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ladyofleithianIn which Mara heads back to the homestead to save Owen and Beru, and a series of unexpected events happens.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: First off, I'd like to apologize for the lateness of the update; let's say I had Internet troubles. Second off, this was a pretty interesting chapter to write, what with the plot developments that just unexpectedly happened. I know it was a pretty memorable moment of NaNo. Also, went to Wookieepedia for some background information on the troopers that invaded the homestead, just for reference -- also because it's really interesting. I think that's one of many reasons I like the EU; they come up with backstories and character development that even the movies wouldn't have thought of.
It was heading back to the homestead that Mara saw the bodies of the Jawas. Even looking over them, looking over the scattered bodies, over the bantha tracks that surrounded them, over the marks of gaffi sticks and whatnot, Mara couldn’t help but wonder what the Sand People would really want with the Jawas. What would they have to gain from slaughtering the Jawas? After all, the Jawas hadn’t really done anything to them, really. Not at all.
She turned towards Lady Nemo. “Why would they even do this?”
Lady Nemo, meanwhile, seemed deep in thought, looking over the bodies of the Jawas. She knelt beside one of them, closing its eyes, before turning towards Mara. “This isn’t the work of the Sand People, I know that.”
“But the gaffi sticks, the bantha tracks – ’’
“That is true. At least from a surface standpoint.” Lady Nemo took a deep breath. “But I think it’s more dangerous than that. I doubt that Sand People ever hunt in groups, after all.”
“Yeah. That’s true.” Sand People never really attacked all at once. They typically rode single file, no doubt to hide how many of them there were. One would be more caught off-guard that way. “Wait a second…” Mara squinted at the sand crawler. “That’s…that’s carbon scoring, isn’t it?”
Lady Nemo merely nodded. “Yes. And unless the stormtroopers and the Sand People somehow formed an alliance, I can only assume that the stormtroopers decided to pin the murders on the Sand People. They’re the easiest scapegoats, after all.”
“Yeah.” Mara bit her lip. If nothing else, Lady Nemo was telling the truth; the Sand People were typically hated and feared by a lot of the Tatooine population. As Owen had told her once, “They walk like men, but they’re brutal, savage animals.” It had been almost unsettling, she thought, hearing it from someone she had looked up to. The Sand People were ruthless, there was no doubt about it, but there was something about the look in Owen’s eyes…
She took a deep breath. “What would the stormtroopers want with the Jawas anyway? I mean…they’re harmless. Unless they thought that they were selling the droids or something…” She rubbed her forehead. “Oh gods no…”
“What is it?” Leia, this time. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I know where they’re going,” Mara said. “I mean…it’s likely that they’re going to tear apart all of Tatooine until they find the droids. And you two.” She rubbed her head again. “I’ve got to get home.”
“You’ll be killed!” Elizabeth Nerus, this time.
Mara turned to look at her. “Stop worrying. I’m going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“We’re going with you,” Leia said. “Just to back you up.”
“You don’t have to,” Mara said.
“But we do,” Leia said, “Because there’s no chance that you’re fighting the stormtroopers on your own.” She turned towards Lady Nemo and Elizabeth Nerus. “Look after Ar-Too and Threepio, all right? For me?”
Elizabeth Nerus merely nodded, though there was a look of utter anguish in her face, almost as if she feared for Mara coming out alive. But really, Mara thought, what could possibly go wrong? She was going to be fine. She was going to save Owen and Beru, and things would be all right.
Mara walked over towards the landspeeder, Leia and Ben getting in after she did. Then she started it up. So help her, she was going to get home, and she was going to save her family, no matter what.
And as the landspeeder sped across the desert wastelands of Tatooine, even that possibility seemed all too easy.
***
After all these years, Owen Lars doubted that he ever stopped worrying about Mara. Ever since Lady Nemo had dropped off Mara at their doorstep, he hadn’t really stopped worrying about her, from when she had first learned to walk and talk to…now, really. Even watching her grow up, even seeing her resemble her parents more and more, what with her father’s kindness and insight and her mother’s fire and loyalty, there was something about him that had never truly stopped worrying about his little girl. She wasn’t his little girl by blood, but for all intents and purposes, one didn’t have to be related by blood in order to be family. And even as he helped Beru make lunch, there was something in him that, despite the fact that his daughter was old enough to take care of herself (as Beru had told him time and time again), couldn’t help but fear for her safety. After all, there was a lot of danger in the Jundland Wastes, in the Dune Sea, and whatnot. Tatooine was far from the safest place in the galaxy; if nothing else, it seemed to be where the psychos seemed to gather. One of many places the psychos seemed to gather, at the very least. He could still remember the Festival of the Dead, and what had nearly happened –
-- and even that thought was enough to make him shiver.
“Owen,” Beru said if only softly, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m good.” Owen took a deep breath. “I’m just worried about Mara.”
“I understand.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Owen. She’ll come back soon.”
“I certainly hope so.” Owen had heard too many stories about people who had ventured into the Dune Sea and never came home. He didn’t want Mara to be part of one of those stories.
There was a long silence even as they continued preparing breakfast for the day. Then, “Do you think it’s time to let her go, Beru? I mean…I know she’s not a kid anymore, but I promised Lady Nemo that I’d keep her safe.” He snorted. “Not that I really agree with her on everything, but still…” He could still remember Lady Nemo trying to persuade him to have Mara trained as a Jedi, only for him to brush her off. “She’s a godsdamned kid! I’m not having what happened to her dad happen to her!”
But was it time to let her go? It was a question that had plagued him time and time again. He couldn’t keep her around forever, but at the same time…
“You’re going to have to let her go eventually, Owen. I mean…” Beru laughed if only softly. “She has too much of both her parents in her. I doubt she’d ever be happy living this life.”
“I know.” That, Owen supposed, he would have no choice but to face.
“Just one more season,” Beru said if only softly. “One more season, and you’ll let her go.”
