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Star Wars: A New Dawn (TheCorsair, Xanaphia)

“Your Sith plaything was hard, was he not?” Moressa murmured into Mara’s ear. “But he lacks the strength to be here with you.”

Heartache flared with those words, with that reminder. “I don’t want to talk about him,” Mara growled. “I don’t want to think about him.”

Moressa seemed to take the hint, pulling Mara down onto the couch together. “But you have the strength, Mara. The strength to take whatever you want.”

Strength couldn’t get her want she wanted, not right now. But, perhaps, it could get her what she needed.

“I do, don’t I?” she snarled, fingers sliding up Moressa’s breasts to her throat. Her lips hovered over Moressa’s, breath ghosting over her ghostly face features. Fingers tightened her grip on Moressa’s neck. “And you? You’re going to give it to me…”

“And what…” Moressa gasped, drawing desperate air into her lungs, “what do you want?”

“The ritual, gbigbemi ẹm,” Mara spat, releasing her, and sitting up.

With a bored sigh, Moressa waved her hand, and the mindscape changed. A cave or ancient temple of some sort, with smoothed stone walls. Carved into those walls was images, of countless faces twisted into agony, of a single being harnessing that agony, and finally, a single luminous being amongst the ever-reaching darkness.

“What is this?” Mara demanded, spinning upon Moressa.

The holo sith didn’t flinch, “What you asked for.”

“No, I was looking for information about a Sith ritual for immortality. Not…” Mara was speechless for a moment, taking in the information before. “Not this.”

“Kalavakar? The art of soul transference?” Moressa asked. Mara paused, frowned. That’s right, that was what her father had called it, wasn’t it? Then…

“What is this?”

Moressa beamed, like a proud mother encouraging her child’s exploration. “The greatest of all Sith rituals, the power to focus the entirety of the force upon a single point. The power to create, from nothing. The power to destroy, and leave nothing behind.” Moressa paced the length of the room, brushing fingers along the carved murals. “Sadly, the cost is too high, even for most dark lords of the force.”

Mara was nearly afraid to ask. Nearly, “What is the cost?”

“The pain and fear of billions, crystalized within a single moment.”

And that’s when it all became clear. Everything except… “Where is Luke? Why isn’t he here?”

“He wasn’t strong enough.” Moressa smirked. “If he were strong enough, he would has said it, wouldn’t he? He would have used your feelings to his advantage. Taken advantage of your feelings, your weakness, to fuel his ambition. You can give him everything he wants. You even offered it to him, begged him to take it. And yet he chose truth over power.”

“Truth?”

“He doesn’t love you. He will never love you.” Moressa traced the lone figure on the stone. “No one will ever love you, Mara. But they all can fear you.”

Once, it would have been easy to believe Moressa. It was how the emperor had raised her, after all. But so much had changed in this last year. She had changed. And now, finally, she understood.

I love you, Mara.

“I don’t need their fear, or their love, Moressa. I am enough.”

The mindscape faded and the real world returned, back in the room. Back on the bed she’d shared with Luke, not so long ago. But Luke wasn’t beside her, this time. He was slumped against the work bench.

Despite her pain and rage, worry filled Mara’s mind. “Luke!” She flew to his side, shaky fingers seeking his pulse in his throat. It took several calming breaths for her to find it. Slow, but steady. With a shudder and a gasp, she pulled him into her arms. “I’m sorry Luke… I’m sorry…”

The pain and anger lingered, but much of their power over her had been lanced away by the worry, and then relief. Getting Luke help was the most important thing now, and there was one person she could trust in that regard. Once she gotten in contact with Leia, she cleaned and dress Luke, and then herself.

Leia, when she arrived on the Millenium Falcon, was not happy to find her brother unconscious. “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do it,” Mara insisted, before sighing. “But a sith holochron did.”

Leia scowled, and turned her attention to Luke. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He needs someone he’s connected with, through the force. Someone he can trust, right now. It has to be you.”

“Why does it have to be me?”

Because he loves you. “Because he trusts you.”

That answer seemed to satisfy her, enough that she didn’t need to gloat. “Where are you going?”

“I’m headed for Alderaan.”

“Alderaan is an asteroid belt now,” Leia countered, arms crossed over her chest.

