Shockwaves in the Unifying Force by CzarZelinsky (Star Wars)

Summary: In the aftermath of the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, Mara Jade watches as her husband's life ebbs away. Leia and the Solo family have been destroyed in the destruction of Shimrra's citadel due to Nom Anor's treachery. Mara wished Luke could be saved, that their lives could have been lived in peace rather than turmoil. Mara just wished things had been different. (Time Travel, Wishfic)

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12004613/2/Shockwaves-in-the-Unifying-Force

Word count:65k(COMPLETE)

Chapters:19

Yuuzhan'tar Orbit

29 ABY

Mara Jade Skywalker slowly...methodically released the docking clamps and piloted the Millennium Falcon away from Admiral Kre'fey's flagship, the Ralroost. Slow and methodical. Slowly and methodically enough that had anyone been watching her, they would have seen a woman slowly breaking and that her careful piloting was as much for the Falcon's sake as it was for her own.

Fleeing the destruction of Shimrra's Citadel on Yuuzhan'tar, Mara had met with the Ralroost to drop off the other passengers and survivors. Tahiri and Kenth were faring little better in their emotional turmoil than she, but she still refused their offer to find solace in their presence. She had changed profoundly in so many ways since she first met Luke, but she still had no desire to share her emotions so freely. Captain Page, those two kriffing droids the Farmboy still insisted on keeping around, the Noghri bodyguards that helped with the Solo family, and everyone else had also disembarked upon her insistence. Her insistence and perhaps a not so subtle hand that caressed her lightsaber hilt in a somewhat disturbing manner.

The Solos.

It hurt even to think about them. A family she had hated and despised, the enemies of her fallen master. A family whom she had come to respect and eventually admire as she came to know the truth of her past. And after some time and the many arguments and adventures she shared with a certain bashful somehow-still-naive Farmboy, a family that she would call her own. A family that no longer existed. She felt guilty in thinking that Luke might be better off in his force trance, unaware of the pain that would await him were he to open those blue eyes again and feel the loss of his twin sister, Han, and his niece and nephew.

Only two people were left on the Falcon now. Soon, there would only be one. Glancing over to the side, Mara watched her husband with trepidation and felt utter helplessness as she gazed at him. Luke's eyes were closed and his breaths were irregular and shallow. Every minute, those breaths became just a little more irregular and just a little more shallow. It seemed impossible that it should end like this, but Luke had allowed himself to be struck by Shimrra in their duel in order to give himself the opportunity to land the fatal blow upon Shimrra. The poison from the amphistaff now burned in Luke's veins, despite all attempts of cure it.

Luke Skywalker was dying.

###

While Nom Anor led Leia and the rest of the Solo family through the Citadel that was self-destructing, Leia couldn't stop her constant monitoring of Luke's presence. It was a presence filled with pain whose incandescent light shone in the Force was slowly dimming. Leia felt tears prickle her eyes as she understood the magnitude of Luke's plight and only felt marginally better when Han's hand squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. Walking ahead of her, Jacen strode forward at Anor's side; his exhaustion following his duel with Onimi was palpable and lent a weight that hung around his shoulders. As she watched her son, Jacen stirred suddenly and glanced sharply at Nom Anor.

"Anor, what is this? I know this is the waste disposal system; there are no escape pods here!" Jacen gestured angrily at his surroundings and when he turned around to glare at Nom Anor, he simply wasn't prepared, even with the warning given through the Force, for the faceful of poisonous gas that exploded from Nom Anor's eye implant. Jacen cried out in pain and panic and worked desperately to filter the chemicals from his body using Vergere's teachings, but he was just so damn tired. I have to do this, he thought panic-stricken, but even as his body began to slowly adapt to the poison and recover, blackness was already crowding his vision and his knees were already collapsing. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was his mother's panic stricken face.

#

"Jacen!" Leia cried out, seeing her son wounded and lying still on the ground. She rushed forward to him but quickly wheeled around to face Nom Anor. But she had already delayed far too long and even as she cleaved Nom Anor's head from his body, a gas released from another implant, this time in one of his fingers, issued forth. The rest of the Solo family was still reacting to the initial commotion and the second implant had gone unnoticed by all but Leia. Leia felt her already weakened and fatigued daughter and her exhausted husband collapse, quickly joining Jacen in his unresponsive state.

