Beyond - Legends "Ignis in Tenebris" (AU; Mara (some L/M), cameos; defiance/hope)

A/N: Well, here we are, at the end of a bleak and frankly kriffed-up year.

This is a ... sort-of-spoilerish-for-my-AU vent/rant/etc. - it's not meant to be political, factional, etc.

More of a shout, with everyone's favorite Legends redhead VERY much alive.

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Late 35 ABY: Myrkr System
Inner Rim:
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It had been a long, terrible, and ugly year.

If it'd been corporeal, Mara would've really stabbed it.

A lot.

With fervent, nasty, overly-enjoyed non-Jedi enthusiasm.

But years aren't alive, and vibroblades make noise, she thought, looking out at the ugly world below.

Oh, it wasn't Myrkr's fault, she admitted. Or even the ysalamiri; events and history haunted this place.

But it was easy for Force-sensitives to hide here, and Karrde had gladly taken her in after The Decision.

He hadn't named a price - Mara couldn't repay him, couldn't begin to repay him - but he'd insisted that there be no cost.

"Any chance to metaphorically slap the First Order in the face? Please, Mara - let me savor this," he'd said, with that Karrde smile that Mara hadn't been unable to resist echoing.

The smile slipped from her face as she reclined on the couch, sampling some of the fruit. The cruiser was a luxury model, one of Karrde's personal transports - more stripped-down than its original purpose, with more weapons and fewer fancy suites, but comfortable in a practical way.

That, Mara supposed, was part of how the galaxy was going. Softness was at a premium.

She closed her eyes, ruthlessly, steel-sharp, pushing down her pain at The Decision.

The other Masters hadn't thought it necessary.

"Too soon, too much," they'd insisted. "Serenno was an anomaly, the First Order getting lucky."

Only Durron, grating but gifted/cursed like Mara with the true sight of the ugliness that underpinned the menace they faced, had supported Mara at first.

"If ANYONE should have a say, it's her," Kyp had barked, grabbing Corran's lapel as he'd yelled.

(Of course, Mara suspected Durron sided with her as an excuse for him to yell at CorSec, but ... hey.)

We scattered. Ba'slan shev'la, in Mando'a - "strategic disappearance," Mara reflected.

If things went worst-case - and it was still debatable whether the First Order were actually fanatic enough to attack the praxeum on Ossus - the unreconstructed Imperials would find no Jedi.

The Jedi, on the other hand ...had scattered to their other 9 praxia, well-hidden across the galaxy.

They would train, regroup, prepare ... and find the First Order.

And hurt it.

As badly as it'd hurt Mara -

OK, Jade, deep breath. THAT was your wish-fulfillment voice. Don't be stupid, she reminded herself.

Rey was free and acting as a courier to the Resistance; and the other children were hidden.

It didn't take the sting away, of course. But Mara fully intended to get her family - and her own - back.

She took a deep breath; she knew, of course, that stopping Hux's demented brats would mean facing Kylo. Frankly, it was well-overdue - she'd listened to Farmboy a bit too much.

They'd given their firstborn son too much leeway to dig into Vader's past, and he'd liked it.

And then Serenno happened, and Cal's got too many balls in the air to juggle them all, and ... and Bastion's gone quiet, both back-channel and otherwise, and the Fels are incommunicado, too ...

And Luke didn't just go for a "walk," he went missing, and left us to decide what to do next.

Mara shoved the unproductive train of thought aside, and set to sharpening her vibroblade.

She'd try to get through to Kylo. It might mean a few blunt objects upside his head, but she'd try.

THEN, if it doesn't work, Yoda's little chant about doing and trying comes into play, Mara promised.

She sighed, wondering if it was repressed sorrow at missing Rey, Ben, Analynn, and Coric, or just the weight of what she faced as acting Grand Mistress that was exhausting her.

Make sure you're not ill, Jade. It'd be kriffing pathetic if you end up in a fetal position from stress, she remonstrated herself, scanning herself with the Force.

She dropped her vibroblade as she sensed exactly what - rather, who - was tiring her out.

And she laughed, tearful but triumphant, as she thought, Farmboy, I will SO vape you.

Mara rose, stretching, and checked on nutritional supplements as she planned to shock Karrde.

"Why, Talon, didn't you know that after hosting a Force-firebird, beating coomb spores, and having my idiot firstborn possibly trick my husband into vanishing, that I could have another child? Shame."

Yes, her "passenger" would complicate things, but for once, Mara was glad of the surprise.

Hope, little one. We have that, together, here in the void, she sent to her unborn baby, smiling as she started walking.

"Despair" was not part of Mara Jade's vocabulary.

But she decided that she'd provide the First Order with an intimate understanding of the term.

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As someone who has not enjoyed this year for multiple reasons, this story really hits the spot!

I love how you've worked NuCanon into Legends Canon so well together.

This was beautiful! I love when we see a lighter side of Mara, and I love how we got both sides of her in this story. But for her to be pregnant and in this situation and still have hope and fight in her, that really shows the kind of woman she is.

The hopeful feeling at the end of this, despite all the despair there is in the galaxy was quite moving.

Wonderful job! Thank you for sharing!

 

mavjade: Thanks very much for the reply.

The last few days have just been ... well, they kind of speak for themselves. But hope arrives unseen and unbidden - and, we can help it along.

I figured if any character would be the light in the darkness in a situation like this, it'd be Mara (spoiler:

Spoiler

Luke's very much alive, but just off the radar, and the Jedi and their allies don't know that yet.