“It’s far more than that, as far as the force is concerned.”
 
The remains of Alderran
Aboard the Executor

“This is exciting.”

Petty Officer Kalvan sipped his recaf, then looked sideways at Specialist Dreven. “Really? Whatever do you mean?”

“I mean... this.” He featured vaguely at his display. “Join the Imperial Navy. See the universe. They didn’t say anything about watching a bunch of damn rocks.”

“The Emperor’s down in those rocks,” Kalvan observed. “Gotta count for something,”

“Yeah, but...”. He trailed off as he looked up, then did a double take. “Officer on deck!” Technically, of course, the black-armored figure that had stepped through the turbolift doors wasn’t an officer. But nobody aboard the Super Star Destroyer was willing to say that to Lord Darth Vader.

The Dark Lord stride the catwalk between the work stations of the bridge, expressionless mask focused on the stars and the rubble beyond. “Report.”

“Ah...” Dreven swallowed hard. “Nothing to report. All’s... wait.” He checked the display. “No, no, that’s not right. We’ve got a single contact. A lone TIE, m’lord.” His brows furrowed as he examined the readout. “Broadcasting IFF for... Rogue Squadron.”

“The traitors,” Kalvan breathed. Then he stood up. “Gunnery. Target that...”

“No.” Darth Vader’s single word of command was calm and level. “Transmit landing instructions. Direct it to bay seven.”

“M’lord?” The question slipped out before Kalvan could catch himself. “I... I mean...”

“The Emperor’s Hand is aboard that fighter,” Vader replied, turning and stalking towards the lift. “I shall attend to her. Personally.”
 
The signal reached Mara in the force before crackling over her comms. Her mother was aboard that ship, calling to her. And she was obeying, easing her ship towards bay seven. As if she’d never left the Emperor’s service. As if she were returning once more. TIE fighter hovered near the entrance, dissuading her from any desperate last stand. As if she would throw her life away so meaninglessly. Her target, her true target wasn’t even aboard the ship.

Vader, and a dozen troopers greeted her as she climbed from the cockpit.

“Shall we take her to a cell, my lord?” a trooper asked, each blaster trained on her.

“No need,” Vader announced, commanding in its even tone. “I shall escort her directly to the emperor, myself. She has much to answer for.”

There was a moment of uncertainty among the troopers, a moment of sideways glances and hesitation, before the backing away, forming parallel lines on either side of Vader. Heavy boots thudded on the metal grates of the landing pad, and Mara took her place beside Vader, following the dark lord to another shuttle. Once it was in transit, piloted by faceless droids, Vader removed her helm, and turned towards Mara.

“Where’s Luke?” Vader –no, Kaydia asked.

“He’s…” Mara swallowed hard, letting her feelings pass through her. “He’s recovering, with Leia.”

Kaydia glanced at her sidelong, clearly catching the emotion in her words, but choosing not to pry. “Perhaps it’s best that he’s not here. His impulsiveness nearly cost us everything, last time. It certainly sped up the Emperor’s plans.”

“Is that why he’s come here now? To complete the ritual of gbigbemi ẹm?”

Kaydia nodded. “Whatever he hoped Luke would accomplish for him has not come to pass. He’s taken matters into his own hands.”

“Can we still stop him?”

“There is no other choice, now. No room for failure.”

Mara was quiet for a time, staring out into the void where the beating heart of a planet once thrived. Still a pulse lingered, thudding in time with her own heartbeat, but without any of the warmth. Each beat stabbed through her like an icicle. Like Luke’s lukewarm excuses. Kaydia cleared her throat, and Mara turned towards her.

“I have the Lightsaber that Quentin gave you.” Kaydia explained, turning the silver hilt over in her hands.

“Your lightsaber, you mean?”

“No,” Kaydia turned it on, spilling green light through out the ship, “It’s a Jedi weapon. It belongs to a Jedi.”

“And you were a Jedi. You could come back.”

“No, the light is gone. It left with you, and it died with Quentin.” She turned off the saber, and put it back on her belt. It would be safer there, as they confronted the Emperor. Finally, after a moment, she reached out a gloved hand, and caressed Mara’s cheek. “But perhaps a shadow can still act as a guardian, between the light and the darkness.”
 