Owen took a deep breath. “All right,” he said, “But…” He sighed. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“If it’s any comfort,” Beru said if only gently, placing a hand on Owen’s shoulder, “Nothing ever is.”
It was then that Owen heard the heavy thud of dewback footsteps. He then looked outside the homestead, only to see –
“Beru,” he said, “We’ve got to run. They’re here. Just…pack your things, get out of there. We need to run.”
“What do you mean?” Beru’s brows were furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”
And then she looked outside the homestead, and it was then that comprehension came across her face. And more than that, fear. She knew full well what the stormtroopers were capable of. She had heard enough news reports to know what they were capable of. She headed towards her room now, packing up her things. Owen followed, packing up his things as well as Mara’s – they would need to run, more than anything else. The question was where they would seek shelter. There was the matter of the Rebel Alliance, perhaps. Or one of those neutral planets that didn’t have anything to do with the Empire, although to say “good luck with that” would probably be an understatement. But he would do just about anything if only to keep Mara safe, and Beru.
It was long after Beru packed her things that Owen turned to look at her. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s go.”
But they barely even made a few steps out before they were stopped by the stormtroopers’ blasters pointed in their faces. “Stay where you are,” Captain Mod Terrik said. Already, Owen knew that man’s reputation. The man who had a reputation for plowing down just about anyone who got in his way. A man who was so dedicated to the Empire that he didn’t care who he had to kill if only to achieve his goals. To say that the fact that they were in this man’s custody was bad was putting it mildly – he couldn’t imagine what would happen to the both of them, to Mara, for that matter. He could only hope that she was safe.
“You’re going to be all right,” he said to Beru. “We both will.” He took a deep breath. “And no matter what happens, they won’t find Mara.”
***
If one was to be truthful, Terminus thought, the matter of finding the Death Star plans and the ambassadors was mostly subterfuge at this point. He wanted to at least find the ambassadors, really, if only to keep them from further interfering, but really, what startled him was the matter of what he had felt in the Force even as he had approached Tatooine. A bright, shining sort of presence, a presence that could only really belong to someone very strong in the Force. And then there was the matter of what Owen had said to his wife, Beru – “And no matter what happens, they won’t find Mara.”
Mara. Could that be the presence that he had felt? No. It couldn’t be possible. It could just be someone else entirely. But he had felt it, on Tatooine, on that very homestead –
It had to be her. It had to be. Already, Terminus’ heart wasn’t quickening – it was machine-regulated, it couldn’t do that – but he felt a sort of anticipation that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Mara. That was the name he had considered for their child so long ago. Their little girl. Something that he had discussed with Sabe when no matter how bad the war got, they had each other. Now, he didn’t have her. He had Vader and Ventress, and he supposed that was a perverse sort of comfort, two companions that he could have in this twisted, bizarre new world that he had found himself in, but the fact that Sabe wasn’t even so much as here…
He didn’t have his family. He had lost his family long ago.
And yet there was something in him that couldn’t help but wonder, really, if finding Mara again, if it was possible to have everything be right again. If he could find Sabe and Padme again. Because they could change their names, but they couldn’t change who they were, fundamentally. He could still feel the both of them in the Force. For all they tried to hide from him, to use assumed names, he always knew who they were.
He hadn’t gone after them if only because, even after all this time, he didn’t want to kill them. Granted, he didn’t want to kill anyone, in the end, but they…he couldn’t kill them, most of all.
Perhaps Mara, in a sense, this Mara Lars – perhaps in a sense she was the key to making everything right again. Even if she wasn’t his daughter, she could help him overthrow Sidious along with Vader and Ventress. And if she was indeed his daughter…
Terminus felt something deep in him that he hadn’t felt in a while. Something that Master Yoda and Darth Sidious both had dismissed as being as futile as despair or mercy, respectively – hope. It was an almost frightening sort of feeling, and yet wonderful. Because with Mara with him, with his daughter back with him, perhaps he could put everything right again.
***
They’d managed to reach the moisture farm in time. Thank the suns. Mara got out if only in time to see the two of them surrounded by stormtroopers and, to Mara’s dismay, Darth Terminus, along with Darth Vader and Asajj Ventress. If Darth Terminus had decided to show up as well as perhaps two of the Empire’s most feared Sith and Dark Jedi, they were very much doomed, weren’t they?
Mara turned towards Ben and Leia. “I’ve got to save them,” she said.
“You’ll be killed,” Ben said.
“I know,” Mara said, “But I’m not going to let them die like this.” She took a deep breath now, walked towards the stormtroopers.
It was then that Terminus turned to look at her, his head tilting almost, Mara thought, like a dog’s. The way that he looked at her – it was almost like, impossibly, he knew her. But he couldn’t possibly know her. It wasn’t…right. There was no way that he could know her, or her him.
And yet, if her dreams were any indication…but they couldn’t possibly have to do with Terminus, could they? He couldn’t possibly be the man from her nightmares.
And more than that, if she wasn’t mistaken, Terminus’ breathing seemed to be getting all the shorter, all the heavier. The way that he looked at her – Mara couldn’t read his expression behind those black, mechanical things that passed for eyes in regards to his face, but it was undeniable, really, that somehow, he knew her. His gaze seemed to stare right through her to the point that despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel chills go down her spine.
Still, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to steel. “Right,” she said, “I don’t want this to come to blows. But I swear, if you don’t get away from my family, I’m afraid that I’m going to have no choice but to use this.”
She drew her lightsaber – her father’s lightsaber, more precisely, but in a way, she supposed, it was hers now. She could only pray that she would be as brave as her father ever was. She could practically hear Owen’s breath hitch, and looking behind her, she could see the anxiety present in Elizabeth Nerus’ eyes. Lady Nemo, on the other hand, seemed to have the utmost faith in her. She supposed that it would be touching if, on the inside, she wasn’t terrified.