Just a few blinks of the eye later, and Leia began to feel the effects of the toxic vapors take root within her. Unable to filter out the toxins and harmful chemicals like Jacen or Vergere, she was helpless in the face of the unexpected assault. Only her somewhat less exhausted state and her sheer strength in the Force had allowed her to stay aware for this long.

Or perhaps it is the will of the Force, she thought. Even if only for a few more moments, Leia was aware, and even as she felt the ground trembling and saw the world turn blurry, she had presence of mind enough to determine the last moments of her life.

Tears prickled her eyes as she thought of all the triumph that she, Han, and her long-lost brother Luke had enjoyed after the Emperor's demise. So much struggle, pain, and blood until the Alliance finally managed to reap the results of their efforts. The victory at the Battle of Endor helped usher in a new government and brought about the return of the Jedi. But conflict and incessant fighting had hounded the fledgling New Republic and the Jedi Order until the horror of the Yuuzhan Vong came and cast a shadow as dark as the Empire's upon the galaxy once again.

Falling to her knees, Leia felt felt the ground tremble even more violently; the sound of thunder loomed in the distance but seemed to be nearing quickly. Leia spotted Jacen stirring already, but it was still too late. Soon, the last of the Skywalker bloodline would perish; her entire family was going to die here, she realized as she pitched sideways onto the ground. Only her sister-in-law would remain as proof of their lives, their victories, their tragedies, and their love. But Mara would live, she would be okay.

Perhaps okay was stretching it, Leia thought, a wry smile attempting to dance upon her lips. She would survive, she would live, and hopefully she would know happiness again. Leia wished desperately that her brother would live. Not just for her sake, or for Mara's, but for his own as well.

"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!"

Though fading, Leia still had enough strength to muster a snort and a strangled laugh remembering that wide-eyed, naive farmboy who was ready to take on the Empire to rescue her, the beautiful helpless princess. The laugh stopped before it hardly began as she saw her other rescuer, her best friend, her husband, Han. He was so still on the ground and it was wrong, Han was a man of action and as brash as any Corellian and it was just so wrong that he should face death unawares.

Jacen was still struggling to wake, but they were out of time. The thunderous booms in the background now sounded like they were just on the other side of the door and the floor was buckling and trembling violently. Closing her eyes in both concentration and the exhaustion fueled by the events of the day and Nom Anor's final treachery, Leia reached out into the Force.

[Mara. I'm not going to be making it and I don't have much time before I'm knocked out. My family was knocked out by that sleemo Anor and Jacen is the only one who is remotely close to waking.]

Leia swallowed as her cheeks became wet with tears' her mouth felt fuzzy and she was feeling considerably more light-headed. I have to do this, just a little more time, she thought desperately. [I love you sister, and we will see each other again one day. Be good and kiss Luke goodbye for me. I wish things had been different for all of us, but Mara, understand that meeting and coming to know you has been one of the greatest adventures I've ever had, even including that farce of a rescue on the first Death Star by our two poor husbands. I know Luke is dying, but please have faith, please be happy. I'm sorry to go 'all Jedi on you,' but know this: we will always be with you. Always.]

Letting go of the thread that linked her with her sister-in-law, Leia felt herself topple onto the hard ground, hearing Jacen make a small questioning sound. Leia felt tears finally wet her cheeks, wishing so hard that things hadn't gone this way. Wishing so hard that her brother could have felt the joy of being a father and that he could have had the family he had yearned for. Wishing so hard that the galaxy didn't go straight to the Corellian Hells after they had accomplished the impossible in triumphing over the Emperor and his Empire. She whispered a final 'I love you,' to her family as the roar of explosions became deafening and the ground shook. She let go of her attempts to stay aware as a loud thunderous burst of noise and light flooded the chamber.

And then oblivion.

###

Leia's final words through the Force had shaken Mara badly. The Falcon had been occupied with others who had been involved in the battle in one capacity or another. Hamner, Tahiri, Page and even those Sithspawn abominations that Luke called his droids. While Luke might not have heard Leia, her light, and the light of her children, being snuffed out in the Force had drawn a small keening sound from Luke before he sank back into his trance.

