She was young, even younger than Luke, but her eyes were steely.
"Master Yoda, can you give us a minute? Kenobi, I assume since Skywalker is talking to the air and I see something wispy and white under that tree that you are around as well. Get out of here."
"Talk some sense into young Skywalker, perhaps you can," Yoda muttered, stumping off toward his hut.
Kenobi, with a hopeful glance at the young woman, disappeared.
"Skywalker," Mara repeated, "you know I'm not 100% sure about Master Yoda's perspective and the mysterious Kenobi whom I can only sort of see. But they are right about one thing. You can't beat Vader."
Luke bit his lip and turned away from her, "I ... I've learned so much, Mara. I feel the power of the Force."
She put a hand out and touched his arm, "I know you do. You have tremendous potential and significant power but Vader is a one man army. He has decades of experience."
"He killed my father," the youth said softly, "and now he's taken the people who mean the most to me in the galaxy. I can't leave them to be tortured mercilessly, Mara. If he kills me, he kills me."
"I don't think he'll kill you," Mara replied solemnly. "The bounty for you is alive only and the word in the Imperial grapevine is that Vader is obsessed with you. He wants to capture you and probably turn you to the Dark Side, which is a fate worse than death. Skywalker, you don't know what Palpatine is like. I do."
"I know," Luke replied softly. "I know. But how can I hide here in safety while they suffer? And I won't turn to the Dark Side, I promise you that."
Mara sighed and glanced abstractly toward the path where Yoda had disappeared.
"Listen, I told you that I was trained in reading faces and expressions?"
"Yes?" her companion asked, his expression puzzled.
"I admit Yoda is hard for me, being ancient, wrinkly, and green. But I think there is something going on with Vader that the elf isn't telling you. Something about Vader's history with your father, maybe. Vader is hunting for you for some particularly nasty purpose and knowing him, he will probably succeed. He rarely fails."
"I know, and I'm going anyway," Luke replied with determination. "Thank you for your friendship, Mara. I will never forget you. Keep yourself safe. If I do perish, then perhaps you are the remaining hope for the galaxy."
Jade shook her head, her red curls shifting in Dagobah's damp air, "I know I'm out of your league in the Force, Skywalker. And besides, if you go, I'm going too. I'm not going to let you face Vader alone."
Luke shook his head slowly, then more rapidly, "Absolutely not, Mara. It's bad enough that I'm probably going to my death. I'm not bringing you with me. Vader knows you! He'll probably kill you on sight or worse, capture you and let the Emperor wreak his vengeance at your perceived betrayal."
Jade crossed her arms and straightened more, "If you can be stupidly loyal, so can I. If it wasn't for you, I never would have found this place and Master Yoda, who successfully cut the bond between me and Palpatine. And I never would have accepted the truth about the Emperor's true nature without your friendship."
Skywalker gritted his teeth and took a few hasty steps toward the X-wing.
"My ship's only a hundred meters to the west," she said drily. "And I know where you are going. Bespin."
"Then help save my friends, Mara," Luke replied quickly, turning to face her. "Please. I'll ... I'll at least distract Vader. If you're right, if he's an army, then together we won't beat him. But if he's busy with me, you'll be able to save my friends."
"Luke ..."
"Please, Mara, I'm begging you."
Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand, looked at that open, honest, winsome farmboy face and sighed.
"All right, Luke. But once I've rescued them, I'm coming back for you."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
/-
A few minutes later ...
"Told you I did. Reckless is he. Now, matters are worse."
"That boy is our last hope."
"No," Yoda said gravely, staring up into the sky where an X-wing and a TIE fighter were now dots of light, "There is another."
"Yes," Kenobi replied irritably, "and Vader has her in his mechanical clutches. So the situation isn't that encouraging where she is concerned either."
"True that is," Yoda agreed in a dispirited way.
/-
Less than 10 light hours from Bespin
Less than a day later
Mara's TIE fighter came out of space far enough from Bespin that the gas giant's star was only a bright dot in the distance. She felt it wise to be some distance from the planet until she knew what was going on there.
She could sense Skywalker closer to the gas giant. He was, of course, rushing to his doom with amazing courage and little sense.
Mara sighed in exasperation. She liked Skywalker. A lot. But he had never faced Vader. He had no idea of the Sith Lord's power. He had no idea of the power of the Emperor. He had no idea that his fate was tied into that of the galaxy.