Terminus, meanwhile, seemed to tilt his head again, looking over the sight of Mara carrying that lightsaber. He seemed to have seen that before as well. Of course he did, Mara told herself. He killed your father. If he could have, he probably would have added his lightsaber as a trophy to his collection of lightsabers he took off the Jedi he killed. Assuming he has one, of course. Considering Terminus, it probably wouldn’t be much of a stretch.
“Then I’m afraid that I’m going to have no choice as well,” Terminus said. He drew his lightsaber and ignited it – red, almost like the Tatooine sun when it was first coming up, shedding its light over the desert planet, heralding the dawn of a new day. Mara ignited hers as well. And behind her, she heard the ignition of another lightsaber – as she turned around, she saw that it was Lady Nemo’s.
Terminus looked now past Mara towards Lady Nemo. “Padme,” he said, “I should have known that we would meet again. You can change your name all you like, but you can’t change who you are.”
“You won’t hurt Mara.” Lady Nemo’s voice seemed to have gone from its usual calm to a fierce sort of determination.
“I’m not here to hurt her,” Terminus said. He looked from Lady Nemo to Mara, again with that sort of look, Mara thought, as if he knew her. Of course he would have known her – if he had been close to her father before he had killed him…
Even thinking about it, trying to puzzle out the possibilities, was almost too painful for Mara, and she found herself closing her eyes almost in spite of herself. She forced herself to take a deep breath. Don’t let him affect you. Just concentrate. Fight back however you can.
Terminus continued, and the way he sounded, there was something sad in his voice, or at least as sad as it could get considering how mechanical it really was. “I’m here to reclaim what should have been mine a long time ago.”
Mara tensed. If Terminus was here to “reclaim” the droids, then by the twin suns themselves, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. She was going to fight back whatever it took.
“Ben, Leia,” she said, “Look after Mom and Dad. Get them to the spaceport now. Quickly.”
“We’re not leaving you behind!” Leia, this time.
Mara took a deep breath. “Leia,” she said, “It’s going to be fine, I promise.” It was a lie, of course, but it was a lie if only to try and reassure Leia if only a little bit. To tell her, however feebly, that everything was going to turn out all right in the end, no matter how hopeless it really was. “Just…get them to the spaceport. It’s the right thing to do.”
Terminus turned, meanwhile, if only to Vader, Ventress and the stormtroopers. “Go after them. I will handle this.”
“Are you sure about this?” Vader, this time. Mara had seen him on the Holonet if only a few times – a fierce, hot-headed man with a fierce loyalty to Darth Terminus and the Empire. He had built up a reputation of his own, really, what with his own personal Jedi killings and whatnot. He was more than willing to slaughter anyone who got in his way, no matter who they were. He had earned himself the title of “the butcher” if only for his ruthlessness; even the stories that Mara had heard in Ackmina’s bar didn’t disagree with that. From what she had heard from one space pirate, “When you looked into the eyes of Lord Vader, you saw only death.”
And the way that Lady Nemo looked at him – it was almost as if she had known him once. Known him once, and perhaps even cared for him, if only slightly. The way that Vader looked at her, with a sort of hesitation to go after her…
And then Vader turned towards Terminus. “No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m not going after her. Not like this.” Vader looked, for all the galaxy, really, like he was in anguish. “I’m not going to hurt her. I can’t – ’’
“You would put your love for her over the matter of what we could accomplish?” Terminus’ voice sounded almost frustrated, as if he was trying to hammer a fundamental truth into Vader’s head. “She couldn’t possibly be worth that much to you…”
Vader ignited his lightsaber. “Just let them go, Terminus,” he said, “Let her go. She’s done nothing wrong.”
And there was something in Mara that, even watching, could not help but feel almost confused as to what was happening.
***
Vader didn’t want to turn on Terminus. If nothing else, this was the last thing that he had ever wanted. And yet at the same time, he was tired, so very tired. Tired of all this needless death, tired of all this misery, tired of everything that was happening. And even at night, sometimes, he could swear that he could hear Padme’s voice, telling him that he was worth so much more than this, that he could do so much more than this. That he was meant for more than this. She had told him that once, when he had been holding her prisoner, when he had told her about Dooku, and how he wanted to overthrow the madman but wasn’t strong enough to do so. And what she, this wonderful, damnably kind young woman, had told him. That he was brilliant.
He had never truly heard something like that from Sidious, or from Dooku, or from anyone, really. And this girl, this Chosen One…
She had seen the good in him. She had seen the potential in him. He almost didn’t know whether to be grateful to her or hate her or both. But he couldn’t kill her. Not after all this time.
So it was then that Vader stood on the side of Lady Nemo, Padme, the woman who had captured his heart from the moment she had landed on Geonosis, and he, somehow, was not afraid. Terminus…for all his admirable qualities, he had lost his humanity long ago. He didn’t understand what it meant to preserve the peace, and neither did the Emperor. The Sith had lost their way. They had betrayed everything that they were meant to be.
Perhaps from there, he could at least somewhat make it right again.
He turned towards Lady Nemo, towards Elizabeth Nerus and Ben and Leia, as well as Owen and Beru. “Get out of here,” he said, “I’ll hold him off. Trust me.”
And the shock on Lady Nemo’s face, and then her smile that could have outshone the stars themselves – that, somehow, told Vader that he had done the right thing. He didn’t want to fight Terminus or Ventress, but if he could at least try and buy Lady Nemo – no, Padme. Terminus was right about one thing; she could change her name, but she couldn’t change who she was. She was still Padme to him, the brave, idealistic, kind, utterly impossible and strangely wonderful woman he had first met – and the others some time, then it was worth everything.