So much death. So much destruction. The Jedi Order that Luke had built from the foundation up numbered less than half of its' former status. The Yuuzhan Vong weren't the only ones responsible for the fall of so many Jedi either. No, it was the very people whom they had dedicated their lives to protecting who had turned on them in their desperation to save themselves. The desperation had led to the Jedi fighting independently far too often, and being targeted by civilian populations to be gifted to the Vong. But the Jedi had survived, Luke's Order had survived. But now, Luke was dying.

Luke, her Farmboy, The Grand Master of the Jedi Order, the one who shot the Death Star. The one who saw to the redemption of Anakin Skywalker, and subsequently, the Emperor's destruction. The one who had spent his life serving others, helping others, and saving others. But rarely would he help himself and be selfish every now and then. Always the Jedi.

Luke.

Her naive, blue-eyed, infuriating farmboy whom she loved so fiercely, when she didn't want to kill him for getting himself into so much trouble, that is.

Luke had always wanted children, but war, conflict after conflict, and then the horror of the Yuuzhan Vong had convinced Mara that it would be better to wait. Luke disagreed of course, but he wouldn't pressure her into motherhood during such times. She wished she had made a different choice because once Luke died, there would be nothing of him left in the world but the material items which were only soft echoes of him.

A sob escaped her. Luke's pallor was growing worse and without Jacen or Vergere's talents, not even the bacta tank which seemed to have his name tacked onto it would be able to save him. When the Falcon had docked with the Ralroost, Mara had waited as the other passengers disembarked, most of them willing to leave her alone as she watched over Luke. Tahiri and Kenth Hamner had made overtures about inviting her to go with them, to seek solace among friends, but she had turned them down. All she wanted was Luke.

She had made Hamner take C-3PO and R2-D2, despite the violent beeping and protesting sounds that the latter had made. She made sure her face turned away to hide new tears and a small unwilling smile at the droid who her husband loved as dearly as any friend. It was selfish, but she wanted Luke all to herself for the time he had left. No one disagreed with her right to fly the Falcon, who would when the rest of her family had perished in the final battle against the Vong.

#

After the last of the visitors had left the Falcon, Mara detached from the Ralroost and piloted the Falcon away from the debris over Yuuzhan'tar, away from the multitudes of star cruisers and snubfighters. Slowly, the Falcon passed the planet that was once Coruscant, the changes caused by the vongforming only too clear. The Falcon was quiet now, empty save for the two, soon-to-be one passengers. Mara piloted a course without really caring where they ended up. A random jump into hyperspace was not something a person would typically walk away from unless they had one kriffing hell of a lucky streak.

She supposed that she was doing the exact opposite of what Luke or Leia would have wanted , but everything was just so wrong. Mara's shoulders hunched. Kriff it, she thought, I've always been contrary, wouldn't want to stop now.

Luke's breathing was so shallow and more than a little sharp and after Mara finished readying the Falcon she went ahead and curled up next to Luke in the seat. It should have been uncomfortable but Luke's presence, even diminished, enveloped her in its strength and light. She burrowed into Luke's body after giving him a heartfelt kiss on the lips. One last right. We sure made a splash, eh Farmboy? I'll see those blue eyes of yours soon.

Eyes closed and body entwined with Luke's, Mara casually waved a hand at the console to begin the jump into lightspeed. Oh Luke. I wish things were different. I wish that I had agreed to have your child, Luke. You would have been such a spectacular father. I wish that the kriffing galaxy hadn't been caught with its pants down when the Vong came to say hello, Mara thought sadly.

"I love you Luke. I wish…oh kriff it!"

The lever pressed down and there was shudder that seemed to run through the ship before everything seemed to jolt. Mara felt a surge in the force, she couldn't understand its source or the intent behind it, but she felt nothing of the Dark Side. The Force seemed to envelop the Falcon just as Luke's presence often enveloped hers. The surge grew until it was almost painful in its intensity.

And then she felt nothing.

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12004613/2/Shockwaves-in-the-Unifying-Force