Or perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps all this was nonsense. Just because Master Yoda and the mysterious ghostly Kenobi and Darth Vader and by extension Emperor Palpatine were obsessed over Luke Skywalker didn't mean he was that important, did it?
Well, yes... it did. He was obviously important. Very, very important.
Mara bit her lip as she studied the data stream from her augmented instrumentation. It was rather ironic that her former master had provided this truly advanced TIE given that she was now determined to wreak havoc against the old shriveled prune.
Executor was in orbit around Bespin. That was it. No more capital ships. But there would be TIE's patrolling. She had enough random codes that she'd be able to slip past the Super Destroyer and her myriad support craft and into Bespin. And then find Leia Organa and Han Solo and Chewbacca and ... a droid, apparently. And get them out. And then return for Skywalker because she really did like him and she'd die rather than let Vader get his cold, cyborg hands on him.
/-
Slave 1 Docking Bay
Bespin
2 hours later
"Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold," Boba Fett ordered coldly. He watched while Vader's minions guided the frozen block of carbonite into the hold and exited the ship. Once they were clear, he strode up and quickly closed the ramp of his precious Slave 1.
He checked the hold and sure enough, Han Solo was lying on the floor in his block, his face twisted with agony, his hands outstretched.
It was the captain's own fault. Getting mixed up with Rebels was never a good idea. Of course, Fett would have probably hunted the captain down regardless of Solo's affiliations. Jabba the Hutt was thoroughly annoyed with the good captain, and the alive only bounty on the man was particularly delectable.
Time to get moving. Fett marched into the cockpit and quickly removed his helmet, sighing in relief as he did so. The helmet made him look menacing and provided substantial protection to his head, but it was rather heavy. He wondered if Vader ever removed his death mask.
The bounty hunter quickly ran through the starting sequence and lifted off the platform. Just as the ship departed the landing platform, his sensors displayed an attack!
A quick glance at the rear holocams revealed a few figures, one of them a gargantuan Wookiee, shooting blaster bolts at his ship. Fett's lips curved into a grim smile. It appeared that the determined Alderaanian princess had slipped her Imperial escort and had raced off to save her love. Well, too little, too late. By the time Organa and company tracked down a ship (assuming the Empire didn't kill them first), the Slave 1 would be in hyperspace and en route to Tatooine.
Once again, Boba Fett smiled. Vader had paid him well for his role in capturing the Rebels, and when he collected from Jabba, he'd be on the verge of being genuinely rich. He could take a few months off to enjoy the particular pleasures that Jabba's palace provided.
Fett leaned back and closed his eyes for a long moment when his danger sense suddenly tingled. He opened his eyes and turned his head, locking his gaze with that of an entirely unfamiliar red maned woman who stood less than a meter away. How had she gotten on his ship? And what was her purpose here?
The last thing he saw was the determination in her eyes. A moment later, the vibroblade entered his neck and he knew no more.
/
"Great, carbon freeze!" Mara Jade muttered aloud to herself. "Now what?"
She cast a last worried look at the frozen Solo and strode into the cockpit. So she had Solo, but he wasn't in the greatest of shape. How did one defrost someone from carbon freeze?
Worse yet, was Luke Skywalker also residing in his own block of carbonite? That must be part of Vader's plan, to encase the youth in a frozen prison and thus prevent him from mortal injury or escape.
Mara bit her lip hard. She wanted to go after Skywalker right now. But ...
She had promised Skywalker. She had promised that she'd help save his friends.
/
Millennium Falcon's Docking Bay
Bespin
20 minutes later
"Leia!" Lando Calrissian yelled. "Go!"
Leia Organa cast one last look at the stormtroopers firing at them, only to gasp aloud as a familiar ship dropped to the landing bay between the Falcon and their Imperial enemies.
"Lando, wait!" she cried out. "Look, it's Slave 1!"
The baron came back down the ramp, his eyes wide in astonishment. His bewilderment grew as the side cannons of the bounty hunters ship turned and began firing laser blasts toward the Imperial stormtroopers seeking to halt their escape.
"What in all the galaxies?" he demanded.
Thirsty seconds later, the ramp of the Slave 1 lowered to the ground and both Leia and Lando lifted their blasters. A completely unfamiliar red maned woman crept cautiously down the ramp, her own hand clutching a blaster.