***
The thing about fighting Terminus – his stormtroopers, meanwhile, seemed to have gone off to find Leia and the others. She just hoped that they didn’t get the chance – Mara thought, was the fact that, if nothing else, he seemed to be almost like a krayt dragon. A particularly cunning krayt dragon. He couldn’t really move very much in that armor, and his attacks seemed to be limited to an almost simplistic sort of way of fighting, in contrast to her partner’s – well, if one could really call him that. Weird sort of ally was more like it – more flashy sort of movement, as well as Terminus’ ally’s more acrobatic sort of movement, but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t cunning. He seemed to be anticipating most of her attacks – although the fact that she had never really used this thing before had something to do with it, she supposed – and the most she could do was at least aim for areas where she could knock him out. Or at least injure him long enough if only to make a run for the spaceport with her…new ally, if she could call him that. It was strange having the man called the Butcher by so many people on her side, and yet, she mused, here he was. She almost didn’t know what to make of this. Especially since he seemed to be doing this, all of this, for Lady Nemo.
It was almost too bizarre.
Even managing to meet Terminus’ attacks, there was something in her, almost, that could not shake the feeling that, somehow, he was too familiar. As if they knew one another.
Even as she skidded across the desert, wincing as the ground scraped against her back, she noticed Luke coming from the next house, obviously drawn out by the sudden noises. “What the stang is even going on?”
“It’s all right, Luke!” Mara tried if only vainly to warn him away from the scene even as she continued to fight off Terminus’ attacks, managing to, at least, make somewhat of a dent in his armor. That was good, she thought. Some degree of a start. “Just in a bit of a bind at the moment,” she said, “But I’m fine.”
Luke, meanwhile, drew his blaster, firing at Terminus, who was distracted at least long enough to ward off the blaster bolts almost like they were nothing. It distracted Terminus at least long enough for Mara to cut through Terminus' left leg.
Even watching it, it felt almost as if it wasn’t quite her hand. As if it was the hand of a stranger’s. She took a deep breath, turned towards Vader.
“Come on,” she said, “We should find Lady Nemo and the others.”
Vader seemed almost hesitant now, looking from Terminus to Mara. Then, “Yes. Yes, we should.” He turned towards Terminus. “Come with us. It doesn’t have to be this way. You…you want to find Sabe and your daughter, don’t you? More than anything?”
Silence.
“No,” Terminus said, if only softly. “I belong here. Go.”
And Vader, with a look of guilt and a sort of agony that Mara never expected to see from him, did.
***
Vader had betrayed him.
Terminus supposed that he should have seen it coming. That was the way of the Sith in the end; they betrayed one another. They were more than willing to stab one another in the back as long as they got what they wanted. They were willing to do anything if only to get their power – that was how Sidious had gotten started, after all. He had killed his Master in his sleep like the coward he really was if only to become the Sith Master. Evil – that was the nature of evil. It never truly died. It just passed to another host.
Except Vader hadn’t killed him. And he hadn’t betrayed him if only for power. He had betrayed him if only for…for Padme.
Even thinking about it, even considering it, nothing about it even remotely made sense.
In a way it did. Vader had always had some degree of affection for Padme, twisted as it was – and yet at the same time, it wasn’t completely twisted, Terminus had realized. It was almost, he thought, as if it was one of his few redeeming factors. Even amidst the rage and the ruthlessness and the twisted sense of righteousness, he still, somehow, cared for Padme.
It had almost scared him, in a sense, back when he and Vader were enemies. Even now, even as Terminus, it didn’t make any sense.
And to think that that boy had distracted him long enough for his own daughter to slice off his left leg…
Terminus supposed, if only darkly, that Mara was shaping up to be exactly in his former Padawan’s image. Slicing off his leg, almost, he thought, like Padme had sliced off most of his limbs a long time ago, on Sullust. And he, being a complete and utter fool, had forgiven her then too. Because he was a complete and utter sentimental fool even after all this time, and somehow…
It wasn’t the pain, necessarily, that had stopped Terminus – he doubted he felt pain anymore, really. Most of his nerves had been damaged on Sullust, no thanks to Padme, of course. But it had been the shock of his daughter, his Mara, slicing through his leg – and Vader’s betrayal –
No, he thought. I will not give into this. Because he was Darth Terminus, and he was never deterred.
He would find them. He would execute the traitors for their crimes – not out of a desire for revenge, but because, pure and simply, it was only right – and he would reclaim his daughter, and his wife. Yes. He would do that. His wife and their beautiful daughter. He would do that. No matter what.
“Are you all right?” Ventress said, if only softly.
“I am,” Terminus said. He couldn’t say he was in pain, but to say that missing a leg was more than a slight inconvenience was no doubt being mild. “We should get back to the ship.”
“Yes,” Ventress said.
It was long after she placed an arm around his shoulder, and he placed an arm around hers, that they headed back towards the nearest shuttle. They would need to get back to the Empire, and he would need to get a new cybernetic leg. The Emperor would be far from happy, but then again, Terminus thought, was he ever truly happy? He could face whatever punishment the Emperor had in store for him. After all, in time, the Emperor would get what he deserved. And when he looked up if only in shock at Terminus, wondering what led Terminus to do what he did, it would be the best possible justice for all of them that Terminus could think of. And he would rule, undoing everything that the Emperor had ever done. He would make things right again.
After all, he was meant to rule, in the end. Lord Sidious was nothing but a vain, greedy, cruel, pointlessly sadistic creature that, for all intents and purposes, wasn’t even human anymore as much as the embodiment of evil itself. The closest that evil could ever get in a human. Even looking into his eyes on occasion, there were times that Terminus was given chills, not necessarily because of the mutation that Mace Windu’s redirection of Sidious’ own lightning had given him, but because Terminus knew that behind those yellow, almost krayt-dragon-like eyes was the Dark Side itself.