.

And making Kylo her son, instead of her nephew both opens up the presence of Ben Skywalker (whom I have big plans for in this AU), and the chance to see Mama Mara lay down the law.

- Thanks again,
Onderon1

 

So, in a way, this story is a prequel to The Banks of Claudy, because Mara has no idea that Luke is alive? Neat, neat, neat.

And I can totally see how your version of the new Jedi would survive the massacre - Ba'slan shev'la and not putting all eggs in one basket, also the existence of older Jedi from the Legends continuity are a great strategy. Yet, what's also interesting is how the old Jedi Order paranoia chips in at the first sight of trouble. I know, I know, history repeating, they have seen it before etc, but still.

That said, the fact that Mara is supported by a former "rogue" Jedi and helped by a smuggler make sense. Those folks are flexible enough, even in the times of paranoia and they know everything about alternative ideas.

A great character exploration in a new setting!

Can I request a timeline for all these stories? Somewhere, somehow?

 

Ewok Poet: First, thanks again.

And yes, this is very much the prequel to Claudy. I should give a few spoilers and a rough timeline ...

Spoiler

Basically, the timeline begins its divergence c. 17 ABY, where L/M get married and have triplets - Kylo, Rey, and Jemma, in that birth order. Jump to 22 ABY, where the First Order attacks a transport carrying the kids and tries - and fails - to kidnap them, but Rey and Jemma get launched via escape pod to distant planets. Jakku in Rey's case, and Earth (deep in the Unknown Regions) in Jemma's case.

Jump ahead to 25 ABY - c. 1992 A.D. in this timeline's Gregorian calendar - and a teleportation accident deposits Betsy "Psylocke" Braddock of the X-Men on Sernpidal. She saves Chewie, history takes another divergence, and Betsy discovers she's Force-sensitive as well as a mutant telepath. That's the plot of "Sernpidal's Amethyst," which I'm working on right now (a rewrite of my first-ever 'fic on the boards - begun in 2008! - and one I need to actually finish ... ).

Without giving away too much - Betsy stays with the Jedi, suspecting she's time-traveled as well as teleported, so she can't return to Earth too soon, or she risks temporal paradox. S.A. is the first of a trilogy of stories set during this timeline's Vong War; the sequel, Maelstroms, is already done, and there's a third piece I need to write once I finish S.A.

Later on, Kylo grows up a spoiled brat, joins the First Order c. 35 ABY, and assists in an FO attack at the Jedi praxeum on Serenno. (There's actually 10 to 12 praxii in this timeline for the NJO, since Luke wisely decided not to put all the Order's eggs in one basket.)

Shortly after the Serenno catastrophe, Luke goes looking for Kylo to try and redeem him. Kylo sabotages the hyperdrive on Luke's X-Wing, which accidentally sends Farmboy to Earth. Mara splits the Order up to save the remaining Jedi, while the galaxy sinks toward a chaotic parallel to the Second Galactic Civil War (a story I've yet to write).

Reluctantly, Mara also sends Ben, Analynn, and Coric into hiding, and discovers that she's pregnant with Dack. Hiding with Karrde, though, is something she's used to, and Rey serves as a go-between for Mara, the Resistance, and the scattered Jedi until they can prepare enough to strike back. Betsy's also a Jedi agent, but more deep-cover.

In 40 ABY, events lead Rey, Ben, Analynn, and Coric to reunite and find Luke - and Jemma, though she's not on camera in Claudy - and rescue them. It'll be a different take on TFA - certainly, more people survive there than in NuCanon - and the Skywalkers reunite (with many new allies) to take down the FO and other threats ... dragons, literal and otherwise, lie ahead.

 

It had been a long, terrible, and ugly year.

If it'd been corporeal, Mara would've really stabbed it.

A lot.


**hands Mara a knife** Go ahead, hon. We'll HELP you stab it! (Loved this.)

 

This is what I like about Mara. Snark.

BTW, I am loving Sernpidal's Amethyst.

 

Daena: Thanks for the reply. I hadn't written Mara for quite some time, and when this bunny hopped across my radar, she seemed like the perfect commentator for the events of the time.

(I'm trying not to scatter my attention all across the timeline, as I've done before with my work , or I'd write more with her solo ... part of my problem before with these AUs has been bouncing from 25 to, say, 32 ABY, then here and there, and never finishing one story before starting another. )

Cowgirl: Thanks. Snarky!Mara is the best Mara, I think, and when she's got a legitimate "I told you so" to turn loose, she's excellent at it.

And thanks for the kind note about Amethyst! It should start to pick up steam, soon - DRL's getting calmer, while the plot's finally moving toward the First Battle of Dantooine ... I might write some extra-long chapters to move things along, though.

- Thanks again, everyone,
Onderon1

 

"Despair" was not part of Mara Jade's vocabulary.

I wish that would be the same for me at times, but having Mara say that feels extremely good. Thank you!

But she decided that she'd provide the First Order with an intimate understanding of the term.

There it is indeed: the snark, the practical thinking, the dark humour. Simply love your interpretation of Mara.

 

LOL I'm gonna read stuff in order but I had to skip out of sequence and read your Mara piece. Oh, Oh, you can go home again and there's no place like home either. Mara is half of why I love Luke so much

You did a splendiferous job with the Mara Jade tone. Dude, I have missed it!! Like big mega-time.

 

WarmNyota, AzureAngel2: Thank you both. I'm glad this piece captured Mara so well - I'll try to write more with her in the near-future.