The shuttle banked and shifted, navigating a twisting path through the debris field that had once been an inhabited world. Then, ahead of them, a station could be seen. A hulking, spidery thing of black metal, radiating fear and pain and cold in the Force. Black lightning erupted from spines on the surface, discharging the worst buildup of the darkness into the surrounding rubble.

Kaydia bowed her head and replaced her helmet. There was a click and a hiss as it sealed itself. “Ready yourself,” declared the cold tones of Darth Vader. “The Emperor awaits.”

She rose from her seat as the shuttle touched down, feeling the booming echoes of the landing gear through the soles of her armored boots. “Cone, Kaydia. We must not...””

-*-

“...keep him waiting.”

Luke awoke with those words in his mouth, blue eyes flashing around as he tried to make sense if his surroundings. A white-walled chamber, with a hovering droid and his sister. But no Mara. “Where is she?”

“You must rest,” the droid announced, “your injuries...”. It squealed suddenly as Luke gestures, hurling it into the wall.

“Where is she?” he repeated, ignoring the pain in his chest as he sat up. “Where’s Mara?”

“She went to confront the Emperor,” Leia said, resting a hand on his arm. “He’s...”

“Enacting the ritual of gbigbemi ẹm,” Luke finished, swinging his legs off the bed. “I know. But does she understand what that means?”

“What do you mean?” Leia asked.

“The ritual,” he said, ignoring his nudity as he tore through the drawers next to his bed, looking for his clothes. “It harnesses the pain and fear of billions. But Moressa didn’t tell her everything!”

“What?” Leia rose to her feet. “What didn’t she know?”

Luke dragged on his pants. “To harness it requires a fundamental betrayal, an unforgivable act that twists any love or compassion into utter hatred.”

Leia’s dark eyes narrowed. “Like...”

“Like a father utterly betraying his daughter.” Luke pulled his shirt on. “We have to stop her.”
 
Vader stood behind Mara as the landing doors opened with a whoosh, leading to a great metal chamber. The Emperor sat alone a top a platform with a dozen steps.

“Mara Jade Palpatine,” The emperor acknowledged in a mocking tone, “Do you finally come before your father to answer for your crimes and failures?”

Mara stood firm. “I do not acknowledge your rule, Usurper. And I know you are not my father.”

“I’m not,” Palpatine agreed with a twisted grin. “I took you from your parents. Had you carved out of your mother’s body, and ripped from her arms.” Palpatine sniggered “I am not your father, and you are not my daughter, but a mere tool. A killer, fashioned to be as effective and ruthless as your mother before you.”

His laughter was louder now, echoing off the metal blast shield. “Doesn’t that make you angry, Mara? Doesn’t it make you furious, confronting everything I’ve taken from you? Reclaim it then!” Palpatine rose from his throne, inching closer on atrophied legs.

“Strike me down! This is what I’ve trained you for, your entire life. To harness your rage, your pain, and use it to kill your foes. Kill me, and complete your training.”

Palatine’s candor caught Mara off guard. She’d prepared herself for more of his lies, more of his excuses. But the truth cut far deeper. She’d known all this, already, and still anger flared in every muscle in her body. Now Palatine was a magnet, drawing all her rage, all her pain and suffering. Her fingers itched, to call her saber to her hand. To ignite it, and drive it through Palpatine’s cold, black heart.

There is death, and yet there is the force. Killing Palpatine wasn’t enough. He wouldn’t goad her if it were. “I’m not your tool, Usurper, and I take no orders from you.” A shuddered breath dissipated her rage.

“You won’t kill me?” Palpatine seemed more amused than surprised. He moved between her and Vader now, circling around Mara. “How are you going to stop me then? How else can you end my reign over the entire galaxy? You can kill me, or you can submit. Either way, I’ve won.”

Finally, Vader spoke. “You will never win, Palpatine. Not while shadows stand between the light and darkness.” Palpatine had but a moment to turn his attention towards Vader, just a moment to see the flash of red light solidify into a saber and drive into his chest.

Palpatine was strangely calm, as if there weren’t a saber in his chest. There was no blood, no burned flesh, no flinch. “Vader? Not quite the betrayal I was expecting.”