He could undo everything that Sidious had ever done. He could make everything right again, atone for all the sins that the Empire had committed…
And even as he headed back towards the ship with Ventress, missing a leg, there was something about that that was strangely comforting. Yes, he thought, I can do this. Because if he could undo every horrible day in the Empire, every wrong that they had done, every wrong that had even been done back in the Clone Wars, Force knew he would do it in a heartbeat.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: First off, I'd like to apologize for the lateness of the update; let's say I had Internet troubles. Second off, this was a pretty interesting chapter to write, what with the plot developments that just unexpectedly happened. I know it was a pretty memorable moment of NaNo. Also, went to Wookieepedia for some background information on the troopers that invaded the homestead, just for reference -- also because it's really interesting. I think that's one of many reasons I like the EU; they come up with backstories and character development that even the movies wouldn't have thought of.
It was heading back to the homestead that Mara saw the bodies of the Jawas. Even looking over them, looking over the scattered bodies, over the bantha tracks that surrounded them, over the marks of gaffi sticks and whatnot, Mara couldn’t help but wonder what the Sand People would really want with the Jawas. What would they have to gain from slaughtering the Jawas? After all, the Jawas hadn’t really done anything to them, really. Not at all.
She turned towards Lady Nemo. “Why would they even do this?”
Lady Nemo, meanwhile, seemed deep in thought, looking over the bodies of the Jawas. She knelt beside one of them, closing its eyes, before turning towards Mara. “This isn’t the work of the Sand People, I know that.”
“But the gaffi sticks, the bantha tracks – ’’
“That is true. At least from a surface standpoint.” Lady Nemo took a deep breath. “But I think it’s more dangerous than that. I doubt that Sand People ever hunt in groups, after all.”
“Yeah. That’s true.” Sand People never really attacked all at once. They typically rode single file, no doubt to hide how many of them there were. One would be more caught off-guard that way. “Wait a second…” Mara squinted at the sand crawler. “That’s…that’s carbon scoring, isn’t it?”
Lady Nemo merely nodded. “Yes. And unless the stormtroopers and the Sand People somehow formed an alliance, I can only assume that the stormtroopers decided to pin the murders on the Sand People. They’re the easiest scapegoats, after all.”
“Yeah.” Mara bit her lip. If nothing else, Lady Nemo was telling the truth; the Sand People were typically hated and feared by a lot of the Tatooine population. As Owen had told her once, “They walk like men, but they’re brutal, savage animals.” It had been almost unsettling, she thought, hearing it from someone she had looked up to. The Sand People were ruthless, there was no doubt about it, but there was something about the look in Owen’s eyes…
She took a deep breath. “What would the stormtroopers want with the Jawas anyway? I mean…they’re harmless. Unless they thought that they were selling the droids or something…” She rubbed her forehead. “Oh gods no…”
“What is it?” Leia, this time. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I know where they’re going,” Mara said. “I mean…it’s likely that they’re going to tear apart all of Tatooine until they find the droids. And you two.” She rubbed her head again. “I’ve got to get home.”
“You’ll be killed!” Elizabeth Nerus, this time.
Mara turned to look at her. “Stop worrying. I’m going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“We’re going with you,” Leia said. “Just to back you up.”
“You don’t have to,” Mara said.
“But we do,” Leia said, “Because there’s no chance that you’re fighting the stormtroopers on your own.” She turned towards Lady Nemo and Elizabeth Nerus. “Look after Ar-Too and Threepio, all right? For me?”
Elizabeth Nerus merely nodded, though there was a look of utter anguish in her face, almost as if she feared for Mara coming out alive. But really, Mara thought, what could possibly go wrong? She was going to be fine. She was going to save Owen and Beru, and things would be all right.
Mara walked over towards the landspeeder, Leia and Ben getting in after she did. Then she started it up. So help her, she was going to get home, and she was going to save her family, no matter what.
And as the landspeeder sped across the desert wastelands of Tatooine, even that possibility seemed all too easy.
***
After all these years, Owen Lars doubted that he ever stopped worrying about Mara. Ever since Lady Nemo had dropped off Mara at their doorstep, he hadn’t really stopped worrying about her, from when she had first learned to walk and talk to…now, really. Even watching her grow up, even seeing her resemble her parents more and more, what with her father’s kindness and insight and her mother’s fire and loyalty, there was something about him that had never truly stopped worrying about his little girl. She wasn’t his little girl by blood, but for all intents and purposes, one didn’t have to be related by blood in order to be family. And even as he helped Beru make lunch, there was something in him that, despite the fact that his daughter was old enough to take care of herself (as Beru had told him time and time again), couldn’t help but fear for her safety. After all, there was a lot of danger in the Jundland Wastes, in the Dune Sea, and whatnot. Tatooine was far from the safest place in the galaxy; if nothing else, it seemed to be where the psychos seemed to gather. One of many places the psychos seemed to gather, at the very least. He could still remember the Festival of the Dead, and what had nearly happened –
-- and even that thought was enough to make him shiver.
“Owen,” Beru said if only softly, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m good.” Owen took a deep breath. “I’m just worried about Mara.”
“I understand.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Owen. She’ll come back soon.”
“I certainly hope so.” Owen had heard too many stories about people who had ventured into the Dune Sea and never came home. He didn’t want Mara to be part of one of those stories.
There was a long silence even as they continued preparing breakfast for the day. Then, “Do you think it’s time to let her go, Beru? I mean…I know she’s not a kid anymore, but I promised Lady Nemo that I’d keep her safe.” He snorted. “Not that I really agree with her on everything, but still…” He could still remember Lady Nemo trying to persuade him to have Mara trained as a Jedi, only for him to brush her off. “She’s a godsdamned kid! I’m not having what happened to her dad happen to her!”
But was it time to let her go? It was a question that had plagued him time and time again. He couldn’t keep her around forever, but at the same time…
“You’re going to have to let her go eventually, Owen. I mean…” Beru laughed if only softly. “She has too much of both her parents in her. I doubt she’d ever be happy living this life.”
“I know.” That, Owen supposed, he would have no choice but to face.
“Just one more season,” Beru said if only softly. “One more season, and you’ll let her go.”
