High Heavens (Star Wars - Luke Skywalker)

XXXVI - Circling Panic

Mara's heart stuttered. This was the first mention of her mother since they came to Raada--something that felt painfully overdue. She should have asked more about her mother, but even trying to form the words left a rock in a throat. Instead, she asked dumbly, "General-- General Skywalker?"

Delta nodded. "Anakin Skywalker. He was probably the best warrior in the Order. And your mother's best friend." He looked like he hadn't thought of these things in a long time.

Mara was silent. Mother's best friend. She shook her head. Some things still weren't making sense. "But then, what do General Skywalker and my mother have to do with Ahsoka?"

"Commander Tano--" Commander! "--was Skywalker's apprentice." Delta frowned. "His, uh--"

"Padawan," Mara finished quietly.

"Padawan, that's it."

His padawan? Mara had never thought--would have never even guessed, given all the time in the universe--that Ahsoka had known Anakin Skywalker. That she had fought alongside Luke's father, Mara's mother, and her father...

The revelations started to make her head spin. How did Ahsoka meet her father? Why did Ahsoka never mention Jade or Anakin ever again? Why does the galaxy seem so hell-bent on hiding things from her?

Mara stood up abruptly. "I-- I think I need some air."

This time, she was stumbling out of the Delta's house. Her hand found the side of the hut, and she walked--staggered, really--around the edge. Collapsed against the wall. Slid to the ground. Dug her fingers into the mud. Ahsoka, Cassian, Mom, Dad, Anakin Skywalker-

She was going to lose control. Her breath was escaping her. She tried to quantify the connections between all the people in her life--all the people who had been in her life and were now gone--gone, gone, gone away. If she could just understand it, if she could see the answers like a web in her mind, then maybe she could stop, stop, stop the panic.

She didn't notice when she got off the ground, or when she started walking--but suddenly she was pacing back and forth, her feet digging a path into the mud. Cassian had been close with Ahsoka-- he took her codename, Fulcrum. Had he known Mara's parents? Had he known other Jedi? Would he have told her, if he did? There must have been a reason Ahsoka left Mara with Cassian, all those years ago. There must be a reason (that Ahsoka was gone, that Cassian died, that Mara never got to know her parents)--

"Hey, Mara!"

Mara jumped, spinning around to find Tiernan standing in front of her. He seemed to have no inclination to her plight. Maybe Mara was good at hiding her emotions. Maybe Tiernan just had something more important to think about than her plights. Maybe both.

"I just talked to Odessa - she's got some big news," Tiernan said, all in one breath. "Sounds like my father's planning a mission. You in? The whole village is gathering in the hall."

Mara blinked, hardly able to comprehend the spew of words that came out of his mouth. Eventually, she just nodded--hurried and eager to think about anything other than what was going on in her head right now.

"I'm in."

The dining hall was never used for eating; from what Mara had seen, the villagers ate together in their homes or under the stars. Dusty and Delta used the hall as a staging area and a debriefing room.

Tiernan led her there. They found a seat on the floor with the rest of the village, Strata and the other teenagers crowded around them. Delta and Dusty stood on a concrete stage at the end of the hall, talking in hushed voice. Lorelei lingered at the edge of the rooms, her lips pulled into a tight frown. Mara saw Ledoa and Odessa talking with her, little Kirrie clinging to Odessa's leg.