“I’m not Vader!” she screamed, driving her saber deeper as if it would matter. As if it could matter. “I am –AHHH!!!” Kaydia’s voice broke away as Palpatine placed his hand on her chest, dark energy crackling with electricity.

“And I don’t care. I just need your hate.” Kaydia’s scream deepened, and more energy crackled from her chest. “And you have a very deep well of hate.”

“Mom!” Mara cried, calling her saber to her hands. She too slashed through Palpatine, knowing it was futile, but it was enough to disperse the dark lord. Kaydia fell heavily to her knees, Mara just able to catch her before collapsing completely.

Palpatine’s laughter echoed through the chamber, coming from every direction at once. “Well done, Scarlet! Your long scheme has served me well.”
 
The Force rippled as Sidious’ form reappeared on the throne. Hands resting on the arms, he regarded both women with an amused, imperious air. “It served me well indeed, Lord Vader.”

The black armored figure struggled to her feet. “I’m... I’m not... Darth Vader.”

“Really?” Scorn dripped from the Sih Lord’s lips. “You’ve served me as Darth Vader for two decades, now. Far longer than the man you murdered on Naboo.”

“All to get close to you,” Kaydia snarled, the sound a raspy hiss in her helmet.

Sidious made a harsh sound of contempt. “Then why wait twenty years, Lord Vader? Why serve me with such commendably brutal efficiency?” He leaned forward. “You craved power, Scarlet. Craved the darkness. You retuned to it, time and again, finding a solace in it that the Jedi could never offer.”

“You...” Kaydia growled.

“And why kill me?” he continued, leaning back. “Was it I who tortured your Jedi lover? Or was that Tyrannous and Skalho? And I did not kill him.” He gestured, and a hologram simmered to life. It displayed her final duel with Quentin, cycling through the moment when her crimson blade sheared through him over and over. “Or was that you?”

“Shut... up...” Kaydia growled.

“You say you did it for your daughter,” Sidious continued, gesturing at Mara. “But how long did you know she was your daughter? How many years did you abandon her, claiming you sought my death? Lying to yourself.”

“Shut up!” Kaydia shouted.

“You know the truth,” the Sith Lird said, not raising his voice. “You are Darth Vader. It was who you were born to be.” His eyes glittered with cold humor. “My daughter.”

Silence echoed through the throne room.

“Come, Lord Vader. You must sense the truth in my words.” He steepled his fingers before him, meeting the reflective gaze of her helmet lenses. “Now. My granddaughter has defied us. Betrayed us.”

With the flick of a finger, Kaydia’s lightsaber was lifted to her hand.

“Discipline her.”
 
Kaydia moved in a jerky fashion, as if she were a marionette, her limbs controlled by the emperor. The saber thrummed to life, and red light splashed across the walls. With lurching, exaggerated movements, she stepped forward, heavy boots clunking on the metal grates. Her arms shook as she raised the saber struggling within herself against Palpatine’s control.

Mara took a step back. “Mom?”

The blade came down in a blinding arc. Mara deflected the first blow, moving entirely defensively. Shii-cho, like her father had taught her. She dodged the second strike by jumping back, just missed by the actinic blade. Kaydia drove forward now, movements smoother, stronger. Palpatine’s control now absolute. Mara was just able to catch the next slash on her saber, blades screech as they dueled for the upper hand.

“You have to kill me,” Kaydia rasped, pushing into the dead-lock.

“I won’t!” Mara challenged, planting her feet to push back.

A force push sent Mara spiraling and bouncing across the floor. “He’s right, you know, I did abandon you. I spent your entire childhood plotting and planning my revenge.” Kaydia followed up with a massive jump, saber aimed downward to stab Mara through.

Mara rolled away just the blade pierced the metal flooring. “It doesn’t matter!” She rolled again by the time Kaydia turned, on her feet in a defensive stance.

“I murdered your father!” Kaydia responded with a flurry of blows, so quick Mara could just barely block. “I could have spared him, but it was easier to kill him. Easier to continue my charade as a Sith Lord than to confront the ways I failed him, and you. I failed you both, because all I really wanted was power.”

“It’s a lie!”

