DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc, 20th Century Fox, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly, YKW and the other writers of the expanded Star Wars Universe. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Mara stood holding the orange blade, feeling that same curious feeling she'd had before, just a short time ago. It felt longer than that for a feeling like this. It was as if she'd been trapped in a dark stinkhole of a cargo hold and some fresh air had just been vented in.
This was Cal Saphringer's lightsaber.
There were old books in his private quarters. She'd just spent the past twenty minutes checking them over. They were books she recognized, some of which were held together only by threads. Books about the Force, about different religions, different cults, different kinds of worship. But they all centered on one thing--gaining power.
Just like Cal.
Then there had been the holovids. Research done on the Sith of all places, research about the Emperor, of all men. Cal had always been fascinated with the Emperor. Perhaps that was the real reason he was so enamored of her.
But as she stared into the orange brightness, all doubt left her, and she suddenly understood.
Jaid was Cal Saphringer.
Her mind whirled as it tried to fathom it. Sure, the boy coming to Yavin IV, being the same age as Luke's son would have been, a boy searching for his father, needing training for his Jedi powers---thank the Force they hadn't been so taken in that they'd train him themselves. But they had been taken. Jaid--Cal--had played them from the start.
Her fingers clenched around the blade and she hurled it against the wall. The blade collapsed back into the hilt, but not before leaving an ugly gash in the wall. That would teach him--- she stopped herself.
There was simply nothing that she could teach him. If he had gone this far, even to be able to alter his age, then she could not teach him anything. Luke would claim he could be saved, but Mara had a feeling he would claim it out of sheer principle, not because he believed it.
The thought of her husband made her open her mind to his. *Luke,* she called through the Force. *Come here, quickly. It's an emergency.*
She felt Luke respond and start to hurry over. Then she turned and headed down the exit ramp, only to come face to face with Jaid and Vaiya.
"Mother!" Vaiya said in a whisper. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't believe this," Jaid muttered, his face turning pale. "Why would you break into my ship, Jedi Skywalker? You are already sending me away. Must you sabotage me to feed your own sick pleasure?"
Mara gaped at them, apparently disbelieving that this was happening. In a matter of seconds, she closed her jaw and turned her shock into pure rage. Her finger pointed at Jaid and she hissed, "You."
Jaid's eyes flashed, and for a minute Vaiya detected amusement from him. "Mara," he said, entirely too naturally, "your way with words has deteriorated in your old age."
"You slime-eating son of a hutt. How dare you?!"
"Not much improvement."
"What's she talking about, Jaid?" Vaiya asked.
Jaid's eyes were locked on Mara's as the woman said, "Not Jaid. Cal."
"What?" But his face was a giveaway. Dread started to appear around his eyes and in his confident smile.
"What are you talking about!" Vaiya practically screeched. "Cal Saphringer! He's his son, Mother! Have you been smoking the jungle plants or something?"
Mara looked at her, sympathy in her eyes--Vaiya recoiled from it, recoiled from her, recoiled from Jaid, from everyone. She felt her father arrive, but didn't even want to look.
Mara's emerald blaze turned to Jaid-Cal, and burned into him. Vaiya could hear the command, it was so strong. *TELL HER! TELL HER! TELL HER THE TRUTH!!*
It was like a rancor pounding on Jaid's skull--Vaiya could sense it. His face crumbled and he dropped his head into his hands, groaning. "It's true," he groaned. "My name is Cal Saphringer." Then, abruptly, he looked up and his face was wrapped in an arrogant mask as he reached forward and pulled Mara toward him, his hands wound in her hair and holding her painfully by it. "Too bad your little girl isn't more like you used to be, Mar." And he kissed her.
Then there came the burst of Force lightening, and Father's cry as he struggled to catch them as they tumbled off the ramp. That was, Mara and Jaid tumbled. Vaiya's feet were firmly planted, set apart in defense position, her hand still extended from where the blue white distortion bolts had come from her.
So this was the dark side. This was what she was to become. Someone so scorned and hated that her only comfort was in her rage. She wanted to crumple, to fall, to beg her mother's forgiveness as Mara gazed up at her, her eyes stunned and filled with pain. Luke watched her as if he did not know her, and when he realized that he had rescued Jaid, he was genuinely startled.
Vaiya found she could hear his thoughts. He had thought Jaid had attacked with the Force lightening. But his own daughter-- -it was unspeakable.
She scowled down at them all, pride rearing its ugly head. She had said she wanted away from here. Now she was going to get it. She was going to leave Jaid here to face his "destiny," and find out what the rest of the galaxy had to offer.
Surely it had to be better than this.
She entered the ship and sealed the ramp shut behind her. She could vaguely hear them calling her name, but after a few seconds she didn't even notice. She went to the cockpit and found the ship quite ready to fly. It would have seemed odd on any other day but today.
She took a deep breath and searched the Nav. computer for a location. The last place Jaid had come from was a planet named Duran. Perhaps she should go there. It seemed far enough away from everything.
Letting the ship take over, she lifted out of the landing bay without clearance and headed up into the night sky, only to disappear in a silver streak, leaving the people she hated most in the world at that moment far behind her.