Chapter Text
Through the patchwork of stars in the galaxy, a TIE Fighter twists and turns its way through the chaotic battle in its midst. Beyond the Rebel and Imperial starfighters is the unfinished Death Star II. The TIE Fighter's path is meant to go directly to the Death Star, and two X-Wings have noticed that along with the TIE Fighter's pilot's impressive evasiveness.
Mara Jade watches as the Death Star gets closer and closer in the window of the TIE Fighter she pilots. She needs to be on that battle station, for the Emperor may need her help. However, the X-Wings on her tail appear to want to come with her or at least blow her up. The console of the fighter informs Mara of the location of the enemy ships, and she can tell that they are getting closer to her. Mara looks up at the battle, and she counts in her head. One... two...
"You just messed with the wrong pilot."
The TIE Fighter pulls up in an evasive move, and the two X-Wings crash into a Mon Calamari cruiser that was flying perpendicular to the three ships.
Mara laughs proudly at the escape as she corrects her ship's course to avoid the crash. Her mind is now only focused on reaching the Death Star, but that's before Mara notices something strange in the ensuing fight. One by one, Rebel ships start turning around, and it's not an evasive maneuver. No, instead, they fly away from the battle and from the second Death Star. From the exposed part of the Death Star, flashes of light emerge. Then, the Millenium Falcon and another X-Wing fly out of the Death Star II. Mara slows her ship down.
The Death Star II becomes nothing more than a ball of fire in an instant. The explosion moves like a wave through the expanse of space, and it pushes back Mara's ship, as she was not close enough to be burned by it. The sudden movement makes the ship unable to respond to movement from the controls, but Mara makes no effort to stabilize the ship.
Blankly staring at the dwindling explosion, Mara knows that the Emperor's dead, and she doesn't know how to feel about that. Her feelings are as unsearchable as the blazing yet shrinking explosion. She should feel angry and upset, and maybe she does, but those emotions run through her as a weak pulse.
The fighter stabilizes, and Mara aimlessly grabs the controls. She steers herself away from the explosion and looks around for fellow TIE Fighters to regroup with and indeed finds some. Before she can make her move, however, Mara feels the ship jostle and sees pieces of metal fly past the edge of the window. The console beeps angrily at Mara and informs her of not only the damage to the left wing but also of the X-Wing approaching her. Now more alert, Mara steers the ship out of the X-Wing's path.
The TIE Fighter zips frantically through space, having a less determined path than it did earlier. The X-Wing fires once more at the fleeing Imperial ship, and it takes no time to leave after its laser bolt has struck the left wing of the TIE Fighter.
Mara thinks of every curse word imaginable when she feels the rocking of the ship and hears the beeping of the console. She has to land this thing or else face a long death unlike the Emperor's. The only planet nearby is the Forest Moon of Endor, and Mara has no choice but to direct her failing TIE Fighter there.
On Endor, an Ewok guard stands at his post and watches the sky, where the explosion of the Death Star II could just be seen. The Ewok is still chattering to himself in excitement, and he fails to notice the falling spacecraft off in the distance.
"...been here?"
"General, there's been...Imperial..."
"...lightsaber?"
Mara barely opens her eyes, and her blurry vision tells her that it's nighttime and that there are three figures nearby her. Two of them are watching her while the third is busily communicating into his comms. Mara wills her body to listen to the three Rebels, specifically the one on the comms, and continues to act like she's still unconscious.
"Very well, General, we'll return with the Imperial as soon as we can."
The comms turns off with a click, and Mara makes her move. The Rebels fall to the ground, and they find themselves pinned to it. Mara stands up. Her legs feel like jelly, but she won't let that stop her.
"How'd you find me?" she asks, clenching her teeth to hold back a wave of nausea.
"We were riding in the woods," the Rebel with the comms answers hurriedly, "and we came upon your crash."
"Where are your vehicles?" Mara uses the Force to persuade the Rebel into answering.
"Over there."
Mara looks past the Rebels and sees three speederbikes resting nearby. "Where can I get a ship out of here?"
"Nowhere," one of the other Rebels answers, "There's no way you can get out of here without someone noticing you."
Mara ignores the woman's comments and presses deeper into the woman's mind. The woman trembles in discomfort, but Mara is able to retrieve information of a ship that she can reach if she's fast enough.
"Thank you," Mara says like she didn't just coerce information from the woman. She walks to the speeders, keeping the Rebels pinned.
"Why are you still fighting?" the female Rebel asks, noticing Mara's labored steps, "The war's over, lady; we won."
Mara mounts herself onto the speederbike, grasping the controls. "I never stop fighting."
The speederbike roars to life, and Mara leaves the Rebels behind her.