“You father promised he would never hurt me, and I repaid him with a saber to the chest.” Kaydia thrust forth, but Mara caught it on her saber, and with the of her wrist, parried, driving her mother’s blade into the ground.

“Trust yourself!” Mara instructed, pinning Kaydia’s saber. “Trust in the force. You have the power to resist him.”

“I don’t, and that’s why I needed more power. I’ve never had the power to resist, and that’s why I served so well. So obediently.”

“Trust yourself. Stop trying to control the force and let it flow through you. You’re not alone. I’m here. Dad’s here, too.”

Kaydia took a step back, and dropped her saber to her side. “Quentin?”

“There is death and yet there is the force. He’s never left us, not completely.”
 
“Dad?” Sidious echoed, his voice drawing the sound out in a mockery of concern. “You choose the man you never met over…”. He fell silent, crimson eyes peering into the darkness around his throne. “Over…”

He fell silent, then rose in a single smooth motion. “Your time is past, Jedi," he hissed, hate dripping from the the syllables. "When she falls, your light will be gone from the galaxy forever."

His attention remained focused into the darkness, head tilted as if listening to something. Or, perhaps, someone. Then he threw his hooded head back, filling the air with mocking laughter. "Begone!” the Suth Lord roared, gesturing imperiously. “You have no place, here in my Empire!"

-*-

“Where the hell are we going?” Han demanded, watching hyperspace collapse into the star-speckled blackness of real space. The densely star-speckled blackness. The courses Leia’s sister was navigating the Falcon through was taking them deeper into the core.

“A world I saw in visions,” Luke replied, keying a sequenc of numbers into the navigation computer. “The place of the Emperor’s strength.”

“Coruscant,” Han filled in. “The capitol. So, why the…”

“No, not there,” Luke replied. “We’re going to…”

Chewbacca hooted, and Han looked at him curiously. “Korriban? What the hell is a Korriban?”

“No,” Luke answered. “Exegol.” He pulled the lever, hurtling the deceptively battered freighter into hyperspace once more. “We’re going to Exegol.”

“Right.” Han stared out into the twisting channel of hyperspace. “Why?”

“To kill the Emperor’s bodies,” Luke stated. “So his soul can’t escape, when Mara defeats him.”
 
Quentin was here. His presence warmed Kaydia like the first rays of sun after a long night. It chased away the chilled tendrils of dark control the Emperor held over her. Her movements were her own. Her mind was her own, once more. Instead of closing herself off, instead of armoring herself in the darkness, Kaydia opened herself. The force, the living force flowed through her.

She felt Quentin, just they way she had so long ago. His strength and his love and his passion and his forgiveness. So long had she sought him in the force, reached for him, deafened by the silence left in his absence. Now, again, they were together. They were stronger together. They always had been. They always would be.

“You think a dead Jedi is going to save you?” Palpatine roared out, his darkness lashing out like biting winds. His saber flew to his hand, and buzzed to crimson life. “You think he’s going to make a difference?”

It wasn’t just Quentin, though. She felt Mara, fully, for the first time. After all the times her daughter had reached for her, after every time she had to push it away, and close herself off, finally, she could embrace it. And not just Mara, either. It was Master Valis and Master Ki-Adi, and the Masters who had trained them. It was an unbroken line of force users, going back to the first woman who had made that connection, whose mind had opened to the splendor around her. It was the hopes and dreams of an entirely galaxy, billions of lives yearning for freedom from the Empire, and its terrible Emperor.

Kaydia stood beside Mara “He already has.”

Purple lightning arced from his free hand, filling the space between himself and his foes. Concentrating, Kaydia drew it away from Mara. Drew it to her saber, where her will could keep it from overwhelming her. Mara jumped towards Palpatine, clearing the half the length of the ship in her single bound. The Emperor blocked, and shifted his attention to force push Mara away. With his attention diverted, Kaydia lunged forth, catching his saber on her own. She followed up with her own force push, sending his feeble body to crash heavily into the cockpit windows.

Mara had recovered by now, and pursued Palpatine. His only defense was to hurl heavy equipment at her, chairs and consoles and control panels. That didn’t stop her, however, merely slowed her, and when Kaydia diverted the massive control panel from her daughter’s path, Mara struck, hacking Palpatine’s hand off his outstretched arm, and his saber along with it.