"Leia Organa?" she called out.
"Yes?" the princess replied, totally bewildered.
"I'm Mara Jade, a friend of Luke Skywalker's and I agreed to help you get out of here. I've got Solo in his carbonite block here. Can you help me transfer him to your ship?"
Leia took a hopeful step forward even as Lando reached out a hand to stop her.
"What about Fett?" he growled suspiciously.
The woman looked up at the top of the ramp and pulled on a rope dangling there. A moment later, the armor clad form of Boba Fett, minus his helmet, rolled ignominiously down the ramp and onto the ground, the rope attached to his leg.
"I killed him," the woman stated coldly.
There was a stunned moment and Lando muttered, "Wow, I like this girl!"
"Chewbacca! Come down here and help me get Han!" Leia yelled up the ramp, and then raced toward her love.
"And you are?" Jade demanded of Lando, stepping to one side to allow first the tiny, brunette woman, then the hairy Wookiee, to run past her into the bounty hunter's craft. Absently she noted that the tall sentient had a legless, gold plated protocol droid attached to its back. How odd.
"Lando Calrissian, administrator of this facility," Lando said with a practiced smirk. A moment later, the smirk was replaced by a scowl, "Or I was, anyway, until Vader took control of the city."
"Do you know anything about potential medical complications from carbon freezing?" Jade asked worriedly.
Calrissian frowned, "No, I'm afraid not. And this facility wasn't designed to freeze sentients."
Mara felt her breath catch in her throat, "Vader's going to use it on Skywalker, isn't he?"
Lando nodded grimly, "I'm afraid so. Vader seems to be absolutely obsessed with that young man. I'm not sure why.
"I don't know either," Jade replied. She sighed and forced herself to focus, "Do you have a med droid aboard the Falcon?"
"No, we don't. Do you think we'll need one?"
The former Emperor's Hand nodded her head, "It would be wise, wouldn't it? Seems like the sooner you unfreeze Solo the better, but if he has complications, you're in trouble. Is there any chance you can pick one up from somewhere on Bespin?"
Calrissian thought hard. The city was in chaos now that he'd broadcast the evacuation notice. But there was an odd little docking bay in the northwest corner of the city, a thoroughly unpleasant nook where particularly nasty chemicals were stored before being offloaded into garbage scows. He could ask Lobot to send a med droid there and pick it up before they escaped into hyperspace. Hopefully the Imperials would be too busy with Skywalker and the terrified denizens of Cloud City to find them there.
"Yes, I can get a med droid," he barked out suddenly, pressing a variety of buttons on his wrist com.
"Good," Jade replied, stepping back as Chewbacca carefully guided Han Solo's frozen form up the ramp of the Falcon. "Do you have any idea where Skywalker is? I'm going after him."
Calrissian shot the woman a surprised look. Go after Skywalker? With Vader involved? Was she crazy?
But these people seemed to be into insane lost causes and it was obvious this beautiful young lady was close to Skywalker.
"We saw Luke as we made our way from carbon freeze chamber," Leia Organa said with anguish in her eyes. "Lando hadn't broken us free yet and stormtroopers kept him from getting too close. They were funneling him toward the carbon freezing facility. I'm sure Vader has engaged him now."
Mara reached out cautiously through the Force. She didn't want to distract the youth nor did she want to attract Vader's notice.
She withdrew in seconds, thankful that he was still alive. So far.
"Ok, I'm going after him," she stated, checking her blaster and taking one stride toward the exit of the landing bay.
"Wait!" Lando called. She halted impatiently.
"Listen, Jade, I think you're crazy, but if you really want to get closer to him, come on board the Falcon. The docking bay where we're picking up the med droid is far closer to the carbon freezing chamber."
Leia nodded and grabbed the other woman's arm, "Come on. Let's go. If you're going after him, I am too."
Mara shook her head. It was like some crazy infection of sacrificial idiocy.
/-
Gantry
Bespin
"No, I am your father," Darth Vader intoned dramatically.
Luke Skywalker stared at the black behemoth. His injured arm was a raging ball of agony, his brain sluggish to the point that it took two seconds for the words to penetrate.
"No," he groaned hoarsely. "No, that's not true. That's impossible!"
"Search your feelings," the giant Sith replied, his tone pleading through the deep vocoder. "You know it to be true!"
"No!" Luke cried out, his breath coming out in sobbing gasps of horror. "Nooooo!"