Owen took a deep breath. “All right,” he said, “But…” He sighed. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“If it’s any comfort,” Beru said if only gently, placing a hand on Owen’s shoulder, “Nothing ever is.”
It was then that Owen heard the heavy thud of dewback footsteps. He then looked outside the homestead, only to see –
“Beru,” he said, “We’ve got to run. They’re here. Just…pack your things, get out of there. We need to run.”
“What do you mean?” Beru’s brows were furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”
And then she looked outside the homestead, and it was then that comprehension came across her face. And more than that, fear. She knew full well what the stormtroopers were capable of. She had heard enough news reports to know what they were capable of. She headed towards her room now, packing up her things. Owen followed, packing up his things as well as Mara’s – they would need to run, more than anything else. The question was where they would seek shelter. There was the matter of the Rebel Alliance, perhaps. Or one of those neutral planets that didn’t have anything to do with the Empire, although to say “good luck with that” would probably be an understatement. But he would do just about anything if only to keep Mara safe, and Beru.
It was long after Beru packed her things that Owen turned to look at her. “Come on,” he said, “Let’s go.”
But they barely even made a few steps out before they were stopped by the stormtroopers’ blasters pointed in their faces. “Stay where you are,” Captain Mod Terrik said. Already, Owen knew that man’s reputation. The man who had a reputation for plowing down just about anyone who got in his way. A man who was so dedicated to the Empire that he didn’t care who he had to kill if only to achieve his goals. To say that the fact that they were in this man’s custody was bad was putting it mildly – he couldn’t imagine what would happen to the both of them, to Mara, for that matter. He could only hope that she was safe.
“You’re going to be all right,” he said to Beru. “We both will.” He took a deep breath. “And no matter what happens, they won’t find Mara.”
***
If one was to be truthful, Terminus thought, the matter of finding the Death Star plans and the ambassadors was mostly subterfuge at this point. He wanted to at least find the ambassadors, really, if only to keep them from further interfering, but really, what startled him was the matter of what he had felt in the Force even as he had approached Tatooine. A bright, shining sort of presence, a presence that could only really belong to someone very strong in the Force. And then there was the matter of what Owen had said to his wife, Beru – “And no matter what happens, they won’t find Mara.”
Mara. Could that be the presence that he had felt? No. It couldn’t be possible. It could just be someone else entirely. But he had felt it, on Tatooine, on that very homestead –
It had to be her. It had to be. Already, Terminus’ heart wasn’t quickening – it was machine-regulated, it couldn’t do that – but he felt a sort of anticipation that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Mara. That was the name he had considered for their child so long ago. Their little girl. Something that he had discussed with Sabe when no matter how bad the war got, they had each other. Now, he didn’t have her. He had Vader and Ventress, and he supposed that was a perverse sort of comfort, two companions that he could have in this twisted, bizarre new world that he had found himself in, but the fact that Sabe wasn’t even so much as here…
He didn’t have his family. He had lost his family long ago.
And yet there was something in him that couldn’t help but wonder, really, if finding Mara again, if it was possible to have everything be right again. If he could find Sabe and Padme again. Because they could change their names, but they couldn’t change who they were, fundamentally. He could still feel the both of them in the Force. For all they tried to hide from him, to use assumed names, he always knew who they were.
He hadn’t gone after them if only because, even after all this time, he didn’t want to kill them. Granted, he didn’t want to kill anyone, in the end, but they…he couldn’t kill them, most of all.
Perhaps Mara, in a sense, this Mara Lars – perhaps in a sense she was the key to making everything right again. Even if she wasn’t his daughter, she could help him overthrow Sidious along with Vader and Ventress. And if she was indeed his daughter…
Terminus felt something deep in him that he hadn’t felt in a while. Something that Master Yoda and Darth Sidious both had dismissed as being as futile as despair or mercy, respectively – hope. It was an almost frightening sort of feeling, and yet wonderful. Because with Mara with him, with his daughter back with him, perhaps he could put everything right again.
***
They’d managed to reach the moisture farm in time. Thank the suns. Mara got out if only in time to see the two of them surrounded by stormtroopers and, to Mara’s dismay, Darth Terminus, along with Darth Vader and Asajj Ventress. If Darth Terminus had decided to show up as well as perhaps two of the Empire’s most feared Sith and Dark Jedi, they were very much doomed, weren’t they?
Mara turned towards Ben and Leia. “I’ve got to save them,” she said.
“You’ll be killed,” Ben said.
“I know,” Mara said, “But I’m not going to let them die like this.” She took a deep breath now, walked towards the stormtroopers.
It was then that Terminus turned to look at her, his head tilting almost, Mara thought, like a dog’s. The way that he looked at her – it was almost like, impossibly, he knew her. But he couldn’t possibly know her. It wasn’t…right. There was no way that he could know her, or her him.
And yet, if her dreams were any indication…but they couldn’t possibly have to do with Terminus, could they? He couldn’t possibly be the man from her nightmares.
And more than that, if she wasn’t mistaken, Terminus’ breathing seemed to be getting all the shorter, all the heavier. The way that he looked at her – Mara couldn’t read his expression behind those black, mechanical things that passed for eyes in regards to his face, but it was undeniable, really, that somehow, he knew her. His gaze seemed to stare right through her to the point that despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel chills go down her spine.
Still, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to steel. “Right,” she said, “I don’t want this to come to blows. But I swear, if you don’t get away from my family, I’m afraid that I’m going to have no choice but to use this.”
She drew her lightsaber – her father’s lightsaber, more precisely, but in a way, she supposed, it was hers now. She could only pray that she would be as brave as her father ever was. She could practically hear Owen’s breath hitch, and looking behind her, she could see the anxiety present in Elizabeth Nerus’ eyes. Lady Nemo, on the other hand, seemed to have the utmost faith in her. She supposed that it would be touching if, on the inside, she wasn’t terrified.