“It’s over, Palpatine,” Mara declared, holding her saber before the fallen dark lord. “You’ve lost.”

“The true power of the dark side will never lose! Not to some half-trained Jedi and a fake Darth.” His free hand –his remaining hand rose, fingers open wide before closing into a fist. Mara gasped, then struggled for breath. Her saber rose up, but he pushed it away with a sway form his stump of a forearm. “Don’t worry Mara, you’re not going to die. I yet have a use for you in my new Empire.” The Emperor stood, and Mara rose higher in the air, clawing at invisible hands around her throat. “But first, you’ll need to learn obedience.” Once again, purple lightning strobed from his fingertips, jerking Mara’s body in unnatural ways.

“No!” Kaydia projected a force shield around her daughter, protecting Mara from the lightning. It bounced off the shield and struck her, burning by freezing devouring her from within. With a shuddered gasp, she pushed Mara away, far away, letting the protective orb take the brunt of the force.

Palpatine turned towards her now, and redoubled his lightning attack. “You, on the other hand Scarlet, have out-lived your usefulness. If you love this dead Jedi of yours so deeply, perhaps it’s time you join him!”

Kaydia struggled forward, first step by painful step, then her hands and knees, when the pain became too much. This was it. This was everything she’d done had built to. This moment. She could end it. She had to end it. For Mara. For Luke and Leia. For Quentin, for Padme. For the Republic. Her skin burned, her insides boiled and her mind seared. Just a little closer.

Raw fingers tore at the smooth floor grates, scraping madly for purchase, for anything that she could pull herself forward upon. The muscles in her legs twitched and fried and refuse to push her any closer. Her arms weighed a thousand pounds. Still, she reached up, and tugged herself up on Palpatine’s robes.

“All this, and you still failed,” he taunted, his invisible fist tightening around her throat. Nerveless fingers grasped at him, but couldn’t get a grip. Still she rose, beyond her own power, lifted by the force hands crushing her neck. Everything went dim… quiet… dark…

Green flickered at the edge on her vision. “Mom, Catch!” Mara voice was more powerful than the pain, her hope stronger than the hate. Straining, Kaydia reached for her, and gripped her saber in her hand once more. One last time. Love drove her arm forward, guided by Quentin and Mara, and it seared deep into Palpatine’s chest.

The Emperor laughed, and coughed up blood. “You’ve merely slain my body. I will yet live. I am undying!”

“Then we’ll kill you again.”

Palpatine stumbled back, and Kaydia fell forward, driving her saber to the hilt in him just as she crash down a top him. Breathing was easier now, but it still ached, like glass in her lungs. Rolling over, she caught sight of Mara at her side.

“I’m so glad you turned out like your father.” Kaydia laughed, before wincing. She brushed a few strands away from Mara’s face and behind her ear. “My beautiful, brilliant, brave, stubborn daughter.”

“Mom–“

“I’m not going far. Just… joining your father.” The words came out clipped, as if heavier now, and her hand slid down her face. “I’ll be there, now, when you reach for me. I’ll always be there now…”
 
“What the hell are we doing here, buddy?” Han asked, peering into the darkness of the monolithic temple. Chewbacca hooted anxiously in reply, hefting his bow caster and staring as well. Then they both ducked as more blaster bolts splashed off the stone.

“Trust then, they’re Jedi?” Han repeated, incredulously. “What the hell kind of nonsense is that? And what sort of religious wacko needs high explosives?” He returned fire, more to keep heads down than because he could see his targets clearly.

“The kind that wants to make sure that the Emperor doesn’t return,” Luke replied, joining him. As he did, Leia fell in beside Chewie. “And I’m not a Jedi. I’m…”

“I don’t really care about religious debates,” Han snapped, cutting him off. “Did you set your charges?”

“Yes.”

“Then,” Han continued, “can we figure out how the hell we’re getting out of here?”

Luke ignited his lightsaber. “Follow me. And shoot anyone you see.”