"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son!"
Darth Vader reached out through the Force toward his broken son. He hadn't meant the fight to come this far, hadn't meant to harm the boy this severely, but at least they were here now together and Luke had no choice but to accept his offer and stand by his side. Together they would destroy the Emperor and rule the galaxy together.
"Come with me," he intoned, lifting his right hand toward his battered boy. "It is the only way."
Luke stared at him for a long, defiant moment, then let go of the gantry with his remaining hand.
And fell into the endless void.
/-
Garbage Landing Bay
Bespin
"You should do a hyperdrive check as soon as possible," Jade suggested even as she studied the holomap provided by the Baron. Bespin was large and confusing. How would she find Skywalker, even with the rather wobbly bond between them?
"It was fixed by my men," Lando said indignantly.
"It's common to deactivate the hyperdrive in captured vessels if Imperial enemies are on the loose," she replied impatiently.
Calrissian groaned, "That makes sense. Given what chaos Han has inflicted on my ship, who knows what they could have sabotaged ...?"
Jade tuned the man out and focused her attention on Princess Leia. She was not letting the woman come with her. Skywalker obviously loved Leia Organa dearly and Jade was probably going to her death. No way was she ...
"Luke?" Princess Leia suddenly asked, her face turning toward the atmosphere outside the landing bay.
"What?" Mara asked in bewilderment.
"We have to go!" Organa suddenly snapped. "I know where Luke is!"
"How could you ...?" Lando demanded, even as Mara focused all her attention on Skywalker.
"Hear me, Leia! Hear me, Mara!"
"I hear him too!" Jade yelped. "Come on!"
/
Weather Vane
Bespin
A few minutes later
He was almost unconscious from exhaustion and horror but the anguish in his arm kept him awake. He was weakening steadily, though. He could not hold onto this fragile vane of transparisteel for much longer.
"Luke!" he heard through the Force.
He looked down in astonishment and incredulous relief.
The Falcon was here.
/-
Cockpit
A few minutes later
"Oh, Leia," Luke gasped, clasping the princess to himself. He was so wobbly he could barely stand and his face was a battered mess. But he was alive. Leia's eyes filled with tears.
The Falcon shook under enemy fire and Mara stepped forward, "I'll take him to the med droid, if that's all right."
"Please," Leia murmured, turning back to the cockpit.
Mara supported the battered youth down the corridor and into a nearby cabin where the med droid waited patiently. Luke's skin was pale, and when she lowered him down on the bed she noticed ...
"Oh Luke."
His right hand had been severed cleanly by a lightsaber.
/-
Cockpit
Millennium Falcon
"Jade's right," Calrissian snapped, even as he angled the Falcon away from the giant Star Destroyer looming in the near distance. "There's a fault in the hyperdrive."
"Can you fix it?" Leia demanded, keeping her voice under control with difficulty.
"I hope so. The schematics are shaky thanks to Han's fiddling around with the Falcon since she changed hands."
R2D2, who was huddled in the corridor outside the cockpit, suddenly being twittering profusely.
"Mistress Leia, Mistress Leia!"
"Yes, C-3PO?" the woman managed. She did hope the protocol droid, whose heap of parts had been placed ignominiously in the corner of the cockpit, had something useful to say.
"Mistress Leia, R2D2 just told me that Cloud City's central computer said something about the hyperdrive being deactivated!"
The princess shot Chewbacca a startled look and then raced out the cockpit door.
/
Bridge of the Executor
"Luke," Darth Vader called out through the Force.
"Father!"
"Son, come with me ..."
/
Luke's cabin
Millennium Falcon
"Father!" Luke said suddenly, tilting his head and staring fixedly at the ceiling.
Mara's steady movements stopped abruptly and she stared in bewilderment at her friend.
"Ben," he moaned, apparently unaware of her presence. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Jade finished attaching the cuff over Luke's severed arm even as she bit her cheek hard.
So that was the big secret about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
/
Cockpit
Millennium Falcon
"Ok, we've fixed it!" Leia yelled through the comlink. "Punch it!"
Lando breathed a silent prayer and pushed the hyperdrive control. A moment later, the Millennium Falcon leaped triumphantly into hyperspace.
/
Author Note: This will be like 4 or 5 chapters total. A plot bunny attacked me. It will diverge from canon significantly in the next chapters.