Terminus, meanwhile, seemed to tilt his head again, looking over the sight of Mara carrying that lightsaber. He seemed to have seen that before as well. Of course he did, Mara told herself. He killed your father. If he could have, he probably would have added his lightsaber as a trophy to his collection of lightsabers he took off the Jedi he killed. Assuming he has one, of course. Considering Terminus, it probably wouldn’t be much of a stretch.
“Then I’m afraid that I’m going to have no choice as well,” Terminus said. He drew his lightsaber and ignited it – red, almost like the Tatooine sun when it was first coming up, shedding its light over the desert planet, heralding the dawn of a new day. Mara ignited hers as well. And behind her, she heard the ignition of another lightsaber – as she turned around, she saw that it was Lady Nemo’s.
Terminus looked now past Mara towards Lady Nemo. “Padme,” he said, “I should have known that we would meet again. You can change your name all you like, but you can’t change who you are.”
“You won’t hurt Mara.” Lady Nemo’s voice seemed to have gone from its usual calm to a fierce sort of determination.
“I’m not here to hurt her,” Terminus said. He looked from Lady Nemo to Mara, again with that sort of look, Mara thought, as if he knew her. Of course he would have known her – if he had been close to her father before he had killed him…
Even thinking about it, trying to puzzle out the possibilities, was almost too painful for Mara, and she found herself closing her eyes almost in spite of herself. She forced herself to take a deep breath. Don’t let him affect you. Just concentrate. Fight back however you can.
Terminus continued, and the way he sounded, there was something sad in his voice, or at least as sad as it could get considering how mechanical it really was. “I’m here to reclaim what should have been mine a long time ago.”
Mara tensed. If Terminus was here to “reclaim” the droids, then by the twin suns themselves, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. She was going to fight back whatever it took.
“Ben, Leia,” she said, “Look after Mom and Dad. Get them to the spaceport now. Quickly.”
“We’re not leaving you behind!” Leia, this time.
Mara took a deep breath. “Leia,” she said, “It’s going to be fine, I promise.” It was a lie, of course, but it was a lie if only to try and reassure Leia if only a little bit. To tell her, however feebly, that everything was going to turn out all right in the end, no matter how hopeless it really was. “Just…get them to the spaceport. It’s the right thing to do.”
Terminus turned, meanwhile, if only to Vader, Ventress and the stormtroopers. “Go after them. I will handle this.”
“Are you sure about this?” Vader, this time. Mara had seen him on the Holonet if only a few times – a fierce, hot-headed man with a fierce loyalty to Darth Terminus and the Empire. He had built up a reputation of his own, really, what with his own personal Jedi killings and whatnot. He was more than willing to slaughter anyone who got in his way, no matter who they were. He had earned himself the title of “the butcher” if only for his ruthlessness; even the stories that Mara had heard in Ackmina’s bar didn’t disagree with that. From what she had heard from one space pirate, “When you looked into the eyes of Lord Vader, you saw only death.”
And the way that Lady Nemo looked at him – it was almost as if she had known him once. Known him once, and perhaps even cared for him, if only slightly. The way that Vader looked at her, with a sort of hesitation to go after her…
And then Vader turned towards Terminus. “No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m not going after her. Not like this.” Vader looked, for all the galaxy, really, like he was in anguish. “I’m not going to hurt her. I can’t – ’’
“You would put your love for her over the matter of what we could accomplish?” Terminus’ voice sounded almost frustrated, as if he was trying to hammer a fundamental truth into Vader’s head. “She couldn’t possibly be worth that much to you…”
Vader ignited his lightsaber. “Just let them go, Terminus,” he said, “Let her go. She’s done nothing wrong.”
And there was something in Mara that, even watching, could not help but feel almost confused as to what was happening.
***
Vader didn’t want to turn on Terminus. If nothing else, this was the last thing that he had ever wanted. And yet at the same time, he was tired, so very tired. Tired of all this needless death, tired of all this misery, tired of everything that was happening. And even at night, sometimes, he could swear that he could hear Padme’s voice, telling him that he was worth so much more than this, that he could do so much more than this. That he was meant for more than this. She had told him that once, when he had been holding her prisoner, when he had told her about Dooku, and how he wanted to overthrow the madman but wasn’t strong enough to do so. And what she, this wonderful, damnably kind young woman, had told him. That he was brilliant.
He had never truly heard something like that from Sidious, or from Dooku, or from anyone, really. And this girl, this Chosen One…
She had seen the good in him. She had seen the potential in him. He almost didn’t know whether to be grateful to her or hate her or both. But he couldn’t kill her. Not after all this time.
So it was then that Vader stood on the side of Lady Nemo, Padme, the woman who had captured his heart from the moment she had landed on Geonosis, and he, somehow, was not afraid. Terminus…for all his admirable qualities, he had lost his humanity long ago. He didn’t understand what it meant to preserve the peace, and neither did the Emperor. The Sith had lost their way. They had betrayed everything that they were meant to be.
Perhaps from there, he could at least somewhat make it right again.
He turned towards Lady Nemo, towards Elizabeth Nerus and Ben and Leia, as well as Owen and Beru. “Get out of here,” he said, “I’ll hold him off. Trust me.”
And the shock on Lady Nemo’s face, and then her smile that could have outshone the stars themselves – that, somehow, told Vader that he had done the right thing. He didn’t want to fight Terminus or Ventress, but if he could at least try and buy Lady Nemo – no, Padme. Terminus was right about one thing; she could change her name, but she couldn’t change who she was. She was still Padme to him, the brave, idealistic, kind, utterly impossible and strangely wonderful woman he had first met – and the others some time, then it was worth everything.