-*-

Within the throne room, unseen by the young woman crouched by the dead body of her mother, two figures waited. One was a sandy-haired man with blue eyes and a soft, crooked smile. The other was a dark-haired woman with hazel eyes and a concerned expression. “Will she join us?” the woman asked.

“She’ll have to free herself from the prison she built for Anakin, first,” the man replied. As he said it, the armor Kaydia wore howled in the Force - a sound of rage and hatred.

“We should help her, Quentin,” the woman said.

“We can’t, Linora,” Quentin replied. “The soul-binding is anchored by her will. She’ll have to unwind it herself, to be free of it.” Then he concentrated, focusing his own will to become visible. “Mara,” he murmured, resting his hand in his daughter’s shoulder. “You have to go. Without Sideous to bind it, the nexus will become unstable. And then it will collapse, taking the remains of Alderaan with it.”
 
Mara glanced back at the warm presence behind her. Her father, but not her mother. She was still before her, gone, and yet… Gone.

“Mara,” Quentin murmured, resting his hand in his daughter’s shoulder. “You have to go. Without Sidious to bind it, the nexus will become unstable. And then it will collapse, taking the remains of Alderaan with it.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. The vibrations throughout the ship grew stronger, shaking and buzzing and even jerking, now.

“I can’t leave her, not here. She deserved better than this…”

The body resisted her efforts to carry it. Lifeless flesh and damaged prosthetics hung limply in her arms; the height unwieldy by Mara alone. Nevertheless, she called on the force, and stood.


Kaydia has just closed her eyes, just to open them again, and yet opening them for the first time. The force flowed all around her, not unlike the times she’d joined with Quentin in their younger days, when he was still connected, and she still walked in the light. That brilliant, overwhelming essence flowed through her, around her, and into the vast openness of space. She wasn’t alone. Linora was here. Quentin was here. So close she could almost feel him. The closest she’d been in decades. Just a little closer, and they be reunited again.

Movement was impossible under the weight of her sins, however. Force tendrils drew her back, drawing her into the howling void at the center of the nexus. They grew stronger, thicker, covering the force projection of her being with impenetrable miasma. It crawled over her being, covering and coating her, filling her from the inside out.

The darkness had been inside her the entire time. It had grown, eclipsing any light that she’d ever known. The nexus at the center of once-Alderaan grew. It consumed everything within it. It would consume her as well. Soon, she’d be another wailing voice of pain and rage in the darkness.

“I can’t leave her, not here. She deserved better than this…”

Mara voice reached her, through the darkness. A single bright light, leading away from the nexus. She couldn’t be consumed, not here, not now. She promised Mara. Her daughter still needed her. Luke and Leia, the children she’d raised, watched over, taught, and loved. They needed her still, too.

Kaydia tore at the dark bindings lashed over her. Like ripping off her own skin, it burned. The darkness clung tighter to her burrowing deep into her essence, and still, Kaydia tugged and tore and ripping the tendrils from herself. There was still someone underneath the darkness. The young girl who believed in justice. The woman who been brave enough to open herself to another person. The mother who loved her child from afar. Kaydia was still inside her.

Darkness encased her soul like black armor. Force fingers dug into the plates and metal, pulling it apart. Kaydia screamed as old scars and buried wounds opened anew. And through those scars, those wounds, darkness bleed from her. Anakin, and Aldane and Sidious and Scarlet. All of it fell away, consumed by the nexus.

Yet Kaydia remained.

She stood, uncertain in her being, of force given form. A luminous being, connecting to the energies of all living things, in tune and in balance with the universe. Everything was light, and warmth, and peaceful. Linora was there, dark eyes softened by her proud smile. Quentin was there, that handsome man who saved her with his love. And Mara was there, a beacon throughout the galaxy, guiding her back from the brink.

She reached out, hesitantly at first, towards Linora and Quentin. Gasping as their warmth washed over her. It had been so long since she touched it, since she last felt it, since she’d welcomed it. Perhaps she could have cried, if she still possessed a body. Instead, she wrapped her arms around both of them, and melted into the embrace.



Mara flew away from the space station as it pulled apart, small pieces ripping away to the pull of the Nexus at the center, then larger fragments tearing away. Mara didn’t look back, pushing her ship into hyperdrive as the station shrunk into itself and disappeared into the void.
 
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