***
The thing about fighting Terminus – his stormtroopers, meanwhile, seemed to have gone off to find Leia and the others. She just hoped that they didn’t get the chance – Mara thought, was the fact that, if nothing else, he seemed to be almost like a krayt dragon. A particularly cunning krayt dragon. He couldn’t really move very much in that armor, and his attacks seemed to be limited to an almost simplistic sort of way of fighting, in contrast to her partner’s – well, if one could really call him that. Weird sort of ally was more like it – more flashy sort of movement, as well as Terminus’ ally’s more acrobatic sort of movement, but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t cunning. He seemed to be anticipating most of her attacks – although the fact that she had never really used this thing before had something to do with it, she supposed – and the most she could do was at least aim for areas where she could knock him out. Or at least injure him long enough if only to make a run for the spaceport with her…new ally, if she could call him that. It was strange having the man called the Butcher by so many people on her side, and yet, she mused, here he was. She almost didn’t know what to make of this. Especially since he seemed to be doing this, all of this, for Lady Nemo.
It was almost too bizarre.
Even managing to meet Terminus’ attacks, there was something in her, almost, that could not shake the feeling that, somehow, he was too familiar. As if they knew one another.
Even as she skidded across the desert, wincing as the ground scraped against her back, she noticed Luke coming from the next house, obviously drawn out by the sudden noises. “What the stang is even going on?”
“It’s all right, Luke!” Mara tried if only vainly to warn him away from the scene even as she continued to fight off Terminus’ attacks, managing to, at least, make somewhat of a dent in his armor. That was good, she thought. Some degree of a start. “Just in a bit of a bind at the moment,” she said, “But I’m fine.”
Luke, meanwhile, drew his blaster, firing at Terminus, who was distracted at least long enough to ward off the blaster bolts almost like they were nothing. It distracted Terminus at least long enough for Mara to cut through Terminus' left leg.
Even watching it, it felt almost as if it wasn’t quite her hand. As if it was the hand of a stranger’s. She took a deep breath, turned towards Vader.
“Come on,” she said, “We should find Lady Nemo and the others.”
Vader seemed almost hesitant now, looking from Terminus to Mara. Then, “Yes. Yes, we should.” He turned towards Terminus. “Come with us. It doesn’t have to be this way. You…you want to find Sabe and your daughter, don’t you? More than anything?”
Silence.
“No,” Terminus said, if only softly. “I belong here. Go.”
And Vader, with a look of guilt and a sort of agony that Mara never expected to see from him, did.
***
Vader had betrayed him.
Terminus supposed that he should have seen it coming. That was the way of the Sith in the end; they betrayed one another. They were more than willing to stab one another in the back as long as they got what they wanted. They were willing to do anything if only to get their power – that was how Sidious had gotten started, after all. He had killed his Master in his sleep like the coward he really was if only to become the Sith Master. Evil – that was the nature of evil. It never truly died. It just passed to another host.
Except Vader hadn’t killed him. And he hadn’t betrayed him if only for power. He had betrayed him if only for…for Padme.
Even thinking about it, even considering it, nothing about it even remotely made sense.
In a way it did. Vader had always had some degree of affection for Padme, twisted as it was – and yet at the same time, it wasn’t completely twisted, Terminus had realized. It was almost, he thought, as if it was one of his few redeeming factors. Even amidst the rage and the ruthlessness and the twisted sense of righteousness, he still, somehow, cared for Padme.
It had almost scared him, in a sense, back when he and Vader were enemies. Even now, even as Terminus, it didn’t make any sense.
And to think that that boy had distracted him long enough for his own daughter to slice off his left leg…
Terminus supposed, if only darkly, that Mara was shaping up to be exactly in his former Padawan’s image. Slicing off his leg, almost, he thought, like Padme had sliced off most of his limbs a long time ago, on Sullust. And he, being a complete and utter fool, had forgiven her then too. Because he was a complete and utter sentimental fool even after all this time, and somehow…
It wasn’t the pain, necessarily, that had stopped Terminus – he doubted he felt pain anymore, really. Most of his nerves had been damaged on Sullust, no thanks to Padme, of course. But it had been the shock of his daughter, his Mara, slicing through his leg – and Vader’s betrayal –
No, he thought. I will not give into this. Because he was Darth Terminus, and he was never deterred.
He would find them. He would execute the traitors for their crimes – not out of a desire for revenge, but because, pure and simply, it was only right – and he would reclaim his daughter, and his wife. Yes. He would do that. His wife and their beautiful daughter. He would do that. No matter what.
“Are you all right?” Ventress said, if only softly.
“I am,” Terminus said. He couldn’t say he was in pain, but to say that missing a leg was more than a slight inconvenience was no doubt being mild. “We should get back to the ship.”
“Yes,” Ventress said.
It was long after she placed an arm around his shoulder, and he placed an arm around hers, that they headed back towards the nearest shuttle. They would need to get back to the Empire, and he would need to get a new cybernetic leg. The Emperor would be far from happy, but then again, Terminus thought, was he ever truly happy? He could face whatever punishment the Emperor had in store for him. After all, in time, the Emperor would get what he deserved. And when he looked up if only in shock at Terminus, wondering what led Terminus to do what he did, it would be the best possible justice for all of them that Terminus could think of. And he would rule, undoing everything that the Emperor had ever done. He would make things right again.
After all, he was meant to rule, in the end. Lord Sidious was nothing but a vain, greedy, cruel, pointlessly sadistic creature that, for all intents and purposes, wasn’t even human anymore as much as the embodiment of evil itself. The closest that evil could ever get in a human. Even looking into his eyes on occasion, there were times that Terminus was given chills, not necessarily because of the mutation that Mace Windu’s redirection of Sidious’ own lightning had given him, but because Terminus knew that behind those yellow, almost krayt-dragon-like eyes was the Dark Side itself.
He could undo everything that Sidious had ever done. He could make everything right again, atone for all the sins that the Empire had committed…
And even as he headed back towards the ship with Ventress, missing a leg, there was something about that that was strangely comforting. Yes, he thought, I can do this. Because if he could undo every horrible day in the Empire, every wrong that they had done, every wrong that had even been done back in the Clone Wars, Force knew he would do it in a heartbeat.
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Date: 2013-12-18